West Seattle, Washington
20 Friday
(photos by Christopher Boffoli)
Prom Night often starts with a nice dinner … and tonight, more than 40 people headed to the West Seattle High School prom chose to have theirs at Cafe Revo (WSB sponsor) in the Luna Park business district.
There was a surprise twist, according to what Cafe Revo’s Sofia Zadra Goff had told us earlier: “2 of the students are bussers at our restaurant, so we are going to make it a really fun night. All of the staff working tonight are dressing up in prom attire from the ’70s and ’80s (when our proms would have taken place) to surprise Diana and Holly, who work for us.”
The prom, by the way, was at the Shilshole Bay Beach Club. Tonight also was the WSHS All-School Reunion; next week, it’s graduation time on Thursday.
The area’s next big 5K takes over The Viaduct next Sunday morning: The annual Race for the Cure, raising money to fight breast cancer. Many West Seattleites are among the thousands of participants (including Team WSB, as we’ve written in the past). And this year, the Kids’ Run Grand Marshal is from West Seattle – read on for his story:
(WSB photo from 2008 Race for the Cure, heading northbound on The Viaduct)
By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
In 2007, West Seattle resident Eddie Westerman walked in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for her friend Dottie, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. They called their team “Dottie’s Hotties.”
One year later, her participation was in a different light: In 2008, Eddie herself was diagnosed with breast cancer; they renamed the team “The Fast Eddies.” This year, yet another friend of Eddie’s has been diagnosed with breast cancer and because the list is getting so long, they’re using the first initials of the friends who have been diagnosed and renaming the team “Pledges for EDJS.”
Throughout her journey, Eddie has had a very special partner working with her — her 12-year-old son Adam Westerman. (Photo at left, family-provided, shows Adam and Eddie)
Last year, Eddie and Adam teamed up to raise funds for the 2008 Susan G. Komen race and much to their surprise discovered Adam was the #1 youth fundraiser. This information came to them through a phone call months later from the Susan G. Komen Foundation who called Adam to tell him the good news and said, “We have something for you” — a Nintendo Wii. Says Eddie, “He thought they were joking; that it was something we’d put them up to.”
Adam was then asked by the Komen Foundation to speak to a group of their volunteers. He did such a great job, the Foundation asked him to be the 2009 Kids Run Grand Marshal.
We try not to take up much time and space here on the main page talking about panels we’re on and outside-media mentions we’ve gotten for being among the first nationwide to truly succeed as a respectable, commercial, online-only neighborhood-news operation. It would be boring to prattle on about ourselves, since WSB is about you. But this is a rare bit of national exposure, so we’re breaking our rule, and linking to it here: Two weeks ago we spent a few minutes at the KUOW Radio studios in the U-District taping an interview for the weekly NPR show “On the Media,” which was putting together a look at the Seattle news world, post-paper-P-I. The finished product is on this week’s program – which airs on KUOW at 7 pm Sunday, but is online now, and you can listen (via the embedded player above, or go to the OTM site here) if you’re interested. Your editor here is featured for about four minutes, starting five and a half minutes into the piece (after Eli Sanders from The Stranger). Now, back to the news … and thanks again for your support, your sharing of news tips and stories and photos, and for just being there.
Today, we’re welcoming a new WSB sponsor: Keystone Windows and Doors of Seattle, owned by Michan Rhodes, a West Seattle resident. This weekend Michan and her staff will be offering a free Milgard Smart Home Workshop on Saturday (May 30), 10 am-12 pm, at their showroom located just south of Safeco Field at 2215 4th Avenue South (map). Michan and crew will answer questions about how new windows and doors can save you money on your energy bill. Also, they’ll explain how to qualify for the new $1500 tax credit and Milgard’s energy rebate of up to $750. Keystone is family-owned and operated and has been in business for 20 years. Michan says the business started out with her going out and meeting each customer one-on-one, personally hiring the installers, and taking direct responsibility for each project. She says that process led to a steady stream of referrals, and she was able to open a showroom. She adds that all job estimates are free; Keystone is licensed, bonded and insured and in compliance with all Washington state laws. Also, Keystone is registered as a woman-owned business under the state of Washington’s Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) program. Find Keystone Windows and Doors online at keystonewindows.com, or call 206.860.8686.
