November 2009

(Editor's Note: Doris Cassan made the following comments to the SeaTac City Council on Oct. 27 and sent a copy of her remarks to the Times/News)

Just about a month ago, my husband, James, and I as well as others, came before this council pleading and respectfully requesting that you not condemn our Park N Fly property; a piece of property on which we have owned or operated for over forty-two years.

As you well know, it was to no avail.

Then, Mr. Mayor, I read in the Highline Times your op-ed where you justified this Council's action by hypothesizing that "the #1 citizen complaint was surface parking."

So let's make sure the dates and sequences are in the record.

Forty-two years ago my 176th and Pacific Highway car rental/parking operation was one of two in the Seattle-Tacoma airport area-long before SeaTac was a city.

All of the other surface parking lots were developed after this date. Evidently all of these parking lots were approved by this Council.

So if surface parking was really a concern to the Council, you did not have to approve them.

The city of Burien's system of governance needs a lot of tweaking.

As a visitor recently to Burien, I had trouble figuring out a traffic configuration at the intersection of the freeway off ramp at 148th and First Avenue.

When I spoke to a public works employee she was evasive and rude and when I reported her behavior to the city manager's secretary I got an equally obnoxious response. (Quite a little buddy system they've got going.)

Subsequently, my many messages to the city manager and mayor went unanswered.

I also discovered there are no public telephone numbers for the mayor or city council members. (except for Lucy Krakowiak.)

This is no way to run a city. I know that my friends and relations in Burien wish the city were more responsive.

Alan Neff
Tucson, AZ

All the hocus-pocus political heat of the Nov. 3 election dust is settling down as faithful residents and volunteers pick up the pieces with a sigh of relief -- "Finally, It's over."

Isn't it amazing how a healthy community can recover from hard-fought elections by putting campaign politics behind them as they step forward to support the "People's Choice" elected lawmakers?

That attitude draws positive people to where they want to live.

Frequently, the overlooked distinctiveness of a city is formed and fueled within local service clubs and city-appointed boards and commissions.

November 1st was The Legacy Foundation Annual fund-raising Brunch. To get on next year's mailing list, call Des Moines Activity Center Manager Sue Padden at 206-878-1642.

Des Moines Historical Society invites you to participate in a free program, "Memories and Mementos of Our Country's Wars," Nov. 10, Tuesday, 7 p.m., Odd Fellows Hall, 728 South 225th. Free Refreshments. Call 206-878-7205 for more information.

Imagine being a mother of a newborn child and being told that your child is lactose intolerant.

The doctor says to take the child off of your breast milk and regular formula because he or she is "lactose intolerant" or that your breast milk is causing your child distress. That pediatrician recommends putting your baby on soy formula.

So, the good mother that you are, you do as your doctor recommends. You notice your baby seems to be in distress. He or she is vomiting, has diarrhea, or is colicky and cranky.

You're probably told "This is normal for babies" (it isn't). You continue to feed your child soy formulas.

From infant to toddler, he or she seems to be more laden with allergies than most children. The dark circles under their eyes and troubling G.I. issues persist.

When your child is ten or eleven years old, you find out he has thyroid cancer. This news on top of the challenge of their learning disabilities sends you, as the parent(s) right over the edge.

Why does this happen to a child? Is it in the foods we're feeding our children? Most holistic wellness practitioners believe so.

Meet Dave Snowdy,

He is known in these parts as "Biker Dave."

He was born and raised in Denver, but has lived in Burien for 27 years and loves it but could do with a little less rain because wet weather makes his right foot throb.

How so?

A long time ago he was following a guy who made a sudden turn and was about to pass him but lost control of his Sportster bike, smashed through an 8-foot fence, and hit a huge oak tree.

They got him to the hospital where the doctor found all the bones in the top of his foot were broken but were able the mend it almost good as new except during dampness.

He has three Harleys, including a '97 Wideglide.

He is now retired, has traveled thousands of miles over most states with his wife hanging on behind him, and they both love it.

Burien woman accused of child rape

A Burien woman and her estranged husband face multiple sex-related charges after they allegedly filmed themselves raping a 4-year-old girl and swapping Web images of the abuse with another man. Seattle police arrested Hollie Beston, 31, of Burien and Brian Beston, 36, of Kent after a man accused of abusing a boy in Southern California told police about the alleged abuse.

Pedestrian hit by car in Burien

A van with a teenager behind the wheel hit at 72-year-old SeaTac man in Burien. The man was taken to Harborview Medical Center in critical condition. The accident occurred at South 136th Street and Eighth Avenue South. The man was walking east on South 136th and was crossing Eighth when the van hit him. The 17-year-old at the wheel of the van was turning right and didn't see the pedestrian. Authorities say there was no sign of drugs or alcohol in either the pedestrian or the driver. Fogged windows in the van may have contributed to the accident. No citations have been issued, though the investigation is continuing.

Burglars prowling

In the week preceding Halloween, parents had more to be worried about than costumes and pumpkin carving.

On Tuesday, Oct. 27 between 2:15 and 2:30 in the afternoon, a man entered the parking lot of North Hill Elementary in Des Moines during the students' recess. According to school officials, he attempted to hand out candy and a CD to students. The students were separated from the man by a fence.

A playground monitor told the man to leave and he walked away without any resistance and school administration contacted Highline School District security, which searched for the man but did not find him. The school did not notify the Des Moines police of the incident until a little over two hours later at 4:42 p.m.

Parents are outraged that the school did not call police immediately.

Chuck Duff, whose daughter goes to North Hill, said that he had spoken to the principal around 4:15 p.m. to express his concern. The police had still not been called at that time.

He said Principal Nancy Melius told him that there was no clear cut policy on how to handle such an incident.

More than 17,000 children in the Highline School District will be given free hand sanitizer encouraging them to "Rub Out Germs" as part of a major public health education initiative launched by Highline Medical Center in Burien to reduce the spread of germs.

Through an innovative program between the school district and the medical center, each child will receive a bottle of hand sanitizer on a clip that can be attached to a backpack along with a kid-friendly information card to take home.

In addition, the medical center has launched a community awareness campaign that includes billboards, television public service announcements and posters.

Highline has also developed an educational Web site at RubOutGerms.com that provides information on how to protect against the spread of germs, as well as a variety of facts about the flu.

"Our goal is to help people stay healthy," said Mara Burke, medical center community relations director. "According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of the most important things we all can do to keep from getting sick is to practice good hand hygiene."

Just because Des Moines is not at risk for flooding does not mean it will not be affected, Des Moines Police Chief Roger Baker told council members on Oct. 29.

Water levels behind the Howard Hanson Dam are being kept lower after a depression was discovered in the right abutment. This raises the water levels of the Green River.

In a heavy rain, severe flooding is expected in parts of Tukwila, Renton, Kent and Auburn.

This will not be a one-time event, Baker said, and an estimated 25,000 to 40,000 people in the flood area may have to evacuated many times over.

The Army Corps of Engineers are working on interim measures to reduce the impact of the flooding, but a permanent solution could be a long ways out.

Work is being done on a concrete subterranean cutoff wall, but just planning and designing the wall is expected to take a year, and the Corps of Engineers has no idea how long it would take to build, considering the complexity of the problem.

The three primary evacuation routes out of Kent lead directly in Des Moines. Baker said that Des Moines currently has no plans to open a shelter, given available locations and staffing considerations.