Herald North K itsap
Fall Time of your life: Your guide to mature living in Kitsap County
Friday, October 18, 2013 | Vol. 112, No. 42 | www.northkitsapherald.com | 50¢
In the Herald
Erickson runs uncontested
Heroin in kitsap Part two in a series
Heroin: injecting crime into Kitsap
Kitsap week KCMT rehearses “Annie” — Inside
By RICHARD D. OXLEY
roxley@northkitsapherald.com
sports Poulsbo runner breaks record — Page 8
moving
The North Kitsap Herald is moving downstairs to Suite 106, effective Friday. The street address, phone numbers and extensions are the same.
“It never occurred to me that I wouldn’t have an opponent,” Erickson said. “I’m honored and flattered because I think that’s kind of an endorsement that no one wants to run against me.” With her first term in office almost behind her, the mayor reflects on the past four years, and looks ahead to coming challenges.
When Chief Alan Townsend left his job at the Port Orchard Police Department in April to head the Poulsbo police force, he was fairly well apprised of the issues that Kitsap communities face. “Being that I was in the county for the last 14 years, I was pretty knowledgeable about the crimes around the county,” he said. “The expectation was an assortment of property crimes and drug related crimes with the occasional violent crime; very similar to most small cities.” The chief, however, was in for one shock. “But the heroin thing has been a huge surprise,” Townsend said. “If you talk to most people who have been in law enforcement for the last 25 years, much like me, I think they would all be surprised by the increase in heroin, a drug that used
See MAYOR, Page A7
See HEROIN, Page A2
Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson is running unopposed to keep her job at city hall.
Poulsbo’s mayor reflects on past, looks ahead BY RICHARD D. OXLEY
roxley@northkitsapherald.com
POULSBO — As Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson saw this year’s campaign season over the horizon, she figured she better
Adison Skaarer adds carrots to the cart as her mother, Kasi watches.
start getting prepared for another run. “I went to order up my fliers and got 1,000 printed up,” she said. “I was moving forward like I was going to have campaign.” But over the past few months, Erickson has found herself campaign free. She is running uncontested to keep her job at Poulsbo’s city hall.
Kipp Robertson / Herald
During shutdown, cuts in food stamps mean hard choices for families By LESLIE KELLY Bremerton Patriot
Leslie Kelly / Bremerton Patriot
For most families, $36 doesn’t seem like a lot of dough. For Kasi Skaarer and her family, it sometimes means the difference between having meat or cereal for dinner.
Skaarer’s family is one of hundreds of families in Kitsap County who rely on food stamps to be able to eat. A mother of two young children, with a working husband, she knows she has only a guaranteed $668 each See food stamps, Page A3
The Voice of North Kitsap since 1901. A winner of the 2013 Community Service Award, Washington Newspaper Publishers Association