OPINION Central Kitsap
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Question of the week
This week’s question: Do you favor the use of Daylight Saving Time in Washington? Vote and see results online at www.bremertonpatriot.com or www.centralkitsapreporter.com
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Friday, March 7, 2014 | Central Kitsap Reporter
Living with the news As the old saying goes, “No news is good news.” That is, of course, unless you’re in the news business. And for those of us who are in the news business, last week was some week. In addition to the scheduled things, such as school board and city council meetings, there was a whole lot of breaking news. Within just a few days, a man on a skateboard was hit by a car, there was a fatal house fire, a woman was stabbed, although later we learned it was self-inflicted; the body of a middle-aged woman was found in a drainage ditch, and a local Navy pilot was hit and killed while riding his motorcycle. Years ago, when breaking news happened, a reporter went to the scene and came back and wrote something for the next day’s paper. Today, a reporter goes to the scene, gets the basics and a photo, posts it to the paper’s website and to social media, usually Facebook. News is immediate and as the story progresses, updates are posted. The most complete story possible by deadline goes in the paper. But in many ways, the story never ends. There’s always a follow up to be written and sometimes, reason to publish results of official investigations into these incidents. With the events of last week, our readers were able to stay up to date through our posts to our websites and to our Facebook page. The information was there for our readers to know without having to pay for a subscription. And as each of these stories developed, and new details emerged, that information was shared with everyone, helping to create a better picture of what was going on in each of these situations. And speaking of pictures, we originally posted a photograph taken at the scene of the fatal motorcycle accident. The reporter who was on the scene and took the photograph later learned that she had just recently interviewed the wife of the victim for a story about the couple’s work with a program called Dogs on Deployment which was published in our March issue of Veterans Life. When friends of the family called concerned about the photograph, we assured them that the victim was not in the photograph, only his motorcycle helmet. But when they asked, we took the photograph off our website so that there would be no misunderstanding. For reporters, breaking news means balancing the need to do a job and get information with the ability to understand and react to the urgency and emotions of the situation. In these events, we strive to be an observer, ask questions in a sensitive manner and be respectful of the victims and their families. Many times family and friends of the victims want to share their memories with us, although we understand when they don’t. Our commitment to you, our readers, is to provide you with the most news possible in the most complete way we can, be it in print or on our website, or via social media.
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Accelerating accessible play projects If you are not familiar with the Beyond Accessible Play project,you should be. This is a group of community members that joined together three years ago in an effort to bring accessible play to the Bremerton and Kitsap region. What is accessible play you ask? What an accessible playground provides is the access opportunity where all portions of the space and the equipment within it are able to be entered into or reached by those with physical disabilities. This includes both children and adults who have and use wheelchairs, walkers or other equipment/devices for mobility. A second component to accessible play is inclusive play. Inclusive play speaks to and provides for the emotional, psychological and social aspects of play. It is a philosophy that children and adults of ALL abilities need to have the ability and opportunity to play together in an equally accessible environment. What this group of committed Bremerton and Kitsap community members has been able to accomplish in three years is nothing short of astounding. They have taken on a typically bureaucratic environment that in itself is not exactly friendly or accessible to the average person with a capital project idea and not only conquered it, but have educated
Everything Bremerton
Colleen Smidt themselves and others on how to build upon and improve it. They have blazed the trail and laid the very foundation that other communities will use to organize, obtain and fund raise for their own accessible playgrounds. Three years is a long time when you are a child and these children have waited long enough for an opportunity that does not currently exist for them. Construction on the playground and surrounding parking lot improvements will begin this spring and will continue on through Evergreen Rotary Park’s busiest months of use. I am asking users of the park to be patient and understanding while the construction is going on.
This spring and summer would be a great time for the typical park users to try out and explore several of the other parks that Bremerton has to offer. A complete list of Bremerton City Parks and the amenities or features they have to offer is available through the city website: www.webapp1.ci.bremerton. wa.us/Parks/#map. Most of the work that will be accomplished on the playground portion of the project will be conducted by volunteers and regional service groups who have not only contributed their labor to this project but also their donated dollars. Feel free to come on out and give some of your time towards the completion of this worthwhile and special project. The saying that many hands make lighter work is still true to this day. Many hands and lighter work also make for many a smile on a child’s face the first time they are introduced to a playground that lets them simply be just another kid at play. Congratulations Beyond Accessible Bremerton. You have accomplished so much and your community is both proud and ready to assist. Colleen Smidt is a longtime resident of Bremerton and writes weekly about matters of community and political importance to residents in Bremerton.
Your opinion counts... We encourage letters from the community. Please do not exceed 300 words and we ask that you include your full name and phone number for verification. Letters may be edited for publication. Fax: (360) 3089363; email: gskinner@soundpublishing.com or mail to Editor, Central Kitsap Reporter, 3888 NW Randall Way, Suite 100, Silverdale WA, 98383.