Monthly Archives: May 2007

Friday Afternoon Club: SK Relay for Life Starts Friday

It’s not Friday yet, but you can get started early planning your weekend.

Is there anyone out there whose life has not been touched in some way by cancer? My guess is you’re in the minority.

This year in the United States nearly 1.5 million people will be be diagnosed with the disease.

My father died of lung cancer. My mother-in-law died of breast cancer. My sister is a breast cancer survivor.

The five-year survival rate for all cancers diagnosed between 1996 and 2002 is 66 percent, up from a 51 percent survival rate from 1975-77, according to the American Cancer Society. Progress in diagnosis that allows earlier detection and improved treatments are contributing factors.

Money raised at American Cancer Society Relay for Life events helps fund cancer research, and this year South Kitsap Relay for Life organizers are hoping to raise $225,000 for the cause. The Relay starts at 6 p.m. Friday with a survivors’ walk. Participants, who have collected pledges, will walk throughout the night and most of Saturday.

The public is welcome to stop by and offer support by walking along for a spell, buying food from the vendors or taking part in on site fundraisers.

I’ll be out of town this weekend, but I can say from past experience that the Relay is a hoot. Good luck and thanks to all who will take part.

Here’s the official story. There’s a list of other Relay events in Kitsap, North Mason and Gig Harbor at the bottom.

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War in Iraq Comes Home to South Kitsap

Chris Henry

Today I met Cpl. Adam Poppenhouse and his wife Amanda, a South Kitsap High School graduate. Poppenhouse was visiting the fifth grade class of his wife’s brother, Adam Hayman, at Sunnyslope Elementary School. Poppenhouse, an Army soldier with the 3rd Stryker Brigade out of Ft. Lewis, was severely injured Dec. 5 in Iraq by an IED (Improvised Explosive Device). The class has followed his recovery closely and sent him a large care package earlier this spring. What struck me was the way these two kids, 21 and 20 respectively, are dealing with this monumental change in their life with incredible grace and strength. Their visit brought the war home to Mrs. Laferriere’s class in a way no news story or television broadcast ever will.
Here’s the story.

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Commissioners Say Whoa Nellie to Proposed Parks Capital Projects Plan

Chris Henry

This is the second story in a two-part series on county parks. Today, we’ll look at a proposal for capital projects that didn’t pass the sniff test with the county’s board of commissioners.

For an inventory of Kitsap County parks, visit the home page of the Department of Facilities, Parks and recreation.

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County Parks Plan: Saving the Sacrificial Lamb

Chris Henry

What did you do over Memorial Day weekend? Did you meet your family for a picnic at Silverdale Waterfront Park in Central Kitsap, stroll the beach at Point No Point in North Kitsap or take your dog for a walk at Bandix Dog Park in South Kitsap? From North to South (or South to North if you look at it from our perspective) the county’s nearly 6,000 acres of parks and open space are an integral part of life in Kitsap County. On Wednesday, we’ll run the first of a two-part series on what the county is doing to spare its parks and recreation programs from decimation given the budget shortfall that will hit in 2008. Here’s Part I

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Art Show at South Kitsap High

Chris Henry

The South Kitsap High School Senior Art Show, with an artists’ reception to be held this Friday evening, will feature photography, art, ceramics, jewelry, entertainment and more.

Having seen recent examples of SKHS students’ art while on assignment at the school, I can testify to the quality of work you’re likely to see at this event. The Highlighters, the school’s elite choral group, will perform, and there will be more than 350 photographs, 100 drawings, paintings, ceramics and CADD (computer assisted design) displays. Visitors can vote on the “Best of Show.”

Artwork and photographs will continue to be displayed from June 4-6.

For more information, contact Robert Davis, photography instructor, at (360) 874-5678.

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Fatal Crash in South Kitsap

Chris Henry

Update June 4
General Assignment reporter covered the funeral of Ashlee Moore, the victim of the fatal crash over Memorial Day weekend. Binion wrote about the promising young woman who touched many lives for the Kitsap Sun June3. Click here to access the story.

I received a couple of e-mails about a fatal crash that took place early Sunday morning. For reasons yet unclear, this information did not run on the Web or in today’s paper. Reader Judi Edwards described a roadside memorial to the victim. “Flowers were placed at the site with candles glowing late in to the night last night. As I drove past at 11:30 PM Sunday night there were people standing at the site,” she wrote.

Here’s the information from state patrol.

Crash Kills 19-year-old PO Woman

By JOSH FARLEY, jfarley@kitsapsun.com
May 29, 2007

SOUTH KITSAP
An early morning crash Sunday killed a 19-year-old Port Orchard woman on SE
Sedgwick Road, according to the Washington State Patrol.

Just after midnight, Ashlee S. Moore was driving a 2000 Nissan Sentra west
on the road, also known as Highway 160, when she crossed the center line to
pass a 1993 Dodge Intrepid, driven by a California woman.

She crossed the eastbound lane of traffic as well, leaving the road and
striking a power pole near the highway’s intersection with Bethel Road,
troopers said.

