HERALD NORTH K ITSAP
KITSAP COUNTY FAIR & STAMPEDE GUIDE : Inside this week’s edition of Kitsap Week
Friday, August 15, 2014 | Vol. 113, No. 24 | WWW.NORTHKITSAPHERALD.COM | 50¢
IN THE HERALD
Marina dredge project begins Surgeon under scrutiny
Kingston marina will be closed intermittently Aug. 18-22 for eelgrass transplant
Medical commission is investigating the care given to patients in Hansville Road crash
By KIPP ROBERTSON
KITSAP WEEK Olalla Bluegrass festival offers family fun — Inside
BUSINESS Curious Child opens on Front Street — Page A15
SPORTS KHS cross country coach resigns — Page A 6
OPINION Poulsbo City Council should follow island’s lead on oil shipments — Page A4
krobertson@northkitsapherald.com
KINGSTON — The sediment dredge project that was put on hold and delayed for years will begin Aug. 18. The Port of Kingston will close its marina to all vessels during select hours Aug. 18-22. The closure will allow divers to swim safely in the water as work on the marina dredging project begins. The first step is transplanting eelgrass from the sediment near the marina, to an eelgrass nursery immediately outside of the breakwater. The nursery will be between the Washington State Ferry dock and the entrance to the marina, on the south side of the breakwater. The purpose of the dredge is to alleviate the risk of vessels grounding, and eliminating tide-dependent access to the marina, according to
By KIPP ROBERTSON
krobertson@northkitsapherald.com
enter and exit the marina and has caused “several vessels” to be temporarily grounded, according to Port Manager David Malone. Nearly 1,800 eelgrass shoots will be harvested by divers from the
BREMERTON — A doctor is being investigated for allegedly failing to properly diagnose patients. The state Department of Health's Medical Quality Assurance Commission found enough evidence to take action against Scott T. Ekin's license to practice, according a statement of charges from the commission. The charges relate to a 2011 incident when Ekin was working in the emergency room at Harrison
See DREDGE, Page A2
See SURGEON, Page A3
The increase in sediment in sediment at the Port of Kingston marina has caused problems for boaters for years, such as the inability to access the boat launch. The port will begin dredging later this year to try and fix the problem. File photo Eelgrass Mitigation and Monitoring Plan. Since the marina was built in the 1960s, sediment has filled the entrance channel and fairway, according to the plan. The buildup of sediment has restricted the width of the channel vessels use to
Student held on $1M bail for alleged child murder Gabriel Zebediah Gaeta is escorted into a courtroom at Kitsap Superior Court in Port Orchard on Aug. 11.
By KEVAN MOORE Bremerton Patriot
PORT ORCHARD — Gabriel Zebediah Gaeta, 17, made his initial appearance in Kitsap County Superior Court Aug. 11 and was ordered held on $1 million bail in the pending rape and murder case of East Bremerton’s 6-year-old Jenise Wright. Gaeta will have to undergo a mental health evaluation at Western State Hospital before charges are filed against him. He potentially faces life in prison if convicted of first-degree murder with aggravating circumstances and first-degree rape of a child. Kitsap County Prosecutor Russ Hauge said the death penalty is off the table in this case due to Gaeta’s age. The
Kevan Moore / Bremerton Patriot
aggravating circumstances in the case, meanwhile, involve Jenise’s young age
and particular vulnerability. In court, Gaeta said very little, but confirmed his
identity to Judge Kevin Hull. Gaeta also told the judge he is 17 years old, can read and write the English language and later signed some documents by his lawyer’s side. Gaeta, a neighbor of the Wright family in the Steele Creek Mobile Home Park, was arrested Saturday afternoon after investigators said they found DNA evidence linking him to the crime. On Aug. 4, the day after Jenise was first reported missing, court documents say searchers found a pair of girl’s underwear and shorts. A preliminary test showed the presence of blood and a further examination by the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab revealed the presence of semen. A blood type profile indicated the blood belonged to a female
COMMUNITY MOURNS DEATH OF JENISE WRIGHT ■
See story on page A10
biological child of James and Denise Wright, Jenise’s parents. Five days later, with a DNA sample of Gaeta’s to compare to, the state crime lab issued a report to investigators. “The male DNA typing profile (Individual B) previously obtained from the front of the underpants [bloody underpants located near the body] matches the DNA typing profile of Gabriel Gaeta,” the crime lab report states. “The estimated probability See MURDER, Page A7
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