February 2011

A celebration of the life of Jeremy Peck was held Saturday, Feb. 26 at the Alki Congregational United Church 6115 s.w. Hinds St. in West Seattle. The service was led by Pastor Jimmy Hester of the Oasis Christian Fellowship.

More than 200 people crowded into the space to honor the life of their friend and hear and share stories about their time with him.

Peck, who disappeared in the early morning hours of Dec. 24, 2010 was missing for more than three weeks when his body washed up on the shores of Bainbridge Island. No cause of death has yet been announced. That's expected in a few weeks but many in attendance believe it was foul play.

Jeremy Peck was born on Dec. 10, 1986 to Stephen and Diane Peck came to live with his uncle John in Seattle at the age of 10 after his mother died. He spent the last 14 years of his life in West Seattle.

While his friends and family are still in pain about his death, the day was given over primarily to laughter though many also shed tears.

In the "worst year for produce" in many years it might be even worse for one local produce vendor. West Seattle Produce, open for less than a year is struggling with high produce prices and the natural slowdown in the produce business in winter.

Bruce McPherson owner said, " I spoke to Frank of Frank's Produce who has been in business 55 years, he's the most successful person in the industry. He said this has been the worst year for produce in his entire career. First of all they had the floods, then they had the freeze. When lettuce freezes it gets a fungus, and that fungus went airborne. Once a fungus gets airborne it's over. 80% of the crops got wiped out."

The loss of lettuce and other key produce crops has driven the price up dramatically and made McPherson's job far more time consuming. He buys from wholesale warehouses and farmers "In summer it would take me 2 hours to shop, now it takes me 5. I go to 6 warehouses to get the best prices."

The Beavers boys basketball team won their first game of the State tournament on Friday, Feb 25 with 59 to 49 win over Gig Harbor.

The game did not start off so well for the Beavers as Gig Harbor took an eight-point lead in the first quarter. But the Beavers turned the game around in the second quarter scoring 20 points and allowing only six points against them. Going into the second half the score was 27 to 21 for Ballard and Gig Harbor stepped up the competition. BUt Ballard proved to be the stronger team.

The Ballard Beavers play again on Saturday, Feb 26 at 3:00 p.m. against Puyallup High School.

Puyallup finished second place in the South Puget Sound League North Division.

As we reported earlier this week here:

http://www.westseattleherald.com/2011/02/21/news/walk-thon-alki-saturda…

Seattle Lutheran senior Brian Simmonds sponsored a 5 mile Walk-A-Thon this morning beginning at the Alki Bath House and walking along the beach sidewalk to benefit Variety the Children's Charity. This worldwide organization raises funds to purchase mobility devises like wheelchairs and adaptable bicycles for children with special needs, including mobility issues, especially where insurance falls short or does not cover such expensive devises.

Brian's father, Rich, went on the walk. His mother, Joyce, stationed herself at the booth to sign in some late-comers. The family lives at Three Tree Point in Burien.

Over 30 people showed up in the cold and were given Charity t-shirts and envelopes to donate money by mail.

When it was announced on the loudspeaker that the walk was 5 miles, not 5K, there were a few audible "oh my gosh" gasps, but it seemed all in fun.

Today, the funeral service for Jeremy Peck will be held at Alki Congregational United Church
6115 SW Hinds St Seattle, WA from 4:00pm - 6:00pm.

96 people have indicated they will be in attendance according to the event Facebook page.

From that page: "The Church service will be conducted by Pastor Jimmy. Following the church service those who wish can meet up at the Alki Masonic Temple (approximately 6-6:30)~ located at 4736 40th Ave. SW, Seattle.

We will be serving Jeremy's Favorite Dinner~
Chicken
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Corn
Mac and Cheese
Rolls
Pie
and of course Hot (Sriracha) Sauce

We encourage those who wish to bring a dish do! Appetizers, fruit..anything will work! Thank you

PJ the DJ loaned us his equipment. Be sure to bring your sunglasses:)

See the West Seattle Herald's previous coverage of the service including friends memories and a tribute recording here.

