Reporter Central Kitsap
Keep it classy Expanded classifieds inside Kitsap Week
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2013 | Vol. 28, No. 51 | www.CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.com | 50¢
CK fire chief wants county to make road a priority
Drop and cover
By Leslie Kelly lkelly@soundpublishing.com
Seraine Page /staff photo
Fourth and fifth grade students in Jennifer Roger’s class at Cougar Valley Elementary school practice their earthquake emergency response during a drill Wednesday. The Central Kitsap District school routinely drills for emergencies.
New Harrison Orthopaedic Center opens with tours and fanfare By Leslie Kelly lkelly@soundpublishing.com
For Ella Samuelson of Silverdale, Friday was kind of like a dress rehearsal. Samuelson, in her 80s, and her husband, W. Bruce Samuelson, were among those who got to take a first-look at The Orthopaedic Center at Harrison Medical Center last Friday during a public open house. “I’m going to be here in January for a knee replacement,” sa id Samuelson. “And I just wanted to see what the place is like.” Samuelson got the grand tour, just as did more than 500 people, said Jacquie Goodwill,
director of marketing and communications for Harrison. Another 500 VIP guests toured the center Friday evening during a wine reception. As Samuelson told, she was suppose to have her surgery last year, but another medical need had to come first. “I’m glad I had to put it off,” she said. “Because now I get to have it in this brand new place.” Indeed she will. The center is a state-of-theart surgical center where all orthopedic needs will be cared for. Among the surgeries that will be offered are knee and hip replacements, spinal surgeries, shoulder repair and replacements, hand surgeries including car-
Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue Chief Scott Weninger won the approval of the district’s commissioners to pursue talks with Kitsap County commissioners about reevaluating their view on the Lone Maple Lane NW extension project. At a meeting this week, Weninger told the commissioners that the county was now ranking that street project as 34th of 35 projects. While the project made the cut to still be in consideration for funding in the county’s six-year Transportation Improvement Programs, the district is worried that it won’t get done anytime
Leslie Kelly /staff photo
pal tunnel and care for broken bones. Teams of more than 100 orthopedic specialists from surgeons, nurses, and rehabilitation therapists will work
using the latest technology to diagnose and treat patients, according to the hospital’s website. The $29 million facilSee HARRISON, A13
See ROADS, A13
Tracyton property owners question development process By Leslie Kelly lkelly@soundpublishing.com
Visitors examine tools used in hip and knee replacements.
soon. “Without that street being completed, our response times are significantly affected,” Weninger said. “Decreased response times result in fire loss, as well as decreased emergency medical service survivability rates. Minutes are crucial to the outcome during emergencies.” Weninger said for several years, the district has been requesting that the county complete the road that is in the area of Station 42 in the Island Lake area at 14061 Central Valley Road NE. They want to see it extended from Silverdale Way to Central Valley
About 25 property owners near Tracyton, who are unhappy with the county’s process regarding a proposed development in their area, took on Kitsap County Community Development Director Larry Keeton this week. The group, who call themselves the Tracyton Wetlands Preservation Society, are upset that the county is working with Gig Harbor-based developer SMCI without keeping them informed. SMCI proposes nine single family residences be built on 1.65 acres near Tracyton Boulevard and Kint Drive. Jeff Reed of SMCI submitted his plans in March of this year, but
the county denied his project, citing that the short plat did not meet the county’s requirements concerning storm water and drainage mitigation. In May, Reed appealed that decision to the county’s hearing examiner and a hearing was set for July. But that hearing didn’t take place because the county’s hearing examiner asked Reed to meet with county development officials and begin negotiations to see if the project could be amended to meet the county’s requirements. Specifically, the developer would need to show the county that he has adequate plans to deal with the storm water runoff that will be produced once much of See TRACYTON, A13