Peninsular Thinking

Board members from the Port Orchard Bay Street Association and the newly formed Port Orchard Historic Revitalization Association will meet Tuesday to discuss where their respective goals for Port Orchard’s revitalization overlap and how they can work together for the good of the town.

The relationship between the two organizations got off on the wrong foot after an April 24 meeting of the Port Orchard City Council at which Shannon Childs presented the idea of forming a local affiliate of the national Main Street movement. POBSA president Don Ryan, after the meeting, said he had felt left out of the loop.

You can read the story for details of how things went south. But both Childs and Ryan appear to be focused on moving forward.

Ryan said of an email exchange between himself and Childs, “It’s been very professional, and we both have what’s best for the town in mind. So we’d like to come to a resolution.”

Childs talked about efforts of the various nonprofits all dedicated to promoting the town in their own way: POBSA, Fathoms ‘O Fun, the Chamber of Commerce, the Cedar Cove Association and the Sidney Museum and Art Gallery, as well as local service groups. She suggests that, if the groups agree, the Main Street Association could serve as a hub to coordinate activities and amplify efforts of each. Or not …

“Please make no mistake; our intentions have never been to step on anyone’s toes or conflict with any one of these organizations, especially POBSA,” Childs said. “Alternatively, if POBSA would like to become the designated Main Street organization for Port Orchard, we will step aside, withdraw our Main Street application, and make way for you. You have a very talented and dedicated team, and we are sure that you can be successful.”

The Main Street program offers a protocol advancing the rebirth of historic urban areas, including a tax credit program only available to businesses that donate to local Main Street affiliates. The affiliates in turn direct the donations toward efforts that promote their respective towns as vibrant places where people will want to gather, shop and play.

I plan to follow up with Ryan and Childs after Tuesday’s meeting, so stay tuned.

Chris Henry, reporter

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PORT ORCHARD — Kay Arens is quick to point out that President Barack Obama on his visit to Seattle Feb. 17 knew nothing of the drama that was unfolding at Seattle Children’s Hospital, as baby Kamryn Elizabeth Aubrey of Port Orchard lay waiting for her heart transplant.

Kamryn is now doing quite well, but her medical complications place a financial burden on her parents, Kelli and Mike Aubrey. Arens, a friend of the baby’s family, called to note a fundraiser concert Saturday in Gig Harbor.

Kelli Aubrey is quick to point out that, contrary to some stories going around, the president’s arrival did not delay the surgery. It did add one more layer of anxiety to an already tense situation.

Kamryn was perfectly normal at birth and for her first two weeks of life. Then suddenly she went downhill. Her breathing became labored, and she was lethargic. She didn’t eat or cry normally. On Christmas Eve, her feet started turning blue.

The Aubreys rushed Kamryn to Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma. The baby’s temperature was 94 degrees. Tests on Christmas Day revealed a heart defect that turned out to be left ventricle noncompaction dilated cardiomyopathy. The condition involves defective development of the heart tissue, resulting in ineffective pumping of blood. The prognosis for patients is poor, and a heart transplant typically is needed.

Kamryn was a “surprise,” the youngest of five in the Aubrey family. Kelli and Mike have been married 23 years. Kamryn was born not long after both, who are social workers, had been laid off from a Gig Harbor foster care agency. Mike has since found work with the state.

The Aubreys leaned heavily on their faith in the weeks after Kamryn was hospitalized. Kelli began a detailed blog, and a local prayer chain grew … and grew. Before long, people in Africa, China, Russia, Scotland and the United States were pulling for Kamryn. Kelli and others cite the hand of the Almighty in the baby’s overcoming long odds no bookie would back.

“This is a child that should not have survived this,” Arens said. “Even people who aren’t religious came forward and are praying for this baby. She surpassed any expectation anybody ever had.”

Miraculously, a compatible heart became available less than two weeks after Kamryn went on the waiting list. It was none too soon, as the baby was failing fast.

