INSIDE PSNS employment numbers inching higher A12
OPINION Pause to remember past sacrifices A4
SPORTS Wolves capture district championship A22
INDEPENDENT PORT ORCHARD
FRIDAY, MAY 22, 2015 ✮ VOL. 124, NO. 17 ✮ WWW.PORTORCHARDINDEPENDENT.COM ✮ 50¢
Pirates, seagulls and food!
HAND-IN-HAND TO THE FINISH LINE
Downtown to be awash in weekend festival fun over Memorial Day
It will be a long Memorial Day weekend with sightings of pirates, naughty seagulls and sea shanties downtown. Port Orchard and South Kitsap County residents will have plenty of activities to choose from May 23-24, kicking off summer activities with “all things pirates“ May
23 at the 2015 Kitsap Harbor Festival. The Pirates Parade to Slaughter County begins at 6:30 p.m. and is followed by the Pirates Ball. A live band, “pirate food“ and fun awaits participants. A suggested donaSEE FESTIVALS, A10
Port Orchard, South Kitsap election races take shape By BOB SMITH Editor
Port Orchard and South Kitsap County residents had an opportunity May 11-15 to file as candidates for the upcoming Aug. 4 primary election. The result? The battles will have to wait until the general election Nov. 3. No more than two candidates in each contest declared their intentions, nullifying the need to conduct a primary runoff. Races for mayor, three of the city council positions and three South Kitsap School District directorships will feature battles between an incumbent and a challenger. The fourth council race for the at-large position, and the school district’s Dist. 1 race, each feature an unopposed candidate. A down-ballot race for West Sound Util-
ity District No. 1’s Commissioner Position 3 race is the only contest with more than two candidates running for office. That field will be narrowed by results from the Aug. 4 primary election. All other races will be decided in the general election Nov. 3. Here’s a rundown of the candidates who registered during the May 11-15 filing period:
Port Orchard Mayor
Incumbent Tim Matthes won’t have to look far to find his mayoral election opponent. His challenger will be Port Orchard councilman Rob Putaansuu, who shares table space with Matthes at council meetings.
Port Orchard City Council
Shawn Cucciardi and Keith Law are seeking the council’s Position 1 seat. Incumbent Jeff Cartwright is not running for another term. Position 4 councilman John Clauson SEE ELECTION, A14
Jim Robertson photo
While participants of South Colby Elementary’s Second Annual Bobcat Bold 5K/1K run didn’t set speed records, they did raise the bar for the “cuteness“ factor. Here, Kendall Hunnicutt and Madeline Smith head to the finish line hand-in-hand. The family fun event was sponsored by the South Colby PTSO.
SKHS to get long-awaited turf field South Kitsap School District officials announced a pair of major upgrades to the upper-level athletic complex at the high school during the May 19 school board meeting. SKSD will receive $654,000 in donations from the community to assist in replacing the grass surface on the football and soccer field with artificial turf and resurfacing and
overspray of the existing track. According to school board president Chris Lemke, Kitsap Bank has committed $504,000 toward the renovation of the athletic field, while Wayne and Debbie Macomber have donated $150,000 to the track project. SEE TURF, A13
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