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Both sides report feeling harassed in rift over home business.
Neighbor denies pellet gun shooting
Port Orchard ▼
By JUSTINE FREDERIKSEN
Staff Writer
Independent
Tensions between two Port Orchard neighbors that erupted after one attempted to open a home business last year led both women to head down to the Kitsap County Courthouse Monday and file restraining orders against each other. Shelia Cronan, 49, said she filed a restraining order against Amber Keehn after returning home from a camping trip Aug. 17 and discovering pellets had been
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FRIDAY, June 28, 2013 n Vol. 122, No. 25 n www.portorchardindependent.com n 50¢
Council members will look next month at a resolution to ask voters if they want to change the city’s status and form of government. They will look at the issue at the July 9 meeting. During the past few months, the Council has been discussing whether to let voters decide on changing the city’s status from a
second-class city to a code city and charging the mayorcouncil form to a city manager-council. City Attorney Greg Jacoby said in order to have it placed on the November ballot, the Council needs to decide on the issue at its July 23 meeting. Deadline for ballot measure is Aug. 6. Councilman Rob Putaansuu, who supports the measures being placed on the November ballot, said both the school board and fire commissioners search for the best qualified people to head their districts. “For me, it’s about professional management,” Putaansuu said. “It would be
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Editor
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▼ Matthes, Garrido advance in SK commissioner race; Dalton, Danielson in judicial contest.
Editor
By CHARLIE BERMANT
By DANNIE OLIVEAUX
CHARLOTTE GARRIDO
BRUCE DANIELSON
By DANNIE OLIVEAUX
Staff Writer
TIM MATTHES
JEANETTE DALTON
New skate park attracts thousands during dedication
T
Some Council members say measures should be separated on ballot
Dannie Oliveaux/Staff Photo
People attending Saturday’s grand opening of the South Kitsap Skate Park watch as a young male skateboarder goes airborne. An estimated 3,000 people gathered for the one-day event.
housands of people of all ages — many armed with skateboards, BMX bikes and roller skates — converged Saturday for the grand opening of the new state-of-the-art South Kitsap Skate Park. The large crowd was welcomed by sunny skies and warm temperatures. Park Project Coordinator Ric Catron, of the Kitsap County Park and Recreation, said he estimated about 3,000 people were in attendance at last Saturday’s event. State Rep. Jan Angel and Kitsap County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido also were on hand for the ceremony and ribbon cutting, along with Park and Recreation offi-
Council feels voters need say in city changes
Expectations were turned on their head in two Kitsap County political contests during Tuesday night’s primary election, as the perceived front-runners came in third and were disqualified in their respective races. Republican Tim Matthes drew the most votes in the South Kitsap commissioner’s race, followed by Democrat Charlotte Garrido. Monty Mahan, who was the first to declare for the seat and earned the endorsement of local mayors, came in third (See related story, page A3).
SEE UPSETS, PAGE A2
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Custodians won’t be replaced, $1.72 million will be taken from reserve fund.
