Bumming around town with Bill Bumerton

Bumerton is a retired Navy fighter pilot who had been missing in action for several years while he traversed the globe looking for greener grass. He discovered the grass is only greener here (it’s blue in Kentucky), so he returned to again take charge of his 1954 green Hudson Hornet that has been in storage, refilled his pipe, and is ready to continue his smokin’ ways. Here is what he recently told us at the Sports Paper.

I see, Big Dawg, where Charolette York’s husband, Patrick Carl York, has died. That triggers for you the memory of Charolette, who died in November of 2000 from a cancerous brain tumor at the age of 60. Charolette was from Bellingham and you knew her sister Loretta, who at one time was married to a close friend of yours. Charolette was a heck of an athlete and was a strong fixture in the Olympic College PE department for many years. She also coached tennis, volleyball and basketball at OC and was the school’s athletic commissioner to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges for nearly 30 years. Charolette is in the Kitsap Sports Hall of Fame and also in the NWAACC Hall of Fame. The NWAACC named its fastpitch softball MVP award after her.  What you can’t believe is possible is Charolette has been gone for nearly 13 years. She had a big influence at OC on women athletes and you thought her death at a relatively young age was tragic because she was bigger than life and had such an influence. The world needs more strong women like her who are willing to stand up and be counted when it’s not the popular thing to do. … I didn’t now the West Coast League dumped the former broadcaster for those Marinaros of yours, Ken Wilson, as its president. He apparently overstepped his boundaries and the owners voted to buy out his contract. The new president is Dennis Koho. Wilson continues as a consultant for the league through Aug. 31. … Do you realize Chris Davis of the Baltimore Orioles played in the WCL with Kelowna in 2005? Davis belted 37 home runs for the Orioles in the first half of the American League season and leads the major leagues in dingers. … The Kitsap Public Facilities District will give $70,000 to the county to build a second level media center atop the current concession stand at the baseball field at the fairgrounds. The Kitsap BlueJackets are happy with that, but the local baseball team would also like to some day moved the backstop further in toward home plate, which would allow some addition seating behind home plate. It would also make the baseball setup more logical. As it is now, Big Dawg, there is too much room behind home plate. By bringing things closer together it would bring fans closer to the action and make it feel more like a real baseball diamond.