All posts by brynn grimley

Silverdale incorporation boundaries

Brynn writes:

It sounds like there’s some confusion about where the southernmost boundaries fall for the proposed city of Silverdale. Without a clear road running east to west, it’s a little hard to tell people whether their home falls in the proposed boundaries, or outside. So far I’ve just been saying the boundary is just south of Newberry Hill Road.

While most of Chico and all of Eldorado Hills have been cut from the proposed city, there is still a section of northern Chico that is included in the incorporation boundaries. Citizens United for Silverdale, the group proposing the incorporation, recently changed the boundaries from the county’s 2006 comprehensive plan update with its extended urban growth area boundaries, to the county’s 2005 urban growth area boundaries that didn’t include much of Chico.

The change was in direct response to public input last month at a Boundary Review Board meeting where a number of people in Chico and Eldorado Hills asked to be removed from the proposed boundaries.

Without a specific street, it’s hard to say what homes are on the line, and what homes are outside. If you know your home was not in the 2005 urban growth area for Silvedale, then you’re not in the proposed city boundaries. If you have no idea, I’d recommend emailing the incorporation proponents with your address to see where you fall: UniteSilverdale@gmail.com.

Here’s my best attempt at trying to explain who is still in and who is out. If you live in the Emery Ridge development, or between Emery Ridge and Newberry Hill, then your home falls in the proposed city limits. If you live near Holly Park Drive, you might be on the edge, so send an email to inquire. If you’re significantly south of Holly Park Drive, you’re not in the city limits.

Here’s the map the group is using, but it’s hard to tell exactly what homes fall in or out. Reminder the BRB will hear the incorporation attempt again at its meeting this Thursday, 7 p.m. at the Silverdale Beach Hotel, 3073 Bucklin Hill Road.

 

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Port Orchard bear still on the loose

Brynn writes:

Thanks to Doug Miller and his quick shutter finger, we have proof that the elusive Port Orchard bear was trying to escape Port Orchard for better digs on Bainbridge Island.

Miller sent the email this afternoon and unless there’s another bear walking around out there with a dart in its hindquarters, I’m guessing this is the same bear that was hiding out in the greenbelt off Mile Hill Drive earlier this week. I have to say, it looks a lot bigger here than it did when it was running at me on Monday…what do they put in those darts, steroids?!

Miller spotted the bear this morning swimming across Rich Passage, headed for Bainbridge off Point Glover. Here’s what he said in an email:

We saw him swimming out in the middle of the channel. A boat stopped to check him out and he got spooked and decided to swim back to our side I guess.

Pretty cool.

Last I heard from wildlife Sgt. Ted Jackson was that the bear still hasn’t been captured, but that it is being spotted all over. The hype over the bear has hopefully gone down now that its not running across Mile Hill Drive and bounding over the fences of the nearby Orchard Heights Elementary and Discovery Alternative High School.

I’m guessing Jackson and the other wildlife officials are also hoping the bear quietly fades into the woods, so they don’t have to try and relocate it.

Without further ado, here’s the photos. (Look close in this first one, you can see the dart sticking out his right hind leg).

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Have you seen Bruce?

Brynn writes:

On Monday we made a trip to Clear Creek Nursery to get some replacement shrubs for a few of our plants that didn’t make it through the winter. Heading from Clear Creek Road to Greaves Way toward the interchange a sign caught my eye.

“Did that just say ‘Lost Goat‘?” I asked as we passed.

We’ve all seen “Lost Cat” and “Lost Dog” posters plastered to telephone poles and stop signs, but “Lost Goat”?

Thinking my eyes were playing tricks on me, I went back on Thursday to make sure I wasn’t imagining things.

I wasn’t.

Bruce, a 2 1/2 month old mix Nigerian dwarf/Pygmy goat has been missing since Wednesday, May 25, according to his owner Heather.

Heather and her family live off Greaves Way, right across from Highway 3, on 7 acres. Bruce is the family’s first goat, and her four children — ages 1 to 9 — miss him terribly, she said.

“He’s bottle fed. He’s really friendly, he’ll run up to anyone, especially if he’s hungry,” she said. “He was one of the kids.”

Heather thinks Bruce went missing on May 25 after he was let out to roam the family’s property. (They also have potbellied pigs). Her father was helping her boyfriend install a new appliance and when he left, he didn’t put Bruce back inside, she said.

