September 2010

At 90 years young, West Seattle Herald columnist and entertainer, Georgie Bright Kunkel will show her stuff on the Admiral Theater stage Sunday, Oct. 3 at 2:00 p.m. Tickets are $10. She was invited by theater producer, Dinah Brein-McClellan. The event is called "Tea With Georgie".

"That is a big venue for me and I want to do well," said Kunkel, who recently sang with the Orpheus combo jazz band at Yo's Bistro in Burien, including songs in memory of her late husband, Norman,"I'll Be Seeing You" and "I Can't Give You Anything But Love." She did a little stand-up comedy there, too. She remarked that if she had the chance to date Tony Bennett, "People would call me a cougar since he's only 84."

Kunkel was one of the original Rosie the Riveters during the war effort and helped to establish Washington State's first Chapter of NOW. One of her three mini-books has just been reprinted, My Sex Secrets by Grandma. She holds the record as the oldest person in Seattle to headline at the Comedy Underground and said, “I'm the oldest stand-up comic who can still stand up”.

“The American Civil War - Beyond the Battles” returns this fall quarter to South Seattle Community College’s Continuing Education Curriculum.

In an expanded, eight-session version of last year’s course, classes will be held over an eight-week period beginning Tuesday, October 5th from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. The following is an abbreviated class description list:

Session 1: Ante Bellum Years - The Seeds of Dissension - Washington & Jefferson – Dred Scott Case - Political, Social & Economic Divisions – Lincoln’s Inaugural - Secession of the Lower South - a House Divided

Session 2: On the Eve of Destruction – Civil Discourse Ends – April 12, 1861 at Fort Sumter – Lincoln’s a Call to Arms

Session 3: Prelude to the Western Campaign – Shiloh, the Western Rivers & Beyond

Session 4: Pressure for Emancipation - Impact of the Underground Railroad

Session 5: 1863, the Fulcrum Year - the Emancipation Proclamation Becomes Effective

Session 6: Chickamauga, Chattanooga & the Battle Above the Clouds, the Confederacy’s Last Gasp in the West

Session 7: Sherman’s Campaign from Chattanooga to Atlanta – Sherman’s Capture of Atlanta Assures Lincoln a Second term

A stipulation, agreement, and order of admonishment was handed to West Seattle resident and King County Superior Court Judge Michael Heavey Friday, Sept. 24. In a Code of Judicial Conduct statement just released, an agreement was reached by Judge Heavey and the Commission of Judicial Conduct State of Washington that he violated Canons 1, 2(A), and 2(B). In general, that means Judge Heavey lent the prestige of his judicial office to advance his own private interests, and possibly those of others.

Judge Heavey agrees to an "admonishment," which means he agrees he will not repeat such misconduct in the future. Admonishment is the "least severe action available to the Commission" according to the statement.

Judge Heavey was charged June 8 by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, or CJC, for speaking out in support of Amanda Knox, the West Seattle UW student convicted for the murder of her college roommate Meredith Kercher in Perugia Italy. She is now serving a 26-year jail sentence.

The Seattle Police Department held a press conference at police headquarters in downtown Seattle on Friday, Sept. 24 to discuss the murder-suicide in southwest Seattle

Jim Pugel, assistant chief of the SPD Criminal Investigation Bureau, laid out how the scene developed from the responding officers perspective and played a montage of 911 calls and radio transmissions between officers.

“This is one of the more profound and devastating events that many of these officers and certainly the city have seen in a long time,” Pugel said.

“The Seattle police officers, Seattle fire medics and Seattle fire fighters who all responded came to a very uncertain and chaotic scene that was rapidly evolving,” he added, also thanking the King County Sheriff’s Department for their support from the south.

Pugel specifically commended Sgt. Tony Bailey of the SPD for “his leadership that brought a lot of calm and a professional response to the terrible scene.” Bailey is a veteran on the force and Pugel said his direction likely saved the lives of officers by coordinating their advancement on the house and shooter, Chhouy Harm, 61.

Michael Day placed second overall, but the Ballard High School boys golf team lost to Woodinville HIgh School 196-219 Sept. 23 at the Jackson Park Golf Course.

