Order berries through the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s Berry Sale (WSB sponsor)? Or – want some berries? Strawberry pickup is today and tomorrow, at a different location (since the old Admiral Safeway back parking lot is now part of a new store opening next month) – 40th/Alaska, on the east side of The Junction. 1-6 pm today, 9 am-3 pm on Saturday. And there’s still time to order the next two rounds of berries – raspberries and blueberries – with online ordering available via the Rotary’s website.

The Rotary Club of West Seattle is helping get the word out about a month-long Group Study Exchange for “young businesspeople.” They’re taking applications for a team that will spend a month in Nepal next winter. Though Rotary pays all costs, only non-Rotarians, ages 25-40, are eligible; other qualifications and more information can be found here. If you are interested in hearing more about how the Group Study Exchange program works, West Seattle Rotary’s Steve Fuller tells WSB that this coming Tuesday’s West Seattle Rotary lunch meeting (noon, Salty’s on Alki) will include a presentation by this year’s Group Study Exchange team, which went to India.

The Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s weekly Tuesday lunch meeting at Salty’s on Alki drew about double the usual crowd as Rotarians celebrated the “Partners for Work” service program, which helps developmentally disabled people prepare for and secure employment. It’s not just a West Seattle Rotary program – it’s implemented throughout their regional District (5030), so those who were on hand included visitors from all around King County. And county government was represented too; as seen in our video clip (along with remarks from areawide Rotary leaders), County Executive Dow Constantine – a longtime WS Rotary member – received an award for his support of similar employment programs. A bit of the current political climate sparked in his brief speech; you’ll hear him criticize proposed state cuts that would mean less support for people with developmental disabilities. So far, the Rotary program has created 13 jobs – in a group that they say has up to 80 percent unemployment – but even more important, it was noted, “We have educated hundreds about the dignity of work.” They have set a goal of creating 20 jobs districtwide per year. You can find out more about Partners for Work here.

The Rotary Club of West Seattle usually meets for lunch on Tuesdays, but today members got up early for the annual Community Breakfast. Guest speakers included Penny LeGate, award-winning veteran broadcaster, and Ezra Teshome, who is assistant governor for Rotary District 5030 (above, from left, Teshome, LeGate, and WS Rotary president Steve Fuller). LeGate talked about the Rotary effort to help eradicate polio, which persists in countries including Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan, where it’s difficult to deliver vaccine, and to break through geographic/cultural challenges. The Rotary’s polio-fighting campaign goes back more than a quarter of a century, and gets financial assistance from the Seattle-headquartered Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Teshome talked about his trips taking dozens of Rotarians to Ethiopia each fall to work on the polio-fighting project.

Also highlighted – Arbor Heights Elementary students modeling clothes from last December’s West Seattle Rotary Holiday Shopping Spree, and Molly Ward from the South Seattle Community College-based Career Link, which receives assistance from the Rotary’s education program (which also provides scholarships to local students including West Seattle High School, Chief Sealth International High School, and Seattle Lutheran High School). One more youth note – the Ellis Brothers Jazz Trio entertained:

You can find out more about the Rotary Club of West Seattle, its events and programs at their website – westseattlerotary.org.

(The table was only empty for presentation logistics – all the others were full)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

With that quote from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., longtime West Seattleite Mike Heavey opened his presentation this afternoon to the Rotary Club of West Seattle‘s weekly lunch meeting at Salty’s on Alki. The topic: The much-discussed case of Amanda Knox – “a 20-year-old kid, from the University of Washington, from West Seattle” at the time of her arrest in Italy in 2007, which as you almost certainly have heard led to a murder conviction which is now being appealed (with proceedings continuing next Saturday).

Read More

Just got that photo from Josh Sutton of the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor), e-mailing us on behalf of the Rotary Club of West Seattle, whose members are busy with a big volunteer project right now:

A dozen Rotary Club members are busy sorting over $8,000 worth of school supplies for elementary students in need across West Seattle. Pencil Me in for Kids is a project of the West Seattle Rotary. We raise money throughout the year and work with school staff to be sure that students have the supplies they need to be successful in class. Tonight we sort the supplies by school, and on Friday we’ll deliver them to local schools.

You can find out more about Pencil Me In For Kids by going here; donation information’s here.

(Our first report on the totem-pole rededication event can be found here)

Along the 8-month-plus journey between the brazen theft of the West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole on a fall evening and its rededication in summer sunshine, there have been lessons learned by many – among them, the long and sometimes surprising path that justice can take.

