Kitsap

A late South Kitsap resident’s wish to aid those who once cared for him was fulfilled in grand fashion July 23 with SK Fire and Rescue ceremoniously unveiling a state-of-the-art addition to its EMT fleet purchased entirely through donated assets.

Ron Johnson’s appreciation for SKF&R had already been strong, his brother Jerry having served as a volunteer firefighter in the 70s and his family demonstrating decades of support before that. That appreciation would grow substantially when he took a nasty fall in December 2006, prompting his life partner Robert Roblee to call 911.

His gratitude for the service rendered to him went beyond words, going so far as to bequeath some of his own property to be transferred to and sold by SKF&R upon his death in order to fund a new ambulance. Following Johnson’s passing on May 7, 2021, the sale rose roughly $450,000 according to SKF&R chief Jeff Faucett, with just under $369,000 being used to acquire said ambulance and the associated equipment.

Roblee returned to Pilgrim Firs to celebrate the awaited fulfillment of the shared agreement with SKF&R and his late partner just two days short of the three-year mark of Johnson’s celebration of life at that very site. With the on-site Pride Garden created in Johnson’s memory behind him and the new ambulance to his left, Roblee declared to the attendees of a brief ceremony, “South Kitsap Fire and Rescue gave Ron 15 more years of life…and for me 15 more years of love.”

But what could have turned into a coronation now has the looks of a competitive race, with three veteran state officials vying for the seat representing the Olympic and Kitsap peninsulas in the U.S. House.

Franz, a Democrat, has opened up an early fundraising lead. But state Sen. Emily Randall, also a Democrat, has collected more high-profile endorsements from the state’s congressional delegation, indicating a split among the Democratic establishment. Republican state Sen. Drew MacEwen lags in fundraising but says he’s confident he can flip the seat, just as he previously won open state House and state Senate seats that had been held by Democrats.

Laurynn Evans is resigning as superintendent of North Kitsap School District, according to the district's school board agenda updated Tuesday morning.

Evans' resignation is listed among personnel recommendations that will be reviewed by board directors as a consent agenda item during Thursday's regularly-scheduled meeting.

Evans, who became North Kitsap's superintendent in 2017 and signed a three-year contract with NKSD in 2023, was put on paid leave by the board after she was named as the suspect in a Jan. 26 theft of signs opposing the district's February bond measure, which failed. Evans entered into a pretrial diversion agreement Feb. 28 while appearing at Kitsap County District Court over a misdemeanor charge of removing or defacing political advertising.

A reported discharge in Sinclair Inlet wasn't a sewage overflow, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard said Friday night, but rather consisted of stormwater and treated oily wastewater, and a seven-day no-contact advisor for the waterway was rescinded by the Kitsap Public Health District.

The Health District had announced a sewage spill and a no-contact advisory on Thursday evening.

According to a statement issued by the shipyard's spokesperson Adrienne Burns, on Wednesday morning public works personnel discovered a flooded utility vault that required urgent repair. Personnel believed the vault was flooded with rainwater, and didn't observe any oil or other pollution indicators in the vault before starting their pumping, the shipyard told Kitsap Sun.

"At the first indication there was oil in the vault, pumping was stopped," according to the statement. "Upon entering, public works personnel found broken ship’s Collection, Handling, and Transfer (CHT) piping which indicated there could be domestic wastewater from vessels in the discharge. This CHT piping also carries treated wastewater from the Oily Wastewater Treatment System.

Pets of homeless and low-income people now have a place to get emergency veterinary care with the opening of Kitsap Humane Society’s Lifesaving Center.

“One of the harsh realities now is there are a lot of people who are in need and aren’t able to get (their pets) access to desperately needed care,” said Dr. Jen Stonequist, co-interim executive director at KHS. “What we are doing for the people and animals that need us is really important. The ability of this community to support a clinic that helps people, when facing hard times, to keep their pets is really incredible.

“It’s going to be a game-changer,” Stonequist said.

The center – officially called the Russ and Linda Young Veterinary Lifesaving Center – primarily serves dogs and cats. The $10.1 million facility will treat an estimated 2,500 animals each year.

