Bainbridge Island Review, January 01, 2016

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REVIEW BAINBRIDGE ISLAND

Friday, January 1, 2016 | Vol. 91, No. 1 | WWW.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.COM | 75¢

2015 | The Year in Review A look back at the news that made headlines The past year saw some historic goings on around the Rock. Island teachers joined the ranks of Washington educators protesting inadequate school funding in a oneday walkout. Voters made quite clear their stance on the proposed location of a new police/court building on contaminated ground in Winslow.

Bainbridge Island City Hall turned it up to 12 and adopted a tongue-in-cheek ban against cheese as the Seattle Seahawks prepared to take on the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship. The cheesy prohibition garnered media attention from across the country, and Seattle beat Green Bay to advance to the Super Bowl.

BY BRIAN KELLY

Brian Kelly | Bainbridge Island Review

The former Bainbridge High science teacher accused of having an inappropriate sexual relationship with one of her teenage students pled guilty to charges of felony first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor and tampering with a witness, and the gross misdemeanor of communication with a minor for immoral purposes, in Kitsap County Superior Court Monday. Jessica Marie Fuchs, a first-year biology teacher at BHS, was charged earlier this year after authorities discovered that Fuchs had a sexual relationship with one of her students, then tried

to cover up the relationship after police learned about it in February. Fuchs’ attorney had asked the court to allow Fuchs to a “special sex-offender sentencing alternative” which would include treatment and a suspended sentence. While Kitsap County Superior Judge Leila Mills agreed that Fuchs would be a good candidate for alternative sentencing, she also said that Fuchs should serve time in jail. Fuchs was sentenced to eight months. “You are going to be spending time in jail. The message needs to be sent TURN TO JAIL | A5

City’s Suzuki property worth more than what developers offer to pay BY BRIAN KELLY

Bainbridge Island Review

JANUARY

D

TURN TO YEAR | A10

Former BHS teacher gets 8 months in jail Bainbridge Island Review

The school was rocked by a teacher sex scandal. And the public was shocked by the now infamous debut of a proposed city logo. There were new developments raised. There were old traditions upheld. All in all, it was a good year for headlines. The Review staff looked back over all these happenings and more — the top stories of the last year — and collected them here in a monthly summary of the past 12 months of island life. The good, the bad and the laughable. Happy New Year, Bainbridge Island. Here’s to many more.

iane Bonciolini, Gregg Mesmer and Art Grice were crowned 2015 Island Treasures by the Bainbridge Island Arts & Humanities Council. Bonciolini and Mesmer are the husband-wife duo behind Mesolini Glass and founding members of the Bainbridge Island Studio

INSIDE: A look back at state, A6

Luciano Marano | Bainbridge Island Review

Firefighters from several departments around the county, including Bainbridge, North Kitsap Fire & Rescue, Poulsbo and Suquamish, gathered at the Phelps Road station in May for several days for extrication training sessions.

Developers who want to buy the city of Bainbridge Island’s Suzuki property have offered less than half of the land’s value, according to one of the property’s most recent appraisals. City officials put out a “request for proposals” for development of the 13.83 parcel, located at the southeast corner of Sportsman Club Road and New Brooklyn Road, in August. In the RFP, the city said its goals were “a project compatible with the surrounding residential uses and will enhance and benefit the neighborhood and community.” By the deadline in late November, four proposals — three for housing projects, and one for a public park — were submitted to the city. Under the three different build-out scenarios, the pro-

spective developers offered to pay the city between $2.4 million and $2.6 million for the land. The land appears to be worth much more, however. Earlier appraisals obtained from the city by the Bainbridge Review for the Suzuki property, show the land was once valued at more than twice the highest offering price now in front of city officials. Three appraisals have been done in recent years; 2007, 2009 and 2013. In a May 2007 appraisal, by Gibbons & Riely, the land was valued at $3.5 million. A new study done less than a year later found a much higher value. A March 2008 appraisal of the Suzuki property, conducted by McKee & Schalka, put the value at $5.4 million. TURN TO SUZUKI | A3


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