I know, I know, it’s a sad reality to accept, but sometimes life is hard.

Seriously though, as we continue with our transition here at the Kitsap Sun things will change. One of those changes is the elimination of the CK Beat blog, as we shift coverage. I will still be at the paper, and I will continue to cover Central Kitsap and Silverdale. But I will be adding to my coverage area by becoming a member of what we’re calling our “community government team.”

Myself, Chris Henry and Steven Gardner will be splitting the duties of covering Kitsap’s various city and county governments, as well as the communities they serve. I will still be blogging about what’s going on in CK, however my entries will be made on the Kitsap Caucus blog (adding to what Gardner and Henry will be posting).

You can still email me with blog entry suggestions, or with story suggestions for Central Kitsap…and if you have any ideas for North Kitsap, Poulsbo and elsewhere, send those my way too.

If you want information specific to Silverdale, don’t forget our Silverdale Life publication and our Silverdale-Life.com Web site, which will give you all you need to know.

For any aspiring bloggers out there, if you want to keep the CK Beat Blog alive, I know our Web Editor Angela Dice would love to speak with you about blogging about the CK community. If you’re interested, email her at adice@kitsapsun.com.

Well, I think this is it…my last CK Beat Blog entry. I know I wasn’t as witty as Andrew on the Bremerton Beat, or as consistent as Steven on the Kitsap Caucus, but it was fun while it lasted.

I hope you all have a very safe New Year’s Eve and an even better 2009.

Thanks for reading.

– Brynn

Anyway, the impending forecast of 3 to 5 inches of snow to blanket the Puget Sound area Friday night couldn’t have come at a better time, at least for the CK School District.

The school district is implementing a new policy on its Thursday early release day. In the past the district has had a hard time deciding what to do on its Thursday early release days, when they have to delay school start times because of snowy weather. This year they’ve decided if they have to delay the start times of their Thursday early release days, they’ll just run school to its normal end time.

Here’s more from the district:

The Central Kitsap School District has changed its inclement weather guidelines as they relate to early-release Thursdays.

In the past, a two-hour delay combined with an early release Thursday did not allow for a quality instructional day. Therefore, the District will extend the school day to the regular dismissal time when a two-hour delay occurs on a Thursday morning.

“The District made the decision to suspend early release on Thursdays when a two-hour delay is in effect after receiving a significant amount of feedback from parents, guardians and staff in support of this change,” said Jeanne Beckon, Executive Director of Human Resources. “This solution allows us to maximize instructional time and may reduce the number of closures due to inclement weather.”

County commissioners approved a site-specific, limited amendment to the county’s shoreline master program tonight that changed the shoreline designation where the marina would be built from conservancy to rural.

The change allows the group of private developers to move forward with their plans to build a 200-slip marina, which they’ve called the Olympic View Marina.

Following the vote, local marina developer Eric Bentzen said he was in shock; that he couldn’t believe he was finally hearing the words that the project was a go. The next step is for the Department of Ecology to approve the amendment. Because they were the ones that told the county if it made the change, they could approve the project, I’m doubting they’ll have any opposition.

Bentzen said they were going to get started tomorrow on the project, and said that they’ll likely have to make some changes because there are going to be “some obstacles to overcome.” Those obstacles likely popped up over the last three years while the group was wading through the permitting process.

He said he was also excited to get back out in the community; to finally be able to produce something for all the talking he’d done two years ago when the project was first proposed.

I told him to let me know when they get some dates set for work on the site, so when I know more I’ll let you all know more.

It’s late and I’d like to get off the computer, but I’ll try to write more tomorrow about what was said at the commissioner’s study session today and the hearing tonight.

Basically commissioners supported the change because they felt the marina was good for the area and the fact that it met all the local, state and federal requirements was enough persuasion they needed to trust it was properly designed.

Option A:

Pros: Closest to the district’s enrollment targets; moves most schools closer to the district’s diversity average (explanation of the district diversity average: The district would like to even out diversity - ethnic and socio-economic - across its secondary schools. Currently the ratios are unequal, so the district hopes its move of boundary lines will help equalize those numbers).

Cons: Moves Fairview Junior High away from district diversity average.

Option B:

Pros: Moves fewest students and staff; moves Fairview toward district diversity average; reduces estimated student miles traveled.

