April 2013

TUKWILA - Continuing to exhibit its strength in a highly successful tennis season, the Foster High School girls team defeated visiting Highline 6-1 on Wednesday, April 24, while also initiating its preparations for the upcoming post season.

The Bulldogs stood at a 10-2 sole possession of second place in the Seamount League behind unbeaten league leader Hazen (13-0) as the regular season neared its finish. Foster's only losses were highly competitive team matches against the Highlanders from Renton. The hard trying Pirates' record moved to 6-7.

On Friday, April 19, 2013, the suspects in the Boston Marathon Bombings were confronted in the East End of Watertown, MA. One suspect was killed during a shootout with the police while the other escaped. Later that day, Dzokhar Tsarnaev was found hiding in a boat and arrested. While millions of people watched these events unfold on TV, they had a special significance for me: the gunfight and the boat are located within three blocks of my parent’s house in the neighborhood I grew up in.

Watertown is, in many ways, very similar to Ballard. Founded in 1630 (the same year as Boston), it is a few miles away from Downtown Boston, yet it is its own distinct place with a proud history. Not too far away from where the gun battle took place is the grave of Joseph Coolidge, a Minuteman who died in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775. Watertown also served as a temporary headquarters of the Revolutionary War forces during the Siege of Boston and markers commemorate the fact that Gen. George Washington himself once passed through there.

From Ballard High School

Mark your calendars for the Inaugural Beaver Nation Athletic Awards night Tuesday June 11, 2013 at 7:00 pm in the Ballard High School gymnasium. The event will be a huge celebration for all the Ballard High School athletic accomplishments this year—with a solid emphasis on academics and what it means to be an athlete in life, at school and on the playing field/court. Specifically, the event will:

• Summarize the accomplishments of all of our 25+ teams and clubs
• Award the top male and female athletes in multiple categories
• Honor an outstanding parent, community or business member who goes above and beyond to serve our student-athletes and our athletic programs with the Jim Vatn Award
• Honor a coach, teacher or staff member who exemplifies the heart and soul of Ballard High School athletics with the John Nygaard Award (Read our story on John Nygaard's passing here)

By Georgie Bright Kunkel

When I hear our president or anyone else spout about our country being the greatest country in the world, I become nauseous. I was brought up to share and not to engage in braggadocio behavior. I can hardly sing the national anthem without shuddering when everyone sings about the bombs bursting in air. I always have wondered what being the greatest country means anyway. If it means being the richest, then owing more than any other country puts us out of the running for that prize. Being far down the list of countries in providing early childhood and college education for citizens wouldn’t qualify this country for plaudits. And as to most affordable health care, that honor is already taken.

By Kyra-lin Hom

I apologize for missing all of you last week. I was finally moving out of my dad's house (an ongoing process) and simply ran out of time. I have now officially wedged my way into a three bedroom bachelor pad – yup, that's me and two of my male friends. My first new purchase of the apartment was a garbage can. You read that right. For several months they had been keeping trash in a slowly dying hamper. The lidded trash can has so far been a vast improvement. I'll keep all of you posted. I'm sure to collect many more interesting tales as time goes on.

But that's not what I want to discuss this week. This week I want to talk genetics, specifically the human genome. If you're at all the science-fiction fanatic I am, genetic enhancements are nothing new to you. Humans with hawk-like eyesight, superhuman hearing, or even no need to ever sleep are the sci-fi future's norm. If this is Greek to you, consider the current cinematic franchise known as the Avengers. Heard of the Hulk or Captain America? Those special serums that oomph'ed those men up to super-soldier status were genetic A-bombs.

MONDAY, APR 29, 2013

Fastpitch: JV Non-Conf., 3:30pm, vs. Holy Names @ Gilman Ballfield #1

Soccer: Boys C Team Conf. Match, 3:30pm, vs. Eastlake @ Ballard High School

Baseball: JV Conf. Game, 3:45pm, vs. Skyline @ Whitman Middle School

Baseball: Varsity Conf. Game, 3:45pm, Away vs. Skyline @ Skyline High School

Baseball: C Team Conf. Game, 3:45pm, vs. Redmond @ Loyal Heights (moved from Soundview)

Tennis: Girls Varsity Game, 3:45pm, Away vs. Bothell @ Bothell High School (Rescheduled from 04-08-13)

