Monthly Archives: November 2014

Thank you for the good memories

Ethan mug,

Today was my last day working as a Kitsap Sun regular contributor. After 21 years as a newspaper journalist I’m ready to try something different. For years, many people have told me that I’d make a good teacher and this is what I plan to pursue. I will soon start working as an emergency substitute teacher in Kitsap County.

I’d like to thank you for all your help and time during my 14 months working for the Sun. Your help meant a great deal to me as I was trying to find my way around Bainbridge Island and Kitsap County!

If you don’t mind, I’d really appreciate it if you could keep me and my family in your prayers as I transition into this new phase of my life.

I do not know who will replace me as the Sun’s next regular contributor for Bainbridge, but I would really appreciate it if you would continue to contact Local News Editor Kimberly Rubenstein when you have story ideas or suggestions.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving,
Ethan Fowler

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Bainbridge Island police blotter, Nov. 26; UPDATED

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* – The motor vehicle theft incident on Nov. 24 was updated at 4 p.m. Nov. 26 with the recovery of the stolen car.

The following items were taken from Bainbridge Island Police Department incident reports by reporter Ethan Fowler. For more blotter, visit bainbridgeislander.com and click on Bainbridge blog link on the right side of the screen.

Crime log from Nov. 16 to Nov. 22: 4 miscellaneous, 3 harassments, 2 driving under the influence, 1 agency assist, 1 outside agency referral for Child Protective Services, 1 theft in the third degree, ​1 kidnapping in the second degree, 1 vehicle prowling in the second degree, 1 driving while license suspended/revoked in the third degree, 1 failure to transfer vehicle title, 1 domestic verbal, 1 false alarm unknown cause, 1 burglary in the second degree, 1 suspicious incident/investigation, 1 warrant arrest by outside agency, 1 mental investigation, 1 identity theft, 1 runaway, 1 hit and run-attended property damage and 1 traffic accident.

Nov. 24
Lost property: A 39-year-old woman who lives on the 10000 block of Falk Road lost her driver’s license while she was traveling to Illinois for Thanksgiving. She reached out to the Illinois Secretary of State and in order to rent a car she needed a police report.


Motor vehicle theft: At 8:32 a.m. a 54-year-old woman living on the 100 block of Harbor Square Loop reported that her 2007 Chevrolet was stolen. The woman was a victim of a car prowl on Nov. 4 that netted her car keys. The car was parked in a secured parking garage that only could be entered by knowing an electronic fob. The woman had re-keyed the car’s ignition but not the door locks. BIPD informed the woman they had recovered her vehicle at 1 a.m. Nov. 26.

Nov. 23
Criminal trespass in the second degree: A 51-year-old woman living on the 100 block of Wallace Way reported that sometime between 9 p.m. and midnight that she had heard noises in her backyard of someone trying to open her backyard gate. The gate is not secured by a lock but by a bungee cord to keep the door closed. When the woman went downstairs to investigate what caused the noises she found a young white male wearing either a dark gray or navy blue hoodie sweatshirt standing at her back door. The young man had what appeared to be a small metal object in his hand, possibly a key to her home. Before the man could enter her home, the woman yelled at the man and banged on the window, which startled the man and caused him to flee in an unknown direction.


Suspicious incident/investigation: A male subject, whose age wasn’t listed in the report, was asked to leave his current residence when the woman who owned the home was hospitalized and expected to remain in the hospital for an extended period. The man became upset when the homeowner’s sister told him that he needed to move out. The man then started sending the sister text messages with photos of damage to the house that he said was caused by someone breaking into the house when he wasn’t there. The sister said the man was a drunk and owned a gun, and that she required 24/7 police protection from the man. The officer said 24/7 protection couldn’t be given due to the size of the BIPD force, but night patrols would be added in front of her home.

Nov. 17
Theft in the third degree: A 70-year-old woman living on the 7000 block of Hidden Cove reported on Nov. 22 that two packages delivered to her home at 2:58 p.m. were missing. The packages included Roselle Abramowitz-brand clothing made by the artist valued at $565 for the woman’s business. In addition to the clothing, the theft also included jewelry, bags and accessories.

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Bainbridge Island police blotter, Nov. 19

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The following items were taken from Bainbridge Island Police Department incident reports by reporter Ethan Fowler. For more blotter, visit bainbridgeislander.com and click on Bainbridge blog link on the right side of the screen.

