January 2011

After some spotty but light snow showers on Sunday the cold settled in over the area but the National Weather Service now says that lowland snow is "Possible beginning Tuesday night," and might turn into 2 to 4 inches of snow or "much higher amounts." Expect to see a run on grocery stores, tire places (for those still without snow tires or studs) but the good news is that it is expected to turn to rain for Wednesday morning.

3:52 PM PST SUN JAN 9 2011

...LOWLAND SNOW POSSIBLE BEGINNING TUESDAY NIGHT...

RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS THIS EVENING WILL DISSIPATE OVERNIGHT AS A
COOL AND DRY AIR MASS FILTERS INTO WESTERN WASHINGTON FROM THE
NORTH. MOSTLY CLEAR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED MONDAY THROUGH TUESDAY WITH HIGHS MAINLY IN THE 30S AND LOWS IN THE 20S.

MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH A PACIFIC FRONTAL SYSTEM WILL BEGIN TO
SPREAD INTO WESTERN WASHINGTON TUESDAY NIGHT. AT THIS TIME...

IT APPEARS THE AIR MASS WILL INITIALLY BE COLD ENOUGH SO THAT
PRECIPITATION WILL FALL AS SNOW ACROSS THE LOWLANDS. THE TRACK OF THE ASSOCIATED SURFACE LOW WILL DETERMINE HOW MUCH SNOW FALLS
ACROSS THE AREA BEFORE CHANGING OVER TO RAIN BY WEDNESDAY MORNING.

Sports Roundup

Wednesday, Jan. 5

Wrestling
Kentwood 58, TJ 16

Ty Zumwalt won, 9-5, for the Raiders at 145 pounds in a tournament at Mount Rainier last Wednesday, while teammate Chad George won, 6-4, in overtime at 160. KW Williams posted a pin in 1:58 at 189 pounds.

Kentwood 43, Mt. Rainier 24

Kentwood also defeated the Rams in the other half of Wednesday's three-way meet.
Chol Buoghkuoth was an 18-8 winner at 103 pounds and James Porter won by pin at 125 pounds. AJ Atoigue won, 7-3, at 140 and Alex Pierols pinned his 145-pound foe in 5:43. Steve Hanlon won, 7-5, at 165 pounds.

Boys basketball

Bethel 60, Federal Way 54

Jerry Duckworth scored 24 points to lead the Eagles in last Wednesday's loss.

Wednesday, Jan. 5
Wrestling

Kentwood 43, Mt. Rainier 24

Chol Buomkuoth was an 18-8 winner for the Rams at 103 pounds Wednesday and James Porter pinned his 135-pound foe in 2:50. AJ Atoigue won, 7-3, at 140 and Alex Pierols won by pin in 5:43 at 145. Steve Hanlan won, 7-5, at 160.

Boys basketball

Tyee 58, Highline 41

The Totems outgunned the Pirates in Seamount League action last Wednesday.

Hazen 66, Foster 63

The Foster boys team took a close loss last Wednesday, when Aglie Leigh and Adam Suta led with 12 points apiece.

Girls basketball

Tyee 60, Highline 46

Tyee also won on the girls side in last Wednesday's game.

Foster 51, Hazen 35

Foster emerged as a decisive winner over the Highlanders last Wednesday.

The Three Tree Point Yacht Club was the sponsor of the Annual Duwamish Head Race, an event that according to spokesperson Shelley Conti, "has been taking place for more than 40 years, ever since the club has been in existence."

Entrants must sail to the Duwamish Head on Alki from the Des Moines Marina and back.

This years winner was John Hoag, in a 40 foot Benatau called Snake Eyes. Hoag is a member of the Seattle Yacht Club.

The rules and regulations are necessarily complex due to the differences in boats with some given a points handicap and others further advantages to balance the field.

The race is one in a series called the Southern Sound Series that is sponsored by a number of South Puget Sound yacht clubs. A sponsoring club conducts each race. Series responsibilities (coordination, publicity, scoring, trophies, etc.) are shared on a rotating basis between the clubs.

According to the popular website, Internet Movie Data Base, or IMDB, the soon-to-be-released Lifetime Channel film based on West Seattle-raised Amanda Knox and her ordeal in Perugia, Italy will be called Via Della Rosa.

Update: Other media are calling the film Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy.

We now believe the proper title will be the latter. The film, regardless of its title, is reported to air Feb. 21.

Two working titles widely reported until recently were Tangled and The Amanda Knox Story.

Via Della Rosa may be a play on words, as "Via Dolorosa" is Latin for "The way of grief or suffering." It is also the path in the Old City of Jerusalem where Jesus is said to have carried his cross, marked by 14 stations, to the crucifixion.

