INSIDE Hutchison rallies South Kitsap Republicans A5
SPORTS Decorated EPO principal leaves for admin position A17
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INDEPENDENT PORT ORCHARD
FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2014 ✮ VOL. 123, NO. 22 ✮ WWW.PORTORCHARDINDEPENDENT.COM ✮ 50¢
Fathoms o’ Fun Summer Festival kicks off today More than 100 entries in Saturday’s Grand Parade
Suspect charged with molesting children in Oklahoma By DANNIE OLIVEAUX Editor
By DANNIE OLIVEAUX Editor
Downtown Port Orchard’s annual three-day Fathoms o’ Fun Summer Festival kicks off at 9 a.m. today. There will be vendors, foods, concerts, a parade and other activities. At 9 a.m., vendors open their food and crafts booths. HD Fusion, a classic jazz, rock and funk band, is slated to perform from 6:30-8 p.m. at the Marina Park gazebo. Vendors will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on June 28 and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 29. Fathoms chair Sharron King said earlier this week the event was down 10 vendors from 2013, but several others are interested in attending. “We’re hoping to have close to the same amount as we did last year,” she said. Also at 9 a.m. Saturday, the 13th annual HotFoot 5K Run is set to start at South Kitsap Regional Park with nine running divisions for males and females age 14 and older. There is also a 1-mile race. The run is presented by South Kitsap Fire and Rescue volunteers. The annual snake race and frog-jumping contest are scheduled for noon at the Kitsap Bank drive-in. The winning frog will get a kiss from a member of the Fathoms’ royalty court. The 47th annual Grand Parade is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Floats, civic clubs, elected officials, dance groups, drum lines and others will line up along Port Orchard Boulevard as the parade treks through downtown. This year’s parade grand marshal is former Port Orchard city councilwoman Carolyn Powers. Powers retired from the council in December after 26 years, and served as a state representative from 1983-84. “We are praying for good weather,” King said. “Since I’ve been doing the judging and involved in Fathoms for the past 25 years, it has only sprinkled one time at the end of our parade.” There are more than 100 entries in this year’s parade, including eight floats. This year’s judges are Pam Heinrich, president of the Sidney Art Museum; Cathy Michaels, co-owner of Cedar Cove Inn; and Mike Wernet, battalion chief for South Kitsap Fire and Rescue. King said Fathoms is working on partnering with some of the area’s civic clubs, bringing back a carnival, dance and add more events. SEE FESTIVAL, A7
POPD officers involved in shooting
Port Orchard police and Kitsap County Sheriff ’s investigators will meet next week to review the findings of an investigation of the June 19 deadly shooting of a convicted felon by two police officers. The shooting occurred in the South Park Village shopping center off Mile Hill Drive. “That’s standard operating procedure when an officer is involved in a shooting,” said Port Orchard Police Department Cmdr. Dale Schuster. Schuster said the two officers involved in the shooting were Matthew Bell, 37, and Nathan Lynch, 31. Schuster said Bell was hired in May 2013 and Lynch in January 2013. Bell had nine years of prior law enforcement experience before joining the POPD and Lynch was in the military. Both were reserve officers before being hired
full-time. No other information about the shooting was released. The officers were placed on administrative leave after the shooting, according to department policy, said Schuster. Officers shot and k i l l e d Rogers 36-yearold Thomas Daniel Rogers, who was wanted on several outstanding felony warrants. South Kitsap Fire and Rescue emergency personnel reported Rogers died at the scene and Kitsap County Coroner Greg Sandstrom later confirmed Roger’s identity. According to a news release by the Kitsap County Sheriff ’s Office, three Port Orchard police officers went to the 1700 block of Village Lane SE at about 8:15 p.m. to arrest the suspect on outstanding felony warrants. During the encounter with the suspect, officers used a Taser that reportedly had no effect, according to the sheriff’s office. The suspect was armed with a knife and one of the officers suffered cuts that required medical attention; the other officer suf-
Dannie Oliveaux/Staff Photo
Two men examine police markings at the scene where a 36-year-old convicted felon was shot and killed June 19 by two Port Orchard police officers. fered an ankle injury. Both were transported to a local hospital for treatment. Kitsap County Sheriff ’s detectives and Washington State Patrol troopers are investigating the shooting, according to Schuster. Investigators believe the two officers fired their weapons. No other information on the case will be released until the investigation is completed and has been reviewed by the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office. Police Chief Geoffrey Marti said his department
will conduct a separate investigation into the shooting. Television crews from Seattle, along with people living in the area, converged on the shopping center after the shooting. The scene was taped off at Kitsap Bank to the south end of the shopping center’s back alley and a nearby parking lot for several businesses. Criminal history in Oklahoma Rogers, who also worked as a disc jockey under the SEE SHOOTING, A7
Council keeps excise gas tax at current rate, for now By DANNIE OLIVEAUX Editor
The Port Orchard city council unanimously approved to establish a new franchise agreement with Cascade Natural Gas Corp. to maintain the current 2 percent excise tax and reserving the right to increase the tax in the future as needed. Two version of the proposed ordinance were presented to the council for adoption. The approved version of the ordinance keeps the excise tax at its current 2 percent rate, but included language reserving the council authority to increase the tax at a future date.
The other version included a step-up in excise tax revenue which would have increased to 4 percent on Jan. 1, 2015, then to 6 percent on Jan. 1, 2017. State law requires five votes of the council to approve a franchise tax agreement, noted City Attorney Greg Jacoby. Councilman John Clauson asked about the additional funding that would have been used for streets. “This is not a good time,” said Councilwoman Cindy Lucarelli, who made the motion to approved the agreement. “We had a discussion about stormwater increases next year – which will be substantial – and I can’t see passing this (alternative version). What was
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discussed when we talked about collecting extra tax is that we wouldn’t have enough to do anything with anyways, for at least a year or two.” Lucarelli said future councils would not have to uphold that (street repairs) and the revenue could roll into the general fund, which she would not support. Clauson said he thought the council discussed the funding being used to purchase a pavement management system. “That was the first expenditure we debated on shooting for, which would allow us to track projects that could be funded in the future,” Clauson said. SEE COUNCIL, A7