Thanks to Keystone Windows and Doors for supporting 24/7 community news, information and discussion by sponsoring West Seattle Blog; our full list of sponsors is here, where you also can find out how to join them!
Another update today on Coreena Wolford, the 16-year-old Chief Sealth High School student who suffered major injuries in a crash by Highway 509 three weeks ago, as she drove from West Seattle to South Park to help tutor students in the READ program at Concord Elementary. Coreena’s aunt Danica e-mailed to say that her niece is now in a Burien rehabilitation facility: “She is recovering, but has a long, hard road ahead of her.” She adds that the family is looking for witnesses to the May 6th crash: “We are looking for any witnesses who may have seen the accident take place, not the aftermath. We need to get information for insurance purposes. Please e-mail me at danicacandy@hotmail.com with any information.” Family and friends also are continuing to update this website with news on Coreena’s recovery.
3 weeks after the death of 27-year-old West Seattle resident Jill St. Onge in Thailand (first reported here), there are new reports about the investigation into what killed her: 
The Phuket Gazette reported this week (scroll about two-thirds of the way down this page) that “microbial infection” possibly linked to food poisoning has turned up in “preliminary tests” of both Ms. St. Onge and the other tourist who died during a stay at the same guest house, 22-year-old Julie Bergheim of Norway. (You may recall, a very early report suggested food poisoning.) However, two days before that story appeared, the family/friends-maintained “About Jill” site had a post reading in part, “Also we DID get the tissue samples this week and they are now in the proper hands. I won’t go into much detail as everything is still extremely preliminary, but the very very early results do seem to coincide with something affecting the lungs.” As the writer points out, that’s what Ms. St. Onge’s fiance Ryan Kells had wondered about (here’s his story from earlier in the month). Kells is now with his family in California, according to this Los Altos account from a week ago.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
In case you missed it this morning, that’s video of the space shuttle Atlantis landing at Edwards Air Force Base in the Southern California desert, 13 days after it left Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA‘s been trying since Friday to bring it home, but the Florida weather just wouldn’t cooperate. West Seattle High School Class of ’72 alum Gregory Johnson piloted Atlantis during the mission, which was the last servicing mission for the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis will be taken back to Florida in a week or so atop a modified 747; Johnson and his fellow astronauts will head back to the Johnson Space Center in Texas on Tuesday, when a welcome-home ceremony is scheduled in Houston.
One week after our first preview, tomorrow’s the day: Members of environmentally focused West Seattle groups including Sustainable West Seattle and CoolMom will be among hundreds of people planning to attend – and rally — outside the Environmental Protection Agency‘s hearing on its proposal to declare climate change a threat to human health. The hearing is scheduled at Bell Harbor Conference Center on Pier 66 from 9 am to 8 pm (and likely beyond); the rally’s planned for noon, outside. Here’s the EPA’s info page (which also explains how to tune in to the live audio stream during the hearing); here’s the rally’s info page.
Thanks to Diane for the tip: seattlepi.com reports that King County Assessor Scott Noble, who lives in West Seattle, pleaded guilty this morning to vehicular assault in connection with a drunk-driving crash revealed earlier this spring. The report says he is expected to be sentenced to nine months in jail. 5:54 PM UPDATE: We have received the letter that King County Council Chair Dow Constantine sent to Noble re: the timing of his “intent to resign” and asking that he speed up the timetable – read on:Read More
This is Better Speech and Hearing Month, and the West Seattle chapter of the Hearing Loss Association of America is reaching out to invite more people to participate. Here’s the announcement Kacy asked us to share:
Do you, or someone you know, avoid crowded situations because it’s so much work to follow the conversations? What about hearing the birds chirping? Or feel that people are mumbling?
Did you know that
* 1 out of 10 Americans has a hearing loss?
* 15% of baby-boomers have a hearing loss?
* the majority (65%) of people with a hearing loss are below retirement age?Come to a meeting of the Hearing Loss Association of America, West Seattle chapter, and find out more!
Wednesday, the 20th of May, 1:30 to 2:30 p.m.
