Plucky lady is nice mom, too
Tue, 02/13/2007
(Editor's Note: Jerry Robinson found three more nice people to talk to this week.)
Meet Doreen Sexton
This plucky lady had her purse snatched.
And ended up with cracked ribs.
She was checking out in the line at a supermarket in Burien. Standing behind her was a teenage boy. After checking out she started to open her car door and the boy suddenly appeared and tried to snatch her purse from her cart.
She was too frightened to yell but clutched her purse tightly while he started ramming his cart into her body. That is when he cracked her ribs. Finally he ripped the purse from her and took off running.
Someone witnessed the robbery and called the cops, who found him hiding in some nearby bushes. He was sent to Green Hill High in Chehalis for 30 weeks, where he had been incarcerated before.
The frog in Doreen's hand is a gift for her daughter, who had called her and admitted spraining her ankle jumping out of bed. How? The bed is 3 feet high and she must use a ladder to climb in. Her daughter is 47 and likes frogs. Doreen just wanted to make her feel good.
Nice Mom.
Doreen lives in Burien and works at Wayne's Service Center in Normandy Park.
She also once worked for Rebel Jackson, Burien's NASCAR race driver who was killed in a racing accident.
Meet Jim Bibby
It is a wonder he has such a big smile for he is the man you talk to at Burien City Hall when you have a problem like a neighbor who parks his car on your lawn or in front of your mailbox.
Politicians who leave their signs up too long will hear from him and so will merchants who put manikins on the sidewalk, though it is legal to put on a costume and wave a sign at drivers.
Jim is Code Enforcement officer for Burien.
Born and schooled here, he was owner of Footlocker sporting goods till he changed the name to the Athletic Department. This was back in the 70s when Phil Pompeo was Sports Editor for the Highline Times and managed our company softball team and organized our annual Highline district All Star contests. Jim Bibby supplied most of the athletic equipment and the two became close friends.
He is an affable man and has to be a world-class diplomat. But stolen grocery cart theft and graffiti are his biggest pain. Many shoppers wander off with the baskets and abandon them. Even motorized grocery carts are stolen. If you see one where it should not be, there is a Tacoma company that will return it to the store.
The biggest pain is taggers and their graffiti. The city will supply anyone who wants to wipe it out with paint at no cost.
Discover Burien will also send someone out to pick up grocery carts. Or call Jim Bibby at 206-248-5507.
Meet Pete Weinberger
This lucky guy survived two airplane crashes. And never got a scratch.
A West Seattle pilot, he was once a Canadian commercial airline pilot making a wintertime night landing in Calgary with 26 passengers.
When he touched down in an oat field short of the tarmac the jouncing broke both wings off his plane. The whole fuselage nearly turned over but landed in a slithering, jack rabbit rock and roll. But it came to a halt without any serious injuries. The crash sheared the wings off and prevented any fire.
Investigators found the altimeter outside air pressure instrument was coated with ice.
Pete's second crash took place close to home. He was a passenger aboard a small plane piloted by another West Seattleite. His friend Jack Davis was flying over the West Seattle golf course in 1972 when the engine on his Cessna flamed out and he had to crash land on the 18th fairway.
Once again Pete and his friend escaped any serious injury though the plane came close to taking a huge divot out of the green on the hole. It is assumed they did miss their tee time.