Disaster Preparedness Month, night 10: Communications Academy
Photo and story by Cindi Barker, local preparedness volunteer/organizer
The WSB Disaster Preparedness Month series so far has been focused on highlighting things you can do to prepare yourself for an emergency, and what our community has been doing as well. But today and tomorrow, there is an event held here in West Seattle that serves as a reminder of the many volunteers and broader organizations that are part of emergency preparedness.
The multi-state Communications Academy is being held this weekend at South Seattle Community College. These volunteer HAM radio operators spend their weekend acquiring new skills and better preparing themselves to respond in a disaster. This skill is seeing a resurgence of interest; in the past year, more than 640 new HAMs were licensed in Western Washington, including a good number of youth.
If you (or your teenager) have an interest in HAM radio here are a couple of ways to get involved:
*The national organization supporting HAM radio is ARRL (Amateur Radio Relay League): www.arrl.org
*Locally, the most active service branch is the Auxiliary Communication Service (ACS), part of a larger grouping called ARES/RACES. This group provides HAM radio support in the Seattle Emergency Operations Center; information at seattleacs.com
*HAMs also support the Western Washington Medical Services group, www.ww7mst.org
Even more locally, there’s been talk of revitalizing the West Seattle HAM Radio Club; we’ll report more when that happens.
Editor’s note: Thanks to Cindi for the report! Our nightly reminders: Join the West Seattle Be Prepared group on Facebook if you haven’t already; browse the West Seattle Be Prepared website make sure everyone in your family knows about your nearest Emergency Communication Hub; and take the city’s “3 to Get Ready Challenge“ (WSB sponsor) – 3 preparedness steps, to share with 3 people (with prizes!).
HONK Fest West on Sunday in West Seattle – here’s the map
View HONK! Fest West Seattle in a larger map
Noon-5 pm tomorrow, HONK Fest West brings music and merriment to The Junction, and the organizer-created map above shows the venues and times (click each marker to see where, who and when). It’s a free marching-band celebration, which has been in other Seattle neighborhoods the past two days/nights – Fremont and Georgetown. Here’s a “live report” from Harmonic Dissidents Magazine. If you’re not planning to go for the music, do note that California SW is scheduled to be closed between Alaska and Oregon (although as you’ll see on the map, there are performances outside those boundaries too). There’s a map in another format on the HONK Fest West site (as well as the schedule) – see it here.
Next Saturday: Be part of Duwamish Alive! for Earth Day
(WSB photo from April 2009)
More than half a dozen sites in West Seattle are part of the annual Duwamish Alive! Earth Day work parties next Saturdays – cleanup, restoration, invasive-plant removal, myriad tasks to help our greenspaces and waterways (including the Duwamish itself). Many of them, we’re told, still need more volunteers to sign up – so please set aside some time; it won’t even take the whole day – just 10 am-2 pm so that you can check out the Earth Day Festival 2-4 pm at Pathfinder K-8, adjacent to one of the sites (Pigeon Point Park, also the scene of the 2009 photo shown above). Here’s the list of sites and info on who to contact to sign up.
Happening now: West Seattle High School Grad Night car wash
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli)
There’s still time to get to West Seattle High School for the Grad Night Fundraiser Car Wash, which is scheduled to continue till 2 pm. As you can see, volunteers of all ages are pitching in to help raise money for the safe, fun celebration that’s become a tradition. Just drive into the school parking lot (3000 California SW, across from PCC [WSB sponsor]). They’ve also got donated coffee from the Triangle Starbucks, latté coupons from Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor), and raffle items. (And a few other Grad Night fundraisers are listed in the WSB Events calendar.)
What can West Seattle youth do this summer? Get ideas now!
