Great Give May 3
SILVERDALE — The Kitsap Great Give is set for May 3. The Great Give is a 24-hour online giving event organized by the Kitsap Community Foundation to grow philanthropy in Kitsap County and surrounding areas. Help our community reach the goal of raising $1.5 Million for charity in one day. Learn more at kitsapgreatgive.org.
Genealogy expo April 30
SILVERDALE — The fourth annual Kitsap County Genealogy Expo will be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Silverdale, 9256 Nels Nelson Road NW. This is a free, family-friendly event open to the public.
Twenty classes will be offered throughout the day, ranging in subject from DNA and genealogy to wills and probates to Native American records. There will be many family history exhibits as well. The presentations address many levels of genealogical expertise and are taught by local and regional individuals with extensive experience and passion for what they are teaching. Video presentations from the most recent RootsTech Conference held in Salt Lake City will also be offered.
To register and for more information visit www.kitsapgenexpo.org.
The Miss West Sound Scholarship program accepting applications
SILVERDALE — The Miss West Sound Scholarship Program is accepting applications for its 2017 Miss West Sound and Miss West Sound’s Outstanding Teen competition.
Applicants for Outstanding Teen must be 13-17 years old on June 1, 2016. Applicants for the Miss competition must be 17-24 years old on June 1, 2016 and a high school graduate by July 1, 2016.
Contestants will be judged in talent, private interview, evening gown, and on-stage question. Contestants will be judged in lifestyle and fitness in swimsuit and teen contestants will be judged in lifestyle and fitness in active wear.
The new Miss West Sound and Miss West Sound’s Outstanding Teen will be crowned the weekend of Oct. 1. They will both compete for their respective state titles in the summer of 2017 and will make appearances throughout Kitsap County during their year of service. Each participant will be awarded a scholarship for participating, with the opportunity to receive additional awards. The Miss West Sound Scholarship Program has provided close to $140,000 in scholarships since its inception in 2010 and has grown to be the third largest provider of scholarships among Miss Washington’s local programs.
Applications must be postmarked by May 23 and are available at www.misswestsound.org. Contestants must be available to attend a pre-interview and talent review at the beginning of June and a daylong orientation on July 23. For more information, contact Executive Director, Amanda Cheatham at MWSDirector@comcast.net.
OurGEMS luncheon May 14
The OurGEMS Brilliance Award Luncheon is 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on May 14 at The Point Casino, 7989 NE Salish Lane, Kingston. Tickets are $15. Learn more at brillianceawards2016.eventbrite.com or contact Harriette Bryant at 360-930-1493 for more information. OurGEMS is a mentorship program supporting 200 young women to reach their fullest potential. Donations are also accepted at gofundme.com/ourgems.
Silverdale Rotary presents $10,000 check to Poulsbo Rotary
On Friday, April 15, Silverdale Rotarians attended a Poulsbo Rotary meeting to present a surprise donation of $10,000. The donation is for the club’s assistance in the Marrow Manor project, which offers safe, supportive, longer-term affordable housing for survivors of domestic violence in Kitsap County. Morrow Manor is a planned eight-unit community meant to provide longer-term supportive housing essential to survivors’ success. For more information, visit supportmorrowmanor.org.
Bremerton robots team competes in St. Louis
BREMERTON — The Bremerton High School Robotics Team “BremerTron” will compete in St. Louis, Missouri, next week along with 17,000 other young people at the FIRST World Championship.
Teams from 79 other countries will compete in the championship, which will be April 27–30. This year’s challenge, FIRST STRONGHOLD (http://bit.ly/1jBd78G) was released internationally in January and the teams had six weeks to build their robots.
The FIRST Robotics Championship will be held in the Edward Jones Dome and combines the excitement of sport with the rigors of science and technology and is dubbed a varsity “Sport for the Mind.” It is the only sport where all students are guaranteed to turn pro if they choose.
