Reporter Central Kitsap
PUPPY LOVE Event raises more than $200K for Humane Society Page 3
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2013 | Vol. 29, No. 1 | www.CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.com | 50¢
Ninth-graders possibly moving to high schools as early as next year By Seraine Page spage@soundpublishing.com
If all goes well, Central Kitsap District ninthgraders could be moving up to high schools as early as next fall. Currently, ninth grade students are a part of the middle-school setting. If moved, only seventh and eighth grade students will be left in the middle schools. Last Wednesday, the CK School Board voted to make the switch happen a year earlier than expected. As long as everything can be discussed in a timely matter, preferably before November, the district plans to move ahead. The meeting was held at Jackson Park Elementary School after board members toured the construction site of the new elementary school. “We wanted to make sure before we got too far down the road to get your blessing,” CK Interim Superintendent Hazel Bauman said to board
members of the decision. Bauman remarked that there are “dual issues” when it comes to moving the students to the high school level because the middle schools will have to deal with the loss and the high schools will need to accommodate the gain. Within the past week, district officials spoke with staff at the three middle schools, three high schools and alternative schools. After gathering information and hosting a districtwide meeting, a community forum is planned on Oct. 8 at 6:30 p.m. for parents to give input, Franklyn MacKenzie, director of secondary education said. If the feedback isn’t positive, a time out will be needed if a conclusion isn’t reached by November, Bauman said. However, the board seemed hopeful that the process would happen rather quickly since discussions have been going See ninth-Graders, A13
Silverdale REI taking shape
Leslie Kelly/Staff photo
Staffers at the new REI in Silverdale have been preparing for the store’s grand opening which is today. By Leslie Kelly lkelly@soundpublishing.com
Just inside the front door, a row of eager young people stand at cash registers with their tutors right behind them, watching their every move. In every direction from there, legions of employees and volunteers unpack and position everything from shoes to sleeping bags on brand new shiny shelving. And above it all, crews hang
scenic pictorials of people pursing outdoor activities. That was how it looked last week as the new Silverdale REI prepared for its grand opening which is today. According to store manager Greta Eaton Caulfield, at the strike of 10 a.m., the doors will open to the public for the first time. “We’re just so excited,” she said. “It’s a really big thing for REI to be in Silverdale our first store on the Kitsap Peninsula.”
Caulfield was chosen to manage the store after a 20 year career with REI. In that time she’s been a store manager Grand Junction, Colo., and Sandy, Utah, just outside Salt Lake City. But this, the third store she’s opened and been manager of from day one, is special to her. She’s coming home. “I grew up in Forks,” she said. “I remember driving through Silverdale when it was just a road with a gas station and a market. When
I was in high school, the (Kitsap) mall went in and that was where we always went to shop for new school clothes.” Her first task was to oversee hiring of 50 employees. REI received more than 800 applications and those who were hired range in age from 16 to 66. They come from all around the peninsula, including Bainbridge Island, Poulsbo, and Port Orchard, and are students, professional sports enthusiasts and some who have come out of retirement to work at REI. This is the ninth store for REI in the Puget Sound and the company, which began in 1938, has more than 20,000 members who live on the Kitsap Peninsula. “Finally there is a store here so that our members don’t have to go to Seattle or Tacoma to shop,” Caulfield said. “We’ve wanted to have a store over here for some time, but until now, we just couldn’t find the right location.” The store, at 10903 NW Myhre Place, is where the former Kitsap Sports was located. REI is leasing the building from the owner of that business. There is 15,000 square feet of space, about 3,000 more See REI, A13
Government shutdown hits Kitsap County hard By KEVAN MOORE kmoore@soundpublishing.com
The shutdown of the federal government at midnight on Tuesday has created huge impacts in Kitsap County. Approximately 3,500 workers at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility were furloughed Tuesday. Captain James Lee, the Acting Commander at PSNS & IMF, took to Facebook Monday night to warn workers about what was in store following Congress’ failure to reach a compromise to keep federal agencies
funded. “It is difficult for me to give you news of what will occur tomorrow if government funding expires tonight, and I want to make it clear that furlough decisions are directed by law, not the Navy,” Lee wrote. “They are not a reflection of the importance of your work, the hard effort you put forth every day, or your dedicated service to PSNS & IMF and our nation.” Congressman Derek Kilmer bemoaned the shutdown on Tuesday and announced that he will give up his pay for the duration of
the shutdown. “The fact that some in Congress would risk a shutdown in order to score political points demonstrates why Congress is currently held in lower regard than head lice,” Kilmer said. “I’m voluntarily giving up my own pay during this shutdown because I believe in leading by example. Unfortunately, many federal employees in our region unfortunately won’t have a say about losing theirs. They’ll be furloughed and lose pay through no fault of their own. These employees and the folks who depend on their work deserve better.”
Kilmer’s office says that the government shutdown will cause roughly half of the government’s civilian workforce, about 1.2 million employees to face furloughs. Additionally, national parks will close, veterans’ disability payments may be disrupted, and there will be a suspension of approval of applications for Small Business Loans. It is estimated bt Kilmer’s office that a government shutdown will cost taxpayers $150 million a day. Kilmer’s office also noted that one of his first actions in Congress was to break with members of his party to vote for a plan
called No Budget, No Pay – a plan that would withhold pay from Members of Congress if Congress doesn’t pass a budget. The 3,500 furloughed shipyard workers are described as “non-excepted” and they were placed in non-duty, non-pay status and are not allowed to work on a voluntary basis. The effects of the shutdown go beyond the shipyard, though. At Naval Base Kitsap, 97 of 453 civilian employees have been furloughed, according to Chief Petty Officer Daniel Pearson, public affairs officer for
Navy Region Northwest. Employees assigned to fire and emergency services are not furloughed; Naval Base Kitsap has six fire stations and two police stations. At Naval Facilities Engineering Command Northwest, “137 employees will be receiving a furlough letter sometime today,” public affairs officer Leslie Yuenger said Tuesday. NAVFAC NW headquarters is located on Naval Base Kitsap — Bangor. The federal shutdown’s impact at the Department of Social and Health Services is See SHUTDOWN, A13