March 2013

In reading the results of the King County Library Board meeting of February 26th 2013 it is noted that they voted to buy some property on 107th SW and build a new building in lieu of expanding the old one at 112th SW & Ambaum.

Several people attended this meeting and asked the board to withhold their plan until a meeting could be called with the White Center people whom would be affected with this plan. They said no, and voted to continue with their new plan.

The voters of White Center did not vote to move the library, only to have it enlarged and updated. It does not make any sense to buy another piece of property to build on when they already own the one the present building is on. It would be better to use that money in expanding and updating the present building.

During this meeting a presentation was made by Mr. Mark Ufkes that stated that he/they had run a study and the people of the area favored the new building. I don’t know where these figures came from, but feel they should have been questioned.

By Shakira Ericksen
SPECIAL TO THE HIGHLINE TIMES

The night skies of Des Moines will no longer be graced by the presence of sky lanterns, as they were officially prohibited at the Feb. 28 City Council meeting.

Police and fire officials gave presentations showing the danger sky lanterns pose to property, both private and public. They pointed out that sky lanterns were not fireworks, rather they are recreational burning that violated the fire code.

A sky lantern, also known as Kongming lantern or Chinese lantern, is a small hot air balloon made of pa
per, with an opening at the bottom where a small fire is suspended.

Sky lanterns increased in popularity in the Des Moines area began after the release of the Disney movie “Tangled. “

“I believe they (sky lanterns) should be regulated or have restrictions, it’s better than an outright ban,” said Councilmember Jeanette Burrage, who at first encouraged a No Vote.

Burrage said she was worried about taking away too many freedoms from people, although she conceded that they could be in some circumstances dangerous.

Right now, as you sit in your office or home reading this, you might be freaking out. It's a sunny day in Ballard. And what better way to enjoy the sun than by going out to Golden Gardens?

We went out and snapped a few shots during low tide at Golden Gardens. You can view the slideshow by clicking on the main picture above or the thumbnails below.

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By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR
Spring sports season is ready to start Saturday in the West Seattle area.

Chief Sealth will do the honors in two sports -- with the baseball team hosting Vashon for a 12 p.m. non-league game and the boys soccer team entertaining Newport at 6 p.m.

Scheduled for Monday, March 11 are the Seahawks' first fastpitch softball and tennis competitions, with the softball team at home against Roosevelt at 4 p.m. and the tennis team hosting Ingraham at the same time.
West Seattle tennis opens at 3:30 p.m. Monday, with the Wildcats playing host to Cleveland at scenic Lincoln Park.

West Seattle goes to Ingraham for its first boys soccer action at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday before Chief Sealth hosts Rainier Beach at 4 p.m.

Cleveland and West Seattle play a 3:30 p.m. softball game at the Southwest Athletic Complex Wednesday and Chief Sealth pays a 4 p.m. visit to Ingraham.

Chief Sealth goes to Ingraham for baseball at 4 p.m. Wednesday and in tennis Chief Sealth hosts Nathan Hale at 4 p.m. and West Seattle goes to Holy Names/O'Dea for a 3:30 p.m. match.

Seventeen Pacific Middle School Vikings attended the student matinee of Romeo et Juliette at the Pacific Northwest Ballet in McCaw Hall on Feb. 8th. Pacific is in Des Moines.

They took 3 modes of transportation as students learned to buy tickets, which platform to use etc. Many had never been on the monorail, seen a ballet anywhere; one student had never seen the Space Needle.

Thanks to PNB for making these tickets affordable at $4 each.

Mrs. Hardesty and Mrs. Mruk organized the trip.

(Editor’s Note: Scott Anthony is substituting for Jerry Robinson this week.)

Is it me or are people on the road becoming more aggressive all the time?

Maybe it's full moon syndrome or spring fever. Tax time is nearing and that tends to make people cranky.

Or maybe it's gas prices. But whatever the reason, I think I've had more tailgaters and rude, abrupt lane changers lately than ever before.

