March 2015

By Anastasia Stepankowsky
 
The Evergreen High School baseball team is holding a breakfast fundraiser from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, March 7 at the White Center Eagles Club. The proceeds will help purchase equipment for the coming season.

“A lot of our kids come in without the equipment necessary to play baseball. Not all the kids have the means to do that economically. Being able to provide them with the proper equipment is what we’re striving for,” Evergreen High School athletic director Chris Dubois said Friday.

Tom Bunch, chairman of the board of trustees and event coordinator at the Eagles Club, says that hosting the fundraiser is an exciting opportunity for the club to get more involved with the community.

“Our motto is ‘People helping people.’ It’s great to be giving back to the community, especially our youth,” Bunch said.

The Eagles are donating all products used to make and serve breakfast. Coaches and players will serve breakfast to members of the community who attend. The White Center Eagles Club is located at 10452 15th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98146.

By Anastasia Stepankowsky

West Seattle rebounded from Thursday’s drubbing by Lynnwood and overcame the loss of point guard Gabby Sarver to take a 54-45 state tournament victory over the Prairie Falcons Friday.

The win gives the Wildcats a chance to play Arlington for fourth place Saturday. They did it by holding on to the ball better, surrendering only 16 turnovers Friday, one fewer than they gave up in the first half alone to the hard pressing Lynnwood team Thursday.

“We communicated more. [On, we weren’t sure of each other and we weren’t really trusting each other. But today, we re- and came out how we normally play. It made a big difference, especially in that fourth quarter,” senior Emily Fiso said.

The lead changed hands four times in the first half, and Prairie led at intermission, 23-22. But the second half was all Wildcats basketball.

“We changed our defense a little bit. We told them to be aggressive,” said West Seattle head coach Sonya Elliott.

Ballard Mars Hill Church recently sold their 39,200-square-foot building (1401 N.W. Leary Way) to Quest Ministry for $9 million.

According to Colliers International there were 10 offers for the building, which included nine from retail groups, but the ministry ended up on top. The property was purchased by Mars Hill in 2003 for $4.8.

Quest ministry has a church in Interbay called Quest Church. According to a statement the ministry released after the purchase, the church has exceeded 1,000 members and has outgrown its current building.

“We have been amazed to see people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, and age groups come to our church,” said Minhee Cho, co-founder of Quest Church. “It has been humbling and encouraging to see more and more people attend Quest – not just as spectators or consumers, but as those who want to be part of a community of people that pray for another, learn together, encourage one another, and are on mission together.”

Police are on the lookout for suspects in a green Chevy Suburban who tried to lure a teen into the vehicle by offering puppies.

The incident occurred Thursday just before 3 p.m. at the 300 block of Palatine Avenue North. A 13-year-old girl was walking down the street when she passed the Suburban. Two men called out to the teen. One of the suspects asked if she wanted to get inside the vehicle to “see his puppies.”

A white male with long brown hair stepped out of the SUV and invited the girl into the truck. Another white male with short blonde hair got out of the truck and opened the back door for the teen.

The victim ran from the men and found safety at a nearby home. She called 911 and was able to describe the vehicle and the men. Police were unable to locate the suspects.

Readers with information leading to the suspects are advised to call 911.

By: Bob Sims

Former Kennedy stars Alli Madison and Mitch Penner won All-Great Northwest Athletic Conference honorable-mention honors for women's and men's basketball teams, respectively, this week.

Madison, a senior 5-foot-8 guard, is a starter for the top-ranked Division II Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves (27-1). Madison averaged 10.1 points scoring and 5.0 rebounds in 28 starts. She lead, or tied for the lead, six times in rebounding this season. She had 44 steals.

Penner, a 6-foot-5 forward for Seattle Pacific University, is scoring 13.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, a 2.0 assists a game. He scored a game-high 18 in a win over Northwest Nazarene in the the regular-season finale.

Alaska-Anchorage and Seattle Pacific are each playing their first games in the GNAC Tournament in Billings, Mont., on Friday. Unranked SPU (21-7, 13-5) is pursuing its 11th consecutive NCAA Division Tournament appearance.

