July 2015

Masked man rips off convenient store register

Police are searching for a young white man after he smashed a large window of a convenient store located on the 2400 block of NW 80th Street and ran off with cash register. Police received a call from the convenient storeowner on July 12 after the alarm to the business had been tripped. The storeowner reported to police he arrived at his business to find a large front window smashed and the store in disarray. The security footage showed a teenager or a man in his early 20s wearing a mask and gloves. He smashed the window and entered the store. The suspect ripped the register from the counter and ran off. Police dusted for fingerprints but none were recovered. The storeowner was able to provide the security footage for evidence. The estimated loss was $1,200.

Man knocked out in alley near his home

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

MONTESANO--PacWest of Burien's stay at the 2015 Washington State 9/10 Baseball Tournament ended with a 12-3 loss to North Bothell at Nelson Field in Montesano on Monday afternoon.

It was the second loss of the Little League all-star tournament for PacWest, coming on the heels of an 11-4 loss to Bainbridge this past Saturday.

PacWest entered the tournament for ages 9-10 as the District 7 champions after winning an eight-team tournament.

The PacWest team was managed this year by Luke Hagler, who was assisted by coaches Brian Bernard and Carl Stacy.

Players for PacWest were Brandon Bernard, Quincey Brown, Jaquori Buchanan, Ian Chilson, Diego Cigarroa, Kaleb Fitzpatrick, Micah Hagler, Zach Hatcher, Preston Hopp, Sam Hostetter, Cameron Keller, Lamont Richardson and Andrej Stacy.

The PacWest president is Mitch Stone.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

VANCOUVER--West Seattle got mixed results as it opened the 2015 Washington State 10/11 Baseball Tournament in Vancouver this past weekend.
The Westsiders opened with a decisive 8-2 victory over the host District 4 team on Saturday but turned around to take a 15-5 loss to a powerful District 2 (Bainbridge area) team Sunday.
That dumped West Seattle into the loser's bracket of the double-elimination tournament for ages 10-11, where it will play District 11 at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Fort Vancouver Little League complex.
The Westsiders must win that game to reach Tuesday's 3 p.m. action at the same location, then win another game Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to reach Saturday's championship.

9-10 Baseball

PacWest of the Burien and SeaTac area finds itself on the ropes at the age 9-10 baseball all-star tournament being played at Nelson Field in Montesano after opening with an 11-4 defeat at the hands of District 2 champion Bainbridge on Saturday.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Strains of Sheryl Crow's "Soak Up The Sun" echo through the covered grandstands as shadows creep across the field at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center.

The Highline Bears are wrapping up infield practice in preparation for another Pacific International League semiprofessional baseball game at the park that has also gone by Mel Olson Stadium and White Center Stadium in its history that dates back to the 1940s.

The Bears are only in their inaugural season but follow distantly in the wake of other semiprofessional baseball and national level men's fastpitch teams that called White Center home in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s.

Aside from offering the area its highest level of ball in over 30 years, the Bears are also offering winning ball.

The Bears boast a 14-12-1 record as only an expansion team in a league full of college players in their summer season as well as some former college and professional players.

"We projected eight wins, but we've already won more and we're over .500 and that's cool," said Bears manager Todd Coughlin.

For the week of July 22-28

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Youth sports

Little League
West Seattle opens state Little League Major (age 11-12) all-star baseball action Saturday, taking on the District 8 champion at the Northshore Athletic Fields in Woodinville at 2 p.m.
The winner plays again at 2 p.m. Sunday and the loser plays again at 5 p.m. Sunday.

Swimming
The "B" championships for the Southern Division of the Seattle Summer Swim League are scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday at the Kent pool.
Girls "A" preliminary action then takes place at 4 p.m. Monday at the Gregory Seahurst pool in Burien with the boys prelims scheduled for he same time Tuesday at Lakeridige in Renton.

Semiprofessional
Highline's Bears are at home at Steve Cox Memorial Park in White Center playing the Seattle Studs at 7 p.m. Friday and the Northwest Honkers at 7 p.m. Saturday.
The Bears then finish out their season on the road.
Highline visits the Honkers for 5:30 p.m. games in Fall City on Monday and Tuesday.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

VANCOUVER--West Seattle took the first step back through the losers bracket at the age 10-11 state Little League baseball all-star tournament Monday.

The Westsiders dealt District 9 a 5-3 defeat in the action at the Fort Vancouver Little League complex.
West Seattle still must win four games in a row to reach Saturday's finals starting with a 3 p.m. Tuesday game against District 9.

The Normandy Park Arts Commission Presents

Artwork of Edna Gruver

July - August, 2015

Reception on July 23rd, 2015

7:00 - 9:00 pm.

The Normandy Park Arts Commission is pleased to present an exhibit showcasing the paintings and drawings of Edna Gruver, in Normandy Park City Hall Council Chambers during July, 2015.

Edna comfortably in her nineties, was born and raised in Seattle and is a current resident of Puyallup. She was a homemaker and mother who spent 27 years in retail sales and pursued a lifelong passion for the fine arts, studying under the direction of Betty Mears, Mary Jarrett, Leslie deMille, Del Gish, Bill Harisch and Raleigh Kinney. Edna has received many gallery awards, both in Washington and Arizona, where she spends her winters.

A reception with the artist is scheduled for Thursday, July 23rd, 2015 from 7:00-9:00 at Normandy Park City Hall, 801 S.W. 174th Street, Normandy Park, Washington 98166. Please RSVP.

The exhibition will be on view and open to the public during July - August 21, 2015 (Mon.- Thur. 9:00 am – 4:00 pm).

Please see the attached announcement.

Gala event to take place at end of July in Normandy Park Art Gallery

Normandy Park Art Gallery celebrated its grand opening last month with over 60 attendees featuring art from five local artists, and will expand this month adding work from three Artists-In-Residence. A public event to unveil these pieces will take place on Thursday, July 30th from 4:40 pm to 7:30 pm, with live music from a local string ensemble, champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Artists will be in attendance to meet and discuss their work.

By Kyra-lin Hom

I had the joy of watching Pixar's new film Inside Out in theaters this week. It's an adorable, clever, moral-driven story about the complex emotional life of an eleven year old girl. The main characters are quite literally Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust. Captained by Joy, the five emotions run Riley's “headquarters,” dictating her behavior. And though the film is technically about Riley, the arc of the story follows Joy on her path to understanding that Riley doesn't always have to be happy.

The moral is remarkably adult for what is supposedly a children's cartoon. Then again, that should be no surprise to anyone familiar with the Pixar lineup. Most famously, let's all recall Up released in 2009. Anyone who didn't get at least a little misty-eyed during that opening sequence has no heart.

City of Burien leadership and officials from around the region will celebrate the newly-renovated Dottie Harper Park Playground and a new roof on the Burien Community Center at an event on Wednesday, July 22nd at noon.  The two projects came about through a partnership between the City of Burien and King County Community Development Block Grant Program and was funded through the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the City of Burien.

Burien’s Parks, Recreation and Open Space Plan adopted in February 2012 had identified this playground as being in need of replacement. Safety and accessibility standards for playgrounds have evolved over the years, and the PaRCS Department has sought to update the City’s various playgrounds as resources become available. In 2013, the Burien City Council authorized the upgrades to this playground and added it to the City’s Park & General Government Capital Improvement Program. At the same time, PaRCS staff began exploring the potential for grant funding, and focused on a traditional, competitive source for such projects: the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG).