Daily Archives: March 19, 2009

UPDATED: Poulsbo man dies at Bainbridge ferry terminal

The Kitsap County Coroner’s Office has identified the Poulsbo man who died at the Bainbridge ferry terminal Thursday morning as 45-year-old Bryan S. Merrell.

The coroner’s office also confirmed that Merrell died of a heart attack.

Merrell collapsed on the terminal’s walk-on loading ramp shortly before the 7:05 a.m. sailing to Seattle. Ferry riders called 911 at 6:54 a.m. to report Merrell’s condition.

“It was rush hour so there were a lot of commuters there with him,” Bainbridge Island Fire Department Assistant Chief of Operations Luke Carpenter said.

Emergency workers tried CPR for about an hour before Merrell was pronounced dead at the scene.

Foot passengers were rerouted to the auto loading deck. The ferry was delayed a few minutes, according to Bainbridge police.

The coroner’s office on Friday said Merrell was aged 45 rather than 46, as had been earlier reported by emergency responders.

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A ferry ride with Cap’n Ty

ferrycaptain

The Seattle Times recently joined Bainbridge Islander and ferry captain Ty Anderson to get a sense of the typical day-in-the-life at the helm of the Tacoma.

“For me, a beautiful, boring day is a good day,” said the 26-year Washington State Ferries veteran.

Read the full Q & A session here.

And check out the photo gallery. There’s a pic of a coffee-sipping, bike-helmeted Anderson that one commenter said “is SO Washington State.”

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City to cut another $3.6 million from budget

A marathon nine-hour City Council meeting ended with the decision to cut another $3.55 million from an ever-slimming budget.

Most of the cost savings will come from surplus property sales and staffing reductions.

Another $1 million in cuts have yet to be decided. The council put off a decision on possible reduced support for community organizations.

Read my story here.

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