I learned about Yeomalt cabin when the park district announced about three years ago that it would dismantle and haul away it’s rotting frame.

I wrote a story about it and soon got a call from local whirlwind Jerry Elfendahl. With his fiery passion for Bainbridge history, it was a rare week after the story came out that Jerry didn’t barrel past the newspaper’s receptionists, creep up behind me and begin barking into my ear (sometimes while I was on the phone) about the latest Yeomalt-related emergency.

Jerry applied that same enthusiasm to raising money and rallying volunteers to save the cabin. And it’s worked. Jerry and the rest of Team Yeomalt are within striking distance of raising the final $13,000 they need to bring new life to a cabin that’s hosted American soldiers, Russian sailors and generations of camp song-singing islanders.

See my story about the latest fundraising push below.

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Cyclists will silently wind their way through the roads of Bainbridge Island on May 21 to honor fellow riders killed or injured on public roadways.

The island’s planned ‘Ride of Silence’ is one of over 300 set to happen at the same time around the world. The first such event on Bainbridge, organizers plan to make the ride an annual event.

The ride is a reminder for motorists that cyclists share the roadways and have a legal right to do so, said ride organizer Kim Bottles.

The free event is also aimed at promoting cycling as healthy recreation and as an Earth-friendly mode of transportation.

Global participation in Ride of Silence events has more than doubled over the last two years, with over 270 communities taking part in 2007. Seattle’s ride drew over 1,000 cyclists.

Three island cyclists have suffered nearly fatal collisions with motorists in the last four years. Last month, a Bainbridge man was struck and injured by a truck on State Route 305. The crash forced the man’s head under the rear tire of the truck but his helmet prevented serious injury. The motorist left the man unconscious on the roadside and was later arrested for hit-and-run and driving while intoxicated.

In 2004, art teacher Chris Stanley was hit from behind at 50 mph by a motorist who was distracted while reaching for her cell phone. Stanley suffered internal bleeding, a collapsed lung, four broken ribs, a cracked skull and four breaks in his left leg.

Also in 2004, island resident and emergency medical doctor Ernie Franz was struck by a drunk driver on High School Road. Franz sustained multiple injuries, including a broken neck, and can no longer practice in the emergency room.

Ride of Silence organizers are asking participants to travel slowly, silently and in a single file line on May 21. The ride will depart from the Marge Williams Center, 221 Winslow Way, at 7 p.m. The course will range from eight to 12 miles. Participants are encouraged to wear a black armband if they wish to honor a cyclist killed on the road or a red one to honor an injured cyclist.

For more information, call Kim Bottles at (425) 702-6628.

IslandWood was one of three Western Washington environmental learning centers to earn a state grant for promoting outdoor education for low-income children.

The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission’s new “No Child Left Inside” grant program awarded $200,000 in total to IslandWood, the Sedro Woolley-based North Cascades Institute and the Olympic Park Institute in Port Angeles.

The grant is expected to subsidize the participation of more than 10,000 low-income students in environmental education programs. It will help fund outdoor field trips and after-school programs.

According to IslandWood spokesman David Hunting, Washington’s children are increasingly “plugged in” to television and other technologies. Fewer hours each day are spent outdoors and in nature. Outdoor education programs, he said, can help turn this trend around while reducing stress in overscheduled youth, increasing attention spans and boosting test scores.

Located on Bainbridge Island’s south end, IslandWood’s forested 255-acre campus draws children from around the region for hands-on lessons in biological and cultural diversity.