West Seattle, Washington
09 Monday
Tonight we’re midway through the open-nomination period for the next round of West Seattle Volunteer Recognition Awards. It’s a simple way to call attention to folks who work hard, for free, to make our community such an amazing place. WSB co-sponsors these awards with the Southwest and Delridge District Councils; volunteers from those two groups review the nominees and choose the winners. This is the third round since last spring; here’s who won the first time around; here’s the second group of winners. June 21 is the deadline, but take a few minutes to use this form to send in a nomination (if it’s not working, here’s a direct link). There are four categories: 3 individual volunteers in community, environment, or youth work; the fourth is a group award. Winners will be honored during the West Seattle Hi-Yu Concert in the Park at Hiawatha on July 20th.
Via our citywide-news partners at the Seattle Times: A complaint has been filed against West Seattle-residing King County Superior Court Judge Michael Heavey by the Washington Commission on Judicial Conduct. The commission alleges Judge Heavey supported Amanda Knox, the West Seattle-raised college student convicted of murder in Italy, in ways that broke state judicial-conduct rules. Here’s the announcement (PDF download from the Times’ site), which alleges:
Judge Heavey is charged with violating Canons 1, 2(A) and 2(B) of the Code of Judicial Conduct by writing letters on official court stationary to Italian judicial system officials on behalf of criminal defendant Amanda Knox, utilizing court staff to type those letters, and speaking publicly on several occasions, identifying himself as a judge, about that same pending criminal case in an attempt to influence the proceeding. Judges may not, under the Code of Judicial Conduct lend the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interests of others
According to the TImes, Judge Heavey told the Associated Press he will make a statement later. He has 3 weeks to officially answer the complaint; the full “statement of charges” is posted (PDF) on the commission’s website.
(Photos by Kellie Moeller)
Look closely at the top-left section of that photo, and you’ll see what 96-year-old Fordie Ross was throwing at last Saturday’s Northwest Senior Games Track and Field events at West Seattle Stadium. Kellie Moeller from Merrill Gardens – sponsor of Saturday’s competition, and also a WSB sponsor – shared some photos, which can certainly inspire us all. Also in the shot put, 64-year-old Peggy Anderson from Bellevue:
And check out 69-year-old Fred Zapf of Issaquah in the pole vault!
Kellie adds:
These events are taking place all around the Seattle area during the month of June. These events give seniors across the state the opportunity to compete in athletic events of all disciplines. Winners will go on to compete on a national level.
The NW Senior Games website doesn’t have this year’s results up yet, but taking a peek at the 2009 list, we see Ross and Anderson both took their age divisions in shot put!
It’s a simple way to get healthier, and to get around … just walk. But sometimes people need a little encouragement. Think you’re the person to cheer them on? Feet First invites you to free “Neighborhood Walking Ambassador” training at the Alki Bathhouse this Saturday (June 12), 10 am-noon. Here’s more about the program (on Feet First’s recently upgraded website!). If you’re interested, RSVP to yoyo@feetfirst.info or 206-652-2310.
Pongo Teen Writing Project founder Richard Gold of West Seattle is scheduled to get a big-screen showcase during this afternoon’s Mariners-Angels game at Safeco Field. As reported here last Tuesday, Gold is a finalist in the national All-Stars Among Us competition (with voting under way now). After getting word of that from the Mariners, we contacted him to find out more about Pongo and its West Seattle connections beyond the fact he lives here:
The Alki Bakery is Pongo’s office. That’s where I meet with volunteers, collaborators, and supporters. I love to walk along Alki afterward. But in terms of Pongo’s work, what I’ve found is that the process of healing through poetry is profoundly powerful, so I seek the youth who are institutionalized in county-wide and state-wide agencies. Our principal sites are King County juvenile detention and the state psychiatric hospital for children. Of course, I’ve worked with West Seattle youth along the way. And in the community, Pongo appears at Folklife and Bumbershoot where we speak to 500 people over a weekend and give readings, and talk to our West Seattle friends. FYI, one of Pongo’s recent volunteers is Mike Hickey, a West Seattle resident, professor at South Seattle CC, and current Seattle Poet Populist.
