Bainbridge Conversation

Here’s the Bainbridge Islander preview for May 17. Feel free to give your events a plug in the comment section below.

A ‘SINGULAR SENSATION’ | BPA’s ‘A Chorus Line’ continues to wow audiences through May.

 

VISIT FROM AN ASTRONAUT| Bonnie Dunbar speaks at Sakai Intermediate School.

SCHOOL CONFIGURATION: “No change” is popular option among meeting participants.

COMING UP: Some good news for island canines and their owners.

Weather: There will be mostly cloudy skies and a chance of rain every day for the foreseeable future, according to the National Weather Service.

At least it will be warm, with highs around 60.

Sports: Boys soccer beat Kennedy Catholic Tuesday to advance to the state quarterfinals. The defending state champion Spartans play Glacier Peak on Saturday.

Two tennis doubles teams qualified for state… as expected. Spartans softball rallied from an early loss at districts to qualify for state.

See a full Spartans schedule here and follow the Sun’s Prepzone on Facebook for updates.

Weekend Happenings:

• Jamie Workman will give a free presentation on “The Future of Water” this evening at the public library as part of the Building a Sustainable Economy lecture series.

The City Council has long mulled the possibility of a water utility management agreement with Kitsap Public Utility District. Now we know what that agreement would look like.

The city posted a draft interlocal agreement with Kitsap PUD on its website advance of the Wednesday council meeting. The five-year agreement lays out the details of a management contract, except the most important detail: the price. We’ll presumably learn more about the proposed costs Wednesday, when a 30-minute discussion of the agreement is scheduled.

The City Council instructed City Manager Doug Schulze to negotiate an agreement with Kitsap PUD in April.  The council wanted to determine how much a management transfer would cost and what services the district would cover. You can read the draft agreement below:

051513 Kpud Ila Water Management

Street of the Week: Ravine Lane 

Location: Runs north/south off Winslow Way, just west of Highway 305

History: Winslow was once a city divided but not because of any rift between its citizens. The city literally had a line running through it thanks to a deep gulch that split the town in two. 

On the west side stood the church, the school, the grocery store and steamer dock. On the east, the butcher, baker and barber.  Needless to say, running errands in early Winslow took a good deal of strategic planning.

Near the shipyard stood the Winslow Hotel. In 1904, two sisters, Margaret Bradley and Katherine Clements, became the new proprietors. 

The pair remodeled the hotel and added a washroom where the shipyard workers could clean up from work before sitting down to a hot meal. Most ate there whether or not they also called the hotel home.

Then in 1924 the hotel burned to the ground. It was never rebuilt. But if it had been, the hotel would stand directly across the street from the present day police station located at the intersection of Winslow Way and Highway 305.

As Winslow continued to grow and prosper, the residents realized something had to be done about their city’s physical divide so a wooden bridge was built across the gulch, offering at least temporary relief to the problem. 

Today, the ravine is hardly noticable alongside the wide streets of Winslow. Located to the east of Ericksen Avenue under Winslow Way, it no longer hinders the people of Bainbridge from enjoying their city.

Source: “A History of Bainbridge Island.” Katy Warner, 1968, page 41-43.

This occasional Islander series explores the history of island street names, as compiled by Elinor Ringland and fellow Bainbridge Island Historical Society volunteers.  If you have an island road story to share, email Ringland at elinorjoe@msn.com.

Talk about bad karma: Two 30-pound bronze Buddha statues were reported stolen from a home in the Agate Passage area May 3. The Buddhas were valued together at $5,000.

Also this week, gasoline theft was reported from two areas of the island and a bicyclist suffered injuries in a crash on El Cimo Lane.

The blotter is below: Read the rest of this entry »

Town & Country Market released an artist’s rendering this week for a proposed remodel of its iconic Winslow store.

The project will bring the market onto a single story and generally modernize the 56-year-old building. The familiar reader board sign on Winslow Way will remain intact.

T&C first announced the proposed remodel in 2012. The company filed an initial project application with the city Thursday, according to a news release. Remodeling work could begin in early 2014 depending on the permit timeline.

Island architects Devin Johnson and Priscilla Zimmerman are designing the project. Tom Chiado is project manager. Abbott Construction of Seattle is the general contractor.

Company representatives say the extensive remodel signifies T&C’s commitment to staying put in downtown Winslow.

