October 2014

By Matt Wendland

Man stabbed in North Highline over parking spot
According to the King County Sheriff’s Department, a man was stabbed in the back by a roommate as he entered his home in the North Highline neighborhood of Unincorporated King County. The incident took place around 3 a.m. on Friday, October 17, at a home located within the 10800 block of 1st Avenue Southwest. Witnesses told police that the suspect stabbed the victim in the back as he entered their home following an argument about a parking space. The suspect then fled the scene in his blue 1996 Ford Probe before police arrived. The suspect is wanted for multiple felony and misdemeanor warrants. The suspect was rushed to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle in serious condition but is expect to recover.

Unidentified body found on riverbank in Tukwila

Burien Police are investigating a possible domestic violence shooting that took place in the early morning hours of October 23rd.

Police were dispatched to the View Ridge Villa Park Apartments on Southwest 124th Street in Burien after gunfire was reported in the area just after 4:30 a.m. on the Thursday morning. Upon arriving on the scene, officers report that they located the apartment where the gunfire had come from and found a “large number of people” in the apartment, two of which had gunshot wounds. The two victims were immediately transported to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with non-life-threatening injuries where they remain in stable condition.

No weapons were found on the scene but early reports suggest that the suspect may have been living in the apartment but is now at large.

While no information about the shooting suspect has been released, police confirm that they know the identity of the suspect and are now pursing bringing him in. No information about what lead up to the shooting has been made public at this time.

GriefShare hosts “Surviving the Holidays” Seminar
Grace Church
10323 28th Ave. SW
Sun., Nov. 9, 2-4pm. This one time support group event is for those that have lost loved ones by death and are dreading the holidays. Everyone is welcome. This is an arm of the GriefShare Recovery Group. Registration helps, but is not mandatory. Contact Barb at 206-932-7459.

Senior Center of West Seattle Town Hall Meeting
4217 SW Oregon St.
Tues., Nov. 11, 2 sessions: 3 p.m. & 5 p.m. “Should We Stay or Should We Go?” For more than 4 months the Senior Center of West Seattle (SCWS) has been dealing with challenges. We need your input to help us determine the direction of SCWS. Do we stay affiliated with Senior Services (SS) knowing they have proposed a different organizational model or do we become our own entity relying on our members and community alone? Please attend the Town Hall and/or email questions/comments by 11/7/14 to Cing828@gmail.com

Culinary Volunteers Needed
Senior Center of West Seattle
4217 SW Oregon St.
206-932-4044 x8

By Matt Wendland

The B-Town Beat is asking for help supporting those in need in Burien’s community by helping them gather food and clothing to donate to Transform Burien during their November 6th Music & Art Walk event in downtown Burien.

The B-Town Beat is a local arts nonprofit organization that was founded in 2013 with the idea of using music and art as a way to build a strong local economy and thriving community. The organization has two primary programs, the Art Alley project and the B-Town Beat Music & Art Walk.

I-1351 is a deceptive and misleading bill that funds staff to rubber stamp

institutionalizing youth in fraudulent and abusive residential programs
while claiming to "reduce class size". The reduction in class size does
not come from hiring more teachers and building more classrooms. It
comes from taking poor and minority students out of their homes and
communities and placing them in private detention centers.

While the arguments for and explanatory statement mislead voters, the
bill itself is quite clear on this point, it says:

"Except as required for class size reduction funding provided under
subsection (4)(f) of this section and as may be required under chapter
28A.155, 28A.165, 28A.180, or 28A.185 RCW, or federal laws and
regulations, nothing in this section requires school districts to use basic
education instructional funds to implement a particular instructional approach
or service. Nothing in this section requires school districts to maintain a
particular classroom teacher-to-student ratio or other staff-to-student ratio or
to use allocated funds to pay for particular types or classifications of
staff." Source:

Perhaps some people already know that the Highline School District Board (HSDB) wants to move Des Moines Elementary from its present prime soundview location in downtown Des Moines to the site of Zenith Park (240th and 16th Ave SW). Many do not.

We do not know what would become of the present Des Moines Elementary site (perhaps sold to a developer to build condos) and what would the proceeds of that sale be spent on?
Does anyone question the fact that the major contributors in the support of this Bond are commercial land and real estate developers and construction contractors?
Do all these developers stand to make a financial gain with the passage of this Bond?

We do not know if Zenith Park is a suitable location because:

Was a feasibility study done?

Was the Department of Fish & Wildlife notified and did they approve of the location?

Was the Department of Ecology notified and did they approve of the location?

Were the home owners in the Zenith Park neighborhood notified that they would lose their Park? Is this okay with them?

To the editor:

Change is difficult. As a school board, we know we must do things differently in order to get a different result for our students. We also know not everyone is going to be happy about the changes we make.
Unfortunately some in our community are taking their displeasure about these changes and turning it against November bond.

Several points in the October 20 letter opposing the bond require clarification.

Cost estimates for construction projects are posted online HYPERLINK "http://www.highlineschools.org/cms/lib07/WA01919413/Centricity/Domain/1…" here.

Detailed architectural plans are developed after voters have approved funding, so as not to spend money on plans that may not be used.
All school district financial records are public information and are available to anyone, as required by law.

As Chair of Highline Citizens for Schools and a parent of students in the district, I
urge you to get the facts about Prop. 1. This election is critical for our kids and our
community. Look beyond the name calling, rhetoric and misrepresentations and
here’s what you’ll find:

• Highline Public Schools has two challenges that MUST be addressed: aging,
deteriorating buildings and a lack of classroom space for a growing student
population. The longer we wait to act, the more money we drain away from
classrooms repairing buildings that should be replaced. And we risk losing
state dollars dedicated to lower class size because we have no space.

• This bond measure was developed after several years of study. This
includes an independent audit detailing the condition of every single facility in
the District that is available for all to read. Public meetings were held across
the district seeking input on the bond proposal. District wide surveys were
completed. The School Board heard public testimony at meetings. The final
proposal was based on solid research and feedback received from hundreds
of citizens.

By Jack Bermingham

It is vital for our local communities and their economic development to pass the Highline School District
Bond Measure in order to ensure that schools have the capacity to support students. Invest in safe,
healthy and modern school buildings for all students.
Schools that were excellent in their day are now in dire need of repair. All of our children deserve a
positive learning environment rather than rundown, ill-equipped classrooms.
The School District under the leadership of Susan Enfield has worked hard at forming partnerships to
leverage all possible resources on behalf of students. She has re-invigorated her colleagues in providing
pathways that encourage students to be prepared to take college-level classes when they arrive at
Highline College.
However, Highline School District can only do so much without the financial support from the
communities that it serves. Now is the time to support our schools.
The Highline School District is running out of space for our growing student population and is challenged
by obsolete infrastructure that prevents the use of current technology. The Bond will fund a much