Patriot Bremerton
A new building and a bright future nourishing neighbo rs
CK Food Bank opens the
BY LESLIE KELLY
LKELLY@SOUNDPUBLISH
ING.COM
A new home for Central Kitsap Food the is open and serving Bank in need. A formal those ribboncutting took place last week. But anyone who’s part of the Central been a Food Bank in the Kitsap past 25 years knows its humble beginnings.
doors of its new location
ments which only time and confusion added process of feeding to the hungry people in Central Kitsap. In the school district building, on-site food age, the shelves and storerated cabinets that refrigclients shop from, the administrative offices, and the The “food pantry” intake area were all clientin one as it was called room. back 1987 when it began, in “We needed a bigger located in the basementwas vice area,” Burrows serof said. the Silverdale Methodist “We were in such cramped Church on Silverdale spaces.” It was the work of Way. Year by year the volunteers and otherschurch ation got worse. situthe community that from need became greater The and rising need for food,saw a Burrows, staff and the the Reaganomics teers did their best volunera when to keep social programs up with the pace were cut from from the government’s old building. Burrows the said budget. The Central every time they’d go Food Bank becameKitsap ing for a new home, lookthe someactual name and it thing would became happen and it a nonprofit organization didn’t work out. in 1988. His wife, Sandra But as the need Burrows, said Hoyt grew, President of the never so did the need Central Kitsap Food gave up. for more building last space. week with Sen. Christine Bank Board of Directors Bob Butterton Contributed photo “There would be cuts the ribbon on Rolfes. Executive Director times So, as the current the new when Hoyt Burrows and Burrows became local dignitaries helped.CK Food Bank I’d tell he’d be down and executive director execu- donors out him it’s gonna Hoyt tive director there know that Burrows recalls, of the food we out,” she said. “And work Hoyt said that the the needed their help. then pri- bank, all bank moved in 1994 food bank in September 2006 ” there’ mary purpose of to its and his number the food to serve along, has been and d be times when me former location one goal everyone the needs behind has been to Central Kitsap find community. CK of the down and he’d else was High bank a location the food be the one Food School. Burrows Bank that telling has been a part had us that it was going said school district offered the room for everything under Kitsap County Food of the to work out.” Bank warehouse location the one roof and that could Coalition since it She said her husband began in at a accommodat minimal cost. e 1994. future All eight food banks “never, never, gave up. For March 2014, the ” “We were here because growth. in the county participate CK Food Bank served “Since the day he 614 households, or “We always took of the generosity and help each other this job, he knew 1,936 individuals. of the have our own wanted to he’ feed d find About school district,” building,” those in need throughout a place,” Mrs. 54,871 pounds of he he said. said. “We Burrows food was given have known all “We didn’t have money the county. out. said. “He’s not the to along that at some preachbuild a building Through the coalition, ing type, but he point Forty-five volunteers and we the school has a deep didn’t really have CK Food Bank worked 831 hours. money to want this district would partners faith.” Also in March, 69,000 land back for the lease anything at with Food Lifeline It was last year the going junior high pounds of food was donated, including rate.” campus.” Northwest Harvest and CK Food Bank when the was award20,000 from Central Burrows and those Since 1994, up Seattle, and in turn in ed the C. Keith Kitsap High School on Birkenfeld gets which held its “holiday” last week, the CK until the board of directors food items and food drive to support products grant that everyone knew Bank served folks Food throughout the years went the food bank at a to give to clients. of year when donations from to work to let time the While they were set to purchase a the school district-owned the commufood can be purchased building. nity know of the In all, there are five were down. building, first in bulk quantities services Once the building feeding offered by part time paid staff at was about 10 to 15 families the food bank at the food bank prices, the CK Food better purchased, it had including Bank a and to of be its need for a buildthe director, day, to now when pays for food from remodeled, Burrows office manager/bo the need ing. those said. okkeeper, a food the organizations. is conservatively It was previously listed at supervisor, a warehouse bank a home, “We knew that 35 families a day. Burrows said as the onto which a warehouse there manager who also a driver and a food is about 1,600 square It was was more need out there has grown, the schoolneed was added. commodities driver. feet of than people It space. lining The busiest day thus trict building became dis- ously was owned previour door,” he said. up at and more cramped. more Star Installation by Trihistory was when 57 far in the food bank’s we knew we needed “And families were served. times, food would Many housed a granite and had to let have to counterbe stored off-site in units or in church rental SEE BANK, PAGE 3 base-
