May 2011

This morning (5/10/2011) as I was driving to an appointment, I came across one of the saddest scenes I have ever witnessed.

Three things stood out: A young man was obviously distressed, dazed and bewildered; he was holding a red lead attached to a dog lying in the middle of the street with its life's blood staining the road; and thirdly, a young woman in the throes of grief as she tried to take in the scene-- a scene that should never have happened.

I think I know the dog that was killed. A big, friendly dog who greeted almost every walker with a wagging tail and chatter. I was always uplifted whenever I passed by the fence that held the dog in.

The dog didn't seem to mind the fence and certainly didn't mind anyone who walked past. It was a very good dog that shouldn't have had its life ended in that manner.

Please drive carefully on the streets in Burien and elsewhere. As far as I am concerned, Burien is a wonderful neighborhood where my backyard may be your front yard. We are all connected and we need to be mindful of our connectedness.

Elizabeth M. Williams
Seahurst

Letter writer Marco Spani was misleading, deceitful and disingenuous in his preposterous claim that the public desires access to his "private shoreline." Citizens of Burien are merely seeking a public access to a public lake.

If the city of Burien purchases property on which to create a public access to Lake Burien, then the public would finally gain access to the (public) lake that our tax dollars support.

Teresa Kaufman
Burien

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry while reading Marco Spani's letter to the editor last week. Does he, my fellow Burien citizen, really think that allowing public access to public property is analogous to touring the gardens of private homes? If so, it confirms my suspicion that some waterfront residents in Burien actually believe that the water itself belongs to them.

What else could the gardens represent in this analogy other than the water? Well, I have news for you, Mr. Spani - the water belongs to all of us. Despite that fact, you're currently enjoying the exclusive use of it.
Having no shoreline to walk along precludes 99 percent of Burien citizens from using a piece of property that belongs to them. This is what the majority of Burien citizens would like to see changed. Contrary to statements in the Highline Times, the community isn't "split" on this issue.

Well, I got a haircut today.

Nick the barber was walking in front of his shop yesterday holding up a sign that read "NO HAIRCUT, NO NICK."

I hated the thought of him starving to death, so I hired him again this month.

I have been holding off till ex-Sheriff Reichert runs for governor next election. He has a haircut that got him elected as U.S. Representative and he is planning to ride that haircut all the way to the White House. I am not running.

Nick has been cutting hair here for a long time, He had a shop at the West Seattle Junction, then he moved to White Center and has been in Burien across the street from Sal's Deli on 6th Avenue since 1979.

Nick doesn't promise to get me elected to anything but he does agree to be careful not to scar up my skull.

So far, after about thirty years, he has yet to put a Nick in my scalp.

My dad was my only barber till I was 12. He had scissors and clippers that he also used on my dog Mack.

The scheduled Special Full Council meeting set to take place at 9:00 a.m. has been cancelled with no explanation. The Council had been called together to 'vote against the vote' so to speak, in an attempt to nullify the referendum to put the deep bore tunnel to a vote. The vote got the go-ahead last Friday, May 13, from King County Judge Laura Gene Middaugh as we reported here:

From the official MEETING AGENDA:

FULL COUNCIL: 1. Res. 31297

Relating to the State Route 99 Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall
Replacement Program and Ordinance 123542 that entered into
certain agreements with the Washington State Department of
Transportation (WSDOT); stating that after the City Council has
had the opportunity to review and consider the Final
Environmental Impact Statement and the Federal Record of
Decision, the City Council will make the decision whether to
issue to the State of Washington the notice described in Section 6
of Ordinance 123542 in the form of introducing and considering
for enactment a City ordinance.

Press Release:

Pending Washington State Department of Transportation approval, the contractor working for the Seattle Department of Transportation to widen the Spokane Street Viaduct will close the westbound lanes of the structure for three nights: May 19, 23 and 24. Crews will work from 10 p.m. each night until 5 a.m. the next morning to demolish the outer concrete edge of the existing Spokane Street Viaduct, between Fifth Avenue South and Sixth Avenue South, where the viaduct meets I-5 ramps. The work also requires that Sixth Avenue South at Spokane Street be closed overnight, May 19, 23 and 24 from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m.

During this work, southbound I-5 traffic will be directed to the South Forest Street exit to access surface streets. Northbound I-5 traffic and westbound traffic from Columbian Way South will be detoured to surface streets at Sixth Avenue South.

