Bainbridge Island briefs

Published 1:30 am Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Day of Preparedness

Bainbridge Prepares’ 10th annual Day of Preparedness event will be held at fire station 21 on Madison Avenue Sept. 20 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The event will include informational booths, demos, giveaways, door prizes, and BP’s new executive director Dominique Cantwell will be there to meet people.

Poet Laureate

The city of Bainbridge Island and the Bainbridge Island Poet Laureate Program invite poets from Bainbridge Island and Kitsap County to apply for the position of Bainbridge Island Poet Laureate for 2026-2027.

The role of the poet laureate is to be an advocate for the arts and to carry out a program to support and encourage city and community awareness of arts and culture, per a news release. This is a two-year honorary position with an annual stipend of $2,500.

The new BI Poet Laureate will succeed Michele Bombardier, the inaugural laureate, who held the position from 2022 through 2025, and who brought a diverse range of poets and poetry events to the island.

The application guidelines can be found on the Bainbridge Island Poet Laureate website, www.bainbridgeislandpoetlaureate.org, or by emailing admin@BainbridgeIslandPoetLaureate.org.

Peer support group

Registration is now open for Bainbridge Youth Services’ free, 8-week Parenting Together Support Group for parents of children ages 5 to 18.

The group meets Mondays from 6:30–8:30 p.m., Sept. 30–Nov. 18 at BYS. Led by a licensed mental health counselor, this supportive group gives parents a space to enhance their well-being, build stronger connections with their children, explore and develop personal parenting values, learn practical parenting strategies, and access helpful resources, per a news release.

Registration is required: askbys.org/parent-peer-support-groups/ or call 206.842.9675

Civil Liberties Symposium

The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association will be hosting the 2025 Civil Liberties Symposium with two events in early October.

The first is a free community screening of the PBS documentary Alternative Facts: The Lies of Executive Order 9066 Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. at the BI library.

The second event is the symposium itself, held at the Stan Pocock Rowing Center Oct. 5 at 2 p.m. BIJAEMA will host a moderated discussion connecting the Coram Nobis cases of Fred Korematsu, Gordon Hirabayashi, and Minoru Yasui to the constitutional challenges today, a news release says.

Lorraine Bannai, Kathryn Bannai, and Peggy Nagae, three attorneys who personally worked on the cases, will share reflections of their legal battles and comment on how these challenges continue to influence civil liberties law and the responsibilities to defend civil liberties now and for the future.

Reserve tickets at bijaema.org/symposium.

Treehouse Cafe concert

Indie pop-rock duo SIRSI will be performing at the Treehouse Cafe Sept. 27 at 7 p.m.

Hailing from upstate New York, SIRSY is made up of vocalist and drummer Melanie Krahmer and guitarist Rich Libutti, a news release says. SIRSY has shared stages with bands like Maroon 5, Train, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and Lifehouse, and their songs have been featured on TV shows and in film.

“Their live shows are known for being both uplifting and deeply emotional, mixing humor and heart with songs that range from anthemic rockers to intimate ballads,” the release says.

Library U events

Library U’s Fall Humanities Speaker Series, co-sponsored with the Bainbridge Public Library, the Bainbridge Book Festival, and Humanities Washington, begins Sept. 28 in the Bainbridge Public Library community meeting room.

All programs (Sept. 28, Nov. 9 and Nov. 23) take place in the library and start at 2 p.m., except for the Oct. 11 program, which is part of the Bainbridge Book Festival. All of the programs are free.

BI crime log

09/08 THEFT, 860 GILMORE WAY

09/08 IDENTITY THEFT, 301 SHANNON DR SE

09/08 THEFT, 7305 HIDDEN COVE RD

09/08 DOMESTIC VERBAL, 829 HIGH SCHOOL RD NE D

09/09 VIOLATION COURT ORDER, 404 COSGROVE ST NW

09/09 VIOLATION COURT ORDER, 200 HIGH SCHOOL RD NE

09/09 IDENTITY THEFT, 7364 MADRONA DR NE

09/10 POSSESSION STOLEN PROPERTY, 900 WINSLOW WAY E

09/10 FRAUD, 14950 SUNRISE DR

09/10 THEFT, 9666 HIGH SCHOOL RD

09/11 THEFT, 260 OLYMPIC DR SE

09/12 VIOLATION COURT ORDER, 821 HIGH SCHOOL RD NE

09/12 THEFT OF MOTOR VEHICLE, 266 LOVELL AVE SW

09/13 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, 12069 VIEWCREST PL NE

09/13 THEFT, 190 HARBOR SQUARE LOOP

09/13 MALICIOUS MISCHIEF, 343 WINSLOW WAY E

Hood Canal Bridge closure

The Hood Canal Bridge will close to all travelers from 8 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. the following day Sept. 21 through Sept. 25.

Due to the nature of the work, the bridge will remain closed to all traffic, including emergency response. During the closures, contractors working for the state Department of Transportation will make repairs to the movable bridge’s steel tracks on the westbound span, per WSDOT.

The repairs are necessary to help keep the bridge in good working order. The work will maintain alignment between the spans of the bridge.

Rolfes appointed to OC board

Kitsap County Commissioner Christine Rolfes has been appointed to the Olympic College Board of Trustees by the state’s Governor’s Office Sept. 9.

She fills the unexpired term of former trustee Cheryl Miller, who resigned in July after seven years of service, per a news release. Rolfes brings more than two decades of public service experience to the board, including her current role as Kitsap County Commissioner and her 17-year tenure in the state Legislature.

“Olympic College is a key pillar of our community, providing access, opportunity and a path forward for thousands of students every year,” said Rolfes. “I’m honored to support the college’s mission and to contribute in any way I can to its continued success.”