Patriot Bremerton
Don’t forget: ‘Spring forward’ for clocks is this Sunday
FRIDAY, MARCH 7, 2014 | Vol. 17, No. 4 WWW.BREMERTONPATRIOT.COM | 50¢
Officer resigns amidst internal investigations Sexual misconduct, dishonesty alleged BY KEVAN MOORE KMOORE@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
As last year drew to a close, a longtime Bremerton Police Officer quietly resigned in lieu of termination in the midst of two separate internal affairs investigations. Documents obtained by the Patriot through a public records
request outline the investigations into Officer Alan Hornburg’s conduct while on duty. Hornburg resigned Dec. 6, just four days after an investigation began into allegations that while working in uniform he received oral sex from a woman approximately once or twice a month over the last two to three years. A different investigation, spearheaded by two Internal Affairs officers from the Tacoma Police Department, was initiated following an incident at the Oyster Bay
Inn this past October. Allegations in that case stem from Hornburg’s reportedly slow response to the high-priority call while he was the officer-in-charge and alleged dishonesty in later explaining his behavior. Neither investigation was completed due to Hornburg’s resignation. He first joined BPD in Nov. 1979 and his official retirement date was Dec. 31, according to the Bremerton Human Resources Department. According to heavily redacted
documents, the investigation into Hornburg’s sexual misconduct while on the job was initiated by a third party who said Hornburg may have had sexual relations with a woman who was later identified and interviewed. The woman, whose identity has been redacted from the reports, told investigators that she has been in an on-again, off-again intimate relationship with Hornburg for 30 years and that relationship became more intimate in the last decade. She said she never had intercourse
with Hornburg while he was on duty. Apart from Hornburg touching her through her clothes, no sexual activity occurred in a police vehicle, according to the woman. The unidentified woman said she performed oral sex on Hornburg one or two times a month over the last two to three years at the bunkers at NAD Park. She also performed oral sex on him two to three times in the last year at the watershed. Despite spendSEE OFFICER, A9
Navy museum earns national accreditation BY LESLIE KELLY
LKELLY@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
Kevan Moore/Staff photo
Bremerton resident Cowen Ross, 2, was one of several youngsters on the smallest field at the Olympic Soccer and Sports Center on Tuesday evening.
New group looks to take over soccer center BY KEVAN MOORE
KMOORE@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
A new group of investors is looking to take over operations at the Olympic Soccer and Sports Center at Pendergast Park, a city owned property. The Bremerton city council was set to hold the first of two public hearings this week regarding a new agreement. A group of investors under the OSSC name has operated the facility since 2001, but a new
group, called Keystone Financial Management, Inc., is hoping to take over. Under the terms of the proposal, Keystone will operate the facility for the next three years under a sub-concession agreement, make various improvements and ultimately take over the lease that OSSC has in place with the city. The city leases the space for $1,200 per month, a rate that is adjusted annually for inflation, and also collects a leasehold excise tax. Also as
part of the lease, the city is guaranteed 150 hours of use at the facility for recreation programs. Dennis Michael, a representative of the OSSC group, declined to comment on the possible lease change, preferring to wait until the public process plays itself out a bit more. Bremerton Parks Director Wyn Birkenthal says that OSSC is current on all payments to the city. SEE SOCCER, A9
“A badge of honor.” That’s what the professional staff at the Puget Sound Navy Museum calls the American Alliance of Museums’ accreditation. Museum officials recently announced that the Puget Sound Navy Museum in downtown Bremerton has earned its accreditation. “When we heard, we were just so pleased,” said Danelle Eaton, assistant director and curator. “We celebrated.” The accreditation is something that sets them apart from most museums, in that only about 7 percent of museums in the nation complete the process and get the credentials. Of the nation’s estimated 17,500 museums, 1,005 are currently accredited. The Puget Sound Navy Museum is one of only fourteen museums accredited in Washington. “This was the first time we applied,” she said. “And because we only became an official Navy Museum in the spring of 2008, we are one of the youngest museums to receive accreditation.” According to the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the process is a rigorous one that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations. To earn accreditation, a museum first
must conduct a year of selfstudy, then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. AAM’s Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, review and evaluate the self-study and visiting committee report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation. While the time to complete the process varies by museum, it generally takes three years. For the Puget Sound Navy Museum, the process took about a year. “We had to put together an extensive report,” Eaton said. “Included were our policies and our plans, photographs of our collections and a narrative about our programs.” In all, the report was more than 1,000 pages. Soon after it was sent off, a committee came for a two-day visit to see the museum. “They’ve seen the process on paper,” she said. “But then they come to see that we are really following them in our day-to-day work. They look at our collections and the evaluate whether we are doing what we say we are.” The staff of four paid professionals was told late last year that the museum would receive accreditation, the highest national recognition for a museum.
Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies and to the museum-going public. “Accreditation assures the people of Bremerton that their museum is among the finest in the nation,” said Ford W. Bell, president of the Alliance. “As a result, the citizens can take considerable pride in their homegrown institution, for its commitment to excellence and for the value it brings to the community.” The idea for the Puget Sound Navy Museum was first proposed by Karl Wood in 1951. Wood, a “Shop 07 Plannerman” at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, noticed that the shipyard’s five-minute warning bell was just sitting near where he worked, as was a collection of photographs documenting the development of the shipyard since its establishment in 1891. According to a history written by Eaton, Wood speculated that there were plenty of items suitable for a shipyard museum. A section of the local naval recreation facility known as the Craven Center was reserved to house the museum. It opened to visitors Dec. 3, 1954, with 600 artifacts. Since that time, the museum has moved four times and the SEE MUSEUM, A9