2010 – A year in the rear view for Central Kitsap and Bremerton

Published 4:41 pm Wednesday, December 29, 2010

It was a year to remember, or forget. Here is a list of the top stories in Bremerton and Central Kitsap.

January

Bremerton finance department sees turnover at the top — twice

The City of Bremerton’s new year started off with a dismissal when Mayor Patty Lent fired Financial Services Director Andy Parks Jan. 1, sparking a year of turnover in the position.

Parks had just been hired 11 months earlier by former Mayor Cary Bozeman, who left in the summer of 2009 to head the Port of Bremerton.

Lent said in January she fired Parks so she could have a financial director who shared her “vision” for the city.

Later in the month, the City Council appointed Barbara Stephenson to the position, who left her job as Kitsap County Treasurer to take the post at Lent’s request.

Her approval came with some criticism, however. Three out of nine city council members voted against her appointment, citing her lack of a bachelor’s degree.

Stephenson retired in July after about five months on the job. Finance Officer Cathy Johnson served as interim finance director, writing the 2011 city budget with Budget Analyst Caroline Thompson.

Former Washougal Finance Director Rabecca Hasart was confirmed as the new director of financial services in November.

A park for dogs comes to Silverdale

The Silverdale Dog Park Stewardship received the go-ahead from the county in January to expand the existing parking lot at Gateway Park on Silverdale Way north of the Waaga Way overpass. Construction for the dog park began in March and opened at the end of August. The stewardship group raised more than $45,000 since spring 2009 for the construction and ongoing upkeep of the park, which will be maintained by volunteers. The park features fenced-in spaces for large and small dogs.

February

Greaves Way opens

Silverdale’s Greaves Way got the green light Feb. 10 after almost two years of construction, and a three-month delay to open.

The $13 million project, intended to alleviate traffic congestion, was Central Kitsap’s first new road project since 1994.

The road extends Waaga Way to connect Clear Creek and Old Frontier roads to allow motorists a path to East Bremerton while avoiding the traffic in Silverdale.

The road was named in honor of the Greaves family, whose roots in the community date back to 1894.

“We don’t get to open a new road every day,” said County Commissioner Josh Brown on the opening day. “It’s a big deal.”

The next big project in the works is placing a roundabout to alleviate congestion where Chico Way meets Silverdale Way and Newberry Hill Road. Designing began in October and construction is expected to begin in 2012.

Activists pressure City Council into allowing backyard chickens in Bremerton

City Councilman Roy Runyon introduced a measure to allow residents to keep up to four hens in their backyards, sparking a nine-month battle between chicken activists and the City Council.

In the end, the chickens won.

The Council’s Public Safety, Parks and Planning Committee voted 2-1 against advancing the chicken measure in March, prompting a grassroots movement among Bremerton residents to collect signatures to pressure the Council to revisit the issue. It also inspired a Facebook page, “We Want Urban Chickens in Bremerton!” which now has 618 fans.

Though the activists said their goal was to persuade the City Council to take action, they could have put a citizen ordinance on a special election ballot if they collected about 2,400 signatures.

“The citizens’ initiative is our way of trying to get the City Council to actually do their job and prioritize this issue and decide on it in a meeting,” Laura Moynihan, one of the petition organizers, said in April.

Petitioners reached about half of their goal when they learned in July their signatures were invalid due to a lack of date next to each name. Undeterred, they began collecting more signatures right away.

But the procedural snafu was irrelevant when the City Council revisited the issue in the fall. The Council voted 6-3 to pass the law.

“Chicken owners won’t be criminals anymore,” chicken supporter Carolee Valentine said after the vote.

Chicken permits have been available at the Kitsap Humane Society since Dec. 3.

More turmoil on Bremerton School Board

Former Bremerton School Board member Louis Mitchell announced his resignation in February with no explanation, setting off yet another personnel change on the panel.

Mitchell, elected in 2003, announced his decision in a Feb. 10 letter to district supporters. He didn’t specifically declare his reasons for his departure, but expressed a frustration with what he felt was a closed-door leadership style of the School Board.

“High functioning Boards check the temptation that those in leadership know what is best, instead seeking meaningful counsel from those we serve and employ,” Mitchell wrote in his resignation announcement. “District leadership would do well to study and adopt year-round interest-based dialogue with staff and the public in order to maximize citizen input in governance decisions.”

After Mitchell’s resignation was made official, e-mails obtained by the Bremerton Patriot indicated Mitchell was upset other board members were talking to each other outside of public meetings. Specifically, he was upset with newly-elected board members for discussing nominations for board leadership before taking the oath of office.

