October 2016

By Amanda Knox

A world away, I still heard the stories. My friends wrote me letters. January to June, my childhood best friend was deep in Hillary Clinton’s primary campaign, extolling her virtues to folks who still owned a home phone. Other friends were all about Obama. After years of economic difficulty and military involvement abroad, Obama was a vision of hope and change, the vehicle for progressivism. Not to mention, Obama was also the most eloquent rhetorician and charismatic public speaker EVER, hadn’t a grey hair on his head, and upon earning the Democratic nomination, was the first black man to ever run for president. People were discussing politics over family dinners, in the hallways between class, over rounds of beer pong. They were going on marches and making art. On social media, they cried out “Yes We Can!” and on November 4th, 2008, my friends were dancing in the streets along with the rest of them.

By Frank Hillary, Mackenzie Martinez, Tristen Mickelson and Jaden Powell

Since the declaration by Mayor Ed Murray November 2015, Seattle has been in a state of emergency due to the homelessness crisis. Despite this emergency, the majority of money in the proposed general fund is still dedicated to “Public Safety”. Seventy-two new police officers are being hired this year, and the money going towards the police department is three times that of the Health and Human Services (H & HS) budget. There is still a chance to alter the budget and to make a difference, we need to convince the City Council to make changes to benefit H & HS in our city.

Poverty and Public Safety

By Katy G. Wilkens, MS, RD

Some years I get squash from my garden, and other years I get none. I’m very happy with the current crop of eight butternut squash. I pulled them from the garden recently as a big storm threatened.

Mild with a relatively thin skin, butternut squash is my favorite. It’s easier to prepare than other varieties and keeps all winter in my basement.

If you don’t have a garden, look for squash in the supermarket now or your local farmers market. After my own are gone, I like the convenience of buying butternut squash that is already peeled and cubed, which eliminates a semi-daunting task (I cut mine with a meat cleaver).

For a quick veggie dish, microwave a covered bowl of cubed butternut squash. Or bring out the caramelized sweetness of the squash by oven roasting — toss with a little oil and cook in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or so, turning occasionally.

Nothing beats a bowl of butternut squash soup for lunch on a cold day when I come in with rain dripping down my neck. Squash soup also makes a simple and tasty dinner served alongside a winter green salad and crusty bread.

Some years ago, at my then ten-year high school reunion, a classmate named Ernie made a startling announcement: “I’m a grandpa!” Everybody quickly did the math. The guy had just turned 28. How could he have pulled off the grandpa thing? Had he been secretly married in the 7th grade---and we never noticed it?

No.

It turned out that Ernie had gotten married just weeks before the school reunion to a woman thirty years older. So since she had an adult son---who himself had a son---Ernie had become an instant gramps.
Frankly, it seemed like cheating---like claiming to have won a stockcar race while hiding in the trunk. But Ernie was too jubilant for anyone to rain on his NASCAR.

In a way, it was a time of triumph for Ernie---who very few in our class ever knew by that name. Since grade school, Ernie had always been better known by the handle “Doofus.” He always claimed it was a word meaning “one with a desire for self-expression.” Self-delusion, perhaps.

But Ernie never seemed to mind the seemingly mean-spirited nickname. “It could be worse,” he said to another classmate, “Dorkus”Williamson.

By Amanda Knox
 
A world away, I still heard the stories. My friends wrote me letters. January to June, my childhood best friend was deep in Hillary Clinton’s primary campaign, extolling her virtues to folks who still owned a home phone. Other friends were all about Obama. After years of economic difficulty and military involvement abroad, Obama was a vision of hope and change, the vehicle for progressivism. Not to mention, Obama was also the most eloquent rhetorician and charismatic public speaker EVER, hadn’t a grey hair on his head, and upon earning the Democratic nomination, was the first black man to ever run for president. People were discussing politics over family dinners, in the hallways between class, over rounds of beer pong. They were going on marches and making art. On social media, they cried out “Yes We Can!” and on November 4th, 2008, my friends were dancing in the streets along with the rest of them.
 

information from Seattle Parks Dept.

Basketball season is just around the corner, and at Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) that means hundreds of Seattle youth will be coming in to the community centers to sign up for teams.

It also means that we will need volunteer coaches for those teams. If you’re 18 or older, have a love of basketball, and want to be a positive influence in youths’ lives – consider becoming a coach! Visit our website at http://www.seattle.gov/parks/volunteer and register as a volunteer. We require that all coaches also pass our background check before working with youth.

You can coach at a center near your home or work with any of the 26 centers across the city. Not all centers get enough kids of the same age group for a team, in which case more than one center may put together enough kids to form a team. If your child and/or neighborhood kids are interested in playing, and you are interested in coaching, the staff at any community center can help form a team.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

High schools
Football
Mount Rainier will host Kennedy Catholic for a key North Puget Sound League game at 8 p.m. Friday at Highline Memorial Stadium, following a 5 p.m. South Puget Sound League crossover between Highline and Foster.
Chief Sealth entertains Ingraham in a Metro League crossover at 7 p.m. Friday at the Southwest Athletic Complex and Seattle Lutheran wraps up its season at the same time at Muckleshoot Tribal.
West Seattle is at Eastside Catholic for 7 p.m. crossover seeding playoff action Thursday.

Girls soccer
The South Puget Sound League 2A tournament takes place Saturday with games at Franklin Pierce at 10 a.m., 12 a.m. and 2 p.m. and one at North Kitsap at 4 p.m.
North Puget Sound League 4A regular season action concludes Thursday with Kennedy Catholic hosting Hazen at 6 p.m. at Starfire and Mount Rainier traveling to Tahoma at 7:30 p.m.

Volleyball

information from the Washington State Dept. of Ecology

A White Center food manufacturing company, La Mexicana, has agreed to repay the state for its efforts to clean up vegetable oil that spilled into a White Center pond last year. The company has also committed to fund a local environmental restoration project.

The Washington Department of Ecology, other agencies and contractors spent weeks cleaning up the vegetable oil, and catching and cleaning more than 80 oiled birds in November and December 2015. The response efforts and cleanup work totaled $333,729, and about $250,000 of this amount was dedicated to wildlife response. La Mexicana said it will pay for the bill.

La Mexicana voluntarily accepted responsibility after realizing the spill had occurred at its White Center facility.

The spill happened on Oct. 30, 2015, when a 200 gallon container of cooking oil accidentally tipped over and spilled an estimated 175 gallons into a storm drain. That storm drain emptied into the White Center pond a few blocks away.

Halloween is almost here. When you’re passing out candy, you’ll see many “scary” costumes that will probably just make you smile. But in real life, you can easily find some things that truly are frightening – such as bad investment moves.


Here are a few that you’ll want to avoid: 

• Chasing after “hot” stocks – Many so-called “experts” – not to mention your friends, neighbors, relatives and co-workers – are more than willing to provide you with “tips” on “hot” stocks. But by the time you hear about these stocks, they may already be cooling off – and, in any case, they may not have been appropriate for your needs in the first place.  


If you would like to obtain some well considered financial advice, contact Sarah Cecil 206-938-6017.

Brought to you by Sarah Cecil Financial Advisor with Edwards Jones Investments.

Sponsored post.