Around the island

Speaker takes on peak oil

While the energy-hungry economies continue to grow, global oil production may be reaching its peak.

Speaker Sally Odland will discuss the implications and possible solutions to the peak oil quandry, 7 p.m., Sept. 25 at Hyla Middle School. The event is sponsored by Sustainable Bainbridge.

Odland administers a division of research geophysicists at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University and is a board member of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas.

She holds advanced degrees in geology and business administration. Her MBA dissertation, “Strategic Choices for Managing the Transition from Peak Oil to a Reduced Petroleum Economy” can be viewed at www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~odland/.

For more information on the talk see www.sustainablebainbridge.net.

Bainbridge Rotary Club is taking applications for a summer student exchange program.

The program matches island high school students with a student from one of ten countries. The students spend a month together on Bainbridge and a month abroad in the host country.

In its 2008 program, Zak Gosney traveled to Germany, Austen Hawk was linked with a student in Austria, and Craig Houston spent time with a family in both the Netherlands and Morocco.

An informational meeting will be held 3 p.m., Sept. 23 in Room 173 at Bainbridge High School. Applications for the program are accepted through the end of September. For more information call Karyn Carpenter at 780-2214.

BISD finalizes bus schedules

Bainbridge Island School District released final bus routes and schedules this week, on the heels of a chaotic start for its transportation services.

Last week, a wave of new riders overflowed middle school and high school buses, causing crowding and late arrivals at school. Administrators believe price hikes for high school parking permits were partially responsible for the added riders.

That issue, coupled with confusion over the school district’s new consolidated bus stops and routes, kept the district’s phones ringing with complaints from frustrated parents.

In response, the district added a temporary route to scoop up overflow from stops around the island, and this week released a revised bus schedule, available on the district’s website.

Consolidated bus routes were implemented this year to help shore up the gap between state funding for transportation and the actual cost of providing the service – not including fuel, a shortfall of $535,000, according to the district. Bus route consolidation was expected to save the district $75,000.

The price of a high school parking permit was bumped from $75 to $240 to cover maintenance and security costs associated with the lot. Free parking was made available at the First Baptist Church up the street.

While the resulting influx of riders sent the district scrambling, it was also a spot of good news. State funding is based, in part, on rider counts conducted each fall. The ridership count will take place Sept. 22-Sept. 26.

Weigh in on health care

The country’s health care system is broken and the Adult Programs Committee of Cedars Unitarian Universalist Church wants your opinion on how it can be fixed.

The committee delved into health care in a series of discussions last summer. The result of their work was a 143-page Study Circle Guide to help other citizens explore the complex issue.

This fall the committee is is sponsoring a series of discussions on healthcare. Participants can choose between a Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday evening study circles.

The Tuesday group meets Sept. 23 – Oct. 28; Thursday groups meets Sept. 25 – Oct. 30; Sunday group meets Sept. 28 – Nov. 2. Each two-hour circle will convene at 7 p.m. at the Sterling Building.

Reults of the project can be viewed at http://everyoneshealthcounts.blogspot.com/.