July 2008

Fireworks watchers got a colorful vantage point from Alki Beach near 55th Street SW Friday night. Looking toward the northeast horizon the "4th of Jul-Ivars Fireworks Show" over Elliott Bay was big, boastful and traditional. From the same spot on the Alki sand ooh'ers and ah'ers also enjoyed the more geometric display of the "WaMu Family 4th" Fireworks Show" on Lake Union, which appeared to the right.

"Lake Union's show rocked," enthused Courtney Tomson.

The weekend fires destroyed more than just apartments. They were homes where people created cherished memories.

I know, because once upon a time when my son was a toddler, I was struggling. The lower east side apartment of one of the buildings was our home.

At the time, it was just cheap housing. It didn't seem like much to an outsider, but it was ours. I worked hard to make it our clean, well-furnished home.

Within the walls, we built a safe, peaceful home. We dreamed there. We played there.

Nationally, the number of home fires the Red Cross responds to is up 10 percent since the year 2000. Alarmingly, only 26 percent of families have actually developed and practiced a home fire escape plan, according to a May 2006 poll conducted by ORC International on behalf of the Red Cross.

"Our Chapter responds to a residential fire every 42.5 hours," said Carol Dunn, community disaster educator for the American Red Cross serving King & Kitsap Counties.

When the decision was made to rebuild Mount Rainier High School, funding was not available for a new track.

Over the past three years, Ray Prentice, parent of Mount Rainier graduate Ryan Prentice, and others have worked to gather the funding to give the students and the community a track,. Their persistence appears to have paid off.

Prentice said he expects the new track to open on Sept. 17. The track will be named after former Mount Rainier coach Jim Kennett.

"It's overwhelming, " Kennett said.

Citizens in the Shorewood neighborhood in Burien have been concerned about vehicles speeding in their neighborhood for years.

One citizen's efforts might be the first step in controlling what they feel is a big problem in the neighborhood.

Shorewood resident Mike Bishoff says the trouble spot is on Southwest 130th

Street, traveling west.

The road winds through what Bishop estimates to be nearly 90- degree corners.

Elsbeth is recovering nicely, though still not out of the woods.

When you hear someone talk about the "dark years", you may have visions of the Great Depression, or maybe of when the bubonic plague swept across Europe.

When I talk about the "dark years," I am talking about something far scarier, far more fearsome.

Yeah, I am talking about Barney, the purple dinosaur.

My three children all loved that guy - and I can still remember wanting to pop champagne when the last child said, "Naa, I don't like Barney anymore."

Maybe it wasn't really Barney's fault entirely - after all it's not easy to watch a video - any vide

I am conducting an informal unscientific survey of people who use the Burien Parks to walk their dogs.

1. Have you ever noticed the many signs posted throughout the Burien Parks stating that all pets must be on leash?

2. Are you aware that the City of Burien has a leash law?

3. Are you aware that the City of Burien has a leash law but you think that it only applies to everyone else's dog?

4.

Owners confirm that 1 of the victims and members of at least 3 other displaced families were classmates of their 2 children.

"I witnessed the fire that night, and it was something that I hope I never see again," says Jerry Clausen, Hillcrest's owner. "I was surrounded by despair and desperation, and there was nothing I could do to help." Well, that was the night of the fire, but after Clausen and his wife JoAnne found out that the young child that perished in the fire and members of at least 3 displaced families were classmates of their 7 and 12 year old sons.

On Friday, July 4, 2008, balloons with attached personal messages, were released in the sky, to 8 year old Edgar Omar Cisneros. The memorial gathering, at the site of the recent fires at the Tara and Jenny Marie Apartments in Burien, attracted close to 100 mourners.

Photos by Joy Henley