October 2014

For more than ten years, the region’s most influential green builders, architects, designers, and their friends and families have gathered to celebrate examples of sustainable construction at the Green Building Slam—November 2014 it will all happen again! The biggest annual educational event produced by the Northwest EcoBuilding Guild, the Green Building Slam offers our sponsors an opportunity to reach out and shape industry and public opinions about their brands, building goodwill as they support the mission of green building in the Seattle region. Here is the link to our sponsorship page: http://www.ecobuilding.org/seattle/gbs/sponsor-info

Last year we sold out! And we expect a full house this year too! Below is a reminder of what/where/when for the event - a great place to showcase your product or service by becoming a Sponsor:

We are excited to announce our annual Event featuring showcasing 10 innovative sustainable high-performance "green" buildings that push the envelope in our built environment. Sponsored by the Seattle Chapter of Northwest EcoBuilding Guild this year promises another evening of great entertainment with Kathleen O'Brien as keynote speaker.

Washington Sea Grant and the Port of Seattle's Fishermen’s Terminal will cosponsor a Marine Electrical Wiring Workshop for commercial fishermen and recreational boaters on December 13.

WHAT: A class for boat owners who want to upgrade their electrical systems. Topics include safe wiring standards, selecting wire sizes, circuit breaker and fuse ratings, cable routing and labeling, shore power circuits, battery-charging circuits, corrosion-protection circuits, engine instrument systems, and troubleshooting.

WHO: Recreational boaters and commercial fishermen can both benefit from this class

WHEN: Saturday, December 13, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

WHERE: Nordby Conference Room

Nordby Building
Fishermen’s Terminal
Seattle

COST: $80

Pre-registration required. For information and registration, contact Sarah Fisken, sfisken@uw.edu or 206-543-1225.

The White Center Food Bank’s 10th Annual Harvest Dinner and Auction is taking place this year at 5:30p on Saturday, October 18 at the Brockey Center at South Seattle College.

In addition to the festivities of dinner, drinks, and live music, there are plenty of items up for auction, including Seahawks tickets, many different theater tickets, a three stone diamond ring from Wyatt’s Jewelers, round trip tickets on Alaska Airlines, a week at a condo in Hawaii, and much more.

This is the White Center Food Bank’s biggest fundraiser of the year.

In 2013, White Center Food Bank served more than 60,000 people in the White Center, West Seattle, and Burien community, and they rely on this auction to continue serving even more people.

Tickets are available online through Brown Paper Tickets for $75.00 each at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/812874 and more information - including daily updates about items available at the auction – is available at http://www.whitecenterfoodbank.org .

The 26th Annual Fishermen's Fall Festival welcomed home the North Pacific fishing fleet Saturday, October 4.

On a sunny afternoon throngs of fish-fanatics crowded Fishermen’s Terminal to taste this year’s harvest, welcome home the fishers and honor the men and women who have lost their lives at sea.

This was a special year for Fishermen’s Terminal as they celebrated their centennial after being dedicated on January 10, 1914

This year volunteers from Occidental Masonic Lodge No. 72 manned the alder smokers where huge fillets of fresh Coho salmon were prepared for hungry festivalgoers.

Warren Aakervik (Ret.) of Ballard Oil has been barbecuing at the festival since its inception 25 years ago. Aakervick was “supervising” the crew with a heavy hand and a smile.

“There are quite a few volunteers from the Occidental Lodge this year, and I’ve taught them what I know and they are really stepping up. … It’s my commitment to the industry to show what they do for us,” said Aackervik.

The lodge donated two new cookers this year, and lodge members said they are more efficient and can smoke more salmon than the older cookers.

The Port of Seattle Police have concluded their investigation in what happened to a man that was pulled from the water in Shilshole Marina near Dock R on the evening of September 29.

Robert Doug Schrecengost, a member of our Shilshole liveaboard community, passed away that evening from drowning. Schrecengost was 59 years old.

“Based on their conclusions and the autopsy results, it appears that he drowned, with no signs of foul play or intentional death.  His family has been notified,” reported the Port of Seattle.

The night of September 29, bystanders found the man in the water near dock R where Schrecengost lived on his 31Footer sailboat named Del Ray.

Seattle Fire Department tried to revive Schrecengost with CPR en route to Harborview Hospital, but he had been in the water too long.