Crime log from Nov. 9 to Nov. 15: 6 traffic accidents, 4 thefts in the third degree, 2 motor vehicle thefts, 2 suspicious incident/investigation, 2 found property, 2 outside agency referrals-Child Protective Services, 2 motor vehicle thefts, 2 miscellaneous, 1 identity theft, 1 malicious mischief in the third degree, 1 domestic verbal, 1 vehicle prowling in the second degree, 1 reckless driving including racing, 1 burglary in the second degree, 1 warrant misdemeanor, 1 false alarm, 1 warrant arrest by outside agency, 1 runaway, 1 theft in the third degree-shoplifting, 1 Violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act-marijuana 40 grams or less, 1 criminal trespass in the second degree, 1 open door, 1 driving under the influence-liquor, theft in the second degree and 1 lost property.

Nov. 16
Driving while intoxicated/alcohol: A 29-year-old Port Townsend man was stopped for speeding on State Route 305 at 1:42 a.m. The man was clocked by radar driving 68 mph in a 50 mph zone. The officer smelled alcohol on the man’s breath. The physically upset man later admitted through slurred speech that he stopped drinking only 30 minutes before attempting to drive home and that he had drank “a lot” of alcohol. The man recorded a .178 percent and .188 percent on a Breathalyzer test. He was transported to Kitsap County Jail for DUI with a $5,000 bond. The legal limit for alcohol in Washington state is .08 percent.

Nov. 15
Theft in the third degree/shoplifting: A 45-year-old man who lives on the 10000 block of Sunrise Drive was stopped for shoplifting at 1:06 p.m. at a Winslow Way grocery store. The man had been asked to return to the store after taking two cups of coffee from the café area without paying for them. The suspect, who was highly agitated and has mental issues and drug addiction, was familiar to the responding officer due to the numerous contacts he’s had with police. A store security officer told the man that he was not allowed into the business again or he would risk arrest for criminal trespass.

Found property: A 62-year-old woman found a Wave2Go ferry pass belonging to a 23-year-old woman at a Winslow museum. An officer tried three times to return the card to the woman at her last known address, but she no longer lived there. A call was also made, but her phone number was disconnected. The card was placed into police evidence.

Driving while intoxicated/alcohol: A 48-year-old Bellevue woman was stopped at 10:27 p.m. on State Route 305 off Winslow Way for speeding. Radar recorded her driving 75 mph in a 50 mph zone. She also failed to maintain her lane, crossing the double yellow line. An officer smelled a faint odor of alcohol on her breath and later the woman blew breath samples of .085 percent and .089 percent. The woman later admitted that she had five drinks of rum starting at approximately 5 p.m. She was transported and booked into Kitsap County Jail and her vehicle was impounded.

Nov. 14
Miscellaneous: neighbor dispute: A 70-year-old man living on the 10000 block of Manzanita Road was having a dispute with a woman neighbor and her son regarding several large evergreen trees that are on his property. The man hired an arborist to assess the risk and the arborist determined removing some of the trees’ branches was the proper course of action in lieu of cutting down the trees. The man said the trimming would keep the trees’ branches from falling on his neighbor’s home. However, the neighbor wanted the trees cut down. The officer told the neighbor her dispute was a civil matter and would have to be dealt with by her attorney.

Nov. 12
Burglary in the second degree: Unknown suspects damaged the exterior door in the orthopedic area of a doctor’s clinic on the 300 block of Winslow Way in an attempt to gain entry. The incident occurred overnight. It appeared the suspects tried to pry the door open.

Vehicle prowling in the third degree: Sometime overnight, two unlocked vehicles were entered and items were taken on the 1000 block of Nakata Place. Items included a $25 black ski jacket and several house keys from various residences on the island. Due to all the keys involved and the locks needing to be changed, the man who lost the keys estimated the theft would cost $1,200.

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Remembering the great Bainbridge Grange riot of 1964

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The Bainbridge Grange’s last big event was a meeting of the newly-formed fruit grower’s club. They tasted pears, talked about their gardens’ successes and failures, and strategized about how to get new members – typical stuff at the quiet little community hall on North Madison.

But things weren’t always so tame. The Grange hosted some raucous teenage rock shows during the early part of the last decade, and even more back in the ’90s.