Cons: Moves most schools away from district diversity average; most non-contiguous attendance areas; increases elementary split feeder schools; most difficult for transportation to implement.

Option C:

Pros: Easiest for transportation to implement

Cons: Moves schools away from district diversity average; moves Fairview away from district diversity average; concentrates naval base housing at Ridgetop Junior High; most additional student miles (meaning students on buses for longer periods).

Option D:

Pros: Moves most schools closer to district diversity average; fewest non-contiguous attendance areas; reduces split feeder schools.

Cons: Moves Fairview from district diversity average; moves the most students and staff; farthest from enrollment targets; leaves minimal “head room” at Fairview.

OK here are the enrollment numbers for each school under the four options:

Option A: High School

* Central Kitsap High School: 1,141

* Olympic High School: 1,095

* Klahowya Secondary School: 996

Junior High

* Central Kistap Junior High: 788

* Fairview Junior High: 764

* Ridgetop Junior High: 780

Option B: High School

* Central Kitsap High School: 1,128

* Olympic High School: 1,123

* Klahowya Secondary: 966

Junior High

* Central Kitsap Junior High: 837

* Fairview Junior High: 743

* Ridgetop Junior High: 767

Option C: High School

* Central Kitsap High School: 1,162

* Olympic High School: 1,064

* Klahowya Secondary: 996

Junior High School

* Central Kitsap Junior High: 777

* Fairview Junior High: 799

* Ridgetop Junior High: 756

Option D: High School

* Central Kitsap High School: 1,141

* Olympic High School: 1,045

* Klahoway Secondary: 996

Junior High

* Central Kitsap Junior High: 788

* Fairview Junior High: 809

* Ridgetop Junior High: 735

I attended the CKSD boundary forum Wednesday night, where district administrators unveiled — if you will — four options for ways its secondary boundary lines could change for the next school year.

In a nutshell the boundary change is needed because some of the district’s junior highs and high schools — namely Fairview and Olympic — have a smaller student population than their counterparts. (i.e., Fairview has 547 students, while CKJ has 932 and Ridgetop has 874; on the high school side Olympic has 985 students enrolled while CKHS has 1,272 and Klahowya — grades 7-12 — has 954).

The district wants to even out those numbers for a number of reasons including diversifying the student body (ethnically and socio-economically) and to ensure academic course offerings are similar at each school. If a school has a low student population it likely won’t have all the classes a school with a large population has because there aren’t enough resources or staff to implement those courses.

OK, enough with that. Here’s what people came to see: The Four Options.

These are complex and hard to explain, but I am going to do my best. What I will do is explain each option (Options A-D) and indicate which neighborhoods will see a move in students from one school to another. To identify the neighborhood, the district uses what it calls “cells”. These indicate the boundary bubble that could change. I will list each cell below, so the actual options don’t get too confusing. To see if you’re in a cell, look at the following descriptions.

I’d also suggest attending the district’s forum Thursday (Dec. 4) which starts at 630 p.m. You can ask questions and hear it straight from the horses mouth — which might make more sense. You can also go to the district’s Web site and find their maps of each cell and read a part of the powerpoint presentation given at the forum.

The cells:

Northlake: includes Northlake Way as an outer boundary, Chico Way in the middle, and NW Country Lane — as well as the roads around NW Country Lane. It includes homes near Erlands Point Road.

Jackson Park West: Northlake Way is the boundary to the east, the “cell” stretches to the west, however the only street listed is NW David Road. The boundary stretches west past that road. It also heads north to where Northlake Way intersects with Chico Way, and south slightly past where Northlake Way curves to the north. (best to look at the district’s map for this one).

Jackson Park Housing & Apartments: Includes most of the Jackson Park Housing and Apartments.

Clear Creek Bangor: This one’s a doozy. Because it’s so hard to define the boundaries, I’m going to direct people to the district’s map (or our map online) that shows the general vicinity. Basically its the area north and west of Waaga Way near the Bangor Base.

Clear Creek East: This runs north of Waaga Way along Highway 3 on the east and west sides, encompassing Mountain View Road, Trident BLVD, and heading further north.

Waaga Way/Silverdale Triangle: Southern boundary runs east to west along NW Bucklin Hill Road. East it goes to Waaga Way and then north along Waaga to its intersection with Silverdale Way. West it goes to Silverdale Way where it runs into Waaga Way intersection to the north. All the streets in between are included.

