REVIEW BAINBRIDGE ISLAND
Friday, November 28, 2014 | Vol. 114, No. 47 | WWW.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.COM | 75¢
INSIDE: ‘Tis the Season Holiday Guide
Judge awards fees in lawsuit
Bethlehem comes to Bainbridge
Drive through the Bible story in Rolling Bay BY LUCIANO MARANO Bainbridge Island Review
Bethlehem is a great place to visit, but you’d better make other accommodation plans during your stay because — as you may have heard -—there’s no room at the inn. Especially not at this time of year. There’s plenty of room to explore, however, at this year’s fourth annual Bethlehem Experience drive-through village. Presented by the Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church, the interactive nativity scene will run from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 6. The village features live animals alongside nearly 150 actors of all ages playing everything from wise men and Roman soldiers to Mary and Joseph themselves, all clad in picture perfect period attire. “It has been a wonderful expe-
rience,” said the project’s original coordinator Molly Dunn. Dunn, who was inspired by a similar event she participated in at a different church she attended while living in California, was the one who pitched the idea and began coordinating the volunteers, actors and set construction for the first Bethlehem Experience years ago. “I always remember it as a really fun time,” Dunn said. “So I saw it as something our church could do. We have the setup for it, have enough property and storage space for all the sets and props and whatnot. Everyone has really embraced it.” “Everyone looks forward to it each year,” she added. Fellow volunteer Kathy Irvin agreed, saying that the visitors
BY BRIAN KELLY
BainbridgeIsland Review
The city of Bainbridge Island will have to pay more than $100,000 to the attorney who successfully challenged the city in court over its refusal to hand over emails from city councilmen David Ward and Steve Bonkowski and TURN TO LAWSUIT | A27
Lieutenant gets $93k severance package
TURN TO BETHLEHEM | A12
Retires at end of internal investigation BY BRIAN KELLY
BainbridgeIsland Review
Luciano Marano | Bainbridge Island Review Photo courtesy of Kathy Irvin
The annual drive through village from Rolling Bay Presbyterian Church features more than 100 actors. Pictured here, event founder Molly Dunn, her son Bobby and husband Cory .
Volunteers and congregation members work to ready the fourth annual “Bethlehem Experience” drive through village earlier this week. Last year’s event saw more than 300 cars and 1,000 visitors attend the quickly growing island holiday tradition.
The Bainbridge Island police lieutenant who resigned in October will get a departure package worth more than $93,000, according to records released by the city. Lt. Denise Giuntoli, an officer with Bainbridge for more than 23 years, stepped down Nov. 1. TURN TO SEVERANCE | A27