July 2016

Bob Shiffer passed away peacefully in his sleep June 3, 2016 after battling declining health issues for many months. He was 84. A force to be reckoned with, in business or personal, he was salt of the earth mid-western stock; shrewd and keen of mind, tough as nails, a self-made man, truly one of a kind. He was an overwhelming presence; unfortunate to be on his wrong side, he was kind and helpful to those he trusted and loved. From Iowa, to the US Coast Guard during the Korean War, to the UW, to a long engineering career at Boeing and a good retirement, he lived a long and purposeful life. He was a good man, a good father, friend and husband, and will be sorely missed. He is survived by his wife Lee Anne Shiffer, son Robert Kenneth Shiffer, daughter Lee Ann Allen, granddaughter Olivia Katarina Shiffer, and his very close friend Kevin Fitz.

Please feel free to attend a memorial at The Cove in Normandy Park July 9, 2016 from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.

Published in the Highline Times section of the Westside Weekly on July 8, 2016.

DES MOINES, Wash. — Five faculty and staff members at Highline College have recently won awards recognizing their professional excellence and achievements. The award winners are Arline Garcia and Michael Girvin, both of Seattle; Jean Munro of Des Moines; Rashad Norris of Tacoma; and Allan Walton of Normandy Park.
 
Arline Garcia
Described as passionate about her students’ success, Arline Garcia received the Highline College Outstanding Faculty award for 2015–16, a peer-nominated award recognizing her professional excellence.
 
Originally from Panama and now a resident of Seattle, Garcia is a tenured faculty member who has taught Spanish at Highline since 1997. She is also coordinator of the World Languages department and chair of the Tenure Review Committee.
 
A $1,500 cash award provided by the Highline College Foundation accompanies the honor. The Outstanding Faculty award has been given annually to a full-time tenured faculty member since the 1987–88 academic year.
 
Michael Girvin

Joyce Cosby Edwards, 80, passed away June 25, 2016 in Des Moines, WA after a long and valiant battle with lung disease.

A Memorial Service and Reception will be held at 1:00 p.m. on July 13, 2016 in the Chapel at Judson Park, 23600 Marine View Drive S., Des Moines, WA 98198 to celebrate Joyce’s life and contributions to her community. Those who knew her are invited to visit her online Obituary at http://bonneywatson.com/obituaries/.

Joyce was born November 21, 1935 in Topeka, Kansas. She studied Piano Performance and Music Composition, and performed for many years as an active member of the Musicians’ Association of Seattle, Local 76-493. In addition to teaching and performing, Joyce spent the last half of her career life working in Seattle and Kent as a bookkeeper and office manager. Until recently, Joyce volunteered as an organist for chapel services at local retirement communities.

Mr. Sam Reed has been named Athletic Director at Kennedy Catholic High School. Reed joins the Kennedy Catholic administrative team having most recently served as the District Athletic Director and Assistant Director of Student Life for Tacoma Public Schools since 2013.  There he championed a number of initiatives including a continued expansion of middle school athletics, a District-wide relationship with Seattle Children’s Hospital to provide athletic training programs in each of the high schools, a new K-5 after school sports partnership with area providers, and much more.  In addition, he served on a number of local and state level committees including serving as the WIAA State Track & Field Meet Director, on the Special Olympics Unified Sports Advisory Committee, and as a new member of the West Central District III Eligibility Board.  Reed also serves on the Board of Directors for Sports In Schools, a non-profit organization that works with area schools and students to enhance the lives of students in need through participation in school-based activities.

Some local residents including Nate O'Leary have contact the Highline Times asking about a big construction project on 148th and !0th Avenue S. We called Katie Whitter, City of Burien spokesperson, to see what she could tell us about work going on there. Here is her reply:

We’re getting questions here at City Hall about the construction work on the NERA property. In case you’re also getting questions or wondering:
 
Anyone who is familiar with the Northeast Redevelopment Area in Burien – or NERA, as we call it – has probably noticed a flurry of activity in recent weeks. In May, the City sold the first parcel of the Redevelopment Area to a developer known as Bridge LLC. Bridge purchased the property from the City for $4.5 million and is now grading the site to construct what will ultimately be a 238,000 square foot cold storage warehouse, bringing an economic boost to an area heavily-impacted by airport operations.
 

