Though this might not have been a crime, in the context of recent unsolved incidents, a West Seattle mom wanted to report what happened to her daughter this afternoon. E-mailed by Kezia:

I wanted the WSB readers to know that a man tried to give my teenaged daughter an unsolicited ride this afternoon. She refused but it made her uncomfortable.

She was walking to pick up her younger sibling at Roxhill Elementary after school.

She described the stranger to me as looking middle-aged, either white or light-skinned Latino driving a gray or silver car “that was like a station wagon but not.” Maybe a hatchback? I will need to talk with her more when I return home from work.

I just wanted to let West Seattle folks be aware. Hopefully parents are talking about these kind of situations with their kids. Fortunately we have (done so) in my house, so my daughter felt prepared. We discussed walking home along a busier route.

We will update later if there is more information to share. Seattle Police, meanwhile, have published these suggestions for talking to kids about staying safe outside, and inside, their homes.

Another local middle school principal has sent an alert to parents. This time, it’s a recorded message from Dr. Robert Gary, Jr., at Madison Middle School, robocalled and e-mailed this evening, saying that three Madison students reported today that a man drove up and photographed them. We won’t be able to find out more from police or school officials until tomorrow, but we’ve received the audio file from a parent and have transcribed the information with which it begins:

“Good evening, Madison parents. This is Dr. Gary, interim principal at MMS. On December 16th at 2:30 in the afternoon, three Madison students reported that a man in a four-door older model gray car rolled down his window and took pictures of them with a red camera. This incident occurred two blocks north of Madison on Stevens Street. The person is described as a white male with gray hair, age 50 to 60. The students informed their parents when they arrived home and parents contacted the police. The Seattle Police reported the incident to Madison staff yesterday at 4 o’clock pm …”

The message continues from there with safety tips, almost word-for-word what was in the Denny/Sealth letter about the Roxhill Park incident. Dr. Gary’s audio can be heard in its entirety here (MP3). We haven’t seen a written version of it, if any was sent.

P.S. It should be noted, it is not a crime to photograph someone, of any age, who is in a public place or visible from a public place, but since the school was concerned enough to alert its families, we are sharing the information here too, and will update tomorrow with anything additional we find out from police and/or Seattle Public Schools.

About 100 people came to Hope Lutheran last night for the safety presentation offered to the community in the wake of recent incidents near local schools. Leading it was Kim Estes of Savvy Parents Safe Kids, at center in our photo below with daughter Arden at left and Hope principal Kristen Okabayashi at right:

The heart of the advice: Small conversations you can have with your kids, frequently, as in shorter than a minute, just to help drive the message home.

Key points: Myths about people to be wary of – it’s not always some obviously scary-looking person; it might even be someone known to you. When difficult situations arise, talk calmly with your kids; they will be more open if they know you aren’t panicking and won’t be, and you’ll make more progress.

In particular, Estes promotes 10 rules which she suggests posting on your refrigerator or someplace else that you and your family can easily find and refer to them – see them here (you can download them from that link too).

Q/A after the presentation was dominated by technology-related questions – when is it OK for a child to have a cell phone or e-mail address? for example. Estes pointed out that 13 has been set by many services as the minimum age, and in her view, simple cell phones are a good idea as kids move into their middle-school years. But, she reiterated, it is vital to keep an eye on how your kids use phones/computers/technology.

One more reminder that tomorrow night is your chance to get free, expert advice on keeping your kid(s) as safe as possible. It’s the special event with Savvy Parents, Safe Kids, 6:30 pm Tuesday at Hope Lutheran; here’s our original announcement. (Hope is at 42nd/Oregon in The Junction.)

Notes tonight on two crashes:

Hear something loud in the Morgan Junction area about an hour and a half ago? Gary did, and his note led us to check out this crash. No apparent injuries, but the SUV hit a utility pole right on the Fauntleroy Way curve a bit west of California, and City Light trucks were on the scene for a while. A tow truck got there fast and we expect the vehicle’s been taken away for a while.

