COVERING PUGET SOUND NAVAL NEWS FOR BREMERTON | BANGOR | KEYPORT
NAVY NEWS Kitsap
VOLUME 1, NO. 11 | 10 JUNE 2011
www.kitsapnavynews.com
Vet advisory board to seek additional levy By GREG SKINNER Kitsap Navy News
The Kitsap county Veterans Advisory Board is exploring two proposals to raise more money for the county Veteran’s Assistance Fund in the face of growing need among the county’s 36,000 resident veterans. Options discussed during Wednesday’s monthly advisory board meeting were instituting a one-tenth of one percent sales tax or seeking a veterans and humans services levy at .5 cents per thousand of assessed value on property taxes.
SEE LEVY | PAGE 8
Yeoman Kelly Smith and his wife Rachel stand in front of their dream – The Waters Restaurant and Cafe. The active-duty couple spent nights and weekends preparing to open their restaurant in Port Orchard. GREG SKINNER/KITSAP NAVY NEWS
Dream come true Navy veterans take on the small business world By Sarah Kehoe Kitsap Navy News
Yeoman Kelly Smith considers it a joy balancing owning a new restaurant and working his full-time shore duty job in the Navy. “It is a challenge because I work very long hours and have no free weekends,” Smith said. “But my wife and I always dreamed of owning a restaurant, so I am willing to do whatever it takes to make it happen.” Smith and his wife Rachel opened The Waters Restaurant & Cafe in Port Orchard this March. The restaurant serves classic American food, such as hamburgers, french fries and onion rings. “We call our food ‘gourmet American,’”
Kelly said. “We make everything fresh and with a little twist. For example, we have a hamburger where we put bacon inside and outside the patty.” Kelly has served in the military for almost six years. As a yeoman, he is responsible for overseeing daily operations and check-ins at bases in Kitsap County. “I have loved my time at the Navy because it’s allowed me to travel and meet all kinds of great people,” Kelly said. “But my wife and I knew I needed to find something to do for when I am done with the Navy.” Kelly is among the veterans and active duty Navy building businesses in Kitsap County. The exact number is unknown because hopeful owners are only asked to show business licenses, not military identification, according to a spokesperson at the City of Bremerton’s Business Tax and Licensing Department. And the Chamber of Commerce does not track or keep statistics for active duty or veteran owned businesses. Navy veteran and Minuteman Press Printing owner Darwin Aiken said most in the Navy are forced out after serving for 20
or 30 years. He retired for no other reason than it was his time – the end of a Navy career and he decided to do something away from submarines that he worked on during his service time. “You can’t spend too much time at the Navy; they won’t allow you to,” Aiken said. “After 20 years you are winding down your career and you can’t do it for more than 30.” Aiken served in the navy for 26 years, working as a machinist on submarines and retiring as master chief. He prints and binds items for local businesses including business cards, announcements and newsletter brochures. “It was a yearning I had to own my own place and work for myself,” Aiken said. “I love helping out the public by providing services, so when the chance came for me to do this, I grabbed it.” While fully tracking the number of veteran owned businesses and their share of local markets locally is unlikely, the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs hosts a veteran and servicemember owned busi-
SEE DREAM | PAGE 9
THIS EDITION NHB optometrist exchanges cultures..................pg. 3 Veteran business registry can fill the gaps ............pg. 4 NBK Bangor submarine commander fired....pg. 5 Yesterday’s Fleet, USS Colorado ............. pg. 14
Big Savings Inside! LOOK FOR THIS WEEK’S COUPON PACKAGE