Squid, Theft, KRCC Report - 1-31-11

Squid Fishermen.  Just about every evening during the winter months squid fisherman can be seen at the Illahee community dock jigging their lures, such as we photographed here on a cold winters night.  We like to check in with them every so often to see what they are catching, and to see if they have caught anything unusual (one time someone caught a nice mackerel and didn't want it so we took it home and ate it).  That question regarding unusual catches is when we found out about someone catching a lobster which we will describe in a future Update.  

Larger Squid.  On Monday evening (1/31/11) we noticed one squid in a bucket that was twice the size of any of the others, and asked if we could take some pictures.  After a couple of camera flashes along with lying on the dark decking, the squid quickly changed colors to suit its surrounding, which can be seen by comparing the two photos.

Forage Fish Report.  The other interesting news is that they have also snagged some of our primary forage fish while squidding, which are herring, smelt, and sand lance (candle fish).  (Forage fish are small fish that are preyed on by larger fish.)  While these forage fish are not seen in the numbers of decades earlier, it is encouraging to know they are still around.  If it wasn't for these fishermen's reports, most of us wouldn't be aware that these forage fish are using our nearshore and shoreline areas in Illahee.

Illahee Preserve Rain Garden Thefts.  While getting ready for Saturday's work party at the Illahee Preserve, we noticed that 3 logs and a rock had been taken from the rain garden.  We have attached a photo that shows where the rock and one log were.  This is disappointing as it takes lots of volunteer coordination and volunteer work to make the Preserve and the Rain Garden special and some are wondering if we can install a video camera to cover the parking lot.  If anyone has any ideas or expertise in this area, please let us know.

KRCC Public Meeting Report.  We saw at least 4 Illahee residents at the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council public hearing regarding the Countywide Planning Policy document.  One of the most interesting presentations showed a graph of the projected populations used to determine the urban growth boundaries in the county, and how the actual population figures are coming in at about half the projections.  We don't have all the facts, but understand that is why either the courts or the Growth Management Hearings Board are asking the county to take a second look.  The link to the Kitsap Sun coverage of the meeting is:  http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/jan/28/tribal-members-speak-out-against-large-scale-in/

Community Input.  Two residents testified during the public hearing and we received two comments that were emailed to the KRCC, which we have attached below:

Thank you for allowing public comment to the "Kitsap Countywide Planning Policy" draft document proposed by the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council.

I attended the public hearing last evening and I'm not sure I was as clear in my comments as I should have been with my last point.

My concern is with the wording changes in the document that tightened the language by replacing "should" with "shall" when it came to issues such as annexation, and then when it got to Element E (which looks at open space preservation, critical areas, and water quality/quantity), the language was loosened by replacing "shall" with "should".

After hearing the testimony about the importance of natural resources and open space, etc, I don't know how you can not change this wording back to "shall".  

Additionally, I would state that current science has more than ever supported the necessity to preserve and protect critical areas and resource lands, such as critical aquifers.  We know that the Kitsap Peninsula is for the most part hydrogeologically self contained, that our ground water comes from precipitation, and that some areas, such as Illahee, are at water balance, meaning we are withdrawing and supporting stream flow with what is already being infiltrated.  The implications of this fact alone are staggering.

If you really believe that "Water is a Resource" then your wording in this county wide planning document needs to support that policy.

Thank you for considering changing the "should" back to "shall".

Thank you for allowing public comment to the "Kitsap Countywide Planning Policy" draft document proposed by the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council.

I am requesting that Illahee be considered for withdrawal from the urban growth area that it has been assigned to. A majority of  Illahee is made up of critical areas: steep slopes, canyons, Illahee Creek, state park and Kitsap County forest preserve, in addition to documented category one aquifer recharge areas. All that is in possible jeopardy if its future is to be annexed to a city.  Under GMA and the definition of UGAs, it clearly spell out the incompatibility of urban growth and protection of important aquifers. Given that population projections have been exaggerated in the establishment of UGAs here in the county, it makes sense for a rural entity such as Illahee  be withdrawn from the UGA.

Your Thoughts?  Let us know how you feel on the issue of annexation, which is what is being proposed as a "shall" in the Countywide Planning Policy document.  