So why enter the nationwide contest?:
…I hope to do more good through our Pongo website, which contains free writing activities that serve abused and neglected youth. We have writing activities that address addiction, letter to a missing parent, feelings of invisibility, etc. It’s my hope that through the “All-Stars Among Us” balloting more teens, counselors, and teachers will discover and use the Pongo website.
He adds, “My primary message at the baseball game is this… For abused and neglected teens, like struggling baseball teams, you can’t undo the past. But the best first step is honesty, figuring out your truth, followed by effort and the support of caring teammates.” So if you’re going to today’s game, watch the big screen for the Richard Gold shoutout; in the meantime, you can vote for him by going here (click on the Mariners logo). June 20 is the voting deadline. Each Major League Baseball team has three finalists in the competition, and each will send one to Anaheim for recognition during the All-Star Game on July 13. (Photo courtesy Richard Gold)
At West Seattle High School tonight, the WSHS Alumni Association‘s annual All-School Reunion included even more special moments than usual. This is the centennial anniversary of the first WSHS graduating class in 1910 (12 seniors, per a WSHS history summary) – in their honor, the half-centennial-anniversary class of 1960 appeared together onstage with emcee Gary Smith (Class of ’66; photo above). Then, there were three Hall of Fame inductees:
The trio included WSHS’s highest-ranking current alumnus, King County Executive Dow Constantine (Class of ’80), shown above with Karen Seamens Dobbs (Class of ’71), current WSHS Alumni Association president. The other inductees are internationally accomplished photographer Harald Sund (Class of ’61) and retired business executive Wendell Hurlbut III (Class of ’49). Hurlbut couldn’t be there, but Sund was on hand:
Another big part of the program – presenting scholarships; this year, the first-ever Tim Brenton Scholarship, in honor of the WSHS-alum Seattle police officer killed in the line of duty last year, went to Genneva Machmiller:
That’s Genneva with the WSHSAA president. She’s planning to major in nursing at UW. Other scholarship recipients from the Class of 2010:
*Korinne Ainsworth (Friedline, WSHS Alumni scholarships), planning to major in English at UW
*Sam Ameny (WSHS Alumni scholarship), planning a business law/sports agent major at UW
*Raymond Carter (Duke/Radar scholarship), planning a chemical enginering major at UW
*Triston Endreao (Blauert scholarship), planning an environmental-studies major at Whitman
*Karen Lowe (WSHS Alumni scholarship), planning a biochemistry/medical research major at UW
*Carl Swenson (WSHS Alumni scholarship), planning a nursing major at Gonzaga
*Biniaim Woldehaimanot (Bacas Delimitro scholarship), planning a law major at Western Washington
Before the award ceremony, attendees got to “roam the halls” and admire classic cars displayed along SW Stevens before joining in one of more than three dozen by-class reunions assigned to various WSHS classrooms. The West Seattle Big Band then played a set in the theater before the award announcements got under way.
When the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure hits Seattle streets this Sunday, it’ll be a new location – around Seattle Center, instead of on the Alaskan Way Viaduct – but some things will be the same: The love, emotion, and determination, of those who both are there to support a cure for breast cancer, and those who have survived it. One special story has come to our attention, thanks to Komen volunteer Meg Paynor, who shared a letter written by an 8-year-old Holy Rosary School second-grader:
My name is Anne-Louise Lorentz. I am 8 years old and attend 2nd grade at Holy Rosary School in West Seattle. Recently, my teacher, Karen Robel was diagnosed with breast cancer. She will not be able to finish the school year with us because she will be undergoing surgery. My classmates and I are running to support my teacher and help raise funds and awareness for this disease. Your support and contributions are a blessing. If you are not able to make a monetary donation, I ask that you please say a prayer for our beloved teacher, Karen Robel.