Port officials said that Schrecengost’s mother lives out of state and that they will be working with her to make arrangements for his boat and belongings.

Mark Tucker MITCHELL
Seattle will miss its longtime restaurant, nightclub, casino, actor, newspaper and poker legend entrepreneur who fell asleep to the Lord September 23, 2014 in his longtime Ballard home. Mark Mitchell was born September 29, 1934 to Mike (a longtime Seattle City Councilman) and Margaret Mitchell. Raised in Ballard, Mark loved all his childhood memories, including playing sports in a quaint park off 34th Street that would fuel his love for competition his entire life! Mark stayed active in athletics throughout his Ballard High School days where he played baseball, and continued to play and coach baseball and softball well into his later years.
He worked at his father’s paper, The Ballard Tribune, where he sold ads and wrote a column called “Mark This.”

Midnight lush shatters glass against bartender’s face

On Sept. 22 SPD officers responded to an assault with a deadly weapon at a bar on the 5200 block of Ballard Avenue Northwest. The victim was bleeding from the head and told officers that he was bartending and cut off a patron for being too intoxicated. The patron left and went to a neighbor bar and bought a drink before being cut off again by the bartender there. After 2 a.m. suspect entered the first bar and refused to leave. He sat down at a table where there was a glass and began drinking it. The bartender told him to leave and tried to grab the glass from the suspect. The suspect smashed the glass against the head of the bartender. The tender stumbled back and the suspect fled the scene on a bicycle. Officers were unable to locate the suspect after searching the areas, but the neighbor bartender identified the suspect as a regular at the pub. The bartender was treated for his injuries by SFD but denied further medical attention.

Possible gang members beat man out for a stroll, victim photographs suspects

by Pat Cashman

“Marriage is like a dull meal with the dessert at the beginning.” Henri, Comte de Toulouse-Lautrec, French painter (1864-1901)

Someone once asked a famous WW2 general, “What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?”
He replied, “To marry the girl I did.”
“And who gave you that advice?”
“She did.”
My wife gives good advice. And so it came to be that on an October day many moons ago, she decided that we should get married. While I was crazy about the woman, I had cold feet. She suggested thicker socks. That seemed to do the trick.

The wedding was to take place in a beautiful catholic church here in the Northwest. Unfortunately, the beautiful Catholic Church was yet to be built---and so the service was set for the parish’s temporary quarters: A school gymnasium.

Further mention of that gymnasium in a moment.

It seems like in recent years, a number of my acquaintances maintain that the idea of getting married has become rather quaint. What used to be called “tying the knot” has changed to “tying the square knot.” According to them, it just isn’t very hip.

The Seattle Department of Transportation advises travelers of upcoming construction on the West Emerson Overpass above 15th Avenue West on Thursday, Oct. 9. This overpass will be completely closed to all traffic for approximately 12 weeks.

SDOT will also close 15th Avenue West to all traffic at night, between West Emerson and West Dravus streets, on the weekend of Oct. 10 – 12. This initial work will allow crews to safely remove and replace a damaged girder on the north side of the West Emerson Overpass.
Reminder: Short term detours begin this Thursday, Oct. 9, through Monday, Oct. 13:

15th Avenue West will undergo mid-day lane closures between West Emerson Street and West Ruffner Street this Thursday and Friday, Oct. 9 and 10. These restrictions will allow crews to temporarily remove the traffic island between the north and southbound lanes of 15th Avenue West.

Trident Seafoods Corporation, one of the nation’s leading seafood companies, has upgraded their health care program to provide a unique new benefit to 600 regional employees, 400 of whom work in Ballard at the corporate office. Combined with family members, the move will improve health care access for 900 people.

Trident has signed a contract with Seattle based Vera Whole Health in order to open a near-site primary care clinic in the Tallman Medical Building near Trident’s corporate headquarters in the Ballard.

“We’re incredibly excited to be working with Trident Seafoods,” said Ryan Schmid, president and CEO of Vera Whole Health. “Trident is an innovative leader in its industry, and it’s no surprise that the company has chosen to take such a forward-thinking approach to helping employees manage their health.”

Vera offers onsite and near-site health clinics for organizations in exchange for an affordable monthly flat-rate fee employers contribute for their employees. Vera’s clinic – with physicians, nurses and health care coaches – has a goal helping employees develop and maintain healthy lifestyles through proactive strategies.