One lesson provided at Tuesday night’s event, attended by more than 100 people gathered mostly in a semi-circle facing the front of the pole (and therefore the downtown Seattle skyline in the distance behind it), was that of grace, provided by someone who had not figured directly into the story before: Haida master carver Ralph Bennett. In the top video, you hear his drumming – and his words of honor for some of those on hand, including a request for the permission of in-attendance Duwamish Tribe leader Cecile Hansen, before he drummed on her historic territory. (The Haida people are from further north – coastal British Columbia and Alaska.) He also told a story – but first, one told by a Rotary leader, past president Amy Lee Derenthal. She led the club last fall, and so, as she noted Tuesday, the pole “was stolen on my watch!” Perhaps mostly for those who questioned why the club (and the Parks Department) chose to accept restitution from the man believed to be responsible for the theft, rather than pursuing prosecution, she spoke of how they believed the decision met the club’s “Four-Way Test” ethics code:

Back now to Ralph Bennett, who followed his drum song with a story relating specifically to the tale he says is told by the totem pole itself, particularly the thunderbird and whale that comprise its top sections.

His words about community rang close to home, as those who attended lingered after the ceremony’s end, either mingling by the pole, or moving on to a Rotary-organized celebration at the Golf Course clubhouse a short walk down the hill. And the event brought people from afar – not just carver Robin Young (shown in our first report), but even the woman who was Miss West Seattle Hi-Yu the year the pole was dedicated along with the park:

Debby Freeman Peterson was introduced toward the end of the event, when it was pointed out she came from the Midwest to be there. So what now? As noted in our previous coverage of the pole-restoration process, it will need a little TLC now and then – a coat of oil at least once a year:

As for the 34-year-old park itself, donated by the Rotarians in the bicentennial year of 1976, what you make of it now, is up to you, even if just – as Ralph Bennett put it – driving by and seeing it “alive.”

As Rotary Club of West Seattle past president Amy Lee Derenthal spoke tonight to the 100-plus people who gathered at Rotary Viewpoint Park to celebrate the stolen-then-returned-and-restored totem pole, she invoked the memory of longtime Rotarian Ken Wise, who helped sleuth the case. Mr. Wise, who died of cancer a little over a week ago, wanted to see the pole reinstalled before he died – “We made it!” Derenthal said proudly (referring to the pole’s July 28th reinstallation), while lamenting he couldn’t have been there for tonight’s ceremony – and among the crowd, voices rippled, “He’s here, he’s here.” As were members of his family:

(From left, granddaughters Amy Bentrott and Kelly Bentrott, daughter MaryAnn Bentrott, and widow Anne Wise.) Past president Derenthal also explained how the totem-pole thief had given Rotarians a chance to practice their “four-way test” of integrity and justice. Even those disappointed by how the case turned out, with a settlement rather than prosecution, might want to hear that explained on video in our second report; right now, the celebration is continuing at the West Seattle Golf Course just beneath the viewpoint:

At the start of tonight’s ceremony, Haida master carver Ralph Bennett drummed, and spoke of the pole’s mainstays, the thunderbird and whale – representing, he said, “the story of community.”

Before he drummed, he asked permission from Duwamish Tribe chair Cecile Hansen, who was in attendance:

Returning to West Seattle for the ceremony was Robin Young, the Native American carver who created the pole more than three decades ago:

He was at its dedication too – here’s the 1976 photo his family shared with us for a December story:

(Photo provided by carver Robin Young(third from left) ‘s daughter Tracy Zimmerman)
At the time, he told WSB he hoped to be at the park for the totem pole’s rededication – and that wish came true. The event, by the way, began with a greeting from West Seattle Rotary president Steve Fuller:

Meantime, our video from tonight’s event is coming up in a separate story.

Volunteers, mostly Rotary Club of West Seattle members, converged on Rotary Viewpoint Park (35th/Alaska) in the rain this morning to spruce things up before Tuesday night’s rededication event. Most notable, check out the pole’s new “surroundings” – the flowers that were growing around its base have been removed, replaced by rocks so the pole can be fully seen. Other planting beds in the small park received more-conventional touchups:

Tuesday night’s event is at 5 pm, followed by a no-host celebration in the Golf Course clubhouse down the hill. The pole was reinstalled a week and a half ago.

(WSB photo taken during the reinstallation last Wednesday)
Five days after the West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole was reinstalled (WSB video coverage here), WS Rotary has just sent new details about the rededication celebration planned for August 10th (one week from tomorrow), as well as an invitation to join in a work party at the park this weekend:

The public is invited to join the Rotary Club of West Seattle as we celebrate the return and rededication of West Seattle’s beloved Totem Pole. The Totem was recently refurbished and re-installed at The Rotary Viewpoint Park on 35th and Alaska SW. We are honored to have the original carver Robin Young, Cecile Hansen, Duwamish Tribal Chairperson and other dignitaries as our guests.

Date: Tuesday, August 10, 2010
Time: 5:00 PM
Where: Rotary Viewpoint Park at 35th and Alaska SW

After the ceremony, all are invited to join the Rotary Club at the West Seattle Golf Course Fox Den Grille as we continue our celebration. Refreshments will be available for purchase.

A Work Party to spruce up the park is scheduled for Saturday, August 7th starting at 8:30 AM . Volunteers are needed if you would like to help.

For more information, please contact Shirley Clough at s.clough@comcast.net or 206-293-2773.