“This is difficult to think of someone losing a child to help ours,” Kelli wrote on the blog. “This is what we will do for another family if Kamryn doesn’t make it through all of this. It is hard for me to think about and difficult to write. But God is in control and we are committed to His path.”
On Feb. 17, the day of the surgery, Kelli and Mike walked their 9-week-old daughter down the long corridor to the operating room.

“I kissed her little head and told her to ‘be good.’ Mike kissed her, too. And then we walked back to her empty room and sat down. Although I didn’t like the empty room, I was at peace.”

The Aubreys were notified by phone messages throughout the long surgery of each hurdle cleared, including the announcement that the transplanted heart was beating.

“The piles of wadded tissues and empty Starbucks cups tell only part of the story of the day,” Kelli wrote.

Obama, whose visit included a stop at Boeing’s Everett plant, spent the day talking about economic recovery. The hospital’s transplant coordinator told the Aubreys she had to do “a lot of finagling to get the heart here,” but the surgery wasn’t stalled as a result.

“There’s some misconstrued ideas that the president may have delayed it,” Kelli said. “But I don’t know that he did. I actually don’t think he has that kind of clout.”

Kamryn arrived back home March 28, and she is back to the “sweet” personality her parents knew before she fell ill. She is physically delayed due to weeks of hospitalization but is catching up.

Kamryn continues to require ‘round the clock care, including a complicated regimen of medication. Kelli must stay at home, and the loss of her income, plus some uncovered medical costs and transportation to Children’s, is weighing on the family.

Breath of Aire, a Christian music group, will play a benefit concert for Kamryn at 7 p.m. Saturday at Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church, 7700 Skansie Ave., Gig Harbor, with donations accepted.

You can also make donations on the blog about Kamryn,
www.prayingforkamryn.blogspot.com. As with all charitable giving, donors should do enough research to satisfy themselves of the legitimacy of the cause.

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A repaving project on Sedgwick Road hit a glitch earlier this week, when crews from the paving company contracted by the city of Port Orchard found areas of wetland upon tearing off the old roadway.
That’s no surprise said Public Works Director Mark Dorsey, who noted the road was put laid over a marshy area long before rules of the Shoreline Management Act would have made it hard if not impossible to do so.
The goal of state shoreline laws is to have “no net loss” of functioning wetlands and shorelines. Development in and around some wetlands is allowed depending on how they score on a system the state uses to rate functionality, like how well they absorb water and filter pollutants. Development allowed on or near wetlands these days must be offset or mitigated by the builder’s enhancement of other wetland areas.
As it is, Sedgwick is grandfathered in, with no mitigation required. Crews filled in squishy areas on the roadway, then put down a layer of asphalt. More asphalt is needed, but first they need to see if the issue with wet areas is solved.
The road, which has been closed all week, will be open on schedule Saturday, but crews will be looking for the new asphalt to “proof” or set up. If it breaks apart and settles as cars drive over it, more fill work will have to be done, Dorsey said.
The city council on Tuesday authorized an additional expenditure of up to $50,000 for the required fix. The original cost of the job was estimated at $191,605. The extra money is available in the city’s street fund.

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The Sustainable Cinema series, sponsored by Kitsap County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido and held at the Dragonfly Cinema in downtown Port Orchard at 822 Bay Street, continues with a film at 6:30 p.m. Thursday to commemorate Earth Day. The film “Ocean Frontiers” is about efforts on many fronts to save the oceans.

Here’s the press release from Kitsap County.

“To mark Earth Day 2012 (and to honor Navy Earth Day events), this month’s Sustainable Cinema will feature Green Fire Productions’ critically acclaimed ‘Ocean Frontiers.’

‘Ocean Frontiers’ features on-the-ground reporting from places across the country at the forefront of implementing promising new approaches to ocean and coastal management. Industrial shippers, whale biologists, pig farmers, wetland ecologists, sport and commercial fishermen, reef snorkelers and many more are embarking on a new course of cooperation, in defense of the seas that sustain us.

