Admiral and North Delridge have neighborhood-pride gear, and now Fauntleroy does too. The new hoodies marking this year’s 10th anniversary for the Fauntleroy Fall Festival are available for purchase at Fauntleroy Church and were “modeled” last Tuesday, during the monthly Fauntleroy Community Association board meeting. They were also sold that night during the dinner fundraiser at Endolyne Joe’s, with part of the proceeds benefiting the festival, and Judy Pickens reports that $1,820 was raised that night, between dinner and raffle tickets. October 14th is the date for this year’s festival, and proceeds from hoodie sales also go toward keeping it free for festivalgoers.

Also discussed at last week’s FCA board meeting was the impending Barton Pump Station expansion project north of the ferry terminal, and Cove Park stewardship afterward; association leaders continued the conversation the next day in a followup meeting with Doug Marsano from King County. Marsano told us at the time that the exact start date for construction, and the closure of Cove Park, was not yet finalized, but it’s expected to be by the time of a community meeting that’s just been announced for May 30th, 6:30 pm at Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW).

P.S. If there’s something you’d like to see FCA discuss, there’s a new e-mail address you can use to reach them – fcaagenda@earthlink.net.

Some big transit improvements are coming to the Fauntleroy Ferry Dock in West Seattle.

Beginning May 11, King County Metro Transit will begin a month-long project to install a variety of improvements to accompany the start of the RapidRide C Line this fall. Those improvements will include two new RapidRide stations, lighting, information kiosks displaying real-time bus arrival times and 5 electric charging stations for vanpool and public use.

Improvements will also make boarding the bus easier. An additional bus bulb will be added at the northbound RapidRide station to provide for a larger boarding platform. Other amenities will provide better access to and from the ferry terminal area for pedestrians and people with disabilities.

Construction work is expected to occur weekdays between the hours of 6:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. and may cause periodic traffic disruptions. During intensive construction periods, flaggers or police officers will be on hand to keep traffic moving, especially during peak travel times.

While construction is underway, bus riders will be directed to a temporary southbound bus stop on Southwest Wildwood Place. While the northbound bus stop will be less affected, riders will occasionally need to use the bus stop just to the north on Fauntleroy Way Southwest at Southwest Trenton Street.

New features, such as shelters, benches and lighting, will be available for immediate public use when construction is complete. Other improvements, such as electric vehicle plug-ins and real time bus arrival information, will be phased in over the next several months.

The RapidRide C Line begins operation Saturday, Sept. 29.

(Sunday photo by WSB editor Tracy Record)
Another successful dropoff event this past weekend – more successful than ever, in fact! Judy Pickens just shared this wrapup of how the Fauntleroy Church‘s Recycle Roundup on Sunday (WSB coverage here) turned out:

The West Seattle peninsula is surely sitting higher in the water today after residents brought a record 16 tons of recyclables to Sunday’s Recycle Roundup hosted by Fauntleroy Church and 1 Green Planet. With that much stuff returning to the resource stream, more cars surely fit in the garage and a few marriages may have been saved!

The crew packed every truck available with 16 tons of almost everything imaginable, from infant car seats to elder scooters, computers to fencing. To thank the church’s green committee for organizing the free event and providing a “Green Ideas” handout, recyclers tossed just over $1,400 in the donation basket.

The church will announce the fall event date soon so that area residents have ample notice to start sorting.

(Added 11:46 am: The 1 Green Planet team this morning in the early going)
Last time the Fauntleroy Church Green Committee brought 1 Green Planet to West Seattle for a “Recycle Roundup,” the recycling company’s trucks went away with 14 tons of electronics and other items. 9 am-3 pm today, they’re back, and will be set up in the church parking lot (9140 California SW) again awaiting your recyclables. If you haven’t checked it yet, here’s the list of what they will and won’t accept. It’s a free service (though the Green Committee will accept donations if you’re interested in helping them cover their costs).

(1st two photos by Patrick Sand for WSB)
ORIGINAL 9:52 PM REPORT: Rescue crews are converging on the Fauntleroy ferry dock after what was reported, according to scanner traffic, as a possible person in the water, reported to have fallen out of a dinghy. Our crew’s on the way; updates when we find out more.