While he’s a goat, Heather said Bruce acted more like a dog. He followed the kids around, climbed up on their playground equipment with them and even helped mow the lawn. She’s not sure if a neighbor may have picked him up if they saw him roaming along side the road, or if he wandered into someone else’s yard and is now being cared for by them.

She’s called the Kitsap Humane Society repeatedly, but had no luck locating Bruce. He’s wearing a red nylon dog collar, but it doesn’t have her contact information listed.

Heather’s banking on someone seeing her signs and calling her to say they have  Bruce and will return him to their family.

“I’m hopeful,” she said, “but I don’t know.”

After seeing pictures of this adorable little guy, I knew I had to post his missing flier in hopes that I might help get him reunited with his family.

If you’ve seen Bruce, or have him, give Heather a call at: 360-551-7007.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

What’s up with that red and white helicopter?

Brynn writes:

Today’s mission? To find out why in the heck a red and white helicopter was hovering low over residential Bremerton between 2 and 3 o’clock this afternoon.

When we first got the call we assumed it was probably one of the local television station’s copters, so we called 911 to see if there was an accident in Bremerton, or fire, that we didn’t hear on the police scanner.

When local dispatchers told us all was quiet, we checked with Washington State Patrol to see if state troopers or Washington Fish and Wildlife officers were looking for something — maybe we had another bear on the loose in Bremerton?

Fortunately for those not wanting to come face-to-face with a bear, all was quiet. Unfortunately for a newsroom of nosy reporters, we still didn’t have an answer. This piqued our curosity even more.

By now it seemed every call coming into the newsroom was from someone wanting to know why a helicopter was in Bremerton. We also were getting questions on Facebook. The helicopter was described as red and white.

Because these are U.S. Coast Guard colors, we called their regional office to see if they were doing any drills in our area. Again no dice.

Who to call next? A reader said they’d tried the Bremerton National Airport, which directed them to the Federal Aviation Administration. After calling a couple numbers, I connected with someone who told me that without knowing the identification number on the aircraft, he couldn’t tell us who it belonged to.

What to do? Reporter Rachel Pritchett suggested I call over to Avian Aeronautics — the business where most helicopters come and go from the Bremerton National Airport.

Bingo.

I called and the man who answered the phone said: “I’ve got a red and white helicopter right here, let me go ask them what they were doing.”

How easy was that?

Turns out the helicopter and its occupants were doing some surveying for the city of Bremerton. The city authorized the flight. I tried reaching Mayor Patty Lent to find out what was being surveyed, but only got her voicemail. When she gets back to me I’ll update everyone about what exactly they were having done.

Glad to hear it was only some survey work and not some top secret operation that turned out to be not so top secret.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Whoa, that’s one big bear!

Brynn writes:

UPDATE: I learned from a North Kitsap School District parent that they got an email this afternoon letting them know a bear was seen at Vinland Elementary and near the property shared by Poulsbo Elementary and Poulsbo Middle School. The bears weren’t near the buildings, more on the fringe of the property, according to district spokeswoman Robyn Chastain. Wildlife officers responded to make sure the bears had moved on before the students and staff were allowed to go outside.

Wildlife officers also responded to the 900 block of Swanson Way in Poulsbo for a bear in a tree Tuesday evening. Sounds like the bear was going after a bird feeder and a dog chased it in the tree.

In case you missed it, last week I wrote about the mass of bear spottings in North Kitsap. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Sgt. Ted Jackson said during the week of May 16-22 they received more than 50 reports of bears in neighborhoods or running across roadways.

That’s a significant bump up from the same period last year.

Going with the bear sighting theme, Paul Dudley, of Paul Dudley Photography, sent us pictures today of a rather large black bear he spotted last week off Big Valley Road in Poulsbo. He sent us a couple stills and a link to the video he captured and posted to YouTube.

Here’s the link to the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I92dlW9Yc74

And the photos are below. Just as a friendly public service reminder, here’s how to minimize your chances of coming face-to-face with a bear:

  • Keep all garbage indoors until day of pickup; if garbage must go out night before, rub ammonia on top and inside of container.
  • Don’t feed pets outdoors, keep all food indoors.
  • Remove/take down bird feeders until later in the summer.
  • Don’t feed other wild animals like raccoons or squirrels.
  • Clean barbecue grills after each use.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Trader Joe’s will open June 17

Brynn writes:

Yes it is true, we finally have confirmation from Trader Joe’s corporate: The Silverdale Trader Joe’s will open Friday, June 17 at 8 a.m.

