Here’s a look at the top 10 stories of 2014, as selected by the staff of the North Kitsap Herald.
No. 1: 6-year-old girl murdered
The body of Jenise Paulette Wright, 6, of East Bremerton was found on Aug. 7 in a forest behind the Steele Creek Mobile Home Park, where she lived.
Jenise was reported missing Aug. 3 and several law enforcement agencies participated in an area-wide search for her.
Neighbors agreed to participate in DNA tests in order to narrow down the list of possible suspects.
Gabriel Gaeta, a teen neighbor and friend of the family, was arrested Aug. 9 and charged with murder after authorities said his DNA and other evidence linked him to the crime scene.
No. 2: Kitsap County buys Port Gamble shoreline from Pope Resources
Kitsap County acquired 535 acres of forestland and 1.5 miles of shoreline on Port Gamble Bay from Pope Resources on Feb. 12. Of all North Kitsap land placed for sale by Pope Resources, the
forestland and shoreline were the priority for the Kitsap Forest & Bay Project, a coalition of partners working to raise money to buy the land for for public open space and recreational use.
The purchase price was $4.6 million and was funded by several sources.
No. 3: Port expansion measure defeated
On Feb. 11, voters soundly defeated a measure by the Port of Poulsbo to expand its district boundaries to include Lemolo, Scandia and Virginia Point. Voters in those communities overwhelmingly opposed the measure. However, the measure narrowly lost within the Poulsbo city limits, and port officials hinted they may try another measure.
Advocates say enlarging the district to the city limits would enable all Poulsbo residents to vote for port commissioners, would generate more tax revenue that could be used for economic development, environmental protection, and erosion controlw.
No. 4: Man killed in crash with fire engine
A Kingston man was killed when his Yamaha scooter crashed into a North Kitsap Fire & Rescue fire engine, July 4 at Miller Bay and West Kingston roads. A lengthy investigation determined that the fire engine, which was stopped in the intersection, extended too far into the scooter rider’s lane. The investigator recommended a citation for “failure to keep right except when passing.” NKF&R Fire Chief Dan Smith said the firefighter chose to resign.
No. 5: Gordon PTA finances investigated
A panel of PTA members conducted a review of Gordon Elementary School PTA’s finances on Jan. 17, after board members found its books in such disarray it could not determine where the PTA stood financially. Believed missing: Funds related to gift cards, known as scrip, that are sold for fundraising and were kept in a safe in the PTA’s room at the school. A board member reimbursed the PTA $9,000 and resigned.
The PTA board asked the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Department to investigate. In April, the Kitsap County Prosecutor’s Office declined to prosecute, stating it had “insufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.”
No. 6: Principal on leave for N-word
The popular principal of Poulsbo Elementary School was placed on leave on Jan. 21 and ordered to attend cultural responsiveness training after she used the N-word more than once in explaining to a biracial student how the word was not the same as the word “Negro.”
Principal Claudia Alves’ use of the N-word upset the student, who told his mother. The mother called Alves, who in explaining what had happened, used the N-word again. Advised by the district to not use the word again in any circumstance, she did — in a call to to the family to apologize.
“I did use that word, and that word is upsetting,” Alves said in an interview. “I thought in the context of what we were talking about, it was all right.” She said the N-word was never appropriate “no matter the period of time.”
No. 7: Arrests for school threats
On Sept. 9, a former Kingston High School student was arrested for felony harassment and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, after school authorities told the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Department that he had voiced threats to “shoot up the school.”
Matthew Smiley was charged with “felony harassment for making threats to kill,” and served more than three months in county jail.
A 16-year-old student was arrested and booked into juvenile detention late Oct. 28 for threatening to harm other students at North Kitsap High School. The threat came four days after the fatal shootings at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. Poulsbo Police Chief Alan Townsend said, the 16-year-old had the capability to carry out the threat. In the student’s home were several unlocked and unsecured guns, registered to his parents, as well as ominous writings by the student.
No. 8: Poulsbo bans marijuana-related businesses
The Poulsbo City Council voted unanimously to ban recreational and medical marijuana businesses within city limits, June 11.
Council members cited a range of reasons to ban the businesses — a notion that there would be no economic benefit to the city; lingering legal questions that could put the city at risk; and personal, moral reasons.
To control the desirability of Poulsbo for such enterprises, the council had, 10 months earlier, restricted marijuana businesses to a small corner at the north end of the city. Emboldened by a state Attorney General’s opinion that cities do not have to marijuana businesses within city limits on June 11.
Council members cited a range of reasons to ban the businesses — a notion that there would be no economic benefit to the city; lingering legal questions that could put the city at risk; and personal, moral reasons. To control the desirability of Poulsbo for such enterprises, the council restricted marijuana businesses to a small corner at the north end of the city 10 months earlier.
Initiative 502, which was approved by Washington voters in November 2012, legalized the recreational use of marijuana.
No. 9: Robinson, Wolfe, Cook elected
On Nov. 4, voters chose new leadership on the County Commission and in the prosecuting attorney’s office, and chose successors to the retiring assessor, auditor and sheriff. Three of the winners were Republicans.
Lawyer Tina Robinson defeated Russell Hauge in his bid for a sixth term as prosecuting attorney. She ran on a platform of changing management style and priorities at the PA’s office.
Former diplomat Ed Wolfe defeated Linda Streissguth in her bid for a full term on the County Commission. Wolfe ran on a platform of bringing balance to a commission that had been represented by democrats for 10 years.
Mortgage banker Phil Cook was elected county assessor. He ran on a platform of bringing to the assessor’s office the viewpoint of someone who had been a customer of the office for several years.
No. 10: Chief Kitsap Academy makes history
Chief Kitsap Academy started the 2014-15 school year under the direct operation of the Suquamish Tribe Education Department — the first school to be operated by a Tribal government under a compact with the state.
Under the compact, state per-student funding now goes to the school through the Tribe.
Chief Kitsap Academy teaches courses required by the state, but also teaches Suquamish history, culture and language. The academy’s enrollment increased to 78 students in grades 6-12 this school year.
