October 2011

Driving south on Shilshole Avenue I saw the unmistakable orange of a smashed pumpkin on the side of the road. Just like that it took me back ten years to when the pumpkin on our porch was stolen and reappeared as pulp in the street.

Ten years ago was the fall following the September 11th attacks and every day was an attempt to find some normalcy in our everyday lives, or at least a pretense for sake of the grade school carpool. The big orange pumpkin, left by our own street’s Great Pumpkin of a neighbor had been a comfort. Until I realized that someone had stepped onto our property to take the pumpkin and then smashed it.

This was the same time that anthrax had been sent through the mail and every white powder was suspicious. It was before the television stations fully resumed the safety of normal programming but had changed the banner beneath continuously breaking news to announce, “War on Afghanistan.” The sound of an airplane overhead was nerve-wracking even as Heavenly Blue morning glories bloomed and the last blackberries ripened in the sun.

UPDATE:

Edward Reed Lammon, known as "Marco", the homeless man who has been harassing Rudy McCoy in Ballard was arrested. With bail set at $10,000, Marco will appear in pre-trial on November 7. The restraining order has been expanded to 1,000 feet and is good for two years.

"Hopefully, where ever he goes there will be someone who can help him get well," said McCoy.

Original article:

Rudy McCoy, the friendly neighborhood caretaker, has been working in the Clean Street Program for 12 years and aims to keep Ballard's streets clean, safe and attractive.

Paid by the local merchants, McCoy is usually one of the first people out on the streets each morning to prepare the streets for business. Over the years, McCoy has had his fair share of interactions with transients and drunks but after a series of recent incidents, he felt forced to seek police protection.

"I'm afraid it might get violent one of these days," he said.

It started at the end of September when McCoy was harassed as he was leaf blowing the streets in Fremont and led to McCoy calling 911 for help.

Two weeks later the harassments started happening in Ballard.

Echo, owned by Chris and Kathy Finnegan is a pure bred Cairn Terrier. Echo comes from a breeder in the Spokane area and she's 6 years old. "We were looking for one that was Brindle color and you don't see too many that color. You see a lot of them that are wheaten colored so my wife wanted this one.

Her diet is a standard dry food and snacks for Echo chicken chewies are favored. She does not do tricks and has not been to obedience school. "If you saw us in the park you'd see there's not a whole lot of obedience there," Finnegan said laughing. "She's willing to take on any dog bigger than her," he offered.

Echo lives with a wheaten colored terrier that is twelve years old, "and she defends both of them."

Her name comes from the military company that the couple's younger son served in, in the Marine Corps. It was his boot camp company Echo Bravo Charley Company. "About the time he left for boot camp we got Echo."

Echo has a friend across the alley. "They bark at each other all the time but you put them together and it's like...big deal."

Walking up to Lowman Park from Fauntleroy is a favorite walk.

Throughout Ballard the trees are showing the beautiful warm colors of autumn, coffee shops are serving pumpkin lattes and kids are picking out Halloween costumes. Fall is here!

Share your Fall pictures with us by emailing them to anner@robinsonnews.com. They'll be featured right here at BallardNewsTribune.com and one will be selected to be featured in next week's print paper.

Disabled woman robbed
A wheelchair bound woman was rolling in the area of 14600 block of 4th Ave. S.W. She was approached by two subjects and was robbed. One of the subjects punched the woman. They took off with $8 and her false teeth. No subject information was available at the time of this report.

Suspicious man under a tree
A resident, in the 19900 block of 4th Ave. S.W., reported that a suspicious male was hiding under a tree and holding a metallic object. Officers responded and a juvenile male subject crawled out from under the tree and began to try to get away from officers. The juvenile was taken into custody for possession of narcotics (marijuana) and later released to a parent.

Drunken woman needs a restroom
Police were called to the 100 block of S. 136th St. for a report of a drunken woman. Witnesses saw her stumbling in and out of the street. At one point she fell into the street. She was also seen urinating in one resident’s yard. Officers felt she was too intoxicated and unable to care for herself. She was taken to detox at Highline Medical Center.

