September 2015

General Meetings: (all BHS parents welcome) Mondays, at 6:30 in the Staff Lounge
September 14, November , January , March , May (Elections)

Board Meetings
Mondays – October , December , February , April , June

Fall Sports Meeting – September 2nd, at 7:00pm in the Auditorium

Fall Sports Pictures - Wednesday Sept 3rd at 2:pm

9th Grade Parent Night – TBD

First PTSA Meeting – September 24 at 7:00 pm

Fall Shout Outs Due - Monday September 28th Shout Out Order Form

Curriculum Night – October 8th

Winter Sports Meeting – Teams will meet individually this year.

Winter Sports Pictures - Tuesday, November 24th

ABC Blast - TBD

Spring Sports Paperword Due: (make sure you have a current physical or that the one you used last year is still valid)

Spring Sports Meeting – March TBD at 6:30pm in the Commons

Spring Sports Pictures - TBD

Beaver Nation Awards - June TBD

GO BEAVERS!

By Peggy Sturdivant

I met Penelope on what was to be her due date but was instead her three-week birthday. I met her because of a piano, but that’s the end of the story, not the beginning.

For me it began by renting a piano for a party that was everything a person raised on too many musicals could have hoped for. Although the garden was strung with lights everyone crowded around the piano for hours, singing as a friend played. That Judy Garland moment ruined me for the next 18 years.

The small classified ad in the Ballard News read: Upright piano in Burien free to anyone willing to move. A week later there was a cut-away Chicago Cable company piano superimposing a right angle over the stair railing. It was the only wall space available.

The piano got a makeover from the magical tuner Hak Bo Lee. Little did I know his impromptu riffs while tuning would be the musical highlight of the piano’s entire stay but I started taking piano lessons, along with Emily. She stuck it out for two years and I made it to three. I wanted to be able to play spirituals. I have mastered just one.

A two car motor vehicle incident at 49th and Graham resulted in an SUV rolling on its side and a mother and son having to be cut out of the vehicle. Both were taken to the hospital for observation but did not appear to suffer serious injuries.

A gray Volvo station wagon was headed north on 49th SW, according to its driver, and a dark colored Hyundai SUV was traveling west on Graham. That is an uncontrolled intersection and the two vehicles collided,
sending the SUV to its side. Airbags deployed in that vehicle. The Volvo suffered damage to its right front fender. That driver was not injured.

Seattle firefighters had to cut the top of the vehicle off to extricate the driver and passenger. They were examined at the scene and taken to Harborview for observation.

West Seattle Brewing Company located at 4415 Fauntleroy Way SW which closed two months ago due to a licensing conflict with the City of Seattle has reopened again on Sept. 2, 2015.

“We got to finish the Brewery,” said owner Drew Locke, “ We now have a seven barrel capacity in the cooler so basically 28 kegs of beer. The Mash Ton system is operational now, the glycol system is operational now so we can effectively be a seven barrel brewery.”

They have added an entirely new deck on the north side of the building, with a roof on it and propane heaters.

They also have a permit to build a new patio area out on Fauntleroy and are starting that this week.

They still have espresso and coffee available in the morning.

They are opening but have no big party planned just yet. “We kind of want to ease back into it,” said Locke,” due to so many events happening and a completely new staff. The former staff had to seek other work during the closure.

They do plan on having music and some Sounders events coming up.
The music will be more like two shows a month to make it, “more of a special event.”

Members of Quest Church, a growing Seattle church based in Interbay, are moving into the 40,000 square foot building at 1401 NW Leary Way, which once was the home to Mars Hill Church.

Quest Church bought the building for $9 million last March after Mars Hill Church slowly dismantled under what was called “harsh” media criticism.

According to a statement, the church said they have exceeded 1,000 members and have outgrown their current building.

“We want to love our neighbors, and to invite people from all backgrounds and ages to visit our new church,” said founding pastor, Rev. Eugene Cho.

“We realize that at times churches have caused divisions. It is our goal to heal, to serve, and to love.”

In addition, the Leary Way location allows Quest Church to be closer to one of its ministries, the Bridge Care Center, which is a drop-in center for homeless individuals in Ballard. Quest reported that in 2014 the BCC provided services for 684 clients.

Currently construction crews are finishing the last details at the space. Quest Church plans to have its first service in the Leary Way location on Sept. 13.

