Three local businesses from Jefferson County have made it as semi-finalists in this year's $20,000 edg3 FUND competition offered by Kitsap Bank.

Fifteen small businesses from around the state made it to the semi-finals this year but just five will advance as finalists and compete for $20,000 at the edg3 FUND Live Event on November 15th!

Voting ends on September 28, 2018 - so be sure to cast your vote now.

• Kayak Brinnon - Brinnon

Kayak Brinnon specializes in biologist guided kayak tours of the Hood Canal.  Environmental education is their emphasis. In addition to tours they rent kayaks and SUPs and teach people how to shuck oysters and catch crab. They feel that educating families about the wildlife of the Puget Sound is important to the future of its health. Furthermore, harvesting one's own food gives people an appreciation for the environment from which it came.

With EDG3 funding, Kayak Brinnon plans to expand their services to include guided overnight camping trips, high bank waterfront delivery, and have the ability for on-water and secluded area rescues.

• Kodama Farm and Food Forest - Chimacum

​Kodama Farm is a small, permaculture-inspired farm started in 2016 by a trio of farmers in their mid-twenties. They grow over 300 varieties of vegetables, fruit (including citrus), and herbs that supply their personalized Full-Diet CSA and the Port Gamble Market.

Their vision is to create a welcoming destination and eventually start a farm-to-table restaurant at Kodama, all while developing and maintaining a healthy, vibrant ecosystem.

With conventional agriculture being one of the leading contributors to climate change, and the average age of farmers nearing 60, the need for sustainable farms, led by young farmers, is more urgent than ever.

• The Cocoa Forge - Port Townsend

​To seek out the world's most enchanting, rare and extraordinary Theobroma Cacao. To reverently and gently create this, "Food of the Gods". To respectfully present it to you in its purest form possible.

The Aztecs believed this remarkable and precious gift of cacao was brought to earth on the beam of the morning star. With thoughtful attention and practices, starting with genetics and farming through the long journey to become chocolate, The Cocoa Forge returns cacao to its rightful place of honor and appreciation.

Only by awakening our curiosity and awareness of these fine-flavored varietals will they be preserved.

This article does not reflect the views of the Tri-Area Times or our staff.

Prepared by the Tarboo Ridge Coalition
September 8, 2018

Background:
The Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) voted in December 2017 to declare a one-year moratorium on considering applications for commercial shooting facilities. The moratorium ordinance created a committee charged with developing draft legislation regulating commercial shooting ranges. The goal of this proposed ordinance was to protect the viability of gun ranges in the face of increasing population pressure with a focus on public safety, environmental protection, and compatible land use. The moratorium ordinance referenced recent legislation on the regulation of gun ranges from Kitsap County, which has withstood legal challenge, as a model.
​
The review committee consisted of County Prosecutor Phil Hunsucker, County staff from DCD, the Sheriff’s office, and Environmental Health, representatives of the Sportsman’s Club and the Point-No-Point Treaty Council, a citizen from each of the three legislative districts, and Joe D’Amico of Fort Discovery Inc. as a citizen-at-large. The committee met 15 times during the summer of 2018 and Mr. Hunsucker presented the draft ordinance, encapsulated in the bulleted points below, to the BoCC on August 27, 2018.

PRESS RELEASE 
Quilcene Fire Rescue Residential Key Box Program
 
QUILCENE, WA –  Quilcene Fire Rescue (QFR) has established a free residential loaner key box program for the residents of Jefferson County Fire District #2 (Quilcene, Dabob, Coyle). 

The objectives of the program are to expedite emergency responders reaching a patient and to minimize or eliminate damage to property by forcible entry.   The key box is a secure steel box which residents can place the key to their home for rapid access by fire department crews.  The Key Box is then placed over the top of the front door, no other installation is needed.  Only on-duty Quilcene Fire Rescue personnel have the master key used to access the key box. 

The Residential Loaner key box is available as a one-year loan subject to renewal, if necessary.  We do require a security deposit of $50.00 which will be returned to the resident when the box is returned to the Fire District.  Essentially, the program is free to residents with the small refundable deposit.  The Residential Loaner Key Box remains the property of Quilcene Fire Rescue and is to be returned to the Fire District when the condition of the individual no longer warrants the use of the box.
 
Quilcene Fire Chief Larry Karp said “it’s unfortunate, but sometimes we get called by an elderly or injured resident who can’t unlock the door so our crews can begin treating them.  We are then forced to either wait an extended length of time for a family member to arrive or we must force entry and potentially damage a door or window.  These unfortunate situations can be avoided if the resident or their family put up a key box to allow the fire district access to assist when needed”.
 
The department has a limited supply of residential lock boxes available for this program.   So, if you, or someone you know needs a key box, give us a call at 360-765-3333 or stop into the administrative offices at 61 Herbert Street to get set up. ​

HOMES NOW… OR, PARTY DOWN?
 
PORT TOWNSEND - A group described by Proposition 1 proponents as an “ideal vehicle” for possibly millions of dollars collected from higher property taxes is using taxpayer money for a post-election retreat.
 
A public records request has unearthed a grant from the City of Port Townsend to Homeward Bound for $30,000.  The grant is described as a contract, but simply gives money for unspecified “work” that includes $5,000 for a post-election retreat.
 
Homeward Bound is the organization behind the $1.6 million “Cherry Street Project” in Port Townsend.  This is a four-unit apartment building barged from Victoria, B.C. that has been sitting idle and uninhabitable on stacks of wooden blocks since early May.  (The $1.6 million is calculated from all costs of the project:  purchase, transportation and staging of the building, final construction and foundation, the $600,000 cost of the land and interest charges).