Stolen I-Pads

By Gwen Davis

Proposition 1 would raise an estimated $1.6 million in revenue for the restoration of historic Des Moines city parks, and for repairing and maintenance of city streets. This would be done by increasing the Utility Occupation Tax from 6 percent to 9 percent. The city estimates this additional 3 percent utility tax would cost a typical family $15 per month.

This November, Des Moines voters will vote Yes or No to Prop. 1.

How should you vote? Take a look at what both sides of Prop. 1 are saying:

Vote Yes on Prop. 1
Al Isaac, head of the YES on Des Moines Proposition 1 Committee:

By Gwen Davis

(Editor’s Note: The Times/News will present information on the SeaTac elected mayor proposition in the Oct. 28 print edition and online at www.highlinetimes.com)

At the Nov. 8 election, the city of Des Moines will ask voters whether to increase the Utility and Occupation Tax from 6 percent to 9 percent. The increased revenue would provide an estimated $1.6 million funding for restoration of several Des Moines Beach Park facilities and for the repair of city streets.

City Council members believe that efforts to repair deteriorating public utilities are needed to preserve the same quality of life for future Des Moines citizens.

These additional funds are needed because the funding source that the city has traditionally used to pay for capital projects – Real Estate Excise Taxes – has declined significantly due to the national recession and the associated reduction in property values, according to city officials.

If approved, the city estimates this additional 3 percent utility tax would cost a typical family $15 per month.

By Metropolitan King County Councilmembers Julia Patterson, Kathy Lambert, Jane Hague and Joe McDermott

The King County Council has worked very hard over the last four years to keep the county’s financial health from deteriorating during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. This year, we are facing a new reality. Even though revenues are starting to improve, they are not growing at rates that will sustain us. But a crisis can also be an opportunity.

The County Council continues to ensure that your tax dollars are used wisely within our balanced budget. We are working smarter, finding efficiencies and initiating reforms that have transformed King County government.

When they cleared for our house on 33rd Avenue S in SeaTac’s McMicken Heights, they scraped all the topsoil off the whole block and pushed it back into open land towards Highway 99.

Hard clay makes for a great foundation base. For three blocks in both directions Lowe built bungalow- style cracker boxes during the war. Most were two bedrooms and one bathroom.

Many have since changed but a few remain today, much as they were in 1943...tiny. Imagine a bathroom the size of your hall closet. We were a close-knit bunch out of necessity.

We had a two-step porch leading to nice sidewalks and a gravel street. The back yard was open to the west on a fair sized lot. I built a picket fence so I had something to paint every year.

I wanted a garden like we had in Portland. It seemed like I had to haul about a million wheelbarrow loads of the topsoil they had bulldozed.

Using a sheet of wire cloth I kept the bigger rocks and roots out as I sifted the dirt. It gave me a thin layer of topsoil maybe 2 inches thick. I didn't know I needed a foot of good topsoil on that hardpan.

Deadline for receiving items for Community Calendar is 5 p.m. Wednesday for the following week’s Times/News. Events are published based on timeliness and space availability. Email submissions to: hteditor@robinsonnews.com. Items can be accepted from nonprofit groups and government agencies only. Others may call Dona Ozier or Sheila Lengle at 206-708-1378 for inclusion in our “Out & About” advertising section.

Halloween Happenings
BOO In Burien—Oct. 29. Noon - 4 pm. Downtown Burien along S.W. 152nd St. Hayrides. Trick or Treating. Haunted House. Pumpkin Bowling. Paint Pumpkins. Scary Story Telling & Kids Crafts. Children's Costume Parade. Costume Dog Parade. Wiener Dog Races. www.discoverburien.com.

Museum of Fright--For one night every year, The Museum of Flight, 9404 East Marginal Way. S. becomes The Museum of Fright. Oct. 28. Admission is free for this family-friendly Halloween event from 4- 8 p.m. Costumes are encouraged. Fun and "dead"ucational activities for all ages, including storytelling, ghost parachute drops, shadow puppets, and stormy flights on frightful simulators.