December 2016

By Greg Whittaker
Mountain 2 Sound Outfitters

Working at a ski and snowboard shop when people are skiing is so fun (and busy) we have been neglecting our reporting so wanted to catch up.

We know a lot of you have been up to our regional mountains and are having a blast. We are seeing a lot of damage from rocks, so know there are still hidden rocks under the snow that has fallen during the early part of December.

That said, there are also deep snow hazards including tree wells, so make sure you ski with a buddy and keep an eye on each other if you venture off piste (a ski run of compacted snow).

David Levin, ski tech, reports on Crystal on Monday, “Crystal got a great refresher over the weekend coating the 2 feet of powder they got last weekend. The snow is super fluffy and light but it is still heavy enough to slow you down when it gets deep.
The entire mountain has been filling in nicely, with both Southback and Northway opening and skiing well throughout the week. The skiing has truly been phenomenal.

It's tough to be popular.

The new Star Wars film Rogue One is getting incredibly positive reviews, as if its reputation by brand alone wasn't enough but the Admiral Theater where the film begins showing on Thursday at 7pm is getting overwhelmed with phone calls about tickets said Dinah Brien, Manager. She shared a statement with the West Seattle Herald.

"Tickets will NOT be available online or at the theater until this Thursday. Box office opens at 2PM. You can buy tickets for either Thursday's 2D 7PM show or the 3D 9:40 at that time.

Rogue One will be showing 4 times a day starting Friday. You can come to the box office at noon starting Friday and buy tickets for any show ON THAT DAY. Remember, our theater is smaller now; only 225 seats so you will want to come early. Lines will be forming outside.

SING will have its premier next Tuesday the 20th at 7PM. "

It's tough to be popular.

The new Star Wars film Rogue is getting incredibly positive reviews, as if its reputation by brand alone wasn't enough but the Admiral Theater where the film begins showing on Thursday at 7pm is getting overwhelmed with phone calls about tickets said Dinah Brien, Manager. She shared a statement with the West Seattle Herald.

"Tickets will NOT be available online or at the theater until this Thursday. Box office opens at 2PM. You can buy tickets for either Thursday's 2D 7PM show or the 3D 9:40 at that time.

Rogue One will be showing 4 times a day starting Friday. You can come to the box office at noon starting Friday and buy tickets for any show ON THAT DAY. Remember, our theater is smaller now; only 225 seats so you will want to come early. Lines will be forming outside.

SING will have its premier next Tuesday the 20th at 7PM. "

King County Metro has made the decision to remove two of the bus shelters at the West Seattle Junction on the southwest side of the street. Citing "illegal and uncivil behavior" the shelters will be removed by Dec. 20. The well known metal reproductions of the West Seattle Herald front pages that decorate the shelters will be reused in other shelters in West Seattle Metro said.

Here is Metro's announcement:

"As part of an effort to address customer comfort and access to Metro bus service as well as to address non-transit use including illegal and uncivil behavior at the Alaska Junction, Metro is moving forward with the retention of two of the four oversized “double” shelters at one of the six transit bays in the area of California Avenue Southwest and Southwest Alaska Street as soon as Dec. 20.

For years, Warren Pope would go to Tony's Trees (the seasonal name for Tony's Produce on Barton Street) and buy a big beautiful tree to put in his custom built home. With a 16 foot high ceiling he could fit in a very tall tree. But Pope is an artist, working in wire, stretched canvas and wood and about three years ago he realized he could do something else.
"I got tired of doing a tree. A tree that's been harvested just started feeling sorry for the tree."

That prompted him to apply his art skills (he has a degree in Art) to make something that was if anything, more expressive of the Christmas spirit than a tree. Using needle nose pliers and wire, he built several sections of wire sculpture, linking them with white lights, and intertwining selected ornamental items into a fully lit and decorated 15 foot tall sculpture that hangs where his trees once stood. It glows and fills the room with light, it's parts both industrial and organic as it mimics some kind of wonderful, undiscovered Christmas life form.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

High schools
Boys basketball
West Seattle hosts Blanchet for an 8:30 p.m. game Friday in the Metro League as Chief Sealth entertains O'Dea, then Saturday at 7 p.m. West Seattle is at home against O'Dea with Chief Sealth getting a visit from North Kitsap at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Mount Rainier, meanwhile, hosts Lindbergh at 7:15 p.m. Thursday and Kennedy Catholic gets a visit from Kent-Meridian at the same time Friday before visiting Mount Rainier on Tuesday.
Foster hosts Foss on Friday at 7 p.m. in the South Puget Sound League as Evergreen travels to Lindbergh, then Tuesday Evergreen goes to Franklin Pierce and Foster to Lindbergh.
Highline hosts River Ridge at 7 p.m. Friday as Tyee travels to Steilacoom and Tuesday Highline is at Clover Park and Tyee at Renton.
Seattle Christian gets a 6 p.m. visit from Lynden Christian on Saturday and goes to Cedar Park Christian at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Seattle Lutheran entertains the Aussie Basketball Travelers team at 7:30 p.m. Thursday before visiting Neah Bay at 4 p.m. Saturday and hosting Tacoma Baptist at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Girls basketball

Salmon is the epicenter of the livelihoods of thousands of people in the Pacific Northwest, and therefore contention can come up surrounding the regulation of the fish. Indeed, and come this January a proposal to change how much it will cost to fish will come to a head.

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has proposed an initiative called "Washington's Wild Future: A Partnership for Fish and Wildlife" (wdfw.wa.gov/wildfuture) as part of the upcoming 2017-19 Washington state budget cycle. Among the policies, it calls for increasing the commercial fishing license fees. The proposed fees would generate close to $4 million in revenue per year, with $700,000 of that coming from license fee changes. Much of the policies in the initiative were modeled after Oregon and Alaska regulation.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Saturday, Dec. 10
Boys basketball
West Seattle 60, Spanaway Lake 32
The Wildcats took a 21-8 lead on the Sentinels by the end of the first quarter in Saturday's non-league win.
Tahoma 64, Highline 56
Gerald Hood hit 23 points for the Pirates in Saturday's non-league loss to Tahoma.
Kings 59, Kennedy 32
The Lancers suffered a non-league defeat at the hands of Kings on Saturday.
Chief Sealth 54, Seattle Lutheran 48
Chief Sealth outgunned its cross-West Seattle opponents in a non-league game Saturday.
Seattle Christian 54, King's Way Christian 42
The Warriors were winners in Saturday's non-league game.

Girls basketball
Kennedy 48, Lake Washington 45
The Lancers edged out the Kangaroos in Saturday non-league action.
Chief Sealth 64, Seattle Lutheran 17
The Seahawks scored a decisive win against Seattle Lutheran on Saturday.
Liberty 65, Tyee 23
Tyee took a non-league loss to Liberty on Saturday.

Friday, Dec. 9
Boys basketball
Mt. Rainier 77, Kentlake 63

On Monday, Dec 12th the King County Council recognized and honor the White Center PAL Boxing Club for its 2nd place performance at the National Jr. Golden Gloves Tournament in Nevada this summer. The tournament team was comprised of young boxers from White Center, Tacoma, Spokane, Tri Cities and Vancouver, WA.

The recognition event on Monday was very moving as one of the members of the club was recently seriously injured by a hit and run taxi cab. The Sheriff’s Office has made an arrest in the case and the driver has been charged with felony Hit and Run. Congressman Dave Reichert, Sheriff John Urquhart, and Executive Dow Constantine are all expected to attend the event.

For more info on White Center PAL Boxing, go to their Facebook site: https://www.facebook.com/White-Center-PAL-Boxing-438039166397725