Reporter Central Kitsap
College bound Four local soccer players sign letters of intent with colleges Page 7
FRIDAY, FEBRuary 15, 2013 | Vol. 28, No. 23 | www.CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.com | 50¢
Future attempts to incorporate years off By Leslie Kelly
lkelly@soundpublishing.com
After suffering a large defeat in Tuesday’s incorporation vote, Randy Biegenwald predicted it will be years before another attempt is made. “It will be a long time,” said Biegenwald, who chaired the efforts for the Silverdale incorporation. “Especially with the heavy lopsided vote we had this time.” Voters rejected a measure to incorporate the Silverdale area in a 70 to 30 percent majority. Of the 9,696 registered voters in the incorporation area, Wednesday’s count showed 4,255 votes cast with 2,997 (70.47 percent) voting not to incorporate while the “Yes” votes were 1,256 (29.53 percent). Kitsap County election officials said there was a 44 percent voter turnout. Biegenwald attributed the loss to “not getting the message out.” “As recently as yesterday (Tuesday) I was talking to people who still didn’t understand the issues,” he said. “There was a disconnect between what we were saying and what the voters were hearing and understanding. They didn’t understand how incorporation would benefit them.” Biegenwald said even after holding
public forums and getting the endorsement of the Silverdale Chamber of Commerce, the local homebuilder’s association, the Republican Party of Kitsap County, and a local newspaper, people were afraid that being a city would end up costing them more. “They assumed that incorporating and being a city would mean higher taxes,” he said. “They were worried about the economy. And even after hearing from other places where incorporation happened, they still didn’t understand. That was their assumption and it’s just not correct.” Kathleen Knuckey, executive director of the Silverdale chamber, however, said the chamber did not endorse incorporation because it did not have time to poll all its members. The chamber helped sponsor of forums for discussion of the issues, and in past incorporation efforts has favored Silverdale becoming a city. But those opposed to incorporation blamed the organizers of the effort, Citizens United for Silverdale, for not getting their opinions from the start. “Those wanting to incorporate didn’t get the opinions of residents,” said Joyce Merkel, who led the “No” campaign. “They just listened to the (Silverdale) Chamber of Commerce and went for-
See INCORPORATION, A13
Kevan Moore/Staff Photo
Silverdale incorporation supporters, Marcus Hoffman, Rob MacDermid and Randy Billick check online election results from a laptop set up at the Silverdale Beach Hotel Tuesday night.
Klahowya science class takes a hike, wins a grant By WES MORROW wmorrow@soundpublishing.com
Julie Turk stands in front of 12 students as she talks to them about water levels and salmon spawning. The subject matter is pretty much what you would expect for an environmental science class like the one Turk teaches at Klahowya Secondary School. Except Turk happens to be standing in six inches of mud and water. Her classroom hasn’t flooded. It has just moved outside. Every Friday Turk takes her class on hikes through the Newberry Hill Heritage Park, a 1,600 acre forest in which Klahowya is located. Today they’re looking for two of about six crest gauges throughout the park that measure water depth. The class created the gauges in December and park stewards placed them in January. One of the two gaug-
es is placed at a spot in the park called Beaver Crossing -- a sort of swamp stretches out along one side of the path, and a small creek from the runoff trails off to the other side. Earlier in the winter, Turk and her students spent time here searching out macro-invertebrates, insects that can be seen without a microscope. While the class found an abundance of life in winter, Turk said the area known as Beaver Crossing was bone-dry in fall, just a few months prior. As the class winds its way through the woods, Turk points out arboreal anomalies to her students, often quizzing them on their forest knowledge. “What kind of tree is this?” Turk asks a group of students on the trail. A brunette girl behind her takes up the call, “Douglas Fir.” For the class’s first semester final See CLASS, A13
Monday holiday means closures
Wes Morrow/staff photo
Julie Turk takes her class for a hike on Friday.
Presidents’ Day is on Monday. Don’t get caught at the last minute. Many private businesses are open on Presidents’ Day, but government institutions are closed. Here are some of the institutions that will be closed on Monday: U.S. Post offices will be closed and there will be no mail delivery. All Federal government offices will be closed as will state and county offices. The City of Bremerton will also observe the holiday. The New York stock markets will be closed. Locally, schools in Bremerton and Central Kitsap will be closed. And all Kitsap County Regional libraries will be closed including the Silverdale and Bremerton branches. Most banks are closed, but some will be open with limited hours. The offices for the Central Kitsap Reporter and the Bremerton Patriot will be closed Monday, but news tips can be left at 360 308-9161, ext. 5050.