Review Bainbridge Island
GOOOOAAAL!!! Natalie Vukic unstoppable in Spartan soccer win. A18
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2013 | Vol. 113, No. 32 | www.BAINBRIDGEREVIEW.com | 75¢
Stop looking, Linus, your great pumpkin has arrived
Cecilia Garza | Bainbridge Island Review
Council candidates Arlene Buetow and Wayne Roth answer questions at the first candidate forum on Oct. 3. Both candidates are running for the Central Ward seats.
First forum gets into the nitty-gritty BY CECILIA GARZA Luciano Marano | Bainbridge Island Review
Pumpkin farmer Joel Holland stands next to the largest pumpkin ever grown in the state after its delivery to Johansson-Clark Real Estate on Bainbridge Island Wednesday.
State’s greatest gourd comes to Bainbridge Island BY LUCIANO MARANO Bainbridge Island Review
“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Bainbridge Island!” A giant pumpkin was placed on display outside of Johansson-Clark Real Estate for the first time in approximately four years Wednesday, Oct. 9. The massive fruit weighed in at 1,791 pounds at a recent competition in California and is, according to pumpkin farmer Joel Holland, the largest ever grown in the state. It is currently the second largest pumpkin grown this year on the West Coast, Holland said. The firm of Johansson-Clark, the oldest continually operating real estate firm in the county, had in the past made a tradition out of placing giant pumpkins on display outside their office on Winslow Way for Halloween. “Craig Clark had been doing it for years,” said managing broker Gary Marcy. “They used to be 400 pounds
Luciano Marano | Bainbridge Island Review
A forklift driver delivers the giant pumpkin to Winslow Wednesday. max when we started.” Holland is pleased with the fruits of his labor, pun intended. “It was a lot of fun,” he said. “We had the world record at one time. We’ve been growing them for a long time.” After being transported from his farm in Sumner to Bainbridge, Holland turned the pumpkin over to several volunteers from the Washington State
Ferry Shipyard and their forklift for placement on the sidewalk. According to Holland, one pumpkin pie requires approximately two pounds of actual pumpkin, which means that this pumpkin could make 895.5 pies. This specific pumpkin was approximately 100 days old at time of delivery to Bainbridge. Holland said that in ideal growing conditions a healthy giant pumpkin in its prime can grow 30 to 40 pounds in a single day. Pumpkins are not vegetables, and are in fact a kind of berry. They belong to the family cucurbitaceae, along with melons, cucumbers, squash and gourds. The pumpkin will be on display in front of the office of Johansson-Clark Real Estate, 393 Winslow Way East, through the end of the month. For more information about Holland and his advice on how to grow your own giant pumpkin, visit www.hollands giants.com.
Bainbridge Island Review
Candidates for the Bainbridge Island City Council were faced with the heavy hitters — questions, that is — at the first candidate forum for the November elections. Hosted by the American Legion on Oct. 3, the forum presented the six candidates with the chance to answer some of the public’s biggest questions. In the running for the North Ward seat are Dick Haugan and Val Tollefson; for the Central Ward, Arlene Buetow and Wayne Roth; and for the South Ward, Dee McComb and Roger Townsend. Though the candidates are elected through their wards, all Bainbridge voters will be able to cast ballots in all of the races. The candidates were presented questions by panelists Virginia Paul and Robbie Sitzman. Among those questions, Paul and Sitzman covered everything from the
Shoreline Master Program to the city’s reputation as a “dysfunctional city.” “When I decided to do this, and announced, discussed it with friends, almost universally was the question, ‘Are you crazy?’” Roth said in his introduction. A chuckle rolled across the room. “And I know it’s funny, and it’s the kind of thing people say,” he continued. “But it does reflect a little, doesn’t it, about our city and our government?” Several of the candidates vowed that with a seat on council they would work to restore confidence in the city and its leaders. Restoring confidence, however, can only come with answers on big issues. “Arlene, do you support the draft Shoreline Master [Program] in its present form?” Sitzman asked. Buetow said she would not have voted for it if she had been on council at the turn to forum | A16