But the island’s teenagers of the recent past have nothing on the crazy knife-wielding, window bashing kids of the 1960s.

From our archives, here’s a news item about a Grange Hall riot that took place 50 years ago this week:

An orderly teenage dance became chaos Saturday night when a full-scale riot erupted at the Bainbridge Island Grange Hall.

Two youths remained hospitalized today from the melee, and three others required treatment for stab wounds.

Several others were injured but did not require treatment.

Two youths are being held in the county jail as a result of the incident. At least 10 automobiles parked outside the hall near Rolling Bay had windows broken because of the fracas.

For more about the Grange, read our 2010 story about its revival here.

And check out Larry Steagall’s photo gallery here.

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Bainbridge film festival that brings together world starts Friday

From Friday to Sunday, Nov. 14-16, the Bainbridge Island Arts & Humanities Council will showcase works from Bainbridge film professionals through 28 films at its 16th annual Celluloid Bainbridge Film Festival.

Following the simple guideline that works must have been filmed on Bainbridge or feature a past or present Bainbridge Islander in the cast, crew or production, the goal of the three-day festival is to bring the Bainbridge community together to learn about and celebrate local filmmakers, according to a news release from the Arts & Humanities Council. This year’s films hail from aspiring students, young professionals and established artists in the field of film.

Admission to films screened on Saturday and Sunday are free of charge. Saturday morning of the festival will be at Bainbridge Cinemas, where three theaters will be showcasing a variety of family focused films, in addition to the Celluloid Bainbridge Film Challenge entries. On Sunday, the Historic Lynwood Theatre will offer films from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

A full schedule and descriptions of the films and their Bainbridge Connections can be found on the festival’s website, http://bainbridgeartshumanities.org. The film schedule has been arranged for viewers to enjoy several movies in a row or come and go as they please throughout the weekend.

In addition to a diverse group of film professionals, the festival will also explore global and local topics throughout the weekend, diving deeper into social, economic and environmental issues, interpersonal relationships, historical documentation and even athletics.

In Matt Smith’s autobiographical tale “My Last Year with the Nuns,” the master storyteller himself spins a wild and surprising yarn of growing up in 1960s America. Simultaneously categorized as a comedy, avant-garde, mockumentary, dramedy and period/historical piece, the film seeks to explain why the 8th grade was the best year of Smith’s life.

Another local writer with a film in the festival is Matt K. Turner, creator of “Family Weekend.” This movie centers on a 16-year-old competition rope skipper who takes matters into her own hands to bring her parents, played by Hollywood actors Kristin Chenoweth and Matthew Modine, back to “normal.”

After well-deserved accolades at screenings in Malaysia, Australia, Myanmar, Korea, China and New York City, writer Hector Carosso will return to Bainbridge to show “Kayan Beauties” to friends and family. This film tells the story of three Kayan women who travel from their remote village to sell handicrafts in a distant city in Myanmar. They are accompanied by a Kayan girl, who has just had the tribe’s decorative, heavy brass coil rings placed around her neck. In the city, the girl is kidnapped by human traffickers. Far from home and out of their element, the Kayan women desperately search for the girl.

The multi-talented Robert Scott Crane will also return to the island, bringing with him from Los Angeles his newest film “Curio Shop,” an award-winning post apocalyptic acid western. Directed by two-time Emmy Award winning Eric S. Anderson and shot by the Academy Award- and Emmy Award-winning director of photograhy, DP David Stump A.S.C., this hallucinogenic fable stars Crane and Christopher Sweeney. Crane will be available for a question-and-answer session immediately following his film Sunday evening.

Local filmmaker and student at Bainbridge High School, Brendan Bennett has three of his short films in the festival this year, the highlight of which is “Listen.” A story about a boy and his drug-dealing brother and how the power of music shapes their lives, this film has been screened at festivals in Omaha, Hollywood and Ireland.

The Opening Night Celebration on Friday at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, will help to underwrite the otherwise free festival. This will be a festive evening with refreshments, a chance to Meet the Filmmakers and enjoy the feature film, The EDGE at the Movies, celebrating the best of the EDGE Improv. Tickets for opening night can be purchased at CelluloidBainbridge.org.

