August 2013

By Jeremy Martin

It’s not always easy to forecast the weather in Seattle, but for the past six years it’s been a cinch figuring out when fall begins.

Every weekday evening in August, like clockwork, a few hundred eager kids take to the gridiron at Hiawatha Playfield in the Admiral Junction and spend a couple hours learning the nuances of playing football.

From passing and catching to three point stances, route running and most importantly safety, the proper techniques of America’s most popular game are drilled in to area youngsters by a team of dedicated, caring and knowledgeable coaches.

During a recent practice around 130 kids, all under 14 and coming from every social and economic background West Seattle has to offer worked together, setting aside any off field differences to learn the game that they love.

One thing however was different on this evening, something was new, something rather small, but highly noticeable.

“This year we are providing a smaller division for seven and six year olds,” coach Joel Gaither said.

Seattle Police are looking for a man who robbed a bank on the 8700 Block of Holman Rd about an hour ago. According to their Twitter, he escaped in a green 2005 Nissan Sentra. The suspect may have a child in the vehicle.

It was implied the man had a gun.

The only bank that shows up on the 8700 Block of Holman Road is Washington Federal at 8747 Holman Rd NW.

We'll provide updates as we get them.

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Today's disturbing news comes via the SPD Blotter:

Seattle police were called to a warehouse in the 2600 block of NW Market Street just after noon on Friday after a worker called 911 and said he had found a leg on the roof of the building.

The man who made the grim discovery also told police he did not believe the leg bone belonged to an animal.

Officers responded to the scene and have turned the case over to the King County Medical Examiner’s office to identify the remains.

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We're not sure what happened, but yesterday BNT Columnist Peggy Sturdivant spotted this car with its side bashed in over by the Market St Taco Time.

All we know is that it's a terrible reminder of when three Ballard High School graduates died in the same spot back in 2010. They were Mike Turner, 20; Kellen Jones, 20; and Spenser Millard, 19.

The pole that they crashed against still stands.

If you know anything about this recent accident, email us at zachb@robinsonnews.com.

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Seamount Volleyball
2013 Schedule
Monday, Sept. 9
Foster at Decatur, 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 10
Highline at Bremerton, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 12
Kennedy at Highline; Lindbergh at Foster; Tyee at Renton; Evergreen at Hazen, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 17
Highline at Tyee; Foster at Kennedy; Lindbergh at Evergreen, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 19
Tyee at Foster; Hazen at Highline; Kennedy at Lindbergh; Evergreen at Renton, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 21
Kennedy at Kent Classic tournament.
Tuesday, Sept. 24
Kennedy at Evergreen; Lindbergh at Tyee; Highline at Renton; Foster at Hazen, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 26
Evergreen at Highline; Tyee at Kennedy; Renton at Foster, 7 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 30
Evergreen at Cleveland, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 1
Tyee at Evergreen; Highline at Foster; Kennedy at Hazen, 7 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 3
Foster at Evergreen; Hazen at Tyee; Renton at Kennedy; Highline at Lindbergh, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 5
Kennedy at Reach the Peak Invitational at Glacier Peak.
Highline at Bearcat Varsiy TOurnament at Monroe.
Monday, Oct. 7
Evergreen at Chief Sealth, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Oct. 8
Highline at Kennedy; Renton at Tyee; Hazen at Evergreen; Foster at Lindbergh, 7 p.m.

Comcast, Alaska Airlines and Swedish Medical Center make back to school fair possible

Burien, WA– Thousands of Highline students are ready for the first day of school thanks to the generous donations of Comcast, Alaska Airlines, Swedish Medical Center, and several community-based organizations. Students received new back packs filled to the brim with school supplies at the annual SeaTac Back to School Fair.

With the community’s support, 2,000 back packs were given away at the fair, serving students who live in SeaTac. In addition, students received free haircuts and dental check-ups.

“The generosity and support from the community means students and families don’t have to worry about the financial burden of buying back to school supplies,” said Superintendent Susan Enfield. “They can now focus on learning and succeeding in the classroom.”