“Although we have new faces, it seems we again are confronted with old behaviors,” Mitchell wrote in a Jan. 5 e-mail obtained by the Bremerton Patriot.

Dave Rubie was confirmed as Mitchell’s replacement in April. Rubie, who co-chaired the February levy campaign and is a regular volunteer at Crownhill Elementary, vied for a spot on the board twice last year. He applied to a board opening and ran for another spot in the primary election, which was ultimately won by board member Scott Rahm.

Rubie was elected board vice president in December.

March

Silverdale woman went missing and son found drowned

A search for missing Silverdale woman, Shantina ‘Kat’ Smiley and her son, Azriel Carver, 8, took a turn when the boy’s body was found March 18.

The two were reported missing March 13. The last time the 29-year-old was seen was when she walked up to a stranger’s house that night outside Olympia and asked to use the phone. The two were on their way to a relative’s house in Castle Rock. The next morning, her fiance’s van was found partially submerged in Budd Inlet. Four days after the van was found, Carver’s body was found washed ashore on Fox Island. Carver’s death was ruled an accidental drowning by the Pierce County Medical Examiner. He was a second-grader at Vinland Elementary School in Poulsbo. Nearly two weeks after Smiley went missing, Thurston County deputies called off the search for the woman. Family and investigators believe she drowned, as well.

Olympic College sees update in programs, campus landscape

Olympic College’s main Bremerton campus saw several changes this year to its academic offerings, as well as its physical landscape.

In March, the school opened its $30 million, 80,000 square-foot Humanities and Student Services building, which includes classrooms, faculty offices and student services such as the financial aid office. The building is certified silver by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design organization, a state requirement.

The building’s design follows the same style as the previous two major construction projects on campus — the Haselwood Library, which opened in 2000, and the Science and Technology building which opened in 2007.

The school’s $4.5 million Child Development Center, which celebrated its grand opening in October, will open in January.

Work also began on a 230-space parking lot at the corner of 13th Street and Warren Avenue in the past month.

In May, the school finalized an agreement with Washington State University to offer a four-year mechanical engineering degree to Bremerton students. Olympic College officials said they hope the program will help educate local students who can then use their degrees to work in their hometown at places such as the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

“Let’s try to grow our own engineers,” college President David Mitchell said.

Classes for the program began in August, with 15 students taking junior-level courses.

Starting in the summer quarter, Olympic College’s nursing program returned to Bremerton after a six-year tenure at the Poulsbo campus.

Nursing was moved to Poulsbo in 2004 to give its classes more space, with the expectation the program would eventually return.

“Moving the nursing program to Poulsbo was always a temporary solution,” Mitchell said.

Pacific Avenue undergoes facelift

Construction began on Pacific Avenue for a spring facelift that led to wider sidewalks, rain gardens, narrower intersections and the installation of new public art.

The project caused the closure of the street from Burwell Street to Fifth Street, which frustrated business owners in the area who feared the limited access to their stores would turn customers away.

As a result of the curb extentions at street corners, the intersections along Pacific Avenue at Fourth Street, Fifth Street and Burwell Street have shrunk from 44 feet wide to 20 feet, said Edward Aban, project manager of the Pacific Avenue improvements.

“It’s a traffic calming technique,” he said, adding that the smaller intersections would force people to slow down and make full halts at the four-way stops.

The much-debated “fish and fisherman” statues, costing $250,000, were installed at the intersection of Pacific Avenue and Fourth Street in June.

Pacific Avenue reopened in time for the Armed Forces Day Parade in May.

Lions Park begins year-long renovation

Work on Lions Park’s overhaul began mid-March, starting with the removal of its waterfront poplar trees and parking lot.

The renovation aims to address environmental concerns, including the proximity of a four-acre parking lot to the Port Washington Narrows shoreline, and update the park’s amenities with new pathways, a new playground and a restored beach area.

“The park right now is not ecologically sound and it’s not sound in its infrastructure,” Bremerton Parks and Recreation Director Wyn Birkenthal said in March.

The park renovation has been in the works for about three years, since a public survey indicated a need for changes, Birkenthal said. Since that time, Bremerton Parks and Recreation acquired a state Department of Ecology grant for $1 million, a National Parks Service grant for $500,000 and a $50,000 from the Bremerton Central Lions Club. A $9.6 million bond measure approved by the City Council in April included $300,000 for the park project.

