August 2012

To begin with, I must admit my knowledge of roller derby was nonexistent but that soon changed. I remember watching it a little in the 70’s on TV when I was young. So when I was asked to cover the Rat City Rollergirls on August 18th, I thought, hmmm, that would be something different.

I found out some surprising information about roller derby. It is truly an international sport. In fact, there are some 1,280 amateur roller derby leagues found worldwide in countries like Malaysia, Israel, Brazil, Iceland, South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina, Portugal, and the list goes on.

The doubleheader event was a fundraiser for the Rat City Rollergirls. First on the track was the Rat City Rollergirls “B-team”, named the Rain of Terror who played host to the Everett Jet City “B-team”, the B-52’s. The second bout was the Rat City All-Stars Rollergirls taking on the men of Puget Sound Outcasts from Tacoma.

The bouts were held at the Southgate Roller Rink in White Center. It was originally built as a boxing arena in 1920, but from 1937 to present it has been used as a roller rink. It is a flat track, no banked corners.

Courtesy of Katherine Gooding at www.katherinegooding.com

Heavy equipment and survey stakes mark the location of a fence line signaling the kickoff of phase two of the county’s water quality improvement project at the White Center Pond Natural Area. The pond is the southernmost of three wetland cells located between 12th & 13th Ave SW and opposite Steve Cox Park.

Also called the White Center Greenway, the land is designated as a county park and functions primarily as a stormwater retention and infiltration area.

King County Sheriff's Sgt. Katie Larson shared the official news about a shooting that took place in the early morning hours of Monday, Aug. 20 in Burien.

"On 08/20/2012 at approximately 4:21 a.m. Burien Police/King County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a shooting in the area of South 156th Street and 4th Avenue South.

Residents of an apartment complex called 911 to report that they “heard a gunshot and found a male, bleeding in a stairwell” of their building.

Deputies arrived and found the victim, a 31 year old Burien resident. The victim told the deputies that he walked out the bathrooms at nearby Moshier Park and immediately saw a black male holding a handgun.

The victim ran and was shot one time in the lower extremities. The victim was transported to Harbor View Hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound. Until we are able to interview the victim, we do not know what, if any, exchange happened between the victim and suspect.

King County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is handling the follow-up investigation."

A warning to all the late morning commuters and going-out-to-lunch-ers: the outside, Northbound lane on the Ballard Bridge will be closed 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. all week.

During this time, new lighting poles will be installed, according to the Seattle Department of Transportation. Another full bridge closure may occur during the night this weekend.

As before, expect heavy delays when the bridge goes up.

Viking Days, held at the Nordic Heritage Museum this past Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 18 and 19, brought in waves of Scandinavian loving people, from Ballard and beyond. It featured crafts, music and traditional foods from Scandinavian countries, including Lefsa, Bavarian dogs, Swedish meatballs and the ever-popular Swedish pancakes. And don't forget the Vikings at the Viking Encampment, of course, who did their fair share of grimacing, drinking (water), fighting, storytelling, educating and laughing.

The Ballard News-Tribune came onto the scene late Sunday afternoon, but there was still plenty of people to be found. Unfortunately, no Viking duels or Swedish pancakes were to be had, but there were still plenty of scenes to be captured. Click on the picture above to view a full slideshow.

By David Rosen

A house fire that damaged a property on South Sullivan Street in South Park early Monday morning may have been caused by squatters in what neighbors say is an an otherwise unoccupied house.

The house suffered $50,000 damage and according to Kyle Moore of the Seattle Fire Department was caused by improperly disposed of smoking materials.

The same house was the scene of a fire on June 11. That fire, which occurred in an unattached garage, did $30,000 in damage and the heat affected the home next door. It was caused by "ignited combustibles" which Moore explained were outdoor cooking related.

Neighbor Stephanie Jones-Gunn spoke exclusively to the West Seattle Herald, "Someone came and knocked on our door about 4 o' clock in the morning, said there was a fire next door, he had seen the smoke and flames while driving on the freeway. The flames were pretty high and were coming from the eastern side of the house, looking like it was coming out from the attic. I called 911 but the fire department was already on their way. Eventually there was about 10 firetrucks and the fire was quickly put out.

GriefShare Support Group
Grace Church
10323 28th Ave. S.W.
Saturdays, starting Sept. 8th for 13 weeks, 10 a.m.-noon. This international grief recovery support group is open to anyone who has lost a loved one to death. You can start at anytime. Contact: Barb at 206-932-7459 or Grace Church 206-937-8400.

Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave. S.W.
206-937-7169
We will be closed Sunday, August 26th, to prepare for our semi-annual Vintage, Antiques, and Collectibles Event which starts Monday, the 27th.  Shop our assortment of vintage, retro, antique and "one of a kind" treasures.  Also, all items with yellow tags are $1.00 Wednesday, August 22nd  through the end of the month and all men's wear is 50% off every Sunday. Get double stamps on your customer card every Monday 10 a.m. to noon, 20% for seniors all day Tuesday and for highschoolers with student I.D. Saturdays. When you donate, volunteer and shop with us, you help find a cure for cancer.  The American Cancer Society shop is open Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and all other days 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  LIKE us on Facebook and follow our blog at www.discoveryshopwestseattle.org. 

The Highline School District has announced a $460,000 grant awarded to Cascade Middle School and the Evergreen campus to help teachers improve instruction in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Here are the details from HSD:

Four Highline schools will be part of a project this school year aimed at improving instruction in science and math. The project will be led by the University of Washington and funded by a grant of $460,000 over two years from Washington STEM.

Washington STEM is a statewide nonprofit dedicated to improving education in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Three Renton schools are also part of the project.

Participating Highline schools are Cascade Middle School and the three small high schools on the Evergreen campus: Health Sciences and Human Services High School (HS3), Arts and Academics Academy (AAA), and Technology Engineering and Communications High School (TEC). Science teachers at those schools will be part of a professional development network promoting high quality teaching practices.