The Kitsap County Parks around Kingston are in need of volunteers to help with maintenance as funding is low for those type of projects. A little help from everyone can go a long way and most likely we have all enjoyed one or more of them.

One of my favorite places in Kingston is Kola Kola Park. It is an active park because the old school houses the Kingston Coop Preschool, and nothing gives life to a place like young children! It also has the Ed Moon Ball Field which has been witness to uncountable baseball and softball games.  Of course right next to the ball field is the Scout Hall and Food Bank. Both serve many families in our town.  Now it is time for us “to pick up the ball and maintain our own places of recreation”. Maybe in the process some education can occur about the proper treatment of garbage and public places. Hmmm….

Besides having a nice play set for toddlers there is a great fenced basketball court, so in addition to playing basketball a family can bring youngsters to learn to ride bikes, skate, and of course, toss a ball.

The Village Green Park seems to be well maintained at this point by volunteers and garbage stays at a minimum, most likely because of those dedicated volunteers.

Kingston Skate Park was obtained for the price of $920,000 spent by Kitsap County between 1988 and 2002, and now even picking up trash has become an issue. Volunteers are needed to help with maintenance for this park, and it is a very active park. It would be wonderful if a program could be initiated to work with the skaters in their park upkeep.

Arness Roadside Park has recently undergone a period of construction with the installment of the new bridge. Now that project is completed people are once again frequenting the park and once again it seems to be a small core of volunteers doing all of the maintenance.

Kitsap County owns a total of 10 parks and recreational facilities in Kingston.

• A Quiet Place Park, 9.3 acres
• Arness Roadside Park, 1 acre
• Carpenter Lake, 38 acres
• Kingston Community Center
• Kola Kole Park, 3 acres
• Kingston Nike Site, 15 acres
• Kingston Saltmarsh, 14 acres
• Kingston Skate Park, 1 acre
• Kingston Tennis Courts, 1 acre
• Village Green, 3 acres

Given the abundance of natural beauty in our area  and all of the wonderful parks and natural resources, we as a community must participate in maintaining these areas. If you would like to contribute some time and energy contact Walt Elliott, the Kingston Port Commissioner. For more reference on this matter refer to the Kingston Community News March 2012 issue.