Sunday, December 30, 2007

Recycle your Christmas Tree in Kitsap County

The Christmas hoopla is over. Time to take the lights down, pack away the ornaments, put away the inflatable "Frosty" lawn spectacle (or, in my family's case, the Home Depot and Lowe's cars currently racing across our front lawn), and make your home look a little less glitzy.
Now, what to do with the tree? Let's face it -- we live in the Pacific Northwest. Most of us have real Christmas trees. Some of us even cut our own. Seems a shame to waste them.

Don't! Recycle those trees instead! Kitsap County makes it so easy. Trees are accepted for recycling at most facilities until at least January 15, 2008.

First, remove all ornaments, lights, tinsel, etc. from the tree. Only clean trees will be accepted for recycling. remember that next year before asking to have your trees "flocked." Flocked trees are not accepted, and neither are garlands or wreaths.

Next, drop your tree of at any of these locations. Best to call and confirm hours of operation, if possible.

Bremerton: Public Works Department at 100 Oyster Bay Avenue in West Bremerton, or the Water Utility Building at 3027 Olympus Drive in East Bremerton.

Silverdale and Central Kitsap: Silverdale Recycling and Garbage at 8843 Dickey Road, up Newberry Hill.

Poulsbo: Poulsbo Recycle Center at 710 Iverson, downtown Poulsbo.

Port Orchard: Olalla Recycling and Garbage at 2850 SE Burley-Olalla Road. Also, the Olympic View Transfer Station at 9300 SW Barney White Road near the airport.

For all of Kitsap County: Please consider donating your tree as well as a $10 donation to Boy Scout Troop 1506! They will dispose of the tree for you! You can drop your tree at the front door of the Scout Hall in Tracyton and leave your donation in the mail slot. This way, you don't need to worry about hours of operation, and it is so convenient to help out the Scouts!

At Realty Station, we plan to recycle our Christmas trees. The giving season doesn't have to end at Christmas -- keep recycling all year.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

A great way to check out my latest listings!

Kitsap Real Estate is changing. From Bremerton to Seabeck, Port Orchard to Poulsbo, Silverdale to Kingston, the way we Realtors do business is steadily becoming more and more influenced by the internet. At Realty Station our goal is to stay ahead of the times!

Many people these days do not begin their home search with a Realtor. Up to 82% of today's homebuyers begin their search on the internet. Why then are so many agents only running print ads, or worse, putting up a sign and waiting for something to happen?

My team depends heavily on internet marketing to find buyers to purchase our clients homes. One of the ways we do that is by giving each home it's own website, with a domain name specific to that home.

To see examples, check out my latest listings:

http://www.2950delphicourt.com/

http://www.2145easthighlands.com/

http://www.4065coniferpark.com/

This enables to post easily on websites such as Craigslist.com. It allows us to track the number of hits on our sellers individual sites, which tells us how well our marketing effort are working. It also enables us to gauge whether or not the home's price is correct. For example, if we are having lots of website hits, but few showings and no offers, we are overpriced.

Good photos and a well-staged home are essential to internet marketing, especially when we devote so much time and attention to our client's websites. That home needs to outshine all the others, by being cleaner, bigger, brighter, etc.

Consider getting a private, personal website for your home when it is time to sell. We'd be happy to help you! Call Realty Station at 360-377-5699, or call me at 360-689-6836.

KitsapWithKids: Ways to Spend the Winter


Kart Trax Now Open!!!


Every boys' dream has arrived in East Bremerton! Little girls will even like this place!

Go-karts that go up to 24 miles an hour, a race track, a bounce house, and video games are all part of this awesome new franchise. The cars aren't cheap, but they are fun....

You buy a membership card (current price is $5 per card), then put money on the card and use it like a debit card. Makes it easy to control the spending of the kids and daddies!

This place is perfect for teens and tweens on a school day afternoon or a weekend evening. During the day, bring the smaller kids for some fun. The bounce house has room for up to six children at a time. Children have to be 42 inches tall to drive a race car of their own, but children under 42 inches can ride with a responsible guardian driving.

Be warned -- Kart Trax had not had their grand opening as of six days ago, and the facility still needed some fine tuning as well as final construction. However, the race course was not crowded, and the staff was friendly. We're anxious to see it when it's totally finished!