Washington FIRST Robotics in a nonprofit organization that ignites youthful minds through education, hard work, mentorship and healthy competition. Currently there are over 11,000 young people participating throughout the state with over 6,000 coaches, mentors and volunteers. In the four after school programs: FIRST LEGO League Jr. (ages 6 – 9); FIRST LEGO League (ages 9 -14); FIRST Tech Challenge (grade 7 – 12); FIRST Robotics Competition (grade 9-12) young people are exposed to and are inspired to build on their passions to prepare them to be the STEM leaders of tomorrow. For more information on FIRST or to find out how to get involved please go to: http://www.firstwa.org/.
Washington FIRST Robotics will be having their annual benefit reception at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 17, at Seattle’s MOHAI, 860 Terry Ave. All funds raised from this benefit will go to Washington FIRST Robotics teams. For information or sponsorship opportunities please visit www.firstwa.org/changetheworld
Fares on Washington State Ferries will change on May 1
A passenger fare increase of 1 percent from $8.10 to $8.20 and a vehicle/driver fare of 2.5 percent will go into effect on all domestic sailings. May 1 also marks the date that the Peak Season surcharge goes into effect for non-commuter vehicles and drivers; multi-ride products will not be affected by the Peak Season surcharge. Peak Season begins Sunday, May 1 and goes through Friday, September 30.
Also on May 1, the definition of over-height vehicles will change from 7’6″ to 7’2″. Vehicles between 22-30 feet long that are over 7’2″ tall will be charged the over-height fare. The purpose of this change is to align the height threshold with the actual overhead clearance on the side vehicle decks of most ferries.
The Reporter did a story on the fare changes in July — http://goo.gl/9iwpkF.
More businesses to open at The Trails soon
SILVERDALE — Since January, The Trails at Silverdale, an open-air specialty shopping center with 225,000 square feet of retail and dining space, has added four new stores including Chipotle, MOD Pizza, Silverdale Smiles Dentistry, and Total Wine.
Silverdale Smiles Dentistry allows shoppers all-in-one service by combining technology with specialty services to offer modern dentistry at an affordable price. Services include same day dental crowns, boost whitening, oral surgery, wisdom teeth extraction, root canals, periodontics, and more.
Corner Bakery, DSW, Forever 21, The Habit Burger Grill, Jersey Mike’s, Old Navy, Purpose Boutique, Sleep Number, and Verizon are all slated to open this spring, summer and fall at The Trails at Silverdale.
The Trails at Silverdale is a walkable destination where shoppers can spend leisure time with family and friends, enjoying a signature restaurant or connecting in one of the common areas outfitted with fire pits and open seating. Currently open at The Trails at Silverdale is AT&T, Home Goods, Ulta Beauty, Blazing Onion, Chipotle, MOD Pizza, Total Wine and Silverdale Smiles Modern Dentistry. The Trails at Silverdale is located at 11199 Pacific Crest Place NW.
Jones joins Shiers
BREMERTON — Ryan J. Jones has joined the Shiers Law firm as an associate attorney as of March. Jones’ general law practice includes a wide variety of civil and criminal legal matters.
Jones graduated from the University of Washington in 2012 with a BA in communication and received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Idaho College of Law in 2015. He spent his summers gaining criminal trial experience as an intern with the Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. He also worked as associate council to the Governor of Idaho. He moved back to Washington in 2015 and worked for the Kitsap County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office until joining Shiers.
Smart driver course
BREMERTON — An AARP Smart Driver Course will be 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 12 and 13 at First Christian Church, 811 Veneta Ave. Attendees receive a course certificate and most insurance companies will authorize a discount for completion of the course. Pre-registration requested. Attendance required both days. $15-$20. Contact the church at 360-373-2444 or hello@bremertondisciples.org.
Library book sales
SILVERDALE — The Silverdale Friends of the Library will hold their May monthly book sale 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 14, in the Hess room of the library, located at 3450 NW Carlton St. in old town Silverdale.
There will be a $5 “bag sale” for the Saturday sale as well as two of the Monday sales (which are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 16 and 23). The library provides grocery bags and customers may fill them up! Because our community has recently provided us with some outstanding books, we have to make room for the new ones, so it’s a great time to stock up on spring reading.
Regular Monday sales will be held on May 2 and May 9.