Jim Brennan will lead a discussion of the film after it is shown. Jim is a Marine Scientist with over 30 years experience working in public and private sectors on research, education, environmental assessment, watershed planning, restoration, regulatory and policy programs in marine resource management issues. He has served with the Pacific Estuarine Research Society, Puget Sound Nearshore Ecosystem Partnership Science Team and the Governing Board of the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation. Jim is currently working for the Washington Sea Grant Program at the University of Washington.

The Sustainable Cinema Series offers interactive and educational information to Kitsap County residents about sustainable living. Donations are gratefully accepted. $5 is suggested.”

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Earlier this week, we ran a story about a state grant Kitsap County Parks and Recreation hopes to get for some of the work on a planned state-of-the art outdoor skateboard facility at South Kitsap Regional Park.

Formal plans call for a BMX bike track adjacent but not connected to the skatepark. But informally, BMX riders have for decades been enjoying their sport on a warren of trails with do-it-yourself jumps in the wooded part of the 200-acre park.

According to 32-year-old Chris Marin of Port Orchard, default spokesman for the loosely affiliated BXM community in South Kitsap, the group is self-policing. Older riders and parents step in to dismantle jumps that show just a little too much industry. The unspoken rule is that jumps must be passable for younger riders and others who may not wish to defy gravity.

A circular race track built in the early 1980s was removed some years ago.

The course is well-used, Marin said. On any given weekday, 30 to 50 riders trickle through. On weekends, 60 to 80 riders is typical, he estimates. Most are teenage guys, but some are older. Marin said he’d like to see more girls out there riding the jumps.

The county checks in on the property periodically, with an eye to its own “risk management.” In March, Marin got a call about a water heater being used to support one of the features. According to Parks and Recreation Director Jim Dunwiddie, some of the jumps were getting “close to 10 feet tall.”

“There was some concern there would be major injuries if the jump building continues,” Dunwiddie said.

The county is holding back for now on harsh enforcement. They gave the riders time to remedy the situation.

Marin orchestrated removal of the water heater, and a couple of weeks ago, when Dunwiddie went out with the official who evaluates the county’s liability, the offending jumps had been removed or lowered. Dunwiddie passed out his business cards to a few riders who were there and invited them to spread the word that he’s looking for others, beside Marin, who might take on more formal stewardship of the area. As of Monday, he had not heard from anyone.

Marin said publicity over the water heater helped, in that a few parents and other adults have stepped up offering to help keep the track safe and clean. As for plans for a more formal track closer to the road, Marin said, more or less, if it’s not broken, don’t fix it. Unlike the South Kitsap Skatepark Association, which has raised more than $100,000 toward a public skatepark, BMX’ers can operate on a shoestring, Marin said. He believes BMX’ers would be perfectly content to continue as they have for an estimated four decades.

“We don’t want anything. All we need is space, and we can do the work ourselves,” Marin said. “If we could stay where we are, we could be there for the next 40 years.”

Marin would like to see the county give permission for the race track to be rebuilt. Those who installed it even ran water and power out to the area, so he believes it could be done for minimal expense.

Anyone with an interest in the BMX track at South Kitsap Regional park can call Dunwiddie at (360) 337-5350 or volunteer/stewardship coordinator Lori Raymaker at (360) 337-5372 or parks superintendent Dori Leckner at (360) 337-5362.

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The city of Bremerton has inked a pact with Gary Sexton to remain on the job overseeing the construction of a movie theater and parking garage downtown.

After the Teamsters’ Union said he could not remain as a temporary employee of the city, Sexton and the city created a consultant contract that pays him $6,500 per month for two months, beginning April 23 and ending June 23.

Additionally, here is one picture of the marble centerpiece that will go in at Fourth Street and Pacific Avenue. It is being built by Yellow Mountain StoneWorks in Seattle.

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The Kitsap Humane Society has been digging out from a public relations meltdown in the wake of former Executive Director Sean Compton’s largely unexplained departure in January, followed by the exit of three key staff members over the next couple of months.