Old Military: South from NE Echo Drive in a long rectangle heading north using Highway 303 as an eastern boundary and going slightly west Central Valley Road, keeping Central Valley in the cell up to the intersection with Waaga Way.

Knights Court: Old Military Road to the west, running north to NE Fairgrounds Road and further east, but no road is listed as the east boundary. Roads encompassed include NE Knights Court and NE Bridge Place.

Esquire Hills: Highway 303 is its western boundary, it’s box-shaped with a point, running north past NE Winters Road, south to NE McWilliams Road and includes some of the major roads like Johnson Road, NE John Carlson Road, Haynes Road NE and Corfu BLVD NE. (this is one to look at the map for, there’s a lot of roads shown, but no street name listed).

Brownsville Central Valley East: includes Central Valley Road north of Waaga Way, Sigurd Hanson Road, NE Walker Drive, Old Military Road and its connection with Madison Road, Courtney Lane NE, Brownsville Highway NE, NE Paulson Road, Corey Lane NE and likely more I can’t see.

Brownsville Far South: South border is NE McWilliams Road, the boundary runs east past Illahee Road and north into the University Point area and includes NE Third Street N and a number of other roads in the middle - primarily in the Illahee area.

Tracyton Triangle: Its tip is at Tracyton BLVD’s intersection with Fairgrounds Road, heading north to Bucklin Hill Road — spreading east and west as it moves north. It goes past Tracyton BLVD on the west, and out to Nels Nelson on the East. It encompasses NW Selbo Road, NW Palmer Lane, Kari Lane NW, NW Silver Street, Monte Vista Lane and Olson Road NW, and any other street not named in the middle.

Here we go:

Option A:

High School movements:

* Students in the Northlake cell would move from Central Kitsap to Klahoywa Secondary School;

* Students in the Brownsville Central Valley East and Tracyton Triangle cells would move from Central Kitsap to Olympic High School.

Junior High Movements:

* Students in the Northlake cell would move from Central Kitsap Junior High to Klahowya;

* Students in the Jackson Park West cell would move from Ridetop Junior High to CKJ;

* Students in the Jackson Park Housing and Apartments cell would move from Ridgetop to CKJ;

* Students in the Tracyton Triangle would move from CKJ to Ridgetop;

*Students in the Knights Court cell would move from Ridgetop to Fairview Junior High;

*Students in the Clear Creek Bangor and Clear Creek East cells from CKJ to Ridgetop;

*Students in the Esquire Hills cell from Ridgetop to Fairview.

Option B:

High School Movements:

* Students in the Brownsville Central Valley East cell would move from CKHS to Olympic;

* Students in the Tracyton Triangle cell would move from CKHS to Olympic;

*Students in the Waaga Way/Silverdale Triangle cell would move from CKHS to Olympic;

*Students in the Northlake cell would move from CKHS to Klahowya.

Junior High Movements:

* Students in the Clear Creek East cell would move from CKJ to Ridgetop;

* Students in the Brownsville Central Valley East cell would move from Ridgetop to Fairview;

* Students in the Tracyton Triangle would move from CKJ to Fairview;

* Students in the Brownsville Far South cell would move from Ridgetop to Fairview;

* Students in the Northlake cell would move from CKJ to Klahowya.

Option C:

High School Movements:

* Students in the Waaga Way/Silverdale Triangle would move from CKHS to Olympic;

* Students in the Brownsville Central Valley East cell would move from CKHS to Olympic;

* Students in the Jackson Park West and Northlake cells would move from CKHS to Klahoywa.

Junior High School Movements:

* Students in the Clear Creek Bangor cell would move from CKJ to Ridgetop;

* Students in the Old Military cell would move from Ridgetop to Fairview;

* Students in the Esquire Hills cell would move from Ridgetop to Fairview;

* Students in the Jackson Park West and Northlake cells would move from CKJ to Klahowya.

Option D:

High School Movements:

* Students in Brownsville Central Valley East cell would move from CKHS to Olympic;

* Students in Tracyton Triangle cell would move from CKHS to Olympic;

* Students from Jackson Park West and Northlake cells would move from CKHS to Klahowya.

