October 2010

The library at the Evergreen High campus in White center has launched an online fundraiser to purchase books to provide students and teachers with resources for reading, research and curriculum supplements.

The fundraising goal is $2000.

"There simply is no money in the budget to fill our library with the books our students and teachers need," said Joanne Glasgow, the school's teacher-librarian. "The library plays a critical role in increasing literacy and test scores among students, as well as contributing to the lifelong joy of reading."

The library is now looking to parents, community members and businesses for help in raising the needed funds. They are participating in a new online fundraising program called Funds4Books, sponsored by Mackin Educational Resources, a school library and classroom vendor with 26 years of experience.

For every $10.00 donated, the library can purchase a new book that is ready to be shelved and checked out. Most important, 100 percent of every donation goes to the library.

A two-session course will take place at South Seattle Community College and the Alaska Junction wine shop, Bin 41, Oct. 10 & 17. The continuing education class is geared to better inform the wine consumer to choose the right bottle for the right occasion. The first session will be held on campus, the second session at Bin 41, with taste-testing at each place.

The instructor is Blake Holaday, an expert in the field of fine and rare wine. He served as Warehouse Agent for Christy’s Auction House in Los Angeles, and then as Retail Store manager for Hart Davis Hart Wine Company in Chicago, from 2006 to 2008.

"I want the students feeling confident enough to talk to somebody about what they do and don’t like in a retail wine shop, and to feel they are in error-free environment," Holaday said. "People walk into wine store with purpose. I ask, 'What's your plan, to buy for an event, to find something new, or to find a similar wine to something you had before?' Because T. and Jon are alumni of South Seattle Community College's Northwest Wine Academy, involving them and Bin 41 was a no-brainer."

Todd Ainsworth and Chris Christensen partnered up to open the newest car repair shop in West Seattle called West Seattle Autoworks, now open in the former Swedish Automotive building at 7501 35th s.w.

The shop held an open house Oct. 1 to introduce themselves to the public. Between them they have more than 50 years of combined automotive repair experience and will offer a "Wide range of service from emission diagnosis to most everything on most everything," said Ainsworth.

The only exceptions in a courtesy nod to their Swedish Automotive neighbor down the street (and landlord), are no work on Volvos, Saabs, Subarus or Mini's.

The shop has partially retained the previous paint job but will add some green to reflect the colors of their new logo and will be getting new signage (and their website) up within the next couple of weeks.

Once the site is up, customers will be able to reserve their own appointment online to come and see a mechanic and get their car examined.

Every mechanic at the shop is ASE Certified and they plan on doing a lot of emissions work. They are also hybrid specialists.

Construction of the first for-sale homes at Greenbridge, a 96-acre, Three-Star Built Green™ community in White Center began. Already, 448 rental apartments have been built. Seven energy-efficient, custom designed, single-family homes will be located at the corner of SW 100th St. and Eighth Avenue SW, completing the last undeveloped parcel along the Eighth Avenue corridor. HomeSight, a nonprofit real estate development and mortgage lending organization, and KCHA have been working together to design and develop the three- and four-bedroom homes.

“This partnership marries Housing Authority resources with HomeSight’s expertise,” said Stephen Norman, executive director of the King County Housing Authority. “Together, our two agencies can assure the affordability of high quality homes for families earning up to 80 percent of the area median.”

Up to 450 new homes will eventually be offered at a variety of prices. The HomeSight project is intended to be affordable to families earning 80 percent of the King County median income or $68,480 for a family of four.

The beautification of 14th Avenue Northwest using city-donated planters, which were installed last spring, is continuing to build steam with an upcoming cleanup events and recent commitments from nearby schools.

Older students from St. Alphonsus School are adopting the intersection of Northwest 58th Street and 14th Avenue Northwest. Younger students from the school will be installing their artwork in the planters using fixtures donated from the RE Store. And, St. Alphonsus fourth graders, who started a school garden last year, will be growing starts for the planters.

In addition, India Carlson, the horticulture teacher at Ballard High School, has committed her students to growing replacement and enhancement plants for the project and to adopt a number of the planters.

The Ballard High School girls soccer team dominated Garfield High School Sept. 30, and thanks to some timely goals from senior Hannah Cross-Karras and sophomore Kat Anesini, the Beavers earned their first victory of the season.

Ballard outshot Garfield about 25 to three, but the Bulldogs still managed to get on the board first for a 1-0 lead in the 55th minute.

Coach Val Seid the Beavers have been able to get shots on goal in the past few matches but need to work on finishing their shots, not just kicking the ball to the keeper.

In the final four minutes of regulation, Cross-Karras did just that off an assist from Anesini, evening the score at one apiece and sending the match into overtime.

In the eighth minute of the extra period, the Beaver duo reversed things with Anesini scoring off a Cross-Karras assist to give Ballard a 2-1 victory.

"The girls stepped up to the plate and finished it," Seid said.

Despite the lone win, Ballard (1-3-0 KingCo, 1-6-3 overall) has played well and been in every match against tough competition. In three KingCo matches against Eastlake, Woodinville and Issaquah, the Beavers have lost by one goal each time.

West Seattle High School has a wide range of clubs, sports, and YMCA activities for students to get involved in. most of the Y's after-school activities begin. Check out the schedule below for upcoming activities. Please feel free to e-mail or call me with any questions related to enrichment activities or community services. I will do my best to connect your student with an activity at school or in the community that matches their interests and goals. My office is in room 123D in the Library and I am at school full-time, so students can stop by at lunch, on breaks, or after school.

Here is the fall semester schedule of activities. A few activities are still in development. All activities begin the week of Oct. 4th, unless otherwise noted.

HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

Street Yoga: Yoga is a physical activity that everyone can do. Yoga can help you to feel more at ease in your body, decrease stress, and help you to deal more effectively with your emotions. Tuesdays, Room 133, 2:45-3:45 p.m.

Volunteers dug into the Greenwood Park community garden project Sept. 25 when they spent four hours on a warm Saturday tearing down old fences and readying the lot for a new garden for the park on North 87th Street between Evanston Avenue North and Fremont Avenue North.

The work party, organized by Vision Greenwood Park, consisted of 26 adults and children who pitched in to cut out overgrown bushes and weeds and dig out and take down fences bordering an existing lot that will soon become part of the park.

Vision Greenwood Park recently received a Neighborhood Matching Fund grant from the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods to support construction of the community garden, which is designed to be universally accessible and create a space where teens from the North Seattle Boys & Girls Club can work next to members of the Greenwood Senior Center and neighbors can grow local, organic produce for themselves and the Greenwood Food Bank.