Community Meeting Discussion Item?  We would like to suggest this be a discussion item at the next Illahee Community meeting that has just been scheduled for February 23, 2011 at 6:30pm at the Sylvan Way Library.

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 8/3/10

Preserve Inundated With Wood Chips.  After a long drought of not being able to get any wood chips for the Illahee Preserve, the log jam broke and we are now inundated with wood chips, and they need to be moved onto the trails.  See the attached photos showing the multiple piles of chips.

Work Party Workers Needed.  With so many chips to move we decided to put out the call for more work party helpers.  We will have some from the East Bremerton Rotary, and some from the John C. Stennis, and some from the surrounding community and the Illahee community, but we never know exactly how many will be there.  We have had large work parties and others have been small.  We never know how many will show up, but this time we know we have lots of chips to move, so we are asking for whoever can make it to come and help.

Multiple Tasks To Do.  In addition to moving wood chips to cover the trails, we have a number of special projects.  One is closing a trail by burying a log at its entrance to keep it from being re-established.  We have some medium sized rocks to move to the corners of the rain garden plots.  We will line the paths through the rain garden with logs and put down landscape fabric to prevent the weeds from coming through.  We will weed the rain garden plots, which should be easier now that the mulch has all been distributed.  We will have our volunteer botanist there to help with any plant or weed identification.  We will also line the water flow path with landscape fabric and place river rock on it.  Ambitious jobs that will require lots of help and if we have lots of people we should be able to finish before dusk.  

Date and Time.  The work party is Wednesday (8/4/10) and the time is between 5 and 5:30 pm. 

Tools Needed.  We will have a few wheel borrows, but will need others to bring one, along with pitch forks to load the chips.

Missing Person Found.  It is sad to report that the body of Kara Radabah was found on Sunday morning and was confirmed by the coroner on Monday as being Kara.  The links to the Kitsap Sun articles on the story are:  http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/aug/02/coroner-confirms-identity-of-body-found-sunday/

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/aug/01/body-found-near-lllahee-may-be-missing-19-year-old/

No 'Miracle' for Kara  http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/aug/01/for-bremerton-womans-family-dashed-hopes-for-a/

Local Arborist Debuts Tree Book.  Local Illahee Arborist Jim Trainer has a new book called "Kitsap Trees" for sale. It's about 10 trees in the Kitsap area (2 in Illahee) and the stories about them . The cost is $10.00, plus $3.00 for shipping and tax.  If anyone is interested in purchasing this interesting book, please call 360 792 2449.  It has been suggested that since the Illahee Community Club is supposed to have an August meeting (date yet to be determined), that we try to have copies of Jim's book available for purchase there.

Jim Aho

Second Ground Search for Missing Woman - 7/31/10

Illahee Area Search on Sunday for Missing Woman.  On Sunday morning (8/1/10) the Kitsap County Sheriff's Search and Rescue (SAR) unit will conduct a second ground search for 19 year old Kara Lynn Radabah.  The news release for the search is attached.  We wanted to let those in the Illahee area know that starting sometime after 7 am on Sunday the SAR personnel will be on foot going through the area.

Jim Aho

Work Party Info & Miscellaneous 7/29/10

8/4 Illahee Preserve Work Party.  The East Bremerton Rotary has scheduled an Illahee Preserve work party for Wednesday (8/4/10) starting at 5:30 pm.  Also at this work party will be personnel from the aircraft carrier the USS John C Stennis.  The Illahee community volunteers are needed and will be finishing up on work on th Rain Gardens and they hope to use some of the Stennis personnel to help line the rain garden walkways with logs and create simulated rock streams in the rain garden.  It should prove to be one exciting and productive evening.  

Big Wood Chip Piles.  If you have stopped by the Illahee Preserve's Almira parking lot recently you will notice more chips have been delivered and they are spilling over into the parking lot.  Extra wheel borrows (and helpers) are being requested to help with the effort on Wednesday.

Lost Dog in Preserve?  When we were working in the Preserve on Wednesday there was a person looking for a lost dog.  The information is attached and the picture is below: 

Harriet lives just south of preserve on Olympus Dr.--

She has not been taken to any shelter or vet--she is micro chipped.