The educational highlight of the festival will be Sunday afternoon when three films on the topic of the Japanese American Exclusion during World War II will be shown with a discussion panel featuring the voices and stories from invited guests from the Bainbridge Japanese-American community.

In Lois Shelton’s film “After Silence: Civil Rights and the Japanese American Experience,” the past comes alive as the late Frank Kitamoto, who spent 3.5 years of his childhood in a United States concentration camp during WWII, and five students from Bainbridge Island High School develop archival photographic prints in the high school darkroom together as they discuss the need to safeguard the constitutional rights of those living in the U.S., especially in a time of crisis. Shelton offers this rescreening of the film as a fitting tribute to Kitamoto’s legacy. Kitamoto passed away in March at age 74.

“Only What They Could Carry” is a Brenda Berry film viewing the exclusion topic through the lens of a delegation of Bainbridge Islanders who journeyed to the former Manzanar concentration camp, where current Bainbridge Island educators and community leaders accompanied former incarcerated Islanders to the High Sierra desert of California on the 70th anniversary of their forced removal and relocation.

“The Manzanar Fishing Club” by Cory Shiozaki, about a small group of Japanese-Americans incarcerated at Manzanar who sought personal freedom by sneaking outside the barbed wire and machine gun towers to catch fresh fish in nearby streams, then return to camp, without ever being discovered by guards or camp officials.

The Celluloid Bainbridge Film Festival is funded by the Arts & Humanities Council and its donors, along with the Washington State Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. The festival would not be possible without support from Northwest Films, BIMA, Bainbridge Cinemas and the Historic Lynwood Center.

For more information about the festival and all of the wonderful films, visit the Bainbridge Island Arts & Humanities Council’s website, facebook and twitter pages.

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Future of Bainbridge trees to be discussed at Saturday’s 13th Environmental Conference

Discussing the significant loss of tree canopy over the last 15 years — from small developments to large, such as the Visconsi shopping complex — will be part of the Association of Bainbridge Communities’ 13th annual Environmental Conference.

The event will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Waterfront Park Community Center, located at 370 Brien Way.

The conference will focus on:

— the importance of trees on islanders lifestyles,

— what the city of Bainbridge Island is planning,

— what is needed as part of a comprehensive tree retention ordinance,

— what other cities and counties are doing, and

— how residents can participate in the process.

Speakers included Kathy Wolf from the University of Washington’s School of Forestry, Olaf Ribeiro, an internationally recognized expert on tree health issues, Ben Thompson, urban forestry specialist with the Department of Natural Resources, and Nolan Rundquist, a Seattle City arborist, who will talk about the city’s efforts to retain trees.

The event will also include citizen activists from Whidbey Island, Jon Quitslund, a member of the Bainbridge Island Tree Ordinance Committee, and break-out sessions.

For more information, contact the Association of Bainbridge Communities at biabc2000@yahoo.com.

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Bainbridge Island police blotter, Nov. 10

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The following items were taken from Bainbridge Island Police Department incident reports by reporter Ethan Fowler. For more blotter, visit bainbridgeislander.com and click on Bainbridge blog link on the right side of the screen.

Crime log from Nov. 2 to Nov. 8: 3 vehicle prowling in the second degree, 3 malicious mischiefs in the third degree, 3 traffic accidents, 2 false alarm unknown cause, 2 found property, 1 domestic verbal, 1 residential burglary, 1 suspicious incident/investigation, 1 theft in the second degree, 1 hit and run unattended property damage, 1 dealing in child pornography, 1 suspicious persons/situations, 1 Violation of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act – marijuana 40 grams or less, 1 miscellaneous, 1 warrant arrest by outside agency, 1 runaway, 1 theft in the third degree.

Nov. 8

Theft in the third degree: Between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., someone came onto the property of a home located at 10000 block of Sunrise Drive and stole one of two cement cats displayed outside the home. The cats are approximately 18 inches tall and heavy. The female homeowner believed someone was casing the house and was looking for a spare key under the cement cats. When the woman told her neighbor about the theft, the neighbor discovered she was missing a 4-foot-tall cooper pole with a green glass fern valued at under $100. The fern was valued at $80. No other items appeared to be taken or disturbed.


Nov. 6

Warrant arrest by outside agency: A warrant for a 30-year-old man who lives on the 8000 block of Carmella Lane was confirmed at 6:19 p.m. by BIPD for the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office. The man had outstanding warrants from other jurisdictions in addition to his BIPD warrant for a driving while license suspended in the third degree.


