Cody Wright from Milford, Utah, got a mouth full of mud and a zero score after falling off Strawberry Delight in the Saddle Bronc Riding competition Wednesday night at the Kitsap County Stampede. The fair runs through Sunday.
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A Section Editorial Robert Meadows Scene & Heard Sports Legal Notices Mary Colborn Obituaries
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INSIDE Gate should open once county park reopens A3
INSIDE Local libraries SPORTS Many still hosting open houses unhappy with state on Saturday A8 hoop format A18
Keep it classy Expanded classifieds inside Kitsap Week
Both sides report feeling harassed in rift over home business.
Neighbor denies pellet gun shooting
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By JUSTINE FREDERIKSEN
Staff Writer
Tensions between two Port Orchard neighbors that erupted after one attempted to open a home business last year led both women to head down to the Kitsap County Courthouse Monday and file restraining orders against each other. Shelia Cronan, 49, said she filed a restraining order against Amber Keehn after returning home from a camping trip Aug. 17 and discovering pellets had been
FRIDAY, APRIL 18, 2014 N VOL. 123, NO. 12 N WWW.PORTORCHARDINDEPENDENT.COM N 50¢
By DANNIE OLIVEAUX Editor
CHARLOTTE GARRIDO
BRUCE DANIELSON
Dannie Oliveaux/Staff Photo
Three-year-old Angeline Morton rustles through some hay to find candy during the Spring Fling on April 12 at the New Beginnings Family Christian Center in South Kitsap. The girl left with several pieces of candy for her enjoyment.
felon, has been arrested 19 times. “Detectives conducted continuous follow-up work on tips and leads that were generated through criminal intelligence and media exposure of the crime,” Wilson said. A search warrant was served on a residence in the 1000 block of Burwell Street in Bremerton, the home of a person identified as a possible suspect in the burglary. Evidentiary items connected to the crime scene were located. With specific details for probable cause for an arrest, information was transmitted to West Sound law enforcement agencies concerning the suspect’s identity. Wilson said Mason County Sheriff ’s deputies stopped and detained two
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TIM MATTHES
JEANETTE DALTON
A Bremerton man will face felony charges in connection with an April 9 burglary of a Gorst area gun store. Matthew Howard Wright, 24, was charged April 14 with two counts of theft of firearms, second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm and second-degree burglary in Kitsap County District Court. Wright remains in the Kitsap County Jail and his bail was set at $250,000. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 29. Wright was arrested April 12 following an investigation by Kitsap County Sheriff ’s Office deputies, according to KCSO spokesman Deputy Scott Wilson. Court documents stated that Wright, a convicted
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▼ Matthes, Garrido advance in SK commissioner race; Dalton, Danielson in judicial contest.
By CHARLIE BERMANT
Staff Writer
Expectations were turned on their head in two Kitsap County political contests during Tuesday night’s primary election, as the perceived front-runners came in third and were disqualified in their respective races. Republican Tim Matthes drew the most votes in the South Kitsap commissioner’s race, followed by Democrat Charlotte Garrido. Monty Mahan, who was the first to declare for the seat and earned the endorsement of local mayors, came in third (See related story, page A3).
SEE UPSETS, PAGE A2
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Custodians won’t be replaced, $1.72 million will be taken from reserve fund.
• The South Kitsap Fire and Rescue and South Kitsap Professional Firefighters Union (IAFF Local 2819) will host the 51st annual Olalla Easter Breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon Sunday, April 20, at Olalla Fire Station No. 12, 8696 Olalla Valley Rd. Tickets are $5 for adults and $4 for children. Proceeds benefit community members in need.
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• The Port Orchard Public Market, 715 Bay St., will host an egg hunt at noon Sunday. The event is free to the public.
By CHRIS CHANCELLOR
• The 22nd annual Easter Egg Hunt in the Park, hosted by Fathoms o’ Fun, is set for noon Saturday at the South Kitsap Regional Park Playground. Last year, more than 450 children participated in the event. Sign up at 11 a.m. For more information, go to www.fathomsofun.org.
