November 2009

Behind the residential doors of Ballard lurk hidden talents. There are filmmakers among us. Not just Ballard High School students receiving accolades at Sundance and other film-festivals but adults passing as ordinary residents.

Filmmaker John Helde has been helping to flush out fellow artists for Ballard Filmmakers' Night, which will take place at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20 at the Sunset Hill Community Club.

Although the filmmakers have been quietly building their works for years, the idea of featuring Ballard movie-makers was born last summer.

One night last July, I was definitely not minding my own business while looking for a rental at Rain City Video on 32nd Avenue Northwest. Two women burst in to ask the manager, Ray, if he knew any local filmmakers. Carol Beers and Susan Schneider were fresh from a planning committee meeting at Sunset Hill Community Association.

Ray ultimately had to make us leave, claiming that Rain City always closes at 10 p.m. on weeknights.

Live Girls! Theater, the theatre company whose 60-seat venue is located at 2220 N.W. Market St., will be moving out of the neighborhood when its lease is up at the end of December.

The theater will not be moving into a new home. Instead it will be "going mobile," as artistic director Meghan Arnette put it in a Nov. 9 letter to Live Girls! artists and supporters.

"Having our own venue is an amazing asset and we have used it to gain a national reputation for supporting women in theater while presenting a wide variety of exciting and challenging new works," Arnette said in the letter.

In the letter, she said that a mobile Live Girls! will allow the theater to be more flexible and reach new audiences.

"Bone Portraits," the final full production by Live Girls! in its current space, ends Nov. 14.

The final performance in the Ballard venue will be the Holiday Special Cabaret and Auction Dec. 5.

Live Girls! is currently celebrating its 10-year anniversary.

Three more fires caused by arson broke out late Nov. 8 and early Nov. 9 in Greenwood, damaging three businesses.

All three fires were set intentionally on the exterior of the buildings, Fire Department spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen said. At this point, the department cannot say if the fires were set by the same person responsible for a number of arson attacks in the past month.

The first fire occurred at approximately 11 p.m. Nov. 8 behind Moonphoto, located at 7708 Greenwood Ave. N. It caused $1,000 in damage.

The second fire was spotted by an arson patrol at approximately 4 a.m. Nov. 9 behind Olive You, located at 8516 Greenwood Ave. N. The fire caused $20,000 of damage to the rear wall and electrical panels.

The final fire happened at approximately 7:40 a.m. behind the Quickstop located at 8102 Greenwood Ave. N.

Greenwood has been plagued by arson attacks in the past weeks.

Fire caused damage to an attorney's office and Rosewood Guitars early on Nov. 5. On Oct. 23, fire destroyed four businesses – Green Bean Coffee House, Szechuan Bistro, C.C. Teriyaki and Pho Tic Tac – while damaging the Taproot Theatre and Greenwood Academy of Hair.

It took a full afternoon and evening before perseverance primed the Highline vollyeball team for a West Central District qualifying effort Friday in the Seamount/Class 3A South Puget Sound League sub-district tournament held at Mount Rainier High School.

Five games of all out war (25-12, 26-24, 26-28, 9-25, and 15-12) against Mount Rainier catapulted the Pirates into district. Seizing command of the front row, Highline roared ahead early en route to the first game win.

Mount Rainier matched Highline for every single or multi-point rally until the very end of the second game before clutch play from the defense and front row prevailed for the Pirates in the second game.

Matching the second game battles, the Rams clung to Highline tightly and notched the final two points on extended rallies to take the third game.

It was the Rams’ turn to dominate in game four. Kathleen Mulligan and Alina Moss took charge with the help of setters and defenders to completely stifle the Highline efforts.

When the time came for heroics, the Pirates shanghaied the Rams for the critical and closely contested final points in game four.

For Thomas Jefferson it was a game to forget, but for Federal Way it was a game to remember for a long time.

It won't be because of the 69-21score. It will be because of the playoff berth that the Eagles cemented, and for an individual feat that goes down in South Puget Sound League history.

Federal Way senior Trenton Pinson provided a dazzling highlight with an SPSL record seven touchdowns to lead the way in the win.
With a postseason ticket in hand, the Eagles go to Gig Harbor for a 7 p.m. playoff against the Tides Tuesday, Nov. 3. The mini playoff takes the winner to Vancouver to play the Greater St. Helens No. 1 team the following weekend.

