August 2010

Lee Ann Tucker Therriault has been named Community Relations Director of Merrill Gardens at Admiral Heights, a retirement community located in West Seattle.

“We are particularly pleased to have Lee Ann’s expertise at Merrill Gardens at Admiral Heights, where she will be responsible for marketing and public relations,” said Rebecca King, General Manager at Merrill Gardens. “Lee Ann’s public relations and social services experience will enhance Merrill Gardens at Admiral Heights’ resident-centered approach to retirement living.”

Therriault brings more than 15 years of experience in health care and public relations to her new post at Admiral Heights. Previously she served as media relations manager for Regence BlueShield and Group Health Cooperative and as director of media and public relations for Bastyr University in Seattle. Therriault graduated from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio with a Bachelor of Arts in English. She lives in West Seattle.

Merrill Gardens at Admiral Heights is located at 2326 California Avenue SW in Seattle. Built in 2001, the community offers 76 one-bedroom and studio apartments.

CORRECTION: This article incorrectly states that the girls soccer team's Bernie Cardon graduated last year. She is a senior this year. We regret the error.

After a summer off, Ballard High School athletes are ready to take the field for the 2010 fall sports season, which opens Sept. 1 with the boys golf team taking on Issaquah.

This season, a number of teams and athletes are looking to match and improve on the successes of last year, while many others are hoping to continue growing and developing against tough KingCo competition.

Volleyball

The volleyball team will be one to watch this year after finishing the 2009 fall sports season as the only Ballard team with a winning record, going 7-6 in the regular season.

The Beavers made the playoffs but were eliminated after losing their first two matches.

The team will need to find a way to offset the loss of top seniors Lisa Day and Madelyn Voelker and avoid a slump like last year's five-match losing streak that nearly cost it a playoff spot.

Monique Marques was a leader for the Beavers as a sophomore last season, and the team is sure to expect a big contribution from her this year.

The Ballard Library, as well as all other Seattle Public Library branches, will be closed Aug. 30 through Sept. 5 due to citywide budget cuts. Libraries will also be closed Sept. 6 for the Labor Day holiday.

As part of the Ballard Library closure, the parking garage for the library and the Ballard Neighborhood Service Center will also be closed for the week.

The closures are part of cuts implemented by all city departments to help address a $67 million gap in the 2010 city budget, according to a Seattle Public Library press release.

The closures will save approximately $650,000 and are only one of a number of measures Seattle Public Library is undertaking to achieve $3 million in cuts for 2010, according to the press release.

According to the press release, the closures will mean salary reductions for nearly 650 employees, who will not be paid during that week.

The rest of the cuts for 2010 are to branch hours, management and administration, the budget for books and materials, staff computers and staff training, according to the press release.

Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata launched Seattle Art Walks, a website designed to highlight the Ballard Art Walk as well the the dozen other neighborhood art walks, Aug. 26.

Seattle Art Walks includes a neighborhood map of Seattle surrounded with the names of areas hosting art walks. Users can click the name of each neighborhood for details.

Licata said he believes art walks are important to the city's neighborhoods.

"They inspire visitors and residents to appreciate creativity within themselves and throughout their community," he said in an email. "They offer opportunities for residents and visitors to socialize and network. And, they generate revenue for creative professionals and businesses."

Licata said the high number of art walks in Seattle represents the city's high overall creative vitality rating. A 2007 Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs report ranks Seattle's overall creative vitality at roughly six times the national average, he said.

Orphan Relief and Rescue Open House Wed. Sept. 1, 2010 4pm - 8pm 1416 SW 151 St. Burien.

Orphan Relief and Rescue (ORR) invites you to an Open House as they celebrate moving their headquarters from Texas to Burien, Washington. Orphan Relief and Rescue is a voice with action for orphans and vulnerable children in West Africa that no one else will help. The organization is currently serving 22 orphanages in Liberia and Benin, with a vision to expand throughout Africa.
Please come and enjoy a social time of fun, friends and food, and welcome Orphan Relief and Rescue to the Greater Seattle community.

Everyone is invited. What? Meet and Greet! Contact Rebecca Pratt, co-founder and VP of Programs, if you have any questions. Cell: 903-343-4061 Office: 206-453-3158

Photojournalist Steve Shay took a flight over West Seattle on August 22nd and captured some views of our part of the world from some unusual angles.

With the help of pilot James Young at Seattle Seaplanes.

Things are afoot at the Swinery, or rather things that were afoot are at the Swinery at 3207 California Avenue Southwest. In any case the artisan butcher made three somewhat related announcements on Thursday Aug. 26.

First and most noticeably there's a new metal pig cut out which is serving as both a silhouette over the food service area entrance and sheet it was cut from serving as a street sign. The cut out was created by the owner James Dillon. "It's his new toy" said head chef," Garrett Doherty.

In pig related news, the Swinery wants to alert the public to International Bacon Day, being celebrated there on Sept. 4. Doherty said, "From 10:00am to 3:00pm were going to have a bacon themed party. We're going to hand out some free, chocolate chip bacon cookies. We have our own baker and he's going to do some bacon caramels, we'll do burgers with bacon in them and we will have deals and specials for the event.
They make their own bacon there, it's nitrate free, everything's done in house. When you stop in you can get it sliced to order thick or thin.

The Alki Community Council Family Fun Day and Bluegrass Concert takes place Sunday, Sept. 12, at the Statue of Liberty Park, Alki Beach.

They are still accepting Sponsor, Vendors, Community Groups, Talented Kids, and Dogs for the Dog Parade.

Contact Libby Carr at: 206-938-8721 for more information.

Check out this entertaining YouTube video written and produced by some of the people taking part in the event.

Families lined up down several blocks along 42nd Avenue South on Thursday, Aug. 26 as the Angle Lake Family Resource Center and a coalition of community organizations gave away 1,300 free supply-filled backpacks to SeaTac students.

The giveaway was part of SeaTac's 4th annual Back to School Resource Fair, located on the grounds of the center and Angle Lake Neighborhood Church, located on the corner of 42nd Avenue South and South 188th St.

Besides backpacks, students could receive immunizations, haircuts, dental checks and personal care packages.

Parents could learn about a variety of resources and supports to meet students and family needs, such as after-school programs, affordable childcare and parent support and assistance programs.

There were plenty of free products and services as well as fun activities, refreshments, door prizes and games. Interpreters were also on hand.

SeaTac firefighters brought an engine. King County Metro Sound Transit displayed a RapidRide bus.

Burien Nissan is open again and the new owners are a familiar face if you watch television or possibly if you just know the family. The Car Pros Company, run by the now instantly recognizable Ken Phillips for his catch phrase "You're gonna like what you see," has taken over the once shuttered dealership and opened Aug. 10.

The General Manager is Nick Phillips and for him and his whole family, it's a homecoming.

"I grew up in Normandy Park, went to MarVista, my brother went to Valley View, which is over there by Tukwila. My dad bought that house in Normandy Park and lived there for 30 years. I graduated from Mt. Rainier High School, went on to WSU and then came back and lived on Three Tree Point and all three of my kids were born at Highline Hospital. My internet manager Ryan Reed went to grade school and High School with me. Getting back to this Burien area is just like a homecoming for me. I played football games at Highline Memorial Stadium, played a bunch of little league on the fields there.

Phillps spent the last two years at the family dealership in Tacoma, "because we didn't have any stores in Burien."