By Gwen Davis

This past year, SeaTac's interim city manager, Donny Payne, wanted to map out where Muslim SeaTac residents lived. He was hired by the SeaTac city council in January. By April, the city had conducted an investigation on Payne, concerning this issue and other racial profiling attempts. Payne resigned.

Many SeaTac residents are outraged by the city’s decision to hire Payne. They say such Islamophobia cannot be tolerated, especially in a city like SeaTac, made up of mostly nonwhite, working class residents. Approximately 28,000 people live in SeaTac.

"Does the city want to create an environment that disenfranchises a significant part of the population, or that helps create an environment of fairness?” asked Luis Escamilla, SeaTac resident for 10 years, who teaches at Foster High School. “The mapping of our Muslim neighbors is downing.”

While some residents were fine with Payne’s plans, Escamilla speculated, others were not.

“For residents, there’s a degree of anger and fear,” he said. “‘Am I being watched? Am I being monitored?’”

Escamilla said this decision could tarnish SeaTac’s reputation.

Officials investigate single locomotive derailment in Tukwila
235 Amtrak riders traveling north between Portland and Seattle were delayed just after noon on June 26 after a derailment in Tukwila. According to Amtrak officials, the train was traveling at 5 miles per hour or less as it passed through Tukwila. Upon examination of the derailment, emergency responders found that no fuel was lost and that the derailment was limited to the single lead locomotive. Passengers were transported to King Street Station in Seattle via bus. At time of publication, investigators have yet to determine the cause of the derailment. No passengers or crew reported injuries as a result of the derailment. 

Bystanders rescue 12-year-old girl at SeaTac’s Angle Lake

While attending Ballard High School, John McCants never thought that paying attention in math class would one day help him succeed in real estate investment, but he found out knowing the numbers is the foundation to making good real estate decisions.

McCants was born in a Ballard and grew up at Olympic Manor. When he was young he delivered the Ballard News-Tribune in the Loyal Heights and North Beach area. He worked for his father’s independent insurance company and eventually saw the office close. Then McCants found himself in real estate.

“Growing up in an entrepreneurial family, I noticed a difference in people who owned small apartment buildings and commercial properties. It’s just a different mindset. They run their own business, and I saw that is what was paying them. And then my high school buddies did the same thing and became contractors or property owners. That caught my interest – having property working for them instead of punching a clock,” said McCants

By Peggy Sturdivant

At 10 a.m. on a Thursday morning a librarian unlocked the new White Center Library where I was attending a meeting. A bit stunned by the glass, vaulted ceilings and bold art and glass I was delighted to see something familiar…a stack of the just delivered Westside Weeklies with my column on the back page.

In my insular focus on Ballard I never gave much thought to the paper’s other neighborhoods. In a new library where I felt like a stranger I realized my ignorance of the larger community, one that is glorious and challenging in its ethnic diversity. White Center, Burien/Highline, SeaTac, Des Moines, West Seattle…by dint of cutting printing costs in an effort to keep publishing we’re now linked in old-fashioned newsprint.

“I used to read you,” say people in Ballard, many unaware the Ballard News-Tribune still exists. But in the last 20+ months I’ve been hearing from new readers like Carol Ellis and West Seattle subscriber Karl Krull who shared that he is still waiting for a response from Governor Inslee’s office with the simple question, “Are you committed to buying local?”

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

West Seattle broke out its bats and clobbered Renton, 12-2, in the winners bracket final of the District 7 Major Little League baseball all-star tournament Tuesday.

The Westsiders now advance straight to Friday's 6 p.m. provisional championship at their own Bar-S complex.
They will need to be defeated twice to be derailed in their quest to take the title and advance to the state tournament in Bellevue.

Should West Seattle lose Friday the if-necessary second game would be at 10 a.m. Saturday.

State action opens July 23 at Hidden Valley.