Day shot three over on the par-36 course to take second. He was the only Beaver to crack the top five on the day.

Woodinville's Kyle Linder placed first with 34 strokes.

Next up for Ballard (0-6) is Roosevelt High School at 3:30 p.m. Sept. 30 at Jackson Park.

After a scoreless first half, goals from Woodinville's Haley Fay and Sophia Chakalo in the 51st and 64th minute helped Woodinville High School edge the Ballard High School girls soccer team 2-1 Sept. 23.

The Beavers ( 0-2-0 KingCo, 0-5-3 overall) avoided the shutout when sophomore Sophie Mora scored in the final four minutes of the match.

As a positive for Ballard, the team gave up only two goals after surrendering five, including an own goal, in its previous match.

After facing a 4-0-2 Woodinville team, Ballard has another tough test in 6-1 Issaquah High School at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at Inglemoor High School.

The Beavers lost 3-0 in their meeting with Issaquah last season.

West Seattle’s newest full-service auto repair shop, West Seattle AutoWorks, is celebrating its grand opening on Monday, Oct. 4, 2010. The shop is located in the former Swedish Automotive Center facility at 7501 35th Ave. S.W., Seattle, WA 98126.

Co-founders Todd Ainsworth and Christopher Christensen have deep roots in the West Seattle community and said, " We're excited to launch West Seattle AutoWorks in our own neighborhood."

The grand opening will be preceded by an open house on Friday, Oct. 1, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., where customers can meet the staff, make appointments, and enjoy food and refreshments.

"We'll be introducing ourselves and grilling up some dogs, etc. making sure our computer systems are up, getting some last-minute stuff done," said Ainsworth.

Ainsworth has 24 years of professional experience repairing autos and is an ASE Re-Certified Master Tech and State Authorized Emissions Specialist, and he has sat on the Governor’s Board for Vocational Education. A longtime West Seattle resident, he has coached youth baseball, is active in the local music community, and currently writes an auto-focused online column for the West Seattle Herald.

A woman was sexually assaulted at approximately 9 p.m. Sept. 22 while walking alone on the 1100 block of Northwest 57th Street, according to the Seattle Police Department.

The victim said she is scared the suspect will assault another woman if he is not caught, and she wants to share her story with people to remind them to be aware.

"I'm usually a really careful and watchful person," the victim said in an email. "If this could happen while I am stone sober at nine at night in a relatively safe area, it could happen to anyone."

While she was walking, a man ran up behind her and put a hand over her mouth and one on her chest and dragged her into a nearby yard, the victim said.

"I screamed several times, but he was covering my mouth and told me if I screamed again, he would 'pull something out of his pocket,'" she said.

The suspect asked her for cash and made her shake out her purse, but the victim said he did not seem genuinely interested in robbing her as he didn't take her iPhone or checkbook or even look in her wallet.

After a slow start caused in part by a number of overhit balls, the Ballard High School volleyball team was able to put pressure on Redmond High School in the final two games of their Sept. 23 match. But, Redmond still came away with a 3-0 victory.

The Beavers lost the first game of the match 25-19 but were able to narrow the gap to 25-21 in the second game and took Redmond to extra points in a 27-25 loss in the final game.

Senior Aubrey Manning led Ballard with five kills, junior Deanna Meyers tallied three aces, and junior Monique Marques once again led the team with 13 assists.

Ballard (0-2 KingCo, 0-5 overall) faces Skyline at 7 p.m. Sept. 27 at Ballard High School.

Skyline defeated the Beavers 3-0 last season and has a 4-1 record so far this season.

Four Ballard-area students, all originally from the same Whittier Elementary School class, are part of the 31 students from Seattle Public Schools to be named semifinalists in the National Merit Scholarships program.

The four high school seniors are Dylan Miller and Olivia Cope from Ballard High School, Jane Singer from Garfield High School, and Madeline Kern from Ingraham High School.

The 31 Seattle students are among 16,000 students nationwide who earned top scores on the 2009 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test in the program's 56th year.

Cope, Miller, Singer and Kern have an opportunity to continue in the competition for about 8,200 National Merit Scholarships, worth more than $36 million, that will be offered next spring.

About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to attain finalist standing, and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship.