Date corrected
A free Tire and Metal Collection Event will take place at the Kitsap County Fairgrounds Thunderbird Arena June 10 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
This is for households only, no businesses.
No large appliances will be accepted. Up to 15 tires per customer will be accepted, as will things like grills, wheelbarrows, tire rims, pots and pans, small metal appliances like toasters and microwaves.
For details go to kcowa.us/RecycleEvents or call 360-337-5777.
Fire levy
Four South Kitsap Fire and Rescue Town Hall meetings to discuss the fire levy and more will take place soon.
They are: June 12, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Bethel Grange; June 15, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Newlife Church; July 6, 5-7 p.m., McCormick Village Park; and July 19, 4-5 p.m., Yoked Farmhouse and Brewery.
At each, there will be a one-hour discussion with fire chief Jeff Faucett.
The public can also meet its firefighters at two Open Houses.
SKR&R will first be at Station 10, 5629 Banner Road SE, June 29 from 6-7:30 p.m.
The second will be at Station 8, 1974 Fircrest Drive SE, July 12 at the same time. That event also features a bike rodeo.
For details go to www.skfr.org
Day of Caring
Volunteers are needed for the annual United Way of Kitsap County Day of Caring June 23.
The location is at 4459 SE Mile Hill Drive in Port Orchard from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Volunteers will spruce up the grounds and gardens of the Pacific Building, future home of a homeless shelter. Lunch and t-shirts provided.
Bring battery-operated gardening tools, mowers, wheelbarrows, rakes, gloves and hats. Help for as long as you can. Children under 18 welcome if accompanied by an adult.
Register before June 21 at www.volunteerkitsap.org
Medieval Faire
The Kitsap County Society of Creative Anachronisms will put on a Medieval Faire at the Fairgrounds and Events Center June 17.
Nobles of the Middle Ages will fight to display their honor and vie for favor from the Crown and Court of the tournament.
Visitors can learn about medieval crafts at the Artisan Village with blacksmiths, potters, scribes and cooks demonstrating their skills. Historical dances, song and merriment will abound as bards and minstrels play their jaunty tunes.
Local food vendors, clothing and treasures will be aplenty, a news release says. Cost is $20, with youth 17 and younger free. It runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
For details go to www.kitsapmedievalfaire.org/
2 scholarships
Two South Kitsap High School students have each been awarded $4,000 scholarships by the Maynard Lundberg Education Foundation.
Seniors Breanna Viergutz and Xander Austin received the awards, established 39 years ago in honor of the late Lundberg, a “revered teacher and coach” at SKHS. 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of Lundberg’s 33-member graduating class.
“Because of Maynard’s belief and involvement in sports, his scholarship is based upon commitment to school, athletics, sense of community and scholastic achievement,” said Bill Evans, foundation executive director.
Viergutz played basketball and golf while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She plans to attend Western Washington University. Austin was on the track and wrestling teams and has a 3.9 GPA. He plans to attend Washington State University.
Teacher of year
Shannon Lund, is a fifth-grade teacher at Mullenix Ridge Elementary School in Port Orchard, has been named Teacher of the Year for Olympic ESD 114, which covers every school district in Kitsap, Clallam, Jefferson and north Mason counties.
She is now one of nine in the running for state Teacher of the Year.
Lund worked in the restaurant business while raising two children then was inspired to get a teaching degree. She graduated in 2011 from Western Washington University at age 41 and was the recipient of a student teacher award. She has worked at Mullenix Ridge for 12 years. The parents of one of her students nominated her after she uncovered the root of their son’s reading issues.
Art exhibits
Painter Laurie Barmore and sculptor John Stege and their show “Each Verse Distinct” will be shown at Collective Visions Gallery in Bremerton in July.
Sarah Dawn King and her show “Imminent Proximity” will be in the CGV Underground Gallery.
Refreshments and live music will be at the First Friday Art Walk July 7 from 5-8 p.m.
Other Arts in Action events at CVG in July include workshops in clay, paint and printing along with life drawing. A Pearl Django concert is also set for July 15 at 7 p.m. at the Historic Roxy Theatre.
Mayor in D.C.
Port Orchard Mayor Rob Putaansuu joined a news conference May 17 hosted by the National League of Cities and U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell on the need for Congress to act on rail safety.
Local leaders highlighted their communities’ rail concerns and urged the Senate to pass the bipartisan Railway Safety Act. Around 140,000 miles of track in the U.S. cross directly through many of the nation’s 19,000 cities and towns. More than 1,000 trains derailed last year in multiple states. Over 500 cities and towns urged Congress to act.
Putaansuu, president of the Association of Washington Cities, was in D.C. for the National League of Cities State Municipal League leadership fly-in. They met with key congressional staff to discuss municipal priorities and advocate on behalf of their residents.
Film on health
A free screening of the new film “American Hospitals: Healing a Broken System” will take place at the Roxy Theatre in Bremerton June 10 at 1 p.m.
The 58-minute documentary looks at out-of-control hospital costs and their transformation into money-driven big business, a news release says.
The event is being put on by the Alliance for Equitable Healthcare, a grassroots group that advocates for expanding access to affordable, comprehensive and equitable healthcare for all residents of Kitsap.
Email Alliance4EH@gmail.com for details. The theater is located at 270 4th St.
Local competes
A Bremerton resident will join more than 250 seriously wounded, ill and injured service members and veterans at the Department of Defense Warrior Games Challenge in June at Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego, CA.
Personnel Spec. 2nd Class Maria Concepcion Yuvienco will compete against athletes representing the US Army, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force and Special Operations Command.
“Participating at the games really affects my goal towards recovery,” Yuvienco said. “It helps me both physically and mentally. The camaraderie of the team boosts my morale.”
During the 10 days of competition, Yuvienco will compete in archery, indoor rowing and shooting.
This year is the 13th anniversary highlighting the exceptional physical skills and mental toughness of wounded, ill and injured active-duty and veteran service members.
Book launch
Ballast Book Co. in Bremerton is helping launch Jeremy White’s debut book “The Little Girl at the Bottom of the Picture.”
It’s about his wife discovering her biological family in 2018. Edie White solved a 65-year-old mystery that plagued a Ukrainian American family near Chicago, after initially finding immediate family in Renton.
White said four chapters tell of their trips to the Pacific Northwest, to Port Angeles, Seattle and Bothell. He said they found Ballast while checking out Bremerton as a place to live. He said that’s the same reason Kate Larson moved back to Kitsap and bought Ballast, buying out her former employer.
Ballast is located at 409 Pacific Ave. (Unit 202). After undergoing renovations, the indie bookstore is open seven days a week, and can be found online at BallastBookCo.com
Bank scholarships
Four local students have won Kitsap Bank scholarships.
They are: Stephanie Hart of Bainbridge, Eiley Robertson and Sarah Cates of North Kitsap, and Mya Torrez-Hernandez of Olympic high schools. Torrez-Hernandez plans to go to the University of Washington or Western Washington University to study business or architecture; Hart plans to go into cosmetology; Robertson will study English or journalism at the UW; and Cates plans to attend UW-Tacoma for history or English.
