May 2011

SPANAWAY - Completely overpowering? No. Absolutely effective? Yes

Confidence and communication mixed with harder hitting enabled senior Shannon Wong and junior Alexis Gregerson of Mount Rainier High School in Des Moines to lift themselves to a Class 4A girls tennis doubles spot at the Vancouver Tennis Center.

After opening the round of 16 on Thursday, May 19, with a 7-5, 6-3, defeat of SPSL No. 4 seeded Tracy Tran and Katie Ly of Kentridge at the Sprinker Recreation Center, the sixth-seeded SPSL Ram dynamic duo fought off the No. 1 Narrows seed Annie Sing and Bailey Kilmer of Olympia in two sets to clinch a state berth from the West Central/Southwest Bi- District tournament.

In the first set, the Bear duo gave Wong and Gregerson all they could handle before Mount Rainier prevailed, 7-5. The second set was even tougher as both squads rallied back-and-forth until the Ram tandem emerged with a 7-6 (7-2) victory.

Ballard High School juniors, Alex Bowns and Emma Suchland, competed at the 4A Washington State Track & Field Championships at Mt. Tahoma High School.

They were the only two Ballard athletes that qualified for State and both finished in the top 12. Considering that Washington has some of the fastest high-school runners in the nation, running at the State meet is a huge accomplishment for these runners.

Bowns ran in the 3200 M (2 mile) and finished 9th with a new personal record time of 9:22:23.

Suchland ran in the 100 M dash and finished 11th with a time of 12:93.

In other sports news, four Ballard gymnasts competed in the 2011 Senior National Gymnastics Invitational in Florida. The four Beavers were part of a 12 member team representing the state of Washington.

Molly Barnes, Sarah Katsandres, Shannon Donnelly, and Taylor Stern competed in this three day event, which draws teams from 17 different states. Taylor Stern finished 10th in the floor event.

By Jessica Johansson, UW News Lab student

With summer approaching, what better way to kick off the season than with the annual Open Boat Weekend and Swap Meet at the Shilshole Bay Marina? Whether you’re a boat lover or not, this event will have something for everyone.

Sponsored by the Seattle Boat Show, the event is Saturday, June 4 and Sunday, June 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the donations from the weekend supporting the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. The Leukemia Cup Regatta on June 11 is partly funded by the annual Boat Weekend.

“I was blown away by the incredible support of the community at Open Boat Weekend [last year[,” said Brianna Rockenstire, Leukemia Cup Regatta coordinator for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

“Not only did people get to enjoy a beautiful day on the water, but they also donated almost $2,000 to the local chapter. … These donations help us fund local researchers and provide critical financial assistance for blood cancer patients in Washington and Alaska.”

On Friday, dismissed by King County Superior Court Judge Michael Heavey dismissed a lawsuit filed by local animal activists against the City of Seattle and Woodland Zoo, citing a technicality.

Both sides had 10-minutes to make their arguments in King County Superior Court on Friday. Activists from the Animal Legal Defense Fund argued that the city of Seattle was acting illegally in providing support for the Woodland Park Zoo because of its ill treatment of elephants.

The judge granted the City and Zoo's motion to dismiss the case because the group had no standing to sue the city, and there was nothing illegal about the city's funding of the zoo.

“We are very pleased with the ruling,” said Woodland Park Zoo President and CEO Dr. Deborah Jensen. “This was an attempt to get a court to decide issues of elephant care and medicine that have been appropriately delegated to experts – at our zoo and at other zoos around the country.”

Regarding the accusation of inhumane treatment of the elephants, Jensen said the Woodland Park Zoo elephants "are healthy and thriving”

Memorial Day commemorates U.S. military personnel who died while in service. It was first enacted by former slaves to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War and was later extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.

A national moment of remembrance takes place at 3 p.m.