Meg says, “Cherie Skager, the director of communications at Komen, who reads all the
story submissions, was so moved she contacted Anne-Louise¹s mother and asked
her if Anne-Louise would be the ‘Official Starter’ of the 1k Kids Race on Sunday. Anne-Louise was so thrilled, she asked if her entire class could lead the Kids’ Race. On Sunday at 8 am, the 20+ students of
Karen Robel will start the Kids’ Race, with Anne-Louise leading the group.” Meg adds that they will be obtaining a group photo to frame as a “Get Well” gift for their teacher, who had her surgery this week. They will all be
wearing t-shirts that say “Running for Robel.”Last year, the Kids’ Race also had a West Seattle flavor – Adam Westerman was grand marshal, after helping raise thousands in honor of his mom, breast-cancer survivor Eddie Westerman. Even if you’re not planning to join Sunday’s Race for the Cure, you can donate online here.
It’s been a tough few months at Hegge Chevron in Sunrise Heights; first, the sudden death of owner Mark Hegge this past March. Today, the staff is dealing with news that one of their co-workers was killed in a car crash. 
It was a one-car crash in Des Moines, discovered late last night (here’s a KIRO TV report); today, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as 20-year-old Sam Backman, and the folks at the Chevron station tell us Sam worked there. They say he was a Seattle Lutheran High School graduate and played ‘multiple sports’ there (here’s a 2007 story noting his football accomplishments; a school newsletter has him on the SLHS Honor Roll the same year). Lately, he had been in the automotive program at South Seattle Community College. According to the tv report, his Honda Accord crashed through a rail and plunged down a ravine near South 216th/Marine View Drive. SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Seattle Lutheran has announced that Sam Backman’s memorial is set for Saturday June 12th at 3 pm, at Grace Church, 10323 28th Avenue SW, just south of Roxbury. ADDED SATURDAY NIGHT: Also from SLHS: There will be a viewing Thursday 4-8 at Howden-Kennedy in The Junction. The family asks that in place of flowers, donations be made to the Seattle Lutheran Sports Department. (Photo added Sunday, provided by Sam Backman’s family)
Starting right now, and continuing through this time the night of June 21st, nominations are open for the next round of West Seattle Volunteer Recognition Awards. WSB co-sponsors them with the Southwest and Delridge District Councils, which provide the volunteers who review the nominations and choose the winners. It’s a pretty simple concept: Volunteers need to be celebrated – and this is a way to honor the most hardworking, wonderful one(s) you know. This’ll be the third round since last spring; here’s who won the first round; here’s the list from the second round. Use the form below (or if it’s not working for you, here’s a direct link). There are four categories, for individual volunteers in community, environment, or youth work, and for a group award. Winners will be honored during the West Seattle Hi-Yu Concert in the Park at Hiawatha on July 20th.
Just got word from the Seattle Mariners that a West Seattle poet is one of their three finalists in the nationwide “All-Stars Among Us” contest (sponsored by Major League Baseball and People Magazine). From the Mariners’ announcement:
Richard Gold, of West Seattle, founded the Pongo Teen Writing Project to help abused and neglected kids heal through writing poetry about their experiences. Over the past 15-years, Pongo has helped over 5,000 kids in such places as juvenile detention centers, homeless shelters and psychiatric hospitals. Gold says writing, especially poetry, has powerful therapeutic value because the act of expression is a relief that helps young people understand and cope with their emotions surrounding often traumatic losses in their lives.
You can vote for him (or any other finalist) by going here by June 20th. Each MLB team will have one winner, and all 30 will be honored during the pre-game ceremony at the MLB All-Star Game on July 13th (this year it’s in Anaheim). The Mariners’ other two finalists are Puyallup’s Tim Hannah, who founded Jamie’s Heart after losing his two-year-old daughter to a congenital heart defect, and Lake Forest Park’s Alyse Rome, who founded Amazing-Kids.org to inspire and honor excellence in children.
Story, video and photos by Jonathan Stumpf
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
If the flora south of the Admiral District appears brighter and more productive these days, you can probably thank local artist turned beekeeper Gary DeBoer.
What started back in the summer of 2008 as a curiosity about the lack of honey bees in the his neighborhood has now turned into a passion to inspire others to become “a little more aware of our relationship to this spaceship we are on,” DeBoer explains.