Typically for me, it goes like this; I'm on the freeway in the far left, fast lane when somebody in my rear view mirror appears moving well above the limit. I can see that they will be on my bumper in mere seconds, and I'm already nudging the speed limit by five mph myself.

Now my new friend is so close to my van that I can see he's alone and so he cannot go to the left for the HOV lane. Also, he's on the phone.

As I slow to the exact speed limit, my mind naturally tries to make sense of the situation:

They have a loved one in the hospital and must get there before the afflicted one expires.

They're having a bad day and their anger is seeping into their gas pedal foot.

They're late for work, again.

UPDATE 11:40 AM March 6
Annie Kolb-Nelson shared the word that the signs warning about contamination caused by a small overflow at the Barton Pump Station last Saturday have now been removed. Kolb-Nelson wrote, "Signs were removed yesterday. Again, this was a pretty localized event with minimal impact and none of our samples showed elevated bacteria levels, which means little if any wastewater reached the Sound.

Still, whenever we think an event might pose a possible public health or environmental impact, we’d rather err on the side of caution and let folks know."

Update for 4:45, March 4
(DNRP press release)
Barton Pump Station operating normally following pipe leak

Incident poses minimal impact; beach will reopen following Public Health approval

An estimated five to 50 gallons of wastewater overflowed from a leaking pipe at King County’s Barton Pump Station on Saturday evening.

By Steve Shay and Shara Wallace
HIGHLINE TIMES

Heroin & cash recovered
Deputies from the King County Sheriff’s Office recovered over $10,000 in cash, along with seven ounces of heroin during searches, according to the Sheriff’s office.
The warrants were served Thursday, Feb. 21, at an apartment in the 11800 block of 26th Avenue South in Burien, and a house in the 4600 block of South 170th Street in SeaTac. A 32-year old man was arrested in connection with the drugs found at the locations.

Two freed
Katherine Olejnik and Matthew Duran of Olympia, who have spent the last five months in the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac, including two months in solitary confinement, have been released. They were jailed for refusing to cooperate with an investigation against anarchists involve with the 2012 "May Day Riots" in downtown Seattle. The two have not been accused of any crime.

TACOMA - Fighting off the emotional and physical strains of Friday night's heartbreaking semifinal loss, Mount Rainier came out with excellent energy to evaporate Lake Stevens, 56-39, early Saturday afternoon, March 2, at the Tacoma Dome to repeat last season's third place trophy finish at the 2013 WIAA/Dairy Farmers of Washington/Les Schwab Tires Hardwood Classic girls state basketball tournament.

"We had the same situation last year," said Ram head coach Bob Bolam. "Feelings were hurt last night, but the girls came back with a lot of energy and played well. We were down last night and that was natural. Lake Stevens faced the same kind of disappointment...I thought we had good legs under us today...You don't want to mail it in."

After holding a 9-6 first quarter lead, Mount Rainier built a 10-point differential at 16-6 early in the second quarter behind Amanda Goucher's basket in the paint and five points from Kaiti Freeburg. Freeburg scored on a runner and followed it up with a swisher from three-point land.

TACOMA - Sometimes a varied assortment of weapons can overcome one super destructive force.

Mead of Spokane used a balanced attack to hold off the Brittany McPhee-led Mount Rainier comeback in a 51-50 semifinal victory against the Rams in the 2013 WIAA/Dairy Farmers of Washington/Les Schwab Tires girls basketball Hardwood Classic state tournament at the Tacoma Dome on Friday, March 1.

Mount Rainier (26-2), which lost in the semis for a second consecutive season, went on to face Lake Stevens at 1 p.m. Saturday with third and fifth place standings at stake.

Brittany McPhee was true dynamite with 34 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots, but the rest of the team featured no other individual scorers with more than five points.

The Panthers utilized a triumvirate of double figures scorers to accomplish their mission. Delaney Junkermier scored 15 points while Ashley Lewe notched 14 points with 11 rebounds. Jade Redmon completed this group of scorers with 12.