Lighting the way to equity in high school sports
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Let there be lights. Please.
The issue of the lack of lit ballfields at Kingston High has once again bubbled to the surface. Earlier this week, North Kitsap School District officials met with community members in an open forum. The result of which was no surprise.
Community members from hither and thither, there and yon want Kingston to have practice fields to call its own.
The issue at hand: When the school district built Kingston High, they included practice fields in the design but didn’t include lights.
In the meantime, they “share” the North Kitsap Stadium, which stands in all its North Kitsap High purple and gold glory.
The course of public discussion has proven that North Kitsap High athletes, boosters and such don’t feel they should have to share and Kingston High athletes and boosters just want an equitable deal.
A few months ago, the school board let loose on the community with a letter that basically stated: If you want lights, go raise the money yourselves, because these wallets (re: bond dollars) are closed.
So the community did. Nearly $40,000 has been raised to date: the Kingston Rotary Club has raised about $27,000, Kingston High’s athletic boosters have pitched in about $13,000, and the KHS associated student body has pledged $12,000.
Unofficial cost estimates come in at about $250,000.
NKSD Superintendent Rick Jones was planning on throwing an idea at the school board at last night’s meeting that would see the district fund the lights, then community groups essentially pay the district back.
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Kingston athletes need a place to call home.
Light up the fields.
Letters to the Editor
Stop signs
City should do something that makes sense
Wow! Another “nutsy” idea. As if the residents of Poulsbo haven’t had enough with the city hall mess, now the not-so-bright idea of all the stop signs. I do not live within the city limits, but Poulsbo is still my town. Now a trip to the post office, the library, the grocery store, and what-ever else, including shopping in downtown, involves stopping at unnecessary places. I do agree that the stop sign at Hostmark and Fjord is a good idea, but when there are signs on main arterials that do nothing but cause traffic back-ups, it is purely senseless. It is time the city started thinking about doing something for the residents and shop owners, not against them. I can’t believe the amount of money that is spent on bad ideas. One good idea, I think, is the lovely clock in the middle of town. However, it has not worked for over a month. Please stop wasting our money and work on things that really matter to us, or else take a vacation, on your own money, of course.
Jan Deardorff
Poulsbo
The city did do something that makes sense
The state spent millions of our tax dollars widening State Highway 305 to appease the Nazi drivers who just had to get through Poulsbo without any delay. Now that they have it (at our taxpayer expense) they continue to whine to no end because they can’t shave seconds off the drive through downtown without slowing down for pedestrians.
The cry babies who keep writing letters to the Herald about stop signs in downtown are wearing thin my patience. Here’s a news flash for you: Shoppers and tourists who actually walk around downtown, as well as locals out and about town, are sick and tired of you speeding through. The stop signs and speed bumps are a necessary evil to prevent you and your maniac unsupervised teenagers who drive your trucks while you are home watching television from hurting someone. They are also intended to make downtown a more desirable destination by encouraging the hordes of Bainbridge and Silverdale thru-traffic to use the highway.
I seriously doubt most of the people who write in to complain about the stop signs have actually walked more than a few steps around the town they threaten to no longer patronize. If they did, they would realize the benefits of the new traffic plan.
Paul Bourmatnov
Poulsbo
Reader response
Government isn’t poor or broke
Val Torrens would have us believe our government is “essentially skin and bones,” and will die of starvation if we don’t keep feeding it more of our tax dollars.
Nothing could be further from the truth. It’s more like “obese and bloated,” and if the current administration has its way, growing massively by the minute. If in fact the vast majority of employed people in Kitsap County work for some level of government as Torrens claims, that is diametrically opposed to the intentions of our Founding Fathers.
Government was designed to do only the minimum and to handle things the private sector couldn’t, like the military, law enforcement, and infrastructure construction. We don’t want government controlling “various parts of society” or providing everything we think we need. Our society would function much more effectively if government just got their hands out of every nook and cranny of our lives as well as our wallets.
Torrens and the current administration would probably be delighted if the government could just take every penny we earn and redistribute back to us what they the elite think is our fair share. The rest could be spent on more worthy projects like studying swine odor or paying “artists” to put crucifixes in jars of unmentionable liquids.
Don Wiens
Kingston
Last week’s opine was spot-on
Your editorial, “Taxpayer-funded junket to D.C. was a bad idea,” was right on target.
The only junket worse than Commissioner (Charlotte) Garrido’s four-day trip was Commissioner (Josh) Brown’s trip “ostensibly to stump for continued support of the county’s military presence.”
Our politician-for-life, Norm Dicks, has the military situation well in hand. He surely does not need the help of a first-term county commissioner.