After keeping fairly detailed charts about the insect activity in his yard, he decided to join the Puget Sound Beekeeper Association and quickly launched his hobby with beginner classes and regular monthly meetings.
But it’s not just the beekeeping for which he’s gaining renown – it’s the artful containers in which the bees live:Read More
For almost two decades of Sunday mornings, Seattle Times readers had the chance to take a humor break courtesy of columnist Steve Johnston. He’s now a resident of West Seattle – at Park West Skilled Nursing Center, because of health challenges – but has just achieved a milestone, three years after leaving the Times: He’s a published author. Johnston’s family has helped put together a collection of his 1988-2007 columns under the title “Tales of the Truly Unpleasant.” You can read more about it in this Times story; there’s also more info, including how to buy the book, at its official website. (Cover art used with permission)
By early afternoon, the team at Dignity Memorial-Forest Lawn Funeral Home and Cemetery (WSB sponsor) had finished the job that volunteer Scouts had helped with the day before – placing about 1,300 flags atop the graves of veterans buried there. Tonight and tomorrow night, starting at 6, a bagpiper will play; we’ll add video of that later. (added 8:41 pm – here’s bagpiper Tyrone Heade)
People who stop by this weekend to honor someone’s memory also will find a hospitality table with coffee/tea, plus maps if they have trouble finding a specific gravesite, and Monday at 2 pm, the annual West Seattle Memorial Day Service, co-presented by American Legion Post 160, will be held near the flagpole on the cemetery’s south-central side.
Another request tonight for help finding families who have room for a visiting international student this summer. From Andrew Ward, a teacher who lives in West Seattle:
There will be 17 students flying to Seattle from Spain this summer for the month of July, but I have yet to secure sponsor homes for FOUR of the incoming students. The other kids have already been matched with host‐families. I am looking for four more homes where they can learn more about life in America and practice their English. They have their own insurance and spending money. They just need to have their own bed to sleep in and a place at the dinner table.
Host families will need to complete an application packet. It’s pretty easy, and it’s a FUN way to get to know another culture and potentially make life‐long international friends!!! If you are interested in participating, please e-mail Mr. Andrew Ward at senorward@yahoo.com as soon as possible.
Time is of the essence in getting everything set up in time for them to be able to come to the US. It would be such a shame to have these few kids miss out. To have more of your questions answered, the following websites will help (too): www.nacelopendoor.org or www.nacel.net.
The next round of West Seattle Volunteer Recognition Awards – co-sponsored by the Southwest District Council, Delridge District Council, and WSB – is about to kick off. We’re giving you a week’s advance notice here so you can start thinking about the volunteer(s) you think need to be publicly celebrated – unsung heroes whose efforts make West Seattle such an incredible place to live, work and play. Nominations (using a simple online form) will open June 1st and close on June 21st. We’ll have the form linked here at WSB; but just so you know, we don’t have any role in judging – that’s handled by a volunteer committee with reps from the district councils. Once they’ve made their choices, the West Seattle Volunteer Recognition Awards will be announced and presented to the recipients during the West Seattle Hi-Yu Festival Concert in the Park on the Hiawatha Community Center east lawn, the evening of July 20th. (Wondering who’s already been honored? Here’s our report from the 1st round of awards last summer; here’s our report from the 2nd round, announced during last December’s West Seattle Junction Tree Lighting.)