10 PM UPDATE: The location where the person is believed to be in the water is actually off the south Lincoln Park beach, so that’s where rescuers are converging now.

They are still on the ferry dock too – with a fire-truck ladder extended (thanks to Maggie for pointing out it’s visible on the webcam):

10:10 PM UPDATE: Rescuers are headquartered by the first picnic shelter on the south stretch of Lincoln Park beach, where divers have been suiting up. Our crews on the scene say the Coast Guard has done a flyover and divers are about to go in.

(Photos from hereon out by Christopher Boffoli for WSB, except dinghy photo)
10:16 PM UPDATE: The ferry that was coming in has stopped a few hundred yards offshore.

(added) According to Southwest Precinct Lt. Alan Williams at the scene, here’s what they believe happened: Two men in two small vessels were going back out to a sailboat anchored offshore. One apparently fell out. He’s believed to be in his mid-20s.

10:35 PM UPDATE: Divers are still in the water – but no rescue yet. No word of an active sighting, either. Adding a photo showing the light from the SFD ladder in the background (substituted later, actual ladder photo).

10:46 PM UPDATE: Seattle Fire spokesperson Kyle Moore is on scene. He says there were actually three men taking supplies out to the sailboat, when it was discovered one was missing. (added – photo of one of the dinghies/rafts)

Divers are still searching but if they are not able to find the missing person soon, Moore says the operation will officially change to “recovery” mode.

10:49 PM UPDATE: Our crews at the beach say the victim is reported to have been found and is receiving CPR, has been taken to med unit. Moore says he’s been told the man is still alive and getting “cold water resuscitation.” He is reported to have been not very far offshore – 20 feet maybe.

10:56 PM UPDATE: Back here at HQ, we’re hearing scanner traffic about rescued man – believed to have been in the water an hour. CPR and “slow rewarming” under way as they prepare to rush him to Harborview Medical Center.

11:16 PM UPDATE: SFD’s Moore says the man was found about 25 yards offshore. Don’t know when we’ll find out if resuscitation efforts were successful, but of course we will update the story whenever there is info.

You may recall, this is the second time in five weeks that rescue divers have handled a call off West Seattle shores – last month, diver Tareq Saade died off Seacrest; his body was recovered about eight hours later.

ADDED 11:46 PM: Here is WSB contributor Christopher Boffoli‘s video of Moore’s media briefing right after the man was rescued:

6:38 AM UPDATE: Multiple citywide news orgs are reporting that the man didn’t make it. We don’t have independent confirmation so far, but the odds did seem very much against the possibility of surviving that much time underwater.

8:08 AM UPDATE: We also have spoken with Harborview Medical Center, where a spokesperson confirms the man died.

Meet the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s board, listed here, and photographed after the election at last night’s Food Fest and membership meeting at The Hall at Fauntleroy: From left, Gordon Wiehler, Bruce Butterfield, Kathleen Dellplain, Phil Sweetland, Marty Westerman, Vlad Oustimovitch, Vicki Schmitz Block, Mike Dey, Susan Lantz-Dey, David Haggerty, Gary Dawson. Ahead, photos of the Food Fest part of the evening – and a view of the labyrinth walk happening elsewhere in The Hall:

The participating venues ringed the room. Among them, Endolyne Joe’s, represented by Cory and Amber:

Yes, cuisine is a big deal at The Kenney (WSB sponsor), represented by Karmen:

The Original Bakery, whose contributions were being tended by Ann:

Stan and Muzit from West Seattle Fish House, Fauntleroy’s newest restaurant:

From Giannoni’s Pizzeria, Hanna accompanied proprietor Donna:

And from Bird on a Wire, Drew and Danielle:

The home team, Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering and Events, and nearby Guadalajara Restaurant were on the list too. Then at 7 pm, elsewhere in The Hall, the first quarterly community labyrinth walk began:

We’ll let you know when we get dates for future walks. Meantime, the FCA board meets on the second Tuesday of the month at 7 pm.