Please Help find her!

Response re Dumping.  We got the following responses to the question about the dumping of trash in Illahee:

The illegal dumping if the same...was going up the hill just beyond George Schafers on the right hand side going up... mattress, bedframe plus more,  and just a ways back toward Illahee another pile of junk....

The dumping of garbage and furniture was in the Rue Villa area on Illahee
Road. It was picked up the next day by a couple of young men in a county
pickup truck.

... we had dumping along 1st Avenue and Rest Place.  Sorry we did not get any pics.  I can tell you along our street was a fireplace insert, wood and other building materials.  In front of my neighbors house was a garbage can filled with project clean up materials.  All were dumped along the side of the road.  I was nervous because some of these items were quite large and with no shoulder vehicles could have easily run into them.

Response re Sailboat Sinking.  We revived the following note and picture of the sailboat that sunk off of the Illahee community dock:  

Not a very good picture, it was taken with my cell phone.

More Responses re Beach Walking.  And we received another response regarding beach walking.

 Years ago a man who worked for one of the major Title companies (names forgotten) and was very knowledgeable about property matters, told us that the beaches were considered "ancient highways" so that walking across them was not considered trespassing. Other activities, clamming, taking  of oysters, camping etc.are different stories and in our case on two different ocassions we had to call the Sheriff. Rue Villa became a hang out for the "hippy culture" and a drug scource back in the late 60s early 70s.He also stated that we owned to the "extreme" low tide but that the State retained the mineral rights between "mean" low and "extreme" low tide.

Regarding Shoreline Walking...
I have always felt that the public has the right to access the tidelands below the high tide line. Washington is the only state on the west coast where people will try to exclude people from walking on the beach in front of their property, but I honestly doubt they have the legal authority to do so. Caminiti v. Boyle seems to affirm that.
There is an interesting ongoing discussion in response to an article by C Dunagan titled  "Beach-walkers are still waiting for a legal answer" July 8th, 2010 by cdunagan

Read more: http://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2010/07/08/beach-walkers-are-still-waiting-for-a-legal-answer/#comments#ixzz0uk2xQhrJ

in the Sun.
You'll find an Interesting poll regarding this issue there also...

Response re Deer.  Many have commented on how tame the deer have become and how they don't seem to be concerned about being around humans.  We received the following video and link about how deer can be dangerous.

Thought you might find this interesting.

Cranbrook Deer Incident - deer attacks dog in city environment Wow - watch this to the end -( looks like maybe a border collie). Dog gets hurt by a doe deer  - cat almost gets it too - gees ' could have been a small child too  Good to know to keep your dogs away from the deer- good to do anyway but this dog was not that close. Go to the link below to watch a doe deer in Cranbrook last Friday pummel a dog which survived with bruises and a few cuts. http://www.youtube.com/user/fsubra

Torched Car on Fir Drive.  We received the following two reports on a car fire on Fir Drive very early last Sunday morning:

I slept thru the excitement and only heard about the event Sunday afternoon. Apparently around 3 AM the blaring of a car horn and glare of flames woke my neighbors and they saw a car parked near the big granite rock at the curve of FIR DR. on fire. The FD responded but the burning tires and ignited gasoline took awhile to control. The gas tank and tires apparently blew up  and burning gas was reported to be flowing down the road toward us. After the fire was controlled the Sheriff Deputy determined that the car had been reported as stolen. This is 2nd hand info.... many others witnessed the event and relayed some of it as having me missing  the bonfire and hot dog and marsh-mellow roast. The remains were towed away  and by morning there was no signs of the happening.

Just a little info you may want to add to one of your updates.  Sunday morning about 0300, my wife, myself and most our neighborhood were awoken by a steady car horn blaring.  Walking out the door there was a car on fire near the Wagon Wheel rock at the bend of the road on Fir Drive.  It was completely engulfed in flames shooting about 20 feet into the air. Calling 911 the fire department responded within about 5 minutes.  It was safely extinguished in minutes and investigated.  The car was traced to an owner in Vancouver, WA but was not necessarily reported as stolen.  Interesting, but no harm was done less some singed tree tops and roadside vegetation.

