September 2012

Ground was broken Sept. 4 on a unique 19-unit Alzheimer’s and memory care facility.

The facility will be an addition to the Normandy Park Senior Living Community, 16625 1st Ave. S. The current facility provides assisted living services to older adults in the Normandy Park and Burien area.

Attending the ground-breaking ceremony were Normandy Park Mayor Clarke Brant, state rep. Tina Orwall, state Rep. Dave Upthegrove, Southwest King County Chamber president Lynn Wallace and Artegan COO Warren Page.

Artegan manages the location along with eight other adult services communities in Washington and Oregon. It is based in Vancouver WA.

Page said the new Alzheimer’s facility will be opened by next September. Construction is set to start immediately.

He noted there will be 19 private or semi-private apartment homes in the new facility. It will be connected to the existing Normandy Park Senior Living by a skybridge.

Specially trained staff will provide specific “boutique” services, Page noted.

The interior is designed to encompass the outdoors by providing abundant natural light and nature.

All King County and city residents can safely dispose of old car batteries, oil, paint and other common household hazardous waste free of charge when the Wastemobile rolls into Burien for a collection event, Sept. 14-16.

The Wastemobile will be in the parking lot of the Burien Fred Meyer, at 14300 1st Ave. So. in Burien, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. Residents can drop off unwanted light bulbs and ballasts, pesticides and other hazardous waste.

Wastemobile customers are helping to safeguard public health and the environment by properly disposing household hazardous waste materials and keeping them out of drains and landfills.

Created in 1989, the Wastemobile was the first program of its kind in the nation. It is operated by King County Solid Waste Division as part of the Local Hazardous Waste Management Program, and travels throughout the county from the spring through fall.

Since its inception, the Wastemobile has collected more than 14,000 tons of hazardous household waste from 333,000 residents.

On Saturday, Sept. 15th, volunteers with the Normandy Park Communications Committee will be going door-to-door to hand out flyers to the Normandy Park community.

The volunteers will be asking for email addresses from residents to sign them up for E-Alerts and the City Scene newsletter. The flyers outline the different options residents have for obtaining information provided by the city. Volunteers will also be confirming mailing addresses to ensure citizens can receive city mailings.

The committee is made up of resident and non-resident volunteers, communication experts and city staff. The goal is to improve communication between the city and its community.

The committee was formed due to community concern about the lack of communication on activities and events within the city. This committee is a great step towards keeping the community aware of what is going on, according to committee members.

For questions or to volunteer, contact committee chairperson Susan West at susan.west@ci.normandy-park.wa.us.

Thumbing through an old volume of the White Center News this week I spotted a picture of the officers of the Kiwanis club taken at a meeting at the once famous Epicure restaurant. Now empty, the Epicure was the focal point where the "elite met to eat" in the glory days of the 1950's. It was a lot more than another Duffy's Tavern.

The "EP," owned and operated by Joe Boothby, who also owned the Sky Room at the county airport, was where you took your family or your best date.

It was also where every service club (White Center had five or six active men's service clubs) had their lunch meetings. There was a lower level for large gatherings and banquets. Vi Childs, a West Seattle born entertainer, spent many nights singing in the "Huddle Room" with her piano and accordion. (Vi passed away last year in retirement in Florida)

The kids loved the Juicy Ray roast beef that cooked on a spit near the front window. Turning slowly under the glare of blazing infrared lights, it dripped enticingly. It was an automatic favorite of ours as well.

Man killed in Motel in SeaTac A man was shot and killed Friday morning, Sept. 7, at the Motel 6 in the 20600 block of Military Rd. in SeaTac. Witnesses told police that the victim pulled up in a white SUV and went to a motel room in the complex. The victim appeared to try to enter the room with a key but when the door did not open he knocked on the door and was let in the room. Within a few minutes an argument was heard and then a gunshot. The victim stumbled out of the room and collapsed. Witnesses said two men and two women fled the room with their faces partially covered by shirts. They were seen driving away in a dark colored
vehicle, possibly a BMW. King County Sheriffʼs Detectives are investigating the case. SeaTac contracts with the Sheriffʼs Office to provide police services to the city.

