The school board voted Wednesday night to officially surplus the vacant Seabeck Elementary School property.

Since this was coming down the line for a while, it wasn’t much of a surprise. Where it will get interesting is when offers start coming in for the 13.54-acre property.

In a nutshell, the district owns three parcels that make up the vacant school’s property. The boundaries of those parcels can be adjusted, as the district sees fit. To make sure no option is left out, the district has decided to allow people to make offers on the land through a real estate agent, compete in a bid process or negotiate with a government agency to swap the land.

In the next 45 days the board will hold a public hearing, set for Nov. 17, and wait to see who comes knocking. A decision can’t be made on any offers until the 45 days are up. If, at the end of the time frame, the board decides it isn’t in the best interest of taxpayers to sell the property right now, they can vote to pull it off the market.

Loanna Day, with Seabeck Neighbors group, said she’s a little worried about the district’s choice to allow all three options for sale. Her main concern is the possibility of a real estate agent coming in and making an offer on the entire piece of property. If that were to happen, the community group’s dream of using the vacant school property as the site for its proposed community gathering place will be diminished.

Day also said the group is somewhat in limbo right now, waiting for either CK Commissioner Josh Brown or the Port of Bremerton to take the lead. Realizing budget constraints and the tough economic times, it’s uncertain what route either entity might take to help bring a community center to Seabeck. Day said the community is ready to help the county or port move forward, but she realizes there are some conversations that are better had between administrators.

The community group will have a meeting Nov. 6 at the Emel House to discuss what the next steps will be, and to hear from the county and port. The school district will hold its public meeting Nov. 17.

Ruthanne Devlin, with Barnes and Noble in Silverdale, let me know today that Australian author Graeme Base’s visit to Silverdale was a huge success.

Base was in Silverdale Tuesday night, after three readings done in the Seattle area. He was at the store to read from his latest book, Enigma: A Magical Mystery, and sign books.

Devlin said 125 people attended the event. She also said the escort with Base told her the Silverdale tour was by far the best attended during his visit.

“It was absolutely spectacular,” Devlin said.

In addition to children attending to see Base, adults who grew up reading his books brought their favorites for him to sign.

Thanks Mr. Base, for making your stop in Kitsap!

I’m going to be out of the office next week, so I am posting this a little early, but figured people could put it on their calendars now.

The Central Kitsap Community Council will hold its regular meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 15. This meeting is pretty packed with information, so I’ve posted the agenda below. One note, on the Sterling Homes project, the last I heard was there were a lot of changes still to be made on the proposal, so what is presented might not be what people are expecting to hear. Last week I talked with Jeff Smith with DCD and he said there was still significant analysis to be done and sorted out in the areas of transportation, stormwater, and wetlands.

He added everything that has been proposed on the project thus far is in accordance with county zoning.

Here’s the rest of the agenda:
CENTRAL KITSAP COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING

Wednesday October 15, 2008, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Water & Fire District Community Room
5300 N.W. Newberry Hill Road, Silverdale, WA

PRELIMINARY AGENDA

7:00 PM    1. Call to Order:
Pledge of Allegiance

A. Introduction of Council Members
B. Adoption of Agenda
C. Presentation of  meeting minutes for July and September 2008
D. Correspondence/Announcements

7:15 PM    2. Business Meeting:

A. Presentation by Puget Sound Regional Council (Sara Lingafelter or Commissioner Steve Bauer) (15 minutes)
B. Presentation by the Mentor Companies (Judy Eagleson) (15 minutes)
C. Presentation on the Sterling Homes project application to develop housing off Anderson Hill Road (Jeff Smith, Kitsap senior planner) (20 minutes)
D. Presentation on the Kitsap Shoreline Master Program (Patti Charnas, Manager, Environmental Programs Div., DCD) (20 minutes)
E. CKCC Committee Reports (20 minutes):
1. Parks and Environment
2. Community and Government Relations
3. Land Use and Economic Development
4. Transportation

8:45 PM    3. Opportunity for public comment (comments will be limited to three minutes)

9:00 PM    4. Adjournment

UPCOMING MEETINGS/EVENTS:

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE – November 5, 2008
CENTRAL KITSAP COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING – November 19, 2008

For those of you who didn’t read my story on Montana Crosby — the Central Kitsap toddler who has battled a rare form of liver cancer since she was 14 months old — I’m putting a link in this blog entry.

