Easter bunny at Kitsap Mall March 3-26
SILVERDALE — The Easter Bunny will be at the Kitsap Mall March 3-26 to pose with children for photographs. All children receive a free packet of carrot seeds from Bunny just for visiting.
Hours are: Monday – Saturday, 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.; Sunday, 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Extended hours are: March 18, 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.; March 25-26 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.
The bunny will be at the north court of Kitsap Mall, 10315 Silverdale Way NW, in Silverdale. Several photo packages will be available for purchase. Personal photos are not allowed. For more information call 360-698-2555. The mall will be closed on Easter, Sunday, March 27.
Meeting about sex trafficking problem
BREMERTON — What do you know about “Sex Trafficking?” Shared Hope is an organization fighting this societal problem, which is present in Kitsap County. The Silverdale-Seabeck Republican Women and representatives from Shared Hope will discuss the topic and address the “buyers,” the victims, the warning signs and domestic minor sex trafficking. The meeting will be 11 a.m. on March 28 at the Cloverleaf Grill, 1240 Hollis St., in Bremerton. For more information contact Joan Gorner at jwgorner@outlook.com or 360-697-7914.
Math Blast March 24
BREMERTON — A Math Blast will be 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 24 at Armin Jahr Elementary, 800 Dibb St., in Bremerton. This family event includes a free dinner, photo and take home math kit. RSVP at www.bremertonschools.org/mathblast.
Teen cancer group
SILVERDALE — “We can cope,” a support group for teens 12-18 who have parents or loved ones with cancer, w ill be 4-9 p.m. on Saturday, March 26, at the Silverdale Haselwood YMCA community room. The YMCA is located at 3909 NW Randall Way in Silverdale. Door prizes, pizza, soda and art included. Bring gym gear or swim gear to use the facility after the social event. For more information or to RSVP call Helena or Michelle at 425-750-3470.
‘Paper Tigers’ film March 23
BREMERTON — “Paper Tigers,” a movie about educational and health challenges, will be shown March 23 at Bremerton High School performing arts center. Check-in and networking is 5:15 p.m. and the movie and discussion will be 6-8 p.m. For more information contact Alyson Rotter at arotter@oesd114.org or 360-609-3540.
Motorist course April 2
SILVERDALE — An AAA Driver Improvement Program will be 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 2, at Crista Shores Retirement Community, 1600 NW Crista Shores, in Silverdale.
The program is a refresher course on defensive driving skills. It provides practical guidance for traffic accident prevention and enhances driver safety and confidence. Successful course completion qualifies drivers 55 years of age and over for automobile insurance premium discounts. The cost is $18. Advance registration is required; call 800-462-3728.
Muya makes Azusa Deans’ List
AZUSA, Calif. — Brannon Muya, of Bremerton, made the academic Deans’ List at Azusa Pacific University. Muya, a history major, is honored for a fall semester 2015 academic standing of a 3.5 or better grade-point average. Muya is joined by 2,230 other students receiving the same honor. Azusa Pacific University is an evangelical Christian university committed to God First and excellence in higher education.
Dino Davis to run for county commissioner
BREMERTON — Bremerton City Council Vice President Dino Davis announced that he is running for Kitsap County Commissioner in District 2. Davis, a Democrat from Bremerton, currently serves as Bremerton City Council representing the 5th District. In addition to council vice president, Davis is president of the Transportation Benefit District and vice chair of the public works committee. Davis is a second-generation real estate professional and former information technology executive.
“County government needs to be effective, efficient and responsive to the citizens it serves. I believe we can do better for the people of Kitsap County, especially for the people of District 2,” he said.
“My priorities as a county commissioner will be to promote transportation infrastructure improvements, namely the Gorst area, work with with local cities and the Port of Bremerton to bring family wage jobs to the county, and to foster a local economy that works for everyone.”
Davis and his wife Christine chose to make Bremerton their home more than 15 years ago, and jumped right into supporting the community. They have two rambunctious dogs and can often be found walking around their Union Hill neighborhood.
Davis studied residential architecture and interior design at the Academy of Art University and holds a sustainable building advisor certificate from the CSBA program at Olympic College.
Davis may be reached via email at ElectDino@gmail.com.