(Photo added 12:19 pm – Sheryl and Donna at the Youth Activities Fair, on behalf of creek stewardship)
First – go check out the Summer Youth Activities Fair happening right now, continuing till 2 pm today at High Point Community Center (map) – tons of info and ideas to make this a lively summer for West Seattle kids and teens. And here’s another idea:
The group shown in that photo we published during last year’s West Seattle Summer Fest was Delridge Community Center‘s class of “Digital Darkroom” interns. They worked on multimedia projects, and you saw some of their work here on WSB. Seattle Parks and the Associated Recreation Council are now recruiting interns for this year’s “RecTech” program, which includes Digital Darkroom as well as different programs at sites in South Park and the Central District – read on for the official announcement:Read More
High-school baseball: Results from Friday
First, from West Seattle High School assistant baseball coach Scott Meaker, who is providing WSHS baseball recaps (THANK YOU!):
Friday The West Seattle High School Varsity Baseball team made up for their loss to Nathan Hale on Wednesday. The Wildcats won the Metro League game at Hale’s Meadowbrook Field by a score of 15-4. Young and experienced alike had a great day at the plate starting with freshman LaTrey Newsome (3-for-4 scoring 3 runs), sophmores Jeff Watkins (3-for-3) and Tim Tinkler (3-for-4), and seniors Kellen Gearon (2-for-3, 2 runs scored), Stephan Adams (2-for-3, 2 HRs), Trevor Martin (2-for-3, 2 HRs) and Ryan Wiggins (3-for-4, 2 HRs). Senior Ryan Wenli got the win, running his record to 2-0. Next week the Indians-now-Wildcats face a tough schedule traveling to O’Dea Monday and hosting Eastside Catholic on Wednesday.
Second, from our citywide-news partners at the Seattle Times, another Friday game: It was Ingraham 7, Chief Sealth 5 (follow that link for game stats).
The JV team lost a tough battle to Hale 8-6 at Hiawatha. The JV hosts O’Dea on
Monday at Hiawatha. All games are at 3:30.
West Seattle Saturday: A day to give and get – and, to fight crime
From the West Seattle Weekend Lineup:
GIVE: Donate tools to the new West Seattle Tool Library during West Seattle Nursery‘s open house, 11 am-3 pm … Bring nonperishable food donations to Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) 9 am-4 pm and look for West Seattle Food Bank volunteers and board members … Can you donate blood? A mobile drive from Puget Sound Blood Centers is at West Side Presbyterian Church 9 am-3 pm today (closed 11-noon) … Help West Seattle High School Grad Night by getting your car washed (weather looks good!) 10 am-2 pm … Offer a “forever home” to a cat or dog at the “Adoption Option,” 11 am-3 pm at Pet Elements … Help raise money for cat population control and health care at “Let’s Fix the Problem Together” 2-5 pm at Rocksport … more here.
GET: Get plants at the West Seattle Lions‘ annual sale, Senior Center of West Seattle, 9 am to 3 pm … Ready to shop for running wear, gear and accessories? West Seattle Runner‘s official grand opening is today, 10 am-7 pm (here’s our preview from two nights ago) … Get tickets to Twelfth Night Productions‘ (WSB sponsor) “The Miss Firecracker Contest,” 7:30 tonight at Youngstown Arts Center … Get moving with the Second Saturday dance at Hiawatha Community Center tonight … more here.
FIGHT CRIME: Lead your Block Watch, or working to make one happen? Don’t miss the inaugural meeting of the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network, 10 am at Giannoni’s Pizza in Westwood Village. Here’s the Facebook invite.
And those are just SOME of the highlights!
Your weekly West Seattle Bookshelf, 5th edition
Lists courtesy of Square One Books
Courtesy of Gretchen Montgomery @ Square One Books (WSB sponsor), we bring you her independent West Seattle bookstore’s 5 best-sellers in each of 4 key categories:
Hardcover:
1. War Dances by Sherman Alexie
2. Solar by Ian McEwan
3. Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn
4. Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
5. The Mapping of Love and Death by Jacqueline Winspear
Paperback:
1. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
2. Food Rules by Michael Pollan
3. I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali
4. The Stieg Larsson Mysteries by Stieg Larsson
5. Brooklyn by Colm Toibin
Children/Young Adult:
1. The Lion and The Mouse by Jerry Pickney
2. Fading Echoes: Warriors: Omen of the Stars #2 by Erin Hunter
3. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid Movie Diary by Jeff Kinney
4. Pat the Bunny by Dorothy Kunhardt
5. When You Reach Me by Rececca Stead
Teen:
1. Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
2. Twilight: The Graphic Novel Vol. 1 by Stephanie Meyer and Young Kim
3. The Secret Life of Prince Charming by Deb Caletti
4. Incarceron by Catherine Fisher
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Square One is in Jefferson Square.
| Comments Off on Disaster Preparedness Month, night 10: Communications Academy