West Seattle Christian Church, 4400 42nd Ave SW (SE corner of 42nd and SW Genesee; map)
For more information, contact Kacy at kacy206@comcast.net
By the way, we are publishing individual stories on many more meetings and other announcements now, as we get them – most of them will be directly linked from our new Announced page. (Check it any time from its tab beneath the sunset photo atop WSB pages.) That’s in addition to what we’ve been doing for a long time, adding events and announcements to the WSB West Seattle Events calendar; the Announced page is just one more way for you to get a quick look at what’s just been announced, in addition to viewing the Events calendar by date. And thanks for sending us your announcements, events and news – editor@wsb.blackfin.biz any time!
Bright and early last Friday morning, more than two dozen people gathered in Fauntleroy to hear six West Seattle-area community leaders discuss how their local organizations/service agencies are handling the economy and its effects on the people they serve. The occasion: the annual Community Panel organized by the board of the West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA (WSB sponsor). Though panel members agreed that job losses and other problems are bringing them more clients, who in turn are coping with more anxiety, they also expressed general optimism. Read on for the main points each made, and the understanding that emerged before the event ended:Read More
Another update this morning as 16-year-old Chief Sealth High School student Coreena Wolford continues her fight to recover from major injuries suffered in a crash 9 days ago. As reported previously (last week’s story here, Monday update here), Coreena collided with another driver the afternoon of May 6th, while she was driving to South Park’s Concord Elementary for her volunteer work with the Team READ tutoring program. She has been in the hospital ever since, and her family is now approving updates to a Caring Bridge website set up to provide information on her recovery (that’s where the photo at left is from). This morning, there’s a new post – a fund is finally set up for those who want to donate to help with Coreena’s expenses:
Bank: BECU (Boeing Employees Credit Union)
Account Name: Benevolent Account for Coreena Wolford
Account Number: 3583245599 (checking)
BECU Routing Number: 325081403
You can donate at any BECU branch, or use that information for a transfer from your own account at any bank. Meantime, a short update on Coreena’s condition accompanies that information, saying she is “doing much better.” You can sign her online guestbook here.
By Kathy Mulady
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
Susan Rosenthal was all smiles this afternoon at City Hall as she was recognized and honored as Seattle’s first woman firefighter to rise to the rank of assistant chief (first reported here yesterday).
She called it “the best day of my life.”
Rosenthal, who recently bought a house and moved to West Seattle after years of living in Wallingford, was one of the first few women hired by the Seattle Fire Department in the 1970s. (On the card in the photo atop this story, she is the firefighter in the front, with the hose.) “We were told it would require strength and stamina. Now I know that meant more than just muscles,” she said.
The West Seattle CoolMom chapter is getting the word out about both the Environmental Protection Agency hearing on climate change one week from today in Seattle and plans for a rally outside the hearing. They’re hoping West Seattleites — CoolMom families and everyone else who’s interested — will join in the rally; they’re also noting that CoolMom co-founder Kirsten McCaa is planning to testify during the hearing. Seattle is one of two cities the EPA is visiting for public hearings on its “proposed finding” that climate-change-related pollution is a threat to human health. Here’s EPA info (including how to pre-register to testify) about the hearing, set for 9 am-8 pm May 21 at Bell Harbor on the downtown waterfront; the rally is set for noon (here’s its official infopage).
The Seattle Fire Department‘s newest Assistant Chief is not only the first woman to achieve that rank in the department, but also a West Seattle resident. A reception tomorrow will honor Assistant Chief Susan P. Rosenthal – read on for the official SFD announcement about her promotion and what she’s accountable for:Read More
Since our first short report on a major crash just east of West Seattle last Wednesday, friends and schoolmates of the driver who was seriously hurt, 16-year-old Chief Sealth High School student Coreena Wolford, have been posting updates and tributes in the comment section (read them starting here). Among other things, friends posted that she was on her way to Concord Elementary in South Park that day, for the final session of a program in which she was volunteering to read to younger students. Her name and condition haven’t been made public until now, but friends have just forwarded the link to a Caring Bridge website that has been set up as the official source of information about how she’s doing, with all postings approved by Coreena’s family: You can see the site here. We’ve been asking for any information we can share about a fund to help with her recovery, and her friends tell us that information should be available soon. Meantime, the new website says she was scheduled for more surgery this afternoon.
