August 2010

The Alki Bathhouse is buzzing with kid-focused activities this summer. Many classes still have openings.

Kids Pottery – Beginning
Ages 5 – 10 years
This is an introduction to clay basics. Experiment with textures, shapes and colors while learning to sculpt animals, cups, and more. Materials are included in the course fee. This class is taught on Mondays, from 4 – 5 p.m., beginning Aug. 9 and continuing until Sept. 13. The activity fee is $85.

Art Camp: Creative Writing and the Artist's Journal
Ages 9 – 12 years
Focus on self-expression through poetry, storytelling, painting, and collage for a memorable experience to cherish forever. A supply list is provided upon registration. This class is taught Aug. 9 – 12, from 9 a.m. to noon. The activity fee is $140.

Clay Works Pottery Camp
Ages 5 – 11 years
Kids learn the basics of hand-building, then get creative making clay masks, animals, portraits, frames, vases, and toys. Materials are included in the course fee. This class is taught Aug. 16 – 20, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. The activity fee is $160.

Wishes & Dreams Box Workshop

At relatively young ages, my children have had death and hardship explained to them. When they were 2 and 5 years old, their grandmother died. They were perhaps too young to really mourn this loss, but not too young to ask a million questions about it, such as, “Where is she now?”

What I wanted to say was, “Right there,” and point to the box that held her ashes, but I knew they needed more than that.

I gave them abbreviated theories about heaven and reincarnation and ended with, “But no one really knows what happens to us when we die. We just choose to believe what we’ve learned from church or our parents or what comforts us.”

“What do you believe?” they asked.

Having agnostic parents and little to no experience in churches, this is a big question for me. I want to believe in something else, but I don’t know what. So, I told them that. They accepted that answer and ran off to reenact coming back as butterflies and kangaroos.

A Ballard resident who jumped from a second-story window to escape a house fire July 22 in the 2300 block of Northwest 67th Street is recovering and doing well.

Slightly between 3 a.m. on July 22, the Ballard house caught fire. Two men were injured escaping. Three other residents escaped uninjured.

The man who escaped by jumping out the window broke both ankles and bones in both feet.

"It will be a while before I can walk," said the man, who did not want his name published. "But, I'm very grateful everyone made it out of the building alive."

He said he wanted to let everyone who has read stories about the fire or left online comments know that he is grateful for their concern, their prayers and their support.

The fire was caused by overheated electrical wiring in the first-floor walls. The fire spread from the first floor to the attic.

The second injured resident suffered burns to his hands and feet while fleeing the building.

The final piece of the new Crown Hill Park is ready to be completed after a handful of parents, activists and skateboarders met with Seattle Parks and Recreation and Pillar Design Studios Aug. 2 to discuss the park's skateboarding area.

Kim Baldwin, project manager for Parks, said the public's reaction to a skatedot, a 1,500-square-foot skateboarding area, was overwhelmingly positive at previous meetings.

Out of a total budget of $1.2 million for Crown Hill Park, located on the north side of Holman Road Northwest between 13th Avenue Northwest and 14th Avenue Northwest, $55,000 has been designated for the skatedot, which will be located in the southeast section of the park.

"Night Out", a national crime prevention awareness event was made real by groups of neighbors all over West Seattle Tuesday night August 3. Promoted by the Seattle Police Department, it is intended to increase neighborhood support in anti-crime efforts, and bring neighborhoods together. Judging by the people the Herald spoke with the block parties are working well.

Pat Shaffer had a security suggestion from a local block captain and said, "If someone comes to your door, just ask them if you can take their picture. If they are legitimate they won't mind at all."

On 46th S.W. near Raymond Sindy Todo said, " We're very good at communicating and we're not averse to calling each other, and fortunately many of us here work from our homes."

The "unofficial" block watch captain for that neighborhood is Mary Ellen Cunningham who used to be the Executive Director of Megawatt.
Of her role in the neighborhood she said, "I love it."

