June 2014

Our publisher Gerald S. "Jerry" Robinson passed away May 30 at the age of 94. He leaves behind a legacy of newspapers, websites, a long history of service to the community and countless friends. He was a man of many talents and interests and through his publishing efforts and consistently positive outlook changed things for the better. But above all those he was a father to his five sons, Mike, Ken, Tim, Patrick, and Scott. When his first wife died in 1968 he went on to marry Elsbeth McDaniel whose own three children, Carla, Linda and Mike joined the family. He became their father too.

Presented here are the thoughts from the family members. If you have thoughts or memories of Jerry you'd like to share please email WestSeattle@robinsonnews.com or via postal mail 14006 1st Ave South, Burien WA 98168.

If you'd like to know more about this remarkable man, you can download his autobiography "Listen to your father" at the link.

His formal obituary is here:

http://bonneywatson.com/obituaries/detail.html?id=5016

By By Charlie Ranahan

When Ballard High School graduate, Julia Granstrom, walked into a crowded café by the University of Washington (UW) to write a commercial for classmate Bill Doerrfeld’s startup, she didn’t expect to join the team. Doerrfeld had mentioned building an app to address the lack of cleanliness and lack of communication around his house. He had noticed the rise of passive-aggressive tension as his roommates poked and prodded at each other to finish one chore or another.

Granstrom was the creative addition to an eclectic group of five UW students graduating from the University of Washington within the next year. The team represents a diverse range of interests and specialties from computer programming to producing music to sailing. This range allows the team to navigate and understand the complexity of different living arrangements, especially in Seattle. Ironically, a sense of striking out on their own is what brings the team together.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Bar-S Fields above Alki Point in West Seattle will be alive with championship Little League action Saturday.
The regular season West Seattle teams are concluding their championship tournaments, with the Minors teams going at it at 3:30 p.m. followed by the Majors game at 6 p.m.

The tournament is double-elimination, so if the team with one loss so far beats the team with none a second championship takes place Sunday at a time to be announced.

The winners advance to the June 13-16 District 7 Tournament of Champions. Both the Majors and Minors T.O.C. action will be at the Normandy Park City Hall fields.

The West Seattle and other District 7 All-Star teams -- including Southwest of White Center -- will then be picked.

District 7 All-Star action is scheduled for June 28-July 6 with the Majors tournament at South Highline American and the rest at the Pac-West fields in Burien.

Bar-S Fields will host this year's state Majors All-Star tournament starting July 12.

By Gerardo Bolong
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

KENNEWICK - Wyatt DeMulling was slamming the tennis ball with a such a mighty force with accompanying accuracy that he could have left imprints at the Tri-City Court Club and Kamiakin High School in the 2014 WIAA/Dairy Farmers of Washington/Les Schwab Tires 3A boys singles state tennis championship.

DeMulling, from Highline High School in Burien, controlled Mercer Island's Henry Smith in two sets, 6-2, 6-3, to complete his tournament with a third place finish on May 31.

On Fri., May 30, the Pirate ace smoothly stroked past Patrick Luangrath of Glacier in a 6-0, 6-0, whitewashing, Later in the day, he faced eventual fourth-pace finisher Jared Madison of Bellevue. His Wolverine opponent got the drop on the Highline athlete with a first set 6-4 win. DeMulling regained the offensive with a hard fought 7-5 second set victory before taking charge in a 6-1 third set triumph. In the winners bracket semifinals he played hard before losing a 6-2, 6-2, semifinal decision to eventual champion Connor Garnett of Interlake. Next came his victory against Smith for third place.

By Gerardo Bolong
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

SEATTLE - West Central District No. 3 seeded Eunica Serafica of Foster battled strongly before bowing in the Class 2A state girls singles tournament held on May 30-31 at the indoor courts of the Nordstrom Center on the campus of the University of Washington.

Serafica initiated her 2014 tournament with a two-set, 6-4, 7-5, victory against Lillian Albright of Centralia. The hotly contested sets were a testament to Serafica's steadfastness under pressure. There were many moments when the match could have turned one way or another.