The center formally opened in March but during a pilot period, as the complex geared up to full operation, the staff provided critical surgeries to select animals. Dozens of furry patients were assisted during this preliminary stage. Here are a few examples:

Hulk, a 102-pound pitbull, had a hematoma on his right ear. Removing the swelling required expensive surgery the owners could not afford. After a successful surgery and a lot of drool, Hulk returned to health and was reunited with his family.

Mercury, a brown tabby cat, had been hit by a car in Bremerton and incurred extensive injuries to his hind legs and hips. The owners took him to emergency care but were unable to pay for needed services. The family took the animal to KHS to be euthanized. But veterinary team members examined the tabby and had another idea. After an operation, follow-up care and daily bandage changes, Mercury made a full recovery.

Judah, a 7-year-old cat with eye issues, was found as a stray in Bremerton. The feline was brought to the shelter suffering from bilateral entropion, a condition in which the animal’s eyelashes rub against the eye causing injury. The owner was unable to afford the procedure. But the lifesaving center performed surgery, and Judah was reunited with its owner.

The center provides services ranging from standard spay and neuter procedures to operations.

“We will be doing general practitioner emergency-type procedures. We will assist with things like foreign body surgery, like animals eating something they shouldn’t, with amputation surgeries, with exploratory surgeries if an animal has a mass removal, and wound repair. We will also be doing dental procedures, like cleanings and extractions,” Stonequist said.

The center features a community clinic that provides services similar to those available at a neighborhood vet. “We will be seeing things like eye and skin infections, upper respiratory and lameness, inappetence, and older pets that are ill,” she said, adding medical services will be provided on a sliding scale.

The building has two operating rooms, a dental suite, examination areas, and prep and recovery rooms.

Humane society personnel toured similar facilities around the nation to help design the 6,500-square-foot center. Bremerton’s Rice Fergus Miller was the architect. The late Dr. Jim Moore, a beloved Kingston veterinarian for over 30 years, influenced the project. “He was passionate about providing care for the community and pets in need,” Stonequist said.

On the heels of the Legislature approving more funding for ferry services in the session that concludes this week, another four “Fix our Ferries” town halls have been scheduled for community members in Bremerton, Bainbridge Island, Kingston and Poulsbo.

On Saturday Rep. Greg Nance, D-Bainbridge Island, will host the first town hall, from 10 a.m. to noon in Bremerton at the Norm Dicks Government Center, 345 Sixth Street. A second town hall that day is scheduled for 1 to 3 p.m. at the Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center, 370 Brien Dr.

The following Saturday, March 16, Nance will host a meeting in Kingston, at the Village Green community center from 10 a.m. to noon, followed by a final meeting at Poulsbo City Hall, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

The community meetings follow three previous “Fix our Ferries” town halls that Nance hosted in Bremerton, Bainbridge and Kingston, which drew an attendance of about 50 people each. There, Nance listened to testimonies from attendees on how the weakened ferry system had affected their personal lives, and how they would like to see it changed.

One of Nance’s top priorities has been advocating for a stronger ferry system during his freshman session in Olympia. He’s worked to fund a Washington State ferries commission and conduct an economic impact study on ferry cancellations and delays in the House transportation budget. The budget has allotted millions of dollars to support vessel maintenance, staff recruiting and training, service along the Bremerton to Seattle fast ferry route and terminal upgrades.

The Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office is on the lookout for a man allegedly posing as a law enforcement officer and making traffic stops.

A woman called 911 after she said she was pulled over in a Feb. 24 traffic stop conducted south of the Port Orchard city limits. The behavior of the man was described as suspicious, and a KCSO investigation determined that no state or local agency had made the stop.

“The suspect was driving a dark 4-door Dodge Charger with a spotlight on the driver’s side and the word ‘Washington’ on the side of the car,” a Feb. 26 KCSO release said. “The vehicle had red and blue emergency lights installed in the front grill, but no lights on its roof.”

Police are warning residents to take caution when being stopped by someone who appears to be law enforcement. “Do not stop in a dark or secluded area, but proceed to the safest closest location to stop.”

Anyone with tips is asked to call 911 or email [email protected] or [email protected].

