PATRIOT BREMERTON
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2012 | Vol. 14, No. 1 WWW.BREMERTONPATRIOT.COM | 50¢
Balance SOUND FITNESS & HE ALTH GUIDE 2012
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Methadone clinics can be built in Bremerton, Public Health says too late to help
BY GREG SKINNER
GSKINNER@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
JJ Swanson/staff photo
Bill Paulsen streaks across the ice on his way to covering 14 miles worth of laps around the Bremerton Ice Center’s rink Wednesday morning. Part of a senior skate that does a low-impact workout two days a week. “Unless you fall,” he said.
Seniors work the ice Bremerton ice skaters 55 and older spin and glide past the winter blues BY JJ SWANSON JSWANSON@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
Dennis Woody glides across the ice, his lips pursed beneath his white beard. He shifts from left to right, looking for his center of balance, tucks in his arms and jumps up like a spring, one full rotation and sticks the landing. Woody is 65 years old and didn’t step onto the ice until he was “well past 50.” Now he is doing waltz jumps at the Bremerton Ice Center’s Senior Skate, a session held by the rink for seniors ages 55 and up. “I used to take my kids, but I didn’t just want to watch, so I strapped on a skate,” said Woody. Some seniors in Bremerton have discovered ice skating as a way to stay active during the winter months, and con-
trary to popular belief, it is not just a sport for the young and agile. There can be substantial benefits for seniors with a physical hobby like skating, including strengthening the joints, staving off depression and improving memory, said Chris D’Attilio, Alzheimer’s advocate for Bay Vista Commons Assisted Living and Memory Care in Bremerton. “It’s important for our seniors keep their minds and bodies active,” D’Attilio said. “But during this time of year it’s harder for them. It’s right after the holidays, and it’s cold and rainy outside.” D’Attilio said that “mall walks,” where seniors would be shuttled in the mornings to Kitsap Mall to jog when the weather was bad ended when there wasn’t enough participation.
JJ Swanson/staff photo
Sandy Shopes, left, leads fellow skaters Dennis Woody and Helen Butler through a few moves at the Bremerton Ice Center’s rink during a Wednesday morning workout. For some seniors, cold weather means aching joints which make them reluctant to exercise or get out. “I couldn’t jog or do other exercises because of my back, ankles and knees,” said Bill Paulsen, a 61-year-old senior skate member. “But when I
found ice skating, it’s all a gliding motion. I do 14 miles in one session.” Paulsen said that he has lost 27 pounds since he began ice skating and has developed stronger leg musSEE ICE, A10
Fitness & Health A guide to diet, exercise, senior living and dental health INSIDE
Many in Bremerton felt victory last August when the city imposed a six-month moratorium on building methadone clinics. Since then, the city’s planning commission has done its work and found that clinics can be built on the very location that drew the original opposition. Wednesday, the Bremer ton Cit y Council will review and consider maps that show proposed locations suitable for future “Opiate substitution Treatment Facilities” operate within the city limits. The council is expected to approve Ordinance 5177, during a Feb. 1 meeting, which amends current zoning codes and permitting procedures to regulate the placement of methadone clinics. Downtown business owner Todd Best was part of an outright vocal opposition to any methadone clinic in the city. Monday, Best said he still opposes building a clinic in areas such as the Callow Street business corridor, an area deemed suitable for a treatment center. “Why ruin a neighborhood that’s plagued already?” asked Best. Kitsap County Public Health Director Scott Lindquist said regardless of the city’s new-
found ability to permit the clinics, they already lost the only real chance to host a clinic to serve local opiate addicted patients, many of whom currently travel to King County for treatment. “Zoning doesn’t matter at this point,” Lindquist said. “The city didn’t recognize what they had.” Last s pr i n g , Evergreen Treatment Services began to look at building a clinic on the Callow Business District. In August, at the behest of local business ow ners opposing the clinic, the Bremerton City Council took the only legal action possible and placed a six-month moratorium on methadone clinics saying they had no mechanism to zone and permit them and needed time to create proper rules. State law forbids city and county authorities placing outright bans on methadone clinics, but allows for local jurisdictions to control locations through zoning and permitting. Kitsap County still has a 1980s era law forbidding methadone clinics in its jurisdiction. At the moment, city planners have recommended that leaders vote to allow methadone clinics in any “center” throughout the city. SEE METHADONE, A7