Aaron Cunningham heads to the Rangers Page A10
Signing
Traxel signs with UW Page A10
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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, November 16, 2012 n Vol. 121, No. 45 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-
TIM MATTHES
BRUCE DANIELSON
CHARLOTTE GARRIDO
Kitsap County voters approved marijuana initiative By KEVAN MOORE Bremerton Patriot
Dennis Box/Staff Photo
Katrina Ernst, 9, from Belfair brushes her rabbit, Prince Sanders and Carlee Faught, 6, brushes Rosebud at the 4-H rabbit show in Enumclaw.
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JEANETTE DALTON
Chris Chancellor/Staff Photo
Olalla Elementary School student Hailey Richardson waits to give a rose to a veteran during last week’s Veterans Day concert.
Kitsap County prosecutor considering marijuana cases
Hare raising fun
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▼ Matthes, Garrido advance in SK commissioner race; Dalton, Danielson in judicial contest.
By CHARLIE BERMANT
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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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
The standard Veterans Day assembly often features a keynote speaker who participated in combat. Olalla Elementary School does it differently. And, based on its reception, successfully. The school drew a large crowd in its gymnasium, which consisted of parents, community members and veterans for both its morning and evening musical performances Nov. 8 to honor veterans. “I must say that Mrs. Niemi is the best music teacher I’ve ever worked with,” Olalla principal Kristi Rivera said. “She is talented, dedicated and inspires others through music. She always goes above and beyond to serve our students and community.” Lisa Niemi, whose fifth- and sixth-grade students performed five songs during both sessions, each lasting an hour, said the event became popular enough that she decided to add an evening concert last year. “It’s just been growing bigger and bigger every year,” Niemi said. “At Olalla, we honor veterans.
By CHRIS CHANCELLOR
Senior Reporter
Staff Writer
By CHRIS CHANCELLOR
This easily is our biggest event of the year.” She estimated that 40 students performed during the morning, but not all could attend the evening concert. In addition to students, teacher Wendy Jelinek performed a solo to “There She Stands” as the crowd watched a video tribute in the dimmed gym. “We like to weave teachers in as well,” Niemi said. During the performance, students also presented veterans in the crowd with roses. Niemi said she overestimated the amount of roses they would need this year, but planned to take the remainder to the Washington State Veterans Home at Retsil for its Veterans Day festivities. Niemi said Olalla has had a musical assembly to honor veterans for at least a decade. Preparation for the event begins annually about two weeks after school begins in September, which allows them to learn some of the songs, while focusing on other work, as well. Many of the songs have been used for several years. Niemi said that is because students enjoy them and insist that they sing them again. She also “grabs cool songs” that are applicable to the performance when she hears them. Niemi said it culminates in an event that honors veterans and informs students. “We need it lively,” she said. “I want to teach kids things they’re excited about and they can relate to.”
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
School assembly draws lively and large crowd for Veterans Day celebration
Jesse Beals/Staff Photo
Olalla Elementary honors veterans differently 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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Bound for Texas
A couple dozen Kitsap County pot cases will likely go up in smoke in coming days. Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge says that his office is in the midst of reviewing misdemeanor marijuana possession cases to figure out which ones can be tossed following the passage of Initiative 502 and
the impending decriminalization of marijuana in Washington state. “We had not planned anything before the passage of the initiative,” Hauge said. “Unlike King County, we’re not ready with a list of offenders or pending cases we’re ready to dismiss.” Prosecutors are now going through pot possessions on a case by case basis. “There’s no reason for us to go forward and spend the resources of the state in trying to prosecute something that in less than a month is no longer going to be criminal,” Hauge said. “That would be a useless act.” That’s good news for several
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defendants and others caught up in the system. “We’re gonna try to have our analysis of the cases done this week and determine how many exactly we’re going to dump,” Hauge said. “The best I can do is tell you it’s probably gonna be less than 100 and more than 20. I suspect it’s going to be closer to 20 than it is to 100.” Prosecutors are reviewing cases of misdemeanor possession charges where the offender is over 21 and culling down cases where that is the only charge. They are also looking at paraphernalia possession cases, which under the initiative covers a lot more territory than just marijuana paraphernalia. “Our intention is not to pursue those cases once we determine which are just violations of the law that will See cases, A3