In West Seattle you can observe Memorial Day at the Forest Lawn Cemetery Memorial Day 2011 Ceremony presented by American Legion Post 160
from 2:00pm - 3:00pm. It is located at 6701 30th Avenue SW

by Sam Reed Chief Sealth International High School Athletic Director

This Friday, June 3, 2011 is the date for the first Chief Sealth Athletics Golf Tournament at Rainier Golf and Country Club. All proceeds will benefit the student-athletes at Chief Sealth International High School. There are still limited spaces available for both individuals and foursomes to participate in the fun and fundraising. Reservations can be purchased here.

You can download the full event schedule at the link above.

Individual participation is $150, while foursomes can still be reserved for $500. The tournament will be a scramble with a shotgun start beginning at 10:00 a.m. The afternoon will conclude with a full dinner and auction featuring exclusive sport memorabilia and unique athletic experiences.

Auction items and prizes include:

• Signed balls from Hall-of-Famers Lenny Wilkens and Warren Moon.
• Autographed balls from Seattle legends Edgar Martinez and Kasey Keller.

On Friday night Light Rail users were met with a horde of flesh eating zombies. The same group of people who have orchestrated the world record setting zombie walks in Freemont organized a zombie walk on the light rail system, going from Westlake Center in downtown Seattle to the SeaTac Airport.

By David Rosen

The Sneakery, the casual shoe store, located at 4736 California Ave s.w. held their grand opening Saturday, May 28. They offered 30% off all socks and as well as give-aways and prizes.

The employees were handing out raffle tickets to patrons of the store to win prizes such as tube socks, pairs of shoes, and a Puma Director’s Chair.

Rising local musicians Troy Nelson and Mackenzie Mercer of the Young Evils performed an acoustic set of music around 7pm.

Some of the songs that they played included:

Place I Lost My Mind
Invisible Diamonds
Just Built Beaming Light
Crazy People
This Machine
Get Over It
The New Frontier
Rock n Roll City

There was a good size crowd of shoppers who enjoyed the acoustic performance.

For more information about The Sneakery visit their website at www.thesneakery.com

Also, check out our recent story featuring the Young Evils here:

I’m back, Burien.
I haven’t lived full-time in Burien since September 1966 when my parents drove me across the state to attend Washington State University. At the time, this sheltered Burien boy couldn’t wait to see the lights of my hometown in the rearview mirror of my parents’ station wagon.
As young adults are prone to do, I rebounded back to my mom and dad’s house temporarily for summers or after life’s setbacks. The last time I was 38.
But now Marge and I are moving into what we say is the South Seahurst/West Gregory Heights/North Three Tree Point neighborhood.
I’ve worked at the Highline Times in Burien for 11 years. It’s kind of strange that someone would wait so long before deciding to move closer to work.
Well, I think it’s a funny story.
The way I like to tell the tale is that it all began one warm summer afternoon when Marge called me over to our backyard dock while I was kayaking in the lake.
“You’re not happy here,” she declares in my story.
“I’m not?” I reply.
But what’s closer to the truth is that while I loved my house and the lake, I missed being part of the community I reported on. I felt more at home in my old hometown.

Colman Pool opening Sunday May 29, after a brief delay, is almost ready again for another season, its 70th, as one of the most popular locations in the Seattle Parks Department.

A 70th Birthday Bash is set for July 4 from 1:45pm to 4:45 pm with cake, music and games.

Built in 1941 by the Colman family on Point Williams the Laurence Colman Pool replaced an unheated tide pool built by the City of Seattle in 1925. The original pool is the subject of one of West Seattle's murals. It was built as a memorial to Laurence Colman by his son Ken.

The pool itself has a mural called "Youth and Freedom painted by famous muralist Ernest Norling in its lobby, depicting significant elements including the notes of the Star Spangled Banner, a worker building Seattle, the spire of the Plymouth Congregational Church, swimmers, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, baseball, badminton and basketball, and The Osprey that carried people to Camp Colman.