March 2012

An argument involving Sealth students and others from outside the school, with a group estimated by police at around 60 people broke out just after school on Friday.

Security at the school tried to get the outside students to leave but they refused. The Seattle Police responded and quickly defused the situation but one person, a girl, had a knife confiscated since it was a weapons violation.

Principal Christopher Kinsey said, "After school, everybody congregates out here and there was a large group of kid across the street and our security, being cautious, made the determination since they weren't dispersing, to get some extra support."

A Seattle Police officer on the scene said, "Some students got into an argument, we don't know over what. Some of these students are not part of this school so we want to make sure we give them a safe ride out of here. It's a foreign bee in the hive and it results in bzzzzzz."

King County has selected 31 streets in two West Seattle neighborhoods for “further evaluation” to install rain gardens in hopes of reducing combined sewer overflows into Puget Sound at the Barton CSO facility near the Fauntleroy ferry dock.

Westwood and Sunrise Heights residents (the area defined by 35th Ave to the west, Barton St. to the south, Othello St. to the north and 30th Ave S.W. to the east) attended a public meeting on March 28, hosted by the King County Wastewater Treatment Division, to learn about how their streets will change once the county starts installing rain gardens, or bioswales, starting in 2013.

While the project involves only these two neighborhoods, King County has expressed their intent to create more rain garden projects in other neighborhoods in the future.

Another meeting, with the same presentations and topic, occurs on Saturday, March 31 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the High Point Community Center (6920 34th Ave S.W.).

Holy Family School, where West Seattle and White Center meet, has significant changes to their curriculum starting next school year as a Spanish Language and Latino Culture Program kicks off to split the days: half in English and half in Spanish.

The progam starts next year with the pre-school (three year olds), pre-kindergarten (four year olds) and kindergarten (fiver years old) kids learning reading, writing and math in English along with reading, writing and social studies in Spanish, according to Holy Family Principal Frank Cantwell. Each year the program will expand another grade until all kids, from pre-school to 8th grade are learning in a split language environment.

“Our school is 43 percent Latino,” Cantwell said, “and with the Latino students a lot of them speak Spanish at home, but they do not read or write it at home. If they can learn to read and write Spanish properly then it will transfer over to English easily, so this will be a big help for our Latino population.”

press release:
Three robotics teams from Highline Public Schools made an impressive showing at the FIRST Seattle Regional robotics competition.

Highline High School’s team, the High Tekerz, won the Engineering Inspiration Award, earning the team an invitation to the world championships in St. Louis.

Skunkworks Robotics, the Aviation High School team, made it to the semifinals but lost by one point in the final match of the tournament. The Skunks took home the Website Award and Industrial Design Award.

Panda Machine from TEC High School on the Evergreen Campus placed seventh out of the 47 teams in the competition, the team’s highest ranking in four years of competition. “Our robot was the dominant defensive robot,” said Panda Machine coach Lindsey Duerre. “Panda Machine kept it simple, stayed focused, and achieved outstanding success this season.”

This will be the HHS High Tekerz’ second trip to the world championships. “It is extremely unusual for a second year team to go two years in a row!” says volunteer Mary Zaches. “To my knowledge this has only been accomplished once before, by Skunkworks.”

Greggette Guy lost her life in West Seattle on March 11 after parking her car at Me-Kwa-Mooks Park on Beach Drive S.W. Her body was discovered floating in the Sound the next day and police are investigating her death as a homicide.

Guy’s life was celebrated during services on March 24 and the Edline & Yahn Covington Funeral Chapel posted her obituary and memorial fund information:

Born November 6, 1960 in Denver, Colorado, Greggette's family moved to the Seattle, WA area when she was 5. As a child, she lived in Burien, West Seattle, Renton and other local cities. Greggette was a member of the first graduating class of Liberty High School in the Issaquah School District in 1979 while living in the Renton area.

She met her husband, Dwight Guy in the summer of 1979, while working at K-Mart on N 130th St and Aurora Ave N. They were wed on September 19, 1981 and made their first home in the Lake City neighborhood of Seattle.

