December 2016

For years, Warren Pope would go to Tony's Trees (the seasonal name for Tony's Produce on Barton Street) and buy a big beautiful tree to put in his custom built home. With a 16 foot high ceiling he could fit in a very tall tree. But Pope is an artist, working in wire, stretched canvas and wood and about three years ago he realized he could do something else.
"I got tired of doing a tree. A tree that's been harvested just started feeling sorry for the tree."

That prompted him to apply his art skills (he has a degree in Art) to make something that was if anything, more expressive of the Christmas spirit than a tree. Using needle nose pliers and wire, he built several sections of wire sculpture, linking them with white lights, and intertwining selected ornamental items into a fully lit and decorated 15 foot tall sculpture that hangs where his trees once stood. It glows and fills the room with light, it's parts both industrial and organic as it mimics some kind of wonderful, undiscovered Christmas life form.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

High schools
Boys basketball
West Seattle hosts Blanchet for an 8:30 p.m. game Friday in the Metro League as Chief Sealth entertains O'Dea, then Saturday at 7 p.m. West Seattle is at home against O'Dea with Chief Sealth getting a visit from North Kitsap at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Mount Rainier, meanwhile, hosts Lindbergh at 7:15 p.m. Thursday and Kennedy Catholic gets a visit from Kent-Meridian at the same time Friday before visiting Mount Rainier on Tuesday.
Foster hosts Foss on Friday at 7 p.m. in the South Puget Sound League as Evergreen travels to Lindbergh, then Tuesday Evergreen goes to Franklin Pierce and Foster to Lindbergh.
Highline hosts River Ridge at 7 p.m. Friday as Tyee travels to Steilacoom and Tuesday Highline is at Clover Park and Tyee at Renton.
Seattle Christian gets a 6 p.m. visit from Lynden Christian on Saturday and goes to Cedar Park Christian at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Seattle Lutheran entertains the Aussie Basketball Travelers team at 7:30 p.m. Thursday before visiting Neah Bay at 4 p.m. Saturday and hosting Tacoma Baptist at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Girls basketball

Salmon is the epicenter of the livelihoods of thousands of people in the Pacific Northwest, and therefore contention can come up surrounding the regulation of the fish. Indeed, and come this January a proposal to change how much it will cost to fish will come to a head.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has proposed an initiative called "Washington's Wild Future: A Partnership for Fish and Wildlife" (wdfw.wa.gov/wildfuture) as part of the upcoming 2017-19 Washington state budget cycle. Among the policies, it calls for increasing the commercial fishing license fees. The proposed fees would generate close to $4 million in revenue per year, with $700,000 of that coming from license fee changes. Much of the policies in the initiative were modeled after Oregon and Alaska regulation.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Saturday, Dec. 10
Boys basketball
West Seattle 60, Spanaway Lake 32
The Wildcats took a 21-8 lead on the Sentinels by the end of the first quarter in Saturday's non-league win.
Tahoma 64, Highline 56
Gerald Hood hit 23 points for the Pirates in Saturday's non-league loss to Tahoma.
Kings 59, Kennedy 32
The Lancers suffered a non-league defeat at the hands of Kings on Saturday.
Chief Sealth 54, Seattle Lutheran 48
Chief Sealth outgunned its cross-West Seattle opponents in a non-league game Saturday.
Seattle Christian 54, King's Way Christian 42
The Warriors were winners in Saturday's non-league game.

Girls basketball
Kennedy 48, Lake Washington 45
The Lancers edged out the Kangaroos in Saturday non-league action.
Chief Sealth 64, Seattle Lutheran 17
The Seahawks scored a decisive win against Seattle Lutheran on Saturday.
Liberty 65, Tyee 23
Tyee took a non-league loss to Liberty on Saturday.

Friday, Dec. 9
Boys basketball
Mt. Rainier 77, Kentlake 63

On Monday, Dec 12th the King County Council recognized and honor the White Center PAL Boxing Club for its 2nd place performance at the National Jr. Golden Gloves Tournament in Nevada this summer. The tournament team was comprised of young boxers from White Center, Tacoma, Spokane, Tri Cities and Vancouver, WA.

