December 2010

Backhoe taken for joyride

A ten-ton Kobelco backhoe was parked at a construction site near South 128th Street and 30th Avenue South. An unknown suspect was able to start the backhoe by breaking off a key in the ignition. The suspect then used the backhoe to drop a two-ton barricade in the middle of 30th Avenue South.

The suspect also knocked down wires with the bucket of the backhoe then fled the scene leaving the backhoe partially blocking the roadway.

Officers arrived and called Puget Sound Energy to determine if the wires were live. They discovered that they were telephone wires and they were safely removed from the roadway.
The officer was unable to shut the backhoe off and called county roads to help. They were able to move the barricade and backhoe out of the roadway. The construction company was contacted. No suspect information was available.

Stolen meter from car wash

Des Moines resident Jean Moyer was awarded on Dec. 9 the third Spirit of Des Moines Lifetime Achievement award for her activism and work to keep up the quality of life in Des Moines.

In the 1970s and 1980s Moyer fought against poorly constructed housing in Des Moines, much of it in the downtown area.

She also served as a water commissioner for the Highline Water District.

Moyer was a founding member of the Regional Commission on Airport Affairs (RCAA). The RCAA is a citizen's group that continues to fight to protect the communities around the airport from the effects of airport expansion.

"She quickly and correctly assessed what the impacts of operating and construction of a third runway were going to mean to the community," Mayor Pro-Tem Dave Kaplan said during a speech announcing her award. "She helped lead the fight in that regard."

Moyer was also the president of the Citizens Against SeaTac Expansion, (CASE) as well as working on legislation that protects the elderly in nursing homes.

Let's make one thing perfectly clear.

I love football.

Now, the reason I have to say that upfront is because I know there are parents out there who don't love it. Heck, I remember Greg Brady's mom weighing in against football when Greg wanted to join the team a thousand Brady Bunches ago.

A parent's concern for football is pretty much a cliché that is worth its cliché-ness.

But, having said that, you can count me out on the concern thing.

I love football. I love working on my computer on a rainy Sunday and hearing my husband watching football in the other room. I love how when I was a kid my dad bought me a St. Louis Cardinals raincoat one Christmas (my sister had Minnesota Vikings). Much of our relationship back then sort or orbited around football.

Years later, I played "powderpuff" football in high school. And some of my fondest memories involve my friends and I going to football games in Puyallup so many years ago.

I guess it is not much of a surprise then that my son's new passion has me tickled pink.

Normandy Park Mayor George Hadley recently received an Advanced Certificate of Leadership (CML) from the Association of Washington Cities (AWC).

Mayor Hadley completed over 60 hours of training credits to earn this distinction and demonstrated valuable service to his community.

The CML program is designed to enhance the ability of elected municipal officials by providing knowledge and skills to effectively operate within the law, plan for the future, secure and manage funds and foster community and staff relationships.

To earn this certificate, the official attends a variety of AWC sponsored municipal workshops. The courses help the mayors and councilmembers learn the essentials of municipal service and improve their ability to work with council colleagues, city staff, and citizens.

Hadley has served as a member of the Normandy Park City Council since 2004. Prior to being elected to the City Council, Hadley served on the Normandy Park Board of Adjustment. He was Mayor Pro Tem from 2006 - 2009.

In 1998, Hadley retired from The Boeing Company and has been an active community volunteer in Normandy Park and the surrounding region.

At last - Des Moines has a bakery again, and this one, "Blue Vanilla Bakery and Restaurant," is likely to "knock your socks off" with their wide range of delicious pastries and breads. Some with names I've never heard before. This I know, the goodies look great, taste terrific -- and I'm going back for seconds soon.

Check their website. www.bluevanillabakery.com, for Lunch Specials of the Day and you can call your order in to 206 824-2583 so it's ready when you arrive.

Blue Vanilla is owned and operated by Margie Nelson, a skilled pastry chef, and her daughter, Ashley Nelson, a professional barista with an all-around talent for management and public relations awareness, along with their mother/grandmother, Lucille Bredberg, a Des Moines resident. Margie and Ashley have lived in Burien for many years.

Margie said her mom was the baking inspiration to her as early as then 5-year old Margie stood on a chair in Mom's kitchen watching and tasting baked goodies.

"From those memories my dream to become a baker began and that dream came true in Des Moines." Margie said.

Pastry chef Anna is a highly skilled artist in the trade of baking and has also joined the staff.

A hot beverage on a cold night is enjoyed during Des Moines. Christmas tree lighting ceremony. The tree is located at Big Catch Plaza.

From the five finalists chosen for the open Burien Council position Burien attorney Gerald Robison has been named the favorite by the council.

Councilmember Kathy Keene will be leaving the council at the beginning of the year to retire to Florida.

Robison said he did not apply to the council to push changes. He said whenever an issue comes before the council he will ask why should we do it, and what is the effect going to be?

"Let's not do it just because we can," Robison said.

"Generally the government in Burien is doing pretty good," Robison said. "I think Burien has been doing an excellent job with its money. It is a point of civic pride Burien has such better finances than Seattle."

He said Burien does a good job of providing services and improvements.

Robison has worked in property and real estate law for 30 years. He had a real-estate office in White Center before he decided to go to law school and became a lawyer. He graduated with a J.D. from the University of Puget Sound/Seattle University in 1993. He has also served on the Burien Planning Commission.

Land use and planning for growth are ongoing issues, Robison said.

The merger of two of Burien's biggest nonprofits on Nov. 1 appeared to be a signal that the continuing economic downturn had taken its toll on human services in the Highline area.

But officials insist that the merger of Ruth Dykeman Children's Center into the Navos mental health organization does not mean Dykeman, located on the shores of Lake Burien since 1931, is going away.

In fact, the merger will allow more funds to go directly to services for clients in need and less on administration, according to Dr. David Johnson, Navos CEO.

"The joining of Navos and Ruth Dykeman Children's Center should be seen as the launch of growth for both organizations instead of the diminishment of RDCC services," Johnson declared. "To the community at large, there will be few apparent differences."

Added Johnson, "There are always benefits through economies of scale, and these are even more important in challenging economic times,

"The joining of Ruth Dykeman Children's Center with Navos results in the elimination of duplicate roles: one CEO instead of two, one COO, one Human Resources Department, a single Information Services Department, a development department and so on."

Photographer Kurt Howard captured these images of the Tyee girls' 73-36 thrashing of Evergreen on December 10.

SLIDESHOW: CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO PLAY SLIDESHOW.

The 6200 block of Beach Drive that saw a significant landslide Sunday night and closed the road, has now been cleared. According to SDOT Spokesperson Rick Sheridan they have "cleaned up the slide debris on Beach Drive. At this point a geotechnical engineer is assessing the slope for stability and we are installing protective blocks along the roadway." The road is now open to traffic.

This is roughly the same place, though 100 feet further north, than the slide which closed the road last January 12.

Following that slide, SDOT came out and placed cement eco-blocks on the edge of the road, at the base of the hill. Each block weighs 3000 pounds and they can be stacked to form a barrier wall.

This slide brought down a large tree which was leaning on a telephone pole across the street Sunday night.

The mud and debris had covered a fire hyrdant which SDOT workers on the scene indicated would have to be carefully handled when they bring in a front loader to remove the mud, rocks and branches that extended some 12 to 15 feet into the road.