The Seattle Department of Neighborhoods, King County/Seattle Healthy Kids Healthy Communities and Neighborhood House - Be Active Together are seeking to communicate all the different ways that people can get fresh produce near High Point .
They have produced a multi-lingual flyer that announces their success with Walgreens selling fresh produce and it includes a TWO DOLLAR coupon to the Wednesday High Point Farm Stand.

This flyer is available at the front desk of the High Point Center, and at the SHA Management Office during August rent week and can downloaded at the link above.

They are working with Walgreens to give community feedback and trying to support bringing an East African Market and Deli to High Point.

If you want to help continue bringing affordable fresh produce to High Point, attend this week’s meeting:

FRESH FRUIT AND VEGGIES GROUP
When: August 5th, Thursday from 6p-7:30p
Where: Neighborhood House - High Point Center, Room 210
Other: Somali and Vietnamese Interpretation &
Childcare, Light Refreshments and will be provided
RSVP: Please let Joyce know if you plan to attend

Cann could be king.

No question D'voreaux Cann can swim, but he could break, not one, but two (counting the 200 yard freestyle relay) All City meet records in the prestigious summer-ender to the Seattle Summer Swim League season happening this Aug. 3 at the Lakeridge Pool in Renton.

Cann just swam in Thursday's Southern Championships meet that pits all the Seattle Summer Swim League teams stretching from Kent to West Seattle to Federal Way, and the times tell he -- and his relay team -- could get records indeed.

"Yeah, I am going to go for it on Tuesday," said Cann, who was a top-three state placer this past season at the 4A state high school meet in the King County Weyerhaueser Aquatic Center in February.

Vroom, zoom.

A lot of stories from the Southern championships swim meet but maybe two of the most noteable tales come from the Arbor Heights 8-&-

Under relay team that had "vroom, vroom," on their mind -- plus 17-year-old Jason Lemley zooming to a pool record in an unusual way in action for all six area Seattle Summer Swim League teams at the Olympic View pool Thursday.

Before we go on, the final score was Kent, 402 points for first and Marine Hills second with 294. Arbor Heights was third with 281, Normandy Park fourth with 267 and Olympic View, fifth with 221. Twin Lakes came in sixth.

Well, what about that young group of Arbor Heights relayers?

They wanted to go on a ride. That was their goal all season long, according to one of their coaches, Mariah Crockett, who is a Kennedy swimmer on that traditionally strong swim team and state placer as a junior as well.

Crockett is a senior now, and she's helping out until the season starts this fall in high school with Arbor Heights swimmers. One of the swimmers is her little brother, Sal.

This week Westside School completes the bulk of their move from 28th Ave SW to the E.C. Hughes site on 34th Ave SW. Three semi-trucks are shuttling back and forth filled with desks, books, chairs, etc. on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
See the Herald's previous coverage of the move here.

Hughes at 7740 34th Ave. S.W. has been in the Seattle Public Schools inventory since last December when the Seattle School Board announced its availability.

The Board and administration said they are committed to being excellent neighbors and are excited for the fall and the new school year. Look for a public open house in early September.

Burien Mayor Joan McGilton expressed her frustration over the lack of time the Council has had to discuss the Burien Shoreline Master Program (SMP), which originally was scheduled for approval by the Council on August 30.

The Council agreed to move the public hearing on the Shoreline Master Program from August 16 to August 30, dedicating the August 16 meeting to council discussion on the SMP.

The next discussion on the SMP will be Monday August 16 at 7 p.m. at Burien City Hall. The Public Forum originally scheduled for that time has been moved to 7 p.m. Monday August 30.

City Manager Mike Martin said unless the Council said they wished to extend the time to adopt the SMP he is going to keep moving the Council forward for an adoption date in early September.

Mayor McGilton said public comment has certainly slowed down the proceedings, saying the public comment has allowed for little or no Council discussion of the Shoreline Master Program. “We have listened for five months to the public comment,” McGilton said. She said she felt they were pretty clear on the public’s comments and concerns at this point.