Monday, September 6, 2004 - This afternoon, after consulting with the Nassau West Department of State and the National Security Council, Nassau West President Kelly K. Bartram officially closed the Nassau West Bremerton (WA) Embassy for good.

The Embassy, which has been out of contact for quite some time, was closed due to lack of communication with the Capitol. Several attempts at contact have been made from the Capitol, and from the Benson (AZ) Embassy, all without success.

According to President Bartram, "I have called there several times, left all my phone numbers, and told whomever may receive the answering machine messages that I left to call me collect. All to no avail. Now, it seems, according to my Aunt (Carol), senior Ambassador (Amanda) Bartram has told her that (the Capitol and Benson Embassy) are ignoring her and her junior ambassadors. That's simply not true."

President Bartram learned of these alleged untruths from an email received recently from his aunt in Massachusetts. He consulted with the Attorney General about the possibility of filing charges against his sister and Ambassador, Amanda Bartram. He has since decided against filing charges, and closed the Embassy instead of pursuing litigation.

Less than three months ago the National Emergency Rescue Service (NERS) was nearly dispatched to the Bremerton Embassy to do a wellness check on the occupants. Asked if he was going to dispatch the NERS to the Embassy at this time, President Bartram simply stated, "No."

As a result of the closure, the Department of State has had to redistrict the state of Washington. Effective immediately, the entire state will be serviced by only two Nassau West Embassies. The north and south dividing line will be Interstate 90, which runs east and west.

The Seattle Embassy, under the directorship of Ambassador Andrea Brown, will service from the eastern shoreline of the Puget Sound east to the state line with Idaho, and everything north of Interstate 90. This will encompass Seattle, Spokane, and several other large cities.

The Tacoma Embassy, under the directorship of Ambassador Sandy "Sam" Hill, will service everything from the Idaho state line west to the Pacific Ocean south of Interstate 90. She will also be responsible for the area west of the Puget Sound that is north of where Interstate 90 would be, if it traversed the Puget Sound.

The Tacoma Embassy will service most of the lower Seattle metro area, Tacoma, Olympia, and other key cities. Both Embassies will serve about the same amount of people. The coverage area of the Tacoma Embassy is much larger, but the Tacoma Embassy is also staffed by junior Ambassador Russ Hill.

"Eventually," stated President Bartram, "we will have to send someone to collect our 'Nassau West Embassy' sign from the former Bremerton Embassy. There's no hurry at this point, but we will not include the Bremerton Embassy in future plans. Washington really doesn't require more than two Embassies, in fact, we may close another in the future."