June 2014

Dear Editor:
I feel that our Police Officers are at an all-time low as far as morale goes.  The general media, the City Council, the Mayor and their own Dept. has taken many opportunities to throw them under the proverbial bus.  Due to Dept. policy, the Officers have no voice.  They have been "directed" not to speak to the media and this puts them at a huge disadvantage when it comes to defending the attacks that the "opposition" piles onto them.
 
I do not know if I am wasting my time or not but I have been encouraged to create a Blog to express what I feel is how the Officers would respond - IF THEY COULD.  I know NOTHING about Blogs.  Even the language in the directions on "how to build one" is confusing and mind-boggling!  I feel like an idiot!
 
The obstacle I have run into, however, that I can't seem to find the answer to, is how to get it "out there" to the people that I wish could read it.  I "run in the circles" of those who support the police and my blog information would just be "preaching to the choir", so to speak, if I only focused on them. 

My blog is www.thethinblueblog.com

Debbie Smith

Close to 40 classmates from the Holy Rosary Grade School 8th grade graduating class of 1973 gathered at Lincoln Park in West Seattle to renew old friendships and reminisce about the 8 years spent together so long ago. For some, it had been literally 41 years since that June graduation that some had seen each other, for others it had been hours since the West Seattle High School all class reunion.

It all started in February of this year, when Anne LeMay (now living in Arizona) suggested a reunion. Randy Novito created a Facebook page – Holy Rosary 8th Grade Class of ’73 - and Katrina (Wood) Moore and Kathy (Abernethy) Vincent got the ball rolling by contacting Donna (Fincke) Murr, Barbara (Hargis) Meyers and Gloria (Padgett) Jackson through Facebook thus creating the HR Class of ’73 Reunion Committee. Claudia Levin later joined the group.

The reunion planning committee spent the first meeting getting reacquainted with each other, conjuring up memories of teachers, Girl Scout meetings, Marion Award, birthday parties and grade school crushes.

By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Thank you's were in order after the West Seattle Nationals Minors Little League team beat Seattle Central, 12-1, in a 10-run rule shortened game at Normandy Park City Hall Park Sunday, a game which moved these 9-10 year old boys into the Tournament of Champions championship game Monday.

"You guys played excellent baseball, thank you, thank you, thank you, for showing up to play today," said manager Isaiah Brent after this semifinal win, all smiles, tipping the bills of players' baseball caps as he thanked them.

This correlation of that comment and commendation from Brent came following an opening round game played the day before in which the Nationals won but these 9-10 year old players were not playing up to par, having errors on defense, with how it had won its regular season and then End Of Season tournament prior to TOC.

The annual Morgan Junction Festival, now in its 9th year will be back on June 21 from 10am to 7pm featuring the Bite of Morgan food samples, Bark of Morgan pet contest, live music, and much more. The event is staged in the park near Morgan Street, in the parking lot behind the Feedback Lounge and Zeeks Pizza, and across the street in the parking lot of Westside Federal Bank.

The full schedule of music is at the link.

Bite of Morgan Participants – free small samples provided by Morgan Junction restaurants

• Café Ladro (mini scones)
• Dominos Pizza (8 piece Parmesan bread bits)
• The Bridge (chocolate covered strawberries)
• Harry’s Chicken Joint (chicken skewer)
• Little Prague (Hungarian goulash)
• Abbondanza (gnocchi)
• Feedback Lounge (flatbread Bahn Mi sandwich)
• Zeek’s Pizza (pizza slice)
• Pet Elements (pet treat)

Thriftway special promotion for the festival

By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

West Seattle age 9-10 Minors Little League player, Owen Earls, spoke for his team about its opening round Tournament of Champions loser-out game that gave these Nationals players a scare before going on to a 10-5 win over Southwest at Normandy Park City Hall Saturday.

"We had some fielding errors early in the game, we played sleepy and tired," said Earls.
That was on defense, but on offense, the Nationals looked wide awake.
In the bottom of the first inning they scored two runs on three hits, with leadoff hitter Nolan Whorton blasting the ball by the Southwest shortstop and left fielder for a double. After two struck out and James Triol drew a walk, Earls came to plate and drove the ball by the first baseman's head into right field and Whorton and Triol scored to make it 2-0.

