REPORTER CENTRAL KITSAP
Puppy love Community rallies to help dog hit by car Page 8
FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 2014 | Vol. 29, No. 43 | WWW.CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.COM | 50¢
Fire district files labor complaint BY KEVAN MOORE KMOORE@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
Ryan Robinson/staff photo
Young cheerleaders from the YMCA march down Silverdale Way during this past weekend’s Whaling Days parade.
42nd annual Whaling Days was a hit BY RYAN ROBINSON RROBINSON@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
This year’s sun-soaked Whaling Days festival was capped off this past Sunday following a weekend filled with good summer fun. One of Sunday’s highlights, of course, consisted of 20,000 rubber ducks being dumped into Dyes Inlet as part of the Duck Race, a fund-raiser that has accompanied the festival for over two decades. Anyone interested in racing was given the opportunity to “adopt” a rubber duck with a small donation. All the funds raised through adoptions are donated to a myriad of community programs, according to the Silverdale Rotary Club. The leading rubber duck, sped up by an incoming tide and favorable winds, crossed the finish line in just under 15
minutes. The lucky owner of the winning duck was Silverdale’s Yvonne Parraz. Her duck earned her a choice of a 2014 Nissan Frontier Pickup Truck or $16,000 cash. Those with ducks that placed anywhere from second to 98th were also eligible for prizes ranging from a week-long cruise trip for two to a free eye exam. All prizes were donated by sponsors of Whaling Days. The fun was not limited to Sunday afternoon’s Duck Race, though. Saturday kicked off early with the annual pancake breakfast. Sausages, fresh fruit, coffee, milk, orange juice, and pancakes were offered for the public to partake in. Located in the shadow of the start/finish line of the annual Hospice Whale of a Run, the breakfast helped give runners a refreshing meal after complet-
ing the race. Saturday morning also saw the beginning of the Whaling Days Parade. Dozens of floats from a variety of local businesses and organizations marched along Silverdale Way. Other floats featured political candidates and representatives from law enforcement and the fire department. Those that went would have noticed a troupe of unicyclists, a pirate ship and a gang of zombies, among other floats. Many parade-goers have made a tradition of attending the event. “The whole family comes here every year,” said Jessiah Wasson, 37. “I sorta have to come along, too.” Wasson did not share the rest of his family’s sense of enthusiasm at first, but he said he did have a memorable time. “Did you see the little girl
that fell down in the Kids’ Dash? Yeah, that was my daughter,” Wasson said, laughing. “I had to run in there and pick her up off the ground.” Pancakes, parades, and races were not all Whaling Days had to offer: the weekend was chock-full of fireworks, carnival rides and live music. The Tour de Kitsap had cyclists peddling through the entirety of Kitsap County. Groups of five could join a canoe race featuring authentic Hawaiian outrigger canoes. Those over 21 could stop by a beer garden boasting ten beers on tap. All those activities with clear skies and temperatures in the high 70s, and the result was a summertime weekend to remember. For more information on Duck Race winners, visit www.silverdalerotaryclub. org.
Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against its union firefighters. The complaint, filed with the state’s Public Employment Relations Commission, alleges that International Association of Fire Fighters Local 2819 used the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters to threaten and intimidate CKFR Board Chairman Dave Fergus, who owns an architecture firm in Bremerton. “At the WSCFF June convention, CKFR’s firefighter union, IAFF Local 2819, introduced a resolution regarding CKFR Board Chairman Dave Fergus,” states a letter written by fire district attorney Kenneth Bagwell. “As adopted, the resolution states that WSCFF members will use all available resources to discourage their respective fire departments from using Rice Fergus Miller Architecture in the planning or building of any public building until Chairman Fergus steps down as a fire commissioner.” Bagwell went on to say that the state organization’s “brazen threat to Chairman Fergus’s livelihood has only one purpose: to intimidate
him and other CKFR commissioners in their dealings with IAFF Local 2819. CKFR is very disturbed by this event, which it views as a potential watershed moment in the State of Washington for elected officials tasked with representing citizens in their dealings with labor unions.” Bagwell said the district intends “to pursue all other available legal means to challenge this attempt to coerce and threaten elected officials in the performance of their duties, including requesting a criminal investigation for Intimidating a Public Servant under RCW 9A.76.180.” The union has also filed an unfair labor complaint against the district. In that March complaint, the union contended that district officials should have negotiated with them prior to imposing staffing reductions. The Public Employment Relations Commission has not released a decision on the union’s or the district’s complaints.