OPINION Change KRCC’s voting structure A6
SPORTS DeWalt is our Male Athlete of the Year A11
INSIDE Legislators sound off at forum about taxes, roads and education A7
INDEPENDENT PORT ORCHARD
FRIDAY, JUNE 12, 2015 ✮ VOL. 124, NO. 20 ✮ WWW.PORTORCHARDINDEPENDENT.COM ✮ 50¢
Council waits SKHS senior challenges peers to persevere dream of being to approve Brown’s commencement speaker solid waste finally came to fruition contract By CHRIS CHANCELLOR
cchancellor@soundpublishing.com
By BOB SMITH Editor
PORT ORCHARD — A final sticking point in contract language is prompting Port Orchard City Council members to wait until their next meeting to decide whether to approve a franchise agreement with Waste Management of Washington for solid-waste services. The current agreement with the city expires June 30. Port Orchard entered into a five-year contract agreement July 1, 2005. It was extended for three years in 2010 and an additional two years in 2013. The new agreement calls for the same contract length of five years, with options of three and two year extensions. The council held a public hearing on the proposed franchise agreement May 26. One issue remains unresolved between the city and Waste Management: The company is stipulating that any annexed property by Port Orchard would receive services for 10 years following annexation in place of the usual 7-year service agreement stated in the contract. City Clerk Brandy Rinearson told council members her discussions with a Waste Management attorney hasn’t resolved the issue. “Waste Management told me they were willing to service annexed property for 10 years after the date of annexation, but that they would require the city to give up the right to claim damages,” Rinearson said. Laura Moser, Waste Management municipal and community relations manager, was at the council meeting. Moser explained that under terms regulated by the state Utilities and Transportation Commission, franchise agreements include language stipulating that annexed areas serviced by the company are for a minimum of seven years, plus a clause for measurable damages. “These agreements are nothing unusual,” SEE COUNCIL, A16
TACOMA — After myriad rehearsals and rewrites, he finally stepped to the podium. For Austin Brown, who was among 537 South Kitsap High School graduates June 9 at the Tacoma Dome, it was the culmination of a moment he has prepared for since his freshman year — and one he dreamed about since elementary school. “I’ve had a lot of trouble growing up, so I really wanted to give them a message that I really needed to hear,” said Brown, who also was among 26 graduates to earn an associate’s degree from Olympic College. “That’s how I wrote it — like I was writing to myself.” Those issues were not self-created. Brown was exposed to the effects of substance abuse growing up. He also said he was relied upon to care for his younger twin sisters while being raised by a single mother. Despite those issues, Brown said he never lost his ambition to succeed. “I always wanted to be a doctor and nothing could get in the way of that,” he said. “I always wanted to help people.” Brown plans to earn his bachelor’s degree from Washington State University in chemistry and then hopes to transfer to its branch campus in Spokane. Elson Floyd, WSU’s president, told The Associated Press in May that the university plans to hold its first classes at its own medical school in Spokane in fall 2017. “It’s like fate,” Brown said of the timing. And seeking the best outcome in difficult circumstances. Brown often cited best-selling
Chris Chancellor / Independent
Madeline Sharp and Ronald Gantuango rehearsed on stage before South Kitsap High School’s commencement ceremony June 9 at Tacoma Dome. author J.K. Rowling, best known as the creator of the Harry Potter fantasy series, during his speech. “My main message is that tough times are going to come — and when they do it’s best
to persevere,” he said. “Keep trying, keep trying, keep trying and do not give up. Like J.K. Rowling said, only when you do nothing is SEE GRADUATES, A12
More delays in trial of murder suspect David Kalac By ILY GOYANES Correspondent
PORT ORCHARD — The trial of suspected murderer David Kalac, supposed to begin June 9 in Kitsap County Superior Court, has been rescheduled for June 26 after the defense team requested a continuance. Kalac is accused of having murdered live-in
girlfriend Amber Lynn Coplin Nov. 4 in her Port Orchard home. The defendant made nationwide headlines last November after allegedly posting photos of Coplin’s lifeless body on the controversial website 4chan. At yesterday’s hearing, Judge Jeanette Dalton noted that former defense counsel Kevin Anderson had been excused for health reasons. Ron Ness, a county contract public
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defender and Kalac’s new attorney, stated that the defense needed more time to prepare, as well as respond to findings and conclusions previously submitted to Anderson by the prosecution. Prosecutor Ione George argued that she had submitted the findings 10 days prior and SEE KALAC, A2