Review Bainbridge Island
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2013 | Vol. 113, No. 32 | www.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.com | 75¢ BHS RELAY TEAM TAKES FIRST | SHAYLA ARCHER DEFENDS TITLE IN BACKSTROKE
STATE CHAMPS!
Expanded Classifieds in Kitsap Week
Proposed retail center gets rejected UNANIMOUS ‘NO’ VOTE BY CECILIA GARZA Bainbridge Island Review
Brian Kelly | Bainbridge Island Review
The record-breaking Spartan relay team of Shayla Archer, Ani Duni, Candice Rosen and Allison Murphy approach the pool for the start of the 200-yard medley relay.
BHS finishes third in overall scores BY BRIAN KELLY
Bainbridge Island Review
The Spartans brought home a new batch of freshly minted state champions after the 3A state girls swimming and diving championships at King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way this past week. Bainbridge High senior Shayla Archer was a two-time champ; swimming the first leg in the record-breaking 200-yard medley relay with Ani Duni, Candice Rosen and Allison Murphy, followed by her second state title in the 100-yard backstroke. “It was awesome,” Spartan Coach Greg Colby said of his
COMPLETE COVERAGE INSIDE Turn to Pages A18-A19 for comprehensive coverage of the Spartans’ trip to the state swimming championships. team’s performance. Many other Spartans also medaled individually, and two other relay teams also found themselves on the awards podium; in the 200-yard freestyle and the 400-yard freestyle. “It was the most amazing experience,” said relay swimmer Murphy. “It’s like all your hard work pays off. It’s so gratifying.”
Brian Kelly | Bainbridge Island Review
Spartan Coach Greg Colby places a first-place medal on Shayla Archer after she defended her crown in the 100-yard backstroke.
The Bainbridge Island Planning Commission has unanimously rejected a proposed shopping center near High School Road and Highway 305. Commissioners said the new commercial center, which would include a Bartells drug store and a health services building, had design flaws that raised safety issues for drivers and pedestrians who would visit the shopping center and those who live and work nearby. Commissioners also questioned whether the new businesses were needed, and noted the project would “sacrifice” more than 800 trees and put children in the nearby Stonecress neighborhood at risk due to more traffic. The development has been in the works for more than a year. Visconsi Companies, based in Pepper “I can’t Pike, Ohio, builds imagine a community shopping centers and better approached city outcome than officials in 2012 the one we got.” with a plan for a 61,890-square-foot Ron Peltier shopping center Islanders for Responsible on a little more Development than 8 acres of land directly across from the McDonald’s on High School Road. The proposed project has been intensely opposed by some on Bainbridge. Opponents cheered the planning commission’s rejection of the project this week. “I can’t imagine a better outcome then what we got at last night’s meeting,” said Ron Peltier of Islanders for Responsible Development, a group that formed to fight the development after it was proposed. “This is a signal of a change in the way we do things on the island. It’s really about the Comprehensive Plan,” he said. “I think that was the question, are we going to take the Comprehensive Plan seriously or are we going to, as I think it has been the case for quite a while, ignore it and say it’s too vague? It’s all about the citizens saying this is the law, and turn to shopping center | A23