Friday, July 27, 2012
www.bremertonpatriot.com | www.centralkitsapreporter.com
Garden project promotes unity in the community By Patrick McDonough pmcdonough@soundpublishing.com
A groundbreaking will be held Aug. 4 for the Silverdale Community Garden Project and organizers are hoping the effort will benefit the community in multiple ways. The project has been an ongoing effort for local community groups, including the Central Kitsap High School Environmental Club and the Clear Creek Trail Taskforce. Michael Davis, project manager for the community garden, said the effort began during the 2011-2012 school year and will consist of 25 raised garden plots in which participating gardeners will be able to grow produce they can use or donate to local food banks. A compost bin will be available on site to add to the organic nature of the project, Davis said. Davis said the benefits to the community will be multifold with the project designed
Patrick McDonough/Staff Photo
Michael Davis and Marilyn Prosser stand beside equipment being used to create a path to the new community garden they helped to create in Silverdale. The pair, who graduated from Central Kitsap High School last year, said they look forward to seeing the project completed and hope it serves the community well. to instill a greater sense of community service and pride in the area, assist in educational efforts by the environmental club and others on sustainability practices and simply help community members meet their food needs. “Our then president Marilyn Prosser and I, along
with a group of fellow club members and volunteers, have been working since the start of the school year to make these goals possible,” Davis said. Davis said the project is indebted to the efforts of multiple organizations and businesses in the area including
Lowes Home Improvement in Silverdale, which Davis said donated the majority of the materials for the project. Nancy Kellogg, Human Resources Director for the Silverdale Lowes, said she was approached by Davis about the project and said the idea was one the business felt they could support. “We were looking for a project for our Lowes’ Heroes Program,” she said. “And we chose this one because it aligned with what we do through the program.” Kellogg said Lowes would supply volunteers and materials for the project in ongoing efforts to serve the community. “We do this because we get so much from the community and we feel it is important to give something back,” she said. Tex Lewis, spokesman for the Clear Creek Trail Task Force, said the project fit in with task force objectives. He See GARDEN, A10
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Bremerton man hurt in house fire By KEVAN MOORE
kmoore@soundpublishing.com
An early morning Bremerton house fire sent the lone male resident to the hospital with smoke inhalation and burns to his legs on Sunday. “It appears that he left food on the stove and forget about it, went back to sleep and awoke to a house full of flames,” said Bremerton Fire Chief Al Duke. Duke said that the man was transported to nearby Harrison Hospital where he was treated for burns and smoke inhalation and later released. Firefighters were called to 806 Cherry Court by a person leaving nearby Harrison Hospital who reported that the small home was completely engulfed in flames. The roughly 1,500-squarefoot residence sits nearby to the Alfatooni medical clinic and was being rented by a family member.
Duke said that when firefighters first arrived, they took a defensive posture due to the nature of the flames and because a power line leading from the home had caught fire and presented a unique hazard. As more units arrived, firefighters took an offensive approach to the blaze. “It’s not a very big house, so it got knocked down pretty quick,” Duke said. The home’s kitchen and family room were a complete loss, but Duke said an estimate for the costs of damages is not available. The entire home will likely have to be torn down, he added. The Bremerton Fire Department sent all three of its engines to the fire and its three medic units. Central Kitsap Fire and Rescue also sent an engine. In all, some 18 firefighters and EMTs responded to the blaze.
Support for family CaregiverS Kitsap County Aging & Long Term Care Services, Caregiver Support Center 360-337-5700 or 1-800-562-6418 Are you cAring for or helping A loved one?
Kitsap Businesses Invited to Partner In an unpaid supporter “WasteAsFree Holidays”
of family or friends:
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• Information & Education from Nov. 16 - Dec. •31Caregiver Respite Options • Caregiver Lending Library • Counseling • Personal Caregiver Assessment • Specialized Services Visit www.wastefreeholidays.com to register • your business. • Support Group Information Training & Conferences or contact Colleen Minion - Pierce 360 337-4568
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9729 Silverdale Way NW, Silverdale • Mon-Fri 11AM - 2PM or by Appointment
Years in Business: Kitsap County Aging & Long Term Care (KCALTC) has been in business for over 30 years and the Caregiver Support Center, a service of KCALTC, opened the Silverdale office in 2003. Caregiver Support Center services are for unpaid caregivers who are friends, neighbors, partners, and family who are helping with the care of an adult. Many services such as information, referral, and consultation are unbiased and available for free. The respite program, one of the services of the Caregiver Support Center, offers a break for caregivers. Eligibility is based on the needs of caregivers and the costs for services are determined on a sliding fee scale. We most often hear from families that they wished they would have known about the program sooner. Below are some thoughts about our caregiver support program shared by a local family caregiver who takes care of his wife: The Caregiver support Program has helped immensely in a number of ways: 1. It provided training of how to be a caregiver. 2. It provided training of the necessity of taking care of yourself in order to be a caregiver. 3. It provided association with other caregivers who shared information and provided social interaction.
4. It held seminars and conferences in which information was obtained from speakers, from staff and provided association with others to share information. 5. By helping to be a better caregiver it made me feel better about my task and thus gave me more confidence to be a better caregiver and a better, more responsible person. 6. I met a lot of interesting staff, speakers and other caregivers that improved my own personal support group.
educational workshops. This is what family caregivers have to say about our caregiver support conferences and workshops: “All the speakers were excellent. These conferences are always so good. Nice balance of topics & speakers”. “I really enjoyed how the speaker gave me different perspectives for understanding my caregiver role better (& understanding myself better)”.
7. Being a caregiver and being helped with support made me feel better about myself.
“Realizing that I was a caregiver & that I can get assistance” [and] “interaction with other attendees experiencing similar situations”.
8. The support also taught me empathy and consideration for others.
Another voiced appreciation for “The message repeatedly that I am not alone.”
9. It helped me understand that you are not in this alone and it is wonderful to know that others share your situation and problems and are willing to help.
What we enjoy most about our work in the community is hearing caregivers say that we’ve made a difference in helping them navigate difficult choices and systems and identifying they are not alone in their situation. The Caregiver Support program offers a free personal caregiver assessment and consultation. By helping to identify and offer resources to address issues contributing to caregiver stress, the program supports caregivers and those they are caring for to remain at home and as independent as possible. For more information or a free consultation, call 360-337-5700 or go to www.AgingKitsap.com or email tweintra@ co.kitsap.wa.us
10. It also helped to learn more about [others] various needs and problems and thus made me a more knowledgeable and better caregiver. To sum it all up, the program is very significant and important for the community and one we are blessed to have available to us. Whenever I encounter anyone that needs help and is looking for help I tell them to call. One of our program goals is to provide information, resources and education for caregivers through local conferences and