West Seattle, Washington
04 Friday
In the rare instant when West Seattle Elementary counselor Laura Bermes paused amid her frenetic activity this morning making the first of two big assemblies happen, we photographed the sticker on her back so you could see it: Promising to “Stand Up to Bullying” was a big part of what today was about at WSE. A pink flag flew outside, and many staff and many students wore pink:
Bermes explained it’s part of this movement -and told us, “The idea is exciting. We have an anti-bullying policy, ways to report bullying, and really a very nice school; but we’d be naive to think that bullying doesn’t happen in schools. We need to be vigilant in how we address it, and this is one clear way for students to send a message to one another and to the community – WSE is a school where students and adults treat one another with respect. We hope that message spreads into our larger community.”
We were there for the morning assembly, for which the youngest students – kindergarteners through second graders – gathered not just for that rally, but also for awards and rewards. New shoes donated by Brooks were part of the latter:
Two classes won them as part of a Healthy Husky Challenge that Bermes and school nurse Terri Helm-Reymund led – “a 2 week long healthy challenge where students logged the number of minutes they exercised, or participated in some physical activity, every evening. Parents had to sign off on the log.” Bermes said the school was slated to get 35 pairs to give away, but two classes won and she requested, and received 44. One more special prize was announced at the assembly – Bermes got a Seattle Education Foundation grant to help with programs to boost attendance, and with part of the money, she bought a bicycle and gear, prizes for a drawing into which students with low absenteeism and tardiness were entered. Here’s the big announcement:
2nd grader Santiago is the first bicycle winner in the new incentive program:
Drawing entries are given to students with two or fewer absences per trimester and less than five tardies; perfect attendance gets a student five entries. Other prizes included basketballs and hula hoops.
Spend this Saturday gardening, to help financially challenged families grow their own food! Seattle Tilth‘s Just Garden Project is hoping for more than 100 volunteers to join the “Spring Into Bed!” work party at more than a dozen backyards and community centers in High Point. The official announcement says this is meant to “empower families to become self-sufficient, grow their own food and make healthier food choices.” Just show up at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center, 6400 Sylvan Way SW, for garden-building 10 am-2 pm and a celebration afterward. RSVP by e-mailing food@justgarden.org – and find out more at springintobed.org.
In case you hadn’t seen it in the comments section by now: Falafel Salam‘s West Seattle-residing proprietor Shimi Kahn, who asked for help in finding a local spot to visit regularly, has found it. This Saturday, the Middle Eastern food truck will start weekly visits at Hans VW (35th and Graham), a spot recently given up by Marination so they can focus their West Seattle attention on Marination ma kai (WSB sponsor) at Seacrest Pier. You’ll find Falafel Salam there this Saturday and beyond, 11 am-3:30 pm.
One person just getting home e-mailed to ask what all the police in the 6000 block of Lanham were there for. Our crew has just come back, and here’s what they learned: The call went out about half an hour ago as an “assault with weapons” – there was a report of a possible stabbing, we’re told. Emergency responders at the scene deduced there had not been a stabbing and they didn’t think anyone had been hurt, but there was a suspected domestic-violence situation, and scanner traffic indicated a knife had been found. One fire unit was kept on scene for a while just in case, but the rest were dismissed. Police are continuing to investigate.
ORIGINAL REPORT, 3:20 PM: Police and fire are rushing right now to 32nd and Raymond in High Point. The scanner says an 8-year-old on a bicycle was hit by a car; he is reported to be conscious. More when we get there.
3:29 PM UPDATE: Co-publisher Patrick Sand is there and says he can see that the child is conscious and sitting up. Looks like he will be taken to the hospital to be checked out. They are trying to find his parent. The driver is visibly distraught and talking with police.
3:42 PM UPDATE: According to radio traffic, the child may have a broken bone. The medic unit is taking him to the hospital right now.
