Bus clobbered, students OK

No students were injured when a school bus taking middle school basketball players to an off-island game was rear-ended by a dump truck near Port Angeles Thursday.

The Woodward Middle School seventh- and eighth-grade girls basketball teams were en route to a game in Forks when the collision occurred, school district officials said.

The 24 girls, two coaches and bus driver were transported to a nearby middle school by a Port Angeles school bus and the game was cancelled. A Bainbridge bus was dispatched to bring them back to the island.

The bus that was struck sustained damage, including “many parts bent and out of alignment,” and remains in a transportation yard in Port Angeles.

A third vehicle, into which the school bus was pushed by the impact, was not damaged.

The accident is being investigated by the State Patrol, but the school bus driver was not believed to be at fault school officials said.

Account set up for siblings

An account has been set up for two island youths whose parents died in an automobile crash near Cle Elum last weekend.

The Kirsten and Kyle Hartz Educational Fund at American Marine Bank will benefit the children of Ken Hartz and Kathy Bergum, architects and longtime school volunteers who perished in a head-on collision Feb. 18.

Both of the Hartz children remain hospitalized. Updates on their condition and suggestions for helping out can be found online at www.portbainbridge.com. The site also features photos, memories of the family and get well wishes from friends.

Cards and stories sent in are read to the children, who remain at Harborview. The community is asked to email photos and stories to kk@portbainbridge.com.

Information on the benevolent fund is available by calling Peter Brachvogel at 842-5413.

Hearing on ferry fare hike

Washington State Ferries is seeking public comment on its proposal to hike ferry fares which would take effect May 1.

A public hearing will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. March 1 at the Bainbridge Commons on Brien Drive. The feedback collecting will culminate in a mid-March public hearing held by the State Transportation Commission in Seattle.

The proposed hikes include the following:

• Passenger and car fares will increase by 6 percent, rounded off to the nearest nickel. Thus full fare walk-on passengers would pay $6.50 (up from $6.10), seniors $3.25 (up from $3) and youths ages 6-18 $5.20 (up from $4.90). The car and driver fare would increase from $10.60 to $11.25.

• Motorcycle fares would increase 11 percent to 16 percent depending on the ferry route. For the Bainbridge route, motorcycle fares would go up 14 percent from $4.60 to $5.25.

• Monthly passes would change from unlimited trips during a month to only 31 trips.

• Multi-ride coupons will be replaced by electronic multi-ride cards. Six months after that switchover, purchasing multi-ride cards at a tollbooth – as opposed to a kiosk or online – will incur a surcharge, $2.50 for Bainbridge routes. The earliest date expected is Oct. 9.

The public may also submit comments by emailing tariff@wsdot.wa.gov or phoning (888) 808-7977.

School names finance panels

The Bainbridge Island School District this week named two citizen advisory groups for public financial oversight.

Named to the new Finance Advisory Committee for Tomorrow’s Schools were David Bowman, an investment advisor; John Brown, a software marketer and manager; Dick Daniel, a retired manager with Mellon Bank; Eric Edenholm, financial controller for Restaurants Unlimited; Jeff Vincent, president and CEO of Laird Norton investment firm; and Rick Walsh, a public sector CEO.

The group will address long-range school funding strategies and serve as advisors during budgeting.

Named to the new Capital Project Advisory Committee were Chad Campbell, president of Tully West, a commercial real estate appraisal business; Elaine Duchaine, former associate director of the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board; Thomas Hemphill, business owner; Sean Parker, a Winslow architect; Daniel Smith, a retired CPA; Linda Smith Walsh, a former transit capital projects manager; and Chris Van Dyk, a financial manager.

The committees provide financial analysis as the district, anticipating passage of a $45 million school bond in March, carries out building construction and improvement projects.

“We really want people who are willing to ask hard questions – that’s why the committees are there,” school board member Bruce Weiland said. “I think this list of people demonstrates that. We want the district’s finances to be absolutely transparent.”

The announcements came as the district earned a letter of praise from the Washington State Auditor’s Office for a sixth-straight year without any problems in its financial review.

“It was almost like we orchestrated it,” Weiland said of the coincidental announcements. “It was a wonderful surprise.

“We want the public to know what the auditor already knows: that our finances are under control.”

– Douglas Crist

Eating Awareness Week Slated

Students at Bainbridge High School and Woodward Middle School may obtain information about eating disorders during their lunch breaks this week.

In support of National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, Feb. 27 to March 5, volunteers will hand out pamphlets and experts will answer any questions in a low-key, no-pressure setting.

Posters with the title of this year’s theme, “Be Comfortable in Your Genes,” are in the schools to remind students to look for the information tables in their respective cafeterias. The tables will stay set up through both lunch periods at each school.

Janie Burke, an eating disorder specialist, and Dr. Jillian Worth, a Virginia Mason family physician, will be at BHS on Feb. 28.

Burke and a parent volunteer will be at Woodward on March 2. And Burke will be back at BHS with student volunteers on March 3.

“We’re not doing any talks,” said Burke, adding the volunteers are there for students to bring up questions, for themselves or for helping a sibling or friend.

– Rhona Schwartz