PORT ORCHARD — North Kitsap School District Superintendent Laurynn Evans on Wednesday entered into a pretrial diversion agreement while appearing at Kitsap County District Court to face a misdemeanor charge of removing or defacing political advertising.

Under terms of the diversion agreement reached by county deputy prosecutor Anna Fredenberg and Evans' attorney, Tim Kelly, the misdemeanor charge will be dismissed as long as Evans meets certain conditions as explained by Kitsap County District Court Judge Jeffrey Jahns. Those conditions include paying $332 in restitution to cover the cost of the signs and not committing another criminal law violation for six months. Evans also cannot contact Scott Henden or Kim Gerlach, the residents who initially reported the missing signs, with the exception being at a North Kitsap school board meeting.

Henden and Gerlach told law enforcement on Jan. 26 that they witnessed Evans removing signs opposing the school district's February bond measure. The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office investigated the incident and the Kitsap County Prosecutor's Office on Feb. 21 charged Evans with the crime.

Diversion agreements are not uncommon for defendants facing first-time misdemeanor charges.

Jahns told Evans if she violates the conditions of the diversion agreement, the court would review the Jan. 26 police report — and only the police report — to determine if she committed the misdemeanor offense, which carries a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

"It is very likely that if a judge were to review those, you would be found guilty of the offense," Jahns said. "While I recognize that there is no prior history that the court is aware, I want to say that this is a serious change. It involved allegedly election interference by a public official. If you violate this agreement, it is likely you would serve some jail time."

Evans, who denied taking the signs when interviewed by law enforcement on Jan. 26, left the courthouse without offering comment. She is currently on paid administrative leave.

Henden and Gerlach were among of small group of North Kitsap citizens who attended Evans' court appearance. Henden opted against offering comment when given the opportunity by Jahns. Gerlach submitted a written statement to the Kitsap Sun in which she thanked Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney Chad Enright's office and the district court for handling the case. Regarding the North Kitsap school board, Gerlach said it's time for the directors to address the "moral aspects" of Evans' actions.

"Currently, the North Kitsap School Board and Administration have shown a lack of integrity and accountability," Gerlach wrote. "Students and staff of North Kitsap School District deserve leadership that is accountable and holds high moral standards. Public outcry at the school board meeting last Thursday spoke loud and clear, now is the time for the North Kitsap School Board to call a special meeting. It is a time for (board president) Mike Desmond and the school board directors to discharge (Evans) and terminate her contract, without giving a payout using funds intended for the needs of students."

Evans' contract with North Kitsap School District, which runs through June 2026, includes language noting that the superintendent could be discharged and the contract terminated for "sufficient cause." The district confirmed Wednesday afternoon that a separate investigation is ongoing.

North Kitsap School District Acting Superintendent Rachel Davenport provided the following email statement from the district:

"The district is aware of Dr. Evans’ court appearance this morning. We understand that there was a pretrial diversion reached with the court but we have not confirmed all of the details of the diversion. Separate from the legal proceedings, North Kitsap School District is conducting its own investigation into allegations against Dr. Evans. Because this is a personnel matter, the district must be careful not to undermine the ongoing investigation. Even at the conclusion of the district investigation, the information that we will be able to share will be limited.

"We hear and are taking stock of feedback from our community. The district is actively engaged in measures to address and resolve this challenging situation as soon as possible while maintaining fiscal responsibility for the district and keeping the school community at the heart of all decisions."

North Kitsap's next board meeting is scheduled for March 14 at the district's main office in Poulsbo.

North Kitsap School District Superintendent Laurynn Evans was charged with a misdemeanor crime on Wednesday, according to a statement from the Kitsap County Prosecutor's Office.

The charge, for removing or defacing political advertising, stems from an incident Jan. 26 when two residents reported that signs in opposition of North Kitsap School District's bond measure were taken, and identified Evans as a suspect. The bond failed in the Feb. 13 election, with approximately 63 percent of voters in the district opposing the $242 million measure.

Evans is scheduled to appear in court in a week, on Feb. 28, according to the prosecutor's office. The maximum penalty would be 90 days in jail or a $1,000 fine, plus restitution, assessment and court costs, according to the charging documents. The statement from the prosecutor's office notes that Evans has no prior criminal convictions or charges.