Humane Society officials are eager to move forward, but an independent audit due out and available for public consumption within the next couple of months will answer some lingering questions about how the agency got in such a pickle.

The board has been criticized for leaving donors, volunteers and staff out of the loop. According to new board President Rosemary Shaw and Interim Executive Eric Stevens, the board and management are making efforts to mend fences and reconnect with all of those groups.

KHS is recruiting new board members (and three on the board with the greatest longevity will be stepping down in June), positioning itself to search for a permanent ED, getting its records up to date and recruiting additional volunteers.

KHS will host an information session for prospective volunteers from 6-7 p.m. Thursday in the Training Center. Topics to be covered include what each department does, what the current volunteer opportunities are and how to get started. Volunteers must be at least 13 years old and should be able to commit to at least eight hours per month for six months. KHS is located at 9167 Dickey RD NW in Silverdale (98383). For information, call (360) 692-6977.

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When you’ve lived a century (or more), there’s not a lot you need. There I go painting with a broad brush, but in my experience with centenarians, I’ve found most have the art of living down to a fine science that requires few material trappings.

Oh, sure, there are always folks like centenarian Seahawks fan Alice Schindler, who might like a 12th man jersey in the team’s new colors, to prove me wrong. But most of the centenarians I’ve met are pretty content with the basics: food, fun, family (including caregivers, who often count as extended family), and the bliss of as many afternoon naps as they damn well please.

Earlier this week, we got an email from Rosheil Periquet Che, asking if we’d publish notice of her grandfather’s 100th birthday. Felicisimo Buen of Port Orchard, born in the Philippines, served in the U.S. Merchant Marine and grew berries on a South Kitsap farm much of his life. “Felix” and his late wife Elnora had no biological children, but were grandparents to Che and her cousins. Buen was, “the only living grandfather in my life, helped raise me since 3 months old, and has given me a lifetime of memories growing up in his farm, which served as a playground for my cousins and me,” Che said.

Buen, who farmed into his late 80s, turns 100 on Sunday. His family attributes his strong constitution to his habit of eating the same breakfast meal each day, consisting of a mug of hot water, one hard boiled egg, and a piece of toast.

“I find that nothing can be purchased for this special occasion to show my appreciation and love,” said Che, who asked where and how the story of her grandfather’s life could be published in the Kitsap Sun. (Stay tuned for instructions.)

We get a surprising number of inquiries about people turning 100, and there are more joining the centenarian club all the time it seems. According to a 2011 report from the U.S. Census, there were
53,364 centenarians in 2010, a 5.8 percent increase from 2000. Of the total U.S. population in 2010, 1 out of every 5,786 people was a centenarian; 82.8 percent were female; only 32.3 percent lived in skilled care facilities. Meaning about two-thirds of the 100+ population remain relatively independent.

So many Kitsap residents now reach 100, that we don’t do feature-length stories on all of them. We did write about Emma Otis, a “supercentenarian” who turned 110 last October. And two years ago, we wrote about then-nearly-99-year-old Angy Parrish. Parrish’s claim to fame? She was, at least at that time, still square dancing.

But your special centenarian need not be a “super” or have a schtick, like Parrish, to get the attention he or she deserves. There are two ways to publish their amazing life stories.

Although we don’t yet have a special form for 100-year-olds, you can fill out the online submission wedding announcement form with your centenarian’s life and birthday information. We’ll make sure the item reads correctly. Like all our announcements, you can submit a certain number of words for free and will be charged for longer items. The form allows you to see the charges before you submit, so you can shorten it if you need to. Find the form under the “submit” Tab on the Kitsap Sun homepage, www.kitsapsun.com.

Alternately or in addition, you can submit a free “Your News” item. Scroll down the Kitsap Sun home page; find “Your News” and “submit.” You will need to create a profile/account with the Kitsap Sun.