Petitions?  We have been asked a number of times about when the Illahee Community Club petitions will be sent out or distributed.  There was an initial limited petition distribution, and because of the responses to the Kitsap Sun article, a list of "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) sheet was developed to answer some of the questions being raised.  We heard the FAQ sheet  is being finalized and will likely be available or distributed with the petitions.  The last report from the early distribution was 53 yes responses and 3 no responses.  Once the FAQ sheet is made available to us, we will pass it on.

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 7/11/10

More Deer Responses.  We received some more responses to the question of whether there were so many deer in the area that they should be thinned.  Thank you for all your responses!

The geese are just fine and so are the deer.  Leave alone those creatures that make this area so precious to live in. 

Please do not consider thinning out the deer. We love our deer and giving them safe sanctuary and would never want "thinning" of them or any of our wildlife. Ever! Thank you.

On the deer, if anything we should check with the County health deparment, deer are a vector for Lyme's disease, and the ticks which spread it don't differentiate between deer, humans or dogs. Spraying plants with really thin egg solution is alleged to keep the deer away from plants. (I like deer too, and I don't like raccoons either). 

I agree about the 'Scarecrow'.  I have tried sound alarms and they are ineffective.  My son has a scarecrow and it works great for him. 

As for whether there are too many deer:  When I begin to feel this way, I hear an evening 'bang' from somewhere down the hill from me and the problem disappears.  I must presume that firecrackers keep deer away for good ;-)  Otherwise, I do enjoy seeing them -- out of my garden.

Thanks Jim, this was a good read and you get an idea how your neighbors are feeling. We are lucky to live here. 

We used to live on Vashon, which has a high deer population.  Vashon is more rural than the Ilahee area, and it is still legal for hunters to take deer.  Even so, the deer population on Vashon became so large that the poor things started dieing of starvation and disease.    Deer were also killed or subjected to a variety of euthanasia options after being hit by cars.  I agree that deer are cute, but without natural predators there are more now than at any time in history.  Thinning is much more humane than starvation or death by automobile.  We need to be careful that we do not 'love them to death'.

Mulching Work Party on Monday Evening.  On Monday (7/12/10) we will spread the last of the mulch on rain garden plot #4 at the Almira parking lot to the Illahee Preserve.  It shouldn't take long so we are starting at 5:30 pm and should finish up at 7 pm.

Bill Green Memorial Gathering.  There will be a memorial gathering for Bill Green at the Elks on Friday, July 16, 2010, from 3-5 pm.  Many of us remember Bill when he was a lineman with Puget Power some years ago and took care of Illahee whenever the power went out.  

For those of us who were neighbors we knew Bill as one of the nicest, gentlest  and most helpful persons around.  The neighborhood got together for birthdays and other occasions and we often shared tools and helped each other on projects and functioned like a neighborhood family and we will especially miss Bill as a friend and neighbor. 

Illahee Road Accident.  Those who live along Illahee Road know that the curve at the bottom of Illahee hill is a place where there are frequently accidents.  On Saturday evening another accident occurred and people were lucky to not be seriously injured.  We received the following report on an accident that occured when a driver coming down the hill ran head-on into another car and the support they got from one of their neighbors:  

Irwin and Judith Krigsman would like to thank Mike Manske, our neighbor, for being a johnny-on-the spot and a good Samaritan on Saturday July 10, 2010.

 

As we were returning home early Saturday evening around 6 p.m. we were involved in what could have been a deadly accident 20 feet from our driveway into our home.  From out of nowhere coming down Illahee Road on the curve, an unisured, unlicensed, driver crossed over the center line hitting us so hard that our airbage deployed and shocked  us beyond belief.  After hitting us, the car crashed into the vehicle behind us before doing a 180 and coming to a stop. 

 

Mike Manske appeared from out of the blue and stayed with us through the entire ordeal.  Without his calm deameanor, his directing of traffic and accident conditions on Illahee Road, we would have been far worse for wear.  Mike stayed with us until the whole incident was over, carried our belongings into a safe place, and departed when the situation was finally under control.  We are fortunate to have him as our neighbor.