Fastpitch: JV Conf. Game, 4:00pm, Away vs. Eastlake Rescheduled to 05-03-13

TUESDAY, APR 30, 2013

Golf: Girls Varsity Conf. Match, 3:00pm, Away vs. Eastlake @ Sahalee Country Club

Fastpitch: JV Conf. Game, 3:30pm, Away vs. Redmond @ Hartman Park Baseball Field - Hartman Park Softball Field

Baseball: C Team Conf. Game, 3:45pm, vs. Woodinville @ Soundview Playfield

Tennis: Girls JV Game, 3:45pm, vs. Garfield @ Ballard High School (Date changed from 04-18-13)

Tennis: Girls Varsity Game, 3:45pm, Away vs. Garfield @ Amy Yee Tennis Center (Date changed from 04-18-13)

The Viking Tavern will have closed its doors to business when they lock the door at 2 a.m. on May 1. The closure will really hit the regulars when the door doesn’t yield in their hand at 11:30 a.m. The Viking Tavern’s run since 1950 on Ballard’s skid road of 24th NW will have ended. Their motto, “The way Ballard was is the way it is at The Viking,” will become past tense.

Twenty-five year owner Tim Cannon has many tried and true quotes on the subject, “All the walls are covered in memorabilia,” he said. “Of course we used to just call it décor.”

Since it opened in 1950, The Viking had always had its fans and its detractors, its regulars and its casual drop-ins. Ruthie, who long ago lived across the street, used to take it upon herself to inform the owners about the bartender’s comings and goings. In those days the concern was that he was closing up too early, rather than patrons lingering on the sidewalk too late.

Photo by Erik Haugen-Goodman

Update 10:35am
Information from the Seattle Fire Department

Seattle Fire Investigators determined an early morning apartment fire in West Seattle was caused by an electrical malfunction in the kitchen range which ignited combustible materials in the kitchen. Investigators say the kitchen fire extended to the living room of the bottom level unit. The fire is being ruled accidental.

At 2:10 a.m. a 911 call came into a dispatcher at the Fire Alarm Center reporting a fire at the four-story complex. Ladder Company 11 arrived to find heavy smoke inside the complex and flames coming from a bottom level unit. It took 12 minutes to knock down the flames and an hour to completely extinguish the fire inside the first floor unit. Firefighters were able to contain the flames to the one unit. Smoke from the fire did fill the hallways of the complex.

32 people were displaced when smoke filled the hallways of the complex. A library staff member of the Southwest branch opened up a classroom of the library located across the street from the apartment complex to temporarily shelter the evacuated residents.

Saint John the Baptist Episcopal Church in West Seattle has a new spiritual leader, the Reverend Jerry D. (JD) Godwin.

Rev. Godwin will serve as Priest-in-Charge beginning April 30, 2013 and deliver his first sermon in that capacity on Sunday, May 5, 2013 during services at 8 and 10:15 am.

The appointment was made by the Right Reverend Gregory Rickel, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia (Province VIII) following selection by the vestry of Saint John the Baptist.

Rev. Godwin has been Rector of the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration in Dallas, Texas since 2000, where he led a parish of nearly 2,000 members. As Priest-in-Charge, he will provide spiritual leadership for the congregation and prepare the parish for the process of calling a permanent Rector in three to five years. “What an exciting time we have ahead of us as we join hands in ministry – to discover, more and more, how God is calling us, in the power of the Spirit, to carry on the mission of his Son in our world,” says Rev. Godwin.

The community is invited to meet Rev. Godwin at two special welcoming events:

In the second game of what is called Major League Ultimate played at the Southwest Athletic Complex the Seattle Rainmakers faced off against the Portland Stags Saturday night, April 27.

The game is new and a blend of team disc throwing, catching, and scoring. The object of the game is to score points by passing the disc to a player in the opponent's end zone, much like football. Players can't run with the disc, and must keep a pivot while holding it.

In Saturday's game, Cutter Reid Koss didn’t waste any time getting the Rainmakers on the board scoring a mere twenty seconds into the game on Saturday against the Portland Stags in front of a smaller crowd than last week.

But the fans were fervent and loud.

There were even tailgaters’ barbequing burgers and dogs in the upper parking lot before the game. Koss and crew would go on to defeat the Stag 18-12.

Seattle’s fast paced offense and their swift slashing defense is the reason the Rainmakers are in first place in the MLU Western Conference.