Last week’s reinstallation followed restoration and repainting work at Artech, more than seven months after the pole was stolen and taken to Oregon, where it was found along with another totem pole that had been stolen from its display site at the Renton Fred Meyer. ADDED 7:03 PM: An unusual view of the newly reinstalled West Seattle totem pole, taken Friday and shared today by Colby:

(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
The Rotary Club of West Seattle had a delegation on hand this morning as a crew from Artech re-installed the now-restored, repainted totem pole stolen eight months ago from the park they donated to the city 34 years ago. Our as-it-happened coverage of this morning’s operation is here; Christopher Boffoli‘s video compilation shows the key scenes as the pole was returned to its place with the help of a crane:

The official rededication celebration is set for the evening of August 10. Among those on hand this morning: Duane Ruud, who, along with fellow longtime Rotarian Ken Wise, followed a track of clues that helped lead police to the discovery the pole had been taken to Oregon after the November 30th theft. Duane had hoped Ken would be well enough to be on hand to watch today’s reinstallation – while we all watched the operation this morning, he and others kept looking to see if someone might pull up, bringing him to the park – but ultimately he couldn’t (his son Tom is at left in our top photo). We asked Duane about Ken as well as about what it was like to see the pole put back in place today:

As for the future of the 34-year-old pole itself – read ahead for more on that and more photos from this morning’s operation:Read More

(7/21/2010 photo by Christopher Boffoli)
As first reported here last week, along with photos of the newly repainted West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole, its reinstallation is set for tomorrow. The restoration experts from Artech who’ve been working on it tell WSB the trucks will arrive around 9, the activity will intensify around 10. The Rotary Club of West Seattle isn’t having the rededication ceremony till August 10th, but if all goes well tomorrow, the 34-year-old pole — stolen last Nov. 30th — will be back in place (35th/Alaska) by afternoon.

(Photos by Christopher Boffoli)
The date is set tonight for the return of the West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole: Next Wednesday morning, just under two weeks before its planned August 10 re-dedication, and almost eight months after it was stolen. Last week, we took you to the Renton headquarters of art-restoration experts Artech for a peek at the pole, post-cleaning, pre-painting (here’s that story); today, photojournalist Christopher Boffoli went to Artech on assignment for WSB, to get a look at the painting in progress. In the photo above, Phil Roach is working on the pole; in this next pole, the brush is wielded by Roger Waterhouse:

Click ahead for more of a look at what’s been done so far:Read More

On this drizzly Monday morning, here’s one more photo from sunny West Seattle Summer Fest – the Rotary Club of West Seattle promoting its berry sale (advertised on WSB) in the festival’s Community Zone. This Friday and Saturday, it’s raspberry time, and you can guarantee yours by ordering online today or tomorrow. (Pickups are in the Admiral Safeway south lot.)

Clouds? What clouds? Bring out the shades – and the strawberries – and we can all be in a summer frame of mind. Day 1 of the Rotary Club of West Seattle Berry Sale (WSB sponsor), and – from left – Melissa Haynes, Greg Whitney, and Ann Avery are in the lot behind Safeway till 6 pm; if you’ve preordered (which you can do online) this is the pickup spot, but walkup sales are available too, and Rotarians will be back 9 am-3 pm tomorrow (plus two more rounds of berries – raspberries and blueberries – later in the summer).

(WSB photo from December 2009)
Two items from the Rotary Club of West Seattle: First – rededication of the Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole may happen as soon as August, now that the pole is being readied for restoration following the theft last November and recovery out of state (here’s our May story on the case’s resolution). The latest, from Josh Sutton:

Staff from Artech took the pole today from Parks and Rec storage to a local fumigation company. Next week it will be transported to their warehouse for restoration. In agreement with Parks & Recreation, the Rotary Club of West Seattle has hired Artech for the preservation, restoration and reinstallation of the Totem Pole stolen from Rotary Viewpoint Park last November. We look forward to setting a date in August for the community to celebrate the pole’s rededication.

Shortly after the totem pole was recovered, we did a story about Artech and some of the similar work they’ve done – you can see it here. Meantime, a big boost for the Rotary berry sale (WSB sponsor):

The Rotary Club of West Seattle wants to thank Charlie’s Produce for donating use of a midsized refrigerator truck during our Club’s Strawberry Sales & Pickup this weekend. With the pending construction, Admiral Safeway couldn’t sit a 40′ trailer there for six weeks, like past summers.

These buckets of Skagit Valley strawberries are freshly picked, hulled and packed in their own juices, so keeping them cool is essential to maintaining their quality. Even if you didn’t pre-order, we still have buckets for sale this weekend. Friday, 1-6 pm, Saturday 9 am-3 pm at Admiral Safeway, back lot.

We are taking Raspberries and Blueberries orders for mid July. West Seattle Rotary’s Berry Sale raises money for local scholarships and our Holiday Kids Shopping Spree. Thanks to our buyers, to Admiral Safeway, and Charlie’s Produce for your support!

They’ve got online ordering this year – the links are on the WSR home page.