PATRIOT BREMERTON
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FRIDAY, MARCH 20, 2015 | Vol. 18, No. 2 | WWW.BREMERTONPATRIOT.COM | 50¢
GOING GREEN
IN THIS EDITION
Council wants KRCC to make changes
NEWS Visit Kitsap presents 2015 tourism awards
BY PETER O’CAIN POCAIN@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
that that in itself is unconstitutional because the wealthier communities can pay more taxes than the lower income communities and therefore students in rural Washington or in poorer urban areas weren’t receiving the same education that students in more affluent areas were,” Rolfes said.
BREMERTON — The Bremerton City Council is mulling a possible exit from the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council (KRCC) if changes aren’t made to KRCC’s proposed interlocal agreement. The council unanimously rejected the agreement at its March 4 meeting and then discussed scenarios in which the city left KRCC at its March 11 study session. Ultimately, the council chose to send a letter to KRCC Board Chair Robert Gelder to express their grievances. The letter was drafted by Council Chair Greg Wheeler, Leslie Daugs and Dino Davis, all of whom represent Bremerton on KRCC. In the letter, the council requested three changes to the interlocal agreement (ILA) before it will consider passage: • KRCC board enter into open discussions with the membership about the current voting structure and consider possible changes to that structure. • KRCC present for consideration a detailed financial comparison of the two options available under the amended ILA relating to directly employing staff or contracting for services. • KRCC present a proposal on how the membership dues will be structured to support the financial scenarios that are set forth in item two above.” The letter also states that if the city will reconsider adopt-
SEE TOWN HALL, A12
SEE CITY COUNCIL, A9
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NEWS Two injured in collision
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EDUCATION District mulling ways to help military kids
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OPINION Reinstate No Child Left Behind waiver
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City celebrates St. Paddy’s Day in style BY PETER O’CAIN POCAIN@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
BREMERTON — Onlookers may have noticed something new this year at the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Bremerton: gold and green coins. The morning of the parade, Michelle Tomlinson-Hough, vice president of the Downtown Bremerton Association, and her daughter, Kailena, hid
400 coins along the parade line. They returned to the area later in the evening for an event at the Admiral Theatre. They looked around a bit, but there were no coins to be found. Coincidentally, about 400 people participated in the 24th annual parade, including 25 groups, according to Gina Shultz of the Downtown Bremerton Association, which
presented the parade. Shultz said part of her mission was to provide a platform for local nonprofit groups. “I think it turned out really well,” Shultz said. “I had never had any trouble getting participation from local groups.” Instead of reaching out to groups, people reached out to Shultz. “This year I did not even send out a lot invitations and I had people calling me about
the parade,” Shultz said. “People like to be in the parade.” One aspect that Shultz enjoyed was the collaborative effort. Bremerton High School students designed the parade poster and three business — Fingers Duke, SEEfilm Cinema and Jimmy Johns — donated prizes to the students. “I think its an excellent community building exercise,” SEE ST. PADDY’S DAY, A9
Education, ferries among town hall topics BY CHRIS TUCKER
SPORTS Local hoop stars to play in WSGBA game
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Peter O’Cain / staff photo
Young members of the YMCA walk along Pacific Avenue in downtown Bremerton during the St. Patrick’s Day Parade March 14.
CTUCKER@CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.COM
SILVERDALE — Highways, ferries, education and firearms were among the topics of discussion at a “town hall” meeting with legislators representing the 23rd District March 14. Around 100 people filled a meeting room at the JenneWright Administration
Center to listen to state Sen. Christine Rolfes and state representatives Sherry Appleton and Drew Hansen. The trio took questions on a variety of subjects: McCleary the biggest issue for state Rolfes said the biggest issue before the state right now was how to comply with the
state supreme court’s decision to adequately fund public schools. School budgets were too reliant on local levies, the court said. “In some districts the schools may look like they’re funded amply but that’s not because the state is funding them, that’s because the local voters are funding them. And one of the issues that the supreme court laid out was
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