June 2011

On June 21, another hearing on the civil complaint against two Des Moines police officers involved in the shooting of Rosie, a Newfoundland dog, was set for Aug. 2 in Snohomish County Sueprior Court.
The judge is still considering a motion to dismiss the civil complaint.

Here's our previous coverage:

A date has finally been set for the civil complaint being brought against two Des Moines police officers by Chuck and Dierdre Wright.
Snohomish County District Court Judge Tam Bul will hear the case on June 21 at 10 a.m. in his courtroom in Everett.
On Nov. 7, Des Moines police officers shot and killed the Wright's Newfoundland dog, Rosie, when attempts to capture her failed. After the King County prosecutor reviewed the case and found no criminal culpability with the actions of the officers the Wrights filed a civil complaint against the officers involved in Rosie's shooting.

The civil complaints are filed against Sgt. Steve Wieland, who authorized the use of deadly force and Officer Michael Graddon, who shot and killed Rosie.

The civil complaint accuses the officer of animal cruelty and trapping an animal, both misdemeanors.

The Des Moines City Council, continuing their discussion on development guidelines for the marina district, looked June 2 at the possibility of putting hotels by the marina.

"Hotel development seems like it would be a perfect fit for our city," Des Moines Economic Director Marion Yoshino said.
She said what city officials are trying to address in the marina district is the underutilization and deterioration of commercial properties.

It was a very preliminary discussion, and it was not clear how feasible the idea would be.

The city talked to several hotel managers, including Jewel Hospitality and Coastal Hotel Group. Coastal runs Cedarbrook Lodge in SeaTac.

For success, lawmakers heard, a hotel would likely need 100 or more rooms with at least one parking space for each room. In the marina district, that would mean underground parking.

Consistent with the new design guidelines the council members are discussing, the hotels would feature wide sidewalks with good pedestrian access.

A first for North Burien, there will be a series of three Summer Outdoor Concerts held at Hilltop School Grounds, 12250 24th Ave S., in July.

Concerts are held on Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. outside and if it’s raining too hard, the event will move inside the Hilltop School gym.

Schedule
July 13 – Banda Vagos (Traditional Mexican music)

July 20 – Global Heat (World hip hop with a twist of R&B)

July 27 – The Camano Cadillac Band (Keepin' it country)

For more information, call the Burien Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services department at (206) 988-3700 or visit their website found here.

If you want the secret to success, look no further than Geri Fain, long-time assistant superintendent of the Highline School District. Fain is retiring after a distinguished, 42-year career and was celebrated by friends, family and the community at a reception at the Puget Sound Skills Center on May 24.

"I hope that my legacy is that I modeled the highest level of honesty and integrity," says Fain.

Both her professional and personal ties are deeply rooted in the Highline community. A local girl, Fain spent most of her childhood in the area and attended some of the schools she would eventually oversee such as Sylvester Middle School and Highline High School. Always an avid student, she became increasingly interested in an education career when she was a University of Washington student.

"My father was my mentor," says Fain whose father was an educator. "We were exceedingly close and he shared his love of teaching with me."
After graduation, she found herself back in the classroom and in front of a chalkboard. She taught for over a decade and credits it as a crucial component in her later success.

Downtown Burien will rev up June 16 through June 19 with a smokin' carnival, killer car show, sizzling chili cook-off and 50/50 raffle presented by the nonprofit Discover Burien Association. Upping the entertainment ante on June 18 and 19 is the city of Burien's Wild Strawberry Festival.

Get thrilled and chilled with the Davis Shows full carnival during Burien Carnival Days from Thursday, June 16 through Sunday, June 19. Festival-goers can buy special armbands good for unlimited rides all day. The carnival closes each day when attendance gets too thin. Hours are June 16 and June 17 from 3 p.m. to close and June 18 and June 19 from 11 a.m. to close.

Browse buffed-up beauties from every era at the free Burien Father's Day Car Show Sunday, June 19 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event also features '50s and '60s tunes spun by a disk jockey plus a chili cook-off.

Entrants will vie for top billing in nine prize categories: Mayor's Choice, Best Project Car, Best Truck, Most Likely To Go On A Date In, People's Choice, Best Interior, Auto Dealers' Choice, Best Paint Job, and Oldest & Original.

