November 2014

By Peggy Sturdivant

It was that kind of bright, beautiful day in November that you know is one of the last. The remaining leaves on the trees looked extra bright; triumphant they had survived the first windstorm. All the mountains were out. I decided to walk the mile-and-a-half to downtown Ballard.

After watching all the modern box houses rise like children’s blocks near 28th & 64th NW I didn’t think there was anything left to surprise me there. I was wrong. The beloved tree with fort on the southeast corner wasn’t just gone; it was as though tree and the little yellow house had never been there. The rectangular hole covers the entire lot.

From that corner on, everything about Ballard looked different to me, as though I was wearing special glasses to capture so many things on the brink of change: five leaves remaining on one Full Moon Maple, the round-cheeked baby in the passing stroller who would be walking by spring.

By Peggy Sturdivant

It was that kind of bright, beautiful day in November that you know is one of the last. The remaining leaves on the trees looked extra bright; triumphant they had survived the first windstorm. All the mountains were out. I decided to walk the mile-and-a-half to downtown Ballard.

After watching all the modern box houses rise like children’s blocks near 28th & 64th NW I didn’t think there was anything left to surprise me there. I was wrong. The beloved tree with fort on the southeast corner wasn’t just gone; it was as though tree and the little yellow house had never been there. The rectangular hole covers the entire lot.

From that corner on, everything about Ballard looked different to me, as though I was wearing special glasses to capture so many things on the brink of change: five leaves remaining on one Full Moon Maple, the round-cheeked baby in the passing stroller who would be walking by spring.

A fire in the 6300 block of 36th SW at around 12:20am on Nov. 18 that according to Seattle Fire Dept. spokesman Lt Harold Webb was accidental and caused by an electrical problem was quickly dealt with.
The occupants got out of the home safely and Red Cross was called.

No damage estimate was offered.

By Tim Clifford

Earlier this week Dubsea Coffee, located on 9910 8 Ave. S.W. in White Center closed their door due to a series of three break-ins in nine days. That impromptu closure ended on Friday and coffee is again grinding at the well-like neighborhood stop.

As reported by multiple news outlets this weekend the Seattle Police Department arrested a 13-year-old boy on Friday who they suspect was involved in the break-ins. Police are currently investigating how many other businesses the young man may have burglarized in the area.

This string of burglaries in the area in the last month has spurred outrage from neighbors and businesses alike.
“We have not heard any details about that yet” said Dubsea manager Kai Braaten.
Speaking with her briefly Braaten explained that during the burglaries multiple windows were smashed and during the first two the burglar managed to make off with the cash in the till. During the second break-in the burglar actually made off with the entire safe. During the third break-in, though no money was stolen, more vandalism occurred.

Discovery Shop
4535 California Ave. S.W.
206 937 7169
We're decorated for the season from our beautiful show window to the back of the store with treasures for you and your family.  You'll find something for everyone on your list, including yourself and your home. You can see it all when you come by to celebrate our 24th anniversary with us on Saturday, November 22.  We'll have refreshments from 1 to 3 and a BOGO sale featuring buy one get one Free on all clothing all day long.  Thanks to your help, we've made almost $2 million since we opened in 1990, all for cancer cure research and other valuable resources for cancer patients.  We look forward to your donations, patronage and volunteer service to help us continue this important work.  The American Cancer Society shop is open Sundays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and all other days 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Senior Center of West Seattle
4217 SW Oregon St.
206-932-4044

Mini Harvest Festival

information from King County

King County contractors finished digging out the tank area at the Murray CSO Control Project site on Thursday, November 13. The resulting hole is 60 feet deep – big enough to house the facility’s one million gallon underground storage tank. The tank will help keep sewage and stormwater out of Puget Sound.

Before the tank can be built, crews must install a 17-foot thick concrete base below the tank. The base will keep the tank from being pushed out of the ground by groundwater. Rebar will be installed in the next 10 days. Then nearly 5,000 cubic yards of concrete will be poured into the hole over three days to build the base.

The West Seattle Rotary Club's 43rd Annual Children's Holiday Shopping Spree, conducted for years at Sears in SODO, has changed venues with the closing of that store. The spree, supporting local community elementary students in need, is scheduled for Saturday morning December 6, 2014, at Sears in South Center Mall.

A meal will also be provided by the Rain Forest Cafe next door to Sears in the mall.

You can provide financial support for this project at www.WestSeattleRotary.org. Look for the Children's Shopping Spree link at the bottom of the page.

If you'd like to sign up to help these children shop for shoes, warm coats and more please visit this link. http://tinyurl.com/ShoppingSpree2014

Send this link to your friends and relatives that want to be part of our shopping spree. Please only sign up on this page if you want to shop with a child. All other volunteer positions please contact me Michael Galvin mgalvin@amfam.com

A group of 24 kindergartners at Lafayette Elementary School in West Seattle had a chance to build their capabilities as engineers on Nov. 17 as result of a grant from AT&T.

The grant, made possible by an organization called DonorsChoose.org brought a series of simple electronics kids called "snap circuits" to the school as a part of a nearly $25,000 donation from AT&T to benefit teachers and students in Seattle. The snap circuit kits are used for science lessons as well as independently directed activities. Kindergartners followed the included plans to build different working machines on the circuit board.

“The Snap Circuits donated by AT&T help nurture the natural curiosity that kindergartners have about technology,” said Landon Bell, kindergarten teacher at Lafayette Elementary. “The children can begin building their capabilities as engineers at this early formative age. In the future, they will be better prepared and motivated to face design challenges and opportunities with skill.”

While the total grant to Lafayette was around $600, the kits will get a lot of use, shared by three classes.

By Tim Clifford

School house burglary
Sometime in during the early morning hours of Nov.8 a school house building on the 9100 block of California Ave. S.W. was broken into. The burglary was not reported until staff members arrived for work shortly after 9 a.m.
The suspect gained entry to the facility by smashing a window to a classroom. Quickly finding the three lockers in the building that are reserved for staff members the suspect rifled through them searching for keys. The suspect was apparently unsuccessful and ended up smashing another window to gain access to the main office where cash and blank checks are kept. Though an exact cash amount was not listed in the police report the damages and stolen property were tallied at over a $1,000 dollars.
Staff and police both believe the suspect must have been a person who had worked at the school previously. The three lockers look exactly as all of the student lockers and only the file cabinets with checks and cash were broken into. The suspect remains at large.

Thieves and ladders

by Pat Cashman

The history of history has quite an interesting history, historically speaking. And a lot has been written about it:

“History is a set of lies agreed upon.” Napoleon Bonaparte

“History is only a confused heap of facts.” Earl of Chesterfield

“History is the biography of great men.” Thomas Carlyle, moments before Mrs. Carlyle told him to fix his own damn dinner.

“Those who don’t repeat history are doomed to remember it.” My brother, Terry Cashman, incorrectly quoting George Santayana on his senior history final.

In high school, we had a history teacher who was also the part-time varsity basketball coach. As a history teacher he was an outstanding basketball coach.
Even the dumbest of my classmates scratched their heads during the history lecture period. “Benjamin Franklin invented so many things”, our history teacher once said between dribbles.
“Franklin invented the bifocal, the lightning rod and swim fins,” he said. “And perhaps greatest of all, he invented electricity.” Our history teacher actually said that.
Of course, he was wrong. Franklin invented the kite---and the key.