April 2010

The Daystar Retirement Village in West Seattle may not be searching for Bobby Fischer, but the home did make a big move with its new oversized chess set it just acquired.

“I have a dream that by the use of the chess game we can get the residents’ brains more active,” enthused Gail Sherman, activities director. “Even our residents who are the spectators are thinking actively as they’re watching. The Community School of West Seattle’s kindergarten to third graders are learning to play chess. They visit us the first and third Thursday of every month.”

The private school is at 9450 22nd Avenue SW. Sherman said they walk a few blocks to the home, at 2615 Southwest Barton Street.

“The students have been visiting for over three years, and engage residents with drawing and story-telling” Sherman said. They are little actors and actresses, and now this chessboard will be a way for the students to engage residents with a real thinking game.”

Programs and staff from the Burien Community Center will be moving into the former Burien Library building at 14700 Sixth Avenue S.W. on April 13.

The community center has been known for a variety of programs for all age groups in the community. The current location at 425 S.W. 144th Street will remain open for other programs and community organizations that have rented out space there.

Michael Lafreniere, Burien Parks and Recreation director, explains that the plan to move was made in 2006. But this is not a permanent move, he added.

"The city did a study to look at the recreational needs for the city residents. The master plan is to rebuild a new community center on the existing site and part of the plan is moving the existing programs into the former Burien Library building during this transition," Lafreniere noted.

When Highline Medical Center's new Emergency Room opens, this area will have "the absolute best ER-hands down-anywhere," CEO Mark Benedum boasts.

The new ER and patient care unit will have its grand opening celebration on April 10, and start admitting patients April 13.

Television stars Bob Harper from NBC's "The Biggest Loser" and Grant Goodeve, from KING TV's "Northwest Backroads" will appear at the Saturday event.

Tours as well as a health and activities fair will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the new facility, located at 16251 Sylvester Road Southwest in Burien.

The old, cramped ER was built 50 years ago to handle 12,000 patients per year. It has been serving nearly 47,000 annually.

According to assistant administrator Kathleen Fondren, the average time a patient is in Highline's ER is under three hours. The average time from when a patient arrives to when a doctor sees them is 45 minutes.

Those times are under national averages but Highline staffers emphasize the new ER will reduce wait times further while providing a more comfortable environment for patients and staff.

Orion Gennet is better off than a “bubble boy,” but not by much.

“I don’t have just a ‘peanut boy,’” said Maria Gennet, of her three year-old, food-sensitive son. She uses the term to mean those kids allergic to just peanuts. Unfortunately, her spunky little boy is allergic to tree nuts, chicken, dairy, eggs, wheat, corn and soy, in addition to peanuts of course. Orion is also “contact allergic.”

“You can’t touch food he is allergic to, and then touch him,” Maria said. “If I prep chicken and a drop of juice touches him, he could get a rash there or get bloated. A nurse once touched him in an examination and it left a red handprint where he was touched.”

Some may remember Gennet when she worked as hair stylist at Ola on Avalon Avenue in West Seattle. She has since opened her own home studio, A Room Apart, an organic hair salon in North Highline just south of Arbor Heights. She was a mentor at the Community of Youth Program at Chief Sealth High School.

Western Washington University guard Morris Anderson (Sr., Federal Way) received first-team honors and forward Derrick Webb (Sr., Port Orchard/South Kitsap) earned second-team recognition on the 2009-10 Daktronics NCAA Division II West Region All-Star team announced Wednesday.

Anderson is second on the Vikings in scoring at 14.7 points a game, and leads in assists (5.2 avg.) and steals (2.4), topping the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and ranking 14th nationally in the latter category. He also paces the conference in free throw percentage at 86.7 percent (85-of-98), at one point making a school record 39 consecutive free throws.

Webb leads Western in scoring at 16.1 points a game, which ranks fourth in the GNAC, reaching double figures in 25 games. He is second among the Vikings in rebounds (6.1), assists (2.2) and steals (1.2).

Anderson and Webb were earlier named first-team GNAC all-stars.

