Indoor skate park
To the editor:
With so much time during the present pandemic, everybody has found enjoyment in something.
For many teens, skateboarding is our enjoyment. I’ve seen 5-year-olds shredding the bowl all the way to 50-year-olds. As locals to Washington weather understand, we have over 156 rainy days a year. Skateboarding while the skatepark at Strawberry Hill is filled with puddles that can lead to major falls is dangerous.
I have decided to start a fundraiser for an indoor skatepark. Our goal is to raise up to $12,000 to build a skatepark in a barn or similar structure. We haven’t found a location yet, but this winter I would love it if a person with an empty barn would volunteer to have a skatepark built.
If you want to donate to this fundraiser go to https://curtilil0007.wixsite.com/bi-indoor-skatepark, and add your name and contact information to the list. More information about the skatepark will be found on this page. We are not accepting donations now but will when we find a site. If you know of a site contact me at LilyACurtis@gmail.com.
Lily Curtis
Bainbridge Island
Vandalism continues
To the editor:
I am pastor at the Seabold United Methodist Church. You may have seen our large lighted sign on Highway 305. Recently, someone came to our campus to object to one of the church’s mission projects, a fully inclusive church where all God’s children are welcome. When individuals approached the church “to set them straight” they harassed one campus partner.
Vitalize Kitsap/Island Time Activities felt threatened by incidents of two different individuals coming into their workspace to harass them about a rainbow flag on our church sign. Please, citizens, we are all in this together and to bring verbal violence and intimidation to anyone and disturb property that is not yours is wrong. It would be wrong for anyone in our congregation to do the same harassment in someone else’s workplace.
Think before you act. Let’s continue to find the good in each other and grow the good in each other.
Rev. Cindy Roberts
Bainbridge Island
Housing needed
To the editor:
We are writing in response to the Oct. 9 article in the Bainbridge Island Review on Bainbridge Island Design Review Board.
First of all, we thank them for volunteering to serve on the board.
We are disappointed, however, by the tenor of the meeting and by many of the comments made by the committee members and the developer. As community advocates for affordable housing, we are hoping that members of the board remember that 25- to 35-low income families have placed their dreams on this rare opportunity to become homeowners. We hope that the design issues will be worked out, knowing that every change most likely will delay and add more cost.
We hope the design issues could be posted for public review, along with the estimated additional cost associated with each recommendation. Maybe the board could help organize a community effort to raise the additional funds.
Are there other proposals by developers interested in this project? We agree with resident Jon Quitslund who said: “This makes me very sad. I hope we don’t run aground.”
Not only will future low-income families be disappointed, but many island residents like us have promoted such housing because of the inherent diversity it promotes and the too rare opportunity for more low-income families to buy a home and live on our island.
Kimi Kinoshita and Gary Nakamura
Bainbridge Island
Use headlights
To the editor:
Headlights are like face masks. We do not use them just for our own needs, but also to protect others.
There are long stretches of semi-daylight when having our headlights on does not help us to see, but it does help others to see us. Fog and shadows play intermittently on the roads. Numerous studies show reduced accidents between vehicles, and between vehicles and wildlife, when headlights are required. Cyclists and pedestrians also need to be well-lit, even when they “can see just fine.”
Despite the discomforts involved, this community has embraced the safety advantages of wearing a face mask. Let’s keep our headlights on, too. It will not even fog our glasses, muffle our voices or challenge our lungs to work harder.
Denise Dumouchel
Bainbridge Island
Vote for Tarleton
To the editor:
Washington state was targeted by Russian hackers in the 2016 election, according to the New York Times. Then “Senator Mitch McConnell … moved … to block consideration of election security legislation put forward by Democrats.” With no help coming from the federal level, we need a Secretary of State in Washington to protect our votes.
The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law put out a report on each state’s voting systems security in 2018. Washington state gets a C. The voter registration system is estimated to be 10 years old. The post-election audits are unsatisfactory, as is the review process for loading of the memory cards into the tally server. Our Republican Secretary of State, Kim Wyman, had eight years and a cyber attack from the Russians to get this right. A C for a secretary of state is serious.
Wyman claims that she is nominally Republican – but her public fund consistently pays out to Republican races. And she has been the chairwoman of The Republican Secretaries of State Committee.
Wyman is running against Democrat Gael Tarleton. Tarleton is a former senior defense intelligence analyst for the Pentagon as a specialist in Soviet strategic issues. She has represented Legislative District 36 for eight years, been commissioner of the Port of Seattle, and is a member on multiple charitable boards. Vote for Tarleton if you want a progressive to protect our state elections.
Holly Brewer
Bainbridge Island
Support Kreiselmaier
To the editor:
We are supporting Elizabeth Kreiselmaier for Congress. Her opponent, Derek Kilmer, has voted yes three times on House versions of COVID-19 relief: The compromised original $2.2 trillion in March, the bloated $3.4 trillion in May and the $2.2 trillion in October.
Rep. Kilmer needs to be complimented on trying to help, but:
1. His idea of these relief packages is reckless government spending in a crisis – we’re already way overspending.
2. He has joined with the Democratic House leadership to “play politics” in a crisis. Specifically, the House has passed billions for programs that have little or nothing to do with getting help to the hurting. And insisting that a “deal” with the president and Senate will not take place unless these bloated House demands be met. This “holds hostage” the needy. Example, in October’s bill $100 billion extra for the Department of Education.
Now is the time to work together to help the needy. Vote Kreiselmaier for Congress.
Barb and Tom Hemphill
Pleasant Beach
Approve R-90
To the editor:
Walking around Winslow, I see signs pinned to bulletin boards with a clear message: “Consent is a basic human right.” Recently, Bainbridge High School students have been advocating for stronger systems of support for sexual assault survivors. Many high schoolers are unsatisfied with the way sexual assault, consent and sex education are handled on the island.
Though I graduated from BHS in 2014, I recognize these issues from my high school experience. While kids on Bainbridge receive more sex education than most in Washington, it is still inadequate; one portion of a semester-long health class in high school is not sufficient.
Students should not have to wait until high school to learn about consent, understand personal boundaries, or recognize healthy relationships. Those are all skills that can be taught and practiced by students outside of a sexual context in elementary school.
Nov. 3 we must vote to approve Referendum 90 for statewide sex education that is comprehensive, age-appropriate and inclusive for K-12 students. I am voting to approve R-90 so that young people of all ages have the tools to recognize healthy relationships and understand personal boundaries and consent for a healthier and safer island.
Zoe Mitchell
Bainbridge Island
