February 2013

Local circus family mixed it up with J.P. Patches, Jim Henson, Flying Wallendas, & 250-pound tassel-twirler

Elgin, Ginger, and son, Lee Fuller, long-time West Seattle residents, performed magic and clowning for a variety of traveling circuses, the Seattle and Spokane Worlds Fairs, and other venues. Numerous newspaper clippings, photos, and promotional flyers wedged carefully in Ginger's oversized keepsake album cover a lot of ground, featuring the striking couple and cute little tyke touring much of the West Coast, and caravanning in Canada in a converted '69 Ford van.

They performed with the Shrine Circus, the Pollack Circus, the still-active magician and author Stan Kramien, with his then One-Ring Circus Menagerie, the Duwayne Brothers Circus, Dr. Clarence W. 'Doc" Talbot and crooner and radio host, Smilin' Jack Smith. They opened for J.P. Patches and Gertrude at fairs in Green Lake and Westwood Village, also as clowns. Ginger said J.P. and Gertrude were always extremely gracious and welcomed them even though they, too, did a clown act.

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Newly-expanded Fred Meyer Greenwood store opens to packed house; Dave's Killer Bread!!! founder draws crowd

The Fred Meyer store in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood, at 100 N.W. 85th St. reopened Friday after its expansion to a packed house, and what a house, with an additional 55,000-plus square feet to make it 190,000.

They hired an addition 100 employees, making the total 250 to accommodate its new grocery department. The parking lots, both inside and out, were filled on Saturday afternoon with the overflow of vehicles parked on residential streets, including many in no parking zones, surrounding the building.

The Greenwood Fred Meyer closed on Feb. 25 last year for extensive renovation and expansion. Work on the site began a week later. The new plans called for the 20,950-square-foot Greenwood Market building to be demolished to make way for the existing Fred Meyer store to expand by 55,305 square feet.

Parked in front was the Seafair Pirates' 32-foot amphibious vehicle, Moby Duck. Its colorfully-costumed occupants, several bad-boy buccaneers, handed out stickers to grinning kids inside the grocery store section.

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SLIDESHOW: Family and friends say farewell to Jerry Ceis

For the second, and not the last, memorial for West Seattle's Jerry Ceis, family and friends gathered at the Alki Bathhouse on Saturday Feb. 2 to recall memories and celebrate the life of a man everyone agreed was a free spirit and someone who went his own way.

Ceis died Jan 9 following an illness.

He was a Seafair Pirate, a sailor, and according to everyone who spoke he was a generous, gregarious, and kind man whose gruff exterior was a cover for a tender heart.

Led by John York, Jerry's uncle, the memorial, with about 70 people in attendance, began with a slideshow of photos from Jerry's life. As they were displayed, poems recorded by Jerry for an album of poetry he made called "Ceis Stories" was played as well. He read the Robert W. Service classic, "The Shooting of Dan McGrew" and Rudyard Kipling's "Gunga Din" on the recording.

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New South Transfer Station opening delayed

(Editor's note: Andy Ryan with SPU provided further background on the South Transfer Station delay in the comment section below the story.)

The 14,000 sq. foot South Transfer Station being built at 130 S. Kenyon St. in South Park was scheduled to be complete in June of 2012, marking a big upgrade from the old station nearby with better odor control and a more user-friendly experience.

Those benefits are still on the table, but the timeline for making them accessible to the public has been pushed back into 2013 due to some kinks along the way.

The West Seattle Herald reported on a head-scratching phenomenon back in Sept. of 2011 when the steel infrastructure for the station went up, and then suddenly came down.

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Shoreline surveillance cameras spur debate

Surveillance cameras are popping up along Seattle’s waterfront, including on light poles along Harbor and Alki Avenues in West Seattle, as part of a $5 million federal homeland security grant to monitor for terrorist threats coming into the Port of Seattle, prompting concern about a lack of input from the public and worries on what else the cameras will monitor.

According to Seattle Police, the grant will cover 30 cameras (operational by this spring) that will create a “wireless mesh network security system” that several regional partners will be able to tap into for surveillance data, including the Coast Guard, Seattle Police, the Port of Seattle, King County, and transit services. Those agencies will be able to access the camera feeds in real time.

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West Seattle High Special Olympics Team at Husky Deli Saturday for Polar Plunge Seattle 2013

The West Seattle High Special Olympics teams will be at Husky Deli this Saturday from 1-4pm gto raise money for their Special Olympics Polar Plunge team.

The plunge event itself is set for Feb. 9. (see below for more info).

If you can't make the fundraiser at Husky Deli you can go online and donate to the West Seattle High team on their fundraiser website.

www.seattleplunge2013.kintera.org

Polar Plunge Event Info

Polar Plunge is a fundraising effort organized by law enforcement agencies throughout the state benefiting Special Olympics Washington.

