Patriot Bremerton
FRIDAY, JULY 12, 2013 | Vol. 16, No. 23 www.bremertonpatriot.com | 50¢
Ready for her close-up
BACK ON TRACK The Kitsap Pumas get 2-1 win over the Crossfire Page 8
Council candidate says he’s ‘dropping out of the race’ By KEVAN MOORE
kmoore@soundpublishing.com
MCSN Jose Hernandez/ USS Stennis photo
The USS John C. Stennis is currently in dry dock at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, where sailors and shipyard workers will have access to the ship below the waterline for maintenance, repairs and refurbishments.
The Bremerton residency of city council candidate Keith R a nbu rger, who has filed to run for a District 5 seat, has been challenged and the candidate says he plans to drop out of the race. Bremerton resident Darryl Daugs, whose wife, Leslie, is running unopposed for re-election to the city council, filed the challenge June 6 at the Kitsap County Auditor’s Office. Mr. Daugs is one of two principals at BiggDaug, LLC, a political consulting and campaign management services
firm run by himself and Mark Biggs. Ranburger said this week that he is aware of the challenge. “I’m dropping out of (the race),” he said. “I gotta get my act together and take care of it.” K itsap Cou nt y Au d i t o r Wa l t Washington said a hearing on the residency challenge was held in which Daugs showed up, but Ranburger did not. Washington did not oversee the hearing after recusing himself following a request by the local Republican Pa r t y. I n s te ad , Washington’s deputy See CANDIDATE, A13
Mayor promises Effort to remove trees taking root documents, doesn’t deliver By KEVAN MOORE
kmoore@soundpublishing.com
The last time there was a public meeting in Bremerton to discuss the possible removal of trees on Fourth Street between Park and Pacific, it was literally standing-roomonly inside the mayor’s sixthfloor conference room. The next time there is a meeting in Bremerton regarding the possibility of removing trees on Fourth Street, the public isn’t invited. Instead, a newly formed “Tree Committee” will meet behind closed doors at 4 p.m. Monday, July 15, at the city’s Public Works and Utilities Oyster Bay facility. Milenka Hawkins-Bates, an administration division manager from Public Works, will lead the committee. “In my past life I was the public works director for
the city of Sonoma and was responsible for the street trees and the trees in the cemeteries and parks,” she said. “We had a very active tree committee that I was involved with and I feel comfortable that I can work with all of the city departments, businesses and community members.” Hawkins-Bates said that her boss, Public Works Director Chal Martin, who has called for the removal of the trees on Fourth Street, is not on the committee “per se, but I will be briefing him and if needed he will attend meetings.” Martin has said it’s only a matter of time before the trees will have to be removed. Hawkins-Bates said Mayor Patty Lent is also not on the committee, but will be attending the July 15 session. See TREE, A13
By KEVAN MOORE kmoore@soundpublishing.com
Kevan Moore/Staff Photo
One of the few tripping hazards on Fourth Street remains next to where a cedar was removed by city crews in April. Officials are calling for the removal of the remaining trees.
After more than a week of requests and repeatedly unfulfilled promises, Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent has not been able to produce what has been described by her and others in published media reports as a request to the United States Navy to approve a years-long effort to allow a bicycle trail and greenbelt between Bremerton and Gorst. Mayor Lent said she sent a letter to the Navy urging them to allow the Sinclair Inlet Trail Project to move forward and that Rear Admiral Mark Rich wrote her back, outlining the Navy’s reasons for
nixing the effort. Since efforts got underway in earnest several years ago, the Navy has seemed to have had other ideas regarding the tightly controlled rail corridor that can be used to transport nuclear material. That seems to have ultimately doomed the popular shoreline project which was found to be in compliance with Kitsap County’s Shoreline Master Program and was also supported by the Kitsap Trees and Shoreline Association and the National Park Service. Many supporters were hoping that the mayor could sway the Navy after five years’ worth of effort. See DOCUMENTS, A13