HERALD NORTH K ITSAP
Friday, December 4, 2015 | Vol. 114, No. 49 | NorthKitsapHerald.com | 50¢
EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK By RICHARD WALKER
Park’s hidden
gem
I
See CONCERT, Page A2
— In Kitsap Weekly
A closeup of the shield maiden depicted in Jim Mayo’s mural under the Lindvig Way bridge. Pete O’Cain / North Kitsap Herald
Muralist honors the estuary and those drawn to this area by its beauty and bounty of resources
Neighbors Helping Neighbors: A Four-Part Series
A concert that will soothe the soul n homes across the city Dec. 2, people tuned in to the latest news out of San Bernardino, California. Fourteen people killed and 17 wounded at a holiday party for county employees. The killers’ motive unclear at the time. Two armed suspects —a Richard Walker husband and wife, parents of a six-monthold daughter — killed by police. The latest in what seems to be an unending cycle of gun violence in the United States and abroad. The world seemed a dark place. But even on this night, as an evening chill descended over Poulsbo, beautiful voices sang out with a different message, a message to anyone who thinks violence is a way to resolve conflict, a message to those who fear that senseless violence is to become commonplace in our communities and country. They sang about a love “whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air” and “Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere.”
INSIDE A hidden gem at Fish Park
KITSAPWEEKLY
DECEMBER 4-10, 2015 | ARTS, CULTURE, ENTERTAINMENT & KITSAP CLASSIFIEDS | 65,000 CIRCULATION
BY PETE O’CAIN pocain@soundpublishing.com
P
OULSBO — With the exception of a small salmon mural along the sidewalk, the Lindvig Way bridge is about as ordinary as any other bridge — a gray mix of asphalt, concrete and guard rails. The understory of the bridge, however, is far from ordinary.
Poulsbo muralist Jim Mayo is using the walls beneath the bridge as a canvas for his latest project: A nature mural, with a Nordic flair, in Fish Park. A river winds around a field and mountain peaks not unlike the Olympics across the horizon. On the bank of the river, a shield maiden leans on her sword and shield. “He’s taking the theme of
Fish Park and incorporating it into the bridge,” Mayor Becky Erickson said. Mayo is perhaps best known in Poulsbo as the artist behind the Viking mural on the Boehm’s Chocolates building. He was originally contracted by the city to paint give the bridge a troll theme, sort of Poulsbo’s answer to the Fremont Troll. But the former Army Ranger had a
change of heart and switched to a nature theme to better match its surroundings. The understory of the bridge is a passageway from Fish Park to the estuary, where the main stem of Dogfish Creek flows into Liberty Bay. “All the artwork I do, I do freehand. I do it straight out of my subconscious,” Mayo said. “It’s formed as I go. The composition is built around See MURAL, Page 2
City approves pay hikes for police, local By PETE O’CAIN
pocain@northkitsapherald.com
People should feel free to talk about suicidal depression, teen advocate Natalie Myers says. Talking about it can save lives. “This is your beginning; don’t end it,” she says. “Talk to someone — anyone. It’s not worth hiding.” Hope Line / Courtesy
Amid the darkness, there is light Teen advocate says help is available — and life is worth living Editor’s note: This is the first of four stories in a North Kitsap Herald holiday series, Neighbors Helping Neighbors. The series calls attention to little-known causes that change lives in our community — and how you can help. By SOPHIE BONOMI
sbonomi@northkitsapherald.com
POULSBO — For Natalie Myers, her 2014 Miss Viking Fest title wasn’t just a way to
“Unfortunately, promote her platform it is a record year of spreading suiand we still have cide awareness and December to go prevention. It was a through,” Kitsap means of saving lives. County Coroner Suicide is the secGreg Sandstrom ond-leading cause of said. death in Washington Myers wants to for people age 10-24, turn the tide. And and the third-leading Natalie Myers she’s using her cause of death nationpersonal experience ally, according to the with recovery from suicidal state Department of Health. Every week in Washington, depression to initiate a community conversation and an average of two youth comlet people know that help in mit suicide and 17 are hospireadily available. talized after attempting. The Myers felt the overwhelmstate’s suicide rate exceeds ing severity of the subject, the national average. first-hand, long before her This year to date, 47 peotitle. ple have died by suicide in “I was a different person Kitsap County, surpassing the record high of 44 in 1999.
See SUICIDE, Page A3
Five Pearl Harbor survivors will attend ceremony at Naval Undersea Museum KEYPORT — Five survivors of the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor will attend the 22nd annual remembrance ceremony at 11 a.m. Dec. 7 in the Jack Murdock Auditorium at Naval Undersea Museum, Keyport. Museum spokeswoman Olivia K. Wilson said these veterans are scheduled to attend:
■ Roy Carter, who was serving aboard the USS Oklahoma when the attack occurred. ■ Rocky Hoffman, Marine Corps Air Station Ewa. ■ Frank Mattausch, Wheeler Army Airfield. ■ Bob Rains, USS Pennsylvania.
See CEREMONY, Page A7
POULSBO — The City of Poulsbo struck a deal with two unions to increase wages Dec. 2. The City Council signed collective bargaining agreements with the Poulsbo Police Officers Association and Teamsters Local 589. Councilman Ed Stern said the negotiations were the easiest in which he’s participated. “This has normally been a difficult and contentious period for the city in collective bargaining,” Stern said. “This is the smoothest I See RAISES, Page A6
Donations coming in for relief fund POULSBO — Donations are coming in for the Poulsbo Lions Raab Foundation Bellringer Fund, which assists local residents in need throughout the year. As of Dec. 3, the total was $1,775; the goal is $30,000 and fund manPoulsbo Lions ager John Raab Foundation MacDonald, Bellringer Fund CPA, said he hopes the goal can be exceeded so the fund can meet more needs in the community. The funds are administered by Fishline, St. Vincent de Paul and ShareNet to provide See BELLRINGER, Page A7
Pearl Harbor veteran Rocky Hoffmann of Bremerton is welcomed to the Dec. 7, 2014 ceremony at Naval Undersea Museum. Herald file photo / Dec. 7, 2014
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