Be sure to call and check prices and hours of operation, and watch your smaller children closely while visiting this facility.
My family had a great time at Kart Trax. My husband took my three year old at two in the afternoon and they had the place to themselves. Hubby drove son around the race track several times, and let him go jump in the bounce house several times. They even played air hockey! I see Kart Trax becoming a regular hang out for them.

Be sure to check back often for more KitsapWithKids postings. Even though this is supposed to be the Kitsap Real Estate blogsite, I want to give as much to my friends, clients and community as I possibly can. Make sure you check out the Kitsap Moms Meetup link over to the right....

Monday, December 17, 2007

KitsapWithKids: Ways to Spend the Winter

Remember rollerskating to Jesse's Girl, by Rick Springfield? Rollerskating backwards to "Another One Bites the Dust", by Queen? Going 'Around the World' at the local rollerskating rink? Well, it's time to relive those days...



In East Bremerton, you can do just that. Check out Skateland! If you are expecting a new, beautiful, well-lit rink, this is not the place for you. But, to go back to 1979, you need to see this place! Skateland is located on Fuson Road, just off Highway 303 across from Lowe's.

Skateland in Bremerton offers roller skating leagues, free skates, adult skates, even birthday parties. The owners often work on the premises, and the place seems to run much better when they are around. People are just happy at Skateland.

Lockers are available, and skates can be rented. There is a food stand with typical roller skating rink fare. One word of caution: the front doors are often left open, so do not leave your children unattended, especially younger children.

For an afternoon of cheap fun, Skateland is a cool place to be.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

DON'T send a Christmas card to "A Wounded Soldier..."

It's a nice idea, really. I was about to send one myself, until my husband, currently stationed aboard the USS John C. Stennis, stopped me.

"That's nice, honey, but it'll never reach anyone."

At first I didn't believe him, but then we watched the news last night. It was covered on at least ABC News and Fox News. The information has also appeared in the Associated Press and the New York Times.

Any mail not addressed to a specific soldier, whether they are currently stationed on a military base overseas, in the US or at a medical center, will not be delivered. According to officials at Walter Reed Medical Center, this has been a problem for years. The mail to "A Wounded Soldier" has either been returned to sender, or destroyed.

The fear is that terrorists will send contaminated mail to our soldiers. An understandable fear, in my opinion.

Have we gone overboard in protecting ourselves? Is this a violation of rights? How are we going to support our troops with rules like this "protecting" them?

There are so many ways that you can choose to show your love and support for our servicemembers. The group Soldier's Angels allows citizens to adopt a soldier. Freedom Is Not Free is a unique charity directed by current and former members of the military, the "Purple Heart Board". Finally, Salute America's Heroes does some simple yet effective support gestures, such as selling armbands for our vets and heroes.

Please, don't be upset because your Christmas Cards may not get to the wounded soldier that you wanted to receive it. Be thrilled that the government is doing their best to protect our military, and find another way to show your gratitude. It's so easy, there are so many choices, and they really need our support!

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Military: Scholarships Available for Military Kids

Your eligible child can receive scholarship money for winning an essay contest sponsored by military commissaries!
Every commissary that receives an entry from an eligible applicant will give away $1,500 in scholarship funds through the 2008 “Scholarships for Military Children” program.

Applicants must be under 21 and planning to attend or currently attending college, or under 23 and currently attending college. Scholars must have a 3.0 GPA based on a 4.0 scale, and must be in the DEERS system, meaning he or she must hold a current military ID card.

Scholarship funds are available to unmarried children of active-duty, retired, Reserve and Guard service members. Children of deceased service members are eligible as well. Applicants must be enrolled or planning to enroll in an accredited college or university as a full-time student for the fall 2008 term.

The question for this year’s essay is “Every able-bodied citizen should be required to serve a two-year period of time in the military. Why or why not?” Applications can be found at any military commissary or by clicking here.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Kitsap County is Recovering from Floods

Kitsap County residents had a rough day yesterday. However, today is much better for most of the people in our area. However, there are many homes that flooded, some badly. Please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers.

Some roads in the county are still closed. Many of the closed roads were shut down due to mudslides. Some are still closed because of water across the roadway.

Click here to see an interactive map provided by Google which shows road closures. It is the best site currently available, although it does need to be updated. Just leave plenty of time to get wherever you need to go, and be patient.

