July 2012

The Burien adopt-a-park program has entered into a fantastic summer partnership program focusing on trail improvements along the North Nature Trail in Seahurst Park.

The King County Work Training Program runs for six weeks during the summer as an opportunity for youth to earn high school credit as well as embark on work training for a wage.

The Seahurst project is a collaborative effort between the city of Burien Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Department, Highline School District’s New Start High School, King County Work Training Program, volunteers for Outdoor Washington (VOW) and The Environmental Science Center (ESC.)

This is the city’s second year of involvement with the King County program. The county has provided youth education and training services to youth in Burien/White Center area since 1999 and the Work Training Program has been around since 1971. The program has coordinated a site with the Highline district since 2005.

Prudential Northwest Realty – Brookfield Real Estate and Relocation Affiliates Inc., owner of the Prudential Real Estate franchise network, just released the quarterly Prudential Real Estate Outlook Survey showing that Americans’ confidence in homeownership and real estate continues climbing from the first quarter and a year earlier.

Prudential has a branch office in Burien.

Locally, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) reported sales were up 13.8 percent in June year over year. It is the third straight month with year over year increases.

Sales are increasing although inventory of available homes for sale is still low. The NWMLS reported a 41 percent drop in the number of homes for sale in June.

Similar to the national sentiment, signs of growing confidence are apparent among local residents as home prices in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties are gaining or stabilizing.

According to the national survey:

At 10 a.m. on July 16, the artist and volunteers gathered together for the first time to begin preparing the Dollar Store wall in downtown Burien for its mural.

Assisting artist Augustina Droze, far right, are Lory Newsom, left, from Burien, Marina King from Southeast Seattle and Debbie Pitzer from Federal Way.

SCOTT,
You have no idea how delighted I am to get your garden report and the pictures.

I want to show them to other members of our extended family. It was just great and my heart swells. I have been an advocate of gardens since I was a stripling after watching my dad plant his garden every spring.

Yeah, he had a drinking problem but he also had a fine garden. String beans, tomatoes, lettuce, potatoes, carrots, radishes, peas... sounds like you. We also had eight walnut trees, two green gage plum trees and a row of gooseberry bushes. Best of all was our huge Gravenstein apple tree.

The place we rented in Portland must have housed a farmer as all the trees were there when we moved in. We lived a block from the Vancouver Avenue woods where we feasted on hazelnuts every summer.

Rent was $15 a month and much of the time Dad didn't have it. It was in the 1920s. Dad was a salesman and rarely had any money.

By King County Sheriff Steve Strachan and
King Council Councilwoman Julia Patterson

Last July, shots rang out and chaos ensued. It was a shocking wake up call. Guns shots were fired by several different people at a car show in Kent (bordering Des Moines) just off of Pacific Highway South, resulting in several serious injuries.

Almost a year has passed since that tragic day. Now, we would like to bring you up to date on the case, discuss the underlying root cause of gang violence, and what we’re doing to help address it.

Case Update
Through collaboration from various law enforcement agencies and led by the Kent Police Department, five individuals have been arrested in connection with firing a weapon at the incident. Each has some gang involvement, and all come from the South King County area. They are all in custody on various charges.

Three other persons were also charged, one for a drive-by shooting which occurred later that same day and two for rendering assistance in the crime. The two who assisted others in the crime have already been convicted.

It’s hard to believe that I’ve been writing ‘Stringing the Pearls’ columns for almost three years, now.

In the process, I’ve met some of the most incredible senior citizens in our community. The most amazing thing is that we’d never know that these seemingly average people did such extraordinary things in their lives.

The hardest part is to get seniors who are willing to step forward to be interviewed. Perhaps it’s a humility issue, where they just don’t think that their life was that interesting or special.

There’s sure nothing wrong with being humble, but I can’t remember one person that didn’t have some interesting stories to tell –- even if they never left the farm or won an award or held a notable position.

Typically, it’s the children or friends of these wonderful people who send in the names and contact information, so that I know about them and can write their story.

SeaTac robbery suspect shot by officer near mosque
A man who allegedly beat and robbed another man inside a SeaTac mosque was shot and wounded by a King County sheriff's deputy after he then tried to run over deputies with a stolen car Thursday morning, June 19, according to sheriff's spokesperson Cindi West. The mosque, Seatac Masjid, is located at 3040 S. 150th St. A man who went into the mosque to pray just after 8 a.m. apparently startled another man who was sleeping. He awoke, jumped up, and began punching the other man, taking his wallet and car keys. He fled after the victim was able to distract him by throwing a bag at him, West said. The victim then phoned 911. Deputies quickly arrived and were met with the sound of a car starting up behind the mosque. One deputy had to jump out of the way because

If you'd like to show community spirit and and support a good group of people the West Seattle High School cheerleaders are often out in the community just as they were last week volunteering at the Kids Fair held last Friday at Hiawatha Community Center.

The girls manned the dunk tank and the sno cone booth.

The next chance you'll have to support them is a car wash fundraiser this Saturday July 28th from 10am - 3pm at West Seattle AutoWorks at 7501 35th Ave SW.

Ginny Tyler, an amazing vocal talent who started her career with KOMO in Seattle and later worked for Disney in Hollywood, passed away on Friday, July 13 from natural causes at age 86, according to her son, Ty Fenton.

A celebration of her life is planned for October 27th at Kenyon Hall in West Seattle.

Merrie Virginia (Erlandson) Eggers was born on Aug. 8, 1925 in California. She grew up in Seattle and was adopted by her stepfather, Theodore Eggers, according to the Los Angeles Times. She later took the stage name Ginny Tyler.

Tyler graduated from West Seattle High School in 1943 and was inducted into the WSHS Hall of Fame in 2001. Chris King with the alumni association shared a memory from their 25th reunion: "Ginny Tyler entertained and stunned the partygoers with style and humor. One person remarked, 'Gosh, I don't remember her in school at all!' Another replied, 'Don't you remember during the Senior Play? She stood offstage and imitated a crying baby!'"

Bad timing burglars