(Twitpic of Atlantis launch by @jesszuber)
ORIGINAL 10:54 AM NOTE: Just minutes till Atlantis is scheduled to lift off with West Seattle High School Class of ’72 grad Gregory Johnson piloting: Watch live here. UPDATE: 11:02 am, Atlantis has just taken off. 11:13 AM UPDATE: Via Twitter, NASA notes that Atlantis arrived in orbit eight minutes after liftoff. We’ll add liftoff video here as soon as we find an embeddable version.
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
12:15 PM UPDATE: Added MSNBC video.
By Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
If you drive down Avalon Way with any regularity, you may have noticed the office of Tillicum Village is shuttered. It closed after the Hewitt family of West Seattle, which has owned and operated Tillicum Village since 1962, sold the operation recently to Argosy Cruises.
Tillicum Village is a popular tour destination on Blake Island, directly across Puget Sound from West Seattle’s western shores, built in the style of a tribal longhouse, offering Native American entertainment and salmon barbecue to visitors; you can read its history here.
So what does the sale mean to its former owners, and the operation? We sat down to talk with Mark Hewitt, former Tillicum Village owner (and son of its founder Bill Hewitt):
It’s a familiar sight to those who drive Sylvan Heights/Orchard between Delridge and High Point — the Vietnamese Cultural Center north of Home Depot and next to Tug, a simple structure with a grand statue out back. As noted in the feature story we published last July, that statue pays tribute to 13th century Vietnamese hero Gen. Tran Hung Dao. But on Saturday, those gathered at the center were there to honor other soldiers – the thousands of Americans and Vietnamese who lost their lives in last century’s decades of war:
Chanting honored those soldiers, as did a drum ceremony:
Those in attendance heard from Dr. Dung Nguyen, M.D., who chaired the event.
A moment was offered for veterans to pause and remember:
A wreath was laid, before a moment of silence:
As explained on the event invitation, Vietnamese-American communities take time around the end of April/early May each year for ceremonies like this; as this online timeline reminds us, this is the time of year, 34 years ago, when the war finally ended.
(For the history of Vietnamese immigration to the U.S. in wartime and afterward, here’s a city-hosted website.)
The story has gone worldwide now, but thanks to Shannon Felix‘s original tip, WSB was the first news organization to report on the still-mysterious death of 27-year-old West Seattleite Jill St. Onge in Thailand, and we will continue to follow up, as family and friends search for answers and work to pay tribute to Ms. St. Onge. One of the newest developments: A memorial fund is now set up — according to this message from her family on the About Jill website (the image at left, of her and dog Sugar, is from that site):
We have set up a Jill St. Onge Memorial Fund. It will be used in a way we feel would represent Jill in the best way. Some ideas are starting a scholarship, establishing a memorial (Bench at a vista point or something along those lines) for every one to enjoy, helping other troubled travelers, using it to fund children art programs. This is very fluid right now. All thoughts and ideas on what would be a good way to represent Jill would be greatly appreciated.
Here’s a direct link to the page where you can donate, with your credit card, via PayPal (or PP account if you have one). Meantime, another update on the About Jill site says her fiance Ryan Kells (who works at Avalon Glassworks in West Seattle) arrived in the U.S. this morning, with Jill’s ashes. Results of the autopsy done in Thailand are not expected to be available for quite some time.
RESERVOIR TOUR: We’ve been talking with Seattle Public Utilities for a while about setting up a tour of the reservoir-covering work at West Seattle (Westcrest) Reservoir, and today we finally got to take that tour. You’ll see the full story here within the next couple days, probably Sunday night if there’s no breaking news; the photo above is from inside the section that’s being covered, where concrete columns go up before the “lid.” It’s an amazing project, not quite as big as this one we covered at Beacon Hill last year; watch for our story.
COUNTDOWN’S ON: As of this afternoon, NASA has started the clock (see it here) running down to Monday’s scheduled launch of the shuttle Atlantis, piloted by West Seattle High School Class of ’72 alum Gregory Johnson (more backstory here). The launch is scheduled for Monday afternoon.
