North End burglaries
Christopher M. Berg is doing well, thank you
I was glad to see that Christopher Ryan Berg, age 23, of Poulsbo was captured. Hopefully he will spend quite a bit of time in jail. As the mother of Christopher Michael Berg, age 23, of Poulsbo, I hope this ends some confusion. Hopefully there will be no more dealing with switched transcripts, erroneous phone calls, mistaken identity, etc.
To everyone concerned, my son Chris has graduated from North Kitsap High School and Olympic College, is currently employed by the Washington State Patrol and hasn’t been in trouble a day in his life, thank you.
Lynanne White,
Poulsbo
County auditor
Walt Washington
is most qualified
In his bid to become Kitsap County Auditor, Walt Washington received 78 percent of the Democratic Precinct Committee Officers’ vote, representing a major landslide victory.
Democratic Precinct Committee Officers recognize Walt Washington is the only candidate who understands the current operations of the department and offers relevant audit and elections experience.
Karen Flynn, who has held the office for the past two decades and is in the best position to assess the future needs of the Auditor’s Office, supports Washington’s appointment as her successor.
Commissioners Jan Angel, Steve Bauer, and Josh Brown would be wise to appoint Washington, who is clearly the most qualified and broadly supported candidate among the three contenders.
Mike Eliason,
Keyport
Hansville
Residents disagree with GHAAC
Hansville’s divided because many residents disagree with the process used to form the Greater Hansville Area Advisory Council (GHAAC), the county’s formal recognition of this group, and the fact that GHAAC doesn’t communicate well with the citizens of Hansville and Eglon. The installation of speed bumps and the community’s name being changed to “Greater Hansville” upset many residents.
The history of the origin of this group may explain why many in Hansville are unhappy. In 2003, Steve Bauer, as the Community Center’s president, added what some would call a “political agenda” to the Community Center. Steve Bauer selected a group of individuals to attend a meeting about Hansville’s future. Out of this meeting, the Futures committee was formed. The Community Center’s log and Web site were used to convey this new committee’s vision to Hansville residents.
Problem: the method of communication used to share information with the community. Hansville’s a unique community comprised of second homeowners, retirees and full-time residents. The Center’s function had always been viewed by residents as simply a gathering place for social functions, so many residents never used the Center. Therefore, these residents had no reason to read the log or visit the Web site. Hansville’s many part-time residents missed local newspaper articles as well. Researching every article written on the subject since 2001, it’s my opinion that when and how much information was published also played a major role in the confusion about the group’s intentions. Taking into account the unique makeup of this community, Hansville’s population growth over the last several years and the way information was disseminated, I strongly disagree with all who believe Hansville residents were “well informed” about this group and their intentions. The method of communication chosen appears to have insulated the group from the community. As a result, this group has become more and more isolated. In my opinion, this isolation led them into “groupthink.” For those of you unfamiliar with the term, google “groupthink.” It’s a common problem found throughout corporations, government, community groups, etc. The silver lining from the speedbump issue — it brought together a far more diverse group of Hansville residents — which is one of many methods used to break the cycle of groupthink.
I recently heard a very smart and charming 12 year old exclaim, “I just want Hansville to go back to the way it was before all the fighting started.” She’s right — we need to return to being friends and neighbors. All of us must get involved — we can start by attending community meetings. We can ask for changes in the organizational structure of the GHAAC so our community can reunite. All residents deserve a voice in any decision being made about the community in which they live.GHAAC meetings are the second Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. in the Community Center. Please attend April 8.
Barbara Fox,
Hansville
Skate park
Clearing up
some inaccuracies
I am writing in response to last week’s letter regarding the boy who broke his wrist while skateboarding at Raab Park in Poulsbo. While I agree with most of what the letter said, I feel that there were a few items that were not accurate.
The letter states “and though it appears a new caretaker has moved in, he/she was nowhere to be found on that day,” insinuating that it is the responsibility of the parks caretaker to watch over the unsupervised children in the park. The caretaker’s job is to maintain the grounds of the park, not babysit. He has a regular full-time job other than caretaking and cannot be at home 24/7. Also, the letter states, “there are no signs posted at the skate park with regard to supervision or safety.” This is not true. There is a very large sign at the skate park and the second “rule” is “Skate at your own risk, your sport, your skull, your choice.” This accident, and its aftermath, had nothing to do with the park’s caretaker, or the park’s signage. In actuality, it had to do with lack of parental supervision.
Kristian Watson,
Poulsbo