By; Bob Sims

Former Kennedy Lancers standout Aminah Williams pulled down 11 rebounds on Thursday to help the Washington Huskies carve out a 75-64 win over Utah in the Pac-12 Conference women's tournament at Key Arena.

Williams, a 6-foot senior forward from West Seattle, took charge of the boards early on, getting several defensive rebounds to fuel the Huskies' transition game -- and to aid them in digging out of a 9-3 hole during the game's beginnings.

The Huskies (23-8, 11-7 Pac-12) now face California (22-8, 13-5) in a quarterfinal matchup tonight at 8:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network. A win against the Bears would strengthen Washington's chances to be picked for a NCAA Tournament berth. The Huskies haven't been to the tournament since 2007.
Williams, who is the Huskies' all-time best rebounder, received Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honorable-mention honors this week.

Burien, WA– Families and community members are invited to join Highline Public Schools Superintendent Susan Enfield for a series of monthly conversations at schools across the district.

The sessions are intended to be open-ended conversations. Participants can bring up issues of concern and ask questions.

The first of the Conversations with the Superintendent is scheduled for March 26, 6:00-7:00 p.m. in the Mount Rainier High School library.

Please come with questions and ideas so Superintendent Enfield can learn about the issues that are important to you.
Conversations with the Superintendent

March 26, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. in the Mount Rainier High School library

April 27, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. in the Evergreen Campus library

May 21, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. in the Tyee Educational Complex library

June 2, 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. in the Highline High School library

All community members are invited to attend.

Dear Editor,

I’m glad to see the uproar about measles vaccination. It’s high time this issue is addressed. One of my biggest obstacles as a school nurse in the Highline School District was unimmunized students. Parents objected, fearing that the vaccine could cause autism. Or they claimed religious or personal objections. There was no way of knowing if their religion prohibited it. And parents did not have to explain their personal objection.

Confusion and misinformation about the vaccine may have resulted when a British doctor published a bogus study claiming the measles vaccine caused autism. His findings have been discredited and never replicated in succeeding studies but some parents still don’t believe the scientific evidence. This doctor lost his license because he falsified study results. He can no longer practice medicine.

In all states, we would be wise to mandate immunizations like they do in the state of Mississippi. Kids and unimmunized adults must receive the measles shot, unless there is a medical prohibition or it’s demonstrated that a particular religion prohibits it.

Ballard Kiwanis visited one of our major charities, the Ryther Child Center, on Thursday, December 18 to have our lunch there and tour the facility. Ryther dates back to 1885, when Olive Ryther took in 4 children whose mother had died. The facility at NW 95th Street was acquired in 1935 and continues to serve large numbers of children with various critical needs. By all accounts, it was an amazing facility and much was learned about the Center. Located on an 8.25 acre site in northeast Seattle, Ryther has expansive cottages allowing children to live in family-like groups a school, and an 18,500 sq ft administration building (including the basement). Ryther’s marketing video was featured during lunch then we were given a tour of the area including viewing the typical cottage. During the visit, a check of $1550.00 was present to Sherri Smith, Director of Ryther; this is amount we earned during our work at Swanson’s Harvest Fest in last October with our concession stand.

by Bob Sims

Former Kennedy Lancers standout Aminah Williams pulled down 11 rebounds on Thursday to help the Washington Huskies carve out a 75-64 win over Utah in the Pac-12 Conference women's tournament at Key Arena.

Williams, a 6-foot senior forward from West Seattle, took charge of the boards early on, getting several defensive rebounds to fuel the Huskies' transition game -- and to aid them in digging out of a 9-3 hole during the game's beginnings.

The Huskies (23-8, 11-7 Pac-12) now face California (22-8, 13-5) in a quarterfinal matchup tonight at 8:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on Pac-12 Network. A win against the Bears would strengthen Washington's chances to be picked for a NCAA Tournament berth. The Huskies haven't been to the tournament since 2007.
Williams, who is the Huskies' all-time best rebounder, received Pac-12 All-Defensive Team honorable-mention honors this week.

This season, Williams has averaged nearly 10 rebounds a game and has scored 8.8 points. Of Williams' 291 rebounds over the 2014-15 campaign, 194 have come on the defensive side. She either lead --or tied for the lead -- in rebounding 22 times this season.