Nov. 4
Theft in the second degree: A 65-year-old woman reported that a fraudulent charge of $175 from a High School Road grocery store had been charged to her credit card on Oct. 23. The woman believed the theft occurred when someone stole her purse while she was teaching. The woman said no other fraudulent chargers were made to the account since Oct. 23 and that she had canceled or replaced all her credit/debit cards, driver’s license and military identification.


Malicious mischief in the third degree: An early childcare and family support services center located on the 300 block of Madison Avenue reported graffiti, theft and vandalism occurred sometime after closing for the weekend, from Oct. 31 until reopening Nov. 3. Wooden stumps used as playground equipment were pulled up and out of the ground and tossed around, the bell used to call children was missing and parts of the fence were broken. Also, someone etched the word “books” into the front window of the center.


Theft in the third degree: A 54-year-old woman who lives on the 100 block of Harbor Square Loop noticed that her car door was slightly open. A red leather heart-shaped key ring with a car key that was on the passenger seat was missing, as was a key chain with a big green Lego piece with her Post Office box key and storage unit keys.


Nov. 3

Vehicle prowling in the second degree: An 80-year-old woman parked her unlocked vehicle at 5 p.m. Nov. 3 in a parking garage on the 100 block of Harbor Square Loop. When she returned to her car at 11 a.m. Nov. 4, she noticed items that were in the car’s console and glove box were now sitting in the seats. Approximately $1 in change was missing, as was a library card. The woman has since replaced her library card.

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Bainbridge Island police blotter, Nov. 5

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The following items were taken from Bainbridge Island Police Department incident reports by reporter Ethan Fowler. For more blotter, visit bainbridgeislander.com and click on Bainbridge blog link on the right side of the screen.

Crime log from Oct. 26 to Nov. 1: 3 found property, 3 traffic accidents, 2 theft arrest charge, 2 suspicious persons/situations, 2 theft in the third degree, 2 identity thefts, 2 miscellaneous, 1 forgery/counterfeit, 1 residential burglary, 1 hit and run unattended property damage, 1 harassment, 1 assault in the fourth degree, 1 mental investigation, 1 domestic verbal, 1 agency assist, 1 warrant arrest by outside agency.

Nov. 1

Assault in the fourth degree: A 38-year-old man and a 52-year-old man were involved in a fight at Waterfront Park at 2:48 a.m. The younger man accused the older man of untying his boat’s dingy. This led the younger man to push the older man and cause him to fall into the younger man’s boat and the older man to hit his side. The older man told police that this caused him to beat up the younger man, who had minor injuries to his face. The older man said he only knew the younger man as a live aboard. It appeared to the police officer at the time that the assaults were mutual. At the request of the younger man, the case was referred to the prosecutor’s office.

Oct. 30

Hit and run/unattended property damage: A 45-year-old woman was a victim of a hit and run at 12:45 p.m. The woman was shopping at a Winslow Way grocery store between 12:45-1 p.m. when a store employee informed her of the incident. The employee also gave the woman the license plate number of the vehicle that hit her car while it was parked in the north parking lot adjacent to Winslow Way. The woman’s car was damaged on the left rear quarter panel. Witnesses observed the woman’s car rocking after it was hit.

Miscellaneous: A 61-year-old woman reported a jewelry store on the 100 block of High School Road had mischarged her for watch repairs totaling more than $1,000. The woman said she requested only an estimate on what it would cost to repair and clean the watches, which were 100 and 70 years old, when she dropped them off.

Oct. 29

Identity theft: A 41-year-old man living on the 3000 block of Point White Drive reported the last four digits of his social security number were used to open a cable account. The suspect charged more than $500 to the account. The victim learned of the theft when he was contacted by a collection agency.

Oct. 27

Suspicious persons/situations: At 2:20 p.m. on the 4000 block of Rockaway Bluff Road, a 44-year-old woman reported a white van registered in Bremerton was in her driveway for the second straight day. When the female homeowner approached the white man in his 50s that was driving the vehicle, the man said he was looking for Mills Heights. But when the woman told the man where they were, the man said “fantastic.” A neighbor observed the van in the woman’s driveway the day before.

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