June 2010

Meet Bill Jensen

Bill is well known for his gift at raising a huge garden every year in his Three Tree Point acreage that is full of exotic calla lilies and Begonias.

Bill, a retired tool and die maker, did it again this year.

Only this year he had some new challenges to overcome far tougher than weeds, insects and weather. This year he suffered a debilitating stroke, crippling the entire left side of his body a couple months before planting time.

A lesser man would have thrown up his plans and bagged a garden of any size. Not Bill Jensen.

When asked how he achieved victory over the average guy he just shrugged his pain free shoulders and said, "I had to work hard to overcome this unplanned disability."

One step at a time, exercising daily at home and at Highline Fitness Center in Burien, he overcame his shortcoming one day at a time.

In three months of rigid determination he has shaken off most of the pain and physical liability and appeared at the many doors of his neighbors this week with his great smile and a huge bouquet.

When he knocked on our door holding his annual gift, he asked if we had a vase.

One thing Water District 54 commissioners and Des Moines officials can agree on is Commissioner John Rayback's comment that "the City and this District seem to have communication problems."

Water commissioners are still sore about having to put in a new water main in the 1990s when the city widened the fill where Marine View Drive crosses Des Moines Creek and then having to do it again a few years later when Des Moines put in a bridge. The first loan won't be paid off until 2014 and the second loan runs until 2025, the commissioners complain.

I suspect the city, on the other hand, thinks the water district is too small to supply enough water for their vision of an upgraded downtown and marina district. They would prefer the larger Highline Water District take it over.

So the stormwater really hit the fan when our writer Keith Daigle, covering the May 13 Des Moines City Council meeting, reported that Des Moines city staffers charged the water district reneged on plans to upgrade the downtown water system, thus halting economic growth.

To be clear, Daigle did not say the district had backed out, city staffers said the district backed out.

Wonder why speed limits are quirky from Burien to Des Moines along 1st avenue south?

The answer is a bit complicated. When the initial phase of the improvement project was completed from 160th St. to 174th St, the Normandy Park city planners learned that Normandy Park Assisted Living was submitting plans for expansion of their facilities along 164th St.

It made sense at the time to lower the 45 mph speed limit to 35 mph due to a concern for senior citizens in the area as well as continuing the 35 mph limit from further north in Burien.

The fact that the short stretch from 174th St. to SW Normandy Rd. is currently at 45 mph (that quirkiness we mentioned) has not gone unnoticed and is only there because the state has the jurisdiction on changes in speed limits. Yes, that stretch of roadway from 174th thru to Des Moines and beyond is considered part of SR 509 according to Barbara Briggs of the state DOT.

Sunday's thick fog lifted long enough to allow the runners in the Running Blind race to find their way to the finish line.
Approximately 250 people competed in the Normandy Park events, raising funds for Hear See Hope, an organization devoted to fighting Usher Syndrome.

"We wanted to have a community event," Todd McKittrick said, "something fun for all ages." McKittrick and his wife Lane established Hear See Hope in 2004, after their oldest son Connor was diagnosed with Usher Syndrome, a genetic condition that causes deafness and blindness.

After the diagnosis, Lane said, starting the organization provided "a way to channel" their feelings in order to "do something positive."

Begun by the McKittricks and a small circle of their friends and acquaintances, the organization now collaborates with individuals and organizations across the country.

Hear See Hope grants have funded research performed at the University of Iowa and Oregon Health Sciences University, among other institutions. They also helped establish the Coalition for Usher Syndrome Research, devoted to research, awareness, and support for affected families.

Earline Byers is a delightful columnist and I often enjoy her musings about issues of interest to our community.

Unfortunately I cannot say that about her June 4 article on immigration, because what she has written is misleading in one case and in another case gives the reader a false impression.

First, of the Arizona immigration law she writes that it "authorizes massive (emphasis mine) punishment for illegal immigrants, provoking people throughout the country." It would have been helpful for her to tell us what this 'massive' punishment is. What exactly makes the punishment 'massive?' Large fines? Long jail terms?

As a contrast, being illegal in Mexico is a felony; here it is a misdemeanor. The fact is that this law codifies into state law existing federal law.