It is also hard to understand why Garrido felt it necessary to travel to D.C. to meet with our elected representatives who are home nearly every weekend and all have local offices with competent staffers to field most questions; and, as you note, they (Garrido and Brown) could have just picked up the phone to “beg for handouts.”
Apparently, our commissioners were not beat up enough in January over their boondoggle in Quilcene. It may be time to consider hiring a county executive with a small, part-time council and chucking the three commissioners. Three executives are probably two too many, and are certainly more expensive to maintain.
Charles Bickel
Poulsbo Kitsap’s legislators in a tough financial bind
We appreciate you, Reps. Rolfes, Appleton and Rockefeller, for holding public discussions about the state’s budget crisis. We are disappointed, however, to read that each of you are waiting to see how the wind blows before you advocate for state income taxes. We have empathy for the political realities you face, but we elected you to lead. If you believe that an income tax is a good solution to state revenue problems, then please advocate, educate your constituents to understand the issues and be the leaders we all need you to be and expect you to be. These are not times to be tentative or self-protective. We must be bold and, if necessary, sacrifice to resolve our very serious problems
I have already stated at a Poulsbo City Council meeting that I, as a resident of Poulsbo, and as a daily driver and consumer in downtown Poulsbo, and as a person with disabilities that cause me difficulty in walking, applaud and appreciate the new stop signs. And yes, I drive safely because it’s my left foot that’s the problem.
Janetmarie Valiga
Poulsbo
Torrens Talk: Lacrosse teaches sportsmanship, so says the coach
Recently, an opposing coach informed me that they were short players. This coach only had 11 players instead of 12. When I readily agreed to play down as well, she was surprised.
I said that how can we possibly teach good sportsmanship and expect kids to learn it if we do not do it. Having played her other games with teams who did not play “down,” she was very appreciative of our accommodation.
I was very proud of my team’s response when I told them that we were playing 11, not 12, for the game. They all looked at me as if why would we do anything less. There was no need for any explanation. I know that they all knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of not having a “level playing field” and I was very glad they took the high road without question or complaint.
I only wish there were more instances of that behavior and response not only in sports but also in other parts of our lives. Sadly, we seem to have left that idea of good sportsmanship and all that it represents behind.
One need only look at the amount of cheating, either through drugs or skirting the rules, that goes on at college and professional level sports to know that the messages of fair play and honesty seem antiquated notions. I remember years ago my orthopedic surgeon laughing at my naiveté when I expressed outrage at the revelations of doping by various sports figures as they attempted to best records in their sports. His comment was that it goes on all the time and it is a small wonder that more are not caught.
Given that even high school teams are unwilling to let go of any edge in order to get a win, it should not be surprising that the upper levels of sports show this behavior. It is really hypocritical of adults to constantly preach good sportsmanship and then not display it when it counts.
Yet, that is precisely what happens. We tell the youth to play by the rules. That doing so is the only proper way to act. Then, when it is our turn, if it suits us, we ignore the rules. After all, the rules are really meant for other folks, not us.
So, we get college coaches who clearly find the NCAA rules too hard to live by as they keep breaking them despite repeated sanctions. We get players like Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds and Mark McGuire who felt that only drugs could let them perform at the level they needed. And, we get teams like Chief Sealth who had no problem ignoring the WIAA rules about recruiting high school players and residency so they could continue to win ball games.
They were all more focused on getting what they wanted than on what was right. Unfortunately, that behavior sends the wrong message. Youth are impressionable and having these folks in positions where they influence young minds makes this much worse. This role may not be what these folks seek, but it comes with the territory. They should know that “do as I say, not as I do” does not work.
Of course, these same issues go beyond sports. Witness the various disasters that have befallen the U.S. economy. There were many people in positions of power that chose to play fast and easy with the rules, including getting oversight undone. Then, when things went badly, they seem perplexed at the anger directed at them.
Had the financial sector not been so greedy, so willing to cut corners and ignore prudent decision-making, many people would not be facing personal financial crises. They were the ones in the position to know that some people should not have gotten credit or home loans but they gave it to them anyway because it meant money in their pocket. They did not want to play by any rules and now everyone is paying the price.
Good sportsmanship is not just about playing fairly in a game. It is about a way of living one’s life and extending that principle in all directions. It means recognizing that there is a right way and a wrong way to bring about what one wants. Achieving things the right way is much sweeter and more meaningful than getting it the fast, dirty way. My team played the game the right way and more power to them.
Val Torrens sits on the board of directors for the North Kitsap School District and is a staunch advocate of lacrosse in the local community, however she does abstain from all votes on the board relating to lacrosse issues.
