In the final moments of the weekend — we’re sharing a short clip courtesy of Tim Roberts, who couldn’t resist capturing the cherry blossoms on video while out and about in the sunshine.
It’s easy in the news business to just let stories drop after the initial report – tougher to remember to follow up, and then to find the followup information. But we do our best to keep checking back, and in that spirit, wanted to let you know what happened in a few notable collision cases — these can be the toughest to follow up on, since a major collision may require weeks or months for the Seattle Police Traffic Collision Investigation Squad to investigate and then for prosecutors to review before a citation or charge is filed. Here’s what happened in two cases — months old, but both cases eventually resulted in Municipal Court-handled citations that haven’t been reported before:
That photo is from last September 4th, when a 15-year-old girl was hit by an SUV while crossing 35th at Juneau in High Point (map). She was out of the hospital within two days, but the investigation and review took months; finally, Municipal Court online records show, the SUV’s 40-year-old driver was cited for passing a vehicle stopped at a crosswalk.
Just a few weeks after the 35th/Juneau incident, we interviewed the motorcycle rider who survived being hit by a minivan in Westwood earlier in the year:
Karen Derby told us the story of her recovery in the months following the June 15, 2008, crash at 30th/Trenton (her story here; original crash report here). Municipal Court online records now show that, also after a long investigation, the 19-year-old driver was cited for running a stop sign.
We are still checking on a few other past cases, including the deadly crash at California/Dawson last fall that killed 92-year-old Rosemary MacCorkindale and, much more recently, two Junction collisions, including the one March 9 in which a pickup driver hit 13 other vehicles, and we’ll let you know when there’s something to report regarding the aftermath of those.
SIGNS: SDOT crews have been back in West Seattle in recent days replacing more street signs – in a process that’s been under way for the past two years – and we noticed something interesting: Signs like this one, with an icon to signify “street” sections that are really stairways (this is on the east side of California at Hudson, just south of The Junction). By the way, the city is still selling the old street signs it’s taking down as the bigger, more reflective new ones go up: Inventory updates are posted periodically here (the one there now is dated January).
SCOUTS: Have no idea how often this happens, but we discovered belatedly that a slew of NFL scouts were at Southwest Athletic Complex in Westwood Saturday afternoon to watch Washington State receiver Brandon Gibson show his stuff in hopes of getting drafted. He played high-school football in Puyallup, which is why the Tacoma News-Tribune covered it (report with video here)
Next events (calendar here) in the ongoing process of trying to get the coop off the ground: A meeting Tuesday at Pearls on Delridge, and a table at the Gathering of Neighbors next Saturday, 11 am-3 pm at Chief Sealth‘s Boren campus – we’ve got a table there too (offering early discount registration for West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day!), so hope you’ll be there to find out more about 70-plus West Seattle organizations and businesses.
With two weeks to go till Easter, here at WSB we’re doing what we do for all major holidays – making a special page so you can find West Seattle-specific information all in one place. We’re gathering information from websites and phone calls but also wanted to issue an invitation: If you’re associated with a church and you have its Easter service information, please let us know so we can make sure it gets onto that page; if you’re associated with a restaurant and you’re having Easter brunch, same invitation applies. Best way to reach us is e-mail: editor@westseattleblog.com – and if all the info is already on a page on your own website, just sending us that link is fine, you don’t have to retype it or cut-and-paste it. We hope to get the first version of this page up within the next 24 hours, but if you don’t see this till Monday afternoon or later — that’s OK, we’ll just keep adding info, as always. (Other Easter-related activities welcome too – we’ve already got various egg hunts listed on our Events page but let us know if you know of one that’s not there.) Thanks!!!! (Photo credits: Peeps from kimberlyfaye‘s Flickr page; beach group, WSB photo from local UCC churches’ 2008 sunrise service on Alki)
That’s Payton the schnoodle — whose person Dan Nicholson hopes everybody to be on the lookout citywide, after Payton was stolen from Dan’s car on Capitol Hill last night. Here’s his report on what happened:
Our 10 month old puppy, Payton (named after the Glove. In honor of my lost and beloved Sonics), was stolen from our car (last night) while we were dining at Piecora’s. He is a Schnoodle (Schnauzer/Poodle mix) and weighs 13.5 lbs. We were parked in their back lot and planned to go to the Beveridge Place in W. Seattle afterward as they allow dogs. I had to talk my wife into letting him come as I felt bad locking him back up after working all day. The camera photage literally shows them pull up, throw a boulder through our window, grabbed him and go. Fortunately they left our other dog. He’s our little buddy and basically we’re desperate to get him back. We’ll pay a reward to have him safely returned.
We’ve also pointed Dan toward our fellow neighborhood-news sites closer to the scene of the crime, including Capitol Hill Seattle. Call police if you’ve seen Payton.
(first of 2 WSB video clips of Denny Jazz Ensemble at last night’s dinner) Denny Middle School‘s cafeteria sports a big blue neon sign on one wall: DENNY DINER. Last night, though, the “diner” became a jazz supper club for the annual Denny Music Department Jazz Dinner, which packed the house with a crowd enjoying food including gumbo, jambalaya, and barbecue from West Seattle’s own OK Corral, as well as music from not only Denny student performers but also Septimus and the West Seattle Big Band – as well as visiting musicians from Cooper Elementary:
(photo of Cooper musicians provided by Denny principal Jeff Clark)
A dessert auction was part of the program too – according to an announcement during the event, the desserts alone brought in more than $1,000. Denny gained renewed attention recently for its designation as an International School starting this fall, but its music programs have regional fame thanks in no small part to director Marcus Pimpleton, who not only leads music at Denny but is also the director of the Seattle Public Schools All-City Band, seen in parades everywhere in their distinctive green polo shirts. Another photo provided by the school shows him with some of the students between their sets last night (the Jazz Ensemble played at the start and finish of the event):
Also on the bill, the Denny steel-drum band (featured recently here) and acoustic musicians. Meantime, here’s another jazz clip from last night – sorry that our video quality is spotty but the audio’s good, in no small part thanks to the kids’ talent and hard work:
(The sax soloist is 6th grader Ryan Maroney.) The ensemble goes to the Reno International Jazz Festival in about a month; other Denny music events on the calendar include Marching Band Camp at the school during spring break next week (we published a feature about Denny camps at mid-winter break last year).
