October 2009

The Ballard High School volleyball team put together its second win in a row, overpowering winless Lake Washington Oct. 14 for a 3-0 victory.

The Beavers won by scores of 25-23, 25-22 and 25-15.

Senior Lisa Day had 17 kills, senior Madelyn Voelker had 11 digs and sophomore Monique Marques dished out 22 assists.

Sophomore Annie Allen and senior Marjorie Pichon scored three aces apiece.

The win raised Ballard's record to 3-5 in the conference and 5-5 overall with three matches remaining.

Next up is Redmond (3-4 conference, 4-4 overall) at 7 p.m. on Oct. 19 at Ballard High School.

Ballard High School golfer Michael Bay won't advance to the state championship after finishing with a score of 170 at the KingCo 4A Medalist Tournament Oct. 14.

Bay shot an 87 on the second day of the tournament at the par-72 Snohomish Golf Course. He shot an 83 the previous day.

Bay's scores combined for a total of 170. The top 12 golfers, who will move on to the state championship, scored between 139 and 158.

Bay was the only Beaver golfer to make it past the first day of the tournament.

As we reported here, some local Samoans belonging to the Samoan American Pacific Organization lost loved ones in the Sept. 29 tsunami that hit the South Pacific islands of Samoa and American Samoa. The group meets twice a week at the South Park Neighborhood Center in West Seattle.

During their Wednesday, Oct. 14 meeting a special visitor came with a banner to sign with well-wishes. Siniva Tosi Driggers is a retired registered nurse and Federal Way resident from American Samoa.

She is also the program coordiator for the Samoan National Nursess Association in Washington, located in Tacoma, and has been taking the banner around to Seattle area Samoan groups to sign before taking it to her homeland Sunday, Oct. 18.

The banner was first signed at a candlelight vigil in Tacoma's Hyde Park Oct. 3. where more than $1,000 was raised for Samoan victims though World Vision.

The Federal Way Police Department is requesting the assistance of the public in the identification of the listed Robbery suspect.

On October 15, 2009, at approximately 12:35 AM, officers were dispatched to McDonald’s located on 348th at the Federal Way Crossing Mall (348th/Pacific Hwy S) as a result of a robbery.

The initial investigation indicates a lone male (suspected white), entered the restaurant through a closed drive-thru window. The suspect was armed with a black (possibly sawed off) shotgun that was equipped with a shoulder sling/harness.

The suspect gathered the five employees and bound their hands with duct tape. The suspect ordered one employee to open the safe and surrender the cash.

The suspect was reported to have spoken English fluently, with no distinguishable accent.

The suspect’s eyes were green or hazel.

He wore all black, with a light colored hooded sweatshirt containing a front-facing dark-colored logo (Ecko Ltd design).

The suspect wore a mask covering the entire face, possibly a paintball-type mask.

The suspect acted very quickly and efficiently and was well prepared to commit the crime.

Thomas Jefferson and Decatur put together some good back-and-forth rallies during the Raiders’ 3-0 volleyball win at the Gators’ home floor Tuesday.

“It was a tough match,” said Raiders coach Megan Melver.

Decatur keeps trying for a first league win (0-4 SPSL South and 1-8 overall) while TJ recorded its fifth win of the season (5-3 overall and 1-3 SPSL North).

The Gators played stronger much of the first game before the Raiders rallied, then game two was a wipeout for the Raiders. Game three again was anybody's and the Gators won it, withstanding a Raiders’ charge in the last bit of play.

Then game four was back-and-forth and just when the Raiders looked like they had it won with a 24-21 lead the Gators tied it at 24-24. And then the Raiders still won it, 26-24.

TJ led game one, 6-5, before the Gators rallied for 10 of the next 14 points to lead, 15-9, with a spike and kill from Taylor Aimalefoa.

Melver took a time out. Still, the Gators kept the lead going, 19-14, with what looked like a pivotal block by Audri Mooth to bring the game to that score. But the Raiders charged on, getting the next five straight points to tie it at 19-19.

The rezone of three industrial areas in Ballard could lead to more jobs and housing in the neighborhood. But, some fear it will also lead to an increase in noise complaints and conflict between residents and industries.