You are invited to the Burien Wild Strawberry Festival on Saturday & Sunday, June 18-19 at the festival's downtown location at Town Square Park, Southwest 152nd St. and Fifth Avenue Southwest.

An amazing number of fun activities will be featured, including Saturday B-Town Bike Fair, with a bike rodeo, scavenger hunt, helmet fitting and 3 p.m. parade; Carnival Days hosted by Discover Burien, with rides and games for all ages; B-Boy Strawberry Jam--an amazing break dance competition on Saturday starting at 4:30 p.m; and games at many of the vendor booths.

The festival kicks off with the annual Kiwanis Club's Pancake Breakfast at the Burien Fire Station. The Wild Strawberry 5K Run will be held on Saturday morning and sponsored by Whitewater Aquatics. Discover Burien's popular Father's Day Car Show & Chili Cook-Off will again be held on Sunday and conveniently located right next to the activities.

Fabulous music, strolling comedians, dancers, puppeteers, storytelling and community performers will be a mainstay of the event, along with yummy food booths, great shopping, and the festival's signature strawberry shortcake.

Press release:

Denny Middle School and Chief Sealth High School have been selected by The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation to receive a donation of musical instruments. It is our understanding that both schools will share a music room and single inventory of instruments next year when Denny Middle School moves to Chief Sealth High School's campus. Therefore, the following instruments will be donated and shipped to Chief Sealth High School with the intention that both schools will have access to using them:

1 bass trombone
2 mellophones
1 sousaphone
1 bari saxohone
2 marching baritones
1 oboe
1 bassoon
1 marimba

The total retail value of this donation is $42,000. An official award letter as well as a grant agreement will be mailed to your attention at Chief Sealth High School shortly.

The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation
mhopus.org

Keeping Music Alive in Our Schools
-------------------------------------

From Marcus Pimpleton:

Congratulations are in order for the students of the Chief Sealth
International High School Concert- Marching Band and Sealth Jazz II as

The Seattle Chinese Garden in West Seattle is spreading the word to fill two key positions, "which will help the garden grow and provide the infrastructure for the growing momentum and excitement around the garden," according to Julia Freimund, program director for the garden.

“We are looking for people who can work well independently and as a team AND who like to bring ideas to reality,” Freimund said.

The 20 hour/wk paid Office Coordinator position will ensure that the daily office operations of the Garden runs smoothly and efficiently and the brick ordering process is accurate and quick.

The unpaid Volunteer Coordinator has the exciting and fulfilling role of recruiting, training, and scheduling volunteers to volunteer in the Discovery Center, garden, and/or office. The Coordinator can work from home or the office but occasional hours during the early evening or weekends are necessary in order to phone volunteers when they are available. Very flexible hours with an average of about 10 hours/week.

The Ballard High School Foundation has announced the details for the 11th annual Ballard High School Golf Classic to benefit Ballard High School's music and sports programs. For the fourth consecutive year, the Golf Club at Newcastle will host the event starting at 6 p.m. on Monday, August 1, with a dinner and auction.

The emcee for the evening event will be BHS’ own Bob Flick (Class of 1956) of the Brothers Four band. The tournament will kick off on the morning of Tuesday, August 2, with registration beginning at 7:00 a.m. and the 18-hole shotgun starting at 10:00 a.m.

From the press release:

This year’s event is honoring two individuals that were very influential in the BHS and Ballard communities.

By David Rosen

Correction :
Just received word from Lt. Sue Stangle of the SFD, she said " Just to keep things accurate, the fire on 38th Ave S.W. was not a two alarm fire. The firefighters were able to extinguish the fire very quickly without needing to ask for more resources."

Update for 1:53 p.m. on June 7:
Just learned new information about this morning's fire from Kyle Moore, Seattle Fire Department's new Public Information Officer. He stated " The investigators at the scene said that they are calling the fire accidental and was caused by an unattended candle and they're estimating structural damage at $75,000 dollars and content loss of $25,000 dollars."

Information from Seattle Fire Department:
Seattle Firefighter’s quick response kept an apartment fire from spreading to other units. A 911 came into dispatch at 4:34 in the morning reporting a fire at a four-unit apartment complex in the 5000 block of 38th Avenue SW in West Seattle. Firefighters arrived four minutes later and found three adults outside the burning upper level apartment. The crews were able to knock the fire down within 20 minutes.