This week, Islander columnist Becky Fox Marshall explores the commuter angst that’s all the rage at the Winslow ferry terminal.

To the list of rages in our modern world – road rage, air rage, work rage – you can add yet another, unique to Bainbridge Island – ramp rage.

The ramp of which I speak is the passenger ramp onto the ferry. Oh, and parking rage. The parking to which I specifically refer is the parking lot at the ferry terminal.

Maybe together these can henceforth be known as “Terminal Rage.”

Now that I’m not a Seattle ferry commuter, riding the ferry has actually become – again – a pleasant experience. And so it was with light hearts that I and three of my friends and coworkers met at the ferry terminal one Saturday afternoon to head over to the big city for dinner out and a show.

We waited near the flag pole as the ferry unloaded, seeing that a good many people formed a long line to the right of the rope that divides the ramp into one side for those intending to board, and one side for those tromping off the vessel.

Once unloaded, the go-ahead was heard on the loudspeaker and boarding began. And so we moved on down the ramp, ending up on the left side of the rope.

A fellow who had been queued up on the right took umbrage with our boarding technique and stood out from his line to dress us down. I couldn’t catch all of what he said but it boiled down to this: “So you think you’re special? Why can’t you get in line with the rest of us? Are you special?”

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Bainbridge police arrested a 30-year-old Bremerton man for stealing from patients at the Messenger House Care Center where he worked as a nursing assistant.

The suspect, who was arrested on Friday, admitted to having taken a gold religious pendant worth $1,000 from a dementia patient. He also admitted to stealing a video game console valued at $250 from the Manitou Park Boulevard facility’s common area.

Investigators discovered that suspect had recently pawned items matching the description of items stolen from the facility.

The suspect initially denied stealing the items and accused another person of taking them. After making several inconsistent statements, the suspect admitted stealing the pendent and the video game.

He stated he stole the items because of financial problems, police said.

Investigators are looking into additional theft reports from the Messenger House. Anyone with additional information regarding the thefts is encouraged to contact Bainbridge police at (206) 842-5211.

Friday’s arrest of a Bainbridge man for inappropriately touching a girl at the Bainbridge Island Aquatic Center is the second sexual misconduct incident at the public pool in just over a year.

In April 2008, a 44-year-old Bainbridge man was accused of going into a bathroom near the center’s lobby with a 4-year-old girl. According to police, he then took off her bathing suit and observed her use the restroom. The girl’s mother, thinking she’d been in the facility too long, eventually entered and encountered the man, who “froze” and then left, police said. Though charged, the man’s sexual molestation case was thrown out due to lack of evidence.

Officials from the Bainbridge park district, which runs the aquatic center, stressed that the pool is still a safe place for families.

“I think we’re doing an excellent job protecting the public,” park district director Terry Lande said today.

The center has several cameras in public areas and staff are trained to look for signs of sexual misconduct, he said.

“Is (the center) unsafe? It’s probably as safe as any public pool in the country,” he said. “But there are some pretty horrible people out there who walk the streets and walk into public buildings.”

Lande was surprised that the alleged incidents connected to Friday’s arrest occurred out in the open and during a swimming class. Police say the incidents were recorded by the center’s security cameras.

The park district immediately turned over the center’s security tapes and is working with police on the investigation, Lande said.