REPORTER CENTRAL KITSAP
KITSAP ROOTS: Native heritage on exhibit at KHS museum IN KITSAP WEEK
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014 | Vol. 30, No. 6 | WWW.CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.COM | 50¢
Veterans honored at fairgrounds ceremony
Brian Kelly / staff photo
Veterans salute the American flag at a service at the Kitsap County fairgrounds on Veterans Day. BY LESLIE KELLY LKELLY@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
It was a day filled with flag salutes, patriotic songs and many, many people in military uniforms. More than 2,000 people attended the 11th annual Kitsap County Veterans Day ceremony Tuesday at the fairgrounds where Jeffrey Ruth, commander of Navy Region Northwest called it an “awesome day.” “Today we salute our veterans and our colleague who are on the job here in Kitsap County and in remote locations throughout the world,” Ruth said. “We are so proud of the work that they’re doing.” Ruth was one of several speakers who told veterans and active military service members that they are special in Kitsap County.
Guy Stitt, ambassador with the Bremerton-Olympic Peninsula Council of the Navy League acted as the master of ceremonies and spoke about how important the military is to Kitsap County. “That is demonstrated by the fact that all of you are here today to honor veterans and our military,” Stitt said. “I came to this community as a young sailor and I felt welcome. And that’s why I stayed here. Everyone here knows that the military is part of our community. They are the ones out there coaching soccer and Little League. They are the community.” U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, too, said the military is an important part of Kitsap County. “It’s important to recognize our veterans,” Kilmer said. “One of the strengths of our county is its active duty military and our veterans,” he said. “And we don’t just wait until Veterans Day to demonstrate that. Kitsap County is here for its veterans and its military every day. Every day we are working to help them and we are a stronger region because of that.” Doug Pfeffer, operations manager for RallyPoint/6, a one-stop-shop in Lakewood for services for people transitioning from the military to civilian life, said the program hopes to expand to Kitsap County within SEE VETERANS, A9
County votes to allow use of electronic signs BY CHRIS TUCKER CTUCKER@CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.COM
Kitsap County Commissioners voted to allow the use of electronic signs in commercial or industrial zones inside Urban Growth Areas, and also to allow their use outside the UGA for traffic control or public safety. Churches, schools and governments may also use electronic signs inside the UGA. The new sign code affects many aspects of signs, but the electronic sign section has drawn the most attention.
Commissioner Charlotte Garrido voted against the part of the sign code that allows electronic signs. Garrido said the county was acting too soon since the comprehensive plan update was forthcoming. She noted the current comprehensive plan does not call for using electronic signs. “We do need to have some kind of analysis of the cumulative impacts,” Garrido said of electronic signs. “We need to have some idea of what that does to our visual quality.” Garrido said that since cities will likely annex the UGA at some point, SEE ELECTRONIC, A9
Chris Tucker / staff photos
Olympic High School teacher Travis Quinn, second from right, teaches his students in his world history class on Nov. 10. Quinn graduated from Olympic in 2009 and came back to work as a teacher there this year.
Former CK students return to teach
BY CHRIS TUCKER
CTUCKER@CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.COM
Travis Quinn graduated from Olympic High school in 2009. Today – some five years later – he’s back at Olympic, only this time as a teacher rather than student. Quinn, along with PineCrest Elementary first-grade teachers Kayla Thomas and Jessica Newhard, are three of the newest teachers for the district. All three are former CKSD students. In his world history class Monday, Quinn projected a Jeopardylike board game onto the wall of his classroom. The categories had Roman themes. Quinn read one of the questions aloud. “Identify one factor that caused the fall of Rome,” Quinn said as he played the Jeopardy countdown tune. Students in teams of three wrote their answers on handheld whiteboards: The empire had become divided; Invasion from Germanic tribes; Overspending on the military. “Perfect … everybody got points there,” he told the students. Quinn said he enjoys have the opportunity to work with a lot of great kids. On his first day, he said, the students referred to him as “Mr. Quinn.” “I was like, ‘Oh! Yeah, I guess it’s ‘Mr. Quinn,’ not ‘Travis’ any more.’”
PineCrest Elementary teacher Jessica Newhard teaches her class. “I tell them the first day that ‘I know when you guys are texting,’” Quinn said of students with cell phones. He allows the use of electronic devices in his classroom for research. “It’s way more efficient for them to just pull out their cell phones rather than me try to come up with 30 computers. But I also tell them I know when they are on Snapchat or Instagram.” One of the surprising aspects of the job, Quinn said, is that he’s ended up teaching the younger siblings of his high-school-era peers. “They were little kids, and now they’re here with beards,” Quinn
mused. He said it’s been a unique experience to work with his former teachers and coaches. “As a beginning teacher there’s still a lot left for me to learn. And in a way they’re still teaching me,” Quinn said. Basketball coach Devin Huff was Quinn’s teacher in the seventh grade, coached Quinn in basketball, and now serves as his teaching mentor. Quinn played football for two years and ran track for three while at Olympic High School as a student. This week, Quinn was selected to be the head track coach. When he was a student, Quinn said he had a simpler idea of what teachers were like. “In my head, I pictured it as they lived at the schools — they didn’t have a family or anything outside of that. I assumed that second period world history was their entire life. So now that I’m outside of it and have a wife and daughter and other things I realize, oh, there’s a lot more going on. They’re more than just teachers.” Two miles south of Quinn’s classroom, at PineCrest Elementary, Kayla Thomas and Jessica Newhard were reading books to their firstgraders. When they were CK students, Newhard attended Green Mountain Elementary and Klahowya Secondary, and Thomas attended Cougar SEE TEACHERS, A9
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