(Photo courtesy Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering and Events)
Another West Seattle event to greet spring – tonight, as mentioned earlier, it’s Solstice Park sunset viewing; the equinox itself is late tonight, and then for tomorrow night, this has just been announced:

Please join us at The Hall at Fauntleroy for our first quarterly community Labyrinth Walk 7 to 9 PM on Tuesday March 20th as we welcome the Spring (Vernal) Equinox. The Labyrinth, The Hall at Fauntleroy’s newest addition, is an extraordinary tool for transformation. Using the principles of sacred geometry, and defined as a singular pathway that leads to the center and then back out again, retracing the same path, a Labyrinth can open us to change in body, mind and spirit. It provides a sacred space; inviting walkers to set aside the cares of the world and enter into deep reflection (to discover something about ourselves). The destination is not important – this is about the journey (life).

If you are going to tomorrow night’s Fauntleroy Community Association membership event/Food Fest/board election, this is just a room or two away – but you don’t have to be from Fauntleroy to attend. The Hall is in the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse at 9131 California SW>

From last night’s Fauntleroy Community Association meeting, that’s Gordon Wiehler and Bruce Butterfield with a new sign for next week’s annual membership meeting, also known as the Fauntleroy Food Fest (6 pm March 20th at The Hall at Fauntleroy). But there’s another new face that FCA is presenting, and proud of:

The FCA website at fauntleroy.net has just relaunched with an all-new look. It’s always been an information-laden website, but somewhat plain; Irene Stewart is responsible for the re-do. Still a few tweaks ahead, but the new front page in particular won rave reviews.

Back to the Food Fest, and a Cove Park “Big Dig” recap – read on:

Next Tuesday, eight different eateries will take part in the Food Fest/membership meeting, which is for Fauntleroy residents – both current and future FCA members – to come meet each other and join in the board elections. (Dues are $25/year.) FCA also hopes to recruit new volunteers, and you’ll see information about that at the event.

Meantime, FCA’s Gary Dawson said the Cove Park plant-digging event two weekends ago went well; some larger plants didn’t find takers but that, he said, was mostly because the would-be “adopters” didn’t have a way to transport them. He also is the Fauntleroy rep to the state ferries’ Advisory Council, and said that they’ll be talking soon about whether to resume the ferry-community public meetings that haven’t happened in the past few years.

Besides fauntleroy.net, you can also keep up with FCA via its Facebook page – find it here.

The first signed, benched, and delivered RapidRide C Line stops in West Seattle are on both sides of California SW by the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse. Street and sidewalk work to facilitate the stops and stations for the new bus service, set to launch this fall, has been under way for 4 weeks, but these are the first signs we’ve seen. (The sign and bench are the basic amenities for a RapidRide stop; other stops/stations will have shelters and real-time bus schedule information.) The stop in our photo is on the east side of the street, just steps from Fauntleroy Church, where we spotted it after stopping for a photo of today’s Toxic-Free Kids’ Fair:

The fair, previewed here on Saturday, was a presentation of the church’s Green Committee, which has another of its always-busy Recycle Roundups coming up on April 29th – save your electronics and other items to bring by, 9 am-3 pm that day (the church website will eventually have a list of what they’ll take and what they won’t).

The Fauntleroy Church Green Committee – known far beyond Fauntleroy for popular events such as the twice-yearly Recycle Roundups (another one’s coming up in late April, by the way) – is inviting you to come learn tomorrow about how to live a more non-toxic life. Judy Pickens shares the photo and this preview:

Finding out what toxins may be in the care products used by children or in the toys they are given will be easy at Sunday’s Toxic-Free Kids Fair for the community hosted by Fauntleroy Church (9140 California SW; map). Members of the church’s green committee, as well as staff from the Washington Toxics Coalition, Lullaby Organics, and Earth Ministry will be on hand 11 AM – 1 PM in Fellowship Hall to help you determine toxicity (even by smartphone while you’re in the store!) and provide practical advice about the harm that certain toxins can do to growing bodies.

It’s free and all are welcome. (That’s Green Committee chair Liann Sundquist in the photo, getting ready for tomorrow’s event.)