The refurbished park will include low-impact development features, such as rain gardens that will prevent stormwater runoff pollution, permeable parking surfaces and a “green roof” full of plants atop the restroom building.

A new basketball court and playground will be built, along with an additional picnic shelter and restroom.

The refurbished park will re-open in the spring of 2011.

April

Silverdale Farmer’s Market moves to Old Town

The Silverdale Farmer’s Market moved to the Silverdale Waterfront in Old Town April 20 after occupying a spot behind the Silverdale Beach Hotel.

Market organizer Monica Phillips, owner of Kataluma Chai, may have found success from the old adage, “location, location, location.”

The new location was able to house more vendors, up to 57, compared to 24 at the old location.

The market wrapped up its 12th year in September.

All-ages rock club turns 2

Callow Avenue’s all-ages hard rock club, The Charleston, celebrated its two-year anniversary in April, marking the success of its “by the people, for the people” approach to hosting rock shows.

The venue, located inside an old movie house, was opened by Angel Perry and Andy More in an effort to foster a local music scene.

Having grown up in Bremerton, Perry frequented the several short-lived music venues open to minors, including The Robbins Nest, Psycho Betty’s and The Westside Burrito Connection, but none had stuck around.

“We never really had a solid place for the all-ages crowd,” said More, who has lived in Bremerton for about 10 years. “We wanted to make sure to have a place where the kids could see a show and get inspired.”

So More and Perry bought the old movie theater where Perry used to watch free movies as a child and opened “The Chuck,” with the help of other friends in the Bremerton music scene.

The club’s second birthday party spanned two weekends, culminating in a performance by the female AC/DC cover band, Hell’s Belles, April 10.

Rockers who have performed there in the past said they enjoy playing for younger crowds. Some of the teens even help with chores around the place, sweeping up after a concert in exchange for admission.

“I think the kids get more out of it than the adults do,” said John Ronkar, guitarist and vocalist for Bremerton band Steelscape, who said he prefers all-ages audiences.

It’s the younger ones who listen to the lyrics and buy the CDs, More said.

“The kids realize that this is their place, this is their stomping grounds,” More said. “Kids realize this is the place to be.”

May

Kitsap immigrants, activists march for immigration reform

Bremerton resident Martitha May, chairwoman of the Kitsap Multicultural Assistance Center in East Bremerton, mobilized about 150 Kitsap County residents to participate in the Seattle May Day parade, protesting in support of U.S. immigration reform.

The rally was particularly important this year, May said, because of a controversial immigration law passed in Arizona that critics said was too invasive.

“It’s not right what happened in Arizona,” she said. “They’re going to be stopping Americans.”

Protestors included immigrants and their children, who chanted, “Si, se puede,” or “Yes, we can.” We just want the government to listen,” May said. “We are human beings.”

Haselwood Family YMCA begins construction

Construction for the Haselwood Family YMCA in Silverdale began May 12 and is expected to open in the summer of 2011. The 85,000-square-foot, $22 million facility will include a gym and pool and have a staff of 240. Led by the efforts of the Central Kitsap Community Council and Kitsap County, it will be part of the Silverdale Community Campus. Because of the failed Kitsap Regional Library levy in the November election, there will be no new library included with the campus. The center has 1,000 residents that have signed up as members.

June

Elderly East Bremerton woman charged with shooting husband

A 79-year-old East Brem-eton woman charged with murder told investigators she shot her husband after he “egged her on,” handed her a cocked pistol and pointed at his forehead.

William Green, 81, was found dead in the entryway of the couple’s house on the 5900 block of Illahee Road NE by deputies June 18.

His wife, Darlene M. Green, was charged with second-degree murder June 22 in Kitsap County Superior Court.

The couple had gotten in an argument the night prior, Darlene Green told detectives in an interview, but the argument ended when she went to bed. The couple slept in separate rooms. The ting in the living room and watching television, “… Out of the blue, William told her he was going to go get his gun so she could shoot him, and then she knew where she would go,” documents stated.

A trial is scheduled for Jan. 18.

Kitsap farmers struggle with cold summer

Local farmers blamed a cold and rainy June for their disappointing harvest this year, calling it “the summer that never was.”

This summer brought lower-than-average temperatures in the Puget Sound area, with June’s especially colder temperatures and higher rainfall delaying the arrival of this year’s harvest. June brought an inch more of rain than usual with 2.49 inches and was also 2.4 degrees cooler than normal, with an average temperature of 58.3 degrees.