Staff Writer
• South Kitsap Fire and Rescue and South Kitsap Professional Firefighters Union (IAFF Local 2819) will host an Easter Egg Hunt at 10 a.m. Saturday at Olalla Elementary School and Triangle Park. Children age 8 and younger will hunt for eggs at the school, while those older than 8 will be at Triangle Park.
and pension rates along with inflation as issues. In addition to the money saved on custodians, Patton said the district will dip into its reserve fund for $1.72 million. She said that’s not all bad because the district saved more than it anticipated in its last fiscal year, which ends Aug. 31. Patton said they also will save through not filling other vacant positions in the district, and through cutting expenses on supplies. The board unanimously adopted the budget. Patton warned in previous meetings that the “hard decisions” likely won’t end
Here is a list of local Easter egg hunts:
SEE SCHOOL, PAGE A2
activities she reported as stemming from Keehn’s attempts to operate a business out of her home. Weaver said following an April 11 hearing with the city’s Hearing Examiner, certain conditions were placed on Keehn’s permit to mitigate Cronan’s concerns before she would be allowed to operate her business. “(Keehn) has addressed all but one of those conditions, with the last being the letter from the (Kitsap County) Health Department,” Weaver said, explaining that Keehn’s current sewer facilities are
SEE NEIGHBORS, PAGE A2
There are several Easter egg hunts this weekend on Saturday and Sunday, April 19 and 20, in Port Orchard and South Kitsap.
The South Kitsap School District is a little closer to closing its $2.9 million deficit for the upcoming school year. Terri Patton, assistant superintendent for business and support services, said at Wednesday’s school board meeting that the district won’t replace five full-time custodians who left the district after the last school year. She said that will save the district $250,000. Patton said the deficit stems from unforeseen circumstances when the district presented its last levy to voters in 2004. She cited escalating teacher salaries
chasing it last spring. City Development Director James Weaver confirmed that Keehn received a conditional-use permit to operate a onechair hair salon out of her home, which he described as “pretty innocuous” and something that doesn’t typically reach “the level of intensive use,” as far as impacts on the neighborhood are concerned. However, since November of 2007, Cronan has filed multiple complaints with the city regarding traffic, noise and other
Easter egg hunts, breakfast scheduled
Man faces felony charges in gun store burglary
HUNTING FOR CANDY Jesse Beals/Staff Photo
shot in three of her home’s windows. Cronan, who lives on the 200 block of Flower Meadows Street in Port Orchard, said she believed the attack was part of an ongoing dispute with Keehn, whom she alleges has been running a hair salon out of her home without a business license and in defiance of a city “stop-work” order. Keehn, 30, said she filed for permission from the city of Port Orchard to operate a hair salon out of her home on the 2300 block of Flower Avenue soon after pur-
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Independent Port Orchard
SEE BURGLARY, A19
Angel’s first Senate session had ‘learning curve’ This is the first of a two-part series of an interview with Sen. Jan Angel (R-Port Orchard), who just completed her first session in the state Senate representing the 26th Legislative District. By DANNIE OLIVEAUX Editor
If you went to the state Senate in Olympia during the past session, you may have been shocked to find Republican Sen. Jan Angel seated with the Democrats. Not because she changed parties, but because she is a part of the majority in the Senate. Because Republicans outnumber Democrats
in the Senate, Angel and another Republican senator had to sit among their bipartisan rivals. Angel said she went to the Senate a couple of days before she was sworn in to see where she would be seated Angel on the floor. “They hadn’t figured out where they were going to put me,” said Angel, laughing, adding, “I am actually sitting on the Democrats’ side. Angel said that she and fellow Republican Sen. Bruce Dammeirer are sitting with the minority
because there was no room on the Republican side. “At least they put me and Bruce next to each other,” she said. Angel, a former District 26 state representative, said the Senate and House are different in many ways. In the House, representatives vote with machines, but the Senate is a roll call vote. “Since my name starts with an ‘A’ I am the very first one to be called every time to vote,” she said. “I’ve had to take the responsibility to know how I am going to vote. I had to know what bill was up and how I was going to vote.” She said even while senators are voting, they are still working off
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the floor. “I had to get in a routine where after I voted, I’d work in the isle or go talk with constituents in the hallway,” said Angel. “I had to listen when calling for a vote, so I could go back in to hear what the next bill was.” Angel said there are different rules when presenting bills, but there is a secretary of the Senate, who is available for questions on policies or procedures. “In the House, you just stand up and address the speaker and bring forth your bill,” she said. “In the Senate, you have to go through the SEE ANGEL, A7