The recognition event on Monday was very moving as one of the members of the club was recently seriously injured by a hit and run taxi cab. The Sheriff’s Office has made an arrest in the case and the driver has been charged with felony Hit and Run. Congressman Dave Reichert, Sheriff John Urquhart, and Executive Dow Constantine are all expected to attend the event.

For more info on White Center PAL Boxing, go to their Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/White-Center-PAL-Boxing-438039166397725

Assault by boyfriend
A woman, residing on the 4400 block of S. 166thStreet, was attacked by her long-term boyfriend at 3 a.m. on Mon., Dec. 5. He came home drunk, and they got into an argument. Then, he grabbed her by the hair and threw her to the ground.

Death investigation
A guest at a hotel was discovered deceased on the floor of his room, naked, by staff around noon on Mon., Dec. 5 at the Red Roof Inn, 16838 International Blvd. S. Police are investigating the cause.

Zippy’s Hamburgers burglarized
The popular spot for burgers, Zippy’s, located at 9614 14th Ave. S.W., was robbed just after midnight on Mon., Dec. 5. A suspect broke through the glass door entrance, leaving behind blood on the scene.

Brother vs. brother on S. 160thStreet
A fight between two adult brothers, residing on the 3400 block of S. 160thStreet, turned physical at 4:30 p.m. on Thurs., Dec. 1. One punched the other multiple times.

Attempted child luring

Make Yourself at Home: Chef Adam Carroll's recipeBy Lindsay PeytonAdam Carroll stepped into the kitchen at a young age, out of necessity.

“I’ve been cooking since my mother started burning stuff,” he said. “You’d hear the smoke detector go off – and you knew dinner was done.

”He started working in the restaurant industry as a teen at an Irish pub in his hometown of Cleveland, and then ran a bar and restaurant with his mother for three years.

And even though Carroll went on to earn a double major in literature and philosophy, with a minor in political science, from John Carroll University, the kitchen kept calling him.

“There isn’t any chef I know who can stay out of a kitchen for long before going mental,”he said. Carroll worked as a chef in San Francisco and Chicago, before packing his bags and moving to Seattle.He saw an ad that Ballard’s cozy tapas spot, Ocho, was hiring a chef – and became fast friends with owner Zach Harjo.
“We got along well and the rest is history,” Carroll said. The restaurant’s concept, with its ever-rotating menu, appealed to him.

Burien resident Jeff Marsten is a man on a mission. He’s setting out to continue a tradition that’s been around for centuries and to cultivate a love of kendo in Seattle.

Marsten founded the Highline Kendo Kai club in 1976 – offering instruction in the ancient Japanese form of swordsmanship – and has been leading the group ever since.

On Monday evenings students of all ages gather in the White Center Community Center, 1321 SW 102 St., for lessons in this form of martial arts, which uses bamboo swords and protective armor.

Marsten also holds regular courses just north of Ballard at Bitter Lake Community Center, 13035 Linden Ave N, and in Bellevue at the Highland Community Center,14224 Bel-Red Rd.

For Marsten, discovering kendo was akin to stumbling into a soul mate.

“Since I was a little kid, I wanted to learn swordsmanship,” he said. “I didn’t care what kind.

”While he was in college, he studied Japanese history, enjoyed samurai movies and eventually saw an ad in a magazine for kendo.

A U.S. president named Donald? That’s a first.

History records no presidents Donald Washington, Don Lincoln or Donnie Roosevelt.

It is also worth noting that there have also been no presidents with the last names of Sutherland, Rickles or Duck.

Another fact: The first time President Trump signs a piece of legislation, he’ll be the first in eight years to do it right-handed. Not a fascinating fact. Just a fact.

In fact, in a further factual fact, not only is Barack Obama left-handed---but same with Bill Clinton and H.W. Bush before him. Gerald Ford was left-handed too. And perhaps left-footed.

Ronald Reagan was left-handed, but learned to write with his right---as did Harry Truman.

That all seems a bit odd---especially since perhaps only 10 percent of people in this country are left-handed---but more than half of recent presidents have been so.

Maybe it is because left-handers have to persevere more than the rest of us---and it translates into working harder to achieve. Or maybe left-handed presidential candidates put together stronger ad campaigns---who knows?