May 2013

Press release:

Interested in serving your community? The Valley View Sewer District is accepting applications for an upcoming vacancy on its Board of Commissioners.

Applicants must be registered voters who live in the District. Applications, available on the district website and at the District office, must be returned by June 21.

The Board will appoint an individual to serve in Position 1 until the 2015 election. At that time the position will be on the ballot for a two-year term.

Valley View serves parts of SeaTac, Burien, Tukwila, and unincorporated King County. Its three-member Board of Commissioners meets twice each month. More information about the District is available on its website.

If you’d like more information, call General Manager Dana Dick at (206) 242-3236 or email him at danad@valvue.com.

May 23 was a day of recognition for the tireless decade-plus work of West Seattle resident Judi Yazzolino in supporting, raising funds and serving on the board of directors for the Great West Region Arthritis Foundation.

Her peers in battling the disease that affects all people, from juveniles to the elderly, honored Judi with their annual Inspirational Leadership Award during the Journey to a Cure Breakfast at the Washington Athletic Club. According to the Arthritis Foundation, there are over 100 forms of arthritis and treating the disease costs the U.S. economy $128 billion annually, results in 44 million outpatient visits and results in 9,367 deaths a year. Over 300,000 children in the United States have been diagnosed with juvenile arthritis, debunking an oft held belief that it is an elderly disease.

Judi, who is just over a month into her new position as the West Seattle Food Bank’s development director, has plenty of reason to battle for arthritis awareness. 25 years ago, she herself was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. She said her mother and grandmother have also battled the disease.

Nancy Whitlock, whose efforts to raise the public consciousness about the environment and who has led efforts to rebuild and restore many natural areas around the West Seattle community has announced she will leave the post of Executive Director of the organization she founded, Nature Consortium.

She shared the news in a letter to supporters:

Dear Friends,

Every day when I come into the office, I am humbled by how far Nature Consortium has come. What started 15 years ago as my personal mission to connect with my neighbors, has now evolved into a thriving organization with 11 hard-working staff members and thousands of committed volunteers. We are all in it together to connect people, arts, and nature.

Evergreen Lutheran's efforts added up to high finishes on both the girls and boys side at the Quad-District Class 1B meet that concluded Saturday, May 18 at Port Angeles High School on the Olympic Peninsula.
The Eagles scored 122 points in the girls standings for second place behind only the 173 points of Mount Vernon Christian.

The Evergreen Lutheran boys, meanwhile, scored 35 points for ninth place as a team.

Karissa Kjenstad won the 100-meter dash for the girls in a time of 2 minutes, 29.10 seconds and the 800 in 2:29.10 and also took third in the 400 in 1:04.23 just ahead of teammate Emily Holder (1:05.80). Holder was also first in the high jump at 4 feet, 10 inches and fifth in the 800 in 2:29.10.

Iraina Nitz captured second in the 1,600 in 5:58.53 and second in the 3,200 in 3:05.74 ahead of teammate Lena Pitenger's 13.17.23 for third.
Colleen Croy of the Eagles took second in the 100 in 13.61 seconds and placed third in the 200 in 28.21.

Autumn Echols came in sixth for the Eagle girls in 57.49 in the 300 hurdles with teammate Ruth Woldu eighth (1:00.11). Echols was also seventh in the 100 hurdles.

The case of the "abandoned dog" named Zipper at Westwood Village, that caused a virtual media storm last month has resulted in the dog being returned to its owners after an investigation found no reason to charge the owners with cruelty. The Seattle Animal Shelter reported that their investigation revealed that despite widespread speculation that the animal had been left in the vehicle for up to six days there was no evidence to support this claim.

Seattle Police Detective Jill Vanskike spends her days focused on residential and industrial burglaries, from tracking down perpetrators in real time when a 911 call comes in to evaluating evidence in the aftermath, tracking stolen goods that show up at pawn shops, and keeping an eye on known crooks who have been released back onto the streets after a jail stint.

On May 21, Vanskike and CPT Officer Jonathan Kiehn joined the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council to talk about what they are seeing on the ground and share some tips with the community on how to safeguard their home and, possibly, get their stuff back once the dastardly deed is done.

What the experts are seeing

Highline Public Schools, announced on Thursday May, 23 that they will fund tuition-free full-day kindergarten at all district schools starting this fall.

State lawmakers are currently debating over budget plans with varying levels of kindergarten funding. Highline would fund the program in any case, regardless of what the state chooses to do.

Each of the three plans under consideration would fund full-day kindergarten at some, but not all, schools in Highline.

Highline Superintendent Susan Enfield said, “We cannot wait for the legislature to act. Full-day kindergarten is the right thing to do for all our children and families now.”

Highline considers full-day kindergarten to be a key strategy for meeting their goal of 95 percent of next fall’s kindergartners performing at or above grade level in all core subjects by the end of Grade 3.

Southwest Precinct Operations Lt. Pierre Davis addressed the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council on May 21, providing an update on recent crime trends.

Davis said his officers have arrested several active burglars in the past month, but they have also seen an uptick in West Seattle robberies over that time, with mostly younger crooks primarily targeting people with visible electronics such as iPhones.

A common refrain, Davis plead with the community to diligently 911 when they see suspicious behavior in their neighborhoods or are the victim of a crime, no matter how small.

Subaru auto thefts are also on the rise, he said, due to the fact that criminals can easily steal them with a shaved key. For the thieves, Davis said the advantage is two-fold: Subarus are easy to steal and generally have wagon capacity that some use for their next nefarious step: burglarizing homes and filling the car up with stolen loot.

“With warm summer months (and a predictable rise in crime) … it’s an ongoing battle, but we are here to win,” Davis said.

Information from SDOT
Most of the intersection of Delridge Way SW and SW Holden Street will be closed from 7 p.m. Friday, May 31, until 6 a.m. Monday, June 3, for roadway restoration and storm drain installation. This work is part of the Seattle Department of Transportation’s Delridge Way SW Paving Project that is rebuilding much of Delridge Way SW between SW Orchard and SW Roxbury streets.
For the closure of the Delridge/Holden intersection, the detour will be as follows (see attached map):
· Northbound traffic on Delridge Way SW - Take SW Thistle Street to 35th Avenue SW to SW Morgan Street/ Sylvan Way SW/ SW Orchard Street to Delridge Way SW

· Southbound traffic on Delridge Way SW - Take SW Holden Street to 35th Avenue SW to SW Thistle Street to Delridge Way SW

During the week of June 3, the roadway will be striped between SW Henderson and SW Thistle streets, the areas of Phases 1 and 2. Street parking will be eliminated and lanes will be temporarily shifted for up to four days while striping is completed.

Seattle Public Utilities has begun marking low-flow fire hydrants throughout Seattle with a red ring that will help firefighters quickly identify those that deliver less than 500 gallons of water per minute.

Seventy hydrants throughout the city are deemed low flow by SPU, and many are located in West Seattle – primarily the Arbor Heights neighborhood.

“Low-flow hydrants are fully operational, but output less water per minute than other hydrants,” according to an SPU press release. “The clearly marked hydrants aid firefighters by helping ensure that the best fire-suppression tactics are chosen when operating a low-flow hydrant.”