The library will be closed on Memorial Day, May 30.
Book donations may be dropped off at the library during regular library hours.
PSNS & IMF video team places second in DoD-wide competition
BREMERTON — Three employees from the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility brought home a second-place finish in the Department of Defense’s 2015 Thomas Jefferson Awards Program.
Scott Matlock, Wayne Menard and Nick Larrabee of the PSNS & IMF Visual Information and Design Center earned the award in the Video Information Program category for their production “Inside PSNS & IMF.”
The Thomas Jefferson Awards are presented annually to DoD military and civilian personnel who excel in print and broadcast journalism and in digital media. Each military service holds a competition to select winners, who then go on to compete at the DoD level for the Thomas Jefferson awards.
Larrabee, Matlock and Menard won a first-place award in the Navy’s 2015 Russell Egnor Media Awards competition, announced in March, which qualified them to compete for the Thomas Jefferson award.
The public can see the PSNS & IMF team’s award-winning video, “Inside PSNS & IMF,” at the organization’s YouTube channel at this URL: https://www.youtube.com/user/JoeShipyardWorker.
NUWC Keyport Change of Command
KEYPORT — Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Keyport will host a change of command ceremony at the Naval Undersea Museum on April 29. Captain Doug LaCoste will take command of the Center, commissioned on the Kitsap Peninsula in 1914, from Commander Dustin Demorest.
Comcast and Bremerton Boys & Girls Club to revitalize Kitsap campus
BREMERTON — On Saturday, April 30, local employees and their families, friends and community partners will “make change happen” as they volunteer to improve the Bremerton Boys & Girls Club as part of the 15th annual Comcast Cares Day. Hundreds of employees, community members and local leaders landscaping and cleaning the Bremerton Boys & Girls Club from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Key Peninsula Civic Center 12th Annual Livable Community Fair
VAUGHN — The 15th annual Key Peninsula Livable Community Fair is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on May 7.
Forty-plus exhibitors will be present in the gym to share resources and information about their services for Key Peninsula residents. This year, the Whitmore room is dedicated to showcasing youth groups – Scouts, 4-H and Home School. Pierce County Library, Youth Services will also provide craft opportunities in the Whitmore room. Throughout the day there will be music provided by the Bluegrass Minstrels and Vaughn Elementary Whole-Note Huskies and their xylophones.
A firetruck, EMT vehicles and a highway patrol squad car will be on display. Not to be missed is the Key Peninsula Historical Society “Be Our Guest for Mother’s Day” open house during the hours of the fair. Their activities will delight visitors of all ages as they experience how our ancestors did everyday chores such as washing clothes, grinding coffee, making butter and greeting cards.
The Lakebay Fuchsia Society will hold their annual plant sale starting at 9 a.m. until closing. The WSU Master Gardeners will also be on hand to answer all your plant questions. The event will be at 17010 South Vaughn Rd., K.P.N., Vaughn. For more information visit www.kpciviccenter.org.
Coast Guard boatcrew hit by green laser during training operations in Bellingham
BELLINGHAM — A Coast Guard boatcrew was hit by a green laser light while underway near the Squalicum Harbor area of Bellingham on April 20, ending a valuable training opportunity due to medical concerns.
The crew aboard a 45-foot Response Boat – Medium, from Coast Guard Station Bellingham, had to return to base and a backup boatcrew had to be called to stand the remainder of the watch.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound were notified of the incident by the affected boatcrew at 8:30 p.m. The incident cancelled the scheduled routine operations with a helicopter crew from Air Station Port Angeles.
“Boat and helicopter operators can be temporarily blinded by green laser lights during night operations,” said Cmdr. Brian Meier, Sector Puget Sound Response Department head. “There have been several laser light incidents in Washington involving not only our crews, but commercial operators as well. As a safety authority, we are very concerned about these incidents causing accidents or delaying emergency responses.”
The local harbor security office and Watcom County police responded to the location near Boulevard Park, but were unable to locate the suspected violators.
If anybody has any information about this incident or other green laser light incidents, they are encouraged to contact their local Coast Guard unit or local law enforcement.
