Reporter Central Kitsap
Adventurer Local State Farm agent Jeff Reed never sits still Page 8
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 11, 2013 | Vol. 29, No. 2 | www.CENTRALKITSAPREPORTER.com | 50¢
Road project blocks road and business growth say owners By Seraine Page spage@soundpublishing.com
Business owners along Silverdale Way claim they are taking a hit due to a water line project tearing up roadways. The nighttime work occurs from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., but it still impacts businesses that stay open late or open early. The project falls under the responsibility of the Silverdale Water District and is a pipeline project to replace an asbestoscement water pipeline. The work includes 87 water service replacements, 38 fire hydrant assembly replacements, valves, appurtenances, 14,392 linear feet of communication conduit and 40 vaults. “It’s been frustrating to actually get to our location with the median blocked off. I hear it from our customers, too,” said Simply Sublime Espresso owner Nicole Pierce. “They’re used to flying in and getting their coffee and getting on the road.” The small coffee stand — located in the Silver
Seraine Page/ Staff photo
Silver City Automotive car lot closed for businesss Sept. 30 due to road construction on Silverdale Way which the owner said negatively impacted his business. Other businesses also say they have seen business drop due to the road work. City Texaco parking lot — opens at 5 a.m. which is normally easily accessible when cones aren’t blocking the intersec-
tion when customers cut across lanes to pull into the parking lot. Pierce said that regular customers have been good about
still stopping in, but the blockage prevents new customers from going out of their way. “It is affecting the
building of our business,” she said of the construction. However, the owner said it is easier for her
shop to recoup losses because there is a second Simply Sublime Espresso store in Bremerton. But not all of the other business owners have been so fortunate. At least three business owners believed that there was no notification that the project would start, other than news articles. Not one business owner received a phone call, letter or visit from the Silverdale Water District to inform them of the large construction project. However, Silverdale Water District Ma nager Morga n Johnson noted that anyone who receives a bill should have also received the district’s newsletter which indicated that construction would be going on, including a June 2013 newsletter. The work started on Aug. 14. Johnson also said that anyone driving into the area would see the large, f lashing signs indicating roadwork ahead, and that there were also two presentations open to See ROADS, A13
Cuts in food stamps mean hard choices for families By Leslie Kelly
lkelly@soundpublishing.com
For most families, $36 doesn’t seem like a lot of dough. For Kasi Skaarer and her family, it sometimes means the difference between having meat or cereal for dinner. Skaarer’s family is one of hundreds of families in Kitsap County who rely on food stamps to be able to eat. A mother of two young children, with a working husband, she knows she has only a guaranteed $668 each month with which to buy groceries. And as of Nov. 1, that amount will be reduced to $632, due to federal budget cuts. “There are days when I know I don’t have anything nutri-
tious to feed my kids,” she said. “When it gets down to the end of the month, often times there’s no more meat in the house. So we have cereal for dinner.” The U.S. House voted to cut $39 billion from federal food assistance programs during the next decade, thus resulting in cuts to all participants in the program, including the 1.11 million in Washington state who get help. In Kitsap County alone, in 2012, 44,523 residents received food assistance with an average of $1,165 per participant annually. State officials said last month, 33,300 residents of Kitsap County received food assistance funds. In their nine years together, Kasi and her husband, Tom, have moved several times for
Leslie Kelly /staff photo
Adison Skaarer adds carrots to the cart as her mother, Kasi watches. his work. He’s currently working construction for a company based in Belfair and his hours vary depending on how
much work there is. He’s been a Teamster for years and has a college degree. He worked more than a dozen years as a gar-
bage man. He also went back to school to get his CDL so he could drive semi-trailer trucks, when the housing market slowed due to the bad economy in 2007 and there were no construction jobs. He also has training in welding and metal fabrication, but has found it hard to get work in those trades. Kasi also recently lost her job after working two and a half years for an agency that helps parents navigate state programs for children with special needs. She went back to school, too, to earn an associate’s degrees in counseling, but had to leave school when the family moved for her husband’s job. Their children, Aden, 6, and See SNAP, A13