Anderson nabs awards

Federal Way’s Morris Anderson was named as the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the week for Dec. 27-Jan. 2.

The 6-3 senior scored 35 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and five steals in the two-game week.

Retired letter carrier Gerald A. McBreen won AARP's "Six-Word Memoirs Contest.

For his Most Memorable Meal McBreen wrote: "Swear words - got soap for dinner."

McBreen delivered mail in Federal Way during the late 70's and early 80's before finishing his 38 year career in Auburn.

McBreen now lives in Pacific. He took up writing poetry after his retirement in 2003. He is serving his second year as Pacific's Poet Laureate.

You can find his award winner in the March/April issue of AARP. For his efforts he'll receive a T-shirt with his six words printed on it.

McBreen says he hopes AARP will mail it by USPS otherwise he may never get it.

The new documentary “Nickelsville” will be screened for the first time Friday, April 23, 7pm, at the University Congregational United Church of Christ. The church is located at 4515 45th Avenue NE. Peggy Hotes, the liaison between Veterans for Peace Chapter 92 and Nickelsville, the roving homeless encampment many associate with the pink dome tents, created the film. The film will include the incidents when the tent city landed four times in West Seattle with still photographs and possibly some video footage.

The first appearance of the encampment in West Seattle, which was named after then Mayor Greg Nickels to embarrass him for his homeless policies that some homeless advocates believed fell short, came Sept. 22, 2008. They were evicted.

About 80 homeless encampment residents, or “Nickelodeons,” were also evicted July 23, 2009 from a vacant lot off of West Marginal Way under Gov. Gregoire’s orders, as it was state land. Volunteers with U-Haul type trucks then secretly moved Nickelsville to Terminal 107 Park, owned by the Port of Seattle, about two miles north on West Marginal Way. Port police evicted them Sept. 30 and they have not returned to West Seattle.

With its official flower—the daffodil—in full bloom, the West Seattle Art Club will celebrate its 100th year with a centennial tea next Sunday, April 11th, from 2-4 pm at the West Seattle Library. Thirty members strong since 1910—and limited by charter to that small number—the group continues a legacy of art education, support of the arts, and community activism.

The second oldest art club in the state owes its existence to the foresight of one Katherine B. Baker who, after moving from Chicago in 1909, felt that Seattle's cultural scene needed a bit of a boost. In April, 1910, she and several friends gathered in the Palm Avenue home of Mrs. J. Walter Hainsworth to create the West Seattle Art Club.

At approximately 4:41 a.m. on April 4, officers responded to a one-vehicle collision near 28th Avenue Northwest and Northwest Market Street.

Preliminary investigation indicates that a red 1986 Pontiac Firebird with four occupants was traveling westbound on Market Street at a high rate of speed.

Near the intersection with 28th Avenue, the Firebird left the road, crossed the sidewalk and struck a steel pole (part of the Taco Time sign).

Seattle Fire Department medics were called to the scene.

Three of the four vehicle occupants, including the driver, adult males in their 20s, died as a result of the collision.

An adult female in her midteens, who was sitting in the back seat behind the driver, was transported to Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

It is unknown at this time if alcohol was a factor in the collision.

Traffic Collision Investigation Squad detectives are responding to the scene and will be in charge of the on-going investigation.

On Easter morning at Ballard Corners Park, half the assembled adults hid eggs while the other half restrained the eager egg hunters lined up along the sidewalk awaiting the start of the neighborhood-organized egg hunt.

The children were released in an egg-gathering frenzy, leaving the adults to chase after them with cameras and tease each other about which parents were offering too much help in their children's pursuit of eggs.

Six-year-old Olivia Jett, for one, said she prefers her Easter egg hunts without adult help.

"I'm good at looking," she said. "I'm a really good hunter."

Jalair Box, mother of six-year-old Jaya, said it is nice to have an event where all the neighborhood children who don't know each other can get together.

Ballard Big Picture is a column of scenes from around the neighborhood. If you would like to submit a photo for use on this site and in the Ballard News-Tribune, please send it to Michael Harthorne at michaelh@robinsonnews.com. Be sure to include your name and information about your photo.