June 2015

As Ballardites may have seen from the construction crews, the Ballard Fire Station (SFD Station 18) has been undergoing construction since January of this year.

The City recently gave an update to the construction and stated that the project is about 50 percent complete. 

Construction began in January 2015 and is expected to finish in December 2015. Station 18 firefighters are now operating out of a temporary location at 4733 Shilshole Ave. NW.

By Marjorie Young

Dreams have fascinated us from the beginning. Traditionally, profound importance was attached to them, and any who might successfully interpret their hidden meaning came to be highly regarded. In the Old Testament, Joseph, a prisoner in Egypt, was appointed the Pharaoh’s chief advisor after solving the puzzle of that ruler’s perplexing visions. Abraham Lincoln, it is reported, dreamed of seeing himself in a coffin several days before his assassination. News stories have even told of those who have passed away, returning to loved ones in a dream with winning lottery numbers! But whether harbingers of things to come, or mere ‘noise’ from our subconscious, luminaries from Shakespeare to Freud have been endlessly fascinated by them.

I, like everyone else, dream nightly…while seldom recalling the details. Occasionally, however, I am visited by what I consider profound, ‘teaching dreams’ that allow me to learn something of intrinsic value. One very recent ‘vision’ had a particularly resonant impact.

He sits alone on a bench
embedded in the sands of Golden Gardens Park.
Is it both sadness and complacent joy he reflects?
What does he see out there over the water?
It cannot be only mountains.
But, I will not ask him:

A wilderness is more beautiful undisturbed.

Waves move toward us.
Our sun warms the faces.
We are the same in the sand.

A thought comes now behind this camera
as I watch a man in his life:
What am I here to capture?
Have I just become another fanatic of time
collecting moments like butterflies,
specimens to only pin in place?

Static idols never dance.

Perhaps this thought,
the man,
electromagnetic fields,
drums of oil,
greed
make up the same force in you and me.
Maybe it’s the same gyrating force in trees and fish,
bacteria and war — the pinned up pieces of us.

There it is:
a planet,
space between form,
the eyes you had before you were born.

I cannot deny the Great Wave
I feel moving out beyond the Sound
and far past all the sons and daughters
and herds and pyramids on Pluto —
part of one liquid pulse dancing in circles.

Every Big Bang a clap to the rhythm.

The listing broker of the famous Edith Macefield house announced today that there are plans for the home to be either relocated or demolished within 90 days.

Broker, Paul Thomas, wrote in a statement that because of the age and condition of the house, the owners have determined that it is not cost effective for anyone to use the home in its current location.

“After reviewing the situation, the seller has reluctantly concluded that their best option is to donate the house, ideally to a non-profit, and then sell the land,” wrote Thomas in a statement.

Thomas reported that buyers are deterred from purchasing the home because of the cost of the work that would need to be done to bring it up to the 2012 housing code.

“It is really discouraging that developers can find ways to build multiple tall and skinny houses on a single residential lot but bringing new life to Edith Macefield’s house isn’t financially viable because there are so many hurdles.”

Built in 1900, the owner considered making the house a historic landmark, but because it was completely rebuilt by the prior owner, it no longer qualifies for historical designation.

Jewel thief plunders North Seattle home

A North Seattle couple is missing jewelry after a burglary occurred at their home located on the 300 block of NW 112 Street on June 17. After coming home they found drawers in their master bedroom rummaged through. A jewelry box was disturbed and jewelry was taken. They could not determine what else had been stolen. The victims thought the suspect entered through an open window in the bathroom. It appeared that the suspect fled the scene through the back basement door. A neighbor reported seeing two white males wearing shorts and baseball caps outside the home earlier that day. She saw one leave the home carrying a blue and white duffel bag. They were last seen going eastbound on North 112th Street. No evidence was found at the scene.

Cat-door burglar makes off with $2,400 in goods

2015 Chief Sealth Soccer Skills Camp
Southwest Athletic Complex
2600 SW Thistle St.
Mon.-Fri., July 27-31, 9-3 p.m. daily. Open to boys & girls entering grades 3-9. All skill levels. Sponsored by Friends of Sealth. The camp will focus on skill development, teamwork and leadership, and life values and traits. For information or forms (registration and waiver & consent for medical care), contact Head Coach Ron Johnson at WCKid56@gmail.com or 206.618.3183

Volunteer Driver Needed for Senior Housing Complex
Days and hours are flexible depending on the volunteers availability. Must enjoy working with seniors and driving, have a clean driving record, pass a criminal background check, and be reliable. A 7 passenger van and gas will be provided for trips. Driving may include field trips, shopping and other outings, ideally twice a month. If you are interested, please call 206.938.3276.

West Seattle Senior Center Needs Volunteers
4217 S.W. Oregon St.
Make a difference by getting involved! For info 206-932-4044 or email at debrag@seniorservices.org.

By Tim Clifford

Delayed reporting
On June 20 police officers were contacted by an elderly woman who had been the victim of a street robbery three days before. The victim was embarrassed after the incident and needed some time to decide whether or not to report it.

On June 17 at about 4:30 p.m. the victim was walking home along the 4200 block of S.W. Morgan St. with bags of groceries in her arms and a white billfold in her hand. The billfold contained an ORCA card, credit card, debit card, Social Security card, AAA membership card, an ID, and about $400 in cash. As she was walking along she noticed a group of five teenagers, presumed to all be around 15, heading towards her with skateboards. The group is described as consisting of three White males and two Asian males.

By Pat Cashman

For reasons only a trained counselor can explain I was watching an old episode (there are no new episodes) of The Lone Ranger recently. This is the classic western series about a guy wearing a mask (The Lone Ranger) traveling by horse from place to place with his “faithful Indian companion”(Tonto)---cracking bad guys’ heads---and then riding off into the sun.

In the episode I saw, the duo came to the rescue of a crusty miner. In fact, I think that was the guy’s name: Crusty Miner. But the kindly Lone Ranger kept referring to him as ‘the old timer.’

LONE RANGER: “Can you describe the men who beat you up, old timer?”
CRUSTY: “Nope. They was too quick.”
LONE RANGER: “You mean they were too quick, old timer. “
CRUSTY: “Huh?”
LONE RANGER: “When the subject of a sentence is plural---in this case, ‘men’---the correct verb would be were, not was.”

Crusty just stared. Who knew that the Ranger was not only a Good Samaritan---but a good grammarian too?

By Georgie Bright Kunkel

Since I was born after my father died I was not conditioned to defer to the man as master. My mother never modeled the subtle behavior that young women of her day usually learned in order to attract a man. Since she did not model this behavior, my sisters and I never acted either consciously or unconsciously in ways that would encourage men to approach us. For that reason I spent my teen years without taking part in the dating ritual that most young high school women engaged in. I say “women” because in my view any female past the age of puberty is a woman.

For a friend
To the editor:

I am reaching out to you on the request of one of your employees.

I was going to come in person to place an ad for a dear friend of mine, Leta Bakke.

She was raised from Elementary to High School in the Burien area. She is fighting a rare blood disease that she was born with. I am having a Car Wash fundraiser at Duane Swanson's business on 1st Ave Sunnydale Muffler & Brake 13210 1st Ave South Burien WA. On July 18, 2015 Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.

We are looking for volunteers for cleaning cars, directing traffic, holding signs etc. And of course donations as well.

My contact information is Marti Kirby (Messmer) kirbymarti@msn.com

Leta, Duane and I all went to school together, So it seems fitting to have it in the Burien newspaper

Thank you for your time,
Marti Kirby