HERALD NORTH K ITSAP
INSIDE ■ New Miss Poulsbo — in Kitsap Week
No more soccer at Olympic College
■
— Sports, page A14
Friday, January 16, 2015 | Vol. 114, No. 3 | WWW.NORTHKITSAPHERALD.COM | 50¢
Auto Row, meet ‘College Town’ Councilman envisions thoroughfare as an extension of Olympic College community By RICHARD WALKER
rwalker@northkitsapherald.com
POULSBO — Since the demise of the auto row, south Viking Avenue has had an identity crisis. An eclectic mix of businesses, and some large chunks of vacant
He’s got the home, but pain lingers Takes possession after Golden Homes goes out of business By RICHARD WALKER
rwalker@northkitsapherald.com
POULSBO — Almost five years after he paid $65,000 cash for it, Peter Miele has the manufactured home he bought from Golden Homes of Poulsbo. Golden Homes had refused to deliver the house unless it received more money for site preparation, a condition Miele alleges was not in his contract. So the house sat on Golden Homes’
real estate, line the thoroughfare. If you were so inclined, you could get the car worked on, grab a bite to eat, buy stuff for the house, get a haircut, get a spray tan, get a tattoo, and have an afternoon cocktail, all within walking distance. (You can buy quilting materials, and go to church there, too.) Walk up the hill and catch a movie. Walk toward the water and stroll County Road 59 Park. City officials say Viking Avenue lacks cohesiveness, that it’s a place you drive to for a specific reason but don’t stay long.
To help Viking Avenue find its way, city planners sketched a streetscape with downstairs businesses and upstairs apartments, open space, public plazas, and incentives for interested developers. No one nibbled, city officials said. Heck, the mayor even pitched the former Courtesy Ford site to Family Fun Center. Turns out, Viking Avenue’s long-term success may lie in going to back to school. Poulsbo City Councilman Ed
krobertson@northkitsapherald.com
POULSBO — Full-day kindergarten will be free and half-day
A look at the city’s share of sales tax revenue generated on Viking Avenue over a five-year period. ■ 2013: $272,198 ■ 2012: $258,973 ■ 2011: $275,853 ■ 2010: $309,166 ■ 2009: $315,734 — cityofpoulsbo.com/finance/documents/ZoneReport-2013.pdf
Richard Walker / Herald
National honor for S’Klallam Tribe
Viking Avenue lot, in two pieces, with plastic sheeting separating the interior from the elements. But plastic sheeting can only do so much. Today, Miele is removing moldy sheetrock and insulation and reinstalling new, and hopes to have the house ready to be rented by July. “We’re still in litigation,” Miele said of Golden Homes. “I’m in the hole thousands and thousands [of dollars]. I’ll probably never see a dime, but at least I have [the house]. Getting that is better than nothing.” Golden Homes lost its license last summer and was evicted from its location at 19647 Viking Ave. In mid-December, Miele got a phone call from the property’s owner: Come get your house or I’ll have to auction it. And so he
First in U.S. to manage its own child welfare program
Free full-day kindergarten will be offered at all NKSD elementary schools. The school board approved free full-day kindergarten with a 4-1 vote at its Jan. 8 meeting.
LITTLE BOSTON — The Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe’s Child Welfare Program has been named an Honoring Nations award winner by The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. Honoring Nations recognizes “outstanding examples of Tribal self-governance.” In 2012, the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, population 1,000, became the first indigenous nation in the United States to earn Title IV-E status from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — that is, the right to manage its own adoption, foster care, and guardianship programs. “For my Tribe, taking
See ALL-DAY K, Page A8
See S’KLALLAM, Page A6
See GOLDEN, Page A7
Peter Miele is replacing moldy sheetrock and insulation that had been exposed to the elements while the house sat on Golden Homes’ lot on Viking Avenue. Kipp Robertson / Herald
kindergarten will be eliminated in the North Kitsap School District beginning next school year. Some parents are concerned
Poulsbo’s former auto row now features an eclectic mix of businesses, and vacant lots.
See COLLEGE TOWN, Page A3
Free all-day kindergarten, but no more half-day K By KIPP ROBERTSON
SALES TAX DECLINE
that six hours of school is too long for a 5-year-old, and without a halfday option one parent said she may opt to homeschool her child.
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