Today we welcome one of our newest WSB sponsors, James Vann with Axia Financial. As is customary, new sponsors are invited to tell you about their business: James is a licensed independent contracting Home Mortgage Consultant and grew up in West Seattle. James has been in the mortgage business for more than 7 years. He is a 4th-generation graduate of West Seattle High School, with immediate family still living in WS; James and his wife Andrea live with their 1-year-old son Jackson in Kirkland. His family used to own Vann’s Restaurant, which was located in the Junction, open for more than 60 years. James holds his mortgage license under the umbrella of Axia Financial LLC, based in Bellevue. Locally owned and operated, Axia Financial is a distinguished mortgage banker dedicated to assisting clients with their mortgage-financing needs. James prides himself in offering excellent customer service and adheres to the highest ethical standards. In today’s current marketplace, it’s imperative to have several different options for securing financing. The In-House mortgage platform that Axia provides makes for a smooth closing and streamlined process. To go along with In-House underwriting, doc drawing and funding teams, our correspondent lender list includes Bank of America, Chase, US Bank, Wells Fargo, Flagstar, Suntrust, and Axia Financial. This list doesn’t include the long list of lenders that Axia can also broker out to if needed for a specific scenario that doesn’t fall within our In-House lenders box. He has an array of mortgage services that he can provide which include Conforming and JUMBO loans, FHA, VA, commercial loans, No Money and Low-Money down payment options, construction and Rehab loans, Reverse Mortgages and FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYER strategies and financing. James adds, “If you or any friends, family members or co-workers are looking to buy a new home and/or refinance their current home loan, please don’t hesitate to call me to do a quick mortgage analysis. This only takes a few minutes of your time and could save you hundreds of dollars monthly. If you mention WEST SEATTLE BLOG, I’m offering a reimbursement of your appraisal fee through closing or donate $250 to a school of your choice.” (A loan constitutes any first or second lien residential mortgage. Loan completion constitutes funding and disbursement of the loan through a title company. The school of choice may not be affiliated with Axia Financial, LLC.) Here’s how to reach James Vann425-605-8507 or james.vann@axiafinancial.com.
We thank James Vann and Axia Financial for sponsoring independent, community-collaborative neighborhood news on WSB; find our sponsor team, and info on joining, all here.
After publishing an item Thursday night about the death of former Beach Drive restaurateur Neal Saffer, we heard from his daughter Diane, who shared the photo you see at right, along with a little more history about the restaurant her father ran for a quarter-century (the second paragraph was her response to a followup question):
My parents first moved to West Seattle in 1950. My grandparents, Waite and Crystal Quesnell, originally owned and operated the restaurant, and my parents Neal and Marge Saffer took it over the year of the Seattle World’s Fair.- Century 21. Over the years, many teenage boys had their first job at Quesnel’s and many of those young men continued to be lifelong friends of my parents. All the many waitresses have also become lifelong friends of my parents. My parents closed in February 1986 and was converted to living quarters, where my parents resided until 2004 when they moved to Port Orchard. …
Quesnel’s restaurant was at 4703 Beach Dr SW – the tall tan building on the water side of Beach Drive, at the foot of Jacobsen road. The restaurant was on the main floor, with bathrooms and storage & prep room in the basement, and we lived upstairs from the time I was 12 yrs old. In her later years, my grandma Crystal lived in the little house next door at 4701 Beach Dr until she passed away. The restaurant had a great view of the water, and the islands. It was a small, family dining room with 12 tables, and my dad cooked steaks on a charcoal broiler. There was a window at the charcoal broiler and people would look in and my dad would say hi to them when they first walked in the door. My mom was the hostess, and I began working there at 12 as a bus person, and later a waitress. They also owned The Shack Drive-In on Harbor Avenue and the grocery store next to it. Some West Seattle residents will remember those as well.
(That’s the same Shack from which Java Bean Coffee‘s sign came.) Mr. Saffer died last week of heart failure at age 86 and was buried Friday at Dignity/Forest Lawn east of High Point.
That clip from the West Seattle-based site Bike Hugger was pointed out to us by Liz, sister-in-law of Doug Wood, identified by family members as the bicycle rider who was rescued from beneath a car after a collision on Admiral Way Thursday morning (here’s our original report) – the clip features him being interviewed on his “banana” bike. Liz e-mailed today to say, “I just spoke to his wife (my sister Laura) and Doug is doing well today. His three youngest children (he has six altogether) were able to visit him today for the first time, which lifted his spirits greatly.” We then got a short note later from Laura Wood, who provided a link to more information about her husband, focusing on his work with pianos. (She had joined the discussion in the comment section following our Thursday report [here and here], as did the wife of the driver with whom her husband collided.) Formal results of the investigation into the crash aren’t likely to be available for quite some time.