(Photos by WSB editor Tracy Record)
A suddenly ironic sign marked the spot where that car flipped onto a Fauntleroy sidewalk a short time ago, right on the curve from Fauntleroy Way eastbound onto Wildwood (map). 2 people were hurt, minor injuries per the scanner, and we can confirm that the one victim who was placed on a gurney was sitting up as he was wheeled toward a private ambulance. Police were tracing the car’s trajectory:

Though that “no stops” sign survived unscathed, what you see in the lower right corner of that photo is another sign that did not:

That sign has long been a wayfinder pointing people to Fauntleroy UCC Church a few blocks east. No other cars were involved in the crash, but this one had far-ranging effects; police were up on the house’s lawn looking for debris.

ADDED 8:59 AM: Kevin McClintic sent a photo of the sign, taken last fall:

Fauntleroy-residing community volunteer Judy Pickens says that to her recollection, it’s been there since the mid-’90s, with the family who lives there having kindly agreed to “host” the sign.

ADDED EARLY SUNDAY: This is believed to be a case of DUI, according to the SPD time-delayed “incident response” map.

Before the Barton Pump Station expansion project takes over little Cove Park on the beach north of the Fauntleroy ferry dock (map) for about two years, the park’s plants need new homes – and you are invited to be part of the “adoption” effort. As Mardi Clements summarizes it, “”Free plants! Take them to a good home before they are bulldozed!” The plants fill border gardens along the pathway down to Cove Park’s tiny slice of beach. You dig ‘em, you take ‘em, 9 am-noon tomorrow (Saturday). Once the pump-station project is over, the park will be restored – the Fauntleroy Community Association has been working with the county for a long time to make sure that happens – with new art among other features (as reported in this story last September).

Story and photos by Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Exactly two years after the Fauntleroy Community Service Agency completed the deal to buy it from Seattle Public Schools, the old schoolhouse at 9131 California SW is full of new life, and new opportunities – for example, want to host your next meeting in a conference room with a bonafide old-school (literally) blackboard?

Even before the multi-year effort that secured the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse’s longterm future as a community-owned facility, it was already home to an eclectic, if small, assortment of established businesses/organizations – Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering, Fauntleroy Children’s Center, Seattle Civic Dance Theatre/Dance! West Seattle among them. Now they’ve been joined by others, with room still for more.

Education is obviously a natural fit; last year, looking for a new home, Lincoln Park Cooperative Preschool – which is an educational program for parents as well as preschoolers – landed at the schoolhouse.

But you might be surprised by what, and who, else you find if you tour the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, as we did one day recently. Such as – an international game business!

Devir Americas, which distributes board, card, and strategy games, is based there. “We sell games that involve strategy, imagination, mathematics, foreign languages, critical thinking, and all kinds of other elements that are not only mental exercise for our customers but are also addictively fun,” says Devir’s Matt Hyland.

You can’t tell right away, though, that they’re behind one of the doors lining the old schoolhouse hallway:

That’s what you see shortly after you enter the schoolhouse’s center front doors, over which a “CELEBRATE COMMUNITY” banner hung during the June 2010 celebration of the schoolhouse purchase (WSB video coverage here). Till our tour, we hadn’t realized there are rooms open to community members/groups even on a short-term, one-time basis – including two meeting/conference rooms, the one atop our story and this cozier one:

That second, smaller one includes photos of famous faces from schoolhouse history:

Those, explain our guides, are ancestors of “Dr. Pierce” – that’s Dr. Jack Pierce, who helped get the Fauntleroy Community Service Agency going more than 30 years ago, and is also known as former owner of Fauntleroy’s historic Laurentide estate. In a schoolhouse that’s almost a century old – a Seattle Public Schools document details its history – such touches seem fitting, to say the least.

You’ll find preserved pieces of the past everywhere, side by side with renovated areas. A larger room that’s available for booking has been used for fitness groups and classes – and includes some of the original classroom features, like the blackboard:

Elsewhere in the building, you will find other echoes of the schoolhouse’s history, like these shelves:

In some spots, the echo is as simple as a word on a door:

Teaching comes in many forms. Fitness/wellness instructors are finding the schoolhouse a haven, including Mick Philp of Rain City Fitness:

Mick is a West Seattle-residing certified personal trainer, with specialties including kettlebell training, TRX suspension training, barbell lifts, and “bootcamp-style bodyweight conditioning.” His background also includes lacrosse, basketball, and teaching woodshop at West Seattle High School.