Comcast, Swedish Medical Center, and Alaska Airlines were major sponsors of the event. Several community-based organizations also sponsored the fair. Please see the list below of complete sponsors.

From SDOT Blog

Street Maintenance staff are chip sealing many streets in Greenwood and Crown Hill this month. Chip sealing is a preventative treatment to maintain residential streets so they don’t deteriorate into expensive reconstruction projects.

You’ve got to appreciate the term “chip seal” because it pretty much tells you what’s involved:

• Chips: Rock chips, a.k.a. bits of rock about ¼” wide. The chips become embedded into the pavement surface, protecting the emulsion and providing some additional traction.
• Sealant: an emulsion that seals the pavement to keep out water. It also glues those chips to the street.

Chip sealing has three main steps:

• Emulsion is applied to the street surface.
• A thin layer of rock chips is spread over the emulsion.
• Chips are pressed into the emulsion with a vehicle similar to a steamroller.

Of course not all of those millions of rock chips stick to the emulsion, so loose rocks are inevitably part of the chip seal process.

Friday, August 16

Ballard Sidewalk Sale

What: Businesses all over the Ballard downtown core are putting out sales on the sidewalk. This is the 43rd Annual Sidewalk Sale.

Where: Along Market St, Ballard Ave and Leary Way

When: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Outdoor Movie at Shilshole Bay Marina

What: Port of Seattle presents the second annual, FREE Movies at the Marina nights! Bring your friends, family, and a blanket to the marina plaza for outdoor movie fun. Chairs are welcome in the back row and along the sides. No alcohol allowed. Leashed pets are welcome.

Where: Shilshole Bay Marina (7001 Seaview Ave NW)

When: 8:45 p.m.

More info: http://www.portseattle.org/Marinas/Shilshole-Bay-Marina/Pages/Special-E…

Pig Pickin' Jamboree

What: To celebrate their first anniversary, Kickin' Boot Whiskey Kitchen is throwing a party! Enjoy a weekend full of pig roasts, outdoor BBQ, live music, whiskey tasting, Maritime Pacific Brewery brews and donations to Ballard Food Bank. See you there!

Where: Kickin' Boot Whiskey Kitchen (5309 22nd Ave NW)

When: 3-9 p.m.

The King County Sheriff's Office is looking for information on a hit-and-run accident that severely injured a 4-year-old boy in Burien on Aug. 15.

Here are the details from KCSO Det. Jason Stanley:

At about 8:25 P.M. on 08/15/13, a family was exiting their car that was parked on the street in front of their house on 4th AV SW near SW 124th ST.

A four year old boy was struck by a car driving north on 4th AV SW. The driver of that car, reported as a white older Honda sedan, pulled over then fled the collision scene north toward Seattle. The vehicle should have front end damage.

If somebody believes they have information on this crime, please call (206) 296-3311.

The child suffered severe injuries and was transported to Harborview Medical Center by King County Medic One.

The KCSO Major Accident Response and Reconstruction detectives responded to investigate the collision.

While riding to Ballard via the Ship Canal Trail, I had to stop at the Ballard Bridge when a construction vehicle was blocking the way. He was just pulling out, and it's not a big deal for bicyclists usually, but it gave me a little bit of time to reflect on the words of Seattle Department of Transportation's Art Brochet, who does communications for the seismic retrofit of the Balalrd Bridge.

I paraphrase, because he said these words at the Ballard District Council quite a while ago, but he said something along the lines of "You probably haven't noticed, but we've been making great progress on the seismic retrofit project. We've been doing all the work from underneath, and we haven't needed to close lanes on the top even once."

Even bicyclists are treated nicely, as they built scaffolding so workers wouldn't have to stand on lifts parked in the middle of the trail. You can't really see them in the photo, but there are a couple or workers up there. Originally, SDOT thought they would have to close the trail for 30 days while they completed this upper portion of work, but all they had to do was slightly narrow the trail instead.