REVIEW BAINBRIDGE ISLAND
R.O.C.K. IN THE U.S.A.: Gem hunter gets rolling for stones. A11
FRIDAY, JULY 5, 2013 | Vol. 113, No. 27 | WWW.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.COM | 75¢
Fire board races center on staffing, levy funding
THE GOOD, THE FAST AND THE THRIFTY:
Shoppers look to score big with a fistful of dollars Rotary auction and sale draws crowd of hundreds BY RICHARD D. OXLEY Bainbridge Island Review
It was a battle, a fight to the end filled with raging shopaholics, deal hunters, thrift seekers and those merely with a fervor to stand noseto-nose against frugal foes. It was the 53rd annual Bainbridge Island Rotary Auction and Rummage sale and it left a slew of good deals — and tired islanders — in its wake. For Rotarians, the sale was a success. “It went very smoothly this year,” said Marisa Lanning with the Bainbridge Island Rotary. “The numbers look extremely good,” she said. “We still need to add up all the cash and checks, and this year we added a lot more credit card machines.” Rotarians continue counting the sale’s proceeds, though it’s too soon to tell how much money was ultimately raised. Lanning expects the numbers to be made official by Sunday, July 7. The sun had barely crested over the horizon when islanders, and more, began lining up on Saturday, June 29 outside Woodward Middle School. Cars and trucks lined the
BY RICHARD D. OXLEY Bainbridge Island Review
Richard D. Oxley / Bainbridge Island Review
Islanders didn’t waste any time. As the final notes of the National Anthem were sung, the starting lines broke and bargain hunters raced into the rummage sale. sides of New Brooklyn Road and Sportsman Club Road in all directions as the entrances to the school swelled with hundreds, all mad with shopping fever.
By 8 a.m., as the final lines of the National Anthem were sung, nothing could keep them back any longer. The starting lines broke as a frenzy of rummagers raced onto
the grounds. Some pushed their way through in a mad dash, while others calmly executed their plan of SEE SHOPPERS, A12
It was the first, and perhaps only, time they were all in the same room together. Candidates for the island’s board of fire commissioners recently gathered for a candidate forum to say why voters should choose them for a position with the Bainbridge Island Fire Department. The forum on Thursday, June 27 served to familiarize the island community with the candidates and the issues facing the department. Three issues were of chief concern for the candidates; funding, staffing, and how to communicate the need of both to voters. Staffing the department, which relies heavily on volunteers, is a challenge. But staff, and volunteers, need financial support, the candidates said. “We have a volunteer program that has improved SEE FIRE, A11
For the fruit, not the work
IslandWood welcomes migrant students for week of outdoor education BY CECILIA GARZA Bainbridge Island Review
Cecilia Garza / Bainbridge Island Review
Students of Team Ravine pick huckleberries to snack on while hiking in the woods at IslandWood. It is in stark contrast to the jobs their parents have picking fruit. In IslandWood’s “Voices from the Field” program last week, instructors taught the students the beauty and the science of nature.
For Washington migrant students, trees are not so much ecosystems as they are what gives their parents work in the apple orchards and cherry farms of Eastern Washington. That is until they came to IslandWood last week for the “Voices from the Field” program. “Even the ferry ride is exciting for them, because they’ve never been on the ferry before, or even seen the Puget Sound,” said Samantha Ruiz, the migration graduation specialist for the Wahluke School District in Mattawa. The week-long program brought in 70 middle school students who come from
migrant households almost all from the eastern side of the state. Students coming from migrant family households have one or two parents who work in the agricultural industry. Also, it is not uncommon for them to pick up midschool year as the family makes moves between districts for seasonal work. “That’s really hard when you have an interrupted school year like that,” Ruiz said. “When you’re trying to transfer credits back and forth between schools, a lot of things can get messed up. “These kids can fall between the cracks because, between larger schools or small schools, they sometimes go unnoticed.” Victoria Diaz, an eighth-grader from SEE ISLANDWOOD, A11