December 2010

Nearly 500 educators, advocates and area mayors filled the downtown Westin Seattle Hotel Dec. 9 as speakers spoke eagerly on the initiative "Road Map Project for Education Results" with a goal to build a new community partnership aimed at significantly increasing high school and college graduation results by 2020. The project calls this "cradle to college and career in South Seattle and South King County". The event was hosted by the Community Center for Education Results in Seattle, or CCER, and its new executive director, Mary Jean Ryan. The symposium alternated between speakers and break-away lectures.

Some mayors gathered on stage to show unified praise for the Road Map, including Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn. Former Mayor Norm Rice also appeared. He is President and CEO of the Seattle Foundation, a major sponsor. Other sponsors include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, League of Education Voters, Seattle Community Colleges District, City of Seattle, Puget Sound Educational Service District, the Technology Access Foundation, OneAmerica, and the UW. Also participating were area community college and four-year college presidents.

The Kenney Continuing Care Retirement Community in West Seattle at 7125 Fauntleroy Way s.w. has begun the process of converting a 7000 square foot area of the facility into a new Memory support unit. The work will also include a 3600 square foot outdoor, enclosed area. The total construction cost for the work is expected to range from $150,000 to $175,000.

R. Kevin McFeely, President & Chief Executive Officer of The Kenney, said "We are proposing to renovate Garden Court, which is assisted living and convert it into a Memory Support Unit. It will accommodate 14 people and all the programming will be geared toward people dealing with dementia. We will have specially trained staff. It will be a secured unit and our goal is to open this area within the next six to eight months."

Units like this are not common and while a similar one exists elsewhere in West Seattle it is geared toward skilled nursing while The Kenney will provide more of a residential setting. The Kenney chose to license it with a boarding home license versus a skilled nursing license purposely to keep it more residential than clinical.

Press Release:
The White Center Chamber of Commerce, working in partnership with many White Center businesses and families, installed the first White Center Christmas tree in decades in Seattle’s Triangle Park, on the corner of Roxbury, 16th Ave. SW, and Delridge. The Chamber will install a tree annually as a result of the positive community response to this effort. The idea came from a Chamber discussion about encouraging White Center businesses to install Christmas lights in their windows during the holiday season.

Vary Jackson, King County Sheriff Community Service Officer (CSO), suggested that a Christmas tree would look great at the park. Mac McElroy, owner of Mac’s Triangle Pub and a Chamber board member, expressed a need to secure lighting for the American flag on the park flag pole that was installed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Mac, who is also a vet, has been raising his personal American flag on the pole for several years. American flags flown at night must be lit, so Mac has been eager to solve this issue as well.

Ronni Peterson, whose home near Admiral Way was destroyed by fire on Dec. 9 has found a home. " I got the best news today," she told the Herald, " a lady named Lisa Davidson has a house on Admiral but she lives in Wyoming. She is going to let me stay there through the holidays." Beyond that other arrangements might be worked out. "She said, 'I want you and your kids to have a place to feel like it's a home and have a Christmas tree up and not going from relative to relative, sleeping on the couches.'," Peterson said. She expects to be staying there, possibly as early as Dec. 15.

The accounts set up to take donations for the family have gotten a little more than $500 but some have said they cannot find the link by searching on PayPal. The link to donate to the Peterson Family is at the bottom of this story.
"It's a good start," Peterson said an expressed her gratitude to everyone who has come forward to help her family get back on their feet.

"Things are looking up. I'm overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from people and not just people I know, but total strangers," Peterson said, "It's changed my life. It really has."

Vendors and viewers crowded into C & P Coffee at 5612 California Avenue s.w., for one day Holiday Arts and Crafts Fair Saturday Dec. 11 to sell, purchase and enjoy unique local arts and crafts.

Jewelry, toys, clothing, prints, paintings, furniture, holiday items and of course coffee and tea were the order of the day.

Friday evening was a victorious night for Beavers Basketball. All five competing Ballard teams, Boys freshmen, boys JV, and boys Varsity as well as girls JV and Varsity, won in Bothell.

The girls Varsity won in an exciting last quarter 47 to 46. At the end of the game, senior Maddie Soukup got a big offensive rebound off of a missed free throw and was fouled on her shot. She then made both of her free throws to put Ballard up 3 points. Bothell hit a basket at the end to cut it to 1 points and Ballard held on for the win.

Next home game for the girls is Wednesday, Dec 15th against Inglemoor High School.

The final score for the boys Varsity was 59 to 50.

Next home game for the boys is Tuesday, Dec 14th against Inglemoor High School

In other BHS athletics news:

BHS enters second round of the screening process for a new head football coach.

BHS is currently in the phase of hiring a new head football coach. The job was advertised on the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) and Seattle Public School (SPS) websites for a month and received over 30 inquiries and 20 applications.

Seattle Public Utilities has put crews on alert and assigned extra employeess to report to work Saturday and Sunday. SPU delivered 250 packed sandbags to the Delridge Community Center that were free to the public and has staged flood-control equipment in other parts of the city. The sandbags were all taken by mid morning on Saturday. West Seattle residents in flood prone areas are keeping an eye on Longfellow Creek and other streams in the area.

If you live in a landslide prone area and a landslide damages your property, if you have an immediate concern for your safety leave the premises and call 9-1-1.

To learn more about emergency management regarding landlidesvisit this page.

The city is urging residents to make sure that street drains are free of debris. To report flooding or blocked drains in Seattle, call 206-386-1800.

In response to the Sept. 23 meeting "Aging YOUR Way" sponsored by the Washington State non-profit, Senior Services, held at Fauntleroy Church, host Jim Diers, former Dept. of Neighborhoods director returned, this time to the Delridge Community Center Dec. 9 with Senior Services Vice President Joanne Donohoe to host "Hospital Without Walls".

"Aging YOUR Way" was a series of 10 meetings held in the Seattle area for Baby Boomers, including community leaders, to ask how they want to be supported as they age so that their local communities can make changes. The theme centered on the following question, “What would a senior-friendly Southwest Community look like?”

The "Hospital Without Walls" meeting discussed community concerns addressed in the Sept. 23 meeting, particularly those dealing with emergency medical care access to West Seattle residents in a disaster like an earthquake. Diers and Donohoe suggested a scenario where both the West Seattle and 1st Ave. Bridges are blocked or destroyed. There is currently no hospital, or 24/7 emergency medical clinic in West Seattle.

A crowd of several hundred people gathered at the corner of 35th s.w. and s.w. Myrtle to take part in the annual Christmas Tree lighting celebration at Our Lady of Guadalupe church Friday, Dec. 10.

One of the founders of the church, attending "for over 50 years" was Agnes Lavalley who said, "I've been coming here for this the last couple of years and it's not too cold today but the last time I almost froze, and it's not raining so it's great. I'm getting too old for this but it's still fun. I'm a kid again. I've lived in West Seattle for sixty years, or maybe longer, I don't remember."

Mitch and Marry Forrey were the founders of the ceremony but Mitch passed away this past fall. Father Jack Walmesley, pastor of the church dedicated the event to them and asked those attending to instead of a moment of silence to think for a moment about something that brings them great joy.

Father Walmesley also announced that the Principal of Our Lady of Guadalupe School, Kristin Dixon, was just selected as "One of the top twelve principals in the country."

After a brief countdown the tree was lit and at first had a minor technical glitch in illuminating all the strings of lights.

The Alki Cafe, at 2726 Alki Avenue s.w. has seen business drop by "over 40%" since the closure of the Alki Bakery across the street, according to cafe owner Sharon Bang. They used to serve 100 to 120 customers daily and now that number is down to 50 to 60. "Having that bakery closed, we're sort of like a one armed soldier," said Bang.

While some business downturn can be attributed to the economy Bang believes that the dropoff is primarily due to the confusion some people have about the cafe vs. the bakery. There's no question about that.
People often tell them that they think they are the same company and for a time last year the phone directory had their two phone numbers confused. As recently as this week a UPS delivery was cancelled because they reported the business as closed. Bang has been told by more than a few customers that they thought the cafe was closed.