By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Everything started out super for West Seattle's Cubs in Little League Majors Tournament Of Champions action Saturday.

The first two innings batters hit the ball, and runners rounded the bases on steals and hits.
But that was the beginning of the end, as it turned out.

What happened next, in Pac West's come-from-behind, walk-off, 7-6 win at Normandy Park City Hall?
"We didn't score again," said Jon Muench, coach for the Cubs, whose son was the winning pitcher in the End Of Season tourney championship a week prior to this TOC opening round game and had a lot to do with the runs happening in this one, too.

So, out of the gate, West Seattle broke to a 2-0 lead, as, in the top of the first inning, Henry Muench singled, stole second, moved to third on next-up, Isaac Patchen's single. Then Muench stole home. Next, Patchen stole home and that provided the 2-0 start for the Cubs.

Ballard psychic and Ballard News-Tribune columnist, Marjorie Young, has released her fourth book of her international award-winning fantasy/adventure series, “The Boy with Golden Eyes: The Prophet of Doom.”

In the fourth book, the characters are traveling through African-like locales on their way to their distant homeland. The protagonist, Rupert, and his followers find new challenges when faced with a maleficent queen who demands child sacrifice to keep at bay an apocalyptic volcanic eruption. To make things worse, Rupert’s mystical abilities are, for the first time, reviled as prophetic manifestations of ruin.

Young has traveled most of her life and many of the scenarios portrayed in the series have been influenced by the cultures and myths she has encountered. Moreover, she incorporates her own psychic abilities in forming Rupert’s mystical ethos.

“People have told me to write a memoir to document my exploits, but I don’t think many would believe them. That’s one of the reasons why I love writing “Boy with the Golden Eyes,” as it enables me to include my own experiences along with the philosophies I’ve developed,” said Young.

The final design meeting for the Pathfinder K-8 Playground will be a celebration too as the final playground design will be revealed and those attending discuss next steps to breaking ground.

The plan is to start construction in summer 2015. To get there the organizers are looking for fundraising volunteers. But this is not just a dry design meeting there will be also be ice cream (vegan and regular) to help celebrate this phase of the project.

When: Monday, June 16th, 5:30-7pm.
Where: Pathfinder K8 Cafeteria, 1901 Genesee SW

By Tim Clifford

After over 6 weeks of testimony and a verdict of manslaughter the sentence in the trial of Lovett “Cid” Chambers was handed down today.

Chambers has been sentenced to 78 months for the manslaughter charge and 60 months for possession of a firearm (since Chambers is a prior felon), altogether a sentence of 138 months or 11 and a half years with credit for time served (Chambers has been in Jail since 2012).

There will be a hearing on Wednesday the 18th in King County Superior court to determine if Chambers will have to pay restitution and to set an appeal bond.

On January 21 of 2012 Chambers shot and killed Travis Hood, 36, after following him to a friend’s truck nearby the Feedback Lounge. Chambers has maintained that Hood and his friend were using racial slurs toward him and that he fired on Hood in self-defense. Key facts in the case (such as Chambers following Hood for a block after retrieving a .45 caliber handgun from his car) have made the motive for the shooting murky to sort out.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

District 7 Tournament of Champions Little League baseball action has been scheduled for this weekend at the Normandy Park City Hall fields.

The tournament will feature a single-elimination format, as opposed to the double-elimination format of the charter tournaments that lead up to it and of the District 7 All-Star tournaments that get underway June 28.
Both a Majors and a Minors tournament are taking place this weekend.

West Seattle and Southwest of White Center are scheduled to open against each other in the Minors tournament at 9 a.m. Saturday, and West Seattle begins Majors play at 12 p.m. Saturday against PacWest of Burien.
The winners of those games play in the semifinals at the same times Sunday, with Sunday's winners advancing into 6 p.m. Monday championship action on adjacent fields.

Southwest is not involved in the Majors tournament.
All-Star teams will be picked next week.