June 2016

by Lindsay Peyton

Laura Quinn, community coordinator for the county’s Behavioral Health and Recovery Division, invites anyone interested in creating a healthier environment for teens and children in the area to join a new coalition.

The group will have its next meeting at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, June 21 at Denny International Middle School, located at 2601 SW Kenyon St.

Community members interested in joining may attend – and help guide the nascent organization as it moves forward.

Quinn explained that in 2012 the state changed the way it appropriates funding for substance abuse prevention programs.

“Instead of giving a lot of agencies a little money, they decided they would concentrate funding in higher need areas,” Quinn said. “They wanted to have community involvement as well.”

The new strategy meant bringing schools directly into the process of educating youth about the risks of drug and alcohol use.

by Lindsay Peyton

Thieves broke into South Seattle College, located at 6000 16th Avenue SW, around 2 a.m. on Tuesday, May 31. Officers arrived on the scene to find a broken gate, a wrecked glass door and a missing ATM machine.

The machine was later recovered unopened in the yard of a home on the 3900 block of SW 97th St. Robbery detectives detained and interviewed one male resident at the house, but then released him. Officers are continuing to investigate the case.

Detectives are still looking for a white Chevrolet pickup truck with a crew cab, which they believe was used in the break-in. Contact the SPD Southwest Precinct Burglary Unit with information about the case by calling (206) 233-2623.

Store clerk assaulted on Delridge Way SW

Officers arrived around 12:45 a.m. on Thursday May 26 at a store on the 9000 block of Delridge Way SW – to find the clerk inside had been assaulted and was in need of medical attention. The man had a laceration on his forehead and was bleeding excessively from his nose.

Barton Neighborhood RainWise Info Event
Brace Point Pottery
4208 S.W. 100th St.
Sat., June 11, 10 a.m.–1 p.m. RainWise outreach staff will have information and answers to your questions about the rebate program and how to participate during the final months the Barton basin is eligible. Attend this neighborhood event and get started with RainWise before it is too late. For more information contact Sonja Sivesind at sonja@urbansystemsdesign.com.

Rudy’s and RealFine Coffee Parking Lot Party
Rudy’s & RealFine parking lot
4480 Fauntleroy Way S.W.
Sat., June 11, 5–10 p.m. Rudy’s Barbershop, Realfine Coffee, PAC NW and Plus One Presents have teamed up to bring the West Seattle community an amazing summer’s eve of local music, art, drinks and more! Get a trim and meet your neighbors! Free and all ages. Visit www.facebook.com/events/250606628628610/.

Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave. S.W.
206.937.7169

By Pat Cashman

“Get over yourself. Not everyone wants to be you.”

“When the center of the universe is discovered, a lot of people are going to be surprised it’s not them.”

“You wouldn’t worry so much about what others think of you if you realized that they seldom do.”

Those are just a few of the withering quotes I found regarding self. That last one was from Eleanor Roosevelt. I wonder what she would think about the exponential speed in which a relatively new form of human self-admiration is growing.

In just the time it takes you to finish reading this sentence---approximately a gazillion phone photos will be taken in the Puget Sound. Some of them will be of family gatherings. Some will be of kittens, puppies---and maybe a horned toad or two. Far too many will be of restaurant food---from Canlis to Dick’s.
But most will be taken by a person…of their self.

If so-called selfie photography were an epidemic right now, we would be in the midst of a worldwide black plague. Where did this all start?

By Amanda Knox

Dawndra Budd’s photography is like a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. She captures dark, whimsical scenes that are rich with symbolism, and within those scenes, ethereal protagonists: Ophelia drowned in a bird’s nest brimming with milk; Pandora curled up sleeping in a suitcase; a pensive debutante looking out over the sea; the White Lady obliterated by smoke, haunting a farmhouse.

What will Dawndra make of me?

I felt a twinge of nervousness at the prospect of entrusting my physical form to the vision of a stranger. But I also felt a twinge of nostalgia. My friend Madison often used to use me as a model in her photography projects. She also tended to have something elaborate in mind, involving costumes, props and, occasionally, some yoga prowess. Madison photographed me playing musical instruments on the roof of her apartment building, contorted into the crannies of a neighboring apartment undergoing renovation, asleep over a game of Scrabble in a deserted intersection in the middle of the night, to name just a few.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Semipro
Highline Bears
The Bears semiprofessional baseball team will be at home at Mel Olson Stadium at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center for a 7:05 p.m. game Friday, taking on the NWCL Emeralds of Lacey.
Highline visits the Emeralds at Saint Martin's College at a time to be announced Saturday before coming back home to face the South Sound Sox at 7:05 p.m. Sunday.