4 PM: We’re checking with Seattle City Light about what at first glance might look like a small power outage in High Point – two “customers,” per the SCL outage map – but affects many more people, because one of those “customers” is West Seattle Elementary School, according to tipster Odetta, who says it happened right around dismissal time, just before 3. The city map projects restoration around mid-evening, but says the cause is being investigated.
4:07 PM UPDATE: SCL spokesperson Scott Thomsen tells WSB the problem isn’t with their system, but rather “the customer’s panel.” So now we’re checking with the school district.
ADDED: Seattle Public Schools spokesperson Teresa Wippel explains:
(The) power outage was from 2:50-3:47 pm, caused by a boiler malfunction that blew the circuit breakers. Students left school about 10 minutes early to wait for the bus since there was no power. They were able to bring the power back on and City Light came out to inspect and ensure there were no safety issues. So school is on as usual for (Friday) but I’m told it may be a little cool at the school in the morning since the boiler still needs repairs — the building also has a heat pump, which will be used as a backup until the boiler is fixed. (They need to get some parts to do that.)
The Feet First series of three West Seattle neighborhood walks was such a hit, they added a fourth – and there’s still room to join it at 1 pm this Saturday:
Join Feet First Watershed Walks Ambassador Timothy Lowry, PE, LEED AP, transportation and watershed planner on an urban field tour of the High Point neighborhood. High Point is ten percent of the Longfellow Creek watershed; this tour follows up on Feet First Neighborhood Walking Ambassador Bryan Fiedorczyk’s Watershed Walk of Longfellow Creek. Experience High Point’s innovative community planning and sustainable design. We will walk the venerable and diverse Smart Growth neighborhood and see examples of green buildings, mobility connections to transit, parks, and Longfellow Creek. We will also see Low Impact Development/natural Green Stormwater Infrastructure installations. Approaching a decade in the ground, the Natural Drainage Systems, tree retention, landscape amenities and permeable pavements have matured into a very pleasing, walkable and desirable urban neighborhood.
It’s free (leaving from the High Point Library at 35th/Raymond), but FF does ask that you RSVP – which you can do by going here.
(2011 SFD photo)
We often feature the Seattle Public Library‘s story times on the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar – and once in a while, they feature special guests. Tomorrow “Firefighter Story Time” is scheduled at the High Point Library branch – and we’ve just learned that Fire Chief Gregory Dean will be the special guest, promoting fire safety and literacy. An SFD announcement says the chief “will read ‘No Dragons for Tea‘ to dozens of preschool children … Important safety messages include ‘Firefighters are your friend,’ ‘Crawl low under smoke’ and ‘Get out and stay out’.” You’re welcome to bring your preschooler – 1:30 pm tomorrow (Tuesday, October 16th). The library is at 35th/Raymond.
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Ask someone to name our area’s public high schools, and they are likely to stop after listing West Seattle High School and Chief Sealth International High School.
They would be missing one.
The south campus of alternative Middle College High School has long been headquartered in West Seattle, for more than a decade at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor). This year, it’s in a new location, after SSCC said it needed the space back.
Teacher Alonzo Ybarra invited WSB to drop by the new High Point home of MCHS.
Thanks to Wendy Hughes-Jelen for that photo of part of a brand-new installation in High Point – the Bataan Park Outdoor Fitness Zone at High Point Drive SW and Bataan Place SW. We got first word from Denise Sharify with Neighborhood House:
Be Active Together (Neighborhood House) and Open Space Association at High Point announces the opening of the Bataan Park Outdoor Fitness Zone
First of a kind in West Seattle, if not Seattle, The Zone offers FREE outdoor exercise equipment to the community 24/7. They are fun to use and accessible for almost everyone.
There are 8 pieces of equipment that make up a medium-sized gym center outdoors in a beautiful setting. A person who works his or her way through the entire circuit will get a high-quality aerobic and strength workout for the whole body.
*Located next to a children’s playground, it promotes family fitness and intergenerational play
*Offers communities a great way to promote wellness and fight obesity.
