November 2008

Iron sharpened iron.

Playing toe to toe and all-out for all the 50/50 balls on the beautiful Starfire field turf for a good-sized crowd on both sides, Kennedy and Mount Rainier wrote a good script for soccer excitment, won by the Lancers, 2-1, over the Rams in both team’s regular season ender at Starfire in Tukwila Wednesday.

Kennedy won the Seamount with a 15-0-1 record while the Rams settled for only their second loss of the season in finishing 12-2-2.

War is Hell. - No one knows that better than today's young folks in military service and those who fought for America's freedom years before them.

Ask any veteran - and those who have loved and waited for them. Yet they are proud to serve.

"We joined the service hoping nothing really bad would happen --and prepared for the worst," two local young Marines, Pat Klobucher and Chris Irwin, said.

Assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force and dispatched to Jordan, Kuwait, Africa and Iraq after basic training, they traveled by helicopter to strategic locations.

(Editor's Note: T.M. Sell, founder of Breeders Theatre, writes satirical plays for the group. Below, he focuses his wit on Des Moines civic affairs.)

The Des Moines City Council committed this week to preserving parking in downtown.

Des Moines councilmember Gus Deadlock pointed to the availability of parking as one of the city's attractions to people.

"That's why we can't allow any business development downtown," Deadlock said following a hearing.

For a long time now, people have been warning me this would happen.

This whole, "Oh my gosh, can't I stop the clock" feeling has taken me over. It's like the first 13 years of parenthood were filled with moments of "Well, at least she is almost potty-trained" and "Gee, I can't wait until he is sleeping through the night."

Now, all I feel is, "Jiminy Christmas, my kid is going to high school next year?"

This has really been hitting me lately, and hitting me hard.

A recent letter from Emelie McNett proposed a public park on Lake Burien, citing Arbor Lake as an example of a lake with public access.

I recently visited Arbor Lake, for the first time, and found what I expected to find at a public park in King County: graffiti, vandalism, trash, and evidence of illegal alcohol consumption.

I don't know how the residents of the shoreline of Lake Burien are taking care of the lake, but it has to be better than that.

A recent letter to the editor criticized me for supporting a bill to strengthen freedom of the press for student newspapers. Virtually every statement in the letter was factually incorrect.

First, the author claimed there have been no problems with censorship of student newspapers in Washington.

I am pleased to again share information encouraging students to apply to be a Washington Aerospace Scholar, a successful program which encourages high school juniors from across Washington State, especially those with an aptitude for math or science, to explore the challenges and opportunities awaiting them in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM.)

The program not only helps students explore career options but also addresses the national shortage in these fields.

Washington Aerospace Scholars provides students opportunities to study a NASA-designe

As I wake up late this Saturday morning, 10/25/08, thinking about what a long shift at work I will cover today, I look out over the sound at the ferries and hope the day will be sunny.

I wish I wasn't so tired but today marks another morning where my family and I are up late and dragging because the Burien Police had another round of helicopter training over my Shorewood on the Sound neighborhood from 2 a.m. until after 3 a.m.

We, and likely the entire community, were treated to loud, low-flying noise pollution by the Burien Police helicopter, once again.

A belated but nonetheless sincere word of thanks to the crew who responded from the Burien Fire Department's Station 29, on the evening of Friday, October 10 on the occasion of our step-mother's - Margaret L. Gudmestad - death.

Those firefighters carried out their duties in a quiet, compassionate and professional manner and our family is grateful for their assistance.

These are the individuals who respond to our aid, day and night, no matter what the incident. A simple word of thanks or plate of cookies is inadequate.

Tom Gudmestad

Normandy Park

The nation's economic crisis has hit the development of condominiums in Burien's Town Square.

Town Square is a revitalization effort by the city of Burien, in partnership with Los Angeles-based developer Urban Partners and the King County Library District. It will include retail, restaurants, parks, a new city hall, a new library and housing.

Housing has been issue in the face of the nation's financial problems.