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Preview of 2013 South Kitsap High’s football team Inside
Port Orchard
Both sides report feeling harassed in rift over home business.
Neighbor denies pellet gun shooting
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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
FRIDAY, August 30, 2013 n Vol. 122, No. 34 n www.portorchardindependent.com n 50¢
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▼ Matthes, Garrido advance in SK commissioner race; Dalton, Danielson in judicial contest.
By CHARLIE BERMANT
Staff Writer
SEE UPSETS, PAGE A2
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).
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Custodians won’t be replaced, $1.72 million will be taken from reserve fund.
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By DANNIE OLIVEAUX
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See Strike, A29
CHARLOTTE GARRIDO
district is reporting a budget shortfall for the upcoming school year because of declining enrollment, which means less money coming from the state. After the meeting, SKEA spokesperson Judy Arbogast told reporters that teachers have been unhappy for a long time. “It’s about the kids,” Arbogast said. “We just reached our limit.” Arbogast said the district’s classroom sizes are larger than other districts on the Kitsap Peninsula. “We need to be able to address their (students) needs as well as the curriculum needs and requirements put on us,” she said.
TIM MATTHES
Talks continue between South Kitsap School District officials and the local teachers’ union, in hopes in reaching a contract agreement before the Aug. 31 deadline. During a three-hour meeting Monday night, South Kitsap Education Association members voted to strike if an agreement is not reached before Saturday’s deadline. Nearly 78 percent of the group voted in favor of a strike. About 90 percent of the members attended the meeting. SKEA reported that of the 446 members who voted, 346 voted in favor of the strike, while 94 opposed and six abstained. The teachers’ union wants smaller classroom sizes and for the district to hire more teachers. The
BRUCE DANIELSON
For the latest updates, visit www.skitsap.wednet.edu
JEANETTE DALTON
Editor
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 crash, A29
Teachers vote to strike if agreement is not reached; talks continue in SKSD-SKEA contract negotiations 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
Funeral services were held Tuesday at Christian Life Center for a Port Orchard woman who died from injuries sustained in a car accident last week in Oregon. Ashleigh Camille Williams, 21, died Aug. 22 at the Oregon Health and Science University from injuries suffered in a Aug. 19 traffic crash along Interstate 84, east of Pendleton. Oregon State Police reported Williams was driving a Nissan Ma x i m a e a s t bound on Interstate 84 near milepost 211 about 10:44 a.m. Williams when the crash occurred. Troopers reported the car drifted toward the center median and the driver lost control as she tried to move back toward the traffic lanes. The vehicle crashed into a guardrail before coming to rest in a ditch. Williams, a 2010 South Kitsap High School graduate, was transported by ambulance to St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton and then transferred by air ambulance to the Portland hospital.
By CHRIS CHANCELLOR
Editor
Staff Writer
By DANNIE OLIVEAUX
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
Services held Tuesday for 2010 SK grad
Start of school in jeopardy 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
Woman killed in Oregon crash
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-
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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.
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A Section Editorial Robert Meadows Scene & Heard Sports Legal Notices Mary Colborn Obituaries
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INSIDE Questions raised about hospital at Rotary meeting A3 SPORTS Chamber seeking nominations for annual awards A5 BUSINESS New store offers vintage decor and unique items A8
Dannie Oliveaux/Staff Photo
Judy Arbogast, left, and Lora-Jean Piper, talk to reporters after SKEA members voted to strike if a contract agreement is not reached by the Aug. 31 deadline.
City council appoints Cartwright to fill vacancy By DANNIE OLIVEAUX Editor
The city has a new councilmember. During Tuesday’s meeting, the Port Orchard City Council voted unanimously to appoint Jeff Cartwright to fill the Position 1 seat vacated by Jim Colebank, who resigned in July because he was moving outside the city. He will fill the unexpired term, which ends Dec. 31, 2015. Councilman John Clauson was absent from the meeting.
“I’m excited to serve the community and looking forward to doing work for the city. I don’t want to squander this opportunity.” – Jeff Cartwright Cartwright, along with Kim Punt and Trish Tierney, was one of the three finalists the council interviewed Friday.
The new councilmember said he had the opportunity, security and time in his life to dedicate for service. “It was a grueling process and I think the council had a tough decision,” Cartwright said. “I’m excited to serve the community and looking forward to doing work for the city. I don’t want to squander this opportunity.” Cartwright said he’s been a city resident for more than three years. “But I’ve always considered myself a Port Orchard resident since 1996,” he added.
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Cartwright, a California native, has worked with Kitsap Transit since 1995 and has been the human resource director for the past seven years. With Cartwright’s appointment, the council now has three members with ties to Kitsap Transit. Cartwright works as the human resource director, while Clauson is the executive director and Councilman Rob Putaansuu is a member of the board of commissioners. See council, A29