Join us at the grand opening on Sept. 5th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm and work out with fitness expert Willie Austin. Live Jazz music and refreshments provided.
For more information or to receive training as a Fitness Zone ambassador, call Denise Sharify at 206.571.5070.
The new Fitness Zone was built with the help of a grant from KaBOOM! (previously known around here for the Delridge Playground) and Dr. Pepper/Snapple.
Remember Lauren Englund and her idea for an “observational/educational beehive” in High Point, where she lives? We featured her pitch here back in May – and she’s just e-mailed to say “We got the space!” Next Tuesday, everyone interested in the project is invited to a design meeting. Ahead, excerpts of the e-mail she sent to supporters, including the meeting time/date/place:Read More
Police are investigating a stabbing in High Point. Medic crews taking the victim to the hospital described her via emergency radio as 41 years old and suffering three stab wounds that are believed to have happened during a fight with someone she knows in the 6000 block of Lanham SW. We don’t have information so far about any possible suspect(s).
That’s the whiteboard for what’s available right now at the High Point Market Garden Farm Stand, open for the first time this year, Wednesdays 4-7 pm. The farmers took a quick break for our photo:
Their plots are literally next to the stand – so it’s as farm-fresh as you can get – 32nd and Juneau (map).
A High Point resident who wants to be anonymous found what they described as:”45 bike keys, 2 house keys & 1 Nissan car clicker” near their house this week. We usually point lost/found to the WSB Forums, but this one was just too weird; the finder wondered whether it might be crime-related, and planned to turn it in to police, so if you know whose these are, contact them at 206-625-5011.
If you have clothing you don’t need any more, but you don’t already have other plans for it such as a yard sale – the Neighborhood House High Point Center has a clothing drive under way and asked us to share this call for donations:
n the spirit of reducing, reusing, and recycling, we are celebrating Earth Day by holding a clothes drive for the residents of the High Point community. We are asking the wider West Seattle community to contribute any new or slightly used clothing. Please bring clothes clean and no undergarments. Clothes donations may be left with the High Point Center front desk, 9 am-5 pm Monday-Friday of this week, April 23-27. Our address is: 6400 Sylvan Way SW. We thank you in advance for your generosity! If you have any questions, please contact High Point Living Green Project Manager, Rochelle Saedi at rochelles@nhwa.org or (206) 588-4900 ext. 612
(And though it’s not related, we can’t resist a reminder that a whole variety of NON-clothing items can be recycled via the Fauntleroy Church event this Sunday.)
At right with Democratic governor candidate Rep. Jay Inslee are, left, Farhiya Mohamed, and at right, Shukri Olow, High Point community builder – Shukri put together tonight’s forum at High Point Community Center, during which he spoke to and with an audience of more than 50 people. Their questions touched on topics from health care to jobs and beyond; we recorded the forum on video and will add it to this story once it’s ready here it is. (added 12:39 am)
The sponsoring High Point Neighborhood Association invited Republican candidate Attorney General Rob McKenna as well, but says he told them he could not attend. (He sent a representative.)
Via SPD Blotter, police have just confirmed what Brittany reported last night on the WSB Facebook page – shots were indeed fired outside High Point Community Center, with one hitting a nearby house. The SPD report says in part:
Responding Southwest Precinct officers located evidence of a shooting in the north lot of the High Point Community Center. A van that was parked in the lot (unoccupied) had been struck, as well as the exterior wall of a house across the street in the 3400 Block of SW Willow Street. The residents of the house heard the shots and the bullet hit the house, but it did not penetrate to the interior of the house, and there were no reported injuries. Officers were able to recover shell casings from the parking lot, and the rounds that struck the van and the house.
The SPD report doesn’t mention the types of vehicles seen leaving the area after the gunfire, but Brittany described them as “black newer Jeep Cherokee and red Pontiac Firebird.”
1:39 PM: Major response to the 6000 block of Lanham Place SW in High Point. More shortly.
