Reporter Central Kitsap
Bat boys Olympic out after first round loss Page 9
FRIDAY, MAY 24, 2013 | Vol. 28, No. 35 | www.CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.com | 50¢
School board choice met with skepticism
Taking in the parade
By WES MORROW wmorrow@soundpublishing.com
Kevan Moore/staff photo
Port Orchard resident Tyson Bryant, 12, dressed up as Uncle Sam for the Armed Forces Day Parade in downtown Bremerton this past Saturday. The parade is the oldest of its kind in the United States. More photos at www.centralkitsapreporter.com.
REI executive hopes new store will encourage folks to get outside By Leslie Kelly lkelly@soundpublishing.com
The new Silverdale REI Store, scheduled to open in October, is an opportunity for REI to support the Kitsap Peninsula with services, classes and stewardship. That’s the message Kevin Golic brought to members of the Kitsap Peninsula Visitor and Convention Bureau at its annual meeting on Wednesday. Golic is REI’s retail director for Washington and Alaska and he said that REI had been looking to locate in the Kitsap area for more than seven years. “We had a number of locations we were looking at, but for various reasons the deals weren’t working out,” he said. “That’s why we’re so excited to get a store open here.” REI announced last November its plans to open a 24,500-square-foot store at the intersection of NW Randall Way
and Myhre Place NW. It is in the location that was previously Kitsap Sports, near Home Depot. The Silverdale REI store is expected to employ 50 people. Kevin Golic It will have a full line of winter and summer gear including equipment for sale and rental and clothing. Repair facilities for equipment including bicycles and winter sports gear will be offered. And there will be an area for clinics and classes, some of which will be provided by REI staff and some that will be taught by experts that REI will bring in. The store ia a needed convenience for the more than 15,000 members of REI who live on the Kitsap Peninsula, Golic said. “That’s part of it,” he said. “We wanted to provide them with a store that’s closer
to them. Being over here will save them ferry time and the expense of coming to Seattle to shop. It’s a matter of customer service.” Golic said he hopes the store will also engage others to try outdoor activities. “Part of the focus is to introduce people to the outdoors,” he said. “There is so much over here and with our classes, we hope that more people will come out and learn about new things, or try new sports that they’ve had an interest in, but nowhere to go to learn about them.” Golic also said the Kitsap Peninsula is a location where outdoor enthusiasts from Seattle and the East side travel to for enjoyment. “Kitsap is really nice,” he said. “The amount of trails that are here and the improvements to them in the past five years is just amazing. There’s a place for anyone who wants to hike, bike or run. See REI, A13
On May 8, Jeanie Schulze was appointed in a 3-1 vote to fill a vacant seat on the Central Kitsap School Board. But before Schulze had even taken the oath of office her position on the school board was being called into question. Lack of support may be the least of her problems, though, as she may face a civil suit from a union member for defamation of character. Michael Woods, a teacher at Central Kitsap High School, said prior to the appointment that he feared Schulze was too contentious of a choice to fill the seat. “She comes with baggage,” he said. Christy Cathcart, the former school board mem-
ber whose seat Schulze was appointed to fill, expressed her own disappointment just minutes after the decision was made. Cathcart read aloud her opinion for the school board and gathered community members: “In the election of 2011 the community spoke and clearly communicated their preference for director District 4,” Cathcart said. “It appears to me that the majority of the current board did not listen and hear the community’s message.” Each of these comments came before Schulze ever took a position or cast a vote as a member of the board. The problems seemed to stem primarily from a public letter Schulze wrote and preSee SCHULZE, A13
Changes coming to Fairgrounds Road By WES MORROW wmorrow@soundpublishing.com
Roads near the Kitsap Fairgrounds will look a little different in coming years. Kitsap County Public Works is planning to implement two significant changes to Fairgrounds and Central Valley roads. The changes come as part of an update to the county’s Transportation Improvement Program, a six-year planning list of road projects throughout Kitsap County. The proposed changes in the Fairgrounds area include a left-turn lane on Central Valley Road and sidewalks on Fairgrounds Road between Central Valley and Nels Nelson roads. Sidewalk construction is
scheduled for completion by 2017. The raised walkways will cover Fairgrounds Road for the entire half-mile stretch between the two streets. Transportation engineer Jeff Shea is part of the group that determines which projects receive priority. He said Public Works decided to construct the sidewalks there because the shoulders are so narrow, and because the road serves a large amount of pedestrian traffic. That pedestrian traffic originates primarily from fairgrounds events and students walking to school. The stretch of road between Nels Nelson and Central Valley lies within the coverage area of three schools: Olympic High See CHANGES, A13