February 2010

The Highline Schools Foundation is accepting nominations for this year's Gold Star Awards. Nomination forms will be available through school administrators and on the foundation's Web site, www.highlineschoolsfoundation.org.

The awards honor outstanding teacher, staff, administrator and volunteers in the Highline Public Schools and all members of the school community are invited to nominate their peers.

Winners receive a cash award and will be honored at the foundation's Gold Star Luncheon on May 21.

The Gold Star Teacher of the Year will also be eligible to represent the district in the region's Teacher of the Year contest.

Meet Winter Smith

She is only 17, but as the daughter of a computer specialist for the U.S. Army traveling all over the map she is a trained expert in the arcane mysteries of a myriad of computer types and sizes is now living with her mom in Des Moines.

She is busy right now serving hungry people at the Highline School District culinary arts school and will one day enroll most likely at Northwestern University in Chicago

Her dimples come naturally. Her mom has one on her right cheek and her dad has one on his left cheek.

She is blessed with a bubbling personality.

Stress is defined as "a specific response by the body to a stimulus, as fear or pain, which disturbs or interferes with the normal physiological equilibrium of an organism; physical, mental or emotional strain or tension; a situation, occurrence, or factor causing this."

Our food choices: jobs, relationships, the commute, and time constraints can all create stress.

McDonald's or Starbuck's offers up that morning caffeine/sugar/artificially sweetened/Trans fat laden jump start.

After work some of us stop at the local gym to be kicked around for an hour, battle traffic again, micro-wave a Lean Cuisine backed with diet soda to keep us-well-- lean, watch TV until midnight, then toss and turn until morning.

The latest fitness crazes are "Six Weeks to Total Fitness" boot camps, eating "foods made more functional" and the relentless pursuit of non-functional "six pack abs."

Experts remind us that we must exercise 90 minutes daily to combat stress-- the good old "No pain, no gain" adage.

Hmmmmmm.........

The Burien City Council has voted in zoning regulations that will limit adult entertainment in the Burien annexed portion of North Highline.

The council voted unanimously approved the zoning code for the part of North Highline that will become a part of Burien. Councilman Gordon Shaw was absent,

New zoning code will restrict adult entertainment to between Southwest 112th Street and Southwest 116th Street along either side of 16th Avenue Southwest.

The zoning codes will become effective April 1 when Burien annexes the southern portion of North Highline.

Originally adult entertainment was allowed under the King County CB-Special District Overlay Zone. The City of Burien tried to conform the current King County Zoning into its own code.

The King County CB-Special District Overlay designated a commercial and industrial area and was put into effect by the county to accommodate and encourage growth

The council expressed concern about zoning allowing adult entertainment, agreeing to the compromise of keeping it contained to a small area along 16th Avenue.

Want to know more about law enforcement in Highline or learn how to help out in a community emergency?

The Burien and SeaTac police departments are offering two courses for interested citizens.

The Citizen's Police Academy begins March 17, while Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training starts March 11.

To apply or for more information on the citizen's academy, Burien residents may contact Community Service Officer Nicki Maraulja at 206-296-3333 or nicki.maraulja@kingcounty.gov. The SeaTac contact person is Community Service Officer Eloise Kruger at 206-973-4915 or ekruger@ci.seatac.wa.us.

For CERT training, applicants should contact SeaTac Community Service Officer Mechee Burnett at 206-973-4917 or mechee.burnett@kingcounty.gov.

A thorough background check is conducted on applicants for both programs.

According to police officials, graduates of the free citizen's academy will gain a better understanding of law enforcement's role in the criminal justice system and an appreciation for the many challenges facing law enforcement in today's complex society.

Visitors to the 2010 Northwest Flower and Garden Show, which opened Feb. 3, may be shocked by one of the gardens they see situated amongst the more prim, pretty and perfect gardens at the show.

"Viridis Veni Vidi Vici," created by Ballard High School agriculture students, is a depiction of nature reclaiming an abandoned school – a post-apocalyptic garden.

