“What does a little encouragement cost?For Bainbridge Music and Arts, about $300,000.Over the past 32 years, that’s what the all-volunteer nonprofit organization has paid out in scholarships and awards, enabling more than 2,000 middle and high school students to pursue training in dance, drama, music, creative writing, and mixed-media art (painting, sculpture, jewelry, photography, paper making).And how the program has grown!Because of the generosity of donors and other arts organizations, says BMA president Caryl Grosch, we’ve been able to increase the amount we give to the kids.”
“Lots of 40-year-old moms kick up their heels. But not all of them aim their heels at your head.Step onto a taekwondo mat with Sue Unger, though, and that’s just what you’ll see. Unger, an administrative secretary for the city building department, demonstrated her prowess in the Korean martial art by taking home two gold medals at the recent Washington state championship in Seattle.She competed in both the sparring and the form portions of the state tournament, and won top honors in both.The sparring is full-contact with chest protectors, mouthpieces and pads, Unger said, and each fight has two one-minute rounds, which doesn’t sound like much until you try it. In my first fight, the timers made a mistake and let the first round go two minutes, she said. I thought I was going to die.Taekwondo, which originated in Korea, has some similarities to Japanese karate, with a different emphasis. Karate is mostly arms, Unger said. Taekwondo is mostly legs.Competitors in the sparring competitions score points for landing kicks to designated portions of their opponents’ anatomy. The chest and sides are designated target areas, while the back is out of bounds.”
“Allow a Papa Murphy’s pizza franchise on Bainbridge Island, or risk seeing the city’s fast-food ordinance overturned in court.That’s the challenge from restaurateur Mike Cooper of Sequim, and his attorney. Do the city a favor and interpret the ordinance in a way that permits our operation, attorney Peter Eglick told a city hearing examiner Monday, because I don’t think this ordinance will last a day in court.Cooper said his plan to open a Papa Murphy’s U-bake pizza outlet in the Village shopping center was approved in December of 1999. But after a complaint from another local pizzeria, a sizeable investment by Cooper, and an executive session of the city council, city Planning Director Stephanie Warren reversed her decision, a sequence of events that has prompted charges of favoritism and closed-door dealings.”
“They stood beneath hand-lettered signs and – it being November – umbrellas. They protested the cutting of trees, and perhaps the irony that in a country founded on individualism, the arrival of generic hamburgers could be seen as progress.Their image graced the front page of the Review on Nov. 22, 1989, some two dozen islanders taking a stand against the groundbreaking of the McDonald’s eatery on High School Road. The restaurant did in fact go up, and seems to enjoy loyal patronage to this day. Now we wonder – do the local zoning restrictions on formula fast-food restaurants that McDonald’s inspired still have a following of their own?”
“On a sunny afternoon, Rebecca Slattery’s farm seems as inexorable as spring itself.But these days, the mysterious force of nature pushing the first intrepid crops to the sky withers in the face of an element perhaps even more arcane: the market.As Bainbridge farmers search for ways to sell their crops for enough money to meet the rising costs of staying on the island, they are learning to nurture not only chard, kale and cauliflower, but also potential clients.We definitely need (to do that) on Bainbridge, Slattery said, because we’re such an endangered species – farmers here.”
“With a perfect 5-0 record at spring break, the Bainbridge girls’ lacrosse team is on track to make another appearance in the state championship game.And to bring home the trophy.Last Thursday, the team won 8-4 at Lakeside, the school that beat the Spartans in the state championship game two years ago. It was a great game by the girls, coach Tami Tommila said. We had played a tough game on Tuesday (against defending state champion Overlake), and were short-handed again, being down four starters with vacations and injuries.Leading scorer against Lakeside was Lindsay Newlon, who scored three goals despite being injured. Rebecca Williamson scored twice, while Erika Holsman, Ashley Pedersen and Adrianne Moon each added a goal.”
