May 2010

Highline School District athletes came through with high finishes to earn their way to state out of the West Central District meet held at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood last Friday and Saturday.

Rashaun Johnson of Foster finished first in the 300 hurdles event with a time of 39.05 seconds and came in second in the 100 hurdles in 15.26 to lead the state-bound local pack.

The meet will be held at the South End Recreation Area in Tacoma (SERA) Friday, May 28 and Saturday, May 29.

Also winning events at the district meet was Kennedy Catholic's Darian Brooks with a 47-03 effort in the triple jump and the Highline 1,600 relay team with a time of 3:59.28. Highline was also second in the 800 relay with a time of 1:45.31.

Brooks also took fourth in the long jump at 21-02.75. Kennedy's Casey Burns placed seventh in the triple jump at 44-06.50, while Mount Rainier's Kathleen Mulligan took second in the triple jump at 36-01.25 and seventh in the long jump at 15-09.50.

Tethliach Chual of Mount Rainier came in fourth in the 400 in 51.19 and Vidal Hillard of Foster was fourth in the pole vault at 13-06.00.

Highline Public Schools Superintendent John Welch has recommended $2.5 million in cuts to the upcoming 2010-2011 budget to help make up for a $3.4 million expected shortfall.

If approved by the school board, the cuts would mean the loss of 15 full-time positions.

The district has already cut $8 million from the 2009-2010 budget and $2 million from the previous year's budget.
The latest cuts would include two school psychologists, a deaf and hard of hearing program counselor and an already vacant special education specialist position.

Budget director Susan Smith Leland said elementary school counselors are no longer being considered for cuts.
Other possible cuts off the table include eliminating extended full-day kindergarten and reductions to community use of schools and hours for the Family Center in July.

Welch said much of the success of recent bond and levy measures is tied to the availability of schools for after-hours community use. The board will discuss placing a new capitol bond and levy on the ballot at a June 9 study session.
Also, Welch noted the district has set up a new fee schedule for community events.

It's been a good few weeks for local food banks. The Ballard Food Bank announced its new location earlier this month, and now the Greenwood Food Bank is preparing to move into a new, larger space.

The Greenwood Food Bank, currently at 9747 Greenwood Ave. N., will be moving seven blocks south to 9041 Greenwood Ave. N. this weekend. May 27 was their final day of service at the old location, and service will begin June 1 in the new space.

Volunteers of America Western Washington, which runs the Greenwood Food Bank, bought the building at 9041 Greenwood Ave. N. and will be moving its Senior Companion Program and Disability Services there as well to create the Volunteers of America Community Resource Center.

Lori Drabant, vice president of development and communications for Volunteers of America, said the goal is to fill the needs of the community while increasing visibility and integration of the Senior Companion Program and Disability Services.

Thanks to the inspiration of professional documentarian, college professor, and West Seattle resident B.J. Bullert, and her colleague, civil rights and peace activist, Seattle icon Kay Bullitt, Friday, May 28, has been officially proclaimed "Earl Robinson Day" by Mayor Mike McGinn and the City of Seattle. The late Earl Robinson will be honored and remembered during two events at Northwest Folklife Festival Friday and Sunday evening.

Earl Robinson was himself a civil rights and peace and labor activist, and folk balladeer, blacklisted during the McCarthy era. (He was a proud member of the Communist Party, then became disillusioned with it.) He also happened to be raised in West Seattle where he returned before he died. He sang at Folklife Fest two months before his passing, in May, 1991. He was born 100 years ago.

Many who do not recognize his name will recognize two of his famous compositions, "Black and White," popularized by the pop group Three Dog Night, and "Joe Hill," a Joan Baez standard. Robinson co-wrote "Black and White" in 1954 with actor Alan Arkin's father, David.

There are many places along Alki Beach to have fun. But if you want to have "wheel fun," you can rent a surrey bicycle at Wheel Fun Rentals, 2530 Alki Avenue SW, located on an outdoor gravel lot between Coastal" and Pioneer Coffee. If you drive by the lot quickly, it may resemble a large carnival ride.

But look closer, and you will see a "fleet" of 60-70 brightly colored two, three, and four-wheel bicycles in a variety of shapes and styles. There is the "single surrey," built for two, and the "double-surrey," built for four, that look like shopping carts on steroids that you peddle.