Junior High Movements:

* Students in Clear Creek Bangor and Clear Creek East cells would move from CKJ to Ridgetop;

* Students in Tracyton Triangle cell would move from CKJ to Ridgetop;

* Students in Old Military cell would move from Ridgetop to Fairview;

* Students in Esquire Hills cell would move from Ridgetop to Fariview;

* Students from Jackson Park Housing & Apartments cell would move from Ridgetop to CKJ;

* Students from Jackson Park West and Northlake cells would move from CKJ to Klahowya.

That’s it folks…all my fingers and eyes can take for one night. When I come in on Thursday I’ll post another blog with some of the parent and teacher questions from the forum and the district’s pros and cons of each option.

I told her I’d post a blog entry, asking readers in the area to comment if they’d seen coyotes in the area where she lives, or if they know of coyotes in the general area. She also mentioned she’d seen a number of missing cat posters recently and heard rumors about coyotes lingering, but wasn’t sure if it was a serious threat where she lived.

I have heard of coyote reports near the Illahee area, even had some people send in photos of “Wiley” coyote a few months back. I don’t know specifically about the coyote population in CK, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn there are coyotes there, especially with all the wooded areas for them to live.

Growing up (I lived on the other side of the water) my house was close to a ravine in Woodway. There was a large preserve, (which now is considerably smaller because of the addition of million dollar homes, but that’s another story) where coyotes and racoons lived. It was not uncommon to hear the coyotes howling at night, or even to see them walking down our street. Where I lived was residential, and not heavily forested like some areas of CK, but we were obviously in the roaming range of the coyotes. I never saw them, but my dad would see them walking down our street at night.

Because of this, there was an understanding that if your cat went missing for a few days, they likely were eaten by the coyotes. We thought we’d lost our black cat Pepper one time, because we didn’t see her for four days. But, like a typical cat, she’d hidden herself in some obscure place where we didn’t see her right away.

So, any coyote experts out there? Or any residents have their own tales of missing cats, or seeing coyotes walking down the street in Monica’s area? I am sure she’d like to know, as would the rest of her neighbors, if coyotes are something to be concerned about.

I do have one piece of advice, which I follow at our house, don’t let your cats, or other small pets, out at night. The best way to keep them safe (from cars, other predators or even evil people) is to keep them in at night when the aforementioned creatures come out to play.

Here’s some general coyote information from a web site by the Missouri Department of Conservation:

The coyote (Canis latrans) resembles a German Shepard dog but is lighter in color, has yellow slanting eyes, longer legs and a more prominent point to the nose and ears. Most coyotes are gray to blonde, but some show a rust or brown coloration and have a bushy tail that is tipped with black. Adult male coyotes weigh up to 35 pounds and stand 30-35 inches at the shoulder. The female is usually four-fifths as large. Vocalizations are very high-pitched wails, sharp howls and “screams”, which go up and down scale very rapidly. They have often been reported as “a sound like something being killed”. Coyotes can be seen traveling alone or in pairs. On occasion large groups are present, but there are no data as to whether or not they hunt in packs.

The site also says that coyotes’ diets consist of “mostly of small mammals such as rabbits, mice, carrion, fruits, plants and sometimes small pets, livestock or human refuse. Many urban areas, due to the abundance of green space, have high populations of the prey animals most preferred by coyotes (small rodents and rabbits) as well as places that offer escape cover and shelter for den sites. It is not uncommon to see urban coyotes active during daylight hours and in close proximity to humans. This is because urban coyotes are very accustomed to the presence and activities of people. In rural areas, coyotes are more active at night and tend to shy away from humans.”

Please feel free to post your coyote experiences here, especially if you know of them in the Watson Court area.

The proposed amendment, if approved, would change 2,474 feet of shoreline in Seabeck from a conservancy designation to a rural designation. The county is calling the original designation of the shoreline in 1977 an anomaly, because the conservancy designation restricts marina uses, however when the designation was made more than 30 years ago, a marina was in place along the shoreline.

County staff and the Department of Ecology worked together on the staff report detailing why the change should be made. Ultimately both groups have to approve of the designation change for it to take effect. County commissioners are set to vote on the proposal at their next meeting, Dec. 8.

Ten people testified in favor of the marina and the shoreline designation change, including one of the private developers Eric Bentzen. The only opposition to the shoreline change came from the Hood Canal Environmental Council.

