Patriot Bremerton
FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2013 | Vol. 16, No. 15 www.bremertonpatriot.com | 50¢
Marketing plans underway to fill Bremerton Marina
Kevan Moore/ staff photo
Marketing efforts including a year’s moorage for free are being tried in an attempt to fill the Bremerton Marina. By Leslie Kelly lkelly@soundpublishing.com
With five weeks of work behind him, Bob Wise has ideas — lots of ideas — about how to fill the Bremerton Marina. That was the message he gave Port of Bremerton commissioners on Tuesday when he updated them about his work. Wise, manager of Marsh Andersen of
Bainbridge Island, was hired in April to market the Bremerton Marina which has had trouble attracting and keeping tenants. “We’re learning a lot,” Wise said. “We’re into this about five weeks now and we’ve got some initial findings that indicate what the course of action needs to be.” Wise said through working with port staff , industry experts, and talk-
ing to elected officials in Bremerton, the Bremerton Chamber of Commerce and merchants in the marina area, he thinks the focus needs to be on combatting wrong information that has negatively affected the marina’s reputation. Specifically, he said, the marketing efforts need to correct the impression that the See PORT, A13
We salute you! The annual Armed Armed Forces Forces Day Parade is this Saturday Kitsap Week “Our annual Armed Forces Parade is the longest running and largest in the United States!” bREMERTON CHAMbER OF COMMERCE
2013 Festival Guide
THE 65TH ANNUAL ARMED FORCES DAY PARADE IS SATURDAY, MAY 18 STARTING AT 10 AM
PSNS will not see furloughs By WES MORROW wmorrow@soundpublishing.com
The Department of Defense announced Tuesday that shipyard workers would be exempt from furloughs that will effect civilian employees throughout the military. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said more than 80 percent of the DOD’s civilian workers will be forced to take furlough days. Shipyard workers, at 28,000, are the largest exempt group — they join deployed personnel and certain smaller groups to receive that distinction. “Employees in Navy shipyards will be excepted from furlough because it would be particularly difficult to make up delays in maintenance work on nuclear vessels and these vessels are critical to mission success,” Hagel said in the announcement. Nearly 10,000 civilians work at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton — making up more than half of the Navy’s civilian employees
in Kitsap County. PSNS commander Capt. Steve Williamson released a message to workers, calling the announcement “excellent news for us.” “This will certainly take the weight of uncertainty and worry off of our shoulders,” Williamson said. Williamson added that the Pentagon’s decision shows that Hagel understands the necessity of shipyard operations. “He recognizes how important you (workers) are to the defense of our country,” Williamson said. “Now it is time to prove him right.” While shipyard workers will not be affected, the DOD will furlough the majority of its civilian workforce for 11 days over the remainder of the 2013 fiscal year. The furloughs will affect most of the department’s 800,000 civilian employees. More than 20,000 of those affected live in Washington state, according to Sen. See SHIPYARD, A13
Author tells of his Navy pilot father
Candidates are filing
wmorrow@soundpublishing.com
kmoore@soundpublishing.com
By Wes Morrow
Author Stephen Rodrick read from his book “The Magical Stranger: A Son’s Journey into His Father’s Life” in Bremerton Tuesday as part of Armed Forces Festival Week. Tuesday was also the book’s official release date. Rodrick said the Bremerton reading was the first he has done from his newest book, and acted as his “maiden voyage.” After the reading, Rodrick attended a reception at the Kitsap Regional Library in downtown Bremerton where he signed books and spoke with readers. In his book, Rodrick attempts to get to know his father, a Navy pilot
who was absent for much of his childhood. His father, Peter Rodrick, died in 1979 when his plane crashed in the Indian Ocean. Rodrick was 13 years old at the time of his father’s death and was living on Whidbey Island, where his father had been stationed. Even before his father’s death, Rodrick could already feel his absence. His father was an officer on the fast track and was away from his family more than half of the year throughout his son’s young life. To learn more about his enigmatic father, an adult Rodrick turned to the pilots in his father’s squadron — VAQ-135. “In this powerful, beautifulSee AUTHOR, A13
Wes Morrow/ staff photo
Stephen Rodrick reads to a gathering Tuesday.
By KEVAN MOORE
As the City of Bremerton transitions from nine council districts to seven, there will be at least one primary election. The filing period for all candidates in Kitsap County began May 13 and ends at 5 p.m. May 17. Here’s a look at where things stood Wednesday as the paper went to press. Updates are available on the Kitsap County Auditor’s website at www.kitsapgov.com. In the new Bremerton City Council District 3, incumbent city council
member Adam Brockus is seeking reelection and will face at least two challengers. So far, Jerald (Jerry) McDonald and Michael Strube have also filed to run for the seat. Other contested races in Bremerton include District 1, featuring newcomers Cynthia Galloway and Mike Sullivan; District 6, featuring incumbent Faye Flemister and former District 4 council member Roy Runyon. Running unopposed for the time being in Bremerton are Mayor See CANDIDATES, A13