March 2011

UPDATED PRESS RELEASE from DRCC:

Environmental, tribal, community, and government forces will join together at the semi-annual Duwamish Alive! Earth Day river restoration event on Saturday, April 16th. Starting at 10:00am volunteers will roll up their sleeves at multiple sites along Seattle’s industrialized watershed to perform cleanup and restoration
work in the ongoing effort to keep Seattle’s only river alive.

A special ribbon-cutting and site dedication will happen from 1-2pm at the end of the work party at T-107 Public Access site at 4700 West Marginal Way in Delridge/West Seattle. Duwamish River Cleanup Coalition/TAG, The Rotary Club of West Seattle, People For Puget Sound, and the Port of Seattle have partnered since fall 2010 to improve a hand-carry boat launch for kayaks and canoes, and
design an interpretive sign and memorial bench for the site.

UPDATE 2: Forum is THIS afternoon. Free event & public is invited.

UPDATE: The West Seattle Herald will try to videotape this event, then post. Thank you.

While the defense appeal of West Seattle-raised Amanda Knox is currently being heard in Perugia, Italy, a panel has been selected to present "The Case for Innocence” a forum open to the public, Monday, April 4, 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m., Pigott Auditorium, Seattle University. There is expected Q & A following the panel discussion.

The public is invited and the event is free.

The panel includes:

Thomas Wright, moderator, FriendsofAmanda.org

Candace Dempsey, journalist, author of Murder in Italy: The Shocking Slaying of a British Student, the Accused American Girl, and an International Scandal

Steve Moore, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Special Agent, 25 yrs, ret.

Mark Waterbury, author of Monster of Perugia: The Framing of Amanda Knox

Paul Ciolino, CBS News, “48 Hours”

The forum is sponsored by the B.A. in Film Studies Program, Seattle University

The Burien Elks Lodge participated in dispensing student dictionaries to third graders in the Highline School District the past few weeks as part of Dictionary Project of Charleston, S.C.

More than 700 books will be donated to elementary schools from Southern Heights to White Center Heights and many in between. At more than 500 pages, the books are a handy size and easy to use.

Next year the Elks plan to include more elementary schools in the district as part of their benevolent educational activity. You can visit the website for the dictionary project at www.dictionaryproject.org

from the press release:

Seattle Parks and Recreation is seeking proposals from individuals, groups, or organizations to provide culturally relevant, safe, and reliable programs to the community through the Summer Art in the Park Program.

This program is designed to offer elements of academic alignment to help reduce summer learning loss, build self esteem, promote cross-cultural experiences, build ongoing participation, welcome drop-in participants, and support the Mayor’s Youth and Families Initiative. Parks can allocate a maximum of $8,400 for each of five parks for the season.

The Summer Art in the Park Program takes place at these Parks locations: Othello Playground, Powell Barnett Playground, Little Brook Park, Judkins Playfield, and Maplewood Playfield. The purpose of this program is to provide fun, innovative, curriculum based visual and performing arts.

The deadline for submitting a proposal is Friday, May 6th.

The Seattle Parks and Recreation people are seeking proposals from individuals, groups, or organizations to provide "culturally relevant, safe, and reliable programs to the community" through a program called Summer Art in the Park.

Designed to offer elements of academic alignment to help reduce summer learning loss, the program will also build self esteem, promote cross-cultural experiences, build ongoing participation, welcome drop-in participants, and support the Mayor’s Youth and Families Initiative. Parks has a maximum allocation of $8,400 for each of five parks for the season.

The program takes place at these locations: Othello Playground, Powell Barnett Playground, Little Brook Park, Judkins Playfield, and Maplewood Playfield. None are in West Seattle.

Its purpose is to provide fun, innovative, curriculum based visual and performing arts.

The proposal deadline is Friday, May 6, 2011.

Hannah Breton, goalie for the girls lacrosse team at Ballard High School, will be joining twenty other high school girls from Washington state to represent Washington state in the US Lacrosse Women’s Division National Tournament.

Each player was handpicked by the Washington Schoolgirls Lacrosse Association and will be flying to Stony Brook University in New York for the National Tournament on May 28th and 29th.
 
Established in 1933, the Women’s Division National Tournament is one of the oldest lacrosse tournaments in the US.  The local standouts will compete among 60 teams from across the US in the schoolgirl’s division for high school freshmen, sophomores and juniors. 
 
Breton was one of four players from Seattle and the only from Ballard High School.

West Seattle for Japan, an event organized to benefit the victims of the recent Japanese disasters has been great success so far according to Dave Montoure, event organizer and owner of West 5 restaurant.
He reports:

"Initial deposits are in: 7 of 28 participating businesses have collected $3665.11 This is an exciting number to report this early in the collection, and remember all these funds will be matched.

There are two remaining West Seattle for Japan posters at West 5 that can be had for a donation (in any amount), just ask the bartender on duty. We will be printing an additional dozen posters that will be available at the West 5 this week.

This Thursday, an informal “tweetup” will be held at West 5, with participants raffling items and donating proceeds to West Seattle for Japan.

Many thanks to Viking Bank West Seattle for providing the “West Seattle for Japan” account and agreeing to waive account fees. They will even allow donors to this account use their coin counting machine at no charge (dig in the sofa!). This account will remain open for several weeks, and anyone can swing in to make a donation.

Thanks West Seattle!"

Press release:
 King County Metro is bringing a new program to West Seattle in the Admiral, Alaska, and Morgan Junctions. The focus groups are designed to help shape a new program to increase the number of people walking, biking, taking the bus, and carpooling in and out of West Seattle. 

Two focus groups will be hosted on the following days/times:
Tuesday April 5th at Hope Lutheran Church, 4456 42nd Avenue SW, from 6pm to 7:30pm
Wednesday April 6th at Gatewood Elementary, 4320 SW Myrtle Street from 6pm to 7:30pm

Participants will receive a 2011 Chinook Book a guide to living well and having fun in the Puget Sound good for savings of up to $3,000 at local businesses. Food and beverages will be provided. 

Space is limited. Reserve your spot at www.westseattletalks.org or by calling Derrick Van Kirk 206-652-2310 or emailing derrick@feetfirst.org

The girls lacrosse team played Bellevue East on Friday and lost 21 to 16.
Scoring highlights: Maddie Soukup, 6 goals, 5 ground balls; Jayne Barnes, 5 goals, 1 assist and goalie Hannah Breton had 10 saves.

The Beavers boys soccer team crushed the West Seattle Wildcats on Saturday afternoon.

Ballard scored 2 goals in the first half and within 20 seconds of the second half senior Brent Campbell put one in the net. But the Beavers weren't done yet, scoring 4 more goals in the second half for a 7 - 0 win over West Seattle.

Dear Editor,

What is the definition of "insanity?" Why, doing the same thing over and over and looking for a different outcome. And thus, we come to the pot hole situation. What are they thinking? Using garbage material and soon? It all turns to garbage and you have to do it again. Your tax dollars at work. See sentence #1.

Andy Helman
Arbor Heights