Phil Best, Silverdale attorney and member of the council, testified that the group supports the replacement of the existing marina with a new one, but is opposed to changing the shoreline designation.

“The designation was made in 1977 on purpose,” he said. “It’s not an anomaly. And there is good reason to keep it. The conservation designation prevents other unwanted uses.”

Best said it was the council’s belief that the new marina would be 4.6 times larger than the existing facility. However, Bentzen and Ann Farr, the permitting agent for the proposed marina, said that statement is false.

Bentzen said the current marina’s surface area coverage was 592,000 square feet, while the proposed marina’s surface area coverage would cover 466,000 square feet.

“The marina cannot be rebuilt in its current size,” Bentzen testified. “It would not be compliant with current code.”

When planning the design of the marina, the development group was required by environmental regulations to accommodate sensitive eel grass areas and other fish and wildlife habitats. To do that, the proposed marina was positioned to the north of the eel grass beds that lie to the south, and the docks proposed cover less surface area, to allow more sunlight, than the existing facility, according to Farr.

Those testifying in support of the marina and the shoreline designation change echoed each other in their desire to see the Seabeck waterfront come back to life. Barbie and Billy Mills, owners of the Seabeck General Store and Barbie’s Cafe, testified they are looking forward to the return of boaters to Seabeck’s waters.

“Seabeck is the jewel of Hood Canal,” Barbie said. “We really miss our marina.”

Others noted the marina will increase tourism in Seabeck, and will bring in money because of the increase of boaters. One person commented that right now boaters in Hood Canal spend their money in Mason and Jefferson counties because those are the only places to tie up in the canal. Creating a Seabeck Marina will be beneficial to the county because of those sales tax dollars, they said.

Chairman Steve Bauer requested county staff provide the commissioners with responses to the Hood Canal council’s concerns, so they can review them before making a decision next week. The board is scheduled to vote Monday.

Bentzen said work will not begin on the marina until the shoreline designation change, because it isn’t financially feasible to do any of the work unless all of the work can be done. He also wanted to thank the community for its support.

“We hope to start as soon as we can,” he said.

Last week Kitsap County issued a press release thanking these volunteers for their time in the clean up of the Old Mill Park in Silverdale. Here’s the release:

Kitsap County Parks would like to extend our thanks to the Community for coming together to support “Family Volunteer Day.”

With the help of Famous Dave’s BBQ, who provided lunch, and Starbucks Coffee, who helped wake us up and keep us warm in the morning, the volunteers did a great job cleaning up Old Mill Park. Families worked side by side to clean litter from trails and beaches, remove weeds, and lay down mulch to open up the view of Dyes Inlet from the picnic area. Parents and kids had a chance to volunteer together and enjoy giving back to their communities as a kick-off to this season of Giving Thanks.

To all park volunteers, Kitsap County Parks wants to extend our heartfelt “Thanks” for all of your passion and hard work!

(photo from the county web site).

Let me be clear, the following text is Krigsman’s letter, not anything I have written.

Here it is:

Illahee Community Plan - Land Grabbers vs. Community

Since apparently it has become you versus us, here goes!

Your arguments are flimsy; your intimidation does you no good. You see, our community is strong, our voices united, our goal, the “good of the all”. A community who knows that green is good and the other green is called “Greed”.

One of you has clear cut as far as the eye can see next to the Hood Canal in Seabeck. One of you has designed a four or five story something or other in the floodplain and critical area buffer on Illahee’s shoreline. One of you shows no respect or understanding of how citizen’s feel, but try to bully them into thinking that just because you own property, you can harm your neighbor’s investment in their land which they treasure. One of you laughs about a voluntary Heritage Tree Protection. Several of you wish to destroy a culturally significant historical site. One of you claims only 19 people attended a meeting, but I personally know that 100 folks in Illahee signed their name and walked their talk about the Illahee Plan. One of you will help suck the low aquifer recharge drying up Illahee Creek.

That is not what counts in Illahee, a community in which you do not live. The bottom line is, that as much as you knock us down with your “nay saying” about issues in our community plan, or that this community does not understand the law, or that we don’t have the brain power to think things through, your attacks are not well grounded.

Illahee residents are here to stay! You will know that we too, have a voice, a very loud voice and we hope you can hear us. The Illahee Community Plan is our plan, a good plan approved by our community. Let us move forward!

