Christina T Henry

Christina T Henry is a freelance journalist reporting on local news from the Kitsap Peninsula and beyond. Chris lives in Port Orchard and formerly wrote for the Kitsap Sun. Her beats have included education, local government and that quirky and capricious grab-bag we call community news. She enjoys our beautiful PNW trails, open water swimming and cycling.

Gig Harbor speech and debate making a persuasive case

Jan 24, 2023

Members of the Gig Harbor High School speech and debate team are competing in person this year for the first time since the pandemic. During the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, they debated virtually. For the first of those years, they were completely at home. It was a daunting challenge in a competition centered on interpersonal

School district investigating alleged racist comment at girls basketball game

Jan 23, 2023

Peninsula School District has launched an investigation into claims of racist comments made at a Jan. 11 girls basketball game between Peninsula High School and Gig Harbor High School. The district on Wednesday, Jan. 18, hired an independent third party to investigate allegations that a Gig Harbor player used a racial slur against a member

Curious by Nature outdoor preschool adds new campus

Jan 18, 2023

The day the barred owl arrived, children at Curious by Nature outdoor preschool watched in rapt attention, listening quietly. Back in the classroom, their questions and speculation about the mysterious visitor came spilling out. Head teacher Deborah Toney used the conversation as a springboard for learning that encompassed math, literacy, science and, most importantly, wonder.

Business Spotlight: New clinic offers 24/7 vet care, specialty services

Jan 09, 2023

Clinics offering 24/7 emergency vet care on this side of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge are few and far between. Recent changes at Uptown Animal Hospital and the opening of a new 24/7 clinic on Kimball Drive, bring more pet care options for Gig Harbor residents and the surrounding region. Puget Sound Veterinary Specialty & Emergency

Peninsula elementary students take their learning outdoors

Dec 15, 2022

A gaggle of 4- and 5-year-old students at Evergreen Elementary stood in line, squirming with excitement Tuesday at the gated entrance to a wide-open field graced only by a circle of tall fir trees. School staff are developing plans for an outdoor learning space here. For starters, plans call for rocks and logs to climb

Discovery Elementary to get classroom doors

Dec 14, 2022

Last spring, parents and staff at Discovery Elementary School sounded off on a long-standing safety issue at the school, which lacks interior classroom doors in its main wing. The school, built in 1981, employs an “open concept” design that was popular before school shootings became an all-too-common occurrence. The Peninsula School District’s capital projects team

Get information on Peninsula Schools’ levies at meetings in January

Dec 09, 2022

Peninsula School District has set three meetings in January to inform the public about two levies that will be on the Feb. 14 ballot. District leaders will present information about the Replacement Educational Programs and Operations Levy and the Safety, Security and Technology Levy, and they’ll answer voters’ questions. Times and dates The meetings will

Harbor Heights students want more accessible playground

Nov 30, 2022

Olivia and Maddie DeRespini have taken over the family’s dining table, which is covered in skeins of yarn, scissors and other crafting materials. The sisters are busy making as many pom poms as possible for hair ties and such. They figure they’ll need “hundreds.” The girls’ goal is to sell the pom poms and raise

Peninsula High students collecting teddy bears for kids in Ukraine

Nov 23, 2022

Playing alone in a gymnasium with tall windows and green walls, Arseniy, 6, bounces a basketball and aims over and over for the hoop, impossibly high. “When they shoot, I run home. I think our flat (apartment) could be shot,” he explains in a voiceover video as his determined play continues. “I’m more worried about

Fox Island group a model for disaster preparedness

Nov 17, 2022

There’s nothing like living on an island with a 68-year-old bridge to make you think, “What’s going to happen when The Big One hits?” Jim Braden and Doug Nelson have thought about this a lot. They and other members of the Fox Island Community and Recreation Association Emergency Response Organization have worked tirelessly to ensure the