That’s the stolen-then-recovered West Seattle Rotary Viewpoint Park totem pole, which we photographed a short time ago at the Parks Department facility – we agreed not to identify the location – where it’s now being kept, after a trip “home” from Oregon over the weekend. (Thanks to the tipster who gave us the heads up it had been picked up and driven back to Seattle.) Parks spokesperson Dewey Potter says it “will stay at our facility until Parks has formulated a plan for inspection, needed repairs if any, and re-installation of the totem. There may be a need to wait until the turf recovers before we allow another heavy truck at the site.” She also says a local firm that often helps with the city’s art collection has offered to help with the reinstallation, and Parks is mulling the offer; meantime, the Rotary Club of West Seattle, which donated the pole and the park to the city in 1976, has a fund going too (you can donate here). As for the mystery pole found along with this one, after the theft suspect told police where to look following his arrest last Wednesday, Potter says it’s being turned over to the SPD evidence unit. (No new information yet today from police/prosecutors regarding the case/potential charges; if you’re just catching up with this story, all the background links are in the first part of this update.) 4:50 PM NOTE: Just verified, the case is not yet in the hands of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, so no charges yet.
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