Here's the list of what is available at the West Seattle (and University District) Farmers Market this week.
February 28 – March 6, 2011

Neighborhood Farmers Market Alliance Markets:
University District (UD) – Saturdays, 9 am – 2 pm, YEAR ROUND –
West Seattle (WS) – Sundays, 10 am – 2 pm, YEAR ROUND

Locations, Hours, Vendor and Event Info: www.seattlefarmersmarkets.org

New this Week:

*****NEW ITEMS IN ITALICS*****

Fiddlehead Ferns
Stinging Nettles
Black Truffles
Sunflower Sprouts

Pasture Raised Beef – all cuts - New from Stokesberry Sustainable Farm at the U-District and West Seattle

Duck Eggs – From Woodring – at both markets.

Fresh Milk and Yogurt; Silver Springs Dairy; goat milk, goat yogurt, goat cheeses; fresh pasteurized and aged raw. Also Cow’s milk and yogurt, plus cow’s cheese. At WS only.

Farm Fresh Bouquets: Daffodils, Lilies, Tulips, Anemone, Hyacinth. Gorgeous colors, mix and match. Alm Hill Gardens at both markets.

Fresh every day…

VEGETABLES:
Beans –Dried Shell Beans – Cranberry, Black, Cannellini, Fava
Beets – Red, Golden, Chioggia
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage – Savoy, Green

White Center has a remarkable variety of ethnic dining choices but now it has something completely different.

Be Nguyen, owner of Be's Restaurant in the West Seattle Junction since 1986 has formed a partnership with her long time friend Brandon Vo in a unique arrangement at her location in White Center at 9826 16th Ave. s.w.

During the day, opening at 7:00 a.m. Be's in White Center which opened in 2008, offers high quality but standard breakfast fare from omelettes to pancakes. After 25 years in her West Seattle location she has the knack of making a great breakfast for a great price. She keeps going on through lunch with burgers and sandwiches but at 3:00 pm the restaurant changes.

It transforms into the Crawfish Grill featuring full on cajun flavors with crawfish, Dungeness crab, and a lot more bringing the authentic taste of New Orleans to White Center. Those flavors, and in fact the crawfish themselves, come straight from New Orleans, shipped in fresh every day, courtesy of Vo who already owns a Crawfish Grill in Renton, near the Ikea Furniture store.

"This is Youngstown coming into it's own," said Derek Birnie, executive director of Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association (DNDA), at the event.

The ground floor of Youngstown was bustling with around 50 community members who came to celebrate the cultural arts center fifth year anniversary, watch a documentary on street art, take part in a quick-art assembly line and enjoy a potluck dinner in the rooms of artists who opened up their world for the night.

"DNDA,through a lot of support from the community, was able to preserve and rehabilitate the building and this I think is a celebration now of what's come to be as the community in the building. It's a really dynamic, vibrant set of relationships between organizations and community members here," he added.

The slideshow above shows the collaborative art pieces created by young and old during the quick-art assembly line.

Original preview of the event:

Press Release:

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) will close the Spokane Street viaduct overnight for three nights for work related to the Spokane Viaduct Widening.

Eastbound lanes of the viaduct (West Seattle Bridge) will be closed from 11 p.m. tonight (February 25) until tomorrow at 5 a.m. (February 26) to evaluate the pavement condition. During this closure all eastbound traffic will be prohibited east of the First Avenue off-ramp, which will remain open, as will the northbound SR 99 ramp. Traffic heading to I-5 should plan on using lower Spokane Street.

The Seattle Women’s Commission is seeking candidates to fill vacant seats on the Commission. Operating under the support of the Seattle Office for Civil Rights, the Commission is comprised of twenty accomplished Commissioners appointed by the Mayor and City Council.

The Commission addresses economic opportunity for women, race and social justice, women’s health, disparities in health outcomes for low-income women and women of color, affordable high quality child care, women’s role as caregivers, violence against women and the unique challenges facing immigrant women. Information gathered from this work is used to advise the Mayor and City Council on women’s issues.

Anyone interested in serving on the Seattle Women’s Commission should submit a resume and letter of interest by Friday, March 4, 2011 to Marta Idowu at marta.idowu@seattle.gov.

Successful applicants serve a two year term, must live in Seattle, and be available for monthly meetings the 3rd Monday of every month from 5:30-7:30 p.m.