Arizona has done this out of frustration because our federal government is failing to enforce it own laws for protecting its citizenry against the several negative social impacts of illegal immigration, which Arizonans are experiencing in spades. Maybe we should ask them why a large majority of them support the law.

A big thank you to Tyson at Southwest Medical Imaging in Burien who found and kept in safekeeping my diamond earring that I thought I'd slipped into my wallet after removing them while I was there for an MRI on Friday of Memorial Day weekend.

I didn't realize one was missing till that evening. They were closed for the weekend so I left a frantic voice mail, a note on their door and even faxed them, worried it may have gotten vacuumed up by the cleaning crew.

I spent a worried holiday weekend till I was able to get in there Tuesday morning, and he had it!

He said he couldn't take a reward so I've mailed off a donation for the Doney Memorial Clinic, which takes care of the veterinary needs for pets who belong to the homeless in Seattle.

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Tyson!

Cheryl Zappala
Burien

Man killed in one-car accident

Samuel E. Backman,20, died when he lost control of his car as he was driving west on South 216th Street and crashed through a Marine View Drive South guardrail on June 3.

The car was found flipped over about 50 feet down the embankment. South King & Rescue firefighters used a thermal imaging device to look for passengers but the man was alone.

Pickup truck loses tire on Interstate 5

A Normandy Park woman is lucky to be alive after a tire struck her windshield while she was driving on Interstate 5 in Tukwila.

The woman was northbound in her 2002 Honda Accord in the right lane near the Duwamish curves when a southbound truck lost its left front tire while traveling at freeway speeds. The tire came across the median and impacted the Honda's windshield on the driver's side.

The woman calmly pulled to the right shoulder and waited for help to arrive. Fortunately the driver only suffered minor injuries from shattered glass.

The cause of the tire failure is under investigation.

Burien's strawberry festival has gone wild.

This year's version is called the 2010 Wild Strawberry Festival. Participants are invited to celebrate art and greenability at a new location in Town Square Park, 152nd SW and 5th, on June 19th and June 20th.

The old asphalt chunks that were part of the Burien Interim Art Space have been removed to make way for the festival. The splash fountain, located in the park, will also be fully operational.

The festival will feature an eclectic lineup of musicians and performance troupes, the B-Town Bike Fair, Discover Burien's Fathers Day Car Show, art and green demo's, hands on booths and games, an inflatable village for all ages, Rat City Rummage and more

Come to the Main Stage and the Performer Plazarama to catch exciting acts such as jazz by Rat City Brass and Underground Swing, Rock with Camino Cadillac and the Black Crabs, or listen to amazing a cappella by Abrace and The Friends Trio.

And don't miss talented local performers such as Momentum Dancers, New City Dancers and the Highline Community Symphonic Band (maybe in costume)!

The Arts Council appointed by Highline Public Schools Superintendent John Welch presented their report on June 2 to the school board outlining improvements that could be made to the district's arts education programs.

Each recommendation was categorized and numbered. Leadership, equity, funding, and program offerings were considered.

The meeting began with presentations by Highline students who are a part of the fight to improve the arts programs in their schools.
Global Communications High School junior Ashley Hale played the trumpet for the board members and two other students of the Arts and Academics Academy (AAA) on the Evergreen High campus presented a video and discussed how dance is important to them.

"Dance gives us the gift of expression," said the students.

According to students, the big plus of AAA is that it gives an alternative to the traditional idea of physical education, because, as one student exclaimed, "not everyone is an athlete."

For another student, dance lead to leadership skills she would not have otherwise developed.

Effective Saturday, June 12, the animals for adoption at the King County Crossroads animal shelter will be transferred to the county Kent shelter location and the Crossroads location will close to the public.

The county is changing its animal control services beginning July 1. SeaTac and Tukwila have expressed interest in continuing to receive services from the county, at least for the next two years.

Burien has opted out and will make alternative arrangements for animal patrolling, sheltering and licensing.
Des Moines and Normandy Park already share an animal control officer.
County staffers say the shelter consolidation will allow for more efficient staffing at the Kent shelter location, improved care for animals, and save the county utility and lease costs.

The Crossroads location will remain a non-public base of operations for Animal Control Officers assigned to East or North King County, and may occasionally be used to support adoption events and foster care programs.
The Crossroads shelter is the smaller of two county-run animal services locations. On average, it can hold just over a dozen adoptable animals.