October 2010

The game is hanging in the balance.

Graham-Kapowsin is driving for a score and an opportunity for a tie with 19 seconds left in a 53-45 donnybrook of a game Friday at Art Crate Stadium in Spanaway.

But the momentum is about to shift. And how.

On a second-and-goal play at the Todd Beamer 1-yard line, Eagles running back Matt Dawley takes the hand off and tries to crease the Titans' defensive line.

Beamer tackle Michael Riedel is there, waiting, and he hits Dawley right in the chest and jars the ball loose.

The ball pops up in the air and big defensive end Milo Loving-Williams catches it, breaks a tackle, and races down the left sideline for a Beamer score, sealing a 59-45 SPSL South Divison win, and, more importantly, keeping Beamer (3-3 in league, 3-4 overall) in the playoff hunt. G-K, a former top-10 team, dropped to 3-3, 4-3.

"It was a great run," said Beamer coach David Sundheim. "It was great being on the sideline (when it happened), everyone was happy. It was the direct opposite of the way we felt after the Federal Way game (a 40-35 loss last week).

A plethora of points and penalties added up to a wild 43-31 win for Kennedy Catholic over Lindbergh on Friday, Oct. 15.

The victory on a cold and windy night at Highline Stadium gave the Lancers the inside track to the Seamount League title as they improved to 5-0 in Seamount League play while dropping the second place
Eagles to 3-1. Hazen is next at 3-2 and Foster is fourth at 2-2.

Kennedy visits Highline for a 7 p.m. game this Thursday before finishing off with an "Open" date and a forfeit win over undermanned Tyee.
Aside from being high-scoring, the game was also slowed down by eight penalties against each team, with Lindbergh being flagged for 68 total yards and the Lancers for 66.

Lindbergh put itself on the scoreboard first, as Diondre Toms snagged a 24-yard touchdown pass from Matt Stuart. The kick for the extra point failed to leave the lead at 6-0 with 8:00 left in the first quarter.
Kennedy answered on its first play from scrimmage.

Darian Brooks hoofed out a 68-yard pass from Jason Thompson as Kennedy answered with a touchdown of its own. Nick Armitage kicked the extra point as the Lancers slipped past the Eagles, 7-6, at the 7:42 mark.

Monday, Oct. 11

Volleyball

Spanaway Lake 3, Beamer 2

Todd Beamer was edged by the Sentinels in Monday, Oct. 11 action.

Enumclaw 3, Decatur 0

The Gators fell to the Hornets in a South Puget Sound League Class 3A match Monday.

Tuesday, Oct. 12

Girls soccer

Decatur 3, Aub.-Mtn. 1

The Gators defeated Auburn-Mountainview in more SPSL 3A action last Tuesday.

Beamer 1, Federal Way 1

The Titans and Eagles played to a tie in an SPSL 4A match Tuesday.

Girls swimming

TJ 111, Federal Way 75

The Raiders swamped their crosstown rivals last Tuesday.

Wednesday, Oct. 13

Volleyball

Puyallup 3, Federal Way 0

The Eagles were swept in three games last Wednesday.

Curtis 3, Beamer 0

The Titans also took a shutout loss as far as games go last Wednesday.

Kentlake 3, TJ 1

Thomas Jefferson salvaged one win last Wednesday.

Lakes 3, Decatur 1

The Gators lost to the Lancers of Lakes last Wednesday in an SPSL 3A match.

CFC 3, NW Yeshiva 0

Christian Faith Center of Federal Way was a winner over Northwest Yeshiva this past Wednesday.

Thursday. Oct. 14

Football
Kentridge 52, TJ 35

Monday, Oct. 11

Volleyball

Charles Wright 3, SCS 1
The Warriors of Seattle Christian took a loss in Nisqually League action last Monday.

Kent-Meridian 3, Mt. Rainier 0

Mount Rainier was blanked by the Royals last Monday.

Tuesday, Oct. 12

Girls swimming

Mt. Rainier 142, K-M 36

Mount Rainier finished with a glistening 7-0 overall record and 5-0 in South Puget Sound League action. It was the Rams' first year in the Class 4A SPSL South after competing previously in the Seamount League.
Courtney Larson, Rachel Althauser, Megan Kawaguchi and Mackenzie Marrs opened the meet for Mount Rainier by winning the 200-yard medley relay in a time of 1 minute, 58.71 seconds and Kawaguchi went on to win the 200 individual medley in 2:20.91.

Larson won the 50 freestyle in 26.38 and Emily DaDalto scored 55 points to win diving. Stephanie Reusch took the 100 butterfly in 1:10.79 and Jackie Beal won the 500 free in 5:38.84. The Rams' Reusch, Bernie Ward, Erica Young and Beal won the 200 free relay in 1:51.09 and Kawaguchi took first in the 100 backstroke in 1:03.93.

