May 2012

By Kyra-lin Hom

This has been one heck of week so please forgive me if I seem less eloquent and more scattered than usual. One of the disadvantages of trying to cultivate a writing (screenwriting for film specifically) and otherwise artistically motivated career is that it's a piecemeal process. I don't necessarily have time for a regular 9 to 5. This leaves me picking up jobs whenever and wherever I can from eBay auctioneer to cleaning lady to seamstress. My bigger problem is learning how to say 'no' because busier means I make more money for the week. This has been one of those weeks.

By Georgie Bright Kunkel

Who would suspect that a former world class runner would be living quietly right here in West Seattle? Doris Brown who married her college sweetheart Ralph Heritage doesn’t want to live in the past, but her past is illustrious and cannot be denied. All her life she wanted to run but when she was young this field hadn’t opened up for young women. When she was in Peninsula High School there was at last a club for girls called the Mic Mac Club and this opened up many opportunities. She even ran the 400 and 800 meter races when she was a senior in high school, making a national record for the 800 and went on to the Olympic trials.
At Seattle Pacific University she ran with the men at first as there were few races for women. In her junior year the head of the athletic department thought that women should have a track club. She was the first woman to run an indoor mile in under five minutes. At one time she held every women’s national and world record from 440 yards through one mile. She once participated on the US cross country team in Blackburn, England and they won by one point.

Pills, Pills, Pills, where is the ONE big one that does it all? When you are 92, you can't remember all that so One pill seems like a good idea. Sort of like the One-A-Day brand vitamins, but this one would fix whatever ails you.

I take one pill to energize me in the morning, another to give me a restful night. Then I swallow a mood pill, a cholesterol pill, a neuropathy pill, salt pill, and a pepper pill, to go with my eggs.

I take a baby aspirin, some milk of magnesia, a zinc thing and some iron to build up my biceps I think. My doc says to elevate my legs, keep my back straight at dinner table and keep both hands in my lap until after grace is said. I guess that means I'm   goodest boy on Russet St.

Effective July1, 2012, Melissa Schweitzer will be the new principal at Whittier Elementary.

Schweitzer comes to Whittier Elementary from Whitman Middle School where she was the assistant principal. Schweitzer has also served as an instructional coach with the district and a Special Education teacher at Meany Middle School. Prior to that she was a Special Education teacher at Seattle Children’s Home.

"Ms. Schweitzer is committed to working collaboratively with staff and the community, and will be a great fit for the Whittier Elementary community, stated Susan Enflied in an announcement.

Schweitzer holds a Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Colorado and earned a Bachelor of Science in Special Education from the University of Evansville. She has Washington State Administrative Certification.

Schweitzer was selected after a hiring process that included input from staff and families.

Cancer never sleeps, and neither did the 241 participants in this year’s overnight Relay for Life event that took place on the Ballard High School track on May 19 and May 20.

Twenty-four hours of walking raised funds for the American Cancer Society Teams to support patients and help fund cancer research for a cure.

“[This is inspiring me a ton – I lost my dad to cancer,” said participant Shannon Daily. “It shows that a lot of people care, not just from family and friends, but from people that don’t even know them.”

The relay began at 10 in the morning on Saturday, May 19. As evening drew near and the Luminaria Ceremony arrived, somberness fell over the track. Friends and family gathered near their decorated luminarias as they prepared to light a candle of hope for their loved ones.

Marilyn Klepper remembered her teenage daughter, Jeanne-Marie, who died from a rare “young person’s” cancer – osteosarcomaon, on Mother’s Day in 2001.

Klepper led the introduction to the ceremony and spoke of how cancer is a sleepless disease. The 24-hour relay signified this daily fight.

By Tammy Chang, UW News Lab

Parents, children and community members gathered at Crown Hill Park on Holman Road and 13th Avenue N.W. on Saturday afternoon to celebrate the reopening of the park, which closed last August for construction.

The event featured family fun activities such as a skateboard clinic by Skate-Like-a-Girl, hotdogs, light refreshments, a bounce house, tricycle race and many others.

The new park features a renovated ball field, open lawn area, a skateboard mini-ramp, play equipment, a main pathway throughout the park and landscaping.

Some fencing will remain up through the spring to allow the grass to establish. 

Seattle Parks and Recreation announced its renovation project for the park in 2005 but those plane were but on hold when Seattle Public Schools, which owned the land, decided to sell it.

With help from the Small Faces Child Development Center and funding from the 2000 ProParks Levy, the Seattle Parks bought the property in 2008 and revisited the renovation project.

On Saturday, what will become a walking gallery, the first three of a total twenty five murals were painted in White Center.

Put in motion by the White Center Chamber of Commerce and championed by chamber president Mark Ufkes, the goal is to help give a sense of identity to the community. “We hope that with twenty five murals around town, White Center could become a destination place. People would come and walk around our community”. Mr. Ufkes went on to say “Beautiful art on the street makes you happy and we should do more of what makes us happy”.

Many White Center property owners are seeing the value of public murals. Murals actually go a long way in deterring random graffiti and are an inexpensive thing to do. A good example is the 17th Ave side of White Center Glass. A mural covering the entire side of the building was painted two years ago and is still graffiti free.

The three locations painted on Saturday are;
The large retaining wall west of 16th Ave SW on SW 107th Ave. was done by Mark Ufkes with the help of several local artists and members of his Boy Scout troop.

The VFW building on 17th Ave SW north of SW Roxbury St.

The Summer Streets event on May 20 was more than a little soggy as a steady rain fell which obviously dampened the turnout but not the enthusiasm of the participants who showed up to work booths, play music, and even enjoy a half court basketball game. The event, organized by the Seattle Department of Transportation featured live music, lots of information and a way to enjoy Alki Beach without driving a car.

The game the Herald had a chance to see was part of a tournament called Battle on the Blacktop. That game was won by the Pirate Boys over Enemy of the State 7 - 6.

The full schedule included everything from painting watercolors (easy enough when it's dry out) to learning how to stand up paddle board with the crew from Alki Kayak.

CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO SEE MORE

UPDATE May 23
After getting complaints about the cutting of trees at the Alki Homestead, a "Stop Work" order was posted by the city on the property. The order directed the owner, Tom Lin, to leave all cut timbers in place, and to stop any further cutting.

It further directed him to contact the City.

He followed through on that request on Wednesday, May 23 and was told that the matter was being "sent to compliance" meaning it would be investigated.

Under Seattle Municipal Code regarding restrictions on tree removal it's only illegal to remove trees from undeveloped lots. A permit is only required to remove more than three trees per year on developed property.

The code states:

B. Limits on Tree Removal. In addition to the prohibitions in subsection
25.11.040.A, no more than three trees 6 inches or greater in diameter,
measured 4.5 feet above the ground, may be removed in any one year period on

Prior to the kickoff of Summer Streets on Alki (May 20), over 1000 people showed up for the West Seattle 5k walk/run, sponsored by the West Seattle High School PTSA.

Please click the image above for more

Here are the results:

Top Finishers and times

Male

1. Kelly Spady - 16:56
2. Joe Sheeran - 17:06
3. Joe Creighton - 17:06

Female

1. Lana Lacey - 18:14
2. Allison Camp - 19:11
3.Daniela Zeman - 19:28