 

Illahee Road has become so dangerous, particularly at the bottom of the hill. This was the second major accident  at that location in the past three weeks.  We believe the time has come for action and involvment by Kitsap County to improve road conditions.   We were lucky, the next person may not be.

 

Mike Manske, hero of the day, we honor you!

Thank goodness for air bags as they saved the Krigsmans from injury.

Only One Comment on the Beach Access Issue.  On our last Update we provided two links to articles in the Kitsap Sun regarding beach access and have only received the following comment so far.  

While waiting for a friend to arrive home in Indianola, I took a few minutes to walk down the dock then onto the shoreline just to see since I had never been there before.....and won't again!  One local made it perfectly clear that I was not to be on this property and pointed me to the extremely unfriendly signs that had been posted not only on the property itself, but also on the dock..."Residents only".  As I'm certain you can tell by the "tone" of this message, I cannot believe someone would be so rude to a visitor.  I can only hope Illahee folks are not nor will become like those people.  We all take pride in our neighborhood and projects that benefit us all, and I hope we can all share in the beauty of where we live without being concerned we are creating an enemy.

Let Us Know Your Thoughts.  Continue to let us know your thoughts regarding deer and beach walking.

Jim Aho

Wednesday Work Party - 6/22/10

Wednesday Weeding & Mulching Work Party Scheduled. We have one rain garden plot left in the Illahee Preserve's Almira parking lot that needs weeding and mulching and we want to complete it on Wednesday (6/23/10) from 5-7:30pm.

Volunteers Are Needed. We completed Plot #1 (see attached photo) on Tuesday evening with 8 volunteers, and many of those are not able to be there on Wednesday so additional volunteers are needed.

Mulch Delivered Tuesday Morning. 30 yards of mulch was delivered on Tuesday morning - see the attached photo - at a cost of over $400. 15 yards was placed by each of the rain garden plots to minimize the amount of wheelbarrowing.

More Links re Illahee Shooting. Since there are a number who don't receive the Kitsap Sun we have provided the latest attached links to the shooting of Bill Green.

79-Year-Old Murder Suspect Told Deputies Her Husband 'Egged Her On'

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/jun/21/woman-79-makes-first-court-appearance-in-death/

Elderly Suspect in Illahee Shooting Formally Charged, Then Released
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/jun/22/elderly-shooting-suspect-charged-released/

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 6/18/10

Weeding & Mulching Work Party Scheduled. On Thursday we evaluated some less costly mulching material and decided to order 30 yards so we could complete the weeding and mulching of the rain garden plots at the Illahee Preserve's Almira parking lot. We have asked for the mulch to be delivered on Tuesday (6/22) so that we could schedule a work party.

Volunteers Needed. We need volunteers to help weed and mulch on Tuesday (6/22), and possibly on Wednesday (6/23). We have been asked to schedule it for a late afternoon and evening so that those who work can participate and thus the 5-7:30 pm time frame.

Cost Comparisons. While beauty bark was running at roughly $30 a yard, we could order the other mulching material for $13 a yard delivered if we ordered 30 yards. This should be enough to mulch Plot #3 and finish Plot #1 with possibly some left over, depending on how thick it is applied.

Wood Chips Delivered on Friday. After the new mulch was ordered we had a tree service deliver a batch of mostly cedar wood chips to the Preserve, which is what the East Bremerton Rotary has been looking for for trail work. As one person noted isn't this the way it always works.

Sirens In Illahee on Friday. We were in the Preserve on Friday afternoon when we heard police and emergency vehicle sirens and were sad to find out later that an Illahee resident, Bill Green, was killed in a domestic violence situation. Bill was one of the nicest and gentlest persons we have known. We have provided the link to the story that will appear in Saturday's Kitsap Sun.

Elderly Illahee Woman Jailed on Suspicion of Killing Her Husband

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/jun/18/possible-domestic-shooting-illahee/

Effect of Sirens in Illahee Area. We talked with an Illahee resident Friday afternoon who reported the wail of the sirens had the coyotes in her area howling, which in turn started her dogs barking. We report this as Illahee, while in an Urban Growth Area, still has open space areas and the Illahee Preserve with wildlife that make it seem quite rural at times.

