Tornado warning
The city of Bainbridge Island sent out an alert for a tornado warning Tuesday, but it didn’t materialize.
At schools, students were kept inside until the alert was over.
Kitsap County alert said watch for flying debris, and tree damage was likely. It said the potential tornado was located near Seabeck heading west at 30 miles per hour.
The Northwest Weather Service advised to aviod windows, take shelter in a basement or first floor of a building, and if outdoors stay in your car.
Some ferry sailings were canceled.
North Kitsap already had weather issues before that. Indianola Road NE was closed due to downed trees and wires.
Trail opens
The Sakai Connector Trail officially opened to the public with a ribbon-cutting Nov. 4.
Community members, Bainbridge Island city staff, some council members, BI Parks Foundation staff and board members, and BI Metro Park District staff and board members gathered for the event.
“As a community, we can come (together) to engage each other and work together. Even though this might be a small segment, it’s really transformative,” said Dawn Janow, BI park district commissioner. “We don’t always have to go for the biggest project. We can go step by step by step and make really big changes.”
The trailhead is located at the corner of the High School Road and Highway 305 intersection. The paved path runs parallel with the highway about 400 feet then turns west to Sakai Park. The segment transitions to a gravel path and wraps around a scenic pond to Madison Avenue and nearby schools.
The project was funded by the city, primarily by developers of the Wintergreen Walk on High School Road as a condition of that development.
City staff and the park district are in the early stages of researching the costs and options for the Sound to Olympics next segment. It will begin where the current pavement ends and head north to the Madison Avenue and Highway 305 intersection.
Culvert fix
The first culvert that fish encounter as they are swimming upstream on Springbrook Creek has a ladder to make it easier for them to get through the culvert and under Fletcher Bay Road.
This fish ladder is reaching the end of its life and requires some support while the city gets ready for a replacement structure.
Water Resources technician Christian Berg and volunteers recently spent a few hours moving sandbags and removing the old rubber liner from the weir to bring the water level up enough to allow salmon to jump into the system.
Since 2017, the city and volunteers have performed annual repairs to temporarily improve fish passability under Fletcher Bay Road during salmon migration season, as most of the prime spawning habitat is upstream of that structure. The work usually entails moving accumulated sediment from above the weirs into sandbags and then constructing a smaller weir below the lowest concrete weir in the fish ladder.
The city and Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group are working to restore the weir and culvert. The city budgeted capital funds for the design and MSFEG applied for a grant to complete design of the replacement structure. The design work is expected to begin in early 2022 and should last up to two years.
Salmon monitors report that adult salmon were seen above the culvert following last week’s temporary improvements — a positive sign fish are still using Springbrook Creek to spawn.
Child vaccines
A COVID-19 vaccination clinic for children ages 5-11 will take place Nov. 13 at Commodore Options school on Bainbridge Island.
The clinic is only for children those ages as they receive a lower dose of the Pfizer shot.
On Nov. 14, a booster clinic will take place at the same site. Pfizer appointments are in the morning and Moderna in the afternoon.
Go to covidbi.timetap.com/#1 to make an appointment.
Art exhibition
Port Madison Lutheran Church will have a local artists’ exhibition Dec. 4 from 6-8 p.m.
It will feature paintings, pottery and some textile art created by church members and their friends. Light refreshments will be available.
Fulbright teacher
Susan Constan of Woodward Middle School in Bainbridge Island has been selected for the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Research Program to Singapore, a program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Constan is one of about 22 U.S. citizens who will travel to nine countries in 2021-22 on the Fulbright DA Program. Recipients are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as record of service and demonstrated leadership potential. The Fulbright Program was created to increase mutual understanding and build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.
Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many areas and include 60 Nobel Prize laureates, 75 MacArthur Foundation Fellows, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government. Eighty-six Fulbright alumni have won in total 91 Pulitzer Prizes.
Trail input
The city of Bainbridge Island will hold a virtual public meeting Nov. 15 from 5-6 p.m. on Zoom to get community input on a proposal to construct trails within the area known as Lost Valley (roughly northwest of the head of Eagle Harbor.)
The Lost Valley is a large wooded area that contains much of Cooper Creek. The city is partnering with the Park District and the BI Parks Foundation to plan nonmotorized connections from Fletcher Bay Road to Carmella Lane and Eagle Harbor Road.
The connection has appeared in transportation plans for years, including the Islandwide Transportation Plan, and would connect several neighborhoods surrounding Lost Valley.
New health care
Darlene Madenwald, a registered nurse and certified gerontological complex case manager with over four decades of work and teaching experience, is opening Orion Associates on Bainbridge Island.
It offers health care expertise, a network of resources and a comprehensive understanding of the challenges sufferers of chronic illness face. She said she offers a full suite of services to help those suffering from chronic illness get their lives back.
“Through Orion Associates, I want to help individuals regain confidence in their care and remove the fear and loneliness that often accompanies chronic illness treatment and management,” she said.
Most recently, Mandenwald left a career in complex case management at Kaiser Permanente. While the majority of businesses offering care management are run by social workers, Mandenwald believes her nursing background deepens her understanding of health issues and care complexities.
Orion Associates acts as a patient advocate and assists with medication planning and management, coordinating doctor’s appointments, providing education on medical diagnoses, and helping clients interpret and analyze bills and records.
Benefit concert
Five bands will be performing a benefit show to support Helpline House at American Legion Hall on Bainbridge Island Nov. 20 from 5-11:30 p.m.
Valid COVID-19 vaccination card or negative test results within 72 hours of event are needed for entrance.
Gobblefest has been supporting food banks in Puget Sound for over 10 years, raising money during the holiday season to help those in need during an important time of the year.
To learn more about Gobblefest go to www.gobble fest.org
Merchant Marine
Samuel Hough of Bainbridge Island was recently sworn in as a Midshipman at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and as a member of the U.S. Naval Reserve.
Hough was nominated by Congressman Derek Kilmer to attend USMMA, located in Kings Point, N.Y. and one of the nation’s five federal service academies, which also include the Army Academy at West Point, the Naval Academy at Annapolis, the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.
All USMMA graduates earn both a bachelor of science degree and a Merchant Marine Officer license, and incur an obligation to serve the country as an active or reserve officer in the U.S. armed forces.
The U.S. Flag Merchant Marine — manned by U.S. merchant mariners — is essential for securing the country’s commerce in peacetime and delivering warfighters, weapons and military supplies in times of conflict.
As part of his four-year education, Hough will spend one year training as a cadet aboard ocean-going vessels.
Police log
Motor vehicle traffic accident, Nov. 2, Madison Ave. at Wyatt Way.
Motor vehicle traffic accident, Nov. 3, Madison Ave. at Highway 305
Motor vehicle traffic accident, Nov. 5, Winslow Way
Missing person, Nov. 5, 1530 Swann
Theft, Nov. 5, NE Beach Crest Drive.
Reckless driving, Nov. 5, Lynwood Center Road.
Motor vehicle traffic accident, Nov. 5, Taylor Ave. at Wiggins Road.
Assault vehicle prowling, Nov. 6, Capstan Drive NE at High School Road
Theft, Nov. 2, NE Olson Farm Lane.