Evans, who denied taking the signs when interviewed by law enforcement on Jan. 26, is currently on paid administrative leave after a 4-1 North Kitsap school board vote in wake of the investigation over the sign incident.

"We understand that it is frustrating for our staff, families, and community that we cannot discuss details of personnel matters," a statement from North Kitsap School District read on Wednesday, after the charge was filed. "The board continues to be committed to a full and fair investigation, to making evidence-based decisions, and to keeping the best interests of our students as our guiding focus."

School board members contacted referred questions to North Kitsap school board chairman Mike Desmond, who was not immediately available. The North Kitsap School District board has a regular meeting scheduled for 5 p.m. Thursday.

Evans' charge comes nearly four weeks after she was initially contacted by deputies from the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office following a report made by Scott Henden and Kim Gerlach, members of a group that opposed North Kitsap's failing bond measure. Evans was later named the suspect in the theft.

Henden told KCSO deputies he witnessed the theft of two campaign signs he'd placed along Little Boston Road in Kingston. Henden and Gerlach identified a Ford Ranger used in the theft and later spotted the pickup truck in the parking lot outside the Sons of Norway building in Poulsbo. KCSO deputies confirmed the truck is owned by Evans, who was seen by Gerlach walking into the Sons of Norway building for a Poulsbo Rotary meeting.

When KCSO officers searched the back of Evans' truck, they found grease inside the tailgate that was consistent with grease that had been used as a theft deterrent on the signs, which were found discarded along Stottlemeyer Road. Officers also searched a dumpster near where Evans' truck was parked and spotted a pro-school bond sign, a washcloth and a pair of garden gloves. Those items were dirtied with small amounts of the grease that appeared consistent with the grease on the stolen signs.

"I told Evans I could see the grease marks in her truck and they were a match for the same grease that was on the signs that were taken and later recovered by me at a location she was observed stopping at," a KCSO sergeant wrote in the investigation report. "Evans looked shocked and I don't recall if she said anything. It was clear she was not telling the truth and I told her she should probably talk to the deputies, hinting that she should probably start telling the truth."

In an email Wednesday, Kitsap County Prosecutor Chad Enright acknowledged a high level of public interest in the case. State law limits the amount of public comment his office can make on pending charges, the email said, adding that the case "... will be handled in the same manner as thousands of other misdemeanor cases that our office, and the Kitsap County District Court, handle every year."

North Kitsap's proposed school bond is failing in the initial returns from Tuesday's election, according to Kitsap County Auditor Paul Andrews, with just 36.88 percent of the votes counted in favor of the $242 million measure.

Two measures in Bremerton were passing in Tuesday's returns. Prop. 1, renewing a programs and operations levy, had 62.08 percent of votes in favor. Prop. 2, a bond that would replace two elementary schools and the district's alternative high school, among other projects, was narrowly passing, with 60.87 percent in favor.

A levy measure for Central Kitsap School District's levy renewal was trailing, with 48.74 percent of ballots counted in favor.

Two levy measures on Bainbridge Island were both passing, with 73.06 percent in favor of BISD's Prop. 1 and 74.02 percent in favor of Prop. 2.

Bonds require 60% voter approval, while levies require simple majority (50% plus one).

BREMERTON — One Nimitz sailor was stabbed in the barracks in Bremerton and transported to a Seattle hospital Saturday morning, and two other Nimitz sailors are now in pre-trial confinement related to the incident, the Navy said.

Three sailors assigned to the Bremerton-based USS Nimitz aircraft carrier were involved in an altercation in the barracks at Naval Base Kitsap on Saturday, Nimitz spokesperson Tim Pietrack told Kitsap Sun.

One sailor was injured and transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. The sailor is in stable condition, Pietrack said on Monday. Two other sailors are currently being held in pre-trial confinement at the Northwestern Joint Regional Correctional Facility at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, the spokesperson said.

Kitsap 911 board members accepted the immediate resignation of Richard Kirton, the agency's longtime executive director, on Tuesday after Kirton was arrested last week.