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By CHRIS CHANCELLOR
See slide show online
and pension rates along with inflation as issues. In addition to the money saved on custodians, Patton said the district will dip into its reserve fund for $1.72 million. She said that’s not all bad because the district saved more than it anticipated in its last fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31. Patton said they also will save through not filling other vacant positions in the district, and through cutting expenses on supplies. The board unanimously adopted the budget. Patton warned in previous meetings that the “hard decisions” likely won’t end
See POOL, A33
SEE SCHOOL, PAGE A2
activities she reported as stemming from Keehn’s attempts to operate a business out of her home. Weaver said following an April 11 hearing with the city’s Hearing Examiner, certain conditions were placed on Keehn’s permit to mitigate Cronan’s concerns before she would be allowed to operate her business. “(Keehn) has addressed all but one of those conditions, with the last being the letter from the (Kitsap County) Health Department,” Weaver said, explaining that Keehn’s current sewer facilities are
SEE NEIGHBORS, PAGE A2
The South Kitsap Community Pool will be closed this August for maintenance. The pool, located at the South Kitsap High School campus, has routinely closed for a couple weeks every year for cleaning and maintenance, but this year they are taking a different strategy. Because of iron oxide in the water and some old, rusted valves that will be replaced as part of the repairs, the floor and walls of the pool have been stained a “tea-like color,” said Tom O’Brien, director of facilities and operations for the South Kitsap School District (SKSD). “We’re going to line the pool with a new surface,” O’Brien said. “We’re also looking to try and paint the ceiling…to try and brighten the place up. We want to improve the visibility and light in there so people can really see what’s going on in the water.” Sandy Rotella, the SKSD’s chief financial officer, said that money will be pulled out of the district’s reserve fund until the levy money comes in. The recent levy had allotted money in the budget for these repairs, but the school district will not receive those funds until 2014, and so the school board declared the repairs to be “urgent” in order to be able to take money out of the reserves to pay for it. When the levy money is received, the money
Staff Writer
Staff Writer
Jesse Beals/Staff Photo
chasing it last spring. City Development Director James Weaver confirmed that Keehn received a conditional-use permit to operate a onechair hair salon out of her home, which he described as “pretty innocuous” and something that doesn’t typically reach “the level of intensive use,” as far as impacts on the neighborhood are concerned. However, since November of 2007, Cronan has filed multiple complaints with the city regarding traffic, noise and other
By MICHELLE BEAHM
The South Kitsap School District is a little closer to closing its $2.9 million deficit for the upcoming school year. Terri Patton, assistant superintendent for business and support services, said at Wednesday’s school board meeting that the district won’t replace five full-time custodians who left the district after the last school year. She said that will save the district $250,000. Patton said the deficit stems from unforeseen circumstances when the district presented its last levy to voters in 2004. She cited escalating teacher salaries
SK pool closing for repairs in August shot in three of her home’s windows. Cronan, who lives on the 200 block of Flower Meadows Street in Port Orchard, said she believed the attack was part of an ongoing dispute with Keehn, whom she alleges has been running a hair salon out of her home without a business license and in defiance of a city “stop-work” order. Keehn, 30, said she filed for permission from the city of Port Orchard to operate a hair salon out of her home on the 2300 block of Flower Avenue soon after pur-
SOUTH KITSAP’S SOURCE FOR LOCAL NEWS AND INFORMATION SINCE 1890
Cody Wright from Milford, Utah, got a mouth full of mud and a zero score after falling off Strawberry Delight in the Saddle Bronc Riding competition Wednesday night at the Kitsap County Stampede. The fair runs through Sunday.
Inside
A Section Editorial Robert Meadows Scene & Heard Sports Legal Notices Mary Colborn Obituaries
Inserts: Fred Meyer, RiteAid, Office Depot, Best Buy, Staples, Wal-Mart, Valassis
Printed with recycled paper and environmentally friendly soybean oil-based ink.
FATHOMS O’FUN FESTIVAL • JUNE 28, 29 & 30 GRAND FIREWORKS SHOW • JULY 4 • 10:30 PM
See COUNCIL, A31
Search continues for body reported in water off marina Staff report
Dannie Oliveaux/Staff Photo
State Rep. Jan Angel (left) and Kitsap County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido cut the ribbon during the skate park’s dedication ceremony on Saturday. cials, City of Port Orchard officials and members of the county park board. Angel was a Kitsap County commissioner
when efforts for the skate park began. “When I drove by last
Law enforcement personnel are waiting for a body discovered in the water to resurface this week, after searchers spent the weekend looking for the victim. According to Deputy Scott Wilson, Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, a person on a yacht discovered the body in the water about 6:15 p.m. Friday, June 21, while sailing near the Port Orchard Marina. Wilson said when the person tried to retrieve the body, but it sank underwater. Boats from KCSO, Port Orchard Police Department and the U.S. Coast Guard, along with divers, searched for the body until late Friday evening. Divers and boat crews returned to the water Saturday morning, along with a Coast Guard helicopter, to continue the search for the body, said Port Orchard Police Chief Geoffrey Marti.
See park, A31
South Kitsap’s Source for News & Information Since 1890
See body, A35