4/30/08
Correction (from Kathryn Simpson): “I don’t have time for a longer post right now, but I did want to ask for one correction. Keith Garton made the motion to appoint Naomi Polen. I did second the motion. Then we had a roll call vote (required in this case). Keith, then Jay, then me. Then Patty Henderson paused and a moment later also voted.”

A story on the South Kitsap School District Board of Directors that ran last week is still hanging at fourth position for “most commented” among recent Kitsap Sun stories.

The story covers Naomi Polen’s appointment to the school board to fill the remainder of Chuck Mayhew’s term. Mayhew announced in February he was stepping down due to career obligations.

Polen, a business owner and mother of four children in the district, has served on multiple sports boards in South Kitsap and at the regional and state level for soccer. She currently serves on the district’s Citizens Budget Review Committee.

Among the threads of comments on the story, readers questioned why Polen was chosen over another candidate Gayle Dilling, who has 23 years’ experience in the field of education.

Even Polen was surprised. “I didn’t see it going that way. Everyone voted for Gayle,” she said.

By “voted,” Polen meant that Dilling was chosen by all four standing board members in a public straw poll (following a closed executive session) that allowed each to pick two top candidates. Pollen was chosen by Jay Rosapepe, Keith Garton and Kathryn Simpson. Board President Patty Henderson chose former board member Chris Lemke as her second pick.

I thought I’d go over my notes to see what, if anything, would indicate the board’s thought process.

Continue reading →

Teachers and administrators in South Kitsap School District have been using a new technique to improve student learning. It’s called “collaboration time,” based on research developed in part by national education experts Rebecca and Richard DuFour.

Over the past school year, teachers in South Kitsap have been working in teams on a systematic analysis of teaching methods that work (sifting out those that don’t). The idea is to use what works consistently throughout schools and across grade levels so that students of all abilities will meet state standards for academic success.

Continue reading →

I was chastised by Ray Garrido for Thursday’s article on the Port Orchard Farmer’s Market. Ray said I didn’t adequately acknowledge the fact that many folks were involved in the inception of the market 30 years ago. My article was based on an interview with Chris Smith, a former WSU Kitsap County Extension agent, who, as I mentioned, was instrumental, in getting the market going.

Ray, whose wife Charlotte is running for Kitsap County Commissioner, wrote:
“It was a nice article about the farmers market but, I was surprised to not see mention of the other people who started the market. The founding board was in place when the market started and those folks were very involved in the startup. It would be good if they got some of the recognition. Charlotte was one of them but there were several others who worked very hard on getting it off the ground. While Chris deserves accolades, he’s by no means the only one.”

My request: If you or someone you know played a part in birthing the market, sing out!

Also, if you visited the market this weekend, tell us about your experience. What role do you believe farmer’s markets play in 21st Century America?

I spoke with Jan Angel this morning on Thursday’s Vision 2040 vote by the Puget Sound Regional Council. She said a reporter at the Seattle Times had sought her out “by name” for an interview for comment on her “no” vote on the plan, which she described as a “done deal.”

Keith Ervin, in his article today, cited University Place Mayor Linda Bird and Angel, who were among a handful of naysayers to the regional growth plan that offers a strategy for accommodating the addition of 1.7 million people to the Puget Sound Region over the next three decades.

Ervin wrote: “Kitsap County Commissioner Jan Angel, who also voted no, said she fears jurisdictions could lose federal road-building money allocated by the Regional Council if they fail to comply with the plan. ‘My concern is the lack of local control,’ she said. ‘This will be another level of regional government.'”

Angel was also concerned that members of the PSRC general assembly were signing on to a document that they did not fully understand. She said, as a member of the PSRC’s economic development board earlier in the Vision 2040 approval process, she asked her fellow board members who among them had actually read through the plan, which is about as thick as a medium sized phone book. “Not one hand went up,” Angel said.
She asked to postpone the vote, but the board moved the plan forward.
“Is that rubber stamping? I think it is,” Angel said.

Kitsap County’s vote on the plan was split between Angel and Central Kitsap Commissioner Josh Brown, whose response to Angel’s assessment of Vision 2040 is covered in an article currently posted on the kitsapsun.com homepage.