Kirton was arrested in King County as part of a sting operation in which he allegedly messaged an undercover police detective and agreed to pay a fake 16-year-old for sexual acts, KING 5 reported, citing court documents. When he arrived at a King County hotel room and messaged the detective’s profile that he was there, police arrested him at around 11 p.m., the TV station reported.

The elected officials who oversee Kitsap County's emergency dispatch agency held a brief special meeting Tuesday afternoon that included a private executive session "to review the performance of a public employee" and then afterwards voted to unanimously accept Kirton's resignation. They also appointed deputy director Maria Jameson-Owens to serve as the organization's acting executive director. By the end of Tuesday afternoon, Kirton's name and photo had been removed from the Kitsap 911 website.

The owners of Brick Ally, downtown Port Orchard’s home for lovers of LEGO, found themselves picking up the pieces Jan. 26 after the store reported it was burgled overnight.

John and Ally Meckley said just a few minutes before midnight Jan. 25, two people broke through the glass of the front door, entered the store on the corner of Bay Street and Sidney Avenue, and stole several high-value sets. The suspects left within minutes.

Images captured from the shop’s security footage show the two pick up arm-fulls of LEGO boxes from the shelves. Parts of the suspects’ faces are visible.

“They went straight for the large, big-ticket items,” Meckley said. “We’re still going through it,” but it’s about $4,000 to $5,000 lost.

The couple discovered the damage when going through the footage, seeing police clear the area in the early morning hours. The store closed for the day as they went through their losses.

“They even stole the Bowser that was my husband’s Christmas present and was displayed in the window,” Ally said. “This breaks my heart. I am at a loss for words.”

The owners are cautioning LEGO buyers to watch out for any suspicious postings of the stolen sets on Facebook Marketplace or other online platforms with other surrounding LEGO dealers and resellers already on high alert.

The couple is also considering ways to prevent future robberies. “The police recommended something that will make loud noises,” Meckley said. “It’s a very quick deterrent of people that just don’t want to be noticed.”

He said many in the community have showed support. “We’ve had multiple people see if they can come down to help us clean up. It’s really cool to see the community reach back out to us.”

Despite the break-in, the owners are looking forward to the store’s meet and greet event Feb. 24 with five contestants from season 4 of reality TV show LEGO Masters and renowned LEGO jeweler JacQueline Sanchez. The event has been organized to celebrate the Bay Street store’s second anniversary.

Federal prosecutors announced Thursday that a Bremerton man had pleaded guilty to four felony charges that stemmed from his "extensive" history of swatting – or summoning law enforcement to a location on an urgent, false pretense.

Ashton Connor Garcia pleaded guilty to two counts of extortion and two counts of threats and hoaxes regarding explosives in U.S. District Court. Prosecutors are recommending that Garcia, who is scheduled to be sentenced in April, be sentenced to four years in prison.

Garcia made a series of swatting calls between June 2022 and March 2023 to law enforcement targeting victims in California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Washington, and Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, prosecutors said. Garcia called and made reports to various emergency dispatch services throughout the country, and in response to many of his calls, law enforcement officers were dispatched to targeted addresses, according to court documents, which note that Garcia used a social media platform to broadcast the calls.

In one incident in August 2022, Garcia called the Bremerton Police Department to falsely claim that he had shot his mother, and in another incident in September 2022, he falsely reported to Bremerton police that he needed help because his father shot his mother and was running around the house with a shotgun, according to court documents.

In another incident, he sent messages to an individual in Ohio in which he threatened to publish nude pictures of her and swat her and her family if she did not send him credit card information, and in another, he threatened to swat a person in New Jersey if she did not send him sexual images.

In others, he told Kentucky State Police that he was holding two people hostage with a pipe bomb and an AR-15 and that he would kill them unless he received $50,000 in cash, called police in Cleveland, Ohio, to report that he had planted a pipe bomb at a TV station in that city, told police in Charleston, Illinois, that he had planted a bomb at a park, and told police in Los Angeles, California, that he had stashed four pounds of explosive material at an airport that he would detonate unless he received $200,000 in Bitcoin.

North Kitsap School District Superintendent Laurynn Evans was contacted by law enforcement Friday morning as part of an investigation into the theft and disposal of signs opposed to the district's upcoming bond measure.

