Monthly Archives: March 2007

South Kitsap Speller a Finalist in Regional Bee

One of the perks of my job is getting to cover spelling bees. I’m not the greatest speller in the world, but I am a spelling bee groupie. Last night, I watched spellbound as 24 youngsters from Kitsap, North Mason and Jefferson counties competed in the 32nd annual Kitsap Sun Regional Spelling Bee.

The winner was Hunter Lehmann of Poulsbo, a home school student with a huge appetite for reading. Tied for second place were eighth grader Eve Wiggins of Bainbridge Island and South Kitsap’s own Eli Nervik. Eli,12, a sixth grader at South Colby Elementary, hung on for 17 rounds, successfully spelling words like “harpsichord,” “didactic,” “penicillin” and “camouflage” before bobbling the word “bobolink.”

Congratulations to Eli, who is the son of Patricia and Michael Nervik, and congratulations to all Kitsap area spellers who made it to the regional event.

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Graduation is the Goal

The Bremerton African American Ministerial Alliance (BAAMA) will host a forum for parents on improving student achievement at 7 p.m. Thursday at Grace Bible Church, 7070 Bethel Burley Road SE, in Port Orchard.
BAAMA is a group of local ministers focused on black student achievement, but all parents are invited to the forum, which is co-hosted by South Kitsap School District, said president Larry Robertson, Bishop of Emmanuel Apostolic Church in Bremerton.
“Our focus is how can we maximize student achievement and ensure all students meet or exceed graduation requirements,” said Robertson.
Student achievement is not just reflected in WASL scores, but is many-faceted, he added.
The forum will include an open discussion and sharing of ideas between parents and school district officials. School officials will outline learning opportunities available for students in South Kitsap.
The forum is “an opportunity to move forward beyond the past breakdowns and enter into a new season where helping our children improve academically is our major concern,” said Robertson.
Another forum for the Bremerton School District is scheduled for 7 p.m. April 26 at Faith Temple C.O.G.I.C, 2814 Trenton Ave. NE, in Bremerton.
For information, call Pastor Floyd Robinson, BAAMA South Kitsap Area Coordinator, at (360) 876-6720, Ray Rogers at (360) 649-4992, or the Emmanuel Apostolic Church office at (360) 479-3674.

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SK Parks Meeting and Investigation Update

The South Kitsap Parks & Recreation Board of Commissioners will hold its administrative meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at Park Vista Retirement & Assisted Living, 2944 Lund Ave. On the agenda is discussion of the South Kitsap Girls Softball Association, a park tenant, and a proposal by Supporters of the Chuck F. Jeu Family Recreation Center for a “green” community center at the park.

On Friday I spoke to Sgt. Eric Bockelie of the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office, who said he had completed his investigation of the South Kitsap Parks board in connection with an allegation of insurance fraud. Sgt. Bockelie would not comment on the case, and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jim Mitchell, to whom the case has been referred, said today he hasn’t had a chance to review it, so also could not comment on whether charges would be filed. Recall, however, that Mitchell has already said, based on what he knows of the case, it is likely no charges will be filed.

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SK Board Meeting

South Kitsap School District Board of Directors will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday at South Kitsap High School, 425 Mitchell Ave., Port Orchard. On the agenda is a presentation on the South Kitsap High School Improvement Plan by principal Jerry Holsten and an enrollment report by administrator Terri Patton. . On the agenda is a presentation on the South Kitsap High School Improvement Plan by principal Jerry Holsten and an enrollment report by administrator Terri Patton.

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SK Board Taking a Bond “Breather”

The South Kitsap School District Board of Directors have agreed to give the public, and themselves, a break.
The board will not run a reconstituted version of the district’s failed $163.2 million capital facilities bond this spring. Instead, school board president Patty Henderson announced today, another bond election will wait until the general election in November.
Almost immediately after results of the election were posted March 13 — showing the measure had fallen about eight percentage points short of the required 60 percent super majority — some bond supporters pushed for running the measure again at the earliest possible opportunity in May. But after a work study meeting Wednesday, attended by about 40 community members, the board concluded that the voters they hope to reach would not be receptive to seeing the measure again so soon. In addition, board and community members who worked toward passing the bond over the past months said they are, in a word, pooped.
“We need to take a little breather,” said Henderson. “We don’t feel the momentum is there at this point. And the voters spoke pretty loudly.”
Read the compete story later today at the Kitsap Sun’s Web site.

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The Voice of South Kitsap

I received a lengthy phone message from a caller who revealed “the real reason the South Kitsap levy (sic) didn’t pass.”

At the end of the message, he said, “I know your paper’s liberal, so you’re not going to print nothing, but now you know the rest of the story, like Paul Harvey. Thank you.”

Unfortunately, he didn’t leave his name. So, no, we can’t use his comments in articles on the Web or in print, because of the Kitsap Sun’s policy on anonymous sources. However, the rules of blogging being a tad more liberal (no play on the caller’s words intended), I’ll relay the gist of his message below, as I think he expresses a point of view we’re not going to hear from any organized (or at least semi-formal) opposition to the bond.

I present Mr. Voice of South Kitsap:

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SK Bond Supporters Promise Comeback

Supporters of South Kitsap School District’s proposed $163.2 million bond were stunned into silence by preliminary results showing 48.22 percent of voters against the measure. The number voting “yes” was 51.48; the bond needed 60 percent to pass.
Several in the group said they’d like to see the bond run again at the soonest opportunity.

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Friday Afternoon Club: Items of Questionable Value

Question of the week: What do you collect, and what does your collection mean to you?

Ignore the weather report for this weekend predicting a deluge and you could be deceived into believing spring is just around the corner. When it’s not blowing sheets of moisture sideways, the air has a new softness. Milder weather is on the way, and with it … garage sale season.

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SK Parks Alleged Fraud a “Non-issue”

I spoke with Deputy Sgt. Eric Bockelie of the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Department this afternoon. He was dotting the “i”s and crossing the “t”s on a report to the prosecutor’s office regarding an investigation of alleged “insurance fraud” on the part of South Kitsap Parks & Recreation District Board of Directors. Sgt. Bockelie was unwilling to give details of the report, but Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jim Mitchell expects no charges will result from findings of the investigation. In fact, said Mitchell, “It’s really a non-issue.”
I’ll write a complete story when the report is filed. Here’s what I know so far.

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