The Low Income Housing Institute has announced that they plan to place tiny houses at the proposed transitional homeless encampment site at 2826 NW Market Street.

LIHI reported that they would place up to six houses along the frontage area of the encampment.

Although the planned location has still has not been finalized, LIHI is already working with volunteers to construct the houses. Volunteers from Tulalip Tribe’s construction apprenticeship program, TERO, built two houses for LIHI. The doors of the houses are decorated with Tulalip Tribal art.

“Things are in flux right now, and we are hoping that the Ballard site works out. If so, it would be very easy to move the house,” said LIHI Board President, Melinda Nichols. Nichols added that the houses would be moved on flatbed trucks.

The houses are eight feet by 12 feet. They are insulated and are constructed with a window, locking door, light and ventilation fan. Some may even have a heat lamp. According to LIHI the houses cost approximately $1800 to build (volunteer labor) and another $300 to move.

By Katy Wilkens, MS, RD

The wonderful thing about camp cooking is that food simply tastes better outdoors. It’s true! After a long day of paddling around the San Juan Islands, there’s nothing like the taste of a hot, hearty meal cooked over the campfire.

However, even though everything tastes better in a gorgeous outdoor setting, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get creative and spice up the menu. Below are some of my favorite, low-sodium ingredients to take camping, plus a recipe for tasty Pad Thai.

• Corn tortillas: At about 5 milligrams each, you can’t beat them as a low-salt, easy-to-carry alternative to bread.
• Couscous: A great way to save cooking fuel, just add to boiling water, turn off the heat and toss with a fork after five minutes. Add nuts and dried fruit for a great breakfast or chopped apple and curry spices for an exotic dinner.
• Tubes of polenta or grits: Most are low sodium and you can pan fry them for a great addition to any meal. Serve with tomato sauce and a chopped zucchini.
• DIY syrup: Simply combine maple extract (real or artificial) with water and sugar. No sticky mess until you’re ready to eat.

The environmental remediation work at the proposed homeless encampment site on NW Market Street has finished, but the cost of remediation will exceed initial estimates after crews found contaminants deeper in the ground.

All of the contaminated soil was removed last Friday and the new soil was unloaded and spread last Wednesday August 26.

According to Scott Thompsen with Seattle City Light, crews dug out one foot of soil within the former transformer yard. Two feet of soil was removed from one half of the lawn area and 30 inches were removed from the other half. Approximately 400 cubic yards of soil was removed.

“The soil was removed until we had confirmation samples that only clean soil was removed guided by the Model Toxic Control Act. It sets a standard for clean up. We kept removing soil until test samples came back negative,” said Thompsen.

“As you are doing it you are looking at the material that’s coming out and dig until you get to clean dirt. If you have spots with isolated contaminants you have to remove it all to make sure you get it out.”

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is asking the maritime community, along with people who drive, walk or bike, whether the City should seek US Coast Guard approval to change current rules on when Ship Canal bridges must be opened upon request.

The City owns and operates the Ballard, Fremont, and University bridges, while the Washington State Department of Transportation owns and operates the Montlake Bridge. As the Ship Canal is defined by federal law as a navigable waterway, the US Coast Guard has regulatory authority over these bridges. A number of years ago the Coast Guard granted the City the authority to keep the bridges closed on weekdays from 7-9 AM and 4-6 PM. (The bridges must still be opened during these hours for large commercial vessels.)

While the number of bridge openings has remained fairly constant in recent years, the impacts of bridge openings have become more pronounced and problematic, especially with longer morning and afternoon commute periods.

Today Mayor Ed Murray and Councilmember Mike O’Brien introduced legislation that will create 6,000 units of affordable housing throughout Seattle. The proposal comes from the Mayor and City Council’s 28-member Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) advisory committee, and has been hailed as a “Grand Bargain” between affordable housing advocates and real estate developers.

“Seattle is experiencing unprecedented growth, and our challenge is to build fairly and affordably. We want sustainable, socially inclusive and economically diverse neighborhoods that are walkable, close to transit and job centers. To build these equitable communities, we must ensure that our teachers, nurses, hotel and restaurant workers who work in the city can also afford to live here,” said Mayor Murray. “With this legislation, Seattle – for the first time ever – will require that all new development in the city will pay for affordable housing. This is a bold, progressive proposal where growth itself will support affordable and environmentally sustainable neighborhoods. I am eager to work with the Council as we engage the public on this proposal as it moves through the legislative process.”