December 2009

The Ballard High School gymnastics team lost a close meet Dec. 10 to Inglemoor by a final score of 162.3-160.65.

Ballard's Taylor Stern once again led all athletes with an all-around score of 35.2.

Stern placed first on the bars, tied for first on the vault and tied for third on floor routines.

Molly Barnes placed first on the beam for the Beavers.

Ballard owned three of the top four floor routine spots with Erica Redman placing second and Maria Volk tying with Stern for third.

Coach Stephanie Gundel said the team still has a lot of work to do.

"We could have easily won that meet with more focus, which would have led to fewer mistakes," she said.

Ballard is 1-1 so far this season.

The Beaver's next meet is against Lake Washington at 7 p.m. on Dec. 17 at Lake Washington High School.

As December wears on, more and more holiday lights are popping up all over Ballard, giving the neighborhood a festive glow.

There is no shortage in unique holiday styles, from classic white lights on 32nd Avenue Northwest to a field of candy canes in Olympic Manor to an army of inflatable characters across the street from Ballard High School.

Click the image above for a sampling of the holidays sights around Ballard.

If you would like to see your or your neighbor's holiday decorations included on www.BallardNewsTribune.com or in the Ballard News-Tribune, email them to michaelh@robinsonnews.com.

Seattle Department of Transportation crews will close a lane on Northwest 80th Street between Third Avenue Northwest and Eighth Avenue Northwest Dec. 11 to allow a contractor to perform pavement maintenance work.

From 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. one lane on Northwest 80th Street will remain open with each direction of traffic taking turns, assisted by traffic flaggers.

From 5 p.m. on Dec. 11 until 7 a.m. on Dec. 12, the street will be open for westbound traffic, and eastbound traffic will be detoured at Eighth Avenue Northwest to Northwest 85th Street, returning to Northwest 80th at Third Northwest.

By Steve Shay

Architect Roger Patten has a dream – to save Washington and Seattle $1.8 billion.

He said he could accomplish this with a relatively economical, 2.5 mile long “Elliott Bay Bridge” design he created in his Burien home studio.

His cable-stayed bridge would be an alternative to the deep bore tunnel and would arc out through Elliott Bay with six traffic lanes and two pedestrian and bicycle lanes. Light rail could also glide across the bridge.

His two on and off ramps are placed west of Safeco Field and west of the Battery Street Tunnel.

Patten has a patent pending on his “buoyancy-stabilized pier."

“This pier is new technology, a type of floating pier,” said the 77-year-old, who has been licensed for 45 years and specializes in residential designs in his AIA Architecture company.

“An ordinary bridge’s footing in the bay would require a depth of an 80-story building to get through the sediment and hit bedrock, and you’d need to dig two piers," Patten said.

Architect Roger Patten has a dream – to save Washington and Seattle $1.8 billion.

He said he could accomplish this with a relatively economical, 2.5 mile long “Elliott Bay Bridge” design he created in his Burien home studio.

His cable-stayed bridge would be an alternative to the deep bore tunnel and would arc out through Elliott Bay with six traffic lanes and two pedestrian and bicycle lanes. Light rail could also glide across the bridge.

His two on and off ramps are placed west of Safeco Field and west of the Battery Street Tunnel.

Patten has a patent pending on his “buoyancy-stabilized pier."

“This pier is new technology, a type of floating pier,” said the 77-year-old, who has been licensed for 45 years and specializes in residential designs in his AIA Architecture company.

“An ordinary bridge’s footing in the bay would require a depth of an 80-story building to get through the sediment and hit bedrock, and you’d need to dig two piers," Patten said.

The Ballard High School girls basketball team dropped its first conference game and fell to 0-2 overall with a 57-41 loss to Inglemoor Dec. 9.

The Beavers lead 27-26 at halftime but were outscored 31-14 in the second half.

Junior Elena DeWeese had a game-high 26 points, and junior Theresa Moriarty dropped in 10.

DeWeese leads the team with 37 points in two games. She is third in KingCo 4A, averaging 18.5 points per game.

Ballard faces Lake Washington at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 11 at Lake Washington High School.

The Ballard High School boys basketball team opened the 2009-2010 season Dec. 8 with a heartbreaking 55-54 loss to conference opponent Inglemoor.

The Beavers held a 25-17 halftime lead but was outscored 22-13 in the third quarter.

Coach Billy Rodgers said poor defense and free throw shooting, as well as late-game turnovers, contributed to the loss.

"I was impressed with a lot of areas," Rodgers said. "I do think we had some opportunities to win that game."

He said he was pleased with the play of junior Salim Gloyd and seniors John Barnes and Gary Smith.

Gloyd finished the game with 22 points. Smith added 18, and Barnes chipped in 10.

Senior Kyler Korsmo was the only other Beaver to score, finishing with 4 points.

"I am not too concerned about only four guys scoring," Rodgers said. "I think we will have a pretty diverse group of scorers throughout the season."

Ballard takes on Lake Washington at 8 p.m. on Dec. 11 at Lake Washington High School.

The Ballard High School wrestling team opened its season Dec. 8 with a 55-23 loss to Juanita.

Despite the loss, coach Luke Hagler said the Beavers got off to a much better start to the this season this year than last year.

The team started out with three straight pins in the matches that were not forfeits, Hagler said.

Preston Parris, Luke Fabian and Matthew Kelly earned wins for Ballard.

The Beavers take on Mercer Island at 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 10 at Mercer Island High School.

Architect Roger Patten has a dream – to save Washington and Seattle $1.8 billion.

He said he could accomplish this with a relatively economical, 2.5 mile long “Elliott Bay Bridge” design he created in his Burien home studio.

His cable-stayed bridge would be an alternative to the deep bore tunnel and would arc out through Elliott Bay with six traffic lanes and two pedestrian and bicycle lanes. Light rail could also glide across the bridge.

His two on and off ramps are placed west of Safeco Field and west of the Battery Street Tunnel.

Patten has a patent pending on his “buoyancy-stabilized pier."

“This pier is new technology, a type of floating pier,” said the 77-year-old, who has been licensed for 45 years and specializes in residential designs in his AIA Architecture company.

“An ordinary bridge’s footing in the bay would require a depth of an 80-story building to get through the sediment and hit bedrock, and you’d need to dig two piers," Patten said.

As SeaTac officials introduced their plans during an open house for a city center/entertainment district across from the airport light-rail station, they face serious opposition from commercial property owners and some residents.

The revolt comes from city council decisions to condemn a surface parking lot for use as a public parking garage, to place a moratorium on development in the city center area and to consider major zoning changes.

Acting City Manager Todd Cutts reported about 150 residents showed up for the Dec. 7 open house at the SeaTac Holiday Inn.

"There was great participation from all sectors-most importantly the residents," Cutts said.

The residents expressed strong support for the plans for a downtown area featuring restaurants, entertainment venues, shopping and other commercial uses, according to Cutts. He admitted that the 16 attendees representing commercial businesses did not voice strong support.

The 82-acre site would be located across from the light rail station at South 176th Street and International Boulevard.

"We are resolved to develop a downtown core that will enhance the lifestyle of our residents," Cutts declared.