The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office confirmed in a written statement that a woman was questioned in Poulsbo and is considered a person of interest in the investigation, but did not identify who the woman was. The woman told KCSO she was not involved with the thefts, according to a statement released Friday.

North Kitsap School District spokesperson Jenn Markaryan on Friday afternoon told the Kitsap Sun that the district had "no information to provide." KCSO spokesman Kevin McCarty told the Kitsap Sun that Evans herself has been questioned. The investigation is ongoing and will be forwarded to the Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney for review.

The incident began when two opponents of the ballot measure for a $242 million bond observed an individual taking signs from the side of Little Boston Road early Friday morning. The bond is up for election on Feb. 13, and would rebuild Pearson Elementary School and Wolfle Elementary School, among other projects around the district. It is the first bond proposal by the NKSD in 23 years.

Scott Henden, a former North Kitsap school board member who helped craft the "against" committee argument in local voters' pamphlet and is part of a citizen committee opposed to the bond, said that he and fellow committee member Kim Gerlach were witnesses to the theft, which involved what he characterized as a "blonde gal" in her 50s.

Henden told the Kitsap Sun that his committee's signs, some reading "VOTE NO NKSD BOND," have been disappearing frequently, leading him to use outdoor trail and game cameras, which take photos based on motion detection. Images captured on those cameras led Henden and Gerlach to stake out a location on Little Boston Road in Kingston on Friday morning where two anti-bond signs were located.

After Henden arrived at the location at around 6:10 a.m. Friday morning, he took cover behind some bushes. Shortly after, Henden saw a grayish Ford pickup truck slow down and stop. Around 6:30 a.m. a woman exited the vehicle, pulled the signs out of the ground, put them in the back of the truck, and then drove off. Henden then made a phone call to Gerlach, who was parked in her car off Eglon Road.

“He called me and said, I can’t believe it, someone just put two of our signs in the back of their truck," Gerlach said. "He told me what the truck looked like and I followed it."

Hoping to identify the driver, Gerlach began to follow the truck southbound on Hansville Road and onto Bond Road toward Poulsbo. At a stop light, Gerlach took a photo of the truck's license plate. Later, Gerlach said the truck left Bond and briefly stopped on Stottlemeyer Road.

Henden and Gerlach said they lost track of the truck as it approached Poulsbo city limits. Gerlach drove downtown to see if she could spot the truck again, and saw Evans entering the Poulsbo Sons of Norway building, where the Poulsbo Rotary Club held a meeting Friday morning. A gray truck that Henden and Gerlach believe was the same one they followed was parked in the Sons of Norway's small parking lot off Front Street.

At that point, Henden called 911 to file a report. Two Poulsbo police officers initially met with Henden and Gerlach in the Sons of Norway parking lot before they contacted the Kitsap County Sheriff's Office, since the report originated outside of Poulsbo city limits. KCSO sent multiple deputies to the scene and to a site on Stottlemeyer Road identified by Gerlach.

The woman questioned by sheriff's deputies at the Sons of Norway confirmed that she was the owner of the gray truck, according to the KCSO statement.

At one point, a KCSO deputy asked Gerlach if the bond signs had grease on them. Gerlach noted that Henden had used grease on the signs, hoping they'd be a theft deterrent. What the deputy told Gerlach next came as a surprise: "I’ve got grease on my uniform," Gerlach said the deputy told her. "I picked up the signs on Stottlemeyer where you said she pulled over.”

Trail cams to watch for whoever is stealing your campaign signs? Do people really vote based on campaign signs in the first place?

On February 13, Bremerton voters will face a choice about whether or not to approve a 25-year, $150 million bond in a special election.

Two elementary schools on the city's east side, Armin Jahr and View Ridge, will largely be the recipients of the bond. Both are slated to be replaced, if voters approve — Armin Jahr was constructed in 1968, and has not seen any updates since the 1990s. View Ridge was constructed more than a decade earlier, post World War II, and now sits on an overall parcel of land owned by the school district off Wheaton Way that offers multiple options for reconstruction if the project moves ahead.