I recently wrote an update on Tana. (I had also been posting updates on my blog to let readers know how her blood tests and lung scans have been). So far she has been cancer free for almost 14 months. Her most recent test came back with a low AFP, which is a great sign.

Many of you may remember that her parents Trina and Ryan have watched their relationship suffer while trying to keep Tana alive. I am happy to report that now that they’ve had some time to breath, they are working hard at repairing their relationship, while providing stability for the girls.

While working on their marriage, and being there for their three girls, Tana, Taylir and Emmy, the pair have also been organizing a live auction and dinner, titled One in a Million, after Montana’s disease hepatoblastoma, which statistically affects one child in a million every year.

The story I wrote at the end of September details the auction, which will be held this Saturday (Oct. 11) at Kiana Lodge in Poulsbo. The donated table centerpieces are blown glass that will be up for bid.  Other items on the block include a photo safari to South Africa, a fishing trip to Alaska, a donated wine cellar of 75 bottles of wine and many more items.

For those who can’t make it to the auction, (tickets are $75/person), donations can be made by mailing them to Hepatoblastoma Foundation, attn: Lindsay Manchester, P.O. Box 781, Silverdale, WA 98383. Make checks payable to CureSearch, with Hepatoblastoma in the memo line. All donations are tax deductible. Make sure you include your return address, a receipt will be mailed to you.

Here’s the link for the most recent story I wrote about Montana and her cancer being in remission. Check out the video too, you can see the girls playing and hear Trina talking about what life has been like.

Here’s the link for the original story I wrote about the family and what life has been like for them since Montana’s diagnosis two years ago.

Australian children’s book author Graeme Base is coming to Silverdale Tuesday to read from his latest book, Enigma: A Magical Mystery.

He’ll be reading and signing his book at Silverdale’s Barnes and Noble, attached to the Kitsap Mall. His reading starts at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 7.

I swung by Barnes and Noble today to check out the book — which came out at the end of September. It’s a wonderful display of colors and intricate details. While it has been a few years since I was in the age demographic that Base writes/illustrates for, I can easily see why children love his books. (Alright, alright, it’s been, many, many years since I was that young).

There are some books that I remember from growing up. I can’t remember the names of the books, but I remember the illustrations and the characters. I would categorize Base’s books as those children won’t forget, even in “old age.”

According to various book review synopses, Base’s latest book, Enigma, is said to be just as good as his other bestsellers, including his first mystery The Eleventh Hour.

Engima takes young readers on a journey with lead character Bertie Badger, as he tries to find magical props stolen from his grandfather, Gadzooks the Great. Gadzooks lives at the Retirement Home for Elderly Magicians, and the residents of the retirement home have planned for a magic show, but it can’t be conducted unless their magical props (like Enigma the white rabbit) are found.

Through the mystery children will meet animals from all over the world. In an interview with Publisher’s Weekly on Sept. 25, 2008, Base said his world travels have influenced his illustrations and his character choices.

I had the chance to speak with Base over the phone as he traveled around Palo Alto, Calif. (trying to find a place for a late lunch/early dinner, but instead getting lost). He is currently on a 5-week book tour, that will take him away from his home in Melbourne for 34 days. During that time he guesstimated he’ll be in 21 different hotel rooms. But, he said he can’t complain, considering every couple of years he gets to tour America to promote his latest book.

I asked him about the differences between Engima and his other mystery best-seller The Eleventh Hour. He said a major change in his latest mystery book is a result of his life experiences. He wrote The Eleventh Hour at 30 years old. Since then he’s had the chance to watch his three children grow up, and experience relationships with him and his wife, as well as their grandparents.

It was the relationship between his son James, 18, and his grandfather, who has since passed away, that prompted him to write Engima, he said.

What I found funny was, when I asked if he did a practice run of his books on his three children when they were younger before publishing them, Base said no. Like most kids, Base’s three children had a “very healthy disregard” for his profession, he said.

“It felt really weird to sit my kids on my knee and say OK we’re going to read daddy’s book now,” he said.

In fact, his daughter Kate just recently took the time to read his books, he said, when she was home sick from school. She was impressed.

