Tracyton Library Kids Day

Every first Thursday at Tracyton Community Library is “Kids Day.” Come enjoy kid activities, make-and-take, free stuff. The fun begins at 2 p.m. The library is located at 351 NW Tracy Ave.

Library book sales

SILVERDALE – The Silverdale Friends of the Library will hold their February monthly book sale 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 9 in the Hess room of the library located at 3450 NW Carlton St. in old town Silverdale.

Monday sales will be 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 1, 8, 22 and 29.

There will be no Monday sale on Feb. 15 due to President’s Day as all libraries will be closed.

For more information contact Betty Koster at 692-2944 or mekoster55@gmail.com.

Silverdale Tax-Aide office to move

SILVERDALE – Due to the closing of the Billie Eider Community Center, the AARP Tax-Aide office will move to the Housing Authority’s Golden Tides II building at 9239 Bayshore Dr. NW in Silverdale. The Silverdale office will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. beginning Feb. 2.

Tax-Aide is a free tax preparation service open to most taxpayers. The volunteers are trained and certified by the IRS and in Silverdale produce as many as 700 returns each year.

Bremerton locations include:

• Art Building Room 124 at Olympic College, 1600 Chester Ave. Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 12:30 to 4:30 p.m.

• The Summit (near WinCo), 4650 Bay Vista Blvd. Monday and Friday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

• Sheridan Park Center, 680 Lebo Blvd. Wednesday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Premie event Feb. 19

The March of Dimes 2016 March for Babies kick-off will be 7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Feb. 19 at Harrison Medical Center, 1800 Myhre Road, in Silverdale. Enjoy breakfast, meet volunteers and help launch the new campaign. RSVP by Feb. 12 to Susie Williams, 253-606-0458 or swilliams@marchofdimes.org.

Bright on Dean’s list

Giselle Bright, of Silverdale, was named to the Rocky Mountain College 2015 Fall semester Dean’s List for academic achievement. Students must maintain a GPA of 3.6 or higher to be on the list. RMC is based in Billings, Montana.

Silverdale Way topic of CKCC meeting

SILVERDALE – A presentation on Silverdale Way and Ridgetop Boulevard improvements will be the focus of the next Central Kitsap Community Council meeting. Stella Vakarcs and Gunnar Fridriksson from Kitsap County Public Works will be the speakers. The meeting will be 7-9 p.m. at the Jenne-Wright Gymnasium, 9210 Silverdale Way, in Silverdale, on Feb. 18. A display on the project will be up from 5-6:45 p.m.

Silverdale Rotary seeks non-profits to fund

SILVERDALE – Silverdale Rotary Club still has funds available for its “Duck Buck” grants program and is seeking non-profit community organizations to apply for some of the funds.

The duck bucks come from the annual Silverdale Rotary Duck Race, held at the Silverdale waterfront during Whaling Days. 2015 was the 22nd race. The event is Silverdale Rotary’s main fund raiser of the year. All of the proceeds raised through the race are given back to charitable projects and recipients.

While most of these funds are given directly to the various causes and programs, the Rotary has also established a way for non-profit community organizations to apply directly for some of this funding, through a Duck Buck application. Last year the club awarded $20,000 in Duck Bucks.

Application for a duck buck grant are available on the Silverdale Rotary Club website, www.silverdalerotaryclub.org.

Undersea Museum changes name

KEYPORT – The Naval Undersea Museum has changed its name to the United States Naval Undersea Museum. The museum also has a new logo. Learn more at http://www.navalunderseamuseum.org.

Bonsai club Feb. 19

BREMERTON – Evergreen Bonsai Club will meet on Friday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. at Crossroads Neighborhood Church, 7555 Old Military Road NE, Bremerton. John Conn will demonstrate how to thread graft branches onto a tree. He will also explain  the various soil mixtures used in bonsai.

There is no charge and visitors are welcome. For further information, contact Ruth Anderson at 360-626-1264 or rutha33@msn.com.

Bank donates $10,000 to Coffee Oasis

BREMERTON – Kitsap Bank will donate $10,000 to help pay for the renovation of a new Coffee Oasis location in Bremerton. A replacement for the original 6th and Venita restaurant, the new Coffee Oasis location at 301 Naval Ave. will be renovated to include a drive-thru and café. Through this new facility, Coffee Oasis will continue to provide services to homeless and low-to-moderate income youth in the Kitsap area, including providing job training through the restaurant.

“Kitsap Bank is pleased to partner with The Coffee Oasis on the renovation of their new location,” said Steve Politakis, Kitsap Bank CEO.

“We admire the work Coffee Oasis is doing to change and improve the lives of at-risk youth here in Kitsap, and we are excited to see this corner of Bremerton becoming re-energized.”

For close to two decades, The Coffee Oasis has provided a safe place for Kitsap County youth. In addition to meeting basic needs, such as offering youth showers, clothing and food, Coffee Oasis provides youth centers, job training, mentoring, case management, shelter, and more.