Was that a pig I just saw fly by?

Since jumping on the Silverdale beat five years ago I can easily say the most common complaint I heard — if you could call it that — was that there was no Trader Joe’s on the Kitsap Peninsula. I often heard stories of TJ’s faithful shoppers making special trips to University Place across the Tacoma Narrows bridge, or hopping on the ferry to Seattle to hit up one of the many stores across the sound.

I heard rumors from people who said they were told by TJ’s managers that the corporate office wasn’t interested in Kitsap because we didn’t fit the demographic. But then when World Market opened a few years ago in the Kitsap Mall I wondered if maybe, just maybe, that might get the attention of other, similar retailers.

Then the Facebook fan pages came along, and Kitsap residents admitted to sending repeated emails TJ’s corporate asking for a store. Then about a year ago the rumors started. A store manager at the University Place TJ’s said they were opening a Silverdale store. I immediately called the company spokeswoman, but she said the company had no plans for Kitsap, we weren’t even on their radar screen, she said.

That left me to write this blog post in May 2010: “The Truth About Trader Joe’s” that said Trader Joe’s was NOT coming to Silverdale. But, by the next week I was writing a retraction of sorts after a trusted source in the community called me to say he in fact talked with representatives from TJ’s that were in Silverdale looking for vacant retail space to bring a store.

I called corporate again and was still told no, no TJ’s in Silverdale. Then the building license surfaced and we had confirmation, the store was coming. Most recently we received an email from a reader who said the store was scheduled to tentatively open on June 17.

While the former Circuit City building where the store will open was a little more than 26,000 square feet, the Trader Joe’s will take up about half that amount of space. This is still significantly larger than most of its other stores, which fall around 6,000 to 7,000 square feet.

For those who are still in disbelief, here’s the official press release:

Trader Joe’s to Open New Store In Silverdale Scheduled for Friday, June 17th at 8am

(May 24, 2011) Monrovia, CA – Trader Joe’s, a unique, neighborhood grocery store with foods and beverages from the exotic to the basic, is scheduled to open a new store in Silverdale, Washington  located at 9991 Mickelberry Road (inside the Mickelberry Plaza).  The store is scheduled to open Friday, June 17th at 8am and is approximately 13,300 square feet in size.

Trader Joe’s is pleased to announce the appointment of John Alvey, as Captain (Store Manager).  John comes to the new store from the Trader Joe’s in Bellevue and has been with the company for more than a decade.  First Mate (Assistant Store Manager) is Chris Melsha from the Olympia location and he has been with the company 21 years.

Trader Joe’s was originally named in recognition of its distinct grocery buying process, because they search the world for great values and distinctive products. Crew members (store employees) consider themselves “traders on the culinary seas.” Crewmembers sport brightly colored Hawaiian-themed shirts, adding to the light-hearted air of the store.

Many area residents after the store opens can expect to receive a copy of the Trader Joe’s “Fearless Flyer” in their mailboxes. The Fearless Flyer is a somewhat irreverent description of a timely selection of Trader Joe’s products. It’s been called a cross between Consumer Reports and Mad Magazine. Each edition highlights a selection of Trader Joe’s products that the company buyers believe are worthy of customer interest, including comfort foods and items that are organic or have other special attributes.

Trader Joe’s carries an extensive array of domestic and imported foods and beverages including fresh baked artisan breads, Arabica bean coffees, international frozen entrées, 100% juices, fresh crop nuts, deli items, and vitamins and supplements, as well as the basics, like milk and eggs – all at honest, low prices.

Trader Joe’s is truly a grocery store unlike any other.  Trader Joe’s is a  “store of stories,” meaning every item in the store has its own virtues — high quality ingredients, great flavor or simply an extraordinary price — many items often feature all of those qualities.  Another significant point of difference, all of Trader Joe’s prices are everyday prices. Trader Joe’s doesn’t have “sales” for a few days, only to hike the prices back up again. Their prices change only when their costs change — there are no fancy promotions, discount cards or couponing wars.