Moore died at the scene. The California woman was uninjured.

Troopers continue their investigation of the accident. Both women were
wearing seat belts, and it is not known if alcohol or drugs were involved in
the crash, the state patrol said.

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Who Was Henry?

Chris Henry

I presume some of the readers of this blog knew Henry Baptiste, aka John the Baptiste. He was a colorful guy, well known in the Elks and Eagles organizations, and he was involved with South Kitsap Community Park. And on this Memorial Day weekend, it is worth noting that Mr. Baptiste, an Army Veteran, was also a strong supporter of local vets, whom he helped by running errands, taking them to appointments and such, according to his widow Claryce, who described him as “just an all-around good guy.”

Here’s the odd story of how his cremated remains were lost and, thanks to some caring neighbors, found.

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So You Want to Be A Public Servant?

Chris Henry

Candidates for public office in 2007 will want to mark their calendars for June 4 through 8, when the Kitsap County Auditor’s Office will be accepting filing applications. Updates on who has filed for what seat will be posted twice daily on the county’s home page, www.kitsapgov.com.
Although this is an off election year — no presidential, legislative or judicial races, at least in Kitsap County — several local races are already drawing attention. Among the most high profile contests, City of Port Orchard residents will decide who will replace outgoing Mayor Kim Abel, who has decided not to seek a second term, and long-time Port of Bremerton Commissioner Mary Ann Huntington will defend her seat following a large port levy hike in 2007.

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Sommerhauser Appointed to Planning Commission

Chris Henry

Central Kitsap Commissioner Josh Brown has appointed retired union
lobbyist Jim Sommerhauser to the county’s planning commission.
Sommerhauser, who calls himself “a student of Kitsap County
government,” is a frequent flyer at commissioners’ meetings, where he
is known for taking commissioners to task over details of the agenda
and due process.
“I’ve always known Jim as someone who leaves his pretenses at the
door,” said Brown. “He does his homework.”
Brown noted that Sommerhauser has attended more than 150 commissioners
meetings, briefings and other county meetings since he retired from the
civil service in 2001.
Sommerhauser, a Central Kitsap resident, described himself as a “policy
geek, well beyond wonk.”
He spent 36 years with the federal government, much of it in labor
relations. Most recently, he advised the Office of the Secretary of
Defense on labor issues. He served three terms as international
president of the International Federation of Professional and Technical
Engineers, AFL-CIO, which represents engineers in the private, public
and federal sectors.
Earlier, he worked for 15 years in nuclear testing at Puget Sound Naval
Shipyard.
Besides his federal and union work, Sommerhauser started and ran two
private businesses, Sommerhauser Aircraft Leasing and Sommerhauser
Labor Relations Training and Facilitation.
Sommerhauser is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, where he served eight years
of active duty during the Vietnam era and six additional years with the
reserves.

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County Officials Step Forward for Endresen’s Seat

Chris Henry

Two county officials have announced their intention to run for the county commissioner’s seat that will be vacated by Chris Endresen at the end of June.
Treasurer Barbara Stephenson and county public information officer Clarence Moriwaki are the latest candidates to throw their hats into the ring.
Endresen is leaving the county to head up the Washington State office of Sen. Maria Cantwell.
Stephenson, a North Kitsap resident elected as treasurer in 2002, said her understanding of the county budget would be an asset as the county prepares for at least four years of budget reductions.
Stephenson expressed a sense of urgency about making adjustments to the budget.
“I believe some things need to be addressed in this budget cycle,” she said. “It will be a challenging time, but also a rewarding time to be in county government, and I look forward to the opportunity to serve.”
Stepheson was reelected as treasurer in 2006. She is former director of the United Way of Kitsap County. Earlier in her career, she worked in the banking industry. She has lived in Kitsap County since 1977.
Moriwaki, a Bainbridge resident who assumed his post with the county little more than a month ago, said he had been thinking about declaring his candidacy for a couple of weeks, but he wanted to run it by the commissioners first.
“They were very supportive,” he said of Endresen, Josh Brown and Jan Angel.
Moriwaki has been involved with the Democratic party since the 1980s, when he worked on the state Democratic Central Committee. He also worked for the state Senate Democratic Caucus.
He has been a member of the Tukwila City Council and took a stab at a state Senate seat representing the 11th District, but was not elected.
He worked on Mike Lowry’s campaign for governor and later became his deputy communications director. He has been a spokesperson for the Clinton Administration’s Northwest Forest Plan and for the Portland Rose Festival.
Moriwaki worked for Sound Transit in Seattle from 1998-2001 before becoming disillusioned and leaving that post. Most recently he ran the Kitsap County office of Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island.
Inslee, Port Orchard Mayor Kim Abel and a number of Democratic precinct committee officers have encouraged him to run, Moriwaki said.
Moriwaki said he would focus on making the county more cost-efficient.
“The county has to be smarter and leaner,” Moriwaki said. “I challenge the county to be more nimble.”

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