Reporter Central Kitsap
Speaking Out Rape survivor Tami Chesson shares her story Page 9
FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 2013 | Vol. 28, No. 25 | www.CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.com | 50¢
Public meeting set for Bucklin Hill bridge project By Leslie kelly lkelly@soundpublishing.com
Wes Morrow/staff photo
A $16.5 million renovation project that will see Bucklin Hill Road become a four lane traffic way will be part of a public meeting on March 7. It will also improve the Clear Creek estuary.
It may be a couple of years before there’s a new Bucklin Hill bridge but residents still have an opportunity to give their input on just how it should look. A public open house on the Bucklin Hill bridge project is set for 6 p.m. March 7 at the Silverdale Community Center, 9729 Silverdale Way. The $16.5 million project will see Bucklin Hill Road become a fourlane road from Silverdale Way to Tracyton Boulevard. According to Tina Nelson, senior program manager for Kitsap County Public Works, the meeting is a time for residents to get information about the project, what the bridge will look like, and weigh in on several options. “We want to explain what the impacts will be to the public during the construction phase and provide as much opportunity as we can for residents to understand the benefits of the project,” Nelson said. “And there are some options related to the aesthetics of the project that we want the public to
voice their opinions about.” The road project has more than a 10-year history. In 1998, a county design report recommended that Bucklin Hill Road be expanded to four lanes. Some parts of the project have already been completed including improvements to the intersection at Mickelberry Road and a drop-lane and left turn pocket at Tracyton Boulevard. But replacing culverts with a bridge and expanding the road to four lanes has yet to be completed. The proposed improvements that remain are replacing the culverts and embankment across Clear Creek with a multi-spanned bridge, 240 feet in length, widening the road to four lanes across the bridge and providing left turn access from eastbound Bucklin Hill Road onto northbound Levin Road. Other improvements include local community access with sidewalks and bicycle lanes, improvements to storm drainage, a traffic signal at Mickelberry Road NW and a pedestrian signal just east of the Clear Creek estuary. Nelson said the benefits will be better traffic flow on Bucklin
See BRIDGE, A13
Kitsap Crisis Clinic volunteers answer the call By Leslie Kelly lkelly@soundpublishing.com
In a small office, she sits at a desk working on the computer. On the wall around her are posters promoting positive thoughts. A photograph of a peaceful beach scene hangs on the wall near her. She waits for the phone to ring. Somedays it might ring several times an hour. Other days, it may not ring at all. But she knows that when it rings, she could be the difference between life and death. She is a volunteer at the Kitsap Mental Health Crisis Clinic. The Crisis Clinic which began in the 1960s and serves the Kitsap Peninsula, is in need of more volunteers.But the 26 who volunteer time each month are as dedicated as they come, said Kelly Schwab, pro-
Leslie Kelly/staff photo
A volunteer with the Crisis Clinic studies while waiting for calls. gram manager for the Crisis Clinic of the Peninsulas. “Every shift, they know they have an opportunity to have a positive effect on someone’s life,” Schwab said. “They know they make a difference.” Schwab said in the past year, volunteers have taken 18,784 calls. Volunteers gave 6,161 hours of time to help callers in crisis find solutions to their needs, or just lent a listening ear. The Crisis Clinic also is the home of the 2-1-1 information service line which acts as a referral line, offering resources for housing, daycare, food and other needs. See CLINIC, A13