Thanks to Leslie for sharing this link via Facebook: Our partners at the Seattle Times published an obituary today for 86-year-old Neal Saffer, who ran Quesnel’s Restaurant in West Seattle for more than 20 years. According to the obituary, Mr. Saffer is to be buried at Dignity/Forest Lawn in West Seattle at noon tomorrow, with the burial service there to be followed by a reception at Holy Rosary; he died of heart failure, and is survived by family members including wife Margaret Saffer, with whom he had moved to Port Orchard in 2004. (If you are not a long-long-time West Seattleite – some WSB’ers who are, have discussed Quesnel’s over the years, and remember it as being along Beach Drive.)
(At left, Chad Lehman of West Seattle’s Troop 282, getting Matt Hasselbeck’s autograph)
Rick Lehman shared the photo and the following report on the Chief Seattle Council of the Boy Scouts of America‘s Eagle Banquet and Centennial Celebration held last weekend at Hyatt Regency Bellevue:
This prestigious and historic event was held in honor of the 2009-2010 Boy Scouts who attained Scouting’s highest rank and celebrating the 100 anniversary of Boy Scouting in America. Every Eagle scout in attendance was sponsored and paired up with a business person in the community who shared common interests with the scout.
The event hosted almost 200 new eagle scouts in the Seattle Area. To be an Eagle (the 6th and highest rank) a scout had to earn 21 separate Merit Badges, hold numerous leadership positions, be active in his troop and attend numerous outings and high adventures. He also had to do a major community service project where he had to conduct a feasibility study, plan, secure funding, purchase materials and schedule manpower support to help complete the project (many times involving well over 100 hours of service).
Scouts from West Seattle included Chad Lehman, Michael Cross and Kirk Wetzel of Troop 282. Representing Troop 284 were Kyle Edwards, Sam Guzzardo, Ryan Jacobs, Mathew Russell and Mark Viger.
Big-name entrepreneurs who also had been Eagle Scouts were on hand too – Rick’s report continues after the jump:Read More
This Friday – which also happens to be Bike To Work Day in our area – West Seattleite Coree Pelko (photo right) will be in the Bay Area to hit the road for a fundraising crosscountry bicycling trip, the Sea To Shining Sea ride to help disabled veterans. Coree happens to be in active service right now. And her trip now has a double purpose – as a shipmate who was supposed to ride with her, cannot. Here’s the story she shared:
I am active duty in the United States Coast Guard and I am embarking on a Cross Country Bicycle Ride with the non-profit organization World Team Sports. They are one of the largest Non-Profits for Disabled American Vets. They help Disabled Vets achieve feats that able-bodied citizens only dream of. I am riding to represent the US Coast Guard, Seattle & My dear friend David Moulton (Also Coast Guard) but who cannot ride as a result of unforeseen circumstances with his health that arose.
She explains, after the jump – and we also have a link you can use to support the ride:Read More
For more than 40 years, Elois Gruenhagen has taught at Hope Lutheran – but now, it’s time to pull back, so she got a big sendoff today at a special reception after the 10:30 service, cakes and all:
As the church newsletter explained:
Elois has taught several generations of first-grade students at Hope, teaching the children of students who were at one time in her first-grade class, as well as having several of Hope’s current teachers as her first-grade students.
The newsletter also noted that her retirement follows the death of her husband last fall as well as some health challenges, but she’s not leaving Hope entirely – she’ll do some part-time library work.
Many of the orca sightings we’ve shared here in recent months have started with a tip from Jeff Hogan. We often identify him as an “orca expert” for brevity’s sake – but here’s the long version: What he’s best known for is the environmental-education program Killer Whale Tales. Over the past decade, thousands of local students have seen Killer Whale Tales presentations, and the number grew this week with two more in West Seattle – Lafayette Elementary on Monday, and Sanislo Elementary on Tuesday, where we stopped in. We talked with Jeff before the presentation, and he explained what he was going to talk about – as well as the story behind one of his most popular audio/visual aids:
The program is explained further on the Killer Whale Tales website. When not in the classroom, Jeff is often in the field observing and photographing whales – not just orcas; before this week, we last encountered him one month ago today at Arroyo Beach, when he was first to tell us about the death of the gray whale that stranded there (see the video interview in our report from the scene that afternoon).
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