February 2017

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

High schools

Boys basketball
West Seattle earned a first round bye into this week's Class 3A state boys basketball tournament and will instead open on the second day in the state quarterfinals.
The Wildcats will play at 7:15 p.m. Thursday at the Tacoma Dome against the winner of a loser-out Wednesday game between Wilson and Capital.
Kennedy Catholic opens on the first day of the 4A tournament Wednesday, meeting Glacier Peak at 10:30 a.m. in the Tacoma Dome.
That game is loser-out, as is Seattle Lutheran's state Class 2B opener in Spokane. The Saints will play at 9 a.m. against St. George's on Wednesday.
All three tournaments run through placement games Saturday.

Girls basketball
West Seattle faces a 9 a.m. loser-out opener in the Tacoma Dome on Wednesday against Lincoln of Tacoma.
The Class 3A girls tournament will also run through placement games Saturday.

Pros

Mariners

Arthur Reeves Ratcliffe, MD passed away on Thursday, February 16, 2017 in Bainbridge Island, Washington. Art was born on September 4, 1931 in Seattle Washington. He graduated from Franklin High School in 1949 where he won the Bausch and Lomb science medal in 1948. He went on to attend the University of Washington where he belonged to the Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and graduated with a BS in Chemistry. He married the love of his life, Giovanna (Jill) Frost on April 24, 1953 and they had four children, Kathleen, Bonnie, Kent, and Arthur, Jr.

Arthur continued his education at the University of Washington graduating with a degree in Medicine in 1957. He was member of Phi Chi Medical fraternity. He completed an Internship at Harbor General Hospital, Los Angeles, 1957-1958, a Residency in General Surgery at Harbor General in 1958, and a Residency at UW Associated Hospital, 1959-61 in Orthopedic Surgery. During this time he completed his military commitment at the US Public Health Hospital, Staten Island, NY attaining the rank of Lt. Commander.

By Lindsay Peyton

Pets with panache – and a portrait-worthy visage – are the subject-of-choice for artist Jennifer Bloom.

She can capture the personality of any dog, cat or even fish on canvas. The classically trained painter said she hit her stride when she switched to canine and feline companions for her models.

Her paintings are currently on display at the Burien Community Center, 14700 6th Ave SW, where they will remain on display through the end of March.

The city’s cultural arts supervisor Gina Kallman juried the show. She explained that the community center has featured various artists since it opened.

“It’s a great to give local artists an opportunity to show their work,” she said. “Jennifer’s art is really fun and vibrant. I thought it would be a great fit for the space.”

Bloom is originally from New Jersey and has loved making art since childhood. “I always enjoyed it immensely, and I had a lot of support,” she said. “My mother was nice enough to sign me up for art classes. I was really lucky.”

Des Moines -- The Poverty Bay Wine Festival is back this year on March 3 and 4 at the Des Moines Beach Park Event Center.  A majority of the proceeds will be donated to Highline Music4Life, a non-profit that acquires musical instruments for low-income students in Highline Public Schools.

This is the 13th year of the popular event put on by the Rotary Club of Des Moines and Normandy Park.  With a record-breaking attendance expected this year, Music4Life will be able to put instruments in the hands of many eager young musicians.

Tickets come with 10 tasting tokens and can be purchased now at a discounted price of $35 at
DrinkToMusic.Org. Tickets will be $40 at the door.

blues and 100% of net proceeds go to Rotary Charity

The event features live music from some of the Northwest’s best blues artists, 20 local wineries, plus a brewery and a cidery. Besides drinks and music, a variety of food items will be provided by
Nibbles Seattle, Ivar's Chowder and Fred Meyer.

Music Lineup:
1 Danny Welsh, Friday 6:00 to 9:00 PM
2 Eric Madis, Saturday 2:30 to 4:00 PM
3
4 Scott Lindenmuth, Saturday 4:30 to 6:00 PM

        A U.S. District Court jury found a former Des Moines, Washington man guilty of producing and possessing images of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  Robert. D. Thorson, 58, was arrested May 30, 2016, after his girlfriend called Des Moines police after finding sexually explicit images of minors onThorson’s phone.  Over the three-day trial jurors heard testimony about images on Thorson’s phone, computer, thumb drives and DVDs.  Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo S. Martinez scheduled sentencing in the case for March 12, 2017.
 