Man Fatally Shot in Knights Inn parking lot in Tukwila

Mark Hendricks has accepted the transfer to Federal Way, according to Brad Thoreson, chair of the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Club of King County. Meanwhile, Federal Way Director Shelley Puariea will be taking his place at Ballard.

Thoreson said once Hendricks understood what was going on and the rationale behind the decision, that he decided to go ahead with the transfer.

He said that Hendricks, with his personality and his ability to procure alternative funding streams, had the ability to expand the Federal Way Boys & Girls Club in a meaningful way. For Hendricks, Federal Way is also where he lives.

Thoreson promised that Ballard was not getting sideswiped in the deal, and mentioned that Shelley Puariea was also a long-time, well-loved director who has especially strong programming and is just as good with kids. (For lovers of the ever-mustached Hendricks, it may be hard to swallow.)

As for the way the decision was announced, Thoreson was not happy.

“It was an absolute, unmitigated disaster,” he said.

For interested folks, the Central Ballard Residents Association will be meeting on Thursday, Sept. 13, to talk about what's important to, you guessed it, residents in Central Ballard. Today's meeting will include rich topics such as land use, parking and emergency preparedness.

Any Central Ballard resident can become a member, and the meeting is open to the public. At the last meeting in July they talked about parking issues and the Department of Planning and Development's "Comprehensive Plan." See below for the release:

"Please join us at the next meeting of the Central Ballard Residents Association on Thursday, September 13th. The meeting is held in conference room A at Ballard Swedish at 7 p.m. All are welcome. The Association has come together to discuss and have input on issues facing central Ballard residents. Have a voice in your community. See what we're about at: www.centralballard.org

Hope to see you there!"

See below for full agenda:

Giant thistles: artichokes for the last of summer’s bounty

By Katy Wilkens, MS, RD

Toward the end of August, I was looking in my garden to find that giant thistles about six feet tall are growing in my garden. They were artichokes!

Artichokes are one of the vegetables we eat that is really a flower bud, like broccoli or cauliflower. When allowed to flower, the artichoke blossom displays spiky purple petals.

Artichokes are a great source of fiber, folic acid, vitamin C and potassium. To help control our blood pressure, scientists say we need more potassium in our diets, and artichokes are a fun way to get it. Even kids who don’t like vegetables will have fun peeling the leaves off the artichoke bud, dipping them in butter or margarine, and running them between their teeth.

Artichokes will be in the markets now through fall. Those with small white blemishes have been “winter kissed,” and like other vegetables exposed to frost, have a more intense flavor.

Today, Sept. 11, the Seattle Department of Transportation will be closing hte outside, northbound lane once again as they continue work on upgrading the lighting system on the bridge. The closure will take place from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, they will switch sides and close the outside southbound lane from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

What're they doing, you ask? Crews will be taking out four light poles so that new pole bases can be installed.

Sidewalks will stay open. SDOT says the schedule for the rest of the week will be determined once the poles are removed. Remember that significant delays could be caused if the bridge goes up.

The Sealth Seahawk girls played hard in their volleyball match against the Ballard Beavers Monday, Sept. 10 but effort doesn't always equal winning. Despite a strong athletic performance, the Seahawks dropped all three sets to Ballard, 30-28, 25-18, 25-18.

It could be considered pre-season for volleyball but tonight’s non-league matchup between the girls of Ballard and the Chief Sealth Lady Hawks had the feel of a game that counts.

Sealth hung close in every match, with two decided by 2 points, but this is a young team with very little time together and Sealth coach Lorna Considine feels they will gel as the season progresses. “I thought they played well” said Considine.

Ballard coach Tami Reese had a more pointed view of her team. Even after the win she thought her team “still needs to work on fundamentals”. She did make note of two of her standouts. Team captain and Center McKinley Kellog was a “great force” in the middle all game long and Liza Berg had 17 kills.

Non-league play continues on Wednesday when Arlington comes to Ballard and Sealth plays another home game against Rainier Beach.

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