TAKING A 'NIGHT OUT' OF CRIME

Westpark residents took a Night Out Tuesday to take a stand against crime.

"I think it's cool to keep the crime out of the community and keep it
drug-free," said April Borik, who has lived in Westpark for the past
four years. "To have everybody coming together, it's very cool."

Borik hopes the neighborhood will become increasingly safer for her
two children, Raymond, 6, and Josh, 5.

Bremerton Housing Authority (BHA) and Bremerton Police Department
organized the National Night Out celebration as an opportunity for
the community to do just that, come together and learn more about how
to tackle the issues it faces. This is the eighth year of the event
which takes place in thousands of communities nationwide.

"We come every year. I live in Westpark and I like just mingling with
the community and networking," said Kristafer Whitcher. "It's good
seeing which kinds of resources are out there."

Bremerton Police Chief Rob Forbes said the recently completed
eight-week-long Citizens Academy held at the Westpark Community
Center was an important effort in stepping up awareness and
prevention of crime in the area.

"We are making a strong statement that we are not going to ... be
paralyzed by fear and inaction," Forbes said. "You (the residents)
are the most important ingredient in the crime prevention equation."

Kitsap County Commissioner Patty Lent expressed hope the potential
merger between the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority and
BHA would be beneficial.

"What has happened over the years is we have concentrated everyone in
one small area," Lent said.

Regardless of the merger outcome, BHA is going forward with plans to
redevelop Westpark. Ted Johnson of Marathon Assisted Living Services
said a 72-unit retirement facility will break ground in October and
take about a year to complete. The entire redevelopment project is
expected to be completed in 2012.

"The BHA commissioners are very committed to this, making this
happen. We're moving very quickly on this, pushing it forward,"
Johnson said, pleased to see the ball rolling along well now. "It's
been in development two-and-a-half years. (Department of Housing and
Urban Development) has a huge say in this. It's a huge bureaucratic
animal so it's sort of hard to walk through that."

In addition to information about crime prevention and the community's
development, there were also booths from KCCHA and Habitat For
Humanity regarding affordable home ownership.

There was fun to be had through various activities and games as well.
The inflatable climbing wall and obstacle course were the most
popular with children, while all ages were eager to see if they could
fire a fastball quick enough to make the Bluejacket players in
attendance take notice.

While waiting in line for a free barbecue dinner, attendees were
treated to karaoke and could take in the sounds of the Peter
Stoyanovich Trio from the Bremerton Symphony on the softball field
when they sat down to enjoy their meal.

About a dozen people took part in watermelon and pie-eating contests
as a dessert. Carlos Vasquez was the pie-eating champion but Brittany
Terry felt like she ate plenty.

"Omigosh, I'm never eating again," Terry said.