"People will either love it or hate it," said Emerald McAmis, one of the students behind the project.

The garden features graffitied walls, mangled books and broken desks being taken over by plants grown in the Ballard High School greenhouse and other collected plants, such as weeds and blackberry bushes.

"It's not going to be like anything else at the flower show," said India Carlson, who teaches horticulture and botany at Ballard High School and supervised the project.

The garden is part of the Northwest Flower and Garden Show's Funky Junk program, which allows high school students and nonprofit organizations to create garden displays using recycled and found objects.

Funky Junk was started a few years ago, but this is the first year Ballard High School students have participated.

I believe that some council members would disagree with portions of the Legislative agenda for the City of SeaTac as proposed by the city manager and SeaTac staff and spending our tax dollars to promote things that are contrary to property rights and open government is not what the citizens and businesses want.

Please see page 3, Eminent Domain and Executive Sessions.

It is my opinion that these two issues, at a minimum, would not have majority support if the electorate was aware that this is what our lobbyist (Joe Daniels) is being paid to do. The use of our tax money to oppose open government and support the ease of taking your property is not something in our best interest.

I ask that you contact our council members and legislators to voice your opinion, even if it is contrary to mine.

Our Attorney General, Rob McKenna, has proposed House Bills 2423/2425 and Senate Bills 6199/6200 to strengthen our property rights. I support him on this issue.

I do not care about Republican or Democrat slant/bias. My simple opinion--if something proves to not work, stop doing that!

Earl Gipson
SeaTac

The Ballard High School girls basketball team hung with first-place Woodinville for one half of their Feb. 5 matchup, but Woodinville was able to pull away in the second half for a 61-47 victory.

The loss is the eighth in a row for the Beavers.

Junior Taylor Hall and senior Kayla Wenger both finished with 14 points for Ballard in a losing cause.

The loss puts Ballard at 1-13 in KingCo and 3-15 overall. Last season the team finished 1-15 in the conference and 3-17 overall.

The Beavers have two games to get a win and show some improvement over last year.

The best opportunity for Ballard to do that is on the horizon when they take on Bothell, a team winless in KingCo, at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 10 at Bothell High School.

The Beavers got their only conference win against Bothell 56-54 on Jan. 8.

The Ballard High School boys basketball team took sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot with a 41-38 victory over Woodinville Feb. 5.

The Beavers found themselves down 15-7 after the first quarter but outscored Woodinville in each of the final three quarters to get the important win.

Woodinville's 38 points were the fewest given up by Ballard all season.

Junior Salim Gloyd led the team with 14 points, and senior Gary Smith had eight.

Ballard improved its record to 6-8 in the conference and 7-11 overall with two games remaining.

Next up, the Beavers face Bothell, a team that beat them 52-37 earlier this season and is one game ahead of Ballard in the KingCo standings.

The game takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 9 at Bothell High School.

The Phuong/Soeun family who lost their 17 year-old son, Prackesrth, or “Patrick,” to a house fire in the South Park neighborhood Monday, just after 8:00 p.m., Feb. 1, is finding aid and comfort within their tight knit Cambodian-American community and beyond.

Many possessions in their home, at 8805 5th Avenue South, were destroyed, and the Buddhist temple and community center where they have been active members are collecting clothes, kitchen items, and money for Patrick’s mother, Sody Soeun, his father, Sean Phuong, his sister, brother, and 88 year-old grandfather, who were all in the house when the fire struck. Patrick attended Madison Middle School and Chief Sealth High School.

Framed photos of Patrick were displayed on an alter at the Sahak Khemararam Buddhist Temple, 824 South 100th Street, in Boulevard Park, and a Friday night service of over 80 members packed the temple, a converted ranch house, to pray in a sort of unison song for an hour for Patrick and his family. Three resident monks led the prayer. The funeral would follow on Saturday, beginning at the temple, then moving to the Columbia Funeral Home in Columbia City.