Update: At 7:30 p.m., I spoke with a representative of the Kitsap County Sheriff’s office, who said bomb squad personnel had determined the device in question below was a “paintball grenade” real enough to have caused folks with explosives training to err on the side of caution.

I just submitted the item below for our Code 911 file regarding an incident in South Kitsap. Check back later to find out if it was a real grenade, a replica or what.

One interesting aspect of this story, at least to me, is that, according to Lt. John Sprague of the Sheriff’s office, shoppers went about their business quite unruffled by the presence of the Washington State Patrol bomb squad. Maybe there’s hope for the economy yet.

SOUTH KITSAP
Sheriffs Officers Respond to Bomb Threat at Walmart
Kitsap County Sheriff’s officers and the Washington State Patrol bomb squad responded to a report Tuesday afternoon that an unidentified object under a car in the Port Orchard Walmart parking lot could be an explosive device.
The store is located in the 3400 block of Bethel Avenue.
A shopper, who is a retired Marine, noticed the item under the bumper of a blue four-door compact shortly after 3 p.m. and called 911, said Lt. John Sprague of the Sheriff’s office.
“He looked down, and something caught his eye,” said Sprague. “It looked like a small explosive device. It looked like a hand-grenade.”
Sheriff’s officers cordoned off an area that took up roughly four rows of parked cars, and bomb squad personnel used a robot to remove the device to a bomb-proof trailer, said Sprague. They drove the trailer to an undisclosed location to analyze it. A report is expected later this evening.
The store remained open during the procedure, but the front doors were closed, and shoppers were directed to a side entrance, said Sprague.
A security tape shows the object in the parking lot before the car arrived, but not how it got there, Sprague said. The driver of the car was contacted but is not a “person of interest” in the case, he said.
“The device was lying in the parking stall, but it didn’t occur to them that it might be a hand-grenade,” Sprague said.
Check the the Kitsap Sun Web site later this evening for an update.

Here is the Cliff Notes Version. The complete version will run in the Kitsap Sun Friday. Here’s a bird’s eye view of Lake Emelia. (give it a little time for the map to load)

Neighbors say their concerns have not been addressed.
By Chris Henry
chenry@kitsapsun.com
SOUTH KITSAP
A proposed development near Lake Emelia remains the subject of an ongoing appeal by neighbors despite a Jan. 14 ruling by the Kitsap County Hearing Examiner in favor of the plan.

The project, owned by South Kitsap real estate investor Fred Depee, would place 102 single family homes on 28 acres at the corner of Baker and Phillips roads in South Kitsap.

Ryan Vancil, the neighbors’ attorney, said today his clients will present their objections to the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners.

Neighbors Bill Simmons and Peter Boorman, in their original appeal this summer, contended that stormwater runoff from the property would flow into the lake. They also said the developer’s application didn’t do enough to protect area wildlife, and they asked for a better visual buffer between the development and current residents’ homes.

Then-hearing examiner Stephen K. Causseaux, in response to the neighbors’ concerns, ordered county staff to take a second look at the plan. Specifically he called for a review of conflicting evidence about a possible groundwater connection between the proposed storm drainage pond and Lake Emelia.

In an “amended supplemental decision,” issued Jan. 14, Causseaux noted that changes made to the storm drainage plan met the criteria for preliminary plat approval. He dismissed the appeal, moving the application forward to the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners with a recommendation for approval.

The neighbors will appeal the plan before the board, Vancil said. The hearing before the board is not yet scheduled.

Simmons said the neighbors remain concerned about stormwater run-off from the development and pollution which could be introducted to the lake through underground water.
Depee said the drainage issue was thoroughly investigated by the state Department of Ecology, and county staff including a certified hydrologist and environmental specialist. Depee said he will go to extra lengths in engineering the stormwater system to accommodate overflow and control flooding.

Vancil and his clients question the process by which the appeal was handled and contend that Depee’s status as a member of the county’s planning commission calls into question the appearance of fairness.

Depee has previously defended his presence on the commission saying he has stepped down during any decision in which he has a vested interest.

Depee said he is only following zoning regulations that went into effect with the state’s Growth Managment Act in 1996, at which time the Phillips Road area was slated to accommodate growth. He mentioned several other developments in the works in the area, including a 38-home development on property he owns.

“I can understand their concerns,” said Depee. “Everyone fights growth. They’re afraid their rural living is being effected. But it’s not me who put the zoning in.

“I am a third generation Kitsap County resident. If I had my choice, all of Kitsap would look, and be like it was in the ’60’s and ’70’s when I was growing up. The powers to be, and time, have dictated the change to what it is and I make a living on these changes.”