WEST SEATTLE CRIME WATCH: Church youth group hit by car prowler(s)
While a church youth group was having lunch in The Junction, somebody broke into their van. The report is from Emily, who says this happened around 3:30 pm Saturday afternoon. The group’s van was parked in the Junction lot off 42nd SW, south of Oregon, while they had lunch. Emily says, “The kids (high school) were coming back from a hike and left some of the gear, backpacks, camera in the van and someone (or many) broke in while they were eating in Lee’s Asian, and took most of their stuff. So sad and unnecessary. Not sure there’s any way to get the kids’ things back but would love to catch the thieves.” She says a screwdriver was used to break the van’s lock, and the stolen items included two gray backpacks, Swiss Army pocket knife, Sony A5100 camera, white hoodie, North Face rain jacket, iPod touch. We don’t have the incident number, but will add it if we get it.
Bicyclist to hospital after collision on SW Bradford
The last Seattle Fire unit has just left the scene of a collision between a bicyclist and driver on SW Bradford east of California SW (map). We’re told the bicyclist, about 18 years old, did not have life-threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital by private ambulance; the collision happened as he was emerging onto Bradford from an alley.
‘SENIOR BUDDIES’: West Seattle neighbors spending time together, spanning generations
(Resident Betty Busby with Ariana Trevino and Olivia Furman)
On this day when we celebrate families … here’s a reminder that “family” doesn’t always require blood ties. In The Admiral District, students from Lafayette Elementary School have been spending time with residents at Brookdale Admiral Heights, which is less than a block north, in a program called “Senior Buddies.”
(Resident Ginny Bullock with Jack Colenso and Finn Litton)
Nancy Cossette, resident-programs coordinator at Brookdale AH, shared the photos and explained, “Residents at our senior community have paired up with third-grade students from Lafayette in a 6-week curriculum project, and the results have been truly magical.”
(Resident Ken Lowthian with Kaden Malmberg)
Nancy continues, “There’s at least a 60-year age difference between them, but you wouldn’t know it. They became pals at their first meeting, so we dubbed them ‘Senior Buddies.’ Since then, they’ve been busy getting to know each other and working together on writing (with pencil and paper; no technology here!), presenting, interviewing and perhaps most importantly, conversation. Plus, songs, games and art projects.”
(Anna LeBaron and Thea Harnish holding Muriel Bullock’s acrostic name poem)
And: “Research has shown that intergenerational programs can benefit both age groups immeasurably. As you can see on our residents’ faces, they’ve gained friendships and enjoyed teaching moments with their 8- and 9-year-old students.” She says the project will wrap up this month, “with a final sendoff in June before school’s out. Several have already asked if they can come visit during the summer break. We’ll start again in the fall with new classes of third-graders and more eager residents.”
West Seattle man seeking ‘the kindness of strangers’ to help fiancée recover
A West Seattle man who was looking forward to his wedding is instead engrossed in helping his fiancée recover from a crash, thousands of miles away, and raising money to cover her medical bills. We received first word of this from several people who said that Matthias Bakken, a South Delridge resident and small-business owner, is one of the best neighbors they’ve ever had, and they wanted to get wider word out to the community. Stephanie, for one, explained, “He is a great guy always willing to help others and is now in a terrible time of need.” Eventually, we connected directly with Matthias. So here’s the summary:
He and his fiancée Goi, who is from Udon Thani in northeastern Thailand, had just spoken by phone to set the date for their wedding when less than an hour later she was in a motorcycle crash that left her with major injuries. He traveled to Thailand, frantic to find out what had happened and where she was being cared for. She had suffered life-threatening injuries and along with being treated for those will require reconstructive surgery for her teeth and face. He says that at first he “was sleeping out in front of the hospital because I didn’t want to waste money that I knew I would need to use” for her bills. She is close to stable, he says, but her surgeries will cost more than her insurance covers, and she is from an impoverished farming family. “I need to make my soon to be wife whole again and I need the kindness of strangers to make this happen,” he told us.
We mentioned that Matthias is an entrepreneur; he says his business, Leaf Natural Products, donates all its profits to charity. Matthias’s medical-costs fundraiser for Goi is on the crowdfunding site GoFundMe.
CONGRATULATIONS! West Seattle team ROV team wins regionals, heads to international ROV competition
(L-R, Coach Hope Broucek, Owen Tiffany, Graham Hyland, Colby Smith, Aidan Grambihler, mentor Alex Miller)
Thanks to Lai Wong-Smith for the photos and report:
A West Seattle team is headed to the International Competition for MATE ROV (Marine Advanced Technology Education remotely operated underwater vehicle) after winning the Pacific Northwest Regional Competition (Saturday) with their underwater robot! The Junior Huskies took first place in the Ranger division at the Weyerhaeuser Aquatic Center with tough competition from teams throughout the region.
The independent team is comprised of four West Seattle 8th graders who attend Washington Middle School – Aidan Grambihler, Colby Smith, Graham Hyland, and Owen Tiffany. The team has known each other since Lafayette Elementary days when they played soccer together and built robots with Legos. Last year, their first year in the competition, they took first place at the Scout level. This year they jumped two divisions to the more advanced Ranger level competing with high school teams. Their mentor is Alex Miller, a West Seattle high school senior who won the International competition in 2015. A special thanks to their coach Hope Broucek for her dedication, and Alex Williams for his engineering guidance.
The international competition is in Long Beach, California, June 23-25th. This year’s competition theme is based on PORT CITIES OF THE FUTURE: Commerce, Entertainment, Health, and Safety. For more info on MATE and the competition, go here.
West Seattle Sunday: Mother’s Day and more
(Northern flickers, photographed by Mark Dale)
From the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS’ MARKET: 10 am-2 pm in the street, in The Junction. (California between Oregon and Alaska)
FLORAL CROWNS AT FLEURT: While the rainy weather has forced Fleurt to cancel its plans for a floral-tepee photo booth, the shop is still selling custom-made floral crowns while supplies last, 11 am-1 pm, as a Mother’s Day special. (4536 California SW)
GLASS BLOWING, LIVE! 11 am-5 pm, take Mom to Avalon Glassworks in Luna Park to see glass artists in action. (2914 SW Avalon Way)
MEET THE HOUNDS: Greyhound Pets‘ meet-and-greet at Mud Bay in Admiral, 11 am-1 pm. (2611 California SW)
FREE CONCERT: Ladies Musical Club Opera presents “Fairytales, Folklore, and Legend,” 3 pm at West Seattle (Admiral) Library. Program details are in our calendar listing. (2306 42nd SW)
ERYN BENT: Live at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), 3 pm. Find out about her on the C & P website. (5612 California SW)
‘FROZEN’: See some drama with your mama! 3 pm is the final performance of “Frozen” at ArtsWest. We just checked online, and tickets are still available as of right now. (4711 California SW)
PIANOMANIA AT KENYON HALL: 7:30 pm, Peter Mintun and Lou Magor in concert at Kenyon Hall. Check to see if reservations are still available! (7904 35th SW)
And one more note …
POST-COMMUNITY GARAGE SALE DAY DROPOFFS: From our post-WSCGSD roundup of who’s taking unneeded items, the Clothes for the Cause trailer is at Alki Elementary again today for dropoffs (details here); books to be donated to local schools can be dropped off at Hotwire Coffee or Roxbury Lanes (details here); and Second Gear Sports (6529 California SW; WSB sponsor) is open 11 am-5 pm and accepting sports-related gear/apparel/bikes for consignment.
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