By the numbers:
FRIDAY, APRIL 26, 2014 | Vol. 17, No. 11 WWW.BREMERTONPATRIOT.COM | 50¢
A NEW HOME The CK Food Bank has a larger location See special section inside
Sara Burke murder case still open after three years BY KEVAN MOORE KMOORE@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
Sara Burke is gone, but not forgotten. Burke’s grave at the Ivy Green Cemetery is surrounded by flowers, a few porcelain angels and other ornaments. Tom Cressman, a city parks employee who oversees the cemetery, said it’s always been that way. “There’s always stuff around it because people keep coming to decorate it and remember her,” Cressman said. “We’ve got to remember her and the tragedy of what happened to her. I still remember talking to her parents and the sadness in their eyes and the pain of talking about it. It’s just so sad.” Burke, a 19-year-old Bremerton woman, was stabbed in the neck on May 3, 2011. Neighbors reported hearing an argument and screams around 9:30 p.m. that night. The police later discovered Burke’s body on the sidewalk of Warren Avenue near Eighth Street. The murder case remains open and active nearly three years later,
Kevan Moore/staff photo
Nineteen-year-old murder victim Sara Burke’s grave at Ivy Green Cemetery is often adorned with new flowers and other ornaments. The three-year anniversary of her killing will be May 11 and no arrests have yet been made in the case. but no arrests have been made. The lead detective is not giving up and Burke’s father seems frustrated,
but also believes an arrest will eventually be made. “I’m kind of at a loss, really, about the investigation,” Chester Burke
said. “I think we’re stuck in the same place we were when this first happened. They obviously are working on it, but they don’t
have any real concrete evidence that they can relate to me as to what the investigation leads to other than that they have
had a person of interest. I’m hopeful that they will eventually make an arrest. Obviously, they can’t release all of what they know, but I think they will make an arrest.” Mr. Burke’s biggest hope is that anyone who has information about what happened to his daughter will call the police. “Three years is a long time for somebody to walk free having done what they did,” he said. “I don’t wanna let it die until it’s resolved and I don’t think she would want me to. The main thing for me is keeping the story out there as much as possible until we come to a conclusion.” Sara had two sisters and two brothers. “They’re just like the rest of the family,” Mr. Burke said. “They want answers and they want some resolution to this. I think they’re moving on in their own way, as we all have to. More than anything, they’d like an answer as to how this happened and whose responSEE SARA BURKE, A9
Kitsap Rescue Mission purchases downtown building BY KEVAN MOORE KMOORE@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
With the Kitsap Rescue Mission’s purchase of a 17,000-square-foot building in downtown Bremerton, homeless men and women will finally have a place to go to get off the streets any time of the year, not just when temperatures dip below freezing. They will also have access to a residential recovery program and other services. The two-story building, at 810 Sixth Street, is a couple doors down from the Salvation Army which is set to begin a $3 million dollar overhaul of its facility. That work, and renovations to the rescue mission’s building should both be complete in 2015. The rescue mission currently operates out of church at Fifth Street and Warren Avenue and a nearby house. The rescue mission bought the build-
ing for $260,000, but it will need about $1.5 million worth of renovation before it can open, according to executive director Walt Le Couteur. He said about 60 people from all over the county showed up for an open house last week. “Getting the building was the easy part,” Le Couteur joked, noting that several grants are in the works along with other fund-raising efforts. “Last week’s open house was the kickoff of the capital campaign. There will be lots of stomping the streets trying to raise support here in the county.” Le Couteur says the ground floor will have a kitchen and dining hall, a multi-purpose room and overnight shelter. A garage space will house dry storage, coolers and freezers as well as an area for recreation. A laundry will be housed in the basement. The second floor of the building will house the mission’s Fresh Start Program.
That program, which includes three phases that can take anywhere from six to 24 months to complete, now only has capacity for eight residents. With the new building, the program will be able to handle 20 participants at a time. The first phase of the Fresh Start Program, which lasts about 90 days, is dedicated to breaking a participant’s addiction. Phase two involves getting rid of past legal and financial obligations and the third phase is about transition — securing employment, building up savings and finding a place to live. “We usually modify the program based on what the individual’s need are,” Le Couteur said. Le Couteur says the new building will go a long way in combating homelessness in Kitsap County. SEE RESCUE MISSION, A9
Kevan Moore/staff photo
Kitsap Rescue Mission Executive Director Walt Le Couteur stands in front of the organization’s newly purchased building at 810 Sixth Street in downtown Bremerton.