July 2007

Rebecca Louise Smith, daughter of Ballard residents Peter W. and Cheryl L. Smith, received a $1,500 President's Scholarship for the 2007-2008 academic year from Western Washington University.

President's Scholarships are awarded to approximately the top 8 to 10 percent of incoming freshmen and transfer students, and are based on superior academic achievement.

Smith is an incoming freshman at Western and earned a 3.77 GPA from Ingraham High School.

On a typical summer day, kids are attending baseball camps, playing basketball, going on field trips or working on computers at the Ballard Boys and Girls Club, where the motto is "the positive place for kids."

All this makes the club a busy place with sports camps alone bringing in 150 kids daily. The club has an annual membership of 1,800 and also runs three day care programs in the Ballard, Magnolia and Queen Anne area. "This is one of the busiest clubs in the city.

At Large in Ballard by Peggy Sturdivant

Last Saturday I visited the Sunset Hill Barbershop and sat in the chair with my feet on the metal footrest. The barbershop has been there for 100 years but I'd never been inside. The single-chair shop was warm and the barber Donna Williams said business is often slow on hot Saturdays. But especially this day, "what with everything going on."

Just across the street on 32nd Northwest a farewell party was in progress encompassing three storefronts and decades of memories.

The flags were flying in the wind last week in the parking lot of Viking Bank. From right to left: United States, Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The flagpole was moved to the bank's parking lot from Bergen Place after the park was redesigned.

AUBURN - They came not seeking a claim to fame, but to excel at their game.

Man-Camping, for the uninitiated, is just how it sounds: Men camping with their buddies, doing things that they can't or won't do when the girlfriends, wives or children are around.

This can include playing cards for huge (imaginary) sums, staying up very late, eating indiscriminately, saying naughty words and not bathing.

Last weekend, I was reunited with a few pals who I used to hang around with before I was married.

In those days, we would play poker and ride our motorcycles around and sometimes misbehave.

After twenty-five years I figured I could

To the Editor:

Where is all the news about the east Federal Way annexation?

The city stands to gain about 20,000 residents added to the estimated 85,000 already there and a search of the keyword 'annexation' on the Federal Way News website comes up with no results.

Seems like an important enough issue to warrant some space.

Being against the annexation, I am pretty interested in as much information as is available to help figure how this issue was thrust upon us with such a short time to consider the permanent consequences.

For example, wh

There's still time to purchase tickets at the door of Federal Way's most lively and lavish event of the year, the FUSION gala and Dumas Bay. The event takes place at the Dumas Bay Center at 3200 Southwest Dash Point Road, and begins at 3 p.m.

FUSION (Friends United to Shelter the Indigent, Oppressed and Needy) is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization founded in 1993.

Over the past 14 years, the group has raised enough money to purchase and furnish nine housing units around the city.

Highline Medical Center has been recognized by the Premier healthcare alliance as a top performer nationwide in hip and knee replacement procedures.

One of only six hospitals to receive the 2007 Premier Award for Quality for excellence in the care of patients in this category, the medical center has one of the lowest complication rates for patients undergoing joint replacement surgery.

Federal Way now has someone on staff to help bridge the communication gap between citizens and local government.

Representatives from the city of Federal Way announced last week that the city has hired Linda Farmer, APR, to serve in a newly created position that will handle communications, public relations, and government affairs.

The City converted a vacant position to create a new one in response to the City Council's strategic planning in January of this year.

At that time, councilmembers shared their own thoughts and those of residents about a greater need