Andrea Petzel, spokesperson for the Seattle Department of Planning and Development, presented the plans for the rezone to the Ballard District Council Oct. 14.

As previously reported in the Ballard News-Tribune, the rezone will affect the north side of Market Street from 25th Avenue to 30th Avenue, the south side of Market Street from 26th Avenue to 30th Avenue, and Leary Avenue between 15th Avenue and 20th Avenue.

The area on the north side of Market will be rezoned into Neighborhood Commercial. The rezone will allow for a limited amount of residential development of up to 40 feet in that area, Petzel said.

The other two areas will become Industrial Commercial zones, which do not allow housing, and which are typically used for commercial and office space.

On Wednesday, Oct. 14 at approximately 8:30 p.m., North Precinct officers responded to a call of a vehicle vs. pedestrian collision at North 136th Street and Greenwood Avenue North.

It appears that a vehicle was travelling southbound on Greenwood Avenue North when it struck the pedestrian crossing the street westbound at North 136th.

The pedestrian sustained a life-threatening head injury and was transported to Harborview Medical Center by the Seattle Fire Department.

The driver was evaluated at the scene for any signs of impairment due to drugs or alcohol, and was determined to have been not impaired. The Traffic Collision Investigation Squad (TCIS) responded to the scene and conducted their investigation.

The investigation is ongoing.

(Editor’s note: This article comes from our sister publication the Ballard News-Tribune.)

The last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 were the worst ever for sales tax returns in Seattle, which is having a dire affect on the city’s 2010 budget, said City Budget Director Dwight Lively during an Oct. 14 presentation to the Ballard District Council.

That, combined with losses in the B and O tax, has crippled the city's general fund, which relies on the two taxes for 40 percent of its budget.

To close the budget gap in 2010, Mayor Greg Nickels has proposed widespread cuts and the depletion of the city's rainy day fund.

Dively said public safety and direct human services were the mayor's top priorities when making cuts.

There will be no reduction in firefighters, 21 additional police officers will be hired and no direct service programs will be cut, he said.

"What that meant is we had to cut basically everything else," Dively said.

One of the major impacts of the cuts will be on Seattle Public Libraries. Most branches will see their hours reduced to 35 per week.

With things looking as grim as they do for Seattle's 2010 budget, it was probably best for City Budget Director Dwight Dively to start off with a little levity during his Oct. 14 presentation to the Ballard District Council.

"I'm going to sit next to Warren (Aakervik) because he offered me money, which we could really use at the moment," Dively joked.

After that, the budget talk got a little more serious.

The last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 were the worst ever for sales tax returns in Seattle, Dively said.

That, combined with losses in the B and O tax, has crippled the city's general fund, which relies on the two taxes for 40 percent of its budget.

To close the budget gap in 2010, Mayor Greg Nickels has proposed widespread cuts and the depletion of the city's rainy day fund.

Dively said public safety and direct human services were the mayor's top priorities when making cuts.

There will be no reduction in firefighters, 21 additional police officers will be hired and no direct service programs will be cut, he said.

"What that meant is we had to cut basically everything else," Dively said.

Football

Kennedy 48, Foster 14

Kennedy Catholic cruised past Tukwila rival Foster in Seamount League action Friday, Oct. 2.

L.J. Jennings started off the scoring for the Lancers, taking the ball in from 13 yards out on the run. Christian Velte then kicked his first of six extra points for a 7-0 lead at 8:38 to play in the first quarter.

Jamal Johnson then put Foster on the scoreboard with 6:24 to go but a pass for two points failed to leave the margin at 7-6.

Kennedy Catholic then got on track with five unanswered touchdowns, all of which were followed by Velte PAT kicks.

Jennings scored on a 1-yard run with 11:13 to go in the second quarter and Kevin Taylor scored on a 38-yard interception return at the 10:18 mark.

Darian Brooks struck on a 39-yard run at 5:11 to go in the half.

Brooks started off the third quarter by scoring on a 2-yard run with 10:03 on the clock, then Orion Prescott punched in a 2-yard run at 5:42 to play in the third quarter.

Foster broke the string with 8:57 to go in the fourth quarter, as Norman Moimoi scored on a 10-yard run and Jamal Johnson ran for a two-point conversion.