News Roundup — Toxic disposal event slated/Harp-Reed joins BPA/Clear Path to host benefit/Concert for Katrina set

Published 6:00 am Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Toxic disposal event slated

If the old paint can says “Caution” or the weed killer carries a warning, there’s a good chance your trash can is just as unsavory a place for these items as your basement.

To send hazardous household materials to their proper disposal, numerous government agencies and local groups will help you clean out your garages and basements next month.

“It’s a good idea to get these materials out of your home because they can be dangerous to adults, children and pets,” said Don Mannino of the Bainbridge Rotary Club, which is teaming up with Kitsap County, the City of Bainbridge Island, the Bainbridge Fire Department and the Natural Landscapes Project to collect household toxic substances Oct. 1. “Proper disposal keeps these materials out of landfills and water systems, which can lead to other problems.”

Leftover household products that contain corrosive, toxic, ignitable or reactive ingredients are considered “household hazardous waste,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Improper disposal includes dumping these materials down the drain, on the ground, into storm sewers or putting them in the trash. These actions can increase pollution, endangering human and environmental health.

Rotary and other groups will operate a special collection for oil-based paints and garden chemicals and deliver them to the Kitsap County Household Hazardous Waste Collection facility near the Bremerton airport.

The one-day collection will be held at the city’s maintenance facility at 7305 Hidden Cove Road from 10 a.m to 4 p.m.

According to the EPA, Americans generate 1.6 million tons of household hazardous waste each year, with an average of 100 pounds per household.

During the 1980s, many communities started special collection days or permanent collection sites to handle these wastes. In 1997, there were more than 3,000 permanent programs in the country.

Both the use of these chemicals, and their proper disposal, appear to be on the rise.

In Kitsap County, the drop-off of some toxic household materials has increased by 20 percent between 2003 and 2004, according to the Kitsap County Public Works Solid Waste Division.

Besides proper disposal, the EPA advocates cutting back on the purchase of such materials and using alternative methods, such as using a plumber’s snake instead of drain cleaner or using a lemon juice and vinegar solution to clean windows.

– Tristan Baurick

Harp-Reed joins BPA

Karen Harp-Reed called walking into Bainbridge Performing Arts as education director on Tuesday “a first great day at school.”

BPA announced Harp-Reed’s selection this week; she replaces long-time education director Steven Fogell.

“I was surprised I got (the position),” Harp-Reed said. “I am very happy.”

She is no stranger to the department, having taught BPA’s fifth-through-eighth-grade Theatre School classes last year. During the summer when Fogell took a leave of absence, she and her husband, Gary Reed, stepped up to co-direct the Camp Teen Broadway production of “Into The Woods.”

This was in addition to their original duties as musical director and choreographer, respectively.

Harp-Reed has nearly 30 years of experience performing and instructing teachers and students of all ages in theater, music and dance. She is part of the Bainbridge Island Arts Consortium, which places artists in the classroom. She also is a working actress and singer who has been in many Seattle productions.

Harp-Reed has a B.A. in music with minors in dance and theatre, as well as teaching credentials from California and Washington for grades K-12 in vocal and instrumental music, dance and theater.

She will continue to teach at a K-8 school in Seattle twice a week, a schedule that meshes well with her new duties.

Harp-Reed is in a “settling-in period now,” reading scripts, figuring out her computer and nestling into her office. Next week, though, the Theatre School gets under way and the pace will quicken.

Harp-Reed will be ready, armed with lots of ideas for the new season.

“I’m working with such wonderful people. They’re all very supportive,” she said. “It’s quite lovely being with like-minded people.”

– Rhona Schwartz

Clear Path to host benefit

Clear Path International, the Bainbridge Island-based humanitarian mine action nonprofit, will celebrate its fifth anniversary as an organization at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 16 with a benefit dinner at the Columbia Tower Club.

The event, “An Evening of Hope for Landmine Survivors,” will be hosted by KING 5 Evening Magazine’s John Curley and feature singer-songwriter Sally Taylor, daughter of James Taylor and Carly Simon.

Taylor, who has a burgeoning musical career with two CDs to her name, is also a force in the field of humanitarian mine action.

Together with her husband, Dean Bragonier, she started the tranquility project, raising money and awareness to combat the global landmine problem.

Besides Taylor’s unique blend of folk, country and pop, and emcee Curley’s lively and engaging personality, the evening will include a live and silent auction with getaways to Provence, the Caribbean, Whistler, Sun Valley; signed Pink Floyd album cover art, signed records from Taylor’s celebrated parents, and possibly a guitar signed by James Taylor.

The evening will mark the first five years since Clear Path International began its work assisting landmine accident survivors. In that time, the organization has provided everything from prostheses to vocational skills training to more than 2,300 mine and bomb victims in Southeast Asia. It has also sent 50 containers with $3.5 million worth of medical equipment and supplies to hospitals in 20 mine-affected countries.

Looking ahead to the next five years, CPI foresees an ongoing, and in many cases increasing, need for medical and social services to help innocent victims of landmine explosions.

Proceeds from the benefit will be used to support Clear Path’s humanitarian work in Vietnam, Cambodia and along the Thai-Burma border. Individual tickets are $75. Couples and corporate packages are also available.

For registration, call 780-5964 or info@cpi.org

Concert for Katrina set

The Island Music Guild is inviting the public to enjoy a “Cafe Evening” and help victims of Hurricane Katrina. The benefit concert will begin at 7 p.m. Sept. 16 and feature 14 performers or bands who are giving their time and talents for a worthy cause.

All the donations collected will go to the American Red Cross. Refreshments will be provided. The guild is located at 10598 Valley Road in Rolling Bay. For information call 780-6911.