Health store grand opening set for March

Equilibrium Natural Health will have a grand opening celebration on 5-7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1. The official ribbon cutting will be at 5:30 p.m. Light appetizers and beverages will be served.

The business specialize in diet, lifestyle, autoimmune disorders, pain management and elimination, digestive health and more.

Equilibrium Natural Health is located at 3100 NW Bucklin Hill Road, Ste. 206D, in Silverdale. Learn more at www.equilibriumwa.net.

League of Women Voters to meet Feb. 17

POULSBO – League of Women Voters of Kitsap will hold its program planning general meeting at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 17 at Hostmark Apartments Community Room, 703 NE Hostmark St., in Poulsbo. This is a time for League members to come together to look at current positions on important issues and to plan for future activity. Non-members are welcome to attend, but only members can vote. For information go to the League’s website, lwv-kitsap.org, and click on The Voter to read our February newsletter.

Sound population growing

According to the Puget Sound Regional Council, in 2015 the region had its strongest population growth in a decade and its strongest job growth since 1997: 63,000 people and 76,000 jobs, or seven people and nine jobs per hour. Since 2010 the region has added 208,000 people – equivalent to adding a second Tacoma. Urban communities are attracting jobs and housing while rural areas are staying rural, which is a foundation of the region’s VISION 2040 growth strategy. Learn more at http://goo.gl/5yHq36.

Aloha Moani 5K set for May 7

The third annual Aloha Moani Memorial 5K will be held on Saturday, May 7, at Jackson Park Community Center, 90 Olding Road, Bremerton. Start time for Navy Nurse Corps sponsored 5K is 9 a.m. with onsite registration starting 7 a.m.

Learn more at https://goo.gl/S3p2jP.

Area urgent care clinics

If you need medical care, but it’s not an emergency, skip an expensive ER visit and instead go to an urgent care clinic, or your personal physician. Local urgent care centers include:

Bremerton:

The Doctors Clinic, 2512 Wheaton Way.

Doctors Clinic Prompt Care, 1651 NE Bentley Dr., 360-782-3400.

Peninsula Community Health Services, 400 Warren Ave #300, 360-478-2366.

Silverdale:

The Doctors Clinic Salmon Medical Center, 2200 NW Myhre Rd., 360-830-1100.

Group Health Silverdale Medical Center, 10452 Silverdale Way NW, 360-307-7300.

Central Kitsap Urgent Care, 10513 Silverdale Way NW, 360-692-9852.

State ranks 35th in nation for taxes paid relative to income

OLYMPIA – Washington collects less in state and local taxes as a share of total personal income than 34 other states, according to new data released by the Washington State Department of Revenue.

Tax burden — including taxes paid by individuals and by businesses — can be measured in many different ways, each with its own purpose and methodology. For this report, DOR evaluates the amount of taxes paid in relation to personal income and in relation to state population.

In fiscal year 2013, Washington collected $94.31 in state and local taxes per $1,000 of personal income – well below the nationwide average of $104.68 per $1,000 of personal income. Washington ranked 11th among the 13 Western states. Only Arizona and Idaho had lower taxes by this measure.

On a per capita basis, Washington collected $4,465 in state and local, which ranked 22nd in the nation but is below the average for all states, $4,634.

The report also considers taxes as a percent of the gross domestic (state) product, which is the value of goods and service produced in a state. Taxes as a percent of the gross domestic product from Washington were 7.6 percent, placing the state 41st out of 50 for this category.

Area snowpack better this year

SPOKANE – Even with slightly above normal temperatures, Mother Nature built upon on an already substantial snowpack in Washington State throughout the month of January. Water year precipitation also remains well above normal for the state. The most recent National Weather Service three-month outlook is for above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation, however, short-term forecasts call for continued snow in the mountains and rain in the valleys.

“With 70 percent of our typical winter already past, the rest will be a coast as long as the temperatures don’t elevate to the point to cause snowmelt. We would rather save that for late March and into April,” said NRCS Water Supply Specialist Scott Pattee.

The Feb. 1 statewide SNOTEL readings were 109 percent of normal but vary across the state. The Skykomish River Basin reported the lowest readings at 68 percent of the 30-year median for February 1 and the Okanogan had the most snow with 146 percent. Most basins are recording near to above normal snowpack.

The state received normal to slightly above normal precipitation for the month of January keeping year-to-date averages of above normal at 129 percent. Only the northeast corner of the state fell below 100 percent. The wettest SNOTEL in the state was June Lake, located on the South flank of Mt. St. Helens, and collected 26 inches of precipitation or 95 percent of normal during the month of January.

Seasonal reservoir levels in Washington can vary greatly due to specific watershed management practices required in preparation for irrigation season, fisheries management, power generation, municipal demands and flood control. A very wet fall helped buffer many reservoirs to above normal levels for this time of year.