Jean Schanen, owner of Start Now Gardens in Bremerton, said that her harvest was down 30 to 50 percent this year and she experienced a shortage of tomatoes. Lee Wayman of the Seabeck-based Secret Gardens lost his basil crop. Marilyn Holt, co-farmer at Abundantly Green Certified Organic Produce, located between Keyport and Brownsville, said she lost some carrots, onions and thousands of dollars. Several farmers said their crops were “confused” about what season it was, altering their growth cycles.

As a result, farmers have changed their approach to how they grow their crops, keeping them better insulated and planting many crops several weeks later than usual.

“Things just happen and you have to respond and react and do the best you can,” Schanen said.

July

Arnold’s Furniture reopens after arson

After a year-long rebuilding process caused by an arson last year, Arnold’s Furniture reopened at its original Kitsap Way location.

The store was rebuilt after being destroyed in an arson last summer set by a Port Orchard 17-year-old, who was sentenced to at least two years in juvenile detention. The fire, which took two days to extinguish, left little more than a shell of the 59-year-old store and caused $10 to $12 million in damage, according to court documents.

For almost a year, the store was relocated to an old skating rink on Marine Drive, near the original showroom.

“The community has really supported our store,” manager Ralph Erickson said. “People wanted to help by buying from Arnold’s.

Bremerton man shot and killed by police officer

A 23-year-old Bremerton man was shot and killed in Silverdale by a Poulsbo police officer as he reached for a gun during a traffic stop July 23.

Matthew James Netter died from his wounds on the way to Harrison Medical Center. County Prosecutor Russ Hauge found that Moore was “absolutely justified” in his use of force during the traffic stop.

Friends at a memorial for Netter, a father of two young boys, said he had struggled with alcohol addiction and believed him to be nine days sober at the time of his death. Hauge’s report found he was under the influence of methamphetamine. Netter was a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Cell phone infractions invalidated

Eighty-three tickets issued to Bremerton drivers talking on their cell phones were deemed invalid, with paid fines being refunded, thanks to a snafu by the state.

The tickets were written in response to a new statewide law prohibiting talking and texting on the phone while driving as of June 10. But infractions between June 10 and July 1 were dismissed, including some dating back to 2008 when using the phone while driving was a secondary offense.

Though the cell phone law was enforceable by state troopers and county sheriff’s deputies, city police departments, including Bremerton, did not have the authority to issue infractions due to an omission by the Department of Licensing, said Judge James Docter at the Bremerton Municipal Court. The law was not added to the state model traffic ordinance, a law passed in 1975 that allows any new traffic law to be adopted by cities without a separate approval.

The cell phone law has been in effect in Bremerton and the omitted cities statewide since July 1.

August

Turnover at Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue

One career ended, and another reached the highest rank possible.

Ken Burdette, Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue Fire chief for nine years, retired in May.

The district’s Board of Commissioners voted to quit the search for a new chief and began drawing a contract in August to install Interim Chief Roy Lusk, who was hired as the district’s first paid assistant chief in 1982.

Just about everybody inside and outside of the department has expressed faith in Lusk, commissioners said.

The district is estimating a $1.4 million budget deficit through the end of 2012. This year the district’s operating budget is $16.2 million.

“It’s been somewhat gratifying and humbling at the same time, the amount of support I’ve received,” Lusk said.

Manette Bridge replacement begins

Construction to replace the Manette Bridge began, starting a year-and-a-half-long project that will include the closure of the bridge next summer.

The 80-year-old bridge is being replaced due to extensive rust and corrosion. The damage cannot be reversed or fixed, making a new bridge necessary, according to the state Department of Transportation. The newer bridge, which will be built immediately south of the existing steel structure, will be concrete, resembling the Warren Avenue Bridge.

Manette business owners and employees worried that next summer’s bridge closure, which will reroute vehicles to the Warren Avenue Bridge, would affect business.

“It think it’s definitely going to slow business down,” said Nikki White, owner of Nikki’s Coffee Spot on East 11th Street, adding that if people have to take a longer way to Manette, they’ll just find closer businesses.

Others lamented losing the sentimental Bremerton icon.

“It’s a little piece of history that’s going to be gone,” said Judy Parr, owner of Tease Boutique and Salon across from the bridge, adding that the new bridge will be a “concrete eyesore.”

The total cost for the bridge replacement, including predesign, construction and contingency dollars, is $57.8 million, according to the transportation department.

Along with the new bridge, a new roundabout will be constructed on the Manette end of the bridge, replacing the current intersection with blinking red and yellow lights. The traffic configuration on the downtown end will remain the same.