Other projects included in the proposed bond, which must be approved by 60 percent of voters to pass, include replacing the district's alternative high school, Renaissance, from its location near the district offices, upgrading HVAC systems at all schools in the district, and replacing a facilities building.

Aging facilities built for fewer students

View Ridge Elementary, just south of the Sylvan Way library and east of the busy Wheaton way corridor, houses 400 children, grades pre-k through fifth grade, though it was built for 300. About a third of the student body is situated in 12 portables outside the school, including preschool. The capacity situation, says Bremerton School District Assistant Superintendent Garth Steedman, is even worse at Armin Jahr, which sits not far from View Ridge on the west side of Wheaton Way, south of Blueberry Park.

“You know, these schools need to hold probably 600 kids. And yet right now, AJ [Armin Jahr] is bursting with 500 [students].” 

Armin Jahr was constructed in 1968, and was last remodeled in 2004. Its current enrollment is 488 students, and its capacity is 481. View Ridge has been remodeled around four times, the last time being in 1994, but the facility was built in 1956, making it 68 years old. School staff and district leaders say the buildings are showing their age.

As Principal Korene Calderwood walks around the facility, she notes that the roofs have had leakage issues, pointing to a hole in the ceiling. The school was built open concept, sometimes called "California style" with open breezeways, which may not necessarily be the best design for the Puget Sound area's consistent rainfall during several months of the school year. Calderwood describes the layout as “maze-like,” and notes that the impacts of the buildings being outdated fall on more than simply repair issues, but also student learning. 

“I think when you look at View Ridge and Armin Jahr, which were built in the 50s, were built for different purposes, different educational philosophies than we have now… so some of the purposes of building the school for educational purposes have changed over the years," Calderwood said during a recent tour. "And we are doing our best to meet the needs of our 21st century students in a building that was designed for the 1950s.” 

Superintendent James Crawford says that having students learn in an environment like that is inherently obstructive to their learning.

“When we're talking about bursting at the seams, we're not just talking about portables, we're talking about things like the learning lab over there in the library..." Crawford said. "Kids sitting in the hallway…those basic learning experiences do not lend themselves to improving student achievement. They just don't. And if that’s the infrastructure that you have, that means that… we don't have the ability to be able to do what the best practices are telling us to do, because the very nature of that building is just bursting.”

If the bond is passed, new buildings on each campus would be built to accommodate 550-650 students, a need the district points to as Bremerton is forecast to continue growing in population.

Equity issues at district's most diverse schools

On a national level, low-income students and students of color tend to attend schools that are older and have more maintenance issues, according to a 2018 report to Congress by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. That's also the case for Armin Jahr and View Ridge, according to the school district.

“Armin Jahr and View Ridge are the most diverse elementary schools in the district," Crawford said. "And obviously, they're the ones that need the most work. And so you've got kids that are diverse, a large portion of them are impoverished, inside schools that aren't up to date.”

Armin Jahr's student population is predominantly students of color, with almost half being Latino, according to Bremerton School District enrollment numbers. And 70% of students come from low-income backgrounds. At View Ridge around half of the student population are students of color and 63% are low-income.

“We're talking about decreasing the variables that are getting in the way of actually improving achievement," Crawford said. "The basic variable that gets in the way is the fact that the foundation of the school is not supporting what the educational practices are saying...and so then when you walk down the hallway, and you look at the kids that are that are trying to learn in a situation as best as possible, they happen to be black and brown. That's a huge problem.”

East Bremerton community campus

View Ridge Elementary school sits on 23 acres of land owned by the school District, with the school's campus contiguous to several ballfields and what used to be home to East High School, and then Bremerton Junior High, which was torn down in 2018. The old East gym is now well used as a community gym on the property, and a Boys & Girls Club facility was built next door, but other land at the site sits vacant, like neglected old tennis courts behind the community gym.

Breaking ground on a replacement school for View Ridge could present an opportunity for further development in the campus. The plan released by the district offers two options for the new View Ridge school building, one near the current site and another closer to the community gym, which could lead to other changes across the property.

Crawford and Steedman both said that development beyond the school replacements has not been planned, and the specific site for View Ridge and any further planning is a later step in the process, with Crawford equating the final placement to "a bunch of puzzle pieces, basically.

