Patriot Bremerton
HOOP IT UP Knights beat up on Bulldogs in front of home crowd, win 84-40 Page 8
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2014 | Vol. 16, No. 50 WWW.BREMERTONPATRIOT.COM | 50¢
Bremerton came together for FDR ball BY LESLIE KELLY
LKELLY@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
When Bremerton native Bob Lamb thinks about birthday parties, he thinks about one that happened two years before he was even born. It was the firstever Birthday Ball for Franklin Delano Roosevelt on Jan. 30, 1934, in Bremerton. And his parents, Harold and Vera Adele Lamb, were there. “Looking back at it now, what’s amazing is that everybody came together for it,” said Lamb, now 78. “It didn’t mat-
ter if you were a Republican or a Democrat, an Elk, a Legion member, in the VFW, part of the labor unions, or just lived in town, everyone celebrated.” Perhaps that was because this birthday party was more than just a party. It was the beginning of what would become annual parties to raise funds for the Georgia Warm Springs Foundation for Infantile Paralysis which today is known as the March of Dimes. SEE FDR, A9
Project Connect helps homeless BY SERAINE PAGE
SPAGE@SOUNDPUBLISHING.COM
By early Wednesday morning, the lines wrapped around the side of the Sheridan Park Community Center building in Bremerton. Folks were lining up to get first choice of sleeping bags, clothing, eye exams and more. They were waiting to take part in Project Connect. Project Connect, in its sixth year, is a one-stop services venue for those who are homeless or low income. “There’s a lot of services (here) that people often can’t get due to their income,” said Julie Graves, Project Connect coordinator. The most popular services tend to be haircuts and eye exams. Coordinators of the event expected around 500 to show up throughout the day. Scott Williams sat on the side watching his grandkids while his son and daughter-inlaw perused the booths. His
Seraine Page/staff photo
A Project Connect attendee fills out paperwork. girlfriend, too, stopped in to see what was available, he said. All are low income, and his son’s family is without medical insurance. “This is pretty nice for them,” he said. “This helps them out a lot. A lot of people don’t have bus passes or a car. It’s their chance to get that one thing (they may need).” SEE HOMELESS, A9
Kevan Moore/staff photo
Kamira Laws, a member of a dance troupe from the Ebenezer Young People’s Department, performs during the 20th Annual Kitsap County Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration at the fairgrounds on Monday.
Celebrating the legacy of Dr. King BY KEVAN MOORE KEVANPATRICK@HOTMAIL.COM
The 20th Annual Kitsap County Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Celebration featured choir performances, spoken word, interpretive dance, some prayer, a keynote address by Major Jim Baker of the Salvation Army and much more. In other words, as in years past, there was a little something for everyone to celebrate, reflect upon and look forward to as the shadow of Dr. King’s legacy continues to grow. Sponsored by Ebenezer African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Kitsap County Commissioners, the City of Bremerton and Olympic College, the annual celebration is the largest in the area. Olympic College student Kiana Perreira’Keawekane brought the house down while performing spoken word poetry and youngsters from Laura Kornelis’ choir at Burley Glenwood Elementary School received a standing ovation after singing the famous spiritual “Swing Low Sweet Chariot.” The Martin Luther King Community Choir and a dance trio from the Ebenezer Young People’s Department also kept the event lively. Baker, who has been a community service staple in Bremerton for years
Kevan Moore/staff photo
Bremerton’s Anthony Lewis, 2, takes a break during the ceremony. through his work with the Salvation Army, gave his keynote address while his wife, Marcia, also a longtime member of the Salvation Army, was recovering from surgery. Baker’s address focused on the idea of respecting one’s self in order to respect others. He touched on the words of the Bible, Dr. King, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and others to drive that point home. Baker kicked off his speech on a lighthearted note, noting that Michael Crabtree of the San Francisco 49ers had failed to pay a proper amount of respect to cornerback Richard Sherman and the rest of the Seahawks ahead of Sunday’s NFC Championship game. From there on, though, Baker was all business.
“Slave,” he said. “Property. Bought and sold. No justice. Discrimination. Beatings. Lynchings. Starvation. Hard labor. Second class. No rights. No protections. No hope. No dreams. Have I described to you the condition of the American black slave in earlier centuries? Yes, of course. Or, I could also be describing the condition of Hebrew slaves in ancient Egypt. Or prisoners of war in ancient Greece or China. And the 20 to 30 million slaves in all the world today.” Baker went on to mention indentured servitude and illegal immigrants who can’t appeal to authorities for help. “Or, I could talk about children being kidnapped off the streets of Bangok, Paris, Oklahoma City or …
Poulsbo, and forced into the sex trade,” he said, noting that human trafficking, prostitution and other forms of bullying often lead to hopelessness. But Baker also talked about leaders who took that hopelessness head-on and inspired generations. “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. engaged in the struggle for years. So did Nelson Mandela. So did Gandhi. So have many, many others on behalf of the oppressed and disenfranchised everywhere, in every century. Simón Bolívar, Joan of Arc, Gideon. They did it many ways, used many different methods of attack. Some methods were violent, some were peaceful. Some were confrontational, some were surreptitious. All were for their people. They brought hope and freedom.” Baker said the reason we lavish such high praise on the likes of Dr. King, Gandhi, Mandela and others is, “because their goal was not to conquer their masters, but rather to gain equality and respect for all.” “The first thing that each of them did was respect themselves,” Baker added. “They were not just black or Indian or any other race or ethnic group. They were men. They were humans, not subhumans or secondclass humans. They knew SEE MLK, A9