When the new bridge opens, derrick barges will be used to disassemble the old structure.

September

City pool turned over to YMCA

In an effort to cut more than $200,000 from the city budget, the Bremerton City Council passed a measure to turn over the management of the Glenn Jarstad Pool to the Kitsap Family YMCA, despite efforts from community members to start a non-profit management group.

The 7-2 vote approved a 10-year agreement between the city and YMCA, with an option to extend the agreement for up to 20 more years. While the city still owns the pool, YMCA manages staff, maintains infrastructure and offers swim programs at the facility.

Members of the Olympic Aquatic Center had offered a counter-proposal to the city, introducing a non-profit model for pool management. Parks and Recreation, which helped negotiate the pool management agreement, passed on the proposal in August, citing the non-profit proposal’s inability to commit to a long-term contract.

Lawsuit filed against Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club

Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney Russell Hauge filed a lawsuit against the Kitsap Rifle and Revolver Club Sept. 8, alleging the club allowed large caliber and automatic weapon fire, firing late into the evening, using explosives as targets and bulldozing more firing lanes — and consequently damaging wetlands.

Marcus Carter, executive officer of the Seabeck gun club, contends Hauge is exacting a personal vendetta and the club is within its rights as the county “grandfathered” the club in 1993. He added the club has permits for the construction and has had nearby water sources tested for lead contamination. Club members emphasize a long safety record and Carter chalked up criticism of the club to a small cadre of neighbors upset they bought houses within earshot of a pre-existing gun range.

The county’s request to temporarily close the gun club was denied in Pierce County Superior Court Oct. 28. The club will not further develop its gun range while a case against it is still in the courts, according to an agreement signed in a Nov. 24 hearing. The trial is scheduled for March.

Bremerton opens new city court

Bremerton’s new municipal court opened at the old Kitsap Bank building on the corner of Sixth Street and Park Avenue.

The City Council approved the $1.7 million purchase of the building in March.

Bremerton had been renting the former court space at 900 Pacific Avenue for four years. The annual costs of the new building, at 550 Park Ave., will be cheaper than what the city now pays in rent, City Attorney Roger Lubovich said.

City Council approves three-hour parking

The Bremerton City Council voted Sept. 15 to increase downtown parking limits to up to three hours.

The 9-0 vote added the three-hour option to an area where parking limits currently range from 30 minutes to two hours.

Council President Nick Wofford said the main problem facing downtown parking is the “two-hour shuffle” caused by downtown employees who move their cars throughout the day. He said the casual downtown visitor will now have more time to eat and shop, but the “shuffle” will persist.

“We’re probably going to go from a two-hour shuffle to a three-hour shuffle,” he said.

The fight to help Kitsap’s homeless

Many residents were concerned in October by the proposal of a homeless shelter to be set up at the end of Bowen Street in East Bremerton.

Joel Adamson, a Bremerton-based developer and engineer who owns the vacant property was originally working with the Bremerton Rescue Mission to build cabins to help house Kitsap’s homeless. Kitsap County will not allow for a homeless shelter to be built on undeveloped land and the county’s Department of Community Development is developing a long term policy for structures like Adamson’s project.

Now, a tent city for homeless families is in the works in the Bremerton Salvation Army’s parking lot. The temporary facility will have no more than 10 tents for homeless people with children. It is expected to be up and running by mid-January, said Maj. Jim Baker with the Bremerton Salvation Army Tuesday.

Discussion continues over Seabeck Cemetery property

Fred Just, of Seabeck, who has been fighting to have the Seabeck cemetery property restored and returned from the Central Kitsap School District, said talks with district are moving forward.

The school district had contended the roughly two-and-a-half acres it owns between the graveyard and the shuttered Seabeck Elementary School were legally the property of the district, but said in September, it would investigate Just’s contention that it was illegally sold to the district in 1956.

“We are in conversation with Mr. Just on this matter,” said David Beil, spokesman for the district. Because it is a legal matter, the district cannot provide details, he said.

Just, a local historian, said he wants as much of the original five-acre parcel restored and returned to the people of Seabeck. The district does not own property where burials have occurred.

Just said there are approximately 200 people buried at the cemetery. The first burial was in 1860.

November

Brown reelected as county commissioner

Democratic County Commissioner Josh Brown beat Republican Abby Burlingame by more than 8 percent of the vote, according to updated election results Nov. 22. Brown had a total of 54,404 votes with Burlingame at 45,906 votes.

Brown, 29, said he believed a record of accomplishment and fiscal responsibility resonated with voters.

