April 2010

Northwest Hope & Healing presented the 8th Annual Spring Fashion Show and auction called “Style ’10” at the Showbox SODO Thursday night, April 29 to benefit breast cancer patients. The packed house feasted their eyes on fashions from Seattle area shops, including West Seattle’s Carmilia’s, Sweetie, Coastal Alki Beach, West Seattle Runner, and hair by Ola Salon. Sponsors included Spring Hill Restaurant & Bar, West Seattle Body Works, and Kiwanis of West Seattle.

Shari Sewell, executive director of Northwest Hope & Healing welcomed the long line of people entering the hall. Celesta Bjornson chaired, and Linda Sabee of Carmilia’s co-chaired. Sabee organized the event. Pat Murphy was emcee.

Christy Pudduck and Sarah Steere own Coastal on Alki.

“This is such a fun show to be a part of,” said Pudduck. “Every year we love it. All the models including the (breast cancer) survivors who participate are amazing to work with and to watch. Just a great energy.”

“We have about eight or nine male and female models, and for the first time we’re including swim wear,” said Steere before the event began.

Due to market conditions and a changing regulatory environment, Lafarge North America announced on April 29, 2010, that it will cease clinker production at its Seattle Cement plant at the end of 2010 and put the kiln in a care and maintain mode. At that time the facility will be transitioned from a clinker/cement manufacturing operation to a cement grinding, blending and shipping operation.

Employees were notified yesterday and every effort is being taken to look at how the skills and experience of employees might be utilized in the changing operation.

This will affect more than half the existing number of employees at the Seattle plant which currently employs 70 people. The company plans on working with the affected employees to help them find other work or retrain.

Seattle Public Utilities is starting its RainWise program in Ballard in May. As part of the program, 3,000 Ballardites are eligible for a rebate for construction of a rain garden or cistern on their property to help control storm water runoff.

Residents living in the area bordered by Northwest 65th Street and Northwest 85th Street and 15th Avenue Northwest and 33rd Avenue Northwest could receive 80 percent to 100 percent of the cost of constructing a cistern or rain garden.

RainWise is part of the city's 15-year plan to improve the quality of local waterways by reducing combined sewer overflows into the city's bodies of water.

During heavy rains in Ballard, storm water runoff from roofs and streets overflows the city's system and makes its way into Salmon Bay, said Seattle Public Utilities' Susan Stoltzfus.

"With enough involvement, we'll be able to see a significant reduction in the volume of runoff being added to that system," she said.

The city is starting the program in the defined area of Ballard because there is a fully combined sewer system there and the slopes are not too extreme, said Bob Spencer, head of the RainWise program.

Todd Beamer was roughed up by visiting Puyallup, 2-0, in boys soccer action Thursday, but, hey, think on the bright side -- there's still a lot of season left for the Titans to shine.

Currently, despite the loss, the Seattle Times daily marks the Titans as one of the top 10 ranked teams (ninth) in 4A in the state, ahead of rival Decatur even, though the Gators will probably win the South Puget Sound League South Division. The Gators have Spanaway Lake this Tuesday and then end on May 7 against Beamer. Incidentally, Beamer won the first season meeting, 1-0 --scoring the game-winner (1-0) in the final four minutes of play.

The Gators stand at 11-2-1 with 34 points in the SPSL South league standings while Beamer and Puyallup are both 9-2-3 with 30 points.

So, realistically and, three points get gained for a win, or, one, for a tie only. The Gators are too many points ahead of the two tied second place teams --Beamer and Vikings -- and the Gators will win the SPSL South. For that feat, the Gators will get pitted against the No. 1 team from the SPSL North coming up on May 12, which looks like it will be Thomas Jefferson with their 10-4-1 mark under Dave Hanson's coaching.

Some say, "My home is my temple." but on Thursday, April 29, Husky Deli could have said the same thing, as two rabbis' wives worked the lunch crowd there with a tasting of their new Marian Davis' Barbeque Sauce.

Giti Fredman runs the Torah Learning Center, or TLC, a temple and school of Jewish learning for aduilt and children, with husband, Rabbi David Fredman, in the Admiral neighborhood. Rooksie David, who, with husband, Avraham, runs the Seward Park Kollel, also a Jewish learning center, and the "mother ship" of the TLC. Rooksie developed the product, and Giti helps her distribute it .

