PATRIOT BREMERTON
HOME & GARDEN INSIDE: Family farming in Kitsap County
FRIDAY, MARCH 18, 2016 | Vol. 19, No. 1 | WWW.BREMERTONPATRIOT.COM | 50¢
Objections and support voiced for proposed vaping ordinance BY MICHELLE BEAHM MBEAHM@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
Michelle Beahm / staff photo
Kari Coykendall-Millard objected to the heavy restrictions on vaping in vape shops.
BREMERTON — The Kitsap Public Health Board hosted its first of three “listening” meetings to hear public comment on the proposed vaping ordinance. According to KPH health officer Susan Turner, “The Kitsap Public Health board began discussions about a vapor product health ordinance in 2012 when the health officer raised concerns about potential adverse health effects from exposure to vaping products, and about the tremendous popularity of vapor products among youth.” VaperSoul.com defines vaping as, “the name given to the use of a vaporizer. The process involves applying heat to a liquid which generates vapor. The user, called a vaper (smoker in traditional cigarette circles) gets their nicotine hit through inhaling
the almost odorless vapor (smoking equivalent of ‘smoke’).” Relatively new on the scene, there are no definitive studies yet on the longterm health effects of vaping. “Because the federal and state governments have not taken actions (to regulate vaping), the Kitsap Public Health board chose to move forward with the adoption of an ordinance,” Turner said. The public meeting Thursday, March 10, in the Norm Dicks Government building in Bremerton, was the first of three meetings. The next meeting will be 6-7:30 p.m. Monday, March 21, in Port Orchard City Hall Chambers, 2016 Prospect St., Port Orchard. The final meting will be 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, in the Poulsbo City Hall Chambers, 200 Moe St. NE, Poulsbo. These meetings are simply to receive feedback on the proposed ordinance, available at kitsappub-
lichealth.org. No questions will be answered during the meeting. Some key aspects of the proposed ordinances include: “No person may use a vapor product in a public place or any place of employment”; “The health officer is authorized to grant a limited exception to the (former) for sampling vapor products within vapor product retail outlets exclusively selling vapor products that meet all requirements of these regulations”; “No person shall sell, give or furnish, or cause to allow to be sold, given or furnished vapor products to a minor”; “No minor shall purchase, possess or obtain a vapor product”; “No person shall offer a vapor product for sale in an open, unsecured display that is accessible to the public without the intervention of a store employee, except in a retail outlet that has a valid permit”; “No person shall give, SEE VAPE ORDINANCE, A9
OC construction ‘on time, on budget’ Kennedy to receive Rosa Parks Courage Award BY MICHELLE BEAHM
MBEAHM@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
BREMERTON — Olympic College’s construction of the new College Instruction Center is progressing on time and on budget, according to communications director Shawn Devine. “Crews are making great progress, which is a very nice accomplishment,” Devine said, “especially when you consider that we’ve had one of the wettest winters on record, at least in recent memory, so they’re making great progress and looking forward to clearer skies as we move into spring.” Crews from Korsmo Construc-
IN THE PATRIOT
tion have so far installed more than 300 concrete piles, which will support the 70,000-square-foot building. The building will be the new home of the art, music, theater, physical therapy and some nursing programs, as well as some simulation labs for nursing and high-tech, active-learning classrooms on the Bremerton OC campus. The total projected budget is $46.5 million; it is the largest-funded project in state community and technical college history. It will also include a 276seat theater to provide a venue for campus and community events like the Olympic Jazz Festival and youth symphony programs. “The majority of the work has
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St. Paddy’s Day A2
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been at ground level so far,” Devine said. Upcoming milestones, Devine said, include pouring the concrete slab for the new 270-seat theater on April 29; pouring the concrete slab for the first floor, May 20; starting the concrete masonry unit on the theater walls on May 24; and beginning to erect structural steel on Aug. 11. A higher volume of traffic entering the work site is expected over spring break, March 19 to April 3. To learn more about the progress of the construction or the plans for the College Instruction Center, visit www. olympic.edu/about-olympic-college/ communications-web-services/college-instruction-center.
BY MICHELLE BEAHM
MBEAHM@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
BREMERTON — Former Bremerton High School football coach Joe Kennedy is the recipient of the annual Rosa Parks Courage Award from the Family Policy Institute of Washington. FPIW is “a coalition of allied national and local organizations to create public policy that recognizes and respects the significance and sanctity of the family,” according to the website, www.fpiw.org. State Rep. Brad Klippert describes FPIW
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SEE KENNEDY, A9
Joe Kennedy
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