Family legacy
Olalla’s Little League to receive overhaul
Brown-Bell driven on court and off Page A11
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Both sides report feeling harassed in rift over home business.
Neighbor denies pellet gun shooting
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By JUSTINE FREDERIKSEN
Staff Writer
Independent
Tensions between two Port Orchard neighbors that erupted after one attempted to open a home business last year led both women to head down to the Kitsap County Courthouse Monday and file restraining orders against each other. Shelia Cronan, 49, said she filed a restraining order against Amber Keehn after returning home from a camping trip Aug. 17 and discovering pellets had been
Port Orchard
FRIDAY, October 5, 2012 n Vol. 121, No. 39 n www.portorchardindependent.com n 50¢
Jesse Beals/Staff Photo
shot in three of her home’s windows. Cronan, who lives on the 200 block of Flower Meadows Street in Port Orchard, said she believed the attack was part of an ongoing dispute with Keehn, whom she alleges has been running a hair salon out of her home without a business license and in defiance of a city “stop-work” order. Keehn, 30, said she filed for permission from the city of Port Orchard to operate a hair salon out of her home on the 2300 block of Flower Avenue soon after pur-
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▼ Matthes, Garrido advance in SK commissioner race; Dalton, Danielson in judicial contest.
Volunteers helped put together the new playground structure last month at Orchard Heights Elementary.
By CHARLIE BERMANT
Courtesy photos
Staff Writer
Expectations were turned on their head in two Kitsap County political contests during Tuesday night’s primary election, as the perceived front-runners came in third and were disqualified in their respective races. Republican Tim Matthes drew the most votes in the South Kitsap commissioner’s race, followed by Democrat Charlotte Garrido. Monty Mahan, who was the first to declare for the seat and earned the endorsement of local mayors, came in third (See related story, page A3).
SEE UPSETS, PAGE A2
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Custodians won’t be replaced, $1.72 million will be taken from reserve fund.
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By CHRIS CHANCELLOR
Staff Writer
The South Kitsap School District is a little closer to closing its $2.9 million deficit for the upcoming school year. Terri Patton, assistant superintendent for business and support services, said at Wednesday’s school board meeting that the district won’t replace five full-time custodians who left the district after the last school year. She said that will save the district $250,000. Patton said the deficit stems from unforeseen circumstances when the district presented its last levy to voters in 2004. She cited escalating teacher salaries
chasing it last spring. City Development Director James Weaver confirmed that Keehn received a conditional-use permit to operate a onechair hair salon out of her home, which he described as “pretty innocuous” and something that doesn’t typically reach “the level of intensive use,” as far as impacts on the neighborhood are concerned. However, since November of 2007, Cronan has filed multiple complaints with the city regarding traffic, noise and other
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Cody Wright from Milford, Utah, got a mouth full of mud and a zero score after falling off Strawberry Delight in the Saddle Bronc Riding competition Wednesday night at the Kitsap County Stampede. The fair runs through Sunday.
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Substantial upgrades
Heights in recent years. In 2008, the front gardens consisted of dirt, gravel and little else. Heather MrozSpoon, who then taught fourth- through sixthgraders at Orchard Heights, said her students wanted a grander entrance to their school. The work began that spring with 30 minutes a day of moving gravel to the back parking lot to help fill potholes. From there, they tapped others to assist with the project — the city of Tacoma donated its TAGRO mix and potting soil products — before contacting Lowe’s, which awarded the
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Perhaps no South Kitsap School District campus has seen more improvements in recent years than Orchard Heights Elementary. That continued last month when the school’s 550 students were introduced to the new play structure. Orchard Heights principal Nancy Pack said the project was spurred two years ago when Associated Student
Body leaders in third through sixth grades at the school suggested replacing the worn playground structure at the school. Pack said she likes to empower students to make decisions that improve Orchard Heights, but she thought raising enough money to replace the playground would take about four years. “We’re big on student-led government,” Pack said. “It really has made a difference
able to secure a demonstration playground from GameTime. When Riley was told by GameTime officials that one was available for $21,000, Pack said students had to work quickly to finalize fundraising. In addition to the students and surrounding community, Pack said SKSD’s facilities department worked hard to install the structure and place bark, which now is used with playground structures, to have it ready on time for students’ use when school began last month. It is just the latest improvement project at Orchard
CHARLOTTE GARRIDO
Senior Reporter
TIM MATTHES
By CHRIS CHANCELLOR
in the social climate. They work together.” She said students earned $7,000 during their first fundraiser. Pack said she told ASB leaders that money would be enough to buy new playground equipment, such as balls, but it was far from enough to purchase a new structure. She said students were determined to stick with their goal, though. Students continued to fundraise and Pack said the project received a boast when SKSD facilities and operations manager Mike Riley told her he might be
BRUCE DANIELSON
Structure is the latest facility improvement at Orchard Heights
JEANETTE DALTON
and pension rates along with inflation as issues. In addition to the money saved on custodians, Patton said the district will dip into its reserve fund for $1.72 million. She said that’s not all bad because the district saved more than it anticipated in its last fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31. Patton said they also will save through not filling other vacant positions in the district, and through cutting expenses on supplies. The board unanimously adopted the budget. Patton warned in previous meetings that the “hard decisions” likely won’t end
SEE SCHOOL, PAGE A2
activities she reported as stemming from Keehn’s attempts to operate a business out of her home. Weaver said following an April 11 hearing with the city’s Hearing Examiner, certain conditions were placed on Keehn’s permit to mitigate Cronan’s concerns before she would be allowed to operate her business. “(Keehn) has addressed all but one of those conditions, with the last being the letter from the (Kitsap County) Health Department,” Weaver said, explaining that Keehn’s current sewer facilities are
SEE NEIGHBORS, PAGE A2
Student-led movement results in new playground
school a grant to spruce up the area. Lowe’s employees assisted students and staff with removing the small rocks and creating brick paths leading through busy walkways and up to the flag. Less than one year later, the roof on the east wing of Orchard Heights was replaced. “Not only are we making it look good,” said Pack, whose school has received four awards, including a Title 1 “reward school” in September, during the last three years. “We are making it more effective.”
Readiness emphasized at local Map Your Neighborhood meeting Earthquake most likely disaster for area By William Lewis reporter
The Port Orchard community attended a seminar on disaster preparedness titled, “Map Your
Neighborhood Introduction” at the city hall Sept. 27 in preparation for natural disaster events that have a possibility of occurring within the county. Port Orchard Mayor Tim Matthes held the workshop introducing citizens to this free program that Kitsap County Department of Emergency Management offers to help Kitsap County residents
rehearse the several steps to take before and after a natural disaster strikes. Many counties within the state encourage citizen participation in Map Your Neighborhood. Emergency Management public educator Susan May hosted the event and told Port Orchard citizens that the most important thing they can do if a disaster
occurs is to think before they react and stay calm, but she added that being prepared is the best way of combating the event so that victims of the natural disaster are able to remain rational during and after they experience the emergency scenario. May said that the most likely natural disaster to occur in Kitsap County is an earthquake. To pre-
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pare for the possible earth shaking crisis, groups of people in various cities participating in Map Your Neighborhood in the county remind each other to keep shoes under their beds, along with bicycle helmets and leather gloves since window glass will shatter onto the See Readiness, A8