It speaking with Base it was obvious he loves what he does — and not only because he told me “I love what I do.” Even with the crammed book tour that will take him across the United States, Base is excited to make his way around the country, sharing the message of family, love, and mystery with his readers.

The book’s already on sale and on display at Barnes and Noble — go to the children’s section.

I’d suggest showing up early on Tuesday (Oct. 7) to check out the book, and get what will likely be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet Base (how many times does an Australian author come to Kitsap County?) and hear him read from Engima.

I received this from Tex Lewis with the Clear Creek Trail Task Force:

Our annual Clear Creek Celebration and fund raiser was a great success again this year with the help of wonderful community support. The weather was a great, the event was a lot of fun, and we were able to generate needed funds to continue our work. Along with our Task Force volunteers, we called in the Marines, tapped the Navy, and got wonderful help from our local business community.

The CK Reporter provided great publicity for the event, and EJB (who operates the Bangor Submarine Base) provided and the big canopies which the Marines erected. The Suquamish Tribe provided the salmon for the top notch meal expertly prepared by volunteers from the USS Nebraska Gold Team Navy chefs. Vic Keranen, Albertson’s, Safeway, Alaska Distributors, Costco, and Grape Expectations Wine Shop provided additional food and beverages to round out the meal. Harrison Hospital and Advanced Rentals provided service items and the grill.

The creativity, artistry, and skill evident in the decorated salmon are more amazing each year. It was a real challenge for our judges to award prizes for each of the categories. Patricia Peat donated a beautiful grand prize and Timber Falls Miniature Golf, Spiro’s Pizza, the stepped forward to provide additional prizes.

Folks were generous in their bidding. They went home with some real treasures which can be viewed at www.clearcreektrail.org.

The support provided by our friends and the business community made this Celebration a great success and a lot of fun. For all of you that made this such a successful event—and those who couldn’t make it. Hope to see you next year.

Thanks a million.

Tex Lewis
Clear Creek Task Force

I’m a week late it getting this up on the blog, but hey, better late than never, right?

At last week’s CKSD board meeting a number of teachers were recognized for being nationally board certified. Here’s the release from the district, and the names of the teachers:

Ten educators were honored by the Central Kitsap School District Board of Directors for attaining National Board Certification.

Teachers who achieve National Board Certification must meet high and rigorous standards through study, evaluation, self-assessment, and peer review. The year-long process requires creation of a comprehensive portfolio that documents the impact of teaching practices on student achievement, as well as a series of tests designed to measure content knowledge.

The following CKSD teachers are National Board Certified:

Cynthia Blinkinsop (2007); Debra Makar (2003); Erika Cassel (2005); Miki Paulson (2004); Molly Evans (2004); Tina Piper (2007); Shana Foreman (2006); Keri Williams (2007); Jeanne Kertes-Smith (2002); Jennifer Zapatka (2003).

The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) grants National Board Certification, which was recently recognized by the National Research Council as having a positive impact on student achievement, teacher retention, and professional development. Since 1987, nearly 67,000 teachers across the country have achieved National Board Certification.

Silverdale’s Legend Harley-Davidson donated $500 to the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society today, at Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor. The money came from the summer barbecues the local business hosts each year.

Here’s the press release I received from Legend:

Navy Marine Corp Relief Society director Kathy Phillips was presented a $500 check from Legend Harley-Davidson of Silverdale. Presenting the check was John Towers, Legend’s Marketing Manager.

John said “We try to do this each year for NMCRS, along with all the other organizations we support though our Saturday BBQ’s during the summer”.  NMCRS is committed to ensure that all available resources are used to assist personnel of the Naval Services - active, retired, and their eligible family members - to achieve financial self-sufficiency and find solutions to emergency needs. We support NMCRS and our local Military.

Legend Harley-Davidson recently hosted Harley’s Hero’s, which is a program that the Harley Davidson Foundation has pledged $1 million to DAV to support the outreach to veterans of all generations through DAV’s Mobile Service Offices.

Many veterans who need assistance fought in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. To date over 1.4 million service members have served in these wars and over 60,000 have been wounded or injured. Another organization hosted by their store recently was “Operation Support Our Troops”, please take the time to Google them if you would like to help.

(caption:  John Towers of Legend Harley-Davidson presents a check to Kathy Phillips with the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society. Photo courtesy of John Towers).