So how does Trader Joe’s offer unique groceries at prices everyone can afford?  By offering more than 1000 items under the Trader Joe’s private label, which includes Trader Darwin’s vitamins (For the Survival of the Fittest), Trader José’s salsas, Trader Giotto’s marinara sauces, in addition to specially purchased items.

Also, Trader Joe’s buys differently than other grocers – they purchase from manufacturers, not through distributors. They’ll take a brand name product, take out the preservatives and artificial colors and ingredients, and put it under their Trader Joe’s label to sell it at a real discount.

Trader Joe’s introduces approximately a dozen new items every week, heightening the store’s adventurous appeal.  Our buyers travel around the world searching out unique products at great values. In order for an item to be sold in a Trader Joe’s store, it must pass the scrutiny of a discerning tasting panel. Thousands of items are tasted each year to find products that both appeal to the culinary adventurer and microwave aficionado.

So there you have it. In less than a month we’ll all be able to attend the grand opening, and those who’ve never been to a Trader Joe’s before can see what all the hype is about.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Rolfes returns Port Orchard pigeon to owners

Amy Phan writes:

After a weeklong stay at Rep. Christine Rolfes’ Bainbridge Island home, a lost black-and-white show pigeon from Port Orchard was ready to go home.

Rolfes said her husband found the bird in their backyard last Friday. Her kids went and got bird food and lured the bird into a chicken cage.
Rolfes contacted several pigeon clubs in the area, attempting to find the bird’s owners.

But the Bainbridge Democrat wasn’t having any luck.

For a week, the bird, which the Rolfeses named “Anthony”, lived with the family’s other pets including chickens, cockatiel and rabbit.

“Everyone got along fine,” she said.

After failed attempts at reunited Anthony and its owner, Rolfes said she got on Craigslist to see how much a pigeon cage would cost — she figured the family would adopt Anthony as a rescue pet.

Rolfes clicked on the lost and found section of the Web site.

“It was the first link on the page — lost, white and black bird,” she said.

The Port Orchard owners said their bird flew out of their open door.

On Friday, the owners traveled to Rolfes’ Bainbridge Island home for the reunion.

Rolfes was glad the owner and her pet was reunited.

“It was a fun adventure with no long term commitment,” said Rolfes, laughing. “It was a nice animal, but we really didn’t want another pet in our home.”

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Will Trader Joe’s open in another month?

Brynn writes:

If you’ve been to Silverdale lately you’ve probably seen the former Circuit City building along Myhre Road looking more and more like a soon-to-be Trader Joe’s.

In fact, there is now a sign hanging from the entrance with the phrase: “Trader Joe’s Coming Soon!” (Side note: The company still has yet to publicly announce the opening, although a spokesperson did finally confirm in March that the store would open this year).

Without company confirmation about an opening date, it’s hard to know when exactly we might finally get the chance to have some of Trader Joe’s faithfuls’ favorites: Three Buck Chuck, vacuum packed marinated racks of lamb, maple leaf cookies and fat free feta cheese.

I learned in March that the company was aiming for a June opening, but was never told an exact date. Thanks to a recent email from a reader, it now sounds like the company has narrowed its timeline and selected an opening date. (Remember though that in the construction world everything is tentative, so don’t bet the bank on this date until the doors actually open).

A reader who contacted the Northwest Trader Joe’s customer relations department got a response saying the company hopes to open on Friday, June 17.

Here’s the exact text of the email: “We are shooting for June 17th. See you there and thank you.”

Short and sweet, but it’s more than I’ve been able to get out of Trader Joe’s corporate. So mark your calendars, June 17 it is!

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Silverdale Haselwood Family YMCA healthy kids day planned

Brynn writes:

Looking to help burn some of that endless energy your little rug-rats seem to have so much of this weekend? On Saturday the Silverdale Haselwood Family YMCA is hosting a Healthy Kids Day at the site of its new facility.

The event is free, and kid friendly (hence the name of the event). It’s open to everyone and runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Festivities include activities for children of all ages and their parents. There will be a stage set up for speakers, live entertainment and demonstrations of athletic activities like Zumba, that are offered at the YMCA. Face painting and raffle opportunities will also be available.

There will also be a kids fitness challenge. Those unfamiliar with the Y and its offerings can also learn about the Silverdale facility while at the event and sign up for a membership if they’re interested.