Judith Krigsman

By now I am assuming many people have heard that long-time Port of Silverdale Commissioner Harry Knapp passed away Monday (Dec. 1).

I wrote a short story about Knapp in Tuesday’s paper that can be read here. I also wanted to blog about Knapp and his influence in Silverdale by posting thoughts from his friends here. His death touched a lot of people, and I would like to share some of his friends’ memories. Please feel free to comment also, and let other people know your favorite memory of Knapp, or give an example of how he touched your life.

In a phone conversation with Hank Mann-Sykes, a friend of Knapp’s, he told me how he and his family used to be invited by Knapp to watch the Whaling Days fireworks from his house. Knapp’s home sits on the hill above Old Town Silverdale, so it was the perfect location to watch the fireworks from. It also was the perfect place for Knapp to keep an eye on the port property and Old Town, Mann-Sykes said. He said Knapp had a telescope pointed at the Waterfront Park and that even when at home Knapp was always watching over the port property to make sure things were safe.

Fellow port commissioner and longtime friend of Knapp’s, Lawrence Greaves said the same of Knapp. That he loved the port district and the port property and was always looking out for it. Port attorney Phil Best said Knapp would stop into the port office regularly and had route he always drove through Old Town. He was considered the area’s unofficial patrol man, driving the streets multiple times a day. When he fell ill about a month ago — he had a heart attack while chopping wood — business owners immediately noticed his absence and asked Best where he’d gone.

Best and Greaves also talked about Knapp’s role in the development of the Silverdale waterfront. He was a port commissioner when the decision was made to purchase the property where the Silverdale Waterfront Park now sits. At the time it could have been developed into commercial use, but the port purchased the land, wanting to keep it public space, Greaves said. The port traded the property with the county, which owned the land that now holds the port parking lot, boat launch and bathrooms. Knapp was instrumental in the development of that area, Best and Greaves said, including the dock and facilities.

Mann-Sykes and friend Carla Larson both commented on Knapp’s garden, stating they considered it the best garden in all of Kitsap County. Larson sent me an email with some of her thoughts about Knapp, which I will share because it’s better to let her say it in her own words. Here’s what she has to say about Knapp and the role he played in her life:

I’ve known Harry my whole life. My mother used to babysit him when he was little. I graduated from CKHS with his daughter who passed 5 years ago.

Harry was Mr. Silverdale, Sorry Hank and Barry, Harry was raised here in Silverdale his whole life. He really cared about the community and the people here. He was the big push to get the port going and help improve the Port/Park area year after. He kept visitors in mind too while designing the port/park bathrooms, having what was needed installed.

Harry was of the old school, nothing wrong with a good paddle if you deserved it, usually a good scolding was enough. I had my share from Harry but will always remember it was right in the end.

Harry was always a good one to tell a story from the past, how things have changed over the years, and how you have to keep ahold of some of that change. I could talk with Harry for hours and learn something new each time whether it was respecting someone else more for something they did and know one knew it to trying to figure out what to do to better Silverdale.

Lots of the younger generation thought of Harry as the old man who drove around early in the morning when in fact he was checking out the Port/park area and the rest of town to make sure things were right. Harry would sit and watch kids on their skateboards doing all kinds of tricks that he himself would never think of doing at a young age.

Harry had the greatest sense of humor. Even after getting after me for not contacting someone to do with Whaling Days Festival, he had a joke or funny story to tell. Harry was Silverdale through and through. He thought of the teenagers when we of the Whaling Days board (I’m Secretary) were trying to change things to have for teenagers. When we decided to bring in Davis Amusements carnival a few years ago Harry was excited. He’d tell me, “it’s about time”.

People of Silverdale don’t realize it takes a lot to have the wonderful waterfront we have at Silverdale Waterfront Park. Harry was a huge part of it. His shoes will be hard to fill by one person.

I will miss seeing him almost daily in July while I kept checking with him to see if I had all my bases covered with the Port for Whaling Days. If you were out early any day you’d see Harry checking out town but now, the truck is parked, no Harry around, I’ll keep the memories I have of Harry in my heart forever.

Harry, you are with some wonderful people who have lead the way. Now it’s your turn to tell them some new stories.

(photo courtesy of Phil Best | Harry Knapp rides in the back of a pickup truck with his grandchildren as the Whaling Days Parade Grand Marshal in July 2006.