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 6/10/10

Deer Pictures. Below are some recent deer pictures and descriptions forwarded to us.

Mama doe was walking down Madrona Ave with her twins, mama & twin #1 scooted off into the field & #2 lost track of them. Eventually it found her scent & scampered off as well.

These two guys paid me a visit last Friday. Stayed in the back yard for a couple of hours.

We also had someone report a beautiful 4 or 5 point buck that was reluctant to move out off of Illahee Road about 5 am on Tuesday morning.

Rain Garden Weeding and Mulching Progress.

About half of rain garden plot 4 was weeded and mulched on Tuesday, and we hope to finish it today, Thursday (6/10/10). Depending on our progress this evening and the availability of wood chips, we may have a work party on Saturday morning from 9-11 am. We will assess things this evening and send out

another Update if the Saturday session is a go. Those working asked us to report that they could use some more help.

Illahee Road Accident. We talked with people who heard and responded to an accident on Illahee Road near Roosevelt very late Monday evening. The attached link is the report that was in the Kitsap Sun:

Driver Booked into Jail Following Illahee Road Crash

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/jun/08/driver-booked-jail-following-illahee-road-crash/

Miscellaneous - 12/15/09

Illahee News Articles.  There have been a number of recent articles in the Kitsap Sun regarding Illahee.  We have a number of snow birds, travelers, former Illahee residents, and residents who don't get the Kitsap Sun who like to keep up with what is happening in Illahee so we have attached the links to the reports.

Illahee Has Been Cold.  We had a week of cold weather and many are now happy to have the warmer rain instead.  The cold weather resulted in several fires in Illahee that were reported in the Sun.  The links are: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/dec/12/illahee-home-fire-caused-by-combustibles-next-to/ and  http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/dec/08/fire-displaces-illahee-family/

Illahee Arson Fire Report.  There was also an article in the Sun regarding the arson fire that took the life of Paymela Long back in October 2009.  The link is:  http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/dec/09/at-scene-of-homicide-family-prays-for-peace-and/

Comments to Past Updates.  We normally receive comments to the Updates and often forget to pass them on.  When we include them we like to put them in italics.  Here are a few regarding trash:

while walking along illahee road this afternoon, i spotted several of
the aforementioned white trash bags, i noticed they were all stamped
with a kitsap county logo....so maybe jail trustees... or ????

Thanks to who ever picked up the chair that was dumped along side the road on 1st street.

You were wondering about the white trash bags along the road, it was a group of

youth that was escorted by a police truck, so it appears to be community serves

workers or work release prisoners.

We did a trail clean up a few weeks ago and are schedule to finish the trails (in the brush off the trail) this weekend. We did not do the road however. (This was in response to an email wondering if the Alternatives to Detention group did the cleanup work on Illahee Road.)

Timbers Edge Appeal Questions.  We are getting more and more questions as to what is happening with the appeals the Illahee Community Club has filed.  Earlier this afternoon we met with a Bremerton Patriot reporter who was asking about the Timbers Edge appeals.  Since there seems to be substantial interest in the appeals, we will cover them in greater detail in future Updates.

Illahee Creek Monitoring Stations.  We came across an old map showing the location where fecal coliform monitoring was done along Illahee Creek a few years ago.  Based on the results obtained from the samples the stations changed from those shown on the attached map, and due to another year of monitoring data and Health Department cutbacks, will be changing again in 2010.  If anyone is interested in volunteering to collect the fecal coliform samples at the beginning of each month, please send us an email. 

Jim Aho

Break-in Update, Stolen Boat, Community Meeting - 2/13/09

Illahee Road Break-in Solved. Awhile ago we reported about a house break-in along Illahee Road. Last week there was an article in the Kitsap Sun about a person admitting to breaking into 80 homes which is available by clicking on the following link:

http://kitsapsun.com/news/2009/feb/06/kitsap-detectives-solve-80-cases-8212-with-help/

We just got notice that this was the person responsible for the break-in on Illahee Road. The person had about 75 jewelry items stolen and was able to recover 13 of them.