“The election proves that people are more interested in elected officials who are focused on getting things done for the community rather than running against people with a negative campaign,” he said.

Brown spent more than twice as much as Burlingame, with his spending at about $85,500, for his campaign and Burlingame at about $38,592, according to Public Disclosure Commission reports.

Central Kitsap buried, then frozen, in the year’s first snow storm

Central Kitsap residents experienced the aftermath of November’s snow storm the hard way. Officials recommended staying off the roads and the National Weather Service recommended finding an alternative to electric heat when high winds cut out power, after a snow storm hit the area Nov. 22 — the first of the year. The temperature in Illahee, East Bremerton, was about 24 degrees as of about 5:50 p.m. that evening. Many residents abandoned their vehicles on the side of roads throughout Central Kitsap and Bremerton because of the icy road conditions. Despite regular state Department of Transportation plows, State Highway 3 remained a sheet of ice during the day.

Both the Central Kitsap and Bremerton school districts had school closures.

A winter storm warning was put into effect for the Kitsap Peninsula, according to the National Weather Service.

Kitsap Transit to vacate Kitsap Mall

Kitsap Transit was informed in a Nov. 8 letter that the agency has until the middle of February to vacate current operations on the west side of Kitsap Mall to make way for a new store. In the letter, mall management said Kitsap Transit had 90 days to vacate its stop. The current agreement allows buses to operate on mall property and maintain a bus stop.

Ideally, the transit agency would like to find a place that would not require significant revision of bus schedules and still provide easy access for riders, said John Clauson, service development director for Kitsap Transit.

Eight different bus routes and one ACCESS route make stops at the mall. Kitsap Transit has been operating on mall property since the mall first opened, said Clauson. Kitsap Transit pays an annual maintenance fee of $5,000 to $6,000 to Kitsap Mall.

Clauson said Tuesday that the agency continues to be in discussion with mall management for the possibility to relocate the bus stop at another location at the mall.

December

USS Nimitz arrives in Bremerton

More than 2,800 crewmembers arrived aboard the USS Nimitz at Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton Dec. 9 for a one-year temporary homeport period after a nine-year homeport at Naval Air Station-North Island in San Diego.

The aircraft carrier will undergo maintenance at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, the only government dry dock capable of accommodating the ship, said Chief Petty Officer Dale Davis, spokesman for Naval Base Kitsap.

The Navy made the official switch of homeport to allow the families of sailors to qualify for help in moving to Kitsap.

The USS Nimitz’s destination after the temporary homeport will be Naval Station Everett.

The carrier, commissioned in 1975, is the first in its class of 10 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers.

Bangor protestors found guilty

Five anti-nuclear weapons activists who broke into Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor in November 2009 were found guilty on all counts Dec. 13 by a federal jury in Tacoma.

The five people were charged with trespass, felony damage to federal property, felony injury to property and felony conspiracy to damage property. They face up to 10 years in prison, according to a statement from Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action.

The defendants were Lynne Greenwald, 60, of Tacoma, Anne Montgomery, 83, of New York City, Bill Bischel, 81, from Tacoma, Susan Crane, 67, from Baltimore, Md., Stephen Kelly, 60, of Oakland, Calif. and Lynne Greenwald, 60, of Tacoma.

According to the indictment in September, the group protesting nuclear weapons used bolt cutters to break through three chain link fences and enter the Main Limited Area of the complex.

Sentencing is scheduled for March 28.

Statewide cuts threaten local services

Gov. Chris Gregoire’s proposed budget for 2011-2013 threatened Bremerton ferry runs and the existence of the Frances Haddon Morgan Center.

In an effort to slash $20.5 million from Washington State Ferries, the governor’s budget called for the elimination of a midday round trip and all sailings after 9:05 p.m.

Lawmakers representing Bremerton pledged to prevent service cuts in the legislative session starting Jan. 10.

“We should not be negotiating where to make cuts in service,” said state Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor. “We cannot afford for the economic and cultural future for these communities to have any reductions in ferry service.‚“

The governor, in her supplemental 2011 budget, which proposes cuts to be made before mid-2011, also includes the closure of the Frances Haddon Morgan Center, which houses severely disabled people unable to live independently.

Though the Morgan Center was slated to be cut in the previous year’s budget, and was spared by the Legislature, lawmakers and Morgan Center administrators fear the closure is more likely to happen this year.

The Morgan Center’s 54 residents would need to find new homes by June 30.

The Morgan Center employs 150 people, totaling 125 full-time equivalent salaries.