“On a gloriously sunny afternoon that finally looked like spring, the Bainbridge track and field team came out of its burrow Thursday to best Sequim and Klahowya in the year’s only home meet.The Bainbridge girls tallied 89 points to Sequim’s second-place 52 and Klahowya’s 50. The Spartan boys totaled 76, with Klahowya scored 56 and Sequim 49. Junior sprinter Luke Preble led the way for the Spartan boys with a sweep of the sprints. Preble won the 100, 200 and 400 meter dash events, and anchored the Spartans’ winning 4×400 meter relay team.”
“The future of rock n’ roll starts with the tried-and-true essentials.We came out here with a guitar and an amplifier, a couple of sleeping bags, a dog, and a color T.V. that didn’t work very well, says Ric Autumn, the oldest member of the Bainbridge-based rock band the Future.The band was formed several years ago by brothers Erik and Mike Future, and after practicing for months at Seabold Hall, is recording its first full length album in Canada this weekend.”
“New fashions and downtown improvements are bringing down the curtain on Bainbridge Cleaners. After 46 years in business, the island’s first dry-cleaning outfit will close at the end of the week.Changing times and changing fashions, owner Mike Okano said. I never thought it would come to this. I mean, people gotta wear clothes, right? But they don’t have to wear dry-cleanable clothes.”
“Point of order, please!That was the request from the gallery, when our old friend Lois Andrus called us earlier this week. After last Wednesday’s split city council vote on the Woodland Village subdivision – in which Mayor Dwight Sutton declined to cast a deciding vote to break a 3-3 tie – Andrus insists that lacking majority support, the issue is settled in the negative.Once you have a vote, and you announce the results of the vote, it’s over – period, Andrus told us. I even went out and bought ‘Robert’s Rules of Order’ to find out.”
“It was the best of times and the worst of times for the Bainbridge varsity lacrosse team. An overwhelming first half more than made up for an underwhelming second, as the Spartans hung on the beat Mercer Island 14-10.The Spartans were masterful in the first half, taking an 8-1 lead. But the visiting Islanders roared back with nine second-half goals to turn what had been a laugher into a nail-biter.We have some very strong players on this team, coach Dave Low said, but we’re maybe not as deep yet as we would like to be. The second half, we were a little tired – maybe more mentally than physically.The Spartans raced out of the blocks with the all-around form that has made them six-time state champions. After blunting Mercer Island’s initial attacks, Bainbridge scored when Jesse Savage took a long clearing pass from the defense and fed Jeff Pratt for a fast-break goal. After Adam Smith logged an unassisted goal, senior co-captain Peter Vander Hoek took over. He scored a flashy over-the-shoulder goal off an assist from Jesse Fairbank, then scored off a Kelten Johnson assist as the first quarter ended with the hosts ahead 4-0.The second quarter was more of the same. Johnson, a senior, quarterbacked the offense, and logged assists on all four Bainbridge goals – two by Fairbank, a junior, one by Vander Hoek and one by Pratt, a senior.”
“Some suggestions for prudent, lawsuit-free land use decision-making: * City councils should be loathe to fiddle with the recommendations of the planning staff, presumed to be skilled professionals. No reconfiguring projects, adding or subtracting lots or what have you, when subdivisions come up for approval;* The best way to keep politics out of controversial, project-specific decisions is to leave them to a hearing examiner; * A council should not try to make broad policy changes through its decisions on specific projects.”
“Power. Drama. Excitement.And numbers.The power of more than 200 people on stage is very exciting, enthuses Bainbridge Chorale music director Anthony Spain. Chorale member Pat Putman is more succinct: It’s a real audience pleaser. Spain and Putman are expounding on the delights of tomorrow’s performance of Carmina Burana at the high school gym.It’s very exciting to be singing with the full orchestra, says Chorale member Barbara Saur. It’s a very exciting piece of music to sing. You give it all you’ve got for a full hour, and then you’re hoarse.”