Also, schools are scheduled to reopen tomorrow, Wednesday, on a normal schedule. However, to be safe, please check your school district website to be certain.

Be safe!

Monday, December 3, 2007

Flood: School Closings and Delays

Several school districts are closed for tomorrow, Tuesday, Dec. 4.

All public school in the Central Kitsap School District are CLOSED, and all after school activities are cancelled.

All public schools in the North Mason School District are CLOSED.

As of midnight, public schools in North Kitsap School District are two hours DELAYED. There is no a.m. kindergarten or preschool. All other classes will begin two hours late. Continue to monitor for updates.

Again as of midnight, public schools in Bremerton and South Kitsap are on schedule. However, continue to monitor for schedule changes.

Kings West private school in Bremerton is CLOSED.

Olympic College in Bremerton will hold classes as normal. However, Olympic College campuses in Shelton and in Poulsbo will not open until 10 a.m.

Again, to know for sure, please call your child's school, or check the official school website.

Flood Update (5:05 p.m.)

Our drive home from East Bremerton to Ridgetop in Silverdale wasn't too bad. Our only challenge was the road closure northbound on Highway 303 at Central Valley road. Lots of water on the road, had to get off at Central Valley and take the back way through Island Lake.
The good news is that one southbound lane on Highway 3 through Gorst is now open. However, many roads in Kitsap are still closed, or have closed recently.
Bond Road, also known as Highway 307, is closed due to a mudslide. Also, the Hood Canal bridge is closed. The bridge over Chico Creek has washed out, as well as the bridges over the Tahuya and Union Rivers.
The rain has lessened, at lest for the time being. We'll see if the clearing skies continue....

Flood Update (3:31 pm)

The Annapolis (Port Orchard) to Bremerton foot ferry is closed.
Port Townsend ferries are shut down completely.
The Kingston to Edmonds ferry run is down to only one boat, so plan for a very long wait, probably upwards of two hours.
The Highway through Gorst is still closed. The Washington State patrol said that the best way to get to Port Orchard from Bremerton is to wait until after high tide. No, I'm not kidding. That's actually what they said.
Unfortunately, high tide was shortly before noon.
The coast guard just went past a beach here in East Bremerton. Wonder where they are going and what they are doing?

Kitsap County is Flooding (3:03 p.m.)

This never happens. We have rain, but not like this!

Kitsap County is now in a state of emergency. Major flooding and road closures are causing traffic problems all over the county. Transportation departments are doing what they can.

As of noon, there is no way to get from Bremerton to Port Orchard except to go all the way out to Lake Symington, then go south on Lake Tahuya Road, then go past Mission, Panther and Tiger lakes, through Belfair, then go south near the airport on either Lake Flora Road or Sunnyslope. A very long trip...

Both exits to Newberry Hill Road are closed. Anderson Hill road is closed. Downtown Poulsbo is having major issues. Central Valley overpass at Waaga Way is closed.

Stay away from old downtown Bremerton if you can. the ferry backup has stopped most traffic.

If your spouse is on a ship at Naval Base Kitsap - Bremerton, tell him to stay there for now.

Check the websites for the various school districts. If I had a school-aged child, I would plan to pick them up if possible. Buses are delayed...

Best advice? STAY HOME!!!!

I will update with further developments later....

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Toys for Tots Takes Over Kitsap Fairgrounds

On December 15 from 10 am to 2 pm, low income families can go to the Kitsap Pavilion at the Kitsap Fairgrounds and get a bag of toys for their children.

Volunteers from Toys for Tots have spent the last several weeks wrapping holiday gifts for children of financially challenged families. The Toys for Tots Holiday Giveaway is the culmination of a year of hard work for all of them.

To receive your child’s bag of toys, parents must bring picture identification of themselves, and a utility bill showing that they live in the area. Last year parents were also required to bring their child’s social security card and their child’s DSHS or Quest card, but that has not been confirmed for this year.

If you may qualify, head over to the fairgrounds on Saturday, Dec. 15. If not, spread some extra holiday cheer by donating new, unused toy. Donations will be collected until after Christmas and saved for next years Toys for Tots campaign.

Remember that you can bring your Toys for Tots donation to Realty Station. We would be happy to deliver it for you!