Wolves capture second straight win at Lincoln.
Local travels to Florida for meeting with an Olympian.
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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 19, 2012 n Vol. 121, No. 41 n www.portorchardindependent.com n 50¢
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-
By KEVAN MOORE
kmoore@soundpublishing.com
this relationship as a way to expand the good work that has been done in our community for the past 95 years.” The Franciscan Health System is a Catholic organization and Bosch noted that Harrison will remain a private non-profit, secular and charitable organization. “We are not becoming a Catholic hospital, but we will be influenced by our parent company being a Catholic organization,” Bosch said, noting that the Franciscans’ ethical and moral objectives to abortion and assisted suicides was a non-issue
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CHARLOTTE GARRIDO
BRUCE DANIELSON
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▼ Matthes, Garrido advance in SK commissioner race; Dalton, Danielson in judicial contest.
By CHARLIE BERMANT
Staff Writer
making.” With an affiliation with Franciscan, Harrison will become part of an inte-
TIM MATTHES
JEANETTE DALTON
“It’s a long process that should take awhile,” Bosch said. “This is a very longterm commitment that we’re
grated health system in Washington state with nearly 11,000 employees, 2,000 medical staff members and projected annual net revenues of $2 billion. The affiliation will enable physicians and employees at Harrison and Franciscan to collaborate and innovate in order to improve the delivery of efficient and effective inpatient, outpatient and in-home care across a broad geographic region. “Harrison Medical Center and Franciscan Health System share similar cultures, values and goals,” said David Veterane, chair of the Harrison Medical Center Board of Directors. “We see
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
Dennis Box/Staff Photo
Harrison Medical Center plans to affiliate with Franciscan.
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
we serve that can potentially very much enhance quality and reduce costs,” said Harrison Medical Center President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Bosch. Leaders of the two nonprofit health systems expect to complete the affiliation process by June 30, 2013. That work will include hammering out an actual agreement, getting approval from state and federal regulators and finalizing the deal. Harrison’s board of directors hired a consultant a year ago to look at merging or selling and decided in January that they would pursue an affiliation.
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
Those wondering about what the future of Harrison Medical Center will look like received their answer this week in an announcement made Tuesday afternoon. Harrison has signed a non-binding letter of intent to affiliate with the Tacomabased Franciscan Health System to expand services, improve the delivery and quality of care, and broaden access to services for individuals, employers and communities in the South Puget Sound and on the Kitsap and Olympic peninsulas. “This is a very positive thing for the communities
Jesse Beals/Staff Photo
Harrison announces affiliation deal with Franciscan 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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SKSD schools prepare for bears on campuses County commissioner candidate forum By CHRIS CHANCELLOR Senior Reporter
Burley-Glenwood Elementary is the only South Kitsap School District that carries the Bears nickname. That could be a lot more prevalent as the mammals have created problems at multiple SKSD schools in recent years, though. To counteract that, district officials are trying to be proactive in preparing for a situation where a bear is roaming near one of its schools. SKSD public information officer Lisa Kirkemo said the district occasionally receives calls from parents, including one last month near Burley-Glenwood, about bear sightings. Kirkemo said Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife reports bear sightings in the area are common during this time of the year as bears are “busy foraging” as they look to gain weight before hibernating. In cases, such as BurleyGlenwood, where a bear is sighted nearby, Kirkemo said the school will go into a “modified lockdown.” She
Charlotte Garrido
Robert Gelder
By Dennis Box editor
Dennis Box/Staff Photo
Zachary Morris, second grade, left, Katie Million, resource room teacher and Hailey Hanson, fourth grade, work on a computer at Orchard Heights. said the district then works with Fish & Wildlife officials to determine the potential danger students face. Kirkemo said bus drivers are notified about the last sighting and other remedies, such as a phone blast to parents and keeping students inside for recess, based on the bear’s proximity.
“The school district’s policy is always to err on the side of child safety,” she said. That was the case on May 31 when a bear and three coyotes were spotted by a staff member on the Converse Street campus. Fish & Wildlife See School, A3
It was politics for lunch at the Port Orchard Chamber of Commerce Kitsap County commissioners forum Oct. 11. The chamber hosted the forum featuring the four candidates vying for the Kitsap County commissioner seats. For north Kitsap District No. 1 race was Chris Tibbs, R-Kingston and the incumbent Robert Gelder, D-Poulsbo. In the South Kitsap District No. 2 race was Linda Simpson, R-Bremerton and incumbent Charlotte Garrido, D-Olalla. After introductions and some
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Linda Simpson
Chris Tibbs
opening statements the candidates spent about an hour discussing the issues affecting Kitsap County residents.
Challenges and budget
Garrido answered a question concerning the challenges ahead if reelected stating, “I believe we are seeing some stabilization. We are not necessarily seeing increasing revenues, but I think we are stabilizing.” She said the commission has learned many lessons during the Great Recession. “We have decided we will selfinsure health insurance at county See Forum, A2