In district plans a new Armin Jahr is situated on the current campus, next to the existing school. Renaissance High School is currently located in a building on First Street, near Forest Ridge Park in West Bremerton.

“What we've put forth in terms of a bond is what you "see on paper and that's the replacement of Armin Jahr and View Ridge, consolidated services, relocation of Renaissance and HVAC [upgrades] across the system. Those are the five areas that are part of this proposal,” Crawford said.

“So you examine what kind of land is available. Where can we build? What is going to be most fiscally responsible for us in terms of timing? All those factors go into play when you start to kind of move around where buildings actually ought to be.”

If the bond passes, Steedman says that construction would begin on the development next spring, with construction happening hopefully around June 2025.

The state's Bremerton-Seattle ferry run has been without a second vessel since since fall 2021, and it appears that it will be some time, years even, before Washington State Ferries will fully bring back that service to pre-pandemic levels.

In a new report released Thursday, the agency pointed to crew and vessel availability as barriers to additional service. The agency has previously offered rough estimates for continued service restoration but in the new report acknowledged that further progress would not come soon.

"Now, as more years separate us from the pandemic and WSF better understands some of the systemic challenges related to crew and vessel availability, it’s clear it will take longer to restore all routes to full service," the report, titled the "Washington State Ferries Service Contingency Plan," said.

While the agency said that it expects crew levels to continue to climb over the next 18-24 months, it said that vessel constraints would likely continue until new vessels join the fleet.

"Until both new vessels and sufficient crew are available, WSF can reliably operate 15 vessels in service as a baseline," the report said. Under that fleet configuration, service on the Bremerton-Seattle, Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth, Port Townsend-Coupeville and Anacortes-Sidney routes would remain at below pre-pandemic levels.

"WSF currently does not anticipate full, permanent restoration of service on domestic routes until new vessels start entering the fleet in 2028," the agency said. "Full, permanent service restoration may be gradual and will remain dependent on vessel availability. Restoration of international service to Sidney, British Columbia, is projected for 2030."

The agency offered a glimmer of hope about some limited restored service, saying that there would be times, "often entire seasons," when it had both the crew and vessels to operate additional service above its 15-vessel baseline in the coming years. Were that to be the case, it said, the prioritization for adding service would be:

1. Adding a third vessel at Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth
2. Adding a second vessel at Seattle-Bremerton
3. Adding a second vessel (shoulder/summer only) at Port Townsend-Coupeville

The agency has said that it intends to award one or two contracts for building the next set of state ferries this summer, with the intent of speeding up delivery by allowing two vessels to be built at the same time. If the state awarded two contracts, the agency said in a request for information document released in December, its desired delivery dates for its next five vessels would be two in February 2028, two in January 2029 and a fifth in January 2030.

Washington State Patrol bomb squad was called to the U-Haul location in Gorst on Wednesday after a pipe bomb was found in a vehicle, according to court documents.

A 25-year-old Port Orchard man accused of having the device was charged with a count of possession of an explosive device in Kitsap County Superior Court on Thursday.

Law enforcement was initially called to the U-Haul location at about 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday on a report of an unwanted male there, a Kitsap County sheriff's sergeant wrote in a report. The man was found alone in the driver's seat of a vehicle.

The man gave consent for law enforcement to search the vehicle, and the sergeant found a metal case wedged in between the driver's seat and the center console. Inside the case, the sergeant found two mortar fireworks and a copper pipe bomb, he wrote.

"The pipe bomb was copper tubing and it was crimped on both ends," the sergeant wrote. "There was a red fuse protruding from the center of the tubing. I also noted leather string wrapped around the center of the tube."

The man explained that he knew the device was in the metal case and in the vehicle and said the device did not belong to him. He said he was only holding onto it in a safe place so no one could get to it, the sergeant wrote.

The WSP bomb squad responded, used an X-ray device to analyze the item and determined that it likely contained flash powder and was a fully functioning improvised explosive device, according to court documents.

I'm interested in getting it installed and am planning to sign a contract soon. I'm trying to decide on one of the local ISPs and was wondering if anyone here could share their experience with theirs.

End of an era