March 2014

Adrienne Grieco (of West Seattle), left, Laura Smith, Erika Zabelle (of West Auburn) and Deena Chapman (of Federal Way) rehearse a scene in Tolstory. Tolstory is the story of the life of Katarina Karenin, as told by her four nesting dolls. Tolstory, a new comedy with music from Breeders Theater, runs April 4, 5, 11 and 12 at 7 p.m. and April 6 and 13 at 2 p.m. at the Des Moines Beach Park Auditorium. Tickets are $20 available at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/586703 or by calling 206-870-6527.

By Ann Kendall

“There is certain awesomeness to afterschool science,” says one student while from another, “Instead of just studying about science, we’re doing science.” These voices fill Anna Kramer’s classroom at Cascade Middle School after school several days a week where 18 female students gather as part of the Science STARS (students tackling authentic and relevant science) program. For these young women, the windows of Ms. Kramer’s classroom offer a view of their living experiment, the adjacent Hicklin Lake.

Sara Hagenah, a PhD candidate at the University of Washington, a professor at Antioch University and a former middle school science teacher leads Science STARS at Cascade under the purview of Highline’s Community Schools Collaboration. Cascade science teacher Anna Kramer, Jessica Thompson from the University of Washington and Liz Savage from Health Sciences and Human Services High School (HS3) next door round out the team each week. Funded through the National Science Foundation, STARS emphasizes the importance of hands-on science for urban teen girls by focusing on their local environments as laboratories.

By Betty Rose Cortes

“Please help! A 6 year old girl needs placement today!” The key message from the four to five emails and phone calls Burien resident Dorothy Wolf receives daily is from the State Department of Social and Health Services, as they reach out in efforts to immediately place a child into a home licensed for foster care.

“Every day there is a need to put a child into a home,” social worker Duane Ott said, “we need to find more foster parents to take in these children needing immediate placement.”

For Wolf, meeting this need has been her life. While she does have children of her own, since the early ‘80s Wolf has been a foster parent to many children who are not. In the past ten years alone, Wolf has taken in 45-50 foster children.

“I became a licensed foster parent because it was the only way to see my (then) husband’s grandson,” Wolf said, “I’ve continued to take in children because they (the state) call desperately and they need the help.”

“In the past, I’ve had children in my office late into the evening and assisted in calling foster homes after hours to see if they can take in children on such short notice,” said Ott.

By Shakira Ericksen

The Highline School District has set bold goals for 2017 and plans on aiming even higher.

Highline Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Susan Enfield presented the district’s strategic plan at the last Des Moines City Council meeting.
One of the most ambitious plans is a zero out-of-school suspension policy.

“We have made some serious inroads on reducing our suspensions,” said Dr. Enfield.

Out-of-school suspension is dropping rapidly going from 3,193 suspensions in 2007-2008 to only 887 in the 2013-2014 school year.
Dr. Enfield said the goal is to get to zero out-of-school suspensions by 2015. Exceptions will be made when critical for student and staff safety.

The leading reason for suspension is defiance followed closely by truancy. Defiance is no long a suspendable offence.

Most of the credit goes to staff who hard at turning tough moments into teachable moments, said Dr. Enfield.

By Scott Anthony

Maybe...it's the birds in the cedar tree by the driveway. Or perhaps, after sixty plus days of rain, snow and wind, there is this inexplicable sun. Here, following the snows of February and March and on this fourth week of spring, I feel good. It's not like I was sick, but walking out to get the paper this morning, I saw the orangey sunshine back-lighting the trees, the birds in them chirping loudly and with the brisk air in a blued-tinged sky bordered with cruising clouds, I felt younger.

The Vernal Equinox is one of the four great seasonal changes every year and one of two days a year when daytime and nighttime are equal. With the sun hovering directly over the equator the changing weather can uplift the drowsiest of winter moods. Folk tales claim that only on the March 21st and the Spring equinox is it possible to balance an egg on it’s point. This is not true, because with a little patience, you can stand an egg on it’s point on any day of the year. But there is no doubt that these first days of planetary renewal are special.