Pros
Mariners
Seattle hosts the Cleveland Indians for 7:10 p.m. action at Safeco Field on Wednesday and Thursday before the Texas Rangers come to town for an important series this coming weekend.
The action starts at 7:10 p.m. Friday and Saturday and at 1:10 p.m. Sunday.
Then the Mariners take Monday off to fly to Tampa Bay, playing the Rays at 4:10 p.m. Tuesday.
All Mariners games can be seen on ROOT Sports cable television.

Rainiers
Tacoma, the Mariners' Class AAA Pacific Coast League farm team, hosts the Reno Aces at 7:05 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Cheney Stadium, followed by a 5:05 p.m. game Saturday and 1:35 p.m. action Sunday.

A major callout to the 4800 block of Beach Drive SW brought fireboats, Coast Guard and rescue crews to help rescue two kayakers whose blue kayak had begun listing, forcing them out of it. They were rescued by Seattle Fire Dept. emergency crews but the kayak kept floating out to mid channel between Fauntleroy and Vashon Island.

It was finally spotted by the Coast Guard and towed back to Seacrest Park.

The two male kayakers who spent some time in the water two were being checked out for possible hypothermia.

Nearly 800 school kids from three elementary schools took part in a "Group Hug" Friday morning in front of the historic Admiral Theater.

The event was organized and sponsored by the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. Clay Eals, its Executive Director, led a group of dignitaries in the ceremony which was highlighted by a photograph and video of the attendees.

The thrust of the event was a celebration of the renovation of the 74-year-old theater.

Dignitaries in attendance included school principals Shannon Hobbs-Beckley, Alki Elementary; Gerrit Kischner, Schmitz Park Elementary; Robert Gallagher, Lafayette Elementary; Jim Kelly, Executive Director, 4-Culture; Shannon Braddock, Chief of Staff for Joe McDermott, King Council Council; Sol Baron, Faraway Entertainment, owner of the Admiral Theater and former Seattle Mayors Greg Nickels and Norm Rice.

Eals thanked his board of trustees for their behind-the-scenes work to help stage the event. They are: : Marcy Johnsen, Peder Nelson, Ron Arant, Tia Hallberg, Esther Armstrong, Jenni Bodnar, Crystal Dean, Bonnie Gromlich, Dora-Faye Hendricks, Kerry Korsgaard, Tasha Miller, Karen Sisson and Nancy Sorensen.

The West Seattle & Fauntleroy YMCA hosted a groundbreaking ceremony and celebration on Thursday, June 2, to kick off construction of an expanded West Seattle facility. 
 
The expanded and renovated West Seattle YMCA will include:
• A dedicated Family Wing with age-appropriate spaces where infants to young teens can play, connect with peers, explore new activities and develop skills on their way to reaching their full potential.
• More than 9,500 square feet for fitness classes, strength/weight training and cardio equipment – nearly doubling the current space for Y members to be active and stay healthy.
• A new Community Meeting Room where youth, neighbors, service organizations and other groups can gather together to work on local issues, learn new skills and explore shared interests. 
• A Healthy Eating Kitchen in the Community Meeting Room, supporting Y members and participants, especially youth, to develop healthier eating habits through nutrition and cooking classes and free monthly cooking demonstrations

We are ecstatic to announce that the Taste of West Seattle 2016 was our most successful ever! This year’s Taste featured 41 local food and drink providers, had a sellout crowd of over 500 people for the third year in a row and raised a new Taste all-time record of over $63,000 to support the West Seattle Helpline!

We are incredibly grateful to the local West Seattle restaurants, coffee shops, breweries, wineries, bakeries, and chocolatiers who served up delicious tastes all throughout the night. Congratulations to the winners of our Best Taste contest!

Best Taste: Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes
Best Pour: Beveridge Place Pub
Best Sweet: Stuffed Cakes

Our amazing volunteers helped us with all aspects of the event and made it possible to add new features such as the Balloon Pop (where attendees won gift cards to local restaurants) and a photo booth (photos available on the West Seattle Helpline Facebook page). Official event photographs courtesy of our wonderful West Seattle neighbor, Gail Wodzin of Gail Ann Photography, are available for download on her Event Photos NW page.