June 2010

Ballard's West Woodland Elementary capped its centennial year with an all-school assembly and reception for past faculty and alumni.

While current students finished their classes, former West Woodland students snacked in the cafeteria and shared memories from their time at the school.

Margaret Melver Dakan graduated from the school in 1935. She said she loves coming back to her old school and likes the new library full of natural light. (She also expressed a deep appreciation for the buffet after a lunch-less afternoon.)

Dakan said she was impressed with how well-behaved the students were during the assembly, though she admitted her class may have have been even better behaved.

"We were always scared spitless," she said.

Student behavior wasn't the only thing that had changed at the school in the past century.

In the library, there was a makeshift museum of artifacts from West Woodland's history – a record player, an old-fashioned compass and protractor, a disciplinary paddle – that may have puzzled current students. Two students took turns trying out a typewriter by typing their names.

Washington’s only certified organic soap company, Ballard Organics, which offers soaps with no pesticides, solvents, animal products or synthetic fragrances, has something new on the market – a piece of the company.

Ben Busby-Collins started Ballard Organics five years ago in his 800-square-foot Ballard apartment and sold his first soap at the Ballard Farmers Market.

Now, the once fledgling company is housed in a 7,750-square-foot warehouse in Rainier Valley with six full-time employees and distribution in more than 280 retail stores in the Pacific Northwest.

The high demand for the product has created a need for more equipment and staff in order to manufacture more product and develop new products.

The common stock offering will also help to develop sales associates in other regions, create new marketing materials to expand to new territories and create a nationwide distribution network.

The people at Ballard Organics have a great passion for their line of natural products and have found a customer base that has become incredibly loyal to the brand, according to a Ballard Organics press release.

9 p.m.-1 a.m. June 4-June 5, 4400 block of Shilshole Avenue Northwest

Complainant works at a school on the Ship Canal and lives on a boat at the location. The compound has two gates locked with chains and padlocks.

Complainant uses a bicycle for transportation and was away from the compound, leaving gates locked and lights on in his residence/boat.

When complainant returned, he found that the chain had been cut to the east gate and the gate was standing open.

Staff checked the facility on June 5 and found that suspect(s) had forcibly
entered the vessel by cutting the padlock on the main entry to the main
deck.

Suspects also cut the lock to the tool storage area on the main deck. The tool storage area contains numerous power tools in cases but none were known disturbed or stolen.

Suspect(s) proceeded to the lounge on the observation deck and removed (by unplugging) a 42-inch plasma TV but left the remote behind.

Nothing else is known disturbed or missing.

Witness stated that a $2,000 projector was stolen from the galley two months ago.

The 21st Annual Free Summer Concerts and Events at the Locks got started witht he Boeing Employees Concert Band June 5. During the next thee months, more than 30 bands, plays, shows and orchestras will set up at the Ballard Locks.

All events are free and open to the public, but there is a limited amount of chairs, available on a first-come basis.

Schedule:

• June 12 (2 p.m.-3 p.m.) – Highline Community Symphonic Band
• June 13 (2 p.m.-4 p.m.) – Open Date
• June 19 (2 p.m.-3 p.m.) – Nordic Heritage Museum/Children's Dance
• June 20 (2 p.m.-3 p.m.) – Elliot Bay Pipe Band
• June 26 (2 p.m.-4 p.m.) – Eastside Modern Jazz Orchestra
• June 27 (2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.) – Microsoft Orchestra
• July 3 (2 p.m.-4 p.m.) – Woodinville Community Band
• July 4 (2 p.m.-3 p.m.) – Seattle Civic Band (Marching Music)
• July 10 (2 p.m.-3 p.m.) – Puget Sound Symphony Chamber Players
• July 11 (2 p.m.-3 p.m.) – Greenwood Concert Band
• July 11 (8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.) – USACE Seattle District Car Show

Ballard artists Lina Raymond lost a beloved business once and painted to get through her pain. Now, she does the same for Ballard's lost businesses and landmarks.

From her 100-year-old apartment building, Raymond has a view of empty storefronts and ruins of once-popular businesses.

Her paintings are colorful memorials to some of them, including Denny's, the Sunset Bowl, Edith Macefield's house and Epilogue Books.

"Paving paradise to put up parking lots is personal," Raymond said on her Web site. "And, we adapt or not."

Raymond's show, "Bearing Witness/adaptation," is showing at Portalis Wine Bar, located at 5205 Ballard Ave. N.W., until Aug. 6. After that, an expanded version of the show will be at Cupcake Royale, located at 2052 N.W. Market St., until Oct. 1.