1:51 PM: Our crew reports it turned out to be a “food on the stove” call – smoke but no real fire, and the Fire Department’s wrapping up.
As far as we can tell, it’ll be this year’s earliest campaign forum in West Seattle: Democratic candidate for governor Rep. Jay Inslee is coming to High Point for a community Q/A session next month. The High Point Neighborhood Association says they also invited Republican candidate state Attorney General Rob McKenna but he “is unavailable.” The forum will be 5:30-8 pm March 15th at High Point Community Center, with refreshments, interpretation, and child care available. (If you’re interested in either or both of the latter two, Shukri Olow would love advance notice at solow@seattlehousing.org or 206-696-3148.)
Of interest particularly to those who live in High Point and other developments/buildings managed and/or owned by the Seattle Housing Authority – SHA’s executive director Tom Tierney announced today that he will retire in August, which is when he turns 65. SHA says it’ll announce plans for the successor search “in the coming weeks.” Full announcement here.
It’s been quieter on the burglary front lately; we should hear the newest stats at the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council meeting on Tuesday. Meantime, an alert from a break-in victim near 29th and Raymond in High Point, who sent a note this afternoon:Read More
Here’s a potential New Year’s resolution for parents, grandparents, guardians, and caregivers of young children – take advantage of Seattle Public Library story times! Children’s librarian Amy LaVare shares a list of what’s scheduled at the Delridge (Brandon/Delridge) and High Point (35th/Raymond) branches the next few months:
JANUARY 5 and all Thursdays through MARCH 8: Preschool Story Time, 11:15 am, Delridge Branch (5423 Delridge Way SW)
JANUARY 10 and all Tuesdays through MARCH 20: Family Story Time, 7 pm, Delridge Branch (5423 Delridge Way SW)
JANUARY 12 and all Thursdays through MARCH 29: Toddler Story Time, 11:30 am, High Point Branch (3411 SW Raymond St.) No story time on March 15.
JANUARY 23 and all Mondays through MARCH 26: Family Story Time, 7 pm, High Point Branch (3411 SW Raymond St.)
JANUARY 28 and all Saturdays through MARCH 31: Vietnamese Story Time, 11:30 am, Delridge Branch (5423 Delridge Way SW) This story time is offered entirely in Vietnamese.
FEBRUARY 1 and all Wednesdays through MARCH 28: Somali Story Time, 5 pm, High Point Branch (3411 SW Raymond St.) This story time is offered entirely in Somali.
Story times are open to the public. Everyone is welcome. No registration is required. Free parking is available at each location. For more information, call the High Point Branch at 206-684-7454, the Delridge Branch at 206-733-9125 or Ask a Librarian.
You’ll also find Story Times at the Southwest, South Park, and West Seattle branches; we’ll be adding these, and those, to our ongoing WSB West Seattle Events calendar, and you can check on daily/weekly events through the calendar on the library website.
Can you help out with this – a chance to inspire local youth at Career Night for teens at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center next week? Here are all the details:
What: An opportunity for young people to connect to professionals in all sorts of careers and ask them questions about what they do and how they prepared for their careers.
Where: High Point Center Neighborhood House (6400 Sylvan Way SW)
When: Tuesday, Dec. 6th 4-6 pm
Why: Young people can benefit from talking to adults who are already doing the things they aspire to do about what it takes to get there! We want to give the youth a chance to ask questions and hear about what certain careers are like and for adults to see themselves as resources for youth.
Help us make our career night a success for our youth! We are looking for more professionals from areas of work in Media, Natural Science, Social Science, Medicine, Business, Architectural Studies and Engineering to briefly talk about the work that they do and answer career-specific questions from teens. If you work in a field that was not mentioned or are self employed and would like to share your experience, please also contact Khatsini, YELS (Youth Empowered With Leadership Strengths) program coordinator, at khatsinis@nhwa.org or 206 588 4900 x.627 for further steps.
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