The first $225 thousand of profits goes to funding children's learning at the TLC and other Kollel affiliates.

In addition to Husky Deli, Marian Davis' Barbeque Sauce is offered at the Admiral Pub, Spuds Fish & Chips on Alki, soon at the Morgan Junction Thriftway, and now at Swinery Meats, north of the Junction.

The Swinery? Is that kosher?

Morest Layton “Morey” Skaret was born on August 2, 1913, the second of six children. His mother was a North Dakota schoolteacher, his father a Norwegian immigrant in search of free, farmable land. Ida and Elling Skaret homesteaded 160 acres in southeastern Alberta, Canada. The young family—and their warmth-producing animals, especially on chilly nights—lived in a sod house, or “soddy.” Morey’s father would later build the first wood-framed house in the area.

Elling Skaret was not only the first homesteader in the area; he was a resourceful frontier craftsman, gifted artisan and font of folk wisdom as well. When the Gypsies came by with a horse to sell, for instance, he would sidle up to the animal, discreetly wedge a stick into its mouth and survey the teeth.

‘That horse is five years old,’ the Gypsy would proclaim. ‘It’s nine years old,’ Elling would respond. “Dad could read the rings on the tooth of a horse, and then get its age,” Morey recalls. “And Dad was a water-witcher, too. He learned that in Norway.”

More than three dozen runners can look forward to pounding the pavement in new shoes this week thanks to West Seattle’s first specialty running store, West Seattle Runner, located at Charlestown and California.

The grand opening on April 10th. attracted hundreds of local runners, supporters and friends to the second floor location throughout the first two days of business.
  Owners Tim and Lori McConnell built the store with a special focus on “keeping it local” and working tirelessly to involve the community in opening preparations.

There are stadium seats from the old Chief Sealth High School in the shoe fitting area and a row of reclaimed lockers near the door holding T-shirts with the store’s logo. 
 

The Ballard High School girls tennis team overcame adversity and played one of its best matches of the season April 28 in a 6-1 loss to Bellevue, a team coach Charles Brenner said is one of the toughest it will face all season.

"Today was a great day for Ballard tennis because it presented a lot of promise," Brenner said. "Many of our girls played their best match of the season, which is awesome."

The Beavers played well despite battling the rain and the loss of senior Kristin Otness, who fractured her wrist in the team's previous match.

Brenner singled out Jimena Diaz and Maya Voelk as two athletes who played better against Bellevue than he had seen them play all season.

Voelk earned the single Beaver victory of the day, beating Bellevue's Mackenzie Urquhart 6-3 and 6-2.

Ballard (0-6) faces Mercer Island at 3:45 p.m. on April 29 at the Lower Woodland Tennis Courts

Complete scores from the April 28 match against Bellevue:

In # 1 Singles London Lee from Bellevue High School beat Jimena Diaz from Ballard High School 6-1, 6-3.

In #2 Singles Sabrina Tu from Bellevue High School beat Stephanie Loo from Ballard High School 6-0, 6-0.

Visual and audio dampening components were installed on the roof of the Ballard on the Park/QFC development April 29 in an attempt to make the rooftop HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) units less audibly and visibly noticeable from the adjacent Ballard Commons Park and nearby residences.

The HVAC system could be heard humming from the park since it was turned on in January, and some residents complained that the large metal units were unsightly and not represented in plans for the development.

The supports for the dampening components were installed two weeks ago.

Ballard on the Park's 268 units at 5700 24th Ave. N.W. opened for leasing in February. The QFC below the apartments opened in January.

Ballard High School jazz students had the chance to learn from a pair of internationally acclaimed musicians, as well as some most likely soon-to-be internationally acclaimed musicians, when the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz brought its peer-to-peer jazz education program to the school April 29.

Saxophonist Antonio Hart, vocalist Lisa Henry and Thelonious Monk, Jr. brought six of the best jazz musicians from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts to five Seattle high schools this week to work side by side with students.

Ballard High School jazz band teacher Michael James said his students were definitely excited for the visit. They didn't know all the details about the institute, but Thelonious Monk is a big name in jazz history, he said.

J.B. Dyas, vice president of education and curriculum development at the institute, said the idea is for six Los Angeles High School musicians to teach next to their Ballard counterparts the same way Thelonious Monk learned by sitting next to Dizzy Gillespie.

"Kids learn so much more from each other than they ever do from us," Dyas said.