Boat Stolen. We also got notice of a boat being stolen this weekend. Below is the email we received. If you know of this stolen boat, please call the sheriff, or if you want we will pass any information on to the boat owner.

I have once again had a theft at my house. This time a boat taken off the beach sometime over the weekend. (I noticed it was gone on Sunday morning.)

It is an aluminum rowboat - a 14 foot Klamoth WN8479LD. Since there were no oars or motor with it, I don't think it got far, but who knows. I think it would have taken a couple of people to turn it over and carry it to the water. I am passing this on for two reasons. First, it may show up on someone's beach, and I can get it back, and also, because a lot of our neighbors have boats on their beach and they may want to check that nothing of theirs is missing. I have reported this to the police. At this rate, I am going to be on a first-name bases with all the deputies!

Community Meeting on Saturday. The Illahee Community Club will hold its first quarterly meeting of 2009 on Valentines Day, February 14, 2009 from 1:30 - 3 pm, at the Sylvan Way library. This is an important meeting as they discuss an Illahee Community Advisory Council that would report to the Kitsap County Commissioners, the status of the Replacement Illahee Outfall, whether to appeal the anticipated appeal rejection by the Hearing Examiner of the Timbers Edge project, and the status of the Illahee Creek culvert that continues to fill with sediment, and possibly other issues.

Jim Aho

Friday Morning Break In - 11/3/08

Illahee Break In. We just received the following report of a home break in along Illahee Road (north of the Illahee Dock) on Halloween morning. This is a disturbing event and Ed (Carol's son) has written a very informative letter to the community about what they have learned and what to watch out for.

Dear Neighbors,

Last Friday, Halloween morning, Carol Hamilton's house (in the 5800 block of Illahee Road) was burglarized. The robber broke in her back door and took jewelry, a digital camera, financial papers and some cash. Carol was not at home at the time but saw a dark colored, imported sedan (i.e. Toyota or smaller sedan) driven by a white male in his late 20s or early 30s leaving her driveway at a very high rate of speed. This car leaked a huge amount of oil and gas in her driveway.

The police investigated and told her how these thieves work. There was some good information related to how these thieves operate that can allow all of us, as neighbors, to protect our neighborhood.

Specifically, these thieves will target a house that appears empty. They will park their car in a hidden place and approach the front door and knock to see if anyone is home. If someone answers they will make an excuse about having the wrong house. This should be considered highly suspicious. Often these people work in pairs posing as a couple. There were footprints at the front door of Carol's house to suggest this is what happened.

Upon verifying that no one is home the thief(s) will gain access. Typically, high theft items are cash, cameras, jewelry and bank records. The bank records are used to attempt to steal someones identify. Items taken in Carol's robbery were very similar to items taken from homes on Big Valley road as reported in last Saturday's paper.

In Carol's instance the thief opened and searched drawers that were in office areas and in all the bedrooms. Special attention was placed at areas where financial information, checks and credit card data were found. Areas ignored in the search were basement areas, kitchen cabinets, and the living room. Unique items of value were not taken; only cash or items that could quickly converted to cash along with financial information was taken. The thief was likely on Carol's property for about 15 minutes.

What can we all do? While it is unlikely this person would return to our immediate neighborhood thieves like him will. If you see people behaving in the manner described above – knocking on doors or acting lost – try to get a description of the individuals or the car they are driving. If you believe they are acting suspiciously you can relay this information to the Police.

If you may have any information related to the theft at Carol's please email her son, Ed Hamilton, at edhamilton23@gmail.com and he will pass the information onto the investigating officer.

Early Morning Fire Report - 8/5/08

Early Tuesday morning from about 2 am to 5 am there was lots of activity along Illahee Road about a half mile north of the Illahee Community Dock. Many fire trucks and aid cars filled the road in response to fire call at 5960 Illahee Road. The road was blocked off as fire hoses stretched across the road and down to the small waterfront house.

The occupant woke up to the smell of smoke and got herself and two dogs out of the house and called 911.

Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue responded and quickly put out the fire that appeared to have started in the basement area.

The occupant eventually went to the hospital to be checked out, and neighbors took care of the two dogs.

When we find out more about the cause of the fire we will let you know.

Jim Aho