On Friday, March 28, Kennedy Catholic High School will dedicate their home baseball field to long-time coach and staff member, Joe Faccone. The field will be re-named Faccone Field.
Mr. Faccone was the head baseball coach for the Kennedy Catholic Lancers from 1970-2007. He won 501 games, 7 league championships, 2 state championships, and won 4 Coach of the Year awards.
In 1974, Mr. Faccone and his father, Dominic Faccone, led the project to design and construct the baseball field. Along with many volunteers, they dedicated countless hours to build the field which has served as the Lancers home field since.
Joe has coached and taught hundreds of students including young men such as Floyd Bannister who went on to play professional baseball. He has touched the lives of thousands over the last four decades. He currently works part time in the advancement office at Kennedy Catholic planning two annual scholarship dinner events.

By Peggy Sturdivant

There are always many signs in March. Signs that spring is on its way in the appearance of very fat Robin redbreasts, the scent of Daphne odora by my front steps, the litter of the pods dropping from Magnolia trees. Plus a sudden plethora of pregnant women, and a non-related spike in the pollen count.

But there’s a strange crop of what we’ll call “sign signs” in Ballard this month. What is with all the store closures and retail folks moving on to new endeavors? After 40 years in the same location Hawley Realty is moving due to a pending new development on 24th. BikeSport has already moved to their new location off Leary, by BevMo! (Exclamation point theirs). In February Smokin’ Pete’s on NW 65th closed their retail doors, moving to just catering. No more free live music on Thursday nights.

Information provided by Seattle Fire Department

March 26—Firefighters rescued a couple and a dog out of a Ballard townhome full of Carbon Monoxide this morning.

Prior to the firefighter’s arrival, a PSE employee was called to a townhome located in the 800 block of NW 52nd Street to look into a CO Alarm sounding in Unit B of a two-unit complex. While investigating the cause of the CO Alarm activating, the PSE employee discovered a car running in the closed garage of Unit A.

At 5:12 this morning dispatchers at the Fire Alarm Center received a 911 call from the PSE employee reporting the running car. When firefighters arrived they made forcible entry into the 3-story home. Inside Unit A, they found two semi-conscious patients who collapsed at the top of the staircase . The patients demonstrated symptoms of CO poisoning. Firefighters rescued the couple and their dog. Once outside the home, the two patients began to regain consciousness. The dog did not show any visible symptoms of CO poisoning.

By Emile Monte

If you’re between the ages of thirteen and eighteen and are interested in developing your acting skills over the summer by participating in a professional production right in the heart of West Seattle, it might have disappointed you to find out that auditions for the Arts West Conservatory program have come and gone as of this past weekend. As it turns out, those who did audition were talented enough to inspire Arts West coordinators to accommodate them—and still others who would like to audition—for a whole different production, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, featuring more opportunities and more solos than the originally programmed Guys and Dolls.

That’s right. You still have a chance. An even better one.

Information from SDOT

Starting the week of March 31, Seattle Department of Transportation crews will be installing curb ramps at two locations with marked crosswalks on the Alki Trail in West Seattle. The curb ramps will improve safety and accessibility for everyone using these crosswalks.

One of the crosswalks is located at Harbor Avenue Southwest and California Way Southwest. The other is a midblock crosswalk on Harbor Avenue Southwest near the Don Armeni Boat Ramp. The crews expect to complete the work by the middle of April.

During construction, the sidewalk and trail may be closed to pedestrian and bicycle traffic at these two locations. Planned detour routes will be in effect, and will require trail and sidewalk users to exit the trail prior to the work zone, and then re-enter at the opposite side of the construction site. Bicycle traffic may need to dismount and walk their bike through construction areas. Signs will be in place to mark the designated detour route so pedestrians, bicycles, and vehicles can safely move around the construction zone.