Herald North K itsap
Kitsap WeeK PetsWalk, major event for Kitsap Humane Society, coming to Poulsbo
Friday, June 20, 2014 | Vol. 113, No. 24 | www.northkitsapherald.com | 50¢
Audit: Shortcomings in NKSD accounting Didn’t have special ed timecards; coupon books missing; sales not receipted By KIPP ROBERTSON
krobertson@northkitsapherald.com
POULSBO — The North
In the Herald
Kitsap School District did not have adequate timecard information to justify nearly $1.5 million in federal funding spent on wages and benefits for special-education program employees in 2012 and 2013, the state auditor’s office reported. In addition, 64 coupon books
sold as part of a school fundraiser are unaccounted for, the community pool failed to keep track of passes sold, and a school didn’t receipt sales at its coffee stand. The state auditor reported the discrepancies May 27, according to documents obtained by the North Kitsap Herald.
The auditor’s office recommends the district improve its monitoring process of all employees whose wages are covered by federal grants, and improve control over Associated Student Body (ASB)-generated funds and cash handling within the district. Though he hasn’t “dug into
— Page A14
sports Middle school league expands, high school league shrinks — Page A6
CALENDAR Final weekend for ‘Catfish Moon’ at Jewel Box Theatre — Page A8-9
See AUDIT, Page A3
Canoe Journey’s message ‘Any person
you pass could be homeless’
Canoes will travel waters that are beautiful, but threatened business Safeway opens June 27
it very deeply,” school board President Dan Weedin said the board was made aware of the auditor’s findings. He said the findings have not been much of a topic outside a brief conversation. “The administration informed us that they are working hard to
Camps come and go in North Kitsap’s forests
By RICHARD WALKER
rwalker@northkitsapherald.com
L
ITTLE BOSTON — Pullers in the 2014 Canoe Journey are in for a long one, a 500-miler to the territory of the Heiltsuk First Nation — Bella Bella, British Columbia. They’ll be richly rewarded for the experience. They’ll travel through territory so beautiful it will be impossible to forget: Rugged, forested coastlines; island-dotted straits and narrow, glacier-carved passages; through Johnstone Strait, home of the largest resident pod of orcas in the world; along the shores of the Great Bear Rainforest, one of the largest remaining tracts of unspoiled temperate rainforest left in the world. They’ll also travel waters that are increasingly polluted and under threat. Pullers will travel the marine highways of their ancestors, past Victoria, which dumps filtered, untreated sewage into the Salish Sea. They’ll travel the routes U.S. energy company Kinder Morgan plans to use to ship 400 tanker loads of tar sands oil each year. Canoes traveling from the north will pass the inlets leading to Kitimat, where crude oil from
PART ONE OF A TWO-PART SERIES By RICHARD D. OXLEY
roxley@northkitsapherald.com
POULSBO — Somewhere under a tree line in North Kitsap, campers settle in for a few days in the outdoors. The fire is warm, the air is fresh, a nearby creek trickles, and the tents are set for a crisp rest. But these campers aren’t nature enthusiasts. They aren’t hikers or outdoor recreationalists. They are homeless. And the area’s wooded corners have become temporary lodging for residents lacking a roof over their heads as homeless campsites come and go. “They are pretty creative. They’ve got See HOMELESS, Page A7
Peg Deam and Nigel Lawrence of the Suquamish Tribe hold up a banner and sign supporting unity among Northwest indigenous peoples, June 18 during the Canoe Journey. Richard D. Oxley / Herald Enbridge’s Northern Gateway pipeline would be loaded onto tankers bound for Asia; Canada approved the pipeline project on June 17. Canoes from the Lummi Nation near Bellingham will pass Cherry Point, a sacred and environmentally sensitive area where Gateway Pacific
proposes a coal train terminal; early site preparation was done without permits and desecrated ancestral burials. Young activist Ta’kaiya Blaney of the Sliammon First Nation sang of her fears of potential See JOURNEY, Page A7
This abandoned camp was found less than a half-mile from a Poulsbo park. Richard D. Oxley / Herald
The North Kitsap Herald: Top local stories, every Friday in print. Breaking news daily on NorthKitsapHerald.com and on Facebook