“We feel now is the right time,” T&C Chairman Larry Nakata said in the release. “We are fully committed to downtown and recognize the store’s place in our island’s history. We want to be part of Winslow’s exciting future.”

The Loverich and Nakata families opened the Winslow market in 1957. The store expanded in 1990, adding a cafe and floral department. Town & Country Markets now operates five stores.

Here’s the Bainbridge Islander preview for May 10. Feel free to give your events a plug in the comment section below.

A section of downtown Winslow was shutdown April 28 while law enforcement investigated a suspicious package left outside the post office. The box, which was marked “Pray for Boston,” was determined to be empty.

Also this week, a real bomb blew up a mailbox on Ward Avenue and a Craigslist poster offered a gun “good for a gangster.”

The blotter is below:

April 28

Suspicious package: Police closed down the Winslow post office parking lot at 12:30 p.m. after a resident reported a suspicious package outside the building. The package in question was a cardboard box marked with the words “Pray for Boston.” Fire crews and police set up a perimeter around the package and the Washington State Patrol responded with bomb sniffing dogs and a robot. The robot was used to pull apart the box, which was found to be empty aside from a plastic bag. Shortly afterward the addressee of the package, a Bainbridge woman, called police and explained the situation. The woman said the box had been full of t-shirts which were shipped to her from Boston to be sold in a fundraiser. The box was too large to fit in her car so she left it in a dumpster outside the post office.

April 26

Vehicle prowl: The manager of a Ferncliff Avenue repair shop reported the possible theft of gas from five vehicles on the property. The manager said employees noticed the gas caps removed from the vehicles when they arrived at work that morning. It was unclear whether gas had successfully been siphoned from the tanks.

April 24

Bicycle crash: A 54-year-old Bainbridge woman was bicycling west on High School Road at 4 p.m. when she was suddenly ejected over the handlebars. No other vehicles were involved. The woman was wearing a helmet but suffered facial fractures and a head injury. She told a witness she was having trouble with the brakes on her bicycle.

Theft: Two flags were reported missing from the Rolling Bay post office. The American and POW flags were valued at $40.

April 23

Collision: A good deed turned sour in the Aquatics Center parking lot when two people tried to push a disabled Volkswagen sedan closer to another vehicle so it could be jump started. The Volkswagen was on an incline and rolled away from the people pushing it. The unmanned vehicle jumped a curb and crashed into a second car, which collided with a third. The vehicles were unoccupied and no injuries were reported.

Found: An iPhone 4 was found at a Winslow Way shop and turned in to police.

April 22

Dog bite: Police were contacted by a 56-year-old woman who said she was bitten on the leg by an dog at Pritchard Park on April 21. The woman said she was walking at the park when she encountered two off-leash dogs. A small white dog bit her on the calf, breaking the skin and drawing blood. The dog’s owner, a 68-year-old Bainbridge man, gave her his contact information. Police forwarded a report to animal control.

April 20

Malicious mischief: A Ward Avenue woman reported her mailbox destroyed by an explosive device. The woman said she had returned home shortly after 11 p.m. the previous evening and collected her mail. A few minutes after entering her house she heard an explosion. The next morning she found the door to the mailbox taped shut and the back end blown off. The woman said she was glad to have collected her mail before the blast occurred because she’d received some important documents.

Suspicious incident: A Kirkland resident sent police a link to a suspicious Craigslist ad posted on Bainbridge. The ad was titled “need a gun?” and was posted in the personals section. The poorly-spelled listing read: “Got a 38 special for sale. 1000 bucks. good preotection. comes with extra bullets. no paper work, untraceable. Good for a gangster ;-p.”

Street of the Week:  Lytle Road

Location: Runs north/south from Pleasant Beach Drive, south of Baker Hill

History: There once was a beer-drinking monkey named Mike. The beloved pet and local celebrity lived at Lytle’s Saloon in Pleasant Beach where many a visitor bought him a round just to see a monkey enjoy a beer at the bar.

Saloon owner and monkey owner Billy Lytle was a character, too. Often smartly dressed in a fashionable derby hat and garters, Lytle was known as a friendly, witty businessman who understood the financial benefits of keeping a monkey on a chain in a bar.

Lytle and his wife Mamie also owned a parrot, a gift from a visiting seagoing captain. Though unlike his fellow animal counterpart, the parrot didn’t indulge in the saloon’s alchoholic beverages, his salty language always kept things lively at the Lytle’s establishment.