"It was over early, and it was a chance for a good rest for the starters for Tuesday," said Federal Way head coach John Meagher after the Thursday, Oct. 29 action at Federal Way Memorial Field. "It was nice to get ahead early and put some players on the sidelines."

It was also a chance to make upcoming opponents shake in their boots, considering the 42-0 score the Eagles amassed in the first quarter.

Warning roars by the opposition preceded ferocious play in a winner-to-state, loser-out showdown for the Decatur girls soccer team on Saturday, November 7, at the Lincoln Bowl.

To the dismay of the No. 6 South Puget Sound League Gators, the bite of the Bellarmine prep Lions embodied the warning roars as the Narrows No. 2 seed overpowered Decatur 3-0 to earn the Class 4A West Central III District No. 4 seed to state while the Gators ended at 10-4-4 after battling injuries throughout most of the season.

Bellarmine Prep forward Stephanie Hamilton struck like a flash of lightning against the gallant Gators in the ninth minute as a hint of what was to come.

Repeatedly rushing at the goal, the Lions were led to the promised land with two second half goals by forward Kelsey Witker, who was still recovering from a bout with the flu.

Like the stormy conditions buffeting the field, Bellarmine Prep thundered away steadily at the embattled Decatur defenders. The Gators tried hard to weather the opposing onslaught.

Only a 30-minute suspension of play for lightning later in the second half gave Decatur a true respite from the Lion offense.

Jordan Ratcliffe, Delas Raiford and Quinton Sison.

Those are three names Kennedy Catholic, especially quarterback Jason Thompson, don’t want to hear mentioned any time soon.

The Timberline guys will be in the whole JFK team’s nightmares for some time now as the Blazers demolished the Lancers, 51-24, in a preliminary round West Central District football playoff at South Sound Stadium in Olympia Friday night.

Demolished? Ha!

Kennedy played even in this game for all the first half, just a couple strokes of bad luck.

“This team has a lot of heart,” said Bob Bourgette, a Lancers coach now for 30-plus seasons, taking the team to the playoffs continuously in that time. “It’s a good group to be around, a great group of kids. We are blessed. Not as much talent and depth as some years, but it’s not always about wins and losses.”

The Diviners
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center Auditorium
4408 Delridge Way S.W.
206-937-1394
www.twelfthnightproductions.org
Fridays and Saturdays, Nov. 13, 14, 20, 21 at 7:30 p.m. With matinees on Sunday Nov. 15 at 3 p.m. "The Diviners" is the story of a disturbed young man named Buddy who holds the ability to divine water in a town where water and faith are in short supply. When a charismatic preacher who has lost his faith comes to town, the two outcasts find a common bond and help each other divine for truth, faith and hope. The townspeoples’ demands for the preacher to return to a way of life he no longer believes in drives both men to a crisis of trust. $15 for adults, $12 for students and seniors.

"Measure For Pleasure"

ArtsWest Playhouse and Gallery

4711 California Ave. S.W.

206-938-0339

Oct. 21 - Nov. 14. Wednesdays-Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.
Sundays, Oct. 25, Nov. 1, and 8, 3 p.m.

Three Highline-Des Moines area teams met with three different results in West Central District 3A action Wednesday, Nov. 4 -- although all were by the same margin of 1-0.

Mount Rainier fared the best, grabbing a 1-0 victory over Auburn-Mountainview and staying alive to play a 1 p.m. Saturday game against Camas at South Sound Stadium in Olympia.

That game was of the do-or-die variety.

Brooke Luchau earned the shutout on goal for the Rams, and Clarissa Strayer scored on a Chelsea Still assist with 24 minutes to go on the clock.

Kennedy Catholic took a 1-0 loss to Bonney Lake at Sunset Chevrolet Stadium in Sumner, meanwhile, but also lived to play another day.

The Lancers were set to take on Yelm in another game at Sunset Chevrolet Stadium. That action was scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday with the winner going to state and the loser out.

Highline also received a first round loss Wednesday, but it was in a loser-out game and the Pirates are already done. The Pirates came up short against Peninsula, 1-0.