PSE restores power after storm
Puget Sound Energy crews were out in full force this week working to restore power to customers impacted by this week’s windstorm. Winds strong enough to uproot and topple old growth trees hit the region on Sunday, March 13.
The latest information on power outages is available at PSE.com/outagemap.
PSE had 62 three- to four-person crews working, as well as tree crews, damage assessors and hundreds of support personnel working to restore power.
At one point Sunday, more than 176,000 Puget Sound customers were without power. n Outages are spread across PSE’s service area. Hard-hit areas included Woodinville, Bothell/Kenmore and Kitsap County. In North King County, PSE had approximately 7,000 customers out. In Kitsap County, around 11,000 customers were without power.
Much of the work remaining impacts a handful of customers at a time. This is often slow, time-consuming work as crews must make repairs at each site before moving on to the next. Crews planned to work around the clock until power is restored to all customers.
PSE advises people to never touch or even go within 10 yards of downed power lines because they may be energized. Call PSE at 1-888-225-5773 or 911 to report problems.
PSE’s electric service area covers a large area of more than 4,000 square miles. PSE restores critical services first, such as hospitals, followed by restoring power to the greatest number of customers as quickly as possible.
The storms affected several Central Kitsap roads, including Dewatto Road West, east of Seabeck Holly Road NW, Willamette Meridian Road NW north of NW Ioka Drive, NW Gustafson Road near the intersection with Old Frontier Road NW, W Belfair Valley Road near McKenna Falls Road W, Merlin Lane NW near the intersection with NW Klahowya Trail and NW Half Mile Road near the intersection with Clear Creek Road NW.
Don’t get ripped off from paving scams
Street-paving scammers begin appearing on home doorsteps across the country, from Kalamazoo to Kitsap County. Visitors to this weekend’s Peninsula Home & Garden Expo can learn how to protect themselves from paving crooks and other construction scams. Outreach staff from the state Department of Labor & Industries will be at the expo, giving tips on how to hire a registered contractor to avoid home remodeling and repair nightmares.
Meet them at the L&I booth at the expo, from Friday, March 18 through Sunday, March 20, at the Kitsap Sun Pavilion in Bremerton.
Paving scams are the topic of a new ad for L&I’s Protect My Home consumer campaign. In the ad, Marv and Dorothy Davenport recount how a stranger and his crew showed up at their rural home in southwest Washington in the summer of 2014, claiming to have asphalt left over from another job.
The unregistered contractor talked Marv into letting him work on a small part of the driveway for $2,000, then, over Marv’s protests, quickly paved over the entire driveway and demanded $9,000. The couple wound up paying $6,000 for what they soon discovered was a shoddy job.
The ad and L&I’s experts at the expo urge consumers to always hire registered contractors and never pay in full until the job is done to their satisfaction.
People can check to see whether construction contractors are registered with L&I, and get other tips to Hire Smart at www.ProtectMyHome.net.
State men’s gymnastics championship March 19-20
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND – The Bainbridge Island Gymnastics Club and the Bainbridge Metro Park and Rec is proud to host the Men’s Gymnastics Championship for Washington State the weekend of March 19-20. Boys who have qualified from throughout the state will travel to Bainbridge High School to compete for the state championship placings. This is the third time the club has earned the honor of hosting this prestigious event where 325 gymnasts will be competing.
Teams from as far as Vancouver to Bellingham and across the mountains to Spokane will convene over the two-day competition where all six events (floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and high bar) will be showcased. This is a great opportunity to see some amazing gymnastics skills up close, especially as we look forward to the largest world competition this summer, the Olympics, where gymnastics is one of the most popular events. From the young athletes newer to the sport, to the boys where college level competition is their next goal (Level 10), audiences will be thrilled by the talent and athleticism of the competitors.
Six sessions will be held over two days at Bainbridge High School:
Saturday, March 19: Session 1 – Level 5. 9:30-1 p.m.; Session 2 – Level 5, 1:30-4:30 p.m.; Session 3 – Levels 7-10, 5:15-7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 20: Session 4 – Level 4, 9:30-1 p.m.; Session 5 – Level 4, 1:45-4 p.m.; Session 6 – Level 6, 4:45-7:30 p.m.
Tickets are available at the door and range from $5-10 per session. For directions and more information check the team website at http://www.biparks.org/bi_boys_state2016.html