The animal Lytles weren’t the only ones with reputations. Mamie was a small woman known for abbreviating everyone’s names and for frequently prefacing most of what she said with “wait ’til I tell you.” Mamie’s favorite exclamation of all, however, was supposedly “Oh Jesus, Mary and Joseph.”

She had good reason to call upon the sacred trio one morning when she awoke to the maniac cackling of the chickens she kept outside her and Billy’s home near the saloon.

Upon looking out on the coop, Mamie saw chickens running around no, not with their heads cut off but almost as upset. It seemed Mike the Monkey had found his way to the Lytle home and taken an interest in the flock. He was now in the coop, chasing the frenzied fowls around and pulling off their feathers.

“Bill, come quick!” Mamie was said to have yelled upon seeing the monkey-chicken war being waged in her yard. “Wait ’til I tell you what Mike did to the chickens!”

Billy, upon seeing the commotion, likely laughed at the antics his furry barkeep had gotten up to that morning. The monkey always cheered him up with its foolish tricks.

And when Kitsap County went dry and Lytle’s Saloon closed, Bill could have used a laugh. The couple fell on to hard times with Bill taking work in the taxing business, meeting ferries at Port Blakely to find fares.

As for Mamie, she outlived her husband by many years. In the twilight of her life, she sold her home and moved to a small cottage not far from the site of their  once merry saloon. Let’s hope she still had Mike the monkey and that colorful parrot to keep her company.

Source: “A History of Bainbridge Island.” Katy Warner, 1968, page 83.

This occasional Islander series explores the history of island street names, as compiled by Elinor Ringland and fellow Bainbridge Island Historical Society volunteers.  If you have an island road story to share, email Ringland at elinorjoe@msn.com.

Here’s the Bainbridge Islander preview for May 3. Feel free to give your events a plug in the comment section below.

The park district and Land Trust celebrated the opening of the Hilltop park and trail on Wednesday.
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The Bainbridge park district took advantage of the sunshine Wednesday to celebrate the opening of Hilltop trail and park. The trail, which links east and west portions of Grand Forest, has been enjoyed by hikers since winter. The park district also renovated a house on the property for classroom and event space.

“This has been a dream for us for a long time,” park board Chair Tom Swolgaard said of the Grand Forest trail connection.

Bainbridge Island Land Trust reminded attendees that fundraising for the project continues. The Land Trust agreed to purchase 36 acres in the Hilltop area for $3.6 million. Eight acres were obtained by the park district for the trail and classroom space. The Land Trust has $360,000 left to raise.

“A lot of people think we’re done and are out there enjoying it,” Land Trust Executive Director Hallie Stevens said last week. “We want to let them know there is still work left to do.”

Here’s a map of the Hilltop trail, courtesy the Land Trust:

Hilltop Trail Map by tsooter

Street of the Week: Gideon Lane

Location: Runs east/west off Grow Avenue, just north of Wyatt Way

History: The Gideons come from pioneering stock. Hailing from Germany, the first offshoots of the family to push west landed in Minnesota before packing up again and heading for the Pacific.

Charlie was the first to land on the West Coast but was soon followed by his younger brother Josiah. The family relocated to Seattle in 1902 and eventually made a home on Bainbridge Island where Josiah worked at the shipyard until his death in 1920. His wife Margaret continued to live on Bainbridge; she was instrumental in the first island library, school and newspaper.

Josiah and Margaret’s son Kenneth also called Bainbridge home and constructed the cabin that still stands on the edge of Gideon Park.

This occasional Islander series explores the history of island street names, as compiled by Elinor Ringland and fellow Bainbridge Island Historical Society volunteers.  If you have an island road story to share, email Ringland at elinorjoe@msn.com.

Here’s the Bainbridge Islander preview for April 26. Feel free to give your events a plug in the comment section below.

CLIMBING TO VICTORY | Arborists descend on Bainbridge for an unusual competition.

PLEASANT BEACH PHASE 2 | A swimming pool and gym are just a couple new additions planned for fast-changing Lynwood Center.

CONCERN FOR FLETCHER BAY | Increasing levels of bacteria put Fletcher Bay on the “threatened” list for shellfish growing.

BIG PLANS FOR ROTARY PARK | Ballfields will get long-awaited renovations over the next two years.

COMING UP | Students become citizen scientists in watershed project.

A look at The Waypoint and the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art site. Click and drag the image to scroll around.
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