Steamboats and Jamaica try to root in Kingston

Published 1:00 pm Saturday, July 22, 2006

KINGSTON — With the Fourth of July celebration a mere memory of color and noise, one Kingston group still remembers the day well. In the blur of people passing by, more than a few stopped at the Kingston Parks, Trails and Open Space committee’s booth that was dedicated to naming the community’s streams and creeks.

The stream naming project is the brain child of the KPTO, whose members hope to settle on names for the streams in the area this September.

The booth at the Fourth provided a venue for the public to vote on names for the seven streams.

KPTO committee member Walt Elliot said the group received about 50 responses during the celebration.

“We ran out of ballots,” Elliot said. “We received enough to get a good community response.”

The ballots provided three name options for each of the unnamed streams in the area. After the ballots collected at the Fourth of July and through the mail are counted, the KPTO will have a better idea of where the Kingston community stands as far as stream names go.

“The worst feedback we’ve had was someone said, ‘Why bother?’” said KPTO committee member Karl Compton, who is leading the project. He added that another person thought it was a way for the KPTO to take over land. “Those were the only two negative comments. We’re very pleased.”

The project was hatched after a system of trails had been established by the KPTO, and the group decided that the streams and creeks in the area needed names. The plan was unveiled at a Feb. 23 Kingston Town Meeting.

With the suggestions turned in, and sorted through, the KPTO selected names that were historically or culturally significant to Kingston, vetoing ones like “Kingston Not In Jamaica.”

“I heard somebody say ‘Steamboat’ for one stream,” said KPTO committee member Karen Ross. “Which didn’t make much sense to me because none of our streams would support a steamboat.”

After the responses were narrowed down, three names were nominated for each stream, and the public voted. Now, Compton, Elliot, Ross and the committee will wade through the 50 or so ballots to see which names were most popular with the Kingston community.

Those names will be included in an application to the Washington State Board on Geographic Names for review. If approved, the stream names will become permanent and KPTO will start working on its next project: signs for the new stream names.

“We’ll collect ballots until July 28,” Compton said, adding that some are still arriving via mail. He said the committee hopes to have the results by August, and submitted to the state during September.

“These may seem like little streams and creeks to you and me,” Compton said. “But they impact the whole ecosystem in Apple Tree Cove.”

He added that the project has been an ongoing educational process, and he’s hoping that the Kingston community is now more aware of its smaller waterways.