June 2007

(Editor's note: This is a copy of a letter sent to Robin Lamoureux, principal of Parkside Elementary in Des Moines.)

Hello Ms. Lamoureux!

I had the pleasure of attending Hero's Day last week as a guest of my darling neighbor, Clara McMichael. I wanted to thank you for the wonderful time I had interacting with Clara, her friends, and your staff. While at your school, I was able to observe Clara's class and I was extremely impressed with the teaching (and personal) skills of Ms. Christie Brown.

Ms.

Editor's note: The following letter was sent from Burien architect Roger Patten to Pam Harper, president of Friends of Burien Parks. Mr. Patten forwarded a copy to the Times/News.

I just read in the Highline Times the article about the Ambaum Park friends' plans to put on a plant sale.

Burien's transit-oriented development project is on hold, the apparent hostage of King County Executive Ron Sims if the city proceeds with plans to demolish and replace the Lora Lake Apartments.

City Manager Mike Martin told the Times/News last week that a county request for qualifications from private developers to build the $12.5 million project likely won't be issued this month as anticipated.

This was confirmed by Kurt Triplett, Sims' chief of staff, who rejected the notion that the county executive is "pulling the plug" on Burien's long-planned transit-oriented

Exploring bear 'Columbus'

nabbed, released into wild

May 31-A 205-pound black bear that swam two miles across Puget Sound from Maury Island to Des Moines was captured in Federal Way.

State Fish and Wildlife Department officers had nicknamed him "Columbus" because "he is quite an explorer."

Columbus swam to Saltwater State Park in just an hour, then wandered throughout Southwest King County for almost a week, eluding capture after being spotted several times before he was trapped on the Weyerhaeuser campus in Federal Way.

Shortly after the

I must finally admit my disappointment in the current city council's eagerness to bed with the Port of Seattle over the decision to close Lora Lake.

Having lived in the Burien area almost all of my life, I find it is an area where you dare not hope to keep any memories of childhood growing up. Everything that was there when I was a kid has now been closed and removed in the name of progress.

What I found interesting in particular was Sue Blazak's comment that "We support affordable housing in Burien." Like the "affordable" housing in the Town Square?

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm getting sick and tired of all of the snide and disrespectful attacks on President Bush. He is an American citizen and was elected into office by a majority of his fellow citizens.

It's easy to take pot shots from the cheap seats when we don't have go toe-to-toe with the leaders of foreign countries who like nothing better than to run us through with a machete.

His job requires that he must sit down to dinner with people who not only hate his country but are sometimes blatantly open about their plan to destroy it.

Track and field

West Central District 4A

Marlon Murray of Highline won the 100-meter dash in 11.24 seconds as the West Central District 3A meet concluded Saturday, May 19 at Mount Tahoma in Tacoma.

Mount Rainiers' Ryan Prentice placed third in the 1,600-meter run in 4:26.73 and Highline was third in the 1,600 relay in 3:27.34.

Vincente Cordova of Evergreen captured first place in the high jump at 6-2.

No girls from the Highline Times/Des Moines News area broke into the top three at the West Central District 3A meet.

Foster track ran well at the 2A state meet at Mount Tahoma High School May 25-26.

The best of the runners was the relay foursome of Rashaun Johnson, Adna Mujic, Jemari Hymes and Trent Bell.

Walking toward a tradition.

Kennedy step-by-step made an unbeatable run past all-comers at the WIAA 3A State Fastpitch Championships at the South End Recreation Area complex in Tacoma May 25-26.

This means the Lancers no longer are just top 10 in the state like the last two seasons, they are now not just traditionally getting to state now -- they are champions.

They beat everyone they faced, in all close games, starting off with a usual comer to state, Issaquah, 2-1.

Speaking of one, that was...

"Step one," said Dino Josie, after that open

TACOMA - "Tough As Nails" proclaimed the wording on the t-shirts of John F. Kennedy High School supporters.

On Saturday, May 26, the Kennedy Lancers girls fastpitch softball team, behind the pitching of Texas Tech-bound Karli Merlich, shutout the Capital Cougars of West Olympia, 6-0, to live up to this maxim and seize the 2007 Washington state Class 3A championship.

"Our team motto is 'tough as nails'," announced Lancer head coach Dino Josie about his team's determined drive to the title at the South End Recreation Area. "And they were really as tough as nails.