PATRIOT BREMERTON
HEALTHY YOU INSIDE: How seniors and children can learn from each other
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 2016 | Vol. 18, No. 46 | WWW.BREMERTONPATRIOT.COM | 50¢
IN THIS EDITION
Decide the future of the bridge Cooperation is key to dealing with disasters BY CHRIS TUCKER CTUCKER@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
After all, the speed limit on the bridge is 35 mph; it’s 30 mph on either side of the bridge. The other goal is to give pedestrians more space. “If we made the barrier in the middle smaller and made the lanes narrower, there may be an opportunity to increase the sidewalks on either side to make it more mobile for pedestrians, particularly the folks in wheelchairs,” Hauth said. “It’s not at all ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliant now.” The City of Bremerton is currently in the concept stage of the project; the Public Works and
SILVERDALE — Should a catastrophic earthquake or flood affect Central Kitsap, the key to managing the chaos is to know who your neighbors are. That according to Mike Gordon, director of the Kitsap County Department of Emergency Management. “It’s really about knowing who in your community has first aid training,” Gordon said. “Who are the doctors, who are the nurses? Who’s got the chainsaw in the neighborhood? Who’s got homes with generators on them so we can all get together as neighbors and all respond together as a community and take care of ourselves,” at least until first responders are freed up from dealing with the highest priority problems. Gordon spoke to the Central Kitsap Community Council on Jan. 22. KCDEM’s goals are twofold: The first is to help prepare communities for disasters by helping businesses, residents and schools map their neighborhoods to find out who their neighbors are. The second is to appropriately handle a response, including setting up an emergency management command, communicating with the public and maintaining situational awareness of what is going on and what the priorities are. Being prepared at both work and home was one way to deal with the threat of a major earthquake. “It’s not about that doom and gloom, it’s really about where you are in that event. Make sure your family is taken care of.”
SEE BRIDGE, A6
SEE EMERGENCY, A6
NEWS Loose water bottle blamed for crash
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NEWS Bremerton OKs contract with Humane Soc.
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Chris Tucker / staff photo
Proposed renovation plans for the Warren Avenue bridge include narrowing driving lanes and widening pedestrian lanes. The total cost for the proposal is less than $10 million, according to Managing Engineer Jerry Hauth.
Public meeting to discuss lane width BY MICHELLE BEAHM MBEAHM@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
LETTER Vote ‘No’ for Bremerton Schools levy
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OBITUARY Linda Escamilla passed away Jan. 7
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BREMERTON — The Warren Avenue bridge will look a little different in the near future. With plans to narrow the driving lanes and widen pedestrian lanes, Bremerton’s Managing Engineer Jerry Hauth said there are two goals with the project: providing more space for pedestrians and slowing down drivers. “The bridge was designed and
built, I think just shortly after the Roman Empire collapsed,” Hauth joked. Basically, the bridge is very wide and very big. “People drive too fast on things like that,” he said. Hauth said he’s spoken with police officers who write tickets to drivers going over the bridge; he said one officer told him, “I don’t write (tickets) unless they’re doing 50 mph or more.” “If the bridge were a little narrower for the travel lanes, people would feel a little more restrictive and probably drive a little slower,” Hauth said.
OC eligible for $1 million award BREMERTON — The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program named Olympic College as one of the nation’s top 150 community colleges Jan. 25. The designation makes Olympic College eligible to compete for the 2017 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence and $1 million in prize funds, as well as Siemens Technical Scholars Program student scholarships.
It’s the second consecutive time OC has been deemed eligible to compete for the Aspen Prize. The first time, the college was named one of the 10 best community colleges in the United States. The prize, awarded every two years, is widely considered the nation’s signature recognition of high achievement and performance among America’s community colleges and recognizes institutions for
exceptional student outcomes in four areas: student learning, certificate and degree completion, employment and earnings and access and success for minority and low-income students. Nearly half of America’s college students attend community college, with more than seven million students — youth and adult learners — working toward certificates and SEE ASPEN PRIZE, A6
File photo
Olympic College’s Bremerton campus.
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