April 2016

The White Center Jubilee Days community's festival started in 1923 and has something for everyone starting July 10.

Here's the basic schedule:

• Sunday, July 10 – 10 am – 5:00 pm, Garden Tour
• Wednesday, July 13 – 3:00 pm – midnight
• Thursday, July 14 – 11:00 am – midnight
• Friday, July 15 – 11:00 am – midnight
• Saturday, July 16 – 10:00 am – 11:00 pm
• Sunday, July 17 – 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Garden Tour: McLendon’s Hardware (10210 16th Ave SW Seattle 98146)
Fireworks: Steve Cox Memorial Park (1321 SW 102nd St Seattle 98146)
Carnival: Steve Cox Memorial Park (1321 SW 102nd St Seattle 98146)
Street Fair: 17th Ave between SW Roxbury St & SW 100th St Seattle 98146
Car Show: 17th Ave SW & SW 100th St Seattle 98146
Parade: 16th Ave between SW 116th St & 100th St Seattle 98146

Information provide by Seattle Police Department

A 19-year-old man was arrested Wednesday after he reportedly climbed on top of a woman and groped her at a Ballard office before assaulting several other women on the street.

Just before 10:30 AM, a young woman was sitting in the lobby of an office in the 1700 block of NW Market when a 19-year-old man entered the building, walked over and sat down beside her. He then turned to her, asked for a kiss, and then straddled her as he began groping her.

The woman screamed and shoved the man away, but he remained in the lobby for a short time as he stopped and took a drink at a nearby water cooler.

The victim began shouting, drawing the attention of office staff as the suspect fled. A staff member followed the suspect out of the building.

Moments later, police received several 911 calls about the same suspect who, after leaving the office, reportedly groped and harassed two other women on the street.

The Northwest Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) has announced nominees for the Northwest High School Awards of Excellence. These awards celebrate the most outstanding productions from five Northwest states: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.

Productions are nominated by NATAS industry professionals. Students from the Ballard High School Digital Filmmaking Program earned thirteen nominations, more than twice the number of any other school or organization in the five-state region. The winners will be announced on June 4 at the 53rd Annual Northwest Emmy Awards.

Ballard’s nominations span four categories, reflecting the diverse skills students learn in the program. These are the nominations by category.

Short Form Fiction:
Anne by Jaya Flanary, Meagen Tajalle & Rachel Cole

The Dragon’s Lair by PJ Hase, Jonny Cechony & Ellie Clarrissimeaux

Green Space by Jonny Cechony

My Hero by Cecilia O’Rollins, Gabriella Strommen, Olga Schultheis & David Knobloauch

Who’s Afraid of the Dark by Bergen Johnson, Cameron Miller & Sierra Santoro (https://vimeo.com/158266955)

Redmond based Microsoft is in its second year of running a contest to help entrepreneurs and small businesses grow. From the hundreds of entries that the company received, a selected panel chose ten finalists, including Fort Boards, a building set for kids developed by a North Seattle man, August Graube.

Fort Boards is the only Pacific Northwest representative in this national contest. The toy company, having just recently brought its first product to market, hopes to use the contest winnings to launch new product lines.

Microsoft’s Small Business Contest is in the final round where the winner is decided by a public voting process, and the grand prize winning business will win $20,000. Fort Boards currently leading in the public voting process.

The top ten finalists include a Los Angeles company that makes fashionable protective gear for motorcyclists, an Ohio company making therapeutic bone broths, and a surf apparel company from New Jersey.

Schmitz Park Elementary is moving to the newly constructed Genesee Hill this fall and an event set for June 3 will celebrate the legacy of the school which has been open since 1956. It moved into its current building in 1962.

Members of the community, especially those that were involved at Schmitz Park as a teacher, student, or parent, are invited to come to the school on Friday, June 3rd at 6:30 p.m. to reminisce, walk the halls, view photos, and more. The location is 5000 SW Spokane St.

Those that wish to be involved are invited to:

• Attend the event in June.
• Send in photos or request someone to copy their photos or memorabilia.
• Share an anecdote or memory via email.
• Consider being interviewed by a student.
• Add their email address to the mailing list for more information.
• Spread the word to neighbors and relatives that may have been at Schmitz Park.

Please contact Fiona at history@schmitzparkpta.org or visit the school's web page for more information

information from SDOT

The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) advises travelers of upcoming daytime paving work and a partial closure of 26th Avenue Southwest between Southwest Roxbury Street and Southwest Cambridge Street. Crews will be reconstructing portions of older, thinner concrete pavement on 26th Ave SW that need repairs due to heavy traffic loads.

From 7:00 a.m. on Monday, April 25, to 6:00 p.m. (Time correction from 6 a. m. to 6 p.m.) on Sunday, May 1, travelers can expect the following:

• The southbound direction of 26th Ave SW between SW Roxbury St and SW Cambridge St will be closed to general traffic.
• All southbound traffic, including Metro buses, will be detoured for the duration of the project.
• The northbound direction of 26th Avenue SW will be open to traffic, including Metro buses.
• Local access will be available in the northbound direction only.
• There will be no parking in areas adjacent to the 26th Avenue SW work zone.
• Uniformed Police Officers will be assisting during active construction periods.

information from Evergreen Pool

Every day, about ten people pass away from unintentional drowning according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger. Drowning ranks fifth among the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the United States. On April Pools Day, April 23, Amerigroup Washington and Evergreen Community Aquatic Center are working together to increase water-safety awareness by providing water safety activities and free swim time for local Puget Sound families and community members.

information from SWSHS

Local author, hiker, historian and professor, Judy Bentley will talk about her new book, Walking Washington’s History:Ten Cities (University of Washington Press, April 2016). Her book features walks in ten cities in Washington State, narrating a period when the city was significant to the history of Washington. Her presentation will be supported by many "then and now" photographs from all ten cities, including an interactive "Can you guess which city?" part.

This free book-talk will be the 32nd installment of the monthly "Words, Writers & West Seattle" series of the Southwest Seattle Historical Society. It will take place at 5 p.m. Friday, May 6th, 2016, at Barnes & Noble/Westwood Village.

Information provided by Seattle Police

A suspect is in custody following a burglary in Ballard yesterday afternoon after a coordinated effort that involved two different precincts and the King County Sheriff’s Office’s helicopter, Guardian One.

Yesterday, at approximately 12:45 pm, officers from the North Precinct responded to a burglary call in the 5600 Block of 15th Avenue NW. The call indicated that the victim was chasing the suspect on foot. Several officers responded to the call as well as Guardian One, which happened to be flying over the area. Officers arrived and found a witness who informed them that the suspect had boarded a southbound Metro bus.