As we reported here on controversy surrounding the making of the film, former Heroes star Hayden Panettiere portrays Knox:

http://www.westseattleherald.com/2010/10/07/features/amanda-knox-movies…

A group of about 12 people gathered at the Puerta Vallarta restaurant in the West Seattle Junction at 10:30 on Sunday morning to search for a friend. Jeremy Peck, 24, was last seen at approximately 1:15 am Christmas Eve near the Admiral Pub on California Ave. in West Seattle.

"A couple of people were at the pub and a couple of people were at the Yen Wor Village and then left him there and that was the last they saw of him," said his uncle John Peck. Jeremy lives with his uncle.

"He's not one to have run off," John said, "He's too hungry. He eats like a puppy."

Peck had been at the Rocksport earlier in the evening and then went to the Admiral District and the Admiral Pub and Yen Wor Village. A close friend Travis Gagner who was with Peck on Christmas Eve said,"Me and Julie left and he was still outside at the time talking to some people. That's when we left and I just figured it was a normal night like he was going to walk home."

Amy Ecklund is handy to have around the house, and while James Taylor's "Handyman" fixed broken hearts, this West Seattle entrepreneur fixes leaky faucets, repairs electrical outlets, and teaches others, mostly women, how to remodel and do their own improvements.

Ecklund's business, Amy Works Home Maintenance and Repair, states on its website, "Getting that long-awaited big kitchen project started can be similar to an act of God. Getting it finished can BE an act of God. Hiring contractors is like putting your hand in the hat and drawing out a slip of paper with a name on it.  It doesn’t have to be..." She then gives tips on how to choose wisely.

Those interested in learning how to tool around in their own home can take one to five courses Ecklund instructs at South Seattle Community College's Continuing Education Department. The first begins Jan. 27. The last begins Feb. 24. While her classes are geared toward women, men are welcome. Classes include:

• POWER TOOLS 101: LOSE YOUR FEAR NOT YOUR FINGERS,
• HOME DO-IT-YOURSELF: HOME MAINTENANCE SERIES,

This home maintenance series includes:

• HOME DO-IT-YOURSELF: MAINTENANCE,

A fight at Ballard High School unfolds a student’s possible criminal involvement

12 p.m. on January 5th. 1300 block of N.W. 67th Street.
According to police reports, on Tuesday, Jan 4, a fight broke out between various young men at Ballard High School.
The following day, the Seattle Police Department received a call from the BHS Assistant Principle who reported that she had a man in her office who she believed to have been the assaulter from the previous day.
When interviewed by the police, the suspect’s story revealed much more than a petty fight between two young men.
The suspect said that he confronted another student because he believed him to have been one of the robbers of his grandmother’s house last December.
There were a total of five suspects that reportedly went inside the suspect’s grandmother’s house on the day of the December robbery. Four suspects wore masks, the other was identified and apprehended. The suspect believed the victim of the assault to have been one of the masked robbers because of rumors he had heard floating around the school.
The suspect admitted to have been present at the assault but denied assaulting the victim of the assault.

A power outage that took place at approximately 5:45 am Sunday morning, Jan 9 has affected 2027 customers. City Light said "we estimate that additional momentary outages will be required as the problem is repaired. This may affect a larger number of homes and businesses. The approximate boundaries are: Alki Point on the north, SW Findlay Street on the south, 29TH Avenue SW on the east, and 53rd Avenue SW on the west."

A traffic accident at approximately 5:30 near s.w. Charlestown Street did impact some power poles and has been stated as the cause. Two people in their 20's were critically hurt and taken to Harborview Hospital.

Power has now been restored.

The Seattle Police Blotter posted the following:

On 1/9/11, at approximately 0531 a.m., a Black Buick Sedan was traveling W/B down a large hill on SW Charlestown St approaching 47 Ave SW, when the driver lost control of his vehicle and struck a Utility Pole.

The force of the impact cause the Utility Pole to be sheared off of its base causing a power outage in the area.

Capturing first place helped Highline High School savor the glee.

Laurissa Engelhardt captured all-round honors for Highline High School to lead her host team Pirates to victory in a three-way Seamount League gymnastics meet on Tuesday, January 4.

Highline accumulated 132.4 points to outdistance Renton (111.7) and Evergreen of White Center (93.65). The program is progressing well for the Pirates.

"We have strong senior leadership," said 13th-year coach Dawn Tessandore. "Mia and Laurissa work hard with the younger gymnasts. We had to turn out and for the first time I had to cut 35 of them. This year, we have four boys that compete although their scores don't count in the team totals. There are no cliques and that's neat. They really bond and show hard work."

One of the boys on the squad expressed his feelings about being able to participate.

"This has been a really great experience," said junior Travis Deslongchamp. "I'm learning new ways to flip while learning control and being swift with smoothness. I enjoy working with the rest of the team. It's fun to see the progress in each other."