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FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2013 | Vol. 16, No. 11 WWW.BREMERTONPATRIOT.COM | 50¢
Running for Boston
Suspicious package found at Naval Base Kitsap Bremerton
BY KEVAN MOORE KMOORE@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
Tears and hugs gave way to the familiar patter of feet pounding pavement Tuesday evening in Silverdale as nearly 100 local runners gathered to honor the victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. The runners first gathered at the Silverdale Waterfront Park for a brief ceremony before setting out on either a four-mile or two-mile circuit around town. “Today we remember and instead of giving into helplessness and despair, we do what we can do, what we must do,” said Pastor Sigi Helgeson from the Family of God Church. “We lift up prayers and we run. We run in remembrance. We run because we have to. We lift up prayers and we run because we cannot let the evil act have the last word.” One of Tuesday night’s participants, Silverdale resident Renee Partsch, tracked her mom’s movements online as she made her way through the marathon on Monday. “She crossed at 4:04:50,” Partsch said of her mom, former Silverdale resident Eileen Glenn. “I left the house to go to Costco and everybody started messaging me ‘explosion at the finishing area’ and I’m thinking that’s where she is, she’s right there. And she was. She had just grabbed her bottle of water and hadn’t even gotten her medal yet. My step-dad (Lee Glenn) was right off to the side near the bleachers and it was about 30 minutes before I heard from them.” Partsch said she headed straight home from the store and turned on the news while text messages continued to pour in from concerned friends. “I couldn’t keep up with the texts and calls,” she said. “I kept calling her phone and my step-dad’s phone. Finally, she called sobbing and said, ‘We’re okay. We’re okay and we’re getting as far away as we can.” SEE RUNNERS, A13
BY KEVAN MOORE KMOORE@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
Wes Morrow/staff photo
Nearly 100 local runners gathered in Silverdale Tuesday night to honor the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.
Gillis is taking her final bow BY WES MORROW
WMORROW@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
Music teacher Cassie Gillis has been a fixture in Bremerton schools for 35 years. But when the curtain goes up on April 19, it will be her final opening night and her last musical production with Bremerton High School. The grand dame of music is retiring. The play that is to be Gillis’ last at the school is called “Into the Woods.” It is part of a series of Broadway plays adapted for high-school production. It follows a baker
and his wife who are unable to have children because of a witch’s curse. The witch gives them an ultimatum and the infertile couple embark on a quest to retrieve a laundry list of items to lift their curse and return the witch to her younger, more beautiful self. The play intersects with other well known fairy tales, as the couple crosses the paths of characters such as Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. Right now, Gillis is working with her students to put the finishing touches
A suspicious package was found near the Wycoff Gate at Naval Base Kitsap Bremerton at around 9 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to a base spokesman. Chief Daniel Pearson said that emergency responders and Explosive Ordnance Disposal experts responded to the scene and set up a perimeter that was still in place some three hours later at midday. Chief Pearson was unable to describe the package. At nearby Naval Base Kitsap Bangor, operations went as usual with regular access to the base, according to a public affairs spokeswoman. Regarding the incident in Bremerton, “Security procedures have been initiated to ensure the safe resolution of this situation,” Public Affairs Officer Tom Danaher wrote in a press release. He declined to comment further. Department of Defense policy precludes issuing any statement regarding ongoing security measures or posture, Danaher’s press release stated. Vehicle traffic to PSNS & IMF was diverted to the Bremerton Gate. Traffic in and out of the base was moving as normal at midday Wednesday. Elsewhere, according to various news reports, bomb squads were activated after other suspicious packages were reported Wednesday in Seattle and outside the Mt. Baker Ranger District office of the U.S. Forest Service in Sedro-Wooley.
P B c t Port hires consultant B to fill empty marina M BY LESLIE KELLY
LKELLY@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
ning of the school year to help resurrect Bremerton’s drama program. While the music department has thrived under Gillis, drama has taken a back seat. Grosso is starting largely
The Port of Bremerton has hired Robert Wise, an experienced marina owner, to help fill some of the vacant slips in the Bremerton Marina, it was announced this week. Port CEO Tim Thomson said Wise will work for the port as a consultant from now until Aug. 31, with a goal of finding 50 new tenants for the marina. Wise will be paid $9,000 a month for his services which will also include the creation and implementation of a marketing plan for the marina. “Bob has the expertise in marketing that we need to see some changes take place at the Bremerton Marina,” said Thomson. “He will work with the staff and we are excited
SEE MUSICAL, A13
SEE MARINA, A13
Wes Morrow/ staff photo
Cassie Gillis , who is retiring after 35 years, takes a short break from playing the music for an “Into the Woods” rehearsal. on the play and prepare for the rapidly approaching opening night. With her is BHS drama teacher Alicia Grosso. While Gillis is in her last year teaching at the high school, Grosso is in her first. She came in at the begin-