To learn more, or to stay on top of the latest development updates, visit the Haselwood Family YMCA Facebook page.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post

Poulsbo’s Sound Brewery grand opening

Brynn writes:

It seems Poulsbo is becoming Kitsap’s fastest growing brewery town. I receive a call today from Mark Hood, who is the general manager and one of five partners of Sound Brewery, the latest beer-focused establishment to open in Poulsbo.

It comes four months after Valhöll, another small brewery, opened along Front Street just outside of downtown Poulsbo. According to the story fellow reporter Tristan Baurick wrote at the time, a third brewery — Slippery Pig Brewing — is set to open along Finn Hill soon.

Once Slippery Pig opens, Poulsbo’s brewery total will double the number of breweries in all of Kitsap County. Kitsap’s breweries outside of Poulsbo are Hood Canal Brewery in Kingston, Silver City Brewery in Silverdale and Der Blokken Brewery in Bremerton. (Not to be overlooked is Hale’s Ales in Silverdale; they don’t brew on site, but they are a part of the local brewing community).

To celebrate Sound Brewery’s opening, a ceremony is planned for 5 p.m. Thursday (yes as in tomorrow, April 14). Poulsbo Mayor Becky Erickson will be there to cut the ribbon, along with the Greater Poulsbo Chamber of Commerce. The public is invited to attend the event to check out the new tasting room.

The brewery is located at 650 Bovella Lane, off Viking Avenue at the south end of town. The grand opening is a family-friendly event, Hood said, adding children are invited to attend and will be served root-beer if they want it.

The brewery has been brewing for two months and has 24 batches of beer for people to try in nine different styles, Hood said. Already the brewery is selling its draft beers in  Kitsap, Tacoma and Seattle. It is also scheduled to participate in Seattle Beer week, and has four “Cuisine a la bier” dinners planned including its first one at Tizley’s Europub in Poulsbo next Thursday, April 21.

“Our motto is ‘Tradition Liberated’ because we brew traditional beers, with expensive traditional ingredients and try to liberate the styles with our own interpretations,” Hood said in an email.

Sound Brewery is located in a 3,400 square foot building that is equipped to produce 140 barrels a month. The brewery’s “Monk’s Indiscretion” brew just won third place in the People’s Choice award category at Seattle’s Csskfest.

Now that its open, tasting room hours will be Monday through Wednesday from 2 to 6 p.m. and Thursday through Saturday, 2 to 9 p.m.

Here’s a list of beers and descriptions from Hood: (They also have a Belgian Dubbel, a kristalweizen — heffeweizen that is totally clear, like a pilsner — and a dunkelweizen, but they are not kegged yet.)

Koperen Ketel Belgian Style Pale Ale: Soft Biscuity malt and fruity esters are well balanced with the finest Slovenian Styrian Goldings hops, making for a refreshing, easy drinking copper color ale.

Poundage Porter: Smooth creamy tan head covers a beautiful dark ruby brown beer. Aroma of chocolate, coffee and plums with toasted grains. Totally balanced with bitterness from noble hops and roasted grains. 5.5% ABV

Bevrijder Belgian Style Double IPA: Bevrijder means liberator in Flemish. Crafted from British malt, Belgian yeast and American hops, Bevrijder is dry yet malty with a complex aroma of malt, hops and spicy Belgian yeast. 8% ABV

O’Regan’s Revenge: Made with traditional ingredients, O’Regans Revenge has an outstanding traditional Irish style balance and malty character. Not overly sweet and chewy like most typical Northwest reds. Made from the finest floor malted maris otter and hopped with East Kent Goldings, O’ Regan’s drinks easy and very well balanced, but is extremely complex for a $5.9% ABV Red Ale.

Monk’s Indiscretion: “Monk’s” is balanced like the best Belgian Strong Golden Ales, yet has flavor and aroma hops that are as aromatic… and intense as any Imperial IPA. Double dry hopped, and fermented with our aromatic yeast strain, “Monk’s” has an intensely tropical hoppy nose and yet drinks easy and smooth without the intense bitterness that is normally associated with such a hoppy brew. 10% ABV.

Tripel Entendre: The best Belgian Tripels are made from a simple recipe, the finest ingredients, and the utmost attention to process. At Sound, we use the best Belgian Pilsner malt, Slovenian Styrian Goldings hops and a Trappist Yeast strain to craft a fine Belgian Style Tripel that even the Monks would be proud of. 9.8%ABV.

Post to Twitter Tweet This Post