Thursday, May 12
Baseball
West Seattle 6, Franklin 0
West Seattle won by shutout in a Thursday, May 12 playoff game.
O'Dea 11, Chief Sealth 2
The Irish prevailed over the Seahawks by an 11-2 score last Thursday, May 12.
Fastpitch
Bainbridge 14, Chief Sealth 4
Chief Sealth was topped by 10 runs last Thursday, May 12.
Bainbridge 11, West Seattle 3
West Seattle also took a turn at losing a lopsided game to Bainbridge.
West Seattle 10, Eastside Cath. 0
West Seattle's Wildcats were 10-run winners over Eastside Catholic Thursday, May 12.
Chief Sealth 7, Eastside Cath. 5
Chief Sealth also defeated Eastside Cathtolic last Thursday, May 12.

Friday, May 13
Fastpitch
Chief Sealth 7, Nathan Hale 6
The Seahawks of Chief Sealth opened the Class 3A Metro League fastpitch tournament by edging out Nathan Hale.
West Seattle 5, Blanchet 1
West Seattle used stingy pitching and decent hitting to win its Metro League game.
Steilacoom 11, Evergreen 1
Steilacoom stole away with a lopsided playoff win Friday.

Saturday, May 14
Boys soccer
Evergreen 3, Sequim 2

The BHS Girls lacrosse team lost their quarter final playoff game on Friday to the number one Southwest conference seed, Klahowya. The 9 to 7 loss ended the team's season. The Lady Beavers finished their regular season with eight wins and four losses and Ballard was the number four Northwest conference seed in the playoffs.

The team's four senior captains have been named to the All-state team and will participate in an All Star honors game on Saturday, May 21st at 9 a.m. prior to the State Championship game at Eastside Catholic High School in Sammamish.

The All-state players are:

Division 2 All-State First Team:

Maddie Soukup - Attack
Kelsey Barta - Midfield

Division 2 All-State Second Team:

Jayne Barnes - Attack
Haley Jackson - Midfield

Ultimate Frisbee:

The Ballard boys Ultimate Frisbee team played against Cleveland on Friday, in a matchup that was voted the Seattle Times Peoples Choice Game and aired on TV. Ballard Beat Cleveland 9 to 8.

By Lauren Elizabeth DiRe, Intern

Crowley’s tugboat Hunter, the “Fastest Tug in the Puget Sound,” won the Seattle Maritime Festival tugboat races again this Saturday, making it the fifteenth year in a row.

Each year, there are three fleets of boat races categorized by horsepower, said Scott Hoggarth, general manager for Crowley.

Three other tugs raced against the Hunter, two of them being Crowley boats as well. Each boat finished the 1.9 nautical miles in less than 8 minutes.

The Hunter’s winning streak is in part due to its sleek hull design, Hoggarth said, but mostly is because of its “brute horsepower.”

“Tugboats are a lot like icebergs," Hoggarth said, "there’s a lot under the water.”

This is how a tugboat the size of the 136-feet-long Hunter pulls barges that are mostly 100 by 400 feet.

In addition to the tugboat races, the Maritime Festival offered boat tours, survival suit races and a chowder cook-off. All the events are popular, but the races draw the largest crowds.

“I think because of the scale of the tugs," said Festival coordinator, Ken Saunderson.

By Christy Wolyniak, Intern

Fluid jazz spilled out onto Market Street as people filtered into the Carnegie Library to provide support and enjoy tasteful art, abundant wine and food, and smooth jazz notes courtesy of the Hank Hirsh Quintet from Portland, OR.

“We can’t contribute drugs or surgeries, [so this event] was the next best thing [we could do] to contribute. We wanted to schedule something and participate in regular art walks and have the event coincide with that,” said ROOT integrative health owner, Kourtney Lockwood who organized Saturday's Japan Relief event.

ROOT. Integrative Health opened its doors on March 12, 2011, providing chiropractic, nutrition, medicine and acupuncture services as well as mental health counseling to the local community.

Lockwood invited artists to donate their art for the silent auction and artists Bill Zama, Jocelyn Badali, and Marcie Swift contributed their artwork along with others.

“This event is a great way to help people…there’s this idea of community [attached with art walks] that brings people out,” said Zama.