WSB photojournalist Christopher Boffoli is just back from the West Seattle Farmers’ Market and reports that the daffodils promised in today’s “fresh list” weren’t there, but, he adds: “Lots of tulips though. And I did find this lovely young lady named Caity from Monroe … selling fresh eggs from her own chickens that she raises, feeds and takes care of. I bought a dozen for $6 and even found a beautiful green egg among them.” The Farmers’ Market continues till 2 pm at 44th/Alaska.
We first heard about it from Kathy (thank you!), who e-mailed WSB to say that she’d heard Dave Pedras, a paramedic/firefighter who lives in West Seattle, will be honored for his role in a rescue last summer. We checked with the Fire Department, and spokesperson Dana Vander Houwen said it’s true, sending along complete details:
Firefighter/Paramedic Dave Pedras will be recognized with a Unit Citation at the Seattle Fire Department Awards Ceremony which is taking place on Thursday, May 7. Unit Citations are awarded to units at the scene of an emergency for outstanding performance of an exceptionally difficult task, performance under hazardous or adverse conditions and for exemplifying the importance of teamwork and cooperation. Engine 33, Ladder 12 and Medic 28 received Unit Citations for the rescue.
On August 22, 2008 at around 8:30 pm, someone called 911 reporting that a person was missing in Lake Washington near Pritchard Island Beach. When the first Unit (Engine 33) arrived on the scene, they got information from bystanders about where the patient was last seen. Firefighters Dennis Stanley and Jason Hess (both of Engine 33) immediately entered the water and went out about 60 feet off shore to the area where witnesses had last seen the patient. After two to three minutes of searching, using a flashlight, Firefighter Hess was able to see a shadow below the surface. Firefighter Stanley dove down approximately 10 feet and found the patient and brought her up to the surface – she was unconscious and unresponsive.
Firefighters Stanley and Hess worked together to swim her back to shore. The patient was placed on a backboard – she was still unconscious and unresponsive and did not have a pulse. Firefighters and Firefighter/Paramedics immediately started CPR. The patient was quickly moved into a Medic 28.
Firefighter/Paramedics Dave Pedras and Dave Head of Medic 28 provided advanced life support and ongoing CPR with the help of the firefighters on the scene. Through the quick actions of responding firefighters and teamwork by all those who responded, the patient’s pulse returned. She was transported to Harborview, and 15 minutes after she arrived she had strong vitals and a good prognosis from the Emergency Room staff.
Kathy has firsthand knowledge of what happened after that, and says the rescued woman made a full recovery. Medic 28 is based at Station 28 in Rainier Valley.
An arrest in Tennessee will be welcome news for the congregation of Gatewood’s Peace Lutheran Church. Pastor Erik Kindem e-mailed the other day to call our attention to this seattlepi.com story about a woman mourning her murdered son, unable to leave the Tukwila motel where he was killed because she had nowhere else to go. Kindem knew the family and officiated at 24-year-old Kevin Camacho‘s funeral a week ago, in addition to seeking help for the family. Now there’s word from Tennessee that the suspected killer is in custody, awaiting an extradition hearing so he can be returned here to face charges.
Yogurt, daffodils, and order-taking for Easter ham/lamb are among the highlights promised by the Ripe and Ready list for today’s West Seattle Farmers’ Market (10 am-2 pm, 44th/Alaska). Also look for Friends of Junction Plaza Park, as they continue collecting pledges of volunteer help for the big push to get the long-in-the-works park done this year.
That’s the future site of ARK Memorial Park, just west and a little south of Arbor Heights Community Church, which owns the 8,000-square-foot parcel. Under and around that gazebo, a small but hardy group gathered Saturday afternoon for the ceremonial groundbreaking:
The young assistants are Isabella and Elliana Kimball, sisters of the park’s namesake, Alexandra Ramona Kimball, stillborn on the same day – March 28th – one year earlier. As Hal Kimball noted goodnaturedly during the downpour-graced groundbreaking, baby Alexandra’s initials are part of the double meaning in the park’s name:
AHCC says the park/playground will be for the entire community, not just for church families. As noted in our first story about the ARK Park plan last summer (see it here), this is a private project, not seeking city funding. So far they have raised more than $5,000, enough to begin the project’s first phase, but that’s just a start; next fundraising event is a spaghetti dinner at the church Fellowship Hall on April 18th (more info here). The timetable for construction depends on how the fundraising effort goes, but
special page so you can find West Seattle-specific information all in one place. We’re gathering information from websites and phone calls but also wanted to issue an invitation: If you’re associated with a church and you have its Easter service information, please let us know so we can make sure it gets onto that page; if you’re associated 
with a restaurant and you’re having Easter brunch, same invitation applies. Best way to reach us is e-mail: 
Yogurt, daffodils, and order-taking for Easter ham/lamb are among the highlights promised by the 
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