By Amanda Knox
 
On Valentine’s Day, my friend and I were walking along the waterfront at Lincoln Park. We came across a large stone on which someone had assembled a bunch of shells to spell out “LOVE” in large, capital letters. My friend stared at the word for a moment, then looked me square in the eyes as she swiped her arm across the stone, scattering the shells to the ground. I gave her a half-smile and we walked away.
 
Looking back on the latter half of my twenties, I can’t help but notice how much romance has characterized these years. Romance in my own life and romance in the lives of my peers. Many of my friends have been getting married, one after another, a wedding every few months. The first of my three sisters is getting married this November. This is both great (I love Love!) and unsurprising. Millennials are tending to get married in our late twenties; our parents and grandparents tended to get married in their early twenties. It’s a notable difference, but it’s no cultural revolution. Just like so many generations before us, we’re excited to celebrate and officialize our most important adult decision: life partner.
 

I first heard the incredible news on the radio. If I were a diarist, it would have been recorded as one of the most important announcements of a lifetime.

I was 12 years old---and I thought at first my ears were playing tricks on me. My eyes often played tricks on me, so I figured maybe the eyes and ears were in cahoots, trying to pull a fast one. And maybe the nose was in on it too.

But it was no fake news, no alternative fact---it was true: Pacific Northwest Wrestling was coming to town---our town---live and in person!

To me, the news could not have been more monumental---bigger than if the circus, the Olympic games, the Beatles and the Pope were all coming in to do a show together. I was convinced that anything that happened in my life afterward would come up short---shorter than a pygmy marmoset monkey. That wrestled.

It all came flooding back to me last week when I heard about the passing at age 79 of George “The Animal” Steele. As you might guess, it was not his real name---he added the ‘George’ part to advance his career.

By Lindsay Peyton

On most Saturdays, 17-year old Katherine Fry boards a bus near her home in West Seattle and makes a two-hour commute to the Woodland Park Zoo.

The senior at Chief Sealth International High School has volunteered in the ZooCorps teen program since 2014 – and has logged almost 800 hours of service.

Her dedication has not gone unnoticed.

The zoo is honoring Fry with its Youth Conservation Award on Tuesday, Feb. 28 – as part of its Thrive Leadership Awards dinner and fundraiser held at the Four Seasons downtown.

This will be the first year for the Youth Conservation Award, youth engagement coordinator Issana To said.

“We’re focused on inspiring and empowering youth to take action,” she said. “The more we can do that, the better.”

To said a number of teens were nominated for the award. Judges sought a young volunteer who excelled in expressing empathy and honesty, was engaged in learning opportunities, showed commitment to conservation and encouraged others to get involved.

To explained that Fry fit the bill. “This is Katherine’s second home,” To said. “She’s here all the time. It’s a testament to her devotion.”

The National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory for Monday night into Tuesday morning Feb. 28 calling for more snow. After a nightmare commute home on Monday afternoon complicated by an overturned gas filled tanker truck on I-5 which led to a city wide traffic snarl a powerful burst of thunder snow made conditions even worse just as the commute began. THe morning may bring new challenges.

Here's the forecast:

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM PST TUESDAY...

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...1-3 inches possible tonight. The heaviest accumulations will likely be above 300 feet in elevation or under intense showers. Locations near the water will generally see very light accumulations as snow will be mixed with rain.

* SNOW LEVEL...Snow levels will be generally around 300 feet. In heavier snow showers, the snow level will briefly drop as low as sea level.

* SOME AFFECTED LOCATIONS...Seattle metro area and north through the Everett area. Eastside communities. Greatest impacts above 300 feet elevation.

* TIMING...Snow showers will continue off and on through the evening hours.

Information provided by King County

A mechanical failure at King County’s West Point Wastewater Treatment Facility earlier this month forced the plant to discharge untreated wastewater/stormwater directly into Puget Sound. The Metropolitan King County Council gave its unanimous support to emergency measures designed to expedite the repairs needed to get the facility back to full capacity.

The motion approved by the Council extends the Executive’s waiver on the competitive bidding and solicitation requirements for contracts relating to the repair and replacement of damaged structures and equipment at the plant.

While the facility—which treats wastewater flows from homes and businesses in Seattle, Shoreline, north Lake Washington, north King County and parts of south Snohomish county—is back online, it is not operating at full capacity. The goal of the adopted motion is to expedite the repairs needed to get the plant back to full operation.