Fast ferry funding in Bremerton, a daring CKFR rescue and a one-armed man leads a police chase in local headlines this past week.
BREMERTON
Fast-ferry project will get boost from feds
One day after a major oversight in which the U.S. Department of Transportation failed to provide adequate stimulus funding to the nation’s largest ferry system, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray announced she has secured an additional $7.6 million for Washington state’s ferry docks and terminals from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
That funding includes $2.59 million for the Seattle-Bremerton Passenger-Only Fast Ferry: Prototype Vessel Procurement.
POULSBO
One-armed man on scooter leads police chase up Highway 3
A one-armed man speeding up to 80 mph on a motor scooter led Kitsap County sheriff’s deputies up State Highway 3 July 14 after reporting that he had been shot in the back.
The man called 911 at 9:36 a.m. to report he had been shot and was near the NW Trigger Avenue exit.
Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene and asked for identification. They also asked the man to turn off the late model Yamaha Majesty he was riding.
“It was then he decide to take off,” said Trooper Krista Hedstrom, a spokeswoman for the Washington State Patrol.
Deputies followed the man as he rode the scooter up to speeds of 80 mph and performed four U-turns on the highway, Hedstrom said. South of NW Lofall Road a trooper approached from the opposite direction and the man dumped the bike.
Investigators found that he had not been shot, but did sustain some lacerations from the fall.
He was arrested for investigation of impaired driving, felony eluding and also had a felony warrant from Georgia.
SILVERDALE
Man rescued from 100-foot ravine by CK Firefighters
Central Kitsap Fire & Rescue firefighters rescued a man who fell down a 100-foot ravine early July 19. The man, in his early 20s, fell down a ravine off Anderson Hill Road, between Silverdale and Seabeck, around 11:30 p.m. the night before, according to CKFR.
Using high-angle rescue techniques, crews successfully lifted the man out of the ravine around 12:45 a.m. with a rope and pulley system.
The man was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle in serious condition.
www.centralkitsapreporter.com.
PORT ORCHARD
‘Paint the Town’ saga continues
The Port Orchard City Council unanimously approved the application for a public event called “Paint the Town,” which is designed to freshen up buildings along Bay Street before the Cedar Cove Days festival, slated for Aug. 26-30.
“Let’s get ’er done,” said Councilman Jim Colebank as the motion for approval was made, but Public Works Director Mark Dorsey said that there was still the small matter of whether the city could get permission to close Bay Street to cars while the volunteers are painting buildings.
“I don’t want to be a wet blanket, but there is a chance the state could say, ‘No, you can’t close the road,’” Dorsey told the council.
Organizers hope to close Bay Street between Harrison and Frederick avenues, which is officially State-Route 166.
Port Orchard Police Chief Al Townsend said that the state does approve other requests to close the road, such as during the annual Cruz Classic Car show in August, but they are usually submitted months in advance.
