May 2017

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

Three area baseball teams entered state regional action Saturday -- and all three came up short of getting out.
Kennedy Catholic came the closest, playing in the Class 4A tournament.

The Lancers defeated Bothell in their first regional game at Foss High School in Tacoma Saturday morning, 7-4, then returned to face division rival Kentwood in the second game.

Kennedy came up short by a 3-2 score to see its season end. Had the Lancers won, they would have gone on to the state final four.

Seattle Christian also split its regional games in the Class 1A tournament played in Anacortes.

The Warriors edged Meridian, 6-4, Saturday morning before losing to Cedar Park Christian that afternoon, 5-2, to end their season.

Highline made it to the first regional game Saturday morning in the 2A regionals, playing at Wheeler Field at Fort Borst Park in Centralia.

The Pirates came up one run shy against Columbia River of Vancouver, 4-3.

Larry Livingston peered at the photos on the wall, trying to find one he might be in. He was in the sixth grade in 1943 at the Fauntleroy School and "got good marks," he said, "but I did flunk the first grade," he continued laughing. He and several hundred others were there to celebrate the school's 100th birthday with a special celebration featuring a group hug photo and some well know alumnae as guest speakers on May 21.

There to recall their years at the school and early days in West Seattle were the Whittaker twins, Lou and Jim who recalled spending many hours in the wooded areas of the community that prepared them for lives as mountaineers. Jim went on to be the first American to climb Mt. Everest and found REI while Lou would form Rainier Mountaineering and guide thousands to the top of Mt. Rainier. Jane Hastings graduated from the school in 1939 and recalled her times the Whittaker family and others at the school. "I always say I grew up in the ideal community," she said.

This year thousands of spectators flocked to Ballard for the annual 17th of May Syttende Mai parade, expressing jubilation and pride for Norwegian heritage.

Among the 81 groups in the parade, people brandished bunaders and danced to Scandinavian songs of old. One group even made it out from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minn., and others from all over the region.

Syttende Mai is Norway's Constitution Day, and the celebration in Ballard is the largest of its kind outside of Oslo. Ballard has strong linkage to Scandinavian heritage with seminal ties to the fishing (maritime) and logging industries.

By Lindsay Peyton

Brad Cerenzia works from his home in South Park – which makes it easy to keep an eye on the neighborhood.

It’s not that he has an axe to grind. He simply wants to protect the community where he has lived for a number of years, a place and a population that he has grown to love.

When Cerenzia has a few minutes to take a break from his day job, he hops on his bike and cruises the streets.

He’s on a mission to remove fliers that have been stapled to street posts that feature a number to call “for fast deportation of illegal immigrants.”

And when Cerenzia tears down a sign, he replaces it with one of his own, reading “Welcome to South Park. Wherever you’re from, we’re glad you’re our neighbor.”

Cerenzia posts copies of the flier in Spanish and Vietnamese as well.

It all started three or four weeks ago, when Cerenzia learned about the first sign on Facebook.

A few neighbors banded together to discuss what to do.

“We decided as a group to tear it down,” Cerenzia said. “We also wanted to counter this person’s posts.”

After the severe beating of a 36-year-old man at a Metro bus stop in Ballard on April 5, three young suspects – including a minor – have been charged with first-degree assault.

The first suspect to be arrested was Charles “Dean” Stokes, 17. He was taken into custody the night of the attack and found not far from RapidRide D Line bus stop on 15th Avenue Northwest where the incident occurred. Stokes has been charged with first-degree assault with a bail set at $250,000.

Kulani Shintani, 19, was arrested in his Ballard apartment eight days after the assault. His mother identified him in the Metro surveillance video of the attack. His bail is set at $500,000.

The final suspect, Duane Jack Jr., 22, was arrested after detectives linked him to Stokes using social media and police records. His bail is set at $250,000.

"Deadliest Catch" star and Ballard native, Sigurd Hansen, was arrested during the early morning hours on May 18 after a dispute and altercation with an Uber driver.

