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Olympic Peninsula
Bluebills Repair Lost Bikes In Multi-Agency Program
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Summer-2003
Bluebills in the Olympic Peninsula Chapter are turning some of their
precious energy into repairing lost or abandoned bicycles, which will
be donated to needy children at Christmas time and to clients of
OLYCAP, Olympic Area Community Action Program.
The number of unlicensed and unclaimed bikes grows throughout the year
because lost or abandoned bikes are declared surplus property after 60
days. The Port Townsend police needed a practical way to avoid sending
them to the dump. They asked Bob Peden, manager of the Jefferson County
United Good Neighbors, to help devise a plan to get the bikes into the
hands of people who need them. Bob, also a member of the Bluebills,
immediately thought this would be an ideal job for his friends.
Bluebills took the first batch of 35 bikes in for repair. Soon there
were another 30 bikes awaiting attention. The condition of the bikes
range from unusable to needing little repair. The plan calls for the
Bluebills to work with Scott Jaster, owner of Williwaw Bicycle Repair
Shop. Bluebills do most of the repair work but Scott does the more
difficult repairs and the final inspections to ensure that the bikes
are safe and road-worthy.
It's a real community involvement project. The police provide the
bikes, UGN contacts the Bluebills and will contribute bicycle helmets,
Bluebills and Williwaw Bicycle Repair Shop do the repairs, Catholic
Community Services provides funds for parts and services, and OLYCAP
provides temporary storage for the bikes. OLYCAP will also be
responsible for identifying new owners and distributing the bikes.
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s office also contributes a number of
bicycles.
From 2003 to 2008 TOTAL BICYCLES REPAIRED is 297
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