Southwest Precinct Commander Capt. Steve Paulsen will have several changes to his command positions taking place in early November, the Capt. said.

Lt. Norm James, SW Precinct’s current Operations Lieutenant, will be transferred to the West Precinct to work with Capt. Kessler, who was moved to the West Precinct in October.

“We will miss Norm greatly, but this is also a great opportunity for him as well as the men and women who work downtown,” Capt. Paulsen said.

Lt. James will be replaced by Lt. Pierre Davis.

“Lt. Davis is an experienced commander who is coming from the Traffic Section,” Capt. Paulsen said. “We are excited to have Pierre at the SW Precinct as my second in command.”

The precinct will also shuffle its three watch commander positions, separated into morning, day and night shifts, according to Capt. Paulsen.

Lt. Ron Rasmussen, currently the Southwest Precinct second (afternoon) watch commander, will replace Lt. Von Levandowski as first (morning) watch commander.

Lt. Ron Smith, currently Southwest Precinct third (night) watch commander, will move to the second watch.

On this November’s lengthy list of ballot initiatives, Proposition 1 is dead last. And it’s on the back side.

“We’re worried people will get ballot fatigue,” said Sharon Rodgers, a parent with kids in middle and high school in the district.

Rodgers is president of Schools First, the campaign leading the support of Proposition 1, a Seattle Public Schools operation levy. Typically, the schools ask for money once annually, in February. So this levy is a little unusual.

Proposition 1 asks voters for 3 percent of the district’s operating budget for 3 years—$48.2 million. Since 2008, the state has cut funding to Seattle schools by $32 million, Rodgers said, and they’re now facing an education funding crisis.

Roughly half the $48.2 million will go to cushion the severity of those cuts, according to the district’s website. The other half will fund new projects, such as textbooks for classrooms and a new contract approved by the school board and the teachers’ union this year.

October 22 will be the annual Hunter's Moon, the full moon following the Harvest Moon . The Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs nearest the autumnal equinox, which was Sept. 23 this year. Called the Hunter's Moon because its light in the evening extends the day’s length for hunters. The Hunter's moon is not brighter than other full moons, but rises sooner once the sun sets compared to other full moons.

Many people put up Christmas lights, and of course there are entire neighborhoods famous for going completely overboard with seasonal decor, but few have the passion for Halloween that Ben Mcindoe does.
He has pumpkins and more pumpkins, around his yard, up on his deck, and along pathways. Friendly ghosts standing guard, a big cat, a witch and even a giant spider on his roof.

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His house is located at the corner of 38th s.w. and s.w. Myrtle.

Mcindoe started with Christmas but "When my daughter was four or five she told me she thought I was getting carried away and I should pick another holiday so we added Halloween too," he said. That's not to say he ignores the other holidays. "We have two seven foot tall turkeys for Thanksgiving," he said laughing, "The kids love it."

Whatever decor he puts up can be seen for some distance since he's at the crest of the hill in his neighborhood. "The guy I bought the house from said he could see it from the Southworth Ferry," said Mcindoe.

Ballardites looking to spruce up their gardens are in luck: The city of Seattle is offering free trees this fall through its Trees for Neighborhoods program.

It’s part of Seattle’s goal to increase its canopy cover. It’s now at 23 percent, just shy of the goal of 30 percent.

Trees have many benefits, says Jana Dilley of the city of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability and Environment. They help reduce storm water runoff, which in turn lowers the amount of pollutants in the water. They also foster a sense of community.

“People will go out and walk when there are more with trees in their neighborhood, so they get to know their neighbors better,” Dilley said.

The program was piloted last year. Until now, it focused primarily on South Seattle, which has a lower canopy cover than North Seattle. Canopy cover is gaged by determining what percent of an aerial view of a site is covered by tree canopy.

Ballard is a part of North Seattle that has far fewer trees, plus a low canopy cover. Dilley says they had extra trees this year, so they decided to open it up to Ballard residents

Trees available:

• Italian plum (a fruiting tree)
• Shore pine

Does double dosing work?

That question came up Oct. 13 during a broader discussion between Highline School Board members about trust and one member's outspoken frustration with the district's curriculum.

Double dosing involves giving students extra instruction in subjects that they may done poorly on in standardized tests.

Highline schools superintendent John Welch told board members that elementary students spend 90 minutes per school day on reading, 30 minutes on writing and 60-70 minutes on math.

Board member Susan Goding contended that doesn't give the students enough time to study science, social studies and other subjects. She suggested reading and math instruction could be integrated into other subjects.

Welch remarked, "I am not the poster child for double dosing."

He indicated that the district has cut back on double dosing.

"We will still do some until we have a better way or I am directed otherwise," Welch said.

The superintendent noted he is held accountable for the district's student test scores and indicated additional instruction in reading and math is a way to raise scores in those subjects.

"Choices can be made," Goding replied.