The incident occurred when the Uber forced Hansen, his wife, daughter and son-in-law out of the car while en route to Hansen’s home in Shoreline. The driver said that after picking up the group at the 2200 block of Northwest Market Street the ride was canceled in the cellphone app. The driver told them that they needed to re-order the ride; otherwise he could not go on. He stopped to let them out at the 5800 block of 20th Ave Northwest. The Police report states that the son-in-law offered $100 cash to take the family the rest of the way home. The driver refused and told them that it’s against Uber rules.

Police report that Hansen and his son-in-law grew enraged and spat on the driver. Then Hansen allegedly got out and kicked the Uber vehicle, causing a dent. The driver drove a block down the street and called police.

I never met Chris Cornell. Honestly, I wasn’t even a big fan, but Soundgarden played a huge part in the sound track of my youth. I saw them the first time in 1990 at the Gathering of the Tribes, and then a handle full of times after that. I am glad I got to see him at the Temple of the Dog shows last year. When we were doing the Icon Ice Cream Series, it was a customer's idea, and I liked the play on words, and I thought that if anyone deserved to be called a Seattle Icon, it was them. It was their manager that gave me the OK.

Cornell’s death rocked me.

Partly it was that both of my parents just passed. Also that he is my brothers age. Part of it was that I am going back through all my records and discovering things all over again, and I had just been listening to Soundgarden a couple days before. It was also that he is not the first in my age group to do this. In high school we were warned about teen suicide. There were all these posters about warning signs, and to seek help. When you hit your 40s they stop showing you those posters.

By Lindsay Peyton

The staff at Daystar Retirement Village realized they had a unique situation on their hands, one they believed was worth celebrating.

The senior center, located at 2615 SW Barton St. in West Seattle, is home to five centenarians -- Isabelle Mills, Ethel Taylor, Dorothea Huff and Dora Kinsch, each 101 years old, and Betty Novotny, who is 103.

Daystar hosted a special luncheon for the women on Thursday, May 18 – and honored each with a signed letter from Washington Governor Jay Inslee.

“You have enriched many lives over the years, and your experiences are part of the very rich tapestry of our state and nation, “ Inslee wrote. “Your recollections of a rich and full life are truly priceless treasures . . . I hope you realize the significance of the legacy you have been building over these many years.”

All five women gathered before the luncheon to share memories, after each visited the on-site beauty salon to prepare for the big day.

Virtual School Holds Real Prom
Washington Virtual Academy Students Dance the Night Away
NORMANDY PARK, Wash. – On Friday, May 19, nearly 100 high school students from Washington Virtual Academy (WAVA) attended their prom at the Normandy Park Community Center. Sounds like a normal school milestone full of nerves, fancy dresses and rented tuxes, right? Well, there’s a little more to this story…
All the students attend school virtually.
Online schools like WAVA are often presumed to provide limited socialization opportunities for students. However, this prom proves quite the opposite. Students from all over Washington get to know each other through their online classrooms and student clubs, as well as at in-person social gatherings like field trips, community service events, school dances and graduation (which will be Sunday, June 11, at the Greater Tacoma Convention Center).
With a masquerade theme, students came to prom dressed in their best formal wear and masks and danced the night away with a disco ball and laser lights accompanying the DJ’s music. A photo booth also provided the students with souvenirs to remember the magical evening.

By Tim Clinton
SPORTS EDITOR

West Seattle's ride through the state Class 3A boys soccer tournament came to a screeching halt Friday.
The Wildcats took a 3-1 quarterfinal loss to the Gig Harbor Tides at Seattle Memorial.

They had opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over the Stadium Tigers at Mount Tahoma Tuesday.
Highline and Seattle Christian were also stopped dead in their tracks with quarterfinal losses Friday.

Highline was eliminated with a narrow 2-1 loss to Mountlake Terrace at Highline Memorial.
The same Mountlake Terrace team ousted Tyee three days earlier by a 7-1 score.

Highline was coming off a 4-3 win over Columbia River in Vancouver in its 2A tournament opener.

Seattle Christian was bumped out of the 1A tournament by Bush, 2-0, at French Field in Kent on Friday.
The Warriors won their opener over White Salmon, 1-0, to earn their quarterfinal date.