This year the Central Kitsap School District hopes to implement a mentor program among eight schools located on what the district considers its east side. The mentor program is being looked at as a pilot, that if successful, will be implemented district wide.

Leah Kyaio, the recently hired diversity/mentoring specialist, has been working on this project since her hire in January.

The concept for the program, though, goes back to the 2005 school year. Administrators from Olympic High School, Ridgetop Junior High and Fairview Junior High met to discuss ways to increase student test scores on the WASL after Olympic High School failed to meet adequate yearly progress for the 2005 school year. Those talks also focused on narrowing the achievement gap between students listed as low-income and those of varying ethnic backgrounds that statistically hadn’t scored well on the WASL.

The talks moved to encompass not only the junior highs that feed into Olympic, but also the elementary schools that feed into the junior highs. A committee was formed, research was done, discussions were held and the group decided to focus on building stronger relationships between students and teachers.

That concept was implemented in 2006, and a preliminary look at test scores show students identified as “low-income” are testing better. While the students can’t be singled out and pulled aside to receive help (test results don’t give the names of the low-income students testing poorly) the district’s effort to work with all kids has proven to be successful based on the recent test data, said Chris Wyatt, director of student services for the district.

The district has been working on its mentor program model for a while, and is finally ready to implement it in the schools. It will offer a combination of adult, teen and peer mentors.

Here’s info from the district’s brochure:

Teen mentors currently attend Olympic High School, have earned good grades, attend school regularly, and want to make a difference in the lives of younger students. They are matched with an elementary student for a full school year, meeting about one hour a week during school hours.

Peer mentors currently attend Fairview or Ridgetop Junior High Schools. Like teen mentors, they have earned good grades, attend school regularly, and want to make a difference in the lives of younger students. They are also matched with an elementary student for a full school year and meet with their mentee about an hour each week in regularly scheduled activities.

Adult mentors are from the community, over the age of 20 years with reliable transportation and no criminal record for the last five years and no history of crimes against children. They are matched with a CKSD student for one full school year, meeting about one hour a week during regular school hours of for after school activities.

Requirements of a mentor: “All that is required is that you want to make a difference and are willing to be a role model and a friend. There are no requirements of education or experience. Make a commitment to be there and just be yourself.”

What they do: “When mentors are matched with their mentees, we try to ensure that there is a common link — things that they like that are similar. In this way, the matched pair decides what they want to do. Whether it is working on homework, engaging in a preplanned activity or just talking.”

If you want to learn more, contact Leah Kyaio at (360) 662-1729, or via email at leahk@cksd.wednet.edu.

They’d like to have mentors in training by the first part of November, so they can start getting them into the schools to work with kids. For those who can’t commit to a whole year, there will be two opportunities for people interested in volunteering. Contact Leah for more information about those dates and events.

As he sailed off Bainbridge Island to his slip at Brownsville Marina Saturday around sunset, Allen Rogers wasn’t sure if the running lights on his sailboat were casting odd light on the water, causing him to see things.

Swimming from Brownsville to Bainbridge Island was what Rogers described as a “big thing.” Not the most technical description, but from a few hundred yards away, and with dusk fast approaching, Rogers wasn’t sure what he was looking at.

It wasn’t moving like a sea lion, and it sure as heck wasn’t a whale. Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster was out of the question — she’s only been spotted in Scotland. Could it be the ever-elusive Big Foot, making his Kitsap debut while Rogers watched?

As he maneuvered his 30-foot sailboat closer to the curious creature, Rogers realized what he was staring at.

A bear.

Presumably a black bear, but after shooting Rogers an intimidating stare, he decided not to get any closer.

“It was a great big bear. I mean huge,” Rogers said. “I’ve been boating for 35 years and I’ve never seen anything like this. I’ve seen deer before, but never a bear.”

Rogers described the animal as “booking” its way across the channel between Brownsville and Bainbridge Island. He guessed it was going at a speed of 2 to 3 knots. It was also being taunted by a number of seagulls, which flew over its head, squawking.

After pulling into the marina and tying up, Rogers went over to the pier where a group of guys were fishing. He asked if they’d seen the bear. They confirmed Rogers’ eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. They saw the bear from the shore, swimming across the water, but still asked Rogers if it might have been Sasquatch?

Rogers confirmed it wasn’t adding, “Bainbridge Island has a population of one more bear right now.”