If you need any help, call me.
Chris Henry
Kitsap Sun
(360) 792-9219

Happy birthday Felix. Here’s more from Ms. Che:

“Felicisimo Buen, who is known as Felix by his friends and family, was an immigrant from the Philippines. Residing in Port Orchard, Washington after retiring from the US Merchant Marines, he purchased his home and farm land in the 1940′s, producing raspberries, blueberries, apples, grapes, blackberries, plums, and strawberries that were sold locally and also at the local farmer’s market.

“Felix’s his wife of 26 years, Elnora N. Buen, passed away in 2010. Though they did not conceive children of their own because they married later in life, they were actively involved in the upbringing of their grand-nieces and -nephews, whom they considered to be their own grandchildren. Together, they lived a quiet, simple life, but never alone with family living in the same neighborhood and in close by towns.

“Nothing could come between him and his work; there was always something to be done around such a vast property. Felix never wanted to stop on his farm until he was finally physically unable to
do so his late 80′s. We credit to his long life due to his constant repetition of habits and exercise, whether it was working in the fields from dawn until sunset, or eating the same breakfast meal consisting of a mug of hot water, one hard boiled egg, and a piece of toast. He now resides in the care of his niece, Sheila Periquet, at her adult care home, which is conveniently just a walk away from the farm.

“Though things are foggy in memory, and he does not have much to say nowadays, there are two facts he seems to know for certain: 1. The recognition of his grandchildren. His face lights up to greet me on my visits as ‘little girl’ (though I am now quite grown). 2. That his farm is ‘over there,’ just beyond a few trees and down a dirt road.”

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Mike Strube, executive director of the Bremerton Area Chamber of Commerce, introduced the Bremerton app at Wednesday’s Bremerton City Council meeting. I downloaded it at the meeting.

The app allows you, from wherever you are, to find businesses, parks and entertainment. The options are not just limited to Bremerton, either. Port Orchard hotels, Silverdale restaurants and the Tacoma Rainiers made the cut.

Here are some screen shots that show you how it works.

This is the icon that will appear on the iPhone screen. I assume it's the same for other smart phones.

This is the screen you get once you open the app.

Click on one of the selections and get more detail.

Click on one of your choices and you get detailed information about the place.

There is a map feature on each selection, allowing you to see where you are compared to where you want to go.

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The crowd at WinCo. I might be lying. This photo might have come from another site.

I made my first trip to the new store on Tuesday (I forgot to take pictures.) and ran into everyone I don’t know in this town, as well as City Councilman Roy Runyon and his wife, Kimberly Faulkner. Runyon and Faulkner were just leaving the store and said Tuesday was the first time they’d been able to find a parking space.

It was like this, kind of, when Popeyes opened in East Bremerton and one my former editors asked if there had been some pent up demand for it. You have to wonder the same about WinCo. How quiet are things at other stores?

WinCo, as you may recall from Rachel Pritchett’s award worthy stories on it, offers groceries at lower prices in a kind of warehouse setting. And you have to bag your own stuff. I bought a PowerBar, some bell peppers and some gluten-free tortilla chips. Using the check yourself out (I used to check myself out in the mirror a lot when I was younger.) stand I got in and out of there pretty quickly. If I’d had a cart, though, it would have taken a lot longer.

Faulkner said the prices are lower. Runyon raved about the bulk section. I liked that there was a security guard out front.

Chris Henry and I shared cop duties the last couple days and read the police reports in Bremerton on Monday and Tuesday. Each day there were tales of WinCo shoplifters. On the first day about four members of the next generation hauled of some Pop-Tarts without paying. The second day some new shoppers must have thought the corn dogs were free.

The prices aren’t that low that you can just open something up and eat it and then walk out. I didn’t see where they were selling ready-to-eat corn dogs anyway, not that it means anything.

For me the experience was like old times. A decade ago I was writing for The Columbian in Vancouver and we were frequent customers at the WinCo there. The company says the Bremerton store is smaller than most of its stores. If so, I couldn’t tell. That may be something I get a better handle on when I’m not ducking in between members of the entire commmunity.

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