Ballard Big Picture is a column of scenes from around the neighborhood. If you would like to submit a photo for use on this site and in the Ballard News-Tribune, please send it to Michael Harthorne at michaelh@robinsonnews.com. Be sure to include your name and information about your photo.

What if you found a new way of connecting with your surroundings? Feet First, the Seattle walking proponent organization is urging people to "Take steps towards improving your health and the environment while sharing your knowledge."
Feet First's mission is to promote more walkable communities.
Feet First is holding a "training session" for prospective Neighborhood Walking Ambassadors where as they put it, " you'll organize and lead walks that inspire, connect and inform people about hidden gems in your neighborhood. Feet First gives you all of the tools to promote and advocate for better walking conditions."
The first such session is Saturday June 12, from 10AM to 12PM at the Alki Bathhouse at 2701 Alki Ave. SW.

You can register for Neighborhood Walking Ambassador program by emailing info@feetfirst.info or by calling 206-652-2310.
Their web page on the training is here.

West Seattle resident and King County Superior Court Judge Michael Heavey was charged Tuesday, June 8, by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, or CJC, for speaking out in support of Amanda Knox, the West Seattle UW student convicted for the murder of her college roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia Italy. She is now serving a 26-year jail sentence.

Judge Heavey is charged for having used court time, materials and employees to draw up those letters. He wrote three letters to the prosecutors and a judge in that case in Perugia on County letterhead in 2008 while Knox was in prison awaiting trial. He told the West Seattle Herald he was upfront with the CJC.

"I self-reported this to the CJC January 22, 2009," Judge Heavey told the West Seattle Herald June 8. "A judge should not advance his private interest. I was not. I was advancing the interest of justice. I said in the letters that Amanda was not going to get a fair trial. that the people of Italy already had their hearts hardened which would deny her a fair trial, and that no evidence can soften their hearts."

There are a number of Greyhound rescue groups in Seattle. and Pat and Kim Whitted found their dog Twister at one of them. When they first got him he was in bad shape. "He'd broken his ankle on the track, which is why he stopped racing," said Pat, "He raced for 13 months."

Twister's bone break had not been set well by whoever took care of him so the the adoption group put him up in Idaho, where they re-set his leg, neutered him but he had one testicle that had not descended so they had to cut him up pretty hard to get it out. He also had lost part of his hair. "They keep these dogs in cages for 23 hours a day so his butt was bald when we got him so his hair looked like a bad perm," said Kim.

"He raced 119 races, came in first 20 times, second 20 times," Pat said. According to the Whitted's there is a database online where information about greyhounds can be seen. Each dog is given a unique tattoo on their ear. "You can put the tattoo number in on the website and it will pull up the full race record and the dog's lineage," said Pat. "It goes back to 1795," said Kim.

As proves to be the case frequently, my children have made me out to be a liar.

Mere hours after claiming I had figured out how to deal with my children’s sexual education (which pretty much resulted in doing nothing), I read them bedtime stories, during which both of them instantly stuck their hands down their pajamas.

I don’t know about your kids, but something about me reading to my kids results in a 50 percent chance that one or both of them will have the Pavlovian response to masturbate.

Coming from a “Free to be you and me” generation, I have never scolded or even addressed this Pavlovian need, am grateful it only occurs in the privacy and safety of our home, and figure they deserve a few more years of self-pleasure before someone makes them feel self-conscious about this.

I continued the evening in my “do nothing about sex ed, but tell yourself it’s because you’re so liberal” way and carried them to their respective beds, tucked them in and said good night.

I returned to my living room to find a beautiful man lying on my floor. I happen to know and like this man, so I joined him in his supine position.

5 a.m. June 4, 9300 Block of 21st Avenue Northwest

Occupied residential burglary while victims were home asleep with their 23-year-old son.

Containment was established and K9-13 was called to the scene. K9-13 tracked north then west to the area of Northwest 94th Street and 24th Avenue Northwest but was not able to locate the suspect.

Noon-12:35 p.m. June 4, 6000 Block of Second Avenue Northwest

An unknown suspect pried and damaged the basement rear door to gain entry into the house. Suspect rifled through several bedrooms and living room.

When police entered the house, they found a stereo on the floor just inside the front door. The front door was open. The house checked clear.

5:25 p.m. June 4, 300 Block of Northwest 112th Street

An unknown suspect broke the kitchen window and reached in to unlatch it. Suspect climbed in and ransacked the house.