Also tonight, the Washington State Patrol is circulating this photo:

Its driver died after crashing on northbound I-5 near the West Seattle Bridge exit last Friday night. WSP is looking for witnesses:

On Friday, October 25, 2013 at approximately 7:00 pm, the Washington State Patrol investigated a motor vehicle collision, NB I-5 near Spokane St. in Seattle. A teal, 1997 Toyota Corolla four door, was traveling NB when the vehicle suddenly veered to the left and struck a cement barrier. The driver was transported to Harborview Medical Center where he later died of his injuries.

WSP detectives are asking for anyone that may have seen the collision or the teal Toyota in the HOV lane, to contact WSP detectives. The WSP is also inquiring whether debris located near the scene may have contributed to the collision. The collision occurred towards the end of rush hour and traffic was heavy.

If you have any information related to this case, please call Detective Russ Haake at 425-401-7717 or Detective Sergeant Stacy Moate at 425-401-7745.

The lessons that Arbor Heights Elementary students learned from West Seattle firefighters today are lessons from which we all can learn. The photos and report are shared by an AHES parent volunteer:

October is Fire Safety Month, and Arbor Heights Elementary had two firefighters, both parents of students, visit on Friday to teach fire safety.

The firefighters also reminded the students to have their families check their smoke detectors and to make sure the students could give their addresses in case of emergency. (When was the last time you changed the battery in *your* smoke detector?)

This brought up another point among the parents afterwards: Is your house number/apartment number clearly visible? Can it be seen easily from the street? How about in the rain? Trim away anything that might block the address, and make sure it the numbers are easy to see (are they a different color than the background?) from the street. The firefighters thank you!

“Safety shouldn’t be scary!” So says the flyer for a special event just announced, with an open invitation to families from around the community:

Hope Lutheran School is sponsoring and hosting (the event) on November 5th, presented by Kim Estes, from Savvy Parents Safe Kids. Due to the recent events at various local schools (including Hope) involving children being approached by strangers, we felt a great need to not only review safety with our students, but also with our parents. We invite the community to attend this great workshop about how to keep our children as safe as possible. The 90-minute presentation followed by a question-and-answer session is free. Child care will not be provided. The event begins at 6:30 and ends at 8:00 pm followed by a question and answer session.

Here’s the full flyer:

(See it here if you can’t see the scrollable embedded version above.) Hope is at 42nd and Oregon in The Junction.

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

“There are no quick fixes, no silver bullets,” said Mike Squire-Graham from Neighborhood House, as he opened what was described as an “urgent community meeting” about teen alcohol and drug abuse.

The meeting Thursday was sparked by concerns in the Hiawatha Park/West Seattle High School area, but Squire-Graham stressed that these types of concerns are and should be addressed as a community-wide challenge, not as a problem for a particular school or park.

A strong turnout for the meeting in the WSHS library indicated many were up to that challenge – or at least, up for finding out more about it: We noted a rough count of more than 40 people – from parents, to Seattle Public Schools reps including the principals of WSHS and Madison Middle School, to Seattle Parks, business, and neighborhood-group reps.

Front and center as it began, and helping lead the discussion, was a mom with firsthand experience:

Read More

SDOT‘s most recent update said that various safety work on East Marginal Way, a major route for bicyclists to and from West Seattle and beyond – and scene of a deadly collision in May – was targeted for completion by November. Today, we’ve just received word of work planned this weekend:

Paving crews from the Seattle Department of Transportation will repair the pavement on East Marginal Way South just north of South Hanford Street this weekend, working from 7 am to 7 pm on both Saturday and Sunday.

One lane in each direction will remain open on East Marginal Way with bikes merging with general traffic. A Police Officer will assist traffic turning left from East Marginal Way to South Hanford Street—there will be no left-hand turn lane. Drivers may want to use an alternate route to avoid delays.

If you’re not certain about that exact location – here’s a map.