Reporter Central Kitsap
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2012 | Vol. 28, No. 6 www.CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.com | 50¢
kitsapweek week O c t o b e r 19 - 2 5 , 2 012
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Ready to rally
LIFE AND CULTURE
Communities raising money to help two local children fighting rare illnesses.
Ian Gunnell, 6, is fighting a rare form of leukemia. The community has raised about $20,000 so far to help defray the costs of his chemotherapy.
— Stories on pages 2 and 7
Gunnell family / Courtesy
week’s
highlights
DALA PERFORMS OCT. 26 AT THE ADMIRAL BREMERTON — Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine of Dala write and sing in harmony often described as angelic. These two best
friends met in their high school music class in 2002; they have since released five albums and toured extensively across North America. Dala — Juno nominees and winners of the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year — bring their fresh brand of acoustic pop music to the Admiral Theatre’s The Source Oct. 26.
like The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, Dala write songs that are both catchy and insightful. Walther’s ethereal soprano voice blends seamlessly with Carabine’s velvety alto, creating the lush harmonies that have become their trademark. “There’s nothing pretentious about Dala’s music; it’s stripped down and laid bare,” Andrew Craig said on
Drawing upon influences
See DALA, Page 7
Great places to watch birds in Kitsap County. — Page 8
Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther are Dala, acoustic duo and Canadian Folk Music Awards Vocal Group of the Year.
Olivia Brown / Courtesy
65,000 circulation every Friday in the Bainbridge Island Review | Bremerton Patriot | Central Kitsap Reporter | North Kitsap Herald | Port Orchard Independent
Raising Money Check out the community rally for two children fighting illness Inside
Harrison announces affiliation deal with Franciscan By KEVAN MOORE kmoore@soundpublishing.com
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 Tacoma-based 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 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. “It’s a long process that should take a while,” Bosch said. “This is a very long-term commitment that we’re making.” With an affiliation with Franciscan, Harrison will become part of an integrated 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
Dennis Box/Staff Photo
The Harrison Medical Center at Silverdale will be part of the affiliation with Franciscan.
See HARRISON, A8
Commissioner candidate forum By Dennis Box
editor@centralkitsapreporter.com
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 opening statements the candidates spent about an hour discussing the issues affecting Kitsap County residents.
Challenges and the 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 self insure health insurance at county government, which will save one to two million dollars a year,” Garrido said. She also said volunteers are a valuable asset for the county. “This is a forward looking, existing board of commissioners and I believe we are setting the track for a more positive future,” Garrido said.
Kitsap volunteers join the ‘Big Day’
See FORUM, A3
ANd the Rain BEgins Dennis Box/staff photo
John Toliver and his dog Jake walked along the beach in Silverdale Sunday when the first rain of the season began. The showers began lightly but by midday the precipitation was heavy. After months without rain some areas received up to 2 inches Sunday. The last measurable rain in Washington before Sunday was July 22.
Dennis Box/Staff Photo
Michael Shea, front and Chad Thompson, senior, from Bremerton, clean up a building in Enumclaw on the Big Day. By Dennis Box editor@centralkitsapreporter.com
The Big Day of Serving made a big splash in Enumclaw Saturday with the help of many volunteers from Kitsap County. On the first day of rain in many days in western Washington, a Christianbased event brought youth groups from across the state to Enumclaw to provide ser
vice to the community. Mike Siegemund, a youth pastor from Abundant Life Foursquare Church in Bremerton, said the Big Day was a “tremendous experience. I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world…. We have really been helping people get healthy and looking to energize our community. We want to get Jesus out and See SERVING, A3