Polar Plunge is a unique opportunity for individuals, organizations and businesses to support local Special Olympics athletes by collecting pledges and plunging into various frigid water locations across Washington State.

Who can take the plunge? Anyone with a little courage, a warm heart and a desire to support a worthy cause is welcome!

Too Chicken to Plunge? Cheer on from the sidelines in the “Chicken Coop.” You can still raise money, win prizes and make a difference in the lives of local athletes.

Ivar's Provides Chowder to Plunge Participants!

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SLIDESHOW: Sealth girls fall hard to Seattle Prep 65 - 28

It was Senior Night at Sealth High School and while the lady Seahawks made a strong effort, steals, missed shots, and just a more powerful Seattle Prep team proved to be their undoing as they fell to the Panthers 65-28.

Prep got out to an early lead, scoring 9 points early on as Sealth committed four fouls. Sealth finally got on the board with Prep's first foul.

Prep extended their lead to 10 points and then more as they finished the first quarter 20 - 2 atop the Seahawks.

That lead grew again to 28 to 7 with four minutes left in the first half. Numerous blocked shots, steals and poor ball handing kept the Seahawks out of it as the game went on. By the end of the 3rd period it was 52 -12.

A steal and score by Nicole Hall (who finished the game with a team high of 19 points) late in the third quarter briefly lifted the team's spirits but it was short lived.

The Panthers simply overpowered the lady Seahawks in the game.

The scoring breakdown for Sealth was:
Hall 19
Carew 18
Tonry 9
Glosniak 9
Santucci 5
McDonald 3

Earlier in the evening the Sealth Boys also lost to Seattle Prep.

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REMINDER: Delridge Way SW & SW Henderson Street intersection closure weekend of Feb. 8-11

Information from SDOT:
The Seattle Department of Transportation is in Phase 1 of the project to rebuild much of Delridge Way SW between SW Orchard and SW Roxbury streets. To reduce impacts to the community intersection construction will be done on weekends, working around the clock. The first intersection closure is at SW Henderson Street from 7 p.m. Friday, February 8, until 6 a.m., Monday, February 11 at the latest. Look for more detour information early next week.

Evening construction, including pavement removal using impact breakers, may be performed until 10:00 p.m. under the conditions of a noise variance. This expedites the construction.

Reminder: The intersection of 25th Avenue SW and SW Barton Street is temporarily a 4-way stop, during Phase 1, to assist safe traffic flow.

This is a five-phase project. At the completion of Phase 1 the construction activity will move to the Phase 2 section of Delridge Way SW - between SW Trenton and SW Thistle streets. Please visit the project website for more information:www.seattle.gov/transportation/pave_delridge.htm

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Call for Artists: City needs you to develop installation at North Delridge CSO station

$200,000 budget up for grabs

Information from Seattle Public Utilities:

The Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, in partnership with Seattle Public Utilities (SPU), seeks an artist or artist team to develop a permanent, site-integrated artwork for the North Delridge Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) Retrofit Project.

The selected artist will work with the CSO project design team, SPU staff and community members to develop an artwork that focuses on SPU's system-wide stormwater infrastructure and solutions designed to protect local water quality. The artwork will be located at the CSO facility at 2106 S.W. Orchard St. in West Seattle's Delridge neighborhood.

The project is currently in design through mid-2014. Construction is expected to begin in late 2014 with completion scheduled for late 2015.

Eligibility: Open to established professional artists residing and eligible to work in the United States.
Budget: $200,000 inclusive of all costs to design, fabricate and install the artwork.
Deadline: 11 p.m., Monday, March 18, 2013 (Pacific Daylight Time).

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Chess tournament for kids coming to Schmitz Park Elementary in February

Looking for Highline and Seattle Schools players to compete

On Saturday, Feb. 23, the Chess Mates Foundation will hold a West Seattle Chess Tournament at Schmitz Park Elementary (5000 S.W. Spokane St.).

Here are the details:

Awards: Team (top 4), individual, and grade trophies

First Round: 10:15 a.m. Pairings are posted at 10 a.m.

Check-in: No check-in. If you are late, please call or email us as soon as possible and report to the tournament director on arrival. No byes. Players who are late for the first round will start from game 2 with a forfeit.

Format: Kindergarten, 1-4, 5-8, 5-round Swiss. NWSRS rated, state qualifier.

Entry Fee: $14/player for Chess Mates schools; $20/player general. Add $5 late fee after 2/15/2013. Scholarships available for students qualifying for free/reduces lunch, coaches apply by email.

Registration: Advanced registration only, no day of tournament registration. The tournament is limited to 200 players; Chess Mates schools have 100 priority spots. Each school has a limit of 16 players.
Register online at www.chessplayer.com/signup.php

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