There is the slightly hipper, and more wind resistant "deuce coupe," a three-wheel, low-to-the-ground contraption for two, and the basic one-speed utility bicycle, the "beach cruiser."

The West Seattle Herald happened to run into Wheel Fun Founder, Brian McInerney at his Alki location. He has over 80 franchised locations nationwide. Most are in California, but there are several in Florida, Oregon, and still others sprinkled around the country.

The West Seattle Herald published a recent story on no-smoking advocate, proud World War II Veteran and longtime West Seattle resident Bob Fox called "Don't Waste Your Money on Cigarettes!" here:

http://www.westseattleherald.com/2010/05/15/features/dont-waste-your-mo…

The response was both popular and positive, so we "exploited" Mr. Fox again to join us for a media flight on the B-17 Flying Fortress "Aluminum Overcast" which took off and landed at Boeing Field/King County International Airport May 24.

Fox was an electrician and repaired B-17's, B-24's, B-51's and other aircraft damaged by barrages of German bullets, or "flack," during the war, and then worked for decades at Boeing in a variety of jobs, just a few hundred feet from the Museum of Flight, near where the Aluminum Overcast took off.

The plane was filled with 10 passengers and a crew of three.

The Sustainable Sites Initiative announced the selection of Ballard's forthcoming Ninth Avenue Park as one of the first sites to participate in a new program testing the nation’s first rating system for green landscape design, construction and maintenance.

The Ninth Avenue Park, which will be located on Ninth Avenue Northwest between Northwest 70th Street and Northwest 73rd Street, will join more than 150 other projects from 34 states and from Canada, Iceland and Spain as part of an international pilot project program to evaluate the new Sustainable Sites Initiative rating system for sustainable landscapes.

Sustainable landscapes can clean water, reduce pollution and restore habitats while providing significant economic and social benefits to land owners and municipalities, according to a Seattle Parks and Recreation press release.

The Sustainable Sites Initiative selected the Ninth Avenue Park

Poetry and storytelling comes monthly to C&P Coffee Company, 5612 California Avenue SW, thanks to POETRYBRIDGE, and its creators Walter Maenhout and Leopoldo Seguel. It came Wednesday night, May 26, 7:00 p.m. to 9: p.m. It continues every forth Wednesday of each month.

Maenhout, also a poet, works at the coffee shop and is also a sound recording engineer.

Seguel said that a family poetry night is in the works to give grade school students and up an opportunity to share their work.

The next poetry night will be held Wednesday, June 23, at 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Guitar player, folk singer pictured in slideshow is "Quixote Radio"

CLICK ONTO PHOTO OF IAN HEGWOOD FOR SLIDESHOW

A DNA hit clinched the deal in at least one unsolved rape on Vashon Island that occurred in January of this year.

On January 10th a 16 year-old girl was sleeping in the family home about 4:00 AM when a man came into the residence, apparently through an unlocked door. He made his way to the girl’s room, raped the teen and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

As soon as the man was gone she woke her parents and the Sheriff's Office was called.

The victim told deputies that, while she didn’t see the suspect’s face, she felt a beard and thought it might be an acquaintance, 27 year-old Brian Dublin, who lives on Vashon.

Based on the information from the girl, detectives contacted Dublin later that day. He denied he had been the attacker, and provided a story as to his whereabouts the night before.

Since the identification of Dublin was tentative, there was not enough information to arrest him.

The investigation proceeded and other possible suspects were interviewed. In addition, Dublin remained at least a “person of interest”, and his alibi was checked. However detectives were never able to eliminate him as the perpetrator.

The monthly Highland Park Action Committee meeting May 26, gets underway at 7pm (potluck at 6:30pm) and features a discussion with artist David Boyer to about the artwork he will create for Westcrest Park. The address is 1116 SW Holden St.

The project was put out on an RFQ (request for qualifications) , "It's a letter they send out that gets published all over the art world," said Boyer. " I, along with 226 other artists applied... then the public art action committee selected six of us for Westcrest and Maple Leaf Park (for a covered reservoir in North Seattle) as finalists." After a three week review Boyer was selected to do the work for Westcrest.