Kingston • Eglon • Hansville • Indianola • Little Boston • Port Gamble
COMMUNITY NEWS KingstonCommunityNews.com
Vol. 30 No. 6 • June
2013
Coalition buys P.G. shoreline block PORT GAMBLE — Forterra and Pope Resources signed a purchase and sale agreement May 29 for 535 acres of forestland and 1.5 miles of shoreline along Port Gamble Bay and State Route 104. “This agreement is the first
stroke in making an audacious vision a reality,” Forterra Executive Vice President Michelle Connor said in a press release issued before the organization’s annual awards breakfast that day. Some 1,800 people were expected
to attend. “It is a great credit to the many elected leaders, Tribes, agency staff, community stakeholders and the landowner who are acting to ensure a positive legacy for the future,” she said.
Mr. B’s Bookery saved by customer By MEGAN STEPHENSON
Staff Writer
K
INGSTON — One day, Danya Simkus walked into Mr. B’s Bookery in the business complex off Highway 104, and found her favorite bookstore was going out of business. With an armful of books, she approached Bill “Mr. B” Wiley, owner of the store, and asked if there was anything she could do to help. Wiley opened the store about 15 years ago, but has been having health problems the last few years. “I just really wanted to keep the bookstore open,” Simkus said. She hadn’t intended to take over as the owner; she recently signed a book deal and had some health problems of her own. But several community members met at the store a few times to talk about taking over the store for the Wileys. In the end, Simkus, her fiancée and writing partner Rik Scott, and the Wileys’ son Jeff became co-owners and plan to
Danya Simkus didn’t plan to be a used bookstore owner, but is already excited for her new venture. Simkus, Rik Scott, and Jeff Wiley are the coowners of the new Kingston Bookery. Rik Scott / Contributed reopen the store mid-June. “I just sort of rolled up my sleeves, called up Bill, Mr. B, and said, ‘Let’s just start,’ ” Simkus said. Jeff Wiley said he thought about running the store himself, but when Simkus approached the family, they all decided a partnership would work.
He said his dad knew the store needed some new energy but wasn’t able to do things like build a website, which Scott is working on. Simkus said they’ve already uncovered some treasures in the inventory. In the automotive section, Simkus said she found a book from the 1890s on how
The so-called shoreline block was purchased for approximately $4.5 million, Forterra reported, with funding provided by the National Coastal Wetlands Program, state Department of Ecology, state Wildlife and
motors work. She also found a first-edition book by Margaret Mead, the noted anthropologist. The three are also squeezing the store back into its original location. Over the years, the store expanded into two storefronts, but the new owners of The Kingston Bookery — the store’s new name — are decreasing their footprint. A new restaurant, The Ax Handle, is moving in next door. Simkus said they are remodeling the bookshelves, putting in new flooring, and are looking for an electrician (hint, hint). She said she’s also received a lot of volunteer effort so far, and hopes to have more volunteers help run the store. Scott is also a writer, and “mad in love with books.” “Imagine a couple of writers in a store full of books, what could be better than that,” he said. Scott was president of the Fremont branch of the California Writers Club, and hopes to start up another cooperative effort in Kitsap. He recently moved to Kingston to join Simkus, who’s lived in Kingston for 15 years. “When I heard [Simkus] wanted to help bring the bookstore back to life, I of course got immediately interested in it,” he said. “It was too good to pass up.” Simkus said she’s also received a lot of help and support from other used bookstore owners, in Silverdale, Poulsbo and Port Townsend. “All this talk about people closing down bookstores, it’s mostly See BOOKSTORE, Page 3
Recreation Program and state Aquatic Lands Enhancement Account. The Kitsap Forest and Bay Project is a longtime effort to conserve 6,700 acres and 1.8 See FOREST & BAY, Page 3
Buc field not legal for games School district working to obtain proper permit By Kipp Robertson
Staff writer
KINGSTON — The North Kitsap School District lacks the proper permit for games to be held on Buccaneer Field. A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for June 13, 5:30 p.m., to ask Kingston residents for permission to use the field for games. The hearing will be held in the district office, 18360 Caldart Ave., Poulsbo. The hearing is a requirement of the board, before the district can ask Kitsap County for the proper permit to host games on the field. The field was originally contested by neighbors when Kingston High School was being planned. Though the neighbors lost the fight against a field being developed, the district’s use agreement allows the field to be used only for practice. “They’re technically not supposed to have games there,” said Mike Currie, the district’s interim director of maintenance. District administrators found out the field was not permitted for See Field, Page 16
Music festival will raise money for children KINGSTON — The Greater Kingston Chamber of Commerce is teaming with Glen Bui of Born To Be Wild to present the Victory Music Festival June 29, 4 p.m., at Mike Wallace Park.
This is a free event created to raise awareness of local children being treated for life-threatening diseases, and to raise money for Seattle Children’s Hospital where most of the children are being
treated. The headliner is Born To Be Wild, comprised of former members of Steppenwolf, Magic Carpet Ride, Savannah Nix and Pegasus. See CONCERT, Page 16
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