Athletes hope to improve in this year’s standings.
“KINGSTON – Last weekend, parents came to Gordon Elementary with shovels, rakes, and tape measurers – ready to get to work. Gordon Elementary has moved the Options program, for the first time ever, entirely into the six portables behind the school. So, parents decided to give the area a bit of a facelift. They helped build a stage for the program’s plays. They pulled weeds and planted trees. They hooked up computer cables. We organized it all by e-mail, said Carrie Snyder, who has two children in the program, sons Robbie and Ben. Snyder said the change is impressive. It’s unbelievable, you wouldn’t believe it, Snyder said. It looks great. No one would recognize it as the same place. “
“POULSBO – Sometimes tragedy can be a good thing. It certainly was for Maria Marsala. The native New Yorker (like thousands of people across the nation each year) was involved in a serious car accident while residing on the east coast. But instead of taking the why me? approach to the incident, Marsala instead took stock of her life. Following the crash, Marsala completed what she called her life resumé, in which she jotted down every single job (paid and unpaid) she ever had The resume offered her true insight into what field she was really meant to work in. Having experience as a Wall Street trader (not as stressful as managing, she said), a consultant and a teacher among other occupations, Marsala found that she had the potential to be a great coach. It was one of those things that just popped up at me, she explained with a smile, accompanied with what she called a slow-Brooklyn accent. “
“POULSBO – Cross-country is unlike any other sport, said coach Katie Savage. Savage should know. She also coaches the North Kitsap High School track team, and she said that the cross-country season, which begins Sept. 7, is different. It’s not the distance that makes it difficult, she said of the sport, which requires the athletes to run between 2.8 and 3.1 miles. It’s that it’s off-road. So, Savage said, the runners will often find themselves winding through trails, crunching on gravel, and evading obstacles. The strategies are very different (than track), she said. There’s a lot more lateral movement, so your ankles have to be flexible. “
“POULSBO – When Teri Ishihara looked at the practice field Thursday afternoon, she saw more than two teams of soccer players battling it out. She saw a load of potential. Potential is a word that comes up often connected to the North Kitsap High School 2000 girls’ soccer team, a team loaded with talent and looking to improve on last year’s showing. This year’s our year, said Lindsey Ross, a senior and co-captain of the team. “
Meeting fliers draw large crowd and ruin session at Marine Science Center.
“POULSBO – The North Kitsap High School girls’ swimming and diving team is ready to dive into a new season. And with the teams pushing 35 members, coaches Marilyn Grindrod and Greg Braun are looking for one thing: improvement. Improvement, Braun said, is the yardstick team members measure themselves by. That’s what we’re looking for, he said. That’s our whole focus. Last season that measurement was positive, he said. We think the team did very well, he said. We had a lot of rookies who learned an awful lot of skills. We saw times improve across the board, Braun said after a Thursday practice. The team will have lots of room to grow this year with many inexperienced swimmers and divers coming in. “
Registered and licensed practical nurses join Local 381 bargaining unit.
“What’s the hottest topic in town these days? Nope, not the weather or the Mariners surprising slump, but the proposed shoreline regulations. “
“PORT GAMBLE – For a person who gets up before the chickens, Dr. Deltona Figliola knows the importance of a good night’s rest. In fact, it’s something she tries to incorporate in assisting children who suffer from nightmares. While some in the medical profession would be quick to jot out an illegible prescription, Dr. Figliola is more apt to tell her young patient, Take a horse and call me in the morning. This old-fashioned horse-sense doctoring, she said, is what sets the Medicine Mill in Port Gamble apart from other practices in the area. Dr. Figliola explained that when a child presses the hoof of one of the small, plush toys offered at her office a recorded story about horses chasing away nightmares is played. The soothing three-minute message is typically enough to put the youngster back to sleep for the remainder of the evening. Nightmares are part of childhood, she said. These horses work wonders for kids – I won’t put kids on drugs for nightmares. “
“For months that stretched into years, NKF&R, Hansville and Poulsbo Fire Departments have been working on a complex jigsaw puzzle of a map that balances population growth projections, traffic on narrow roads, and a necessity to provide prompt emergency response time to all areas of North Kitsap. “
“SUQUAMISH – Thousands of people converged on the waterfront this weekend to celebrate the memory of Chief Seattle. In keeping with the leader’s vision to bring understanding between cultures, Benny Armstrong, Tribal Chairman, welcomed the crowd. He spoke of the Suquamish tribe’s goal for 2000. He urged tribal and non-tribal members to work together to accomplish their goals. U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee echoed that sentiment calling for cooperation to settle some unfinished business. He talked about salmon recovery efforts in the area and denounced the Republicans’ call to disband tribal governments. But, the celebration this past weekend wasn’t about politics, but about pride. “
NK grad now prowls the sidelines as a Cougar
Commissioners deny location appeal.
Judge denies residency appeal.
County halts home building project next to Old Man House.
School athletics just a few short weeks away.
Commissioners to vote Aug. 21.
“POULSBO – Over 30 arts and crafts booths will be dotting the landscape at Poulsbo’s Waterfront Park this weekend as the 20th annual Arts by the Bay officially gets underway. Music and food will augment the well-attended festival which serves as a bridge between Little Norway and the greater artistic community of the Northwest region. According to organizer Val Torrens, the event will pretty much cater to all tastes and offer a terrific opportunity for children to explore their hidden talents. “
“POULSBO – The first day of practice found Paul Stock with sweat darkening his shirt and a football-shaped pendant dangling from a chain around his neck. Stock was just one of the many young athletes gathered on Hamilton Field Monday afternoon, going through a grueling first practice for North Kitsap Pee Wee Football. Behind Stock, coaches had potential football players leap over pylons, drop to the ground, and run in place. Later in the practice I’ll yell, one coach threatened – and judging from their headlight-sized eyes, the players believed him. Stock, a grizzled veteran at age 10, is starting his third season. I’ve always liked football, he said. I like the contact, the hitting, just being out there playing. And I know three-quarters of the kids playing. Stock said he wanted to play football even before he was eligible. I waited for a long time to do this, he said. Stock said that playing helped him relate to the game more. After your first year, when you see a famous player, you’ve played that position. When they’re on the one-yard line you know it. You’ve been on the one-yard line. Stock enjoys playing defense, carrying the ball, and making plays. And, like those NFL heroes, he has a season goal. I’d like to win a championship if I could, he said. Pee Wee Football in North Kitsap is made up of four teams – A, B, C and D strings, plus a flag football team for younger kids. “