Ever heard of KOB?  No, we are not talking about the radio station in Albuquerque. KOB, around here, stands for the KINGSTON ORDER BOMBERS.  It is a new group created by the Kingston North Kitsap Rotary Club to help out local businesses that have been adversely affected by Covid-19.  Starting with restaurant order-bombing, then expanding to other retail businesses, orders will be placed from Hansville to Suquamish, Port Gamble to Kingston. 

    KOB will connect with local restaurants, one per week, to schedule the events.  At the direction of the restaurants, menus and order opportunities will be communicated to Club members each week.  It is anticipated KOB will continue through the summer, possibly highlighting a business more than once, and expanding to other, non-restaurant, businesses.

An important element of the program is to not overwhelm the business with orders.  Club members will contact that week’s “coordinator,” a Rotarian, who will serve as a sort-of front-end person for the restaurant, to keep track of demand.  Rotarians will then call the restaurant to order takeout, or to make a dining-in reservation.    

    First up, Kingston Ale House, March 10.  The full menu - lunch and dinner - is available, and the Ale House is offering 25% discounts on bottles of wine.  Coordinator is Nancy Martin, nanjmartin@mac.com.  Inform Nancy of your intention to be a “bomber,” then call the Ale House directly - 360-881-0412 - to book take-out, or a table.

    It is not necessary to be a Rotarian to be a “bomber.”  But it is necessary to inform that week’s Rotarian coordinator, before contacting the restaurant.  

    Kingston Order Bombers, brought to you by your friends at the Main and Satellite Clubs of Kingston North Kitsap Rotary.  

                   Summit Assistance Dogs

    They open and close doors.  They turn lights on and off.  They retrieve dropped items and get the phone in an emergency.  And they alleviate depression.  Summit Assistance Dogs.  Service dogs trained two years before going into service for wheel-chair bound folks who need assistance.  That is the story told by Alice Collingwood to Kingston North Kitsap Rotarians at their Mar 3 meeting.  

    Training takes two years, initially eight weeks with a volunteer puppy raiser, then 18-24 months of advanced training in the hands of prisoners at the Monroe Reformatory.  The final two weeks of training is with the “client,” for whom the dog will work and with whom the dog will bond.  Collingwood said $20-$30k worth of training is involved.  There is no charge, and a two to five year wait to get an assistance dog, mostly a Labrador retriever, sometimes a Golden retriever. 

    Since the year 2000, the mission of Summit Assistance Dogs is to create life-changing partnerships between people and dogs.  

    It was a tricky confluence of the modern, the old-fashioned, and the good-heartedness.  This year’s Kingston North Kitsap Rotary Club Winter Auction.  Weaving a mix of virtual digitry, pavement pounding, and passion to help our community, the Auction generated almost $25k to help the Club with its causes in 2021.  

    The event was entirely online.  Each bidder was assigned an online bidding number.  Bids were posted to the computer and when higher bids came in the last bidder was informed by the computer he or she was no longer in possession of that item.  The computer.  It runs everything.  Right?  Well this one did.  And it did so superbly.  Ending with a live auction of four items, at a Zoom party, featuring Kingston auctioneer - and proud Rotarian - Clint Boxman.

    Live items included a new roof up to $7500, donated by Lambro Construction, a new wine fridge overflowing with quality wine, a kids - or adult - birthday party at North Kitsap Fire and Rescue’s headquarters station, and a wine tasting and food pairing from Kingston Ale House.

    Silent items were generously donated by community folks, businesses, and organizations.  Proper manners requires thanking them:  Cookie Creations, Westside Pizza, Kingston Food Market, 20/20 eyecare Centers, Argosy Cruises, Bloedel Reserve, Vibe Coworks, Chris and Mary Jane Gilbreath, Bobbie Moore and Walt Elliott, d/Vine Wine Bar, Emily Formula, Central Market, Nothing bundt Cakes, Dr. Rachel Strohmeyer, Jim and Rosemary Tracy, Sweet Life Cakery, White Horse Golf Club, Land Title Company, Isabel Gates, Cup and Muffin, De’ MacKinnon, Thistle Floral and Home,  Adelia Richie, Bonnie Block, Fujii Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine, Julia Miller, Total Wine and More, Nancy and Dan Martin, Kingston Fitness, Sail Kingston Cove, a touch of peace Message Therapy, Mak W Designs, and Columbia Bank.  Thank you all.  And, most importantly, thank you to the generous bidders.  The computer knows you by your number - bidder number 6, number 14, etc. - but you know who you are.  And we thank you.

    Proceeds from the auction will enable Kingston North Kitsap’s Rotary Club to take the lead, to marshal others, bring together like-minded parties, all in service of helping those in North Kitsap most severely affected by Covid-19.  There are other causes to tend, as well, such as scholarships and support for Boys and Girls Club, but the bulk of the effort will go to such matters as food insecurity, housing insecurity, student learning gaps, and local business insecurity.  There is great need in North Kitsap resulting from the pandemic.  Kingston North Kitsap Rotary Club is here to help.