By Cassandra Baker, Intern

11:42 a.m. on March 24th. 41st block of Greenwood Ave N

A man called police to report that his home had been burglarized between 5:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. on March 23rd, and the burglar had targeted his liquor cabinet. The suspect entered through a rear window and stole $35 worth of tequila. Some coins were also stolen from a jar, and the jar was submitted for fingerprint analysis. Nothing else was taken.

7:44 p.m. on March 22nd. 70th block of 21st Ave NW

Two people called police to report that their home had been burglarized between 11:10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on March 22nd. The suspect entered the residence through a sliding basement window. There was a plastic dowel in the sliding track, but the suspect forced the window open and bent the dowel. The suspect rummaged through the kitchen, office, and bedroom, and stole several items, including computers. One of the victims found the back door open when he returned, indicating that the suspect left through this door. Fingerprints were found on the basement window.

Yesterday, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law a bipartisan anti-trafficking bill to keep minors from being exploited through online ads for escort services such as Backpage.com.

“I am ecstatic this anti-trafficking legislation is now law, the first of its kind in the country. This makes the strongest possible statement that there should be no selling of minors online – or anywhere,” stated Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, D—Seattle, prime sponsor of Senate Bill 6251, in a press release.

It took a collaboration of various Democratic and Republican politicians to pass this bill, Kohl-Welles worked with Attorney General Rob McKenna, Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn, Seattle Councilmember Tim Burgess, King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg, Port of Seattle Commission President Gael Tarleton, former Rep. Velma Veloria, the ACLU, Allied Daily Newspapers and others to ensure this bill passed constitutional muster.

Lawyer Toby Marshall, who represents the lifetime member in the class action lawsuit against the Olympic Athletic Club, informs us that the parties have reached a settlement.

At the end of November, 2011, lifetime members received a letter stating that the club had been sold and the new owner did not agree to service the lifetime memberships beyond December 31.

In December some members came together and filed a class action lawsuit against the club owners for refusing to honor lifetime memberships that the club sold for thousands of dollars in the 1980s.

The settlement is on behalf of approximately 1,175 OAC members, said Marshall. But in order to become final, the settlement will have to be approved by the Court, a process that will take four months or more.  

In the meantime, however, members may continue to use the club.

If the settlement is approved, the OAC will honor the lifetime memberships of the individuals who purchased their non-dues memberships prior to July 26, 1987, for the life of the current holder.

Normandy Park Police Chief Rick Kieffer, 58, officially retires this Sunday after 33 years on the Force, 17 as Chief. A going away party including an afternoon ceremony was held today and tonight at Normandy Park City Hall. Members of the public and staff attended. Numerous accolades, photographs and mementos earned and collected by Chief Kieffer were on display. While well-wishers huddled around him, much attention was given to the furry bundle in the room, Paden, the well-groomed, affectionate German shepherd he and his wife, Mary consider their pet.

"He's a good tracking dog," Chief Kieffer told the Highline Times at the party. "I've used him occasionally (for police work), maybe a dozen times since we've had him. He's almost 11."

The Kieffers are soon off to France. He explained, "My wife's nephew is getting married in Paris and wants me to perform the wedding ceremony. I am an ordained minister in the Universal Life Church."

They lived in Texas, California, and Hawaii before moving here. He was born in Rapid City, South Dakota. So was his father, who attended the party.

The SeaTac Fire Department cannot merge with the Kent Regional Fire Authority but SeaTac lawmakers are looking at contracting with the agency to save costs.

Contracting would be similar to what SeaTac already does with its police department. SeaTac, as well as Burien contract for police services with the King County Sheriff’s Office.

SeaTac already shares a fire chief, fire marshal and firefighter training with Kent.

City officials looked at merging with Kent fire but discovered a legal glitch, according to fire chief Jim Schneider.

Under state law, the Port of Seattle, which operates Sea-Tac International Airport, cannot be levied a “fire benefit charge” on its property, Schneider said. The airport makes up a large portion of the city.

Fire departments assess homeowners and property owners the fire benefit charge to pay for services. Commercial properties are charged at a high rate than family residences.

The Port has its own fire department but in the case of a plane crash or other major incident, the city’s firefighters would also quickly respond, Schneider noted.