Other fitness providers in the building include:

West Seattle Aikikai teaches Aikido; chief instructor Darren McKee has more than 30 years of experience, and leads classes for youth and adults two nights a week. He says, “Aikido emphasizes cooperation and ‘blending’ with others to protect yourself and resolve aggressive situations.”

There’s yoga in the schoolhouse too – Nicole Miller‘s Blooming Wild Yoga has classes there weekly, including parent/toddler classes as well as adult sessions. “When you are more grounded, you are more able to soar fluidly through your day,” Nicole believes.

And Pilates – you might recall our story last July about instructor Pamela Phillips-Blevins uncovering an unerased blackboard, circa 1939, during remodeling work:

(July 2011 photo by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
Then there are the day-in, day-out, longtime tenants, like Fauntleroy Children’s Center, in its fourth decade. Director Kim Sheridan was among those who led our tour of the schoolhouse – including the space her facility uses, on its north side:

The FCC halls are where you are reminded most of the schoolhouse’s history, as well as its vibrant present – a new paint job, with work donated by Paint The Town, was under way when we visited, with new color emerging everywhere:

FCC has daily programs for children 4 weeks through preschool, and before/after-school care for ages 5 through 12. It’s accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and its headquarters occupy a sizable amount of space in the schoolhouse:

A big event for FCC is just weeks away. Sheridan explained, “FCC is celebrating its 25th auction this year! Though we have been in operation since 1978, this is the 25th year for our annual auction. I can tell you that first year I was so surprised when the poster came back and said first ‘annual’ auction, but here we are 25 years later still having a grand time raising money to support the children and families.”

The FCC auction/dinner will be March 24th on the other side of the schoolhouse at The Hall at Fauntleroy, with auctioneer Bob Watt and emcees Jim Dever from KING TV and Greg Nickels, former mayor turned Secretary of State candidate. (Tickets? 206-932-9590.)

Also on the south side of the site, the new year has brought new classes for Seattle Civic Dance Theatre/Dance! West Seattle, which has been in business 30 years. Last month, artistic director Kim Dinsmoor says, they started hip-hop classes, while continuing to offer jazz, ballet, and pre-ballet. (The dance school’s latest happenings are detailed online.)

One big reason people from all over West Seattle – and beyond! – have come to the schoolhouse is Tuxedos and Tennis Shoes Catering and Events, which caters offsite but is proudest of the aforementioned Hall at Fauntleroy, on the south side of the site. Co-owners David Haggerty, Meg Haggerty, and David Meckstroth explain that, “The Hall at Fauntleroy was born by updating the décor, renovating the interiors of both the former auditorium and gym spaces, and installing a beautiful garden where once was a former playground,” adding, “We are excited to join with the FCSA to keep the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse a community treasure that is thriving, vibrant, and community-minded – a true anchor and hub for West Seattle!”

So much interior work has happened to revitalize the schoolhouse – both before and after the purchase closed two years ago – but there’s a big exterior project looming:

Its roof needs to be replaced. And that’s going to require a community fundraising campaign – $1 million, according to the Fauntleroy Community Association‘s “Neighbors” newsletter. Also unresolved: FCSA bought 3 1/2 acres of the 5-acre schoolhouse site, and the future of the rest of the site has yet to be settled.

But for now, the focus is on bringing even more of the community into the space that’s available, and to the services that are offered. So next time you come to the schoolhouse for an event – maybe the 25th FCC dinner/auction as mentioned above on March 24th, or the Chief Sealth International High School dinner/auction coming up next weekend, or a meeting – FCA will be in The Hall with its annual Food Fest membership drive next month – or the Fauntleroy Fall Festival … keep in mind there’s a lot more than meets the eye. If you are interested in exploring possibilities – maybe renting a conference room or scheduling an event or classes for the big room with the mats and windows – property manager Denise Wallace is at fauntleroyschoolhouse@yahoo.com.