Angel, with urging from the Kitsap Alliance of Property Owners, has called for a discussion of Kitsap’s membership in the PSRC, which is on the agenda for the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council’s May 6 meeting, 9 to 11 a.m. at the Norm Dicks Government Center in Bremerton. KAPO is calling for Kitsap’s withdrawal from the PSRC.

Brown and Mary McClure, executive director of the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council, say an equally germaine discussion would be the relative clout of Kitsap County as a member of the PSRC, which also includes King, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

“If we stay in the PSRC, there’s plenty of room for increasing our effectiveness,” said McClure.

Brown said, “We as a community can have much more influence than our size would indicate by showing up for meetings and being involved.”

Brown, who serves on the executive board and transportation committee of the PSRC, went on to comment on Angel’s participation on PSRC committees.

“I haven’t seen historically Commissioner Angel come to many of the meetings,” he said.
“My goal is to get more Kitsap elected leaders getting involved and getting leadership positions on the PSRC.”

Brown pointed to the economic benefits of Kitsap’s membership in the PSRC over the past 15 years. County officials have calculated that Kitsap’s involvement with the PSRC has reaped more than $30 million in state and federal transportation funding than than would have been available under either of the other arrangements being considered as alternatives to the PSRC: Kitsap forming its own regional transportation organization or joining up with the entity that over sees transportation in Mason, Clallam and Jefferson counties.

He challenged critics of the PSRC to come up with viable alternatives for replacing that $30 million as well as examples of how Kitsap’s membership in the PSRC (and living under its Vision 2020) have reduced local autonomy.

No big surprise here.

SOUTH KITSAP
Organizers of Tim Matthes’ campaign to win the South Kitsap Commissioner’s seat in November have announced that outgoing commissioner Jan Angel has endorsed Matthes. Both are Republican.
Phone calls to Angel and Matthes from Kitsap Sun staff were not immediately returned.
According to the press release, Angel will speak on behalf of Matthes at a campaign kick-off ice cream social 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Port Orchard Armory, 1950 Mile Hill Dr. in South Kitsap.
“Bring your kids, friends, and dancing shoes. No need to dress up, this is very casual,” the announcement said.
Angel is running for state representative to the 26th District. Matthes announced April 11 that he will join the race for Angel’s seat against Democrats Monty Mahan and Charlotte Garrido.

I usually don’t just cut and paste stories onto the blog. It seems redundant. But this is a case of just needing to spread the word on a possible scam artist that visited downtown merchants last week.

Port Orchard
PO Police Seek Info on Possible Scam Artist
The Port Orchard Police Department is seeking more information on a man whose suspicious behavior led city merchants to believe he was a scam artist.
According to Commander Geoffrey Marti, the man visited several business April 18, claiming to be selling magazines to benefit a youth organization. When merchants questioned him, the man became “obnoxious,” Marti said.
The police didn’t learn of the man’s behavior until after the fact, so they were unable to question him, Marti said.
A man using the same name as that given by the magazine salesman was recently reported to be visiting businesses on Bainbridge Island, claiming to be a travel writer and asking for free materials. Port Orchard merchants were alerted to the alleged Bainbridge scam artist via an e-mail from the Kitsap Peninsula Visitor and Convention Bureau.
Marti said there is no hard evidence that the two reports refer to the same person, but he said it is likely. The man who was in Port Orchard is described as a white male with long blond hair.
Port Orchard police officers are urging merchants to exercise caution and report any suspicious behavior immediately by calling 911.
“It is helpful if we can properly identify them even if they are only ‘suspicious’ and haven’t committed a crime,” Port Orchard Police Chief Al Townsend wrote in an e-mail to merchants. “It may turn out later that a crime was committed elsewhere against another business owner in Port Orchard or another community.”

The South Kitsap Indian Parent Advisory Committee will hold a public hearing on the South Kitsap School District’s 2008-09 Indian Education grant application from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the district office, 1962 Hoover Ave. SE, Port Orchard. For more information, call Val Gilstrap at (360) 443-3579 or Patty Jorgenson at (360) 874-7062.