It’s been a very long wait. One that has been marked by some 10 years of planning battles, political struggles, resignations, turnover and a whole lot of change. But when the dust (or is it mud) clears at Olhava early next year, Poulsbo will finally have its own branch of Olympic College.

And when all is said and done, it should be quite an impressive addition to North Kitsap. While the building is located in Poulsbo, it truly deserves to be called “our campus” by every resident in the North End from Kingston and Suquamish to Hansville and Indianola. It truly is ours. And we should all share in the pride of the achievement.

Despite the numerous problems that came on the project’s coattails, the new OC branch will be the first of many improving steps our entire community will take in the next few years. Soon we’ll be running well ahead of the rest of Kitsap County and they’ll marvel at the length of our strides. But OC, like any other major change, started with many tiny steps. We think the important thing about the campus at this point is not the rate of the progress but the direction in which it heads. We sincerely feel this branch is growing in the right one.

As a community, we must ensure that future endeavors do the same, and that as we look back at our footprints over time each one will remind us of our well-placed steps.