TOP 100 SEATTLE WOMEN IN TECH, THE WEST SEATTLE REPS: TechFlash published this list today and, as WSB Forum members pointed out before we’d even heard about it, WSB editor/co-publisher TR is on the list. Not alone in West Seattle residence, either – among the names we recognize, Patty Stonesifer, Vanessa Fox, Michelle Nicolosi, Shauna Causey. (Anybody else on the list who you know to be a West Seattleite? Let us know!) *Added Sunday night – thanks to the commenter who notes Joleen Winther Hughes is another West Seattleite on the list.
SPOTLIGHT FOR TONY’S: Hadn’t seen this till Seattle Weekly editorial exec Mike Seely, also a West Seattleite, mentioned it – his feature about Tony’s Produce, the beloved vegetable/fruit stand at 35th/Barton. Read it here.
SPEAKING OF SHOPPING: Wanted to showcase this post from the WSB Forums if you haven’t seen it already: WSB’er Kevin writes a detailed look at what’s available at Cash ‘n’ Carry, a potential Costco alternative.
Four sets of congratulations for local students and schools. 
First, Greg Dirks of Fauntleroy sends this note about his son Matthew Dirks, a Kennedy High School senior:
He was recently named “Merit Scholar” by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation and was awarded with a $2500 scholarship. He is also a Washington State Scholar and will be attending a lunch hosted by Governor Gregoire on May 20th in Olympia. He will be attending the University of Chicago in the Fall. Matthew also led Kennedy’s Knowledge Bowl team to win the State Championship, beating out 65 schools including Lakeside and Garfield.
Greg adds that Kennedy had a pep rally this afternoon to celebrate. Meantime, congratulations are in order for the Seattle Lutheran High School fastpitch team, which won its fourth consecutive league championship by beating Rainier Christian last night. Bil Hood from SLHS says, “The Saints went undefeated in league and hope to continue a 3-year run of State Tournament appearances.” The district tournament starts next Friday; keep an eye on seattlelutheran.org for the latest.
Now, two items from the Seattle Public Schools “School Beat” newsletter, sent out within the past few hours:
Chief Sealth High School students Max Forbes and Lydia Duncan took second place in the novice division at the Puget Sound Computer Teachers Association programming contest held April 25. They competed against 25 teams representing 10 schools in the area. The novice team of students Megan Korling, Yousef Hassan and Paul Duncan also competed.
The Chief Sealth PTSA is participating in West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day tomorrow – stop by the school for not just shopping, but also a bake sale and hot dogs. West Seattle High School is participating in WSCGSD too, with a Grad Night Fundraiser sale and car wash. Second item from School Beat came with a photo:
Madison sixth-graders create China museum
A team of 150 students on Madison Middle School’s sixth-grade Apollo Team created an ancient China museum as a school project. Students were given two weeks to conduct research on the ancient civilization of China. Then, from their research findings, they created handcrafted artifacts. Exhibit cards described the artifacts, its significance and the dynasty. Students put the artifacts together for their peers and community members to view. Some students received a “Best in the Museum Award.”
One day after we first told you about the death of 27-year-old West Seattleite Jill St. Onge while vacationing in Thailand, an overseas newspaper says there is a new theory: Instead of possible food poisoning as reported yesterday, Ms. St. Onge’s fiance Ryan Kells is quoted as saying he suspects chemical fumes from a nearby water treatment plant; the Andaman Times also says a Norwegian news outlet reports cyanide was found in the body of a 22-year-old Norwegian woman who also died in the area, reportedly after having stayed at the same guest house as Ms. St. Onge. The Andaman Times also has editorialized that more coverage is needed of what happened to the two women; here’s their editorial, with additional photos of Ms. St. Onge. Back here in West Seattle, KIRO TV has picked up on the story (their live truck was sighted near Ms. St. Onge’s workplace, Shadow Land, which is where we took the photo at left, during Junction trick-or-treating last October) and tells us they’ll have a report tonight at 6; we’ll add the link here when their story’s online. 7:12 PM: Here’s the link to KIRO’s story.
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