September 2014

By Matt Wendland

Victim recovers laptop before suspect makes escape in downtown Burien

By Cynthia Flash

Rasha Ibrahim came to the United States from Iraq as a refugee in 2008. Despite earning her BA in teaching and Arabic language, she and her family faced persecution in Iraq and later in Syria. They hoped for a fresh start. But even in the United States, life wasn’t easy at first. Ibrahim didn’t speak English well, she didn’t have a community to turn to, and she was raising two children, ages 3 and 4.

Ultimately Ibrahim learned about a program run by Child Care Resources, a Seattle non-profit that helps families find quality child care and helps train child care providers. Child Care Resources trained her to become an early childhood educator so she could find a job and become a contributing member of society. Now in her fourth year at Angle Lake Child Development Center in SeaTac, Ibrahim not only teaches the young children how to eat, play and use the bathroom, but also gives them a taste of her native language and culture.

by Ken Robinson
Editor

Kamuron Gurol, Burien's new City Manager, isn't a hugger. But he has a great smile and a kind, warm way and glowing intelligence that feels like a hug. Still, he said, "I need to smile more."

He also has a degree in geology from the UW and an MPA in Public Administration from Harvard. His path to Burien began shortly after he graduated from UW.

"I bummed around, playing basketball and helping my dad with some rental projects," he told us in his top floor office at city hall. His father came to the United States from Turkey as a young man. He knew one person, who sent him west to meet another man from the old country. The senior Gurol could not speak English. But he was good at math. He found work in electrical engineering. "My father is essentially an inventor. He has 30 patents or so, his son said. His father eventually became the R&D manager at Fluke Engineering in Everett. "He is the American success story."

Community College Week releases 2014 results

Highline College earned national recognition as one of the top 100 associate degree producers of 2014 from Community College Week.

Highline was ranked 48 in the Top 100 Associate Degree Producers for Asian American Students category. The college had a 9 percent increase in associate degrees awarded to Asian American students in the 2012–2013 academic year.

“This recognition reflects our determination and commitment to support success for all students,” said Highline President, Dr. Jack Bermingham. “While we are pleased with this ranking, we aspire to continue our improvement in degree completion.”

Community College Week used data provided by the U.S. Department of Education for these rankings.

For more information on Community College Week and its Top 100 Associate Degree & Certificate Producers 2014 report visit www.ccweek.com.

Metro football shuttles heading to Huskies, Hawks games
Riders should prepare for some delays due to construction, limited number of buses

Football fans can climb on King County Metro Transit game day shuttles to the University of Washington Huskies game on Saturday, Sept. 20 and Seahawks game on Sunday, Sept. 21.

Shuttles require cash fare and leave specific park-and-ride locations two hours before kickoff, and return to those park-and-rides after the game. Travelers in the University District, Montlake, SODO, Pioneer Square and downtown Seattle areas can expect severe traffic congestion and delays before and after Husky and Seahawks games and other stadium events.

After the game, riders should prepare for some delays due to construction and a limited number of buses that are available, requiring some drivers to return to carry an additional load of passengers.

By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Kennedy Catholic has got a good beat on this season so far.
The Lancers proved that last week by beating Metro League tough team Seattle Prep, 18-3, on the road at Seattle Memorial Stadium -- the team that beat the Lancers in the state playoffs last season.

So this week the previously undefeated Renton Indians came to town and the Lancers were not welcome hosts, taking the Indians to the house, 49-6, in its homecoming game at Highline Memorial Field Saturday.

The Lancers improved to 3-0 overall, 1-0 in the 2A/3A.

The Indians lost its first game of the season against the Lancers, dropping to 2-1, after having won two non-league games to open their season.

Now where do the Lancers go after a nice win like this and 3-0 start to the season?

"We go back to work," said JFK head coach Bob Bourgette. "We will enjoy this win today, but we will go back and review the game and see where we broke down. It's Highline next and we start preparing for them now."
Highline versus Kennedy is under the lights at Highline Memorial Stadium at 8 p.m. Friday.

By Gerardo Bolong
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

FEDERAL WAY - Early quickness on the ball provided the initial momentum that eventually translated into a Decatur 2-0 South Puget Sound League North Division girls soccer win against visiting Mount Rainier at Federal Way Memorial Stadium on the warm and sunny afternoon of Fri., Sept. 19.

Following the encounter, the Gators' record stood at 1-1 league and 3-2 overall while the Rams were 0-3 and 1-3-1, respectively.

Fleet of foot, fabulous freshman Hannah Shires darted through and around Mount Rainier defenders regularly to help the Decatur offense keep their opponents on the alert.

With 24:04 remaining in the 40-minute first half, Shires made the first strike for the Gators on a penalty kick and nearly scored again two minutes later.

As the pressure on the Ram goal was maintained, freshman Raquel Prado-Huerta fed a nice through ball into Shires for another goal in the 22nd minute of first half play.

By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

The Kennedy Lancers' boys and girls golf teams are good, no question about that. They opened up their season with a double win over Highline at the Rainier Golf and Country Club Tuesday.

The only real question now seems to be which one is better.
"The boys won the Seamount for the ninth league championship in a row," said Dyer.

And the girls, though not with quite that kind of staying power at the top of the league each season, possess the present team honor of the two genders of having done better at state.

"The girls took third at state last season," said Dyer, in his 10th season now coaching Kennedy golf. "The boys finished ninth at state."
So the past and the present collide for some answers, perhaps, and this season looks competitive as ever, too. The girls return their top three golfers: senior Nikki Miller, junior Addie Hedge and sophomore Mackenzie Milton.

The boys return their top four, being senior Jake Ryerson, senior Todd Johnson, senior Evan Galando and sophomore Ryan Sheardown.

By Gerardo Bolong
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Highline showed some good energy before John F. Kennedy Catholic began to puncture holes in the Pirate defense in a 3-0 Seamount League volleyball win at the Highline home court on Thursday.

Set one action featured the Pirates taking a 3-0 lead on Lancer mistakes, but Kennedy charged back for six consecutive points as the teams squared off on equal terms until KC held only a 10-9 margin. Apryll Eneliko smashed home a kill to put the Lancers ahead 12-9 just ahead of a Kennedy Catholic onslaught that would cement a first set victory.

Leading only 12-10 after gaining side out, the state sixth-ranked Class 3A Lancers began front court and serving domination with Eneliko's service ace just inside the end line. Behind Eneliko's serve KC completed an 8-0 points spree to lead 20-10, finishing with a 25-14 win.
Kennedy Catholic opened the second set with five consecutive points that Highline countered with its own five-point rally.

By Gerardo Bolong
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

FEDERAL WAY - Tyler Andrews and Austin Sharma of the Mount Rainier boys tennis team had just dropped a 7-3 first set tie-breaker in No. 1 doubles and needed a pick me up. The ignition was fired up after a discussion with Ram head coach Tim Lee before the second set.

"Coach Lee talked about lobbing because they were going to the net so much. Then, we were able to go to the net for short balls and high pop ups,"
said Andrews.

"We started the next set with a fresh mind and forgot about the first set," added Sharma.

Rejuvenated, the Ram tandem charged out to claim an early service break for a 3-0 lead on the way to a dominating 6-0 second set mastery against the tough Decatur pair of Mitchell Grant and Alex Wilson.

The second set showed the Mount Rainier duo claiming an early 2-1 advantage, before the same tactics along with some mental toughness resulted in the Rams running the table for four consecutive points as the Gator pair could not cope well with the prevailing situation. At times, the usual net player for Decatur began points.