HANSVILLE — Making changes to Washington State Ferries, including to its operations and business plan, could take several rocket scientists dedicating all their brain power to the complete the task. One has already joined the Kingston Ferry Advisory Committee, and is hoping her efforts will assist in the overhaul the residents say the system desperately needs.
POULSBO — Poulsbo Police Chief Dennis Swiney is ready to move on — learned lessons in hand — the week after the city of Poulsbo released a report alleging Detective Grant Romaine’s improper computer queries and harassment of women, a situation raising questions about the police force’s integrity.
POULSBO — Despite spending the first few days of the year dealing with the clutter and chaos of changing locations, Peninsula Violin Co. owner Steve Mueller said he’s still as crystal clear on the reasons for starting the shop as he was a year and a half ago when it first opened its doors on Jensen Way. Providing instruments, training, music and general support to teachers and musicians has always been his goal.
POULSBO — While new homes spring up in Poulsbo like the colorful cutouts of a pop-up book, much of the commercial development around town has slowed for the time being. But that doesn’t mean changes aren’t still in the works, as some of the city’s most rapidly developing areas continue to burgeon into full-fledged business and shopping districts.
POULSBO — Briana Reber remembers childhood escapades spent frolicking through the crabapple trees of Mitchusson Park, a 9.5-acre undeveloped and nearly unheard of nature hideaway within Poulsbo’s city limits.
At the end of Second Avenue, the farm — once the residence of the Klingle family — was a place Reber went to interact with the wide world of the outdoors that included curious salamanders and tall tree branches.
HOOD CANAL — Floating an idea to work with Olympic Property Group to utilize its proposed 230-foot dock in Port Gamble for the six-week Hood Canal Bridge closure in 2009, the Washington State Department of Transportation has decided to move forward with its own temporary pier plan. Department officials had been waiting to see if OPG’s project would get permitted before the end of 2007, and because it didn’t, will now implement its own proposal to meet the closure deadline.
POULSBO — The burning mystery of just what constitutes a taprock has inspired some highly creative guesses since it was announced Taprock Northwest Grill was to replace Mitzel’s American Kitchen, a beloved Poulsbo Village establishment destroyed in a May 2006 fire.
In late December, the Suquamish Tribe and Kitsap County received good news in the form of two grants from the Washington State Salmon Recovery Funding Board to help preserve salmon habitats in the North End.
KINGSTON — He may be a congressman with a degree in economics from the University of Washington, but U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee (D—Bainbridge Island) is still wrangling for high school credits. On his first trip to the brand-new Kingston High School on Monday, Inslee was wide-eyed and suitably impressed with the new facility, its staff and its bells and whistles — and just a tad fixated on the “bouncing cheese” in the cafeteria.
KINGSTON — After long waits, frustrating commutes and road project after road project, North Kitsap residents can again easily use the Miller Bay Road corridor. All three sets of traffic lights promised by the Kitsap County Public Works Department have been installed with a little updated technology.
POULSBO — It was 100 years ago the Ford Model T was introduced, the first Mother’s Day was observed and a small fishing village boasting the charms of Scandinavia made its debut to the world as an incorporated city, holding its inaugural council meeting in the offices of the North Kitsap Herald (known then as the Kitsap County Herald).
Fast-forward to the present, where Little Norway has become not just a functioning but thriving civic agency with a future as bright as its past is beloved.
It isn’t called the Season of Giving for nothing.
The North Kitsap community raised a whopping $33,493 for the Poulsbo Lions Raab Foundation Bellringer fund this year, raking in funds for a community cause that has served residents in the area for 56 years.
Though the fund still stands a bit short of its $35,000 goal, the Lions Club has already begun to put the impressive contributions to great use.
HANSVILLE — For the past couple of decades, the Hansville Greenway Association has hoped to provide walkers, runners, hikers, horseback riders and bicyclists with the opportunity to travel from one side of the north end of the peninsula to the other. The goal to stretch public trails from Puget Sound to Hood Canal became a reality last month.
Olympic Property Group, Kitsap County and the HGA teamed up to acquire 92 acres, plus two miles of trail easements donated by OPG, for the trail preservation group.
SUQUAMISH — People slowly trickling into Kiana Lodge Dec. 28 came from a variety of backgrounds, though they all hoped to hear a presentation on one topic — preserving the environment for the next generation. The evening’s program, “Protecting Our Place of Clear Water,” also served to showcase a new community group growing out of Suquamish, the Suquamish Environmental Stewardship Council, and discussion between the council and other North Kitsap groups and governments.
POULSBO — It’s a question many State Route 305 commuters have been asking themselves: just how are the new high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes along one of North Kitsap’s most traversed stretches of roadway going to work?
The answer is one the city of Poulsbo is preparing to give as the lanes are readied to open later this month.
The Poulsbo Lions Bellringer Fund continued to close ranks on its record $35,000 goal this week, with more than $2,000 in North End community support landing in its coffers.
The fund is now just $7,000 shy of meeting that goal, and is about $6,000 behind last year’s progress.
The latter part of 2007 was filled with just as much growth and excitement for Little Norway as the first, as new city leaders emerged, some former Poulsbo institutions came back to life and Mother Nature threw a few curveballs of her own.
Here is a recap of the second half of the year that saw an array of discussions, debates and changes as Poulsbo marked one more down for the books.
The second half of 2007 saw just as much change and transition as the first, welcoming new commissioners, development projects, dock proposals and a resurgence of plans into the fold. With this past year ending on such a high note, 2008 should kick off into an exciting year for North End residents. Here are a few stories illustrating why 2007 went out with a bang.
POULSBO —— Poulsbo police Detective Grant Romaine has resigned after an internal investigation report surfaced revealing he allegedly abused his police authority. The report states he indulged in actions of harrasment toward women, lying on the job and surfing law enforcement databases for personal searches.
For the past six weeks the North Kitsap Optimist Club has been conducting two after-school classes at Wolfle Elementary, one in “Exploding Boxes” and one in Woodworking. Each class was advertised and the youngsters were able to choose which class they would like to take from a choice of six after-school programs. Each class has had about 10 children in it and we have had such fun.