New on school board
The North Kitsap school board has appointed Barbara Waggoner to fill the District 5 vacancy.
Waggoner will be sworn in at the board’s next Oct. 13 meeting. She replaces Cindy Webster-Martinson, who resigned Sept.1 to focus more time on her family and her husband’s health. Wagonner’s term ends in December 2023.
After graduating from Eastern Washington University in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in education, Wagoner moved to North Kitsap to begin her career as a teacher, a district news release says. She became a certified parent coach through Seattle Pacific University in 2010. Her coaching skills were utilized as an elementary school principal from 2013-17.
Waggoner shared that providing both social-emotional and academic support to students post-pandemic, along with helping students and families re-engage with their schools, is a top priority. She also noted that with the increasing population in North Kitsap, ensuring that there are safe, adequate schools that meet the needs of students and staff will be very important in coming years.
2 vacations
The Kitsap County Board of Commissioners held public hearings Sept. 26 and ended up approving two separate petitions to vacate in North Kitsap.
The first came at the request of Diane Goebel to vacate a portion of right of way known as Marshall Lane NE in Kingston. It is 40 feet wide and was conveyed to the county in 1971, BOCC documents say.
Since then, the unmaintained portion was developed as a private driveway serving the two petitioners who have maintained it for decades. The right of way dead ends and is not in use by the public. It has been the site of illegal dumping and suspicious activity, and the petitioners will regain it as their private property, documents read.
The other petition came at the request of Weston Dobson to vacate a portion of unnamed right of way located off of Lofall Court NW near Poulsbo. It was part of an old county road and has been developed as a private driveway maintained by the owners for decades, according to documents. The right of way dead ends and is not in use by the public.
During the review process, agencies determined that the right of way for both areas will not be useful for public vehicular, pedestrian or park/greenway purposes in the foreseeable future.
Sticker access
A new project of Kitsap County’s Accessible Communities Advisory Committee provides businesses, schools, places of worship, and other public spaces with an easy way to assist people with severe mobility impairments in gaining access to buildings.
These organizations are offered a sticker so the business can write down its phone number then affix it to front doors and other points of entry, a county news release says. People with disabilities can call the number to reach someone inside to request the door be opened for them.
Fatal crash
Police are investigating a car crash in South Kitsap involving a school bus that left one man dead and another injured Sept. 29. No children were on the bus at the time of the accident.
South Kitsap Fire and Rescue were called to the intersection of Sidney Road SW and SW Spruce Road after investigators said a silver Toyota Tacoma truck failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection.
The truck, which was westbound on Spruce, crossed into the path of a South Kitsap School District school bus, which was traveling northbound. The crash was reported at 4:09 p.m. after the bus collided directly with the driver’s side of the vehicle. A Kitsap County sheriff deputy was on scene in two minutes, followed by other officers and SKFR officials.
The driver of the truck, a 72-year-old Gig Harbor man, Steven J. Deluca, was killed. Cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries. The driver of the school bus was treated and released at the scene after suffering minor injuries.
Fireworks on water
A private fireworks show on Puget Sound between Ballard and north Bainbridge Island caused quite a stir Sept. 17.
Western Display Fireworks, a pyrotechnics company from Oregon that also does the July 4 show at Gas Works Park, was hired for the event, reported KUOW, a National Public Radio station.
The crew loaded the shells onto a tug in Ballard then went to the north end of BI. The Seattle Fire Department provided a permit, said Tina Turner, assistant fire marshal for Kitsap County. Turner added the Coast Guard and state fire marshal did not require additional permits.
Foundation leader
Tina O’Brien has been named the new leader of the Kitsap Community Foundation.
Naveen Chaudhary, foundation chair, said O’Brien has been a not-for-profit leader for 25 years, has a master’s degree in the profession and has a “deep love for the Kitsap community.”
O’Brien most recently served as vice-president of development for Special Olympics of Washington. Previously, she was chief development officer for Martha and Mary in Poulsbo.
O’Brien said she is honored to serve with the foundation, “which has a strong history of bringing people together to solve problems.”
KEDA expands
Having won a $500,000 grant from the state Department of Commerce, Kitsap Economic Development Alliance has hired two new team members to launch its new “WAV-C” maritime autonomy and innovation program.
Hired were program manager Seth Abelson and business development manager Rochelle LeMay.
WAV-C stands for Washington Autonomous Vehicle Cluster. The maritime autonomy industry is a fast-growing sector of the maritime industry. Such clusters bring key components together to solve industry challenges that limit growth and innovation.
In addition, James Davis joins KEDA as the organization’s new economic development manager. He comes to Kitsap after most recently serving as Business Development and ScaleUp program manager for Thurston Economic Development Council.
4 on health board
Four nonelected members have been appointed to the Kitsap Public Health Board.
The move was required by state law.
Stephen Kutz was appointed by the American Indian Health Commission and the Suquamish Tribal Council.
Three community representatives — Drayton Jackson and Drs. Tara Kirk Sell and Michael Watson — were nominated by the health board and appointed by the Kitsap Board of County Commissioners. Those three were among 40 applicants for those spots.
Judge: $0 fine
Judge Piper Thornburgh ruled not to fine any of the protesters at the Trident base as part of Ground Zero’s annual commemoration of the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.
“You have admitted the infraction, and I have found that it was committed. I am reducing your fine to zero,” the judge said.
Those arrested and charged were Michael Siptroth, Br. Gilberto Perez, Dr. David Hall, Rev. Anne Hall, and Caroyln Wildflower.
Siptroth said, “With real national security, no one in this country would be hungry or without health care and a decent place to live.”
Hall added, “We were engaged in a ritual protest, part of a forty-year effort to bring public attention to the presence and danger of nuclear weapons and to offer our prayerful hope for the future.”
Black Student Union
The Kitsap Black Student Union is hosting a “Welcome Back, Kick Back, Give Back” event for Kitsap County youth Oct. 2 from 1-5 p.m. at the Marvin Williams Center, 725 Park Ave. in Bremerton.
The event is free and will feature DJs, performances, games, food trucks, resource vendors, BSU merchandise and more.
St. Olaf concert
The St. Olaf Orchestra, conducted by Chung Park, will perform at Bremerton High School Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. as part of its national tour.
The concert is free for all students and $10 for adults. Tickets may be purchased at stolaf.edu/tickets.
Named “one of the best college orchestras in the nation” by Time magazine’s Richard Ostling, the St. Olaf Orchestra is known for its passionate music-making and professional-level performances. Highlights include Symphony No. 1 in G Major by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, standout soloists from the ranks of the St. Olaf Orchestra, and Tchaikovsky’s gripping and poignant Symphony No. 6 Pathétique.
The St. Olaf Orchestra was named winner of the 2018-19 American Prize for Orchestra Performance among colleges and universities for the second time.