West Valley of Yakima's Chloe Goyette repeated as champion by winning all four of her matches. In the title match up, she won against Lauren Smith of Sehome. 6-0, 6-1. Tori Berditchevskaya of Pullman stopped Foster Bulldog player Serafica's championship run with a 6-1, 6-1, win in a round of eight match up.

By Gerardo Bolong
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Richland became the final destination for this season's Seattle Christian Class 1A Nisqually League and Tri-District 1/2/3 softball champions at the state tournament held at the Columbia Playfields on May 30-31.

The Warriors were edged out 5-4 in a loser-out game against Okanogan on May 30 to end their great season with a 15-5 record.

Seattle Christian took an early 3-0 lead only to see Okanogan comeback and lead 4-3. Seattle Christian had the tying run at third base in the seventh inning, but could not send it home.

"We played really solidly, hit the ball right at them and couldn't find a timely hit," said Warrior head coach Rick Ronish. "We had lots of base runners and couldn't find that timely hit."

SC opened the tournament with a 10-8 victory against the District 7 1A Northeast A League No. 3 Medical Lake Cardinals.

"We fell behind and worked our way back to win as Hannah Ruffcorn delivered a walk off two-run double just inside the right field foul line," said coach Ronish. "Lisa Kumasaka was the hitting star."

Jose Johann Bitancor is a Filipino painter and graphic designer with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Far Eastern University in the Philippines. Prior to his migration to the United States, his creative outputs were devoted entirely to the Applied Arts, particularly Exhibition Design and Collateral Design. Upon his first settlement in Memphis Tennessee, his innate inkling to work with his hands and play with materials has led to experiments in woodcarving and wire sculptures. He pursued a short stint at the University of Memphis-Tennessee to further increase his knowledge and feed his then growing appetite for the Fine Arts. His efforts quickly led to his participation in local art groups’ events and managed to receive a Portfolio Merit Scholarship from the Memphis College of Art-Tennessee.

To date, his works had been featured in a number of group exhibitions in the Philippines and in the US. Notable among which were those held at the Rochester Contemporary Arts Center, Bliss on Bliss Art Projects in New York, A/NT Gallery in Seattle, the Germantown Performing Arts Center in Tennessee and the University of the Philippines Vargas Museum and Bencab Museum.

Police in Oklahoma arrested a 25 year old male for the March rape of a female in the White Center area.

The case was solved when the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab developed a DNA profile from evidence collected at the scene which matched the male. He had apparently been visiting King County from Oklahoma when the crime was committed.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges of Rape in the 1st degree and Assault in the 1st degree. An arrest warrant was issued and law enforcement in Oklahoma arrested him yesterday.

The suspect will have to go through the extradition process before being returned to King County.

According to the King County Sheriff, police in Oklahoma have arrested a 25 year old male for the March rape of a 58 year old female in the White Center area. Christopher Anthony Brown was named in the charging documents filed by King County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Satterberg.

The case was solved when the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab developed a DNA profile from evidence collected at the scene which matched the male. He had apparently been visiting King County from Oklahoma when the crime was committed.

The King County Prosecutor’s Office filed charges of Rape in the 1st degree and Assault in the 1st degree. An arrest warrant was issued and law enforcement in Oklahoma arrested him yesterday.

The charging documents state: "The victim was simply walking to a bus stop to go home at 11:30pm when the defendant grabbed her, strangled her almost to unconsciousness, and then raped and beat on her for several minutes before leaving her for dead. The injuries suffered by the victim were severe and permanently disfiguring. This defendant is an extreme danger to the community.

Please join us this Saturday June 7th for our American Cancer Society event. We will begin at 4 PM with welcoming ceremonies followed by a Survivors and Caregivers lap on the track.

Our teams will then walk laps in support of cancer victims and survivors.

At 10 PM we will have a Luminaria ceremony that sees hundreds of decorated dedicated bags illuminated around the site. We will continue walking until 8 AM Sunday. The community is invited to join us for entertainment, food, and fun Saturday.

Our Highline teams have raised almost $40,000 this year for the American Cancer Society. Help us Finish The Fight Against Cancer.