If disaster hits and you have to get out in a hurry, you’re going to gather your loved ones. And “loved ones” means pets too. So on this 11th night of our Disaster Preparedness Month reports, we look at what you need to know to protect them too. The city has a flyer you can check out here; among the first tips is one we hadn’t heard before:
During an earthquake: If the ground starts shaking, do not try to hold onto your pet during the shaking. Animals will instinctively protect themselves and hide where they are safe.
From the must-bookmark West Seattle Be Prepared site, there’s a list of pet-related links on this page. One of those links takes you to this page from the Seattle Humane Society, which reminds you to put a sticker on your home to let rescuers know about any pets that normally are inside. (Also from that page, we learned that the Humane Society’s big yellow MaxMobile, best known for bringing adoptable pets to mobile adopt-a-thons around the city, is also used for pet rescue/evacuation situations!) And three more tips provided by West Seattle Be Prepared co-webmaster Karen Berge:
For dogs, general obedience classes before a disaster could be very helpful. A dog with some training will (or should) be looking for direction from the “leader of the pack”, especially in unfamiliar situation. Some basic commands will help with keeping pets calm.
· An animal that is hurt or scared may bite or lash out, even at loved ones; so it’s helpful to include a muzzle or some soft cloth strips that can be used to prevent bites/scratches. Dogs & cats that typically get along, may need to be separated from each other if they are really stressed out.
· People that keep aquariums probably know this already, but they should look for alternative ways to keep their tank temperatures from dropping below safe levels during a lengthy power outage. One tip is that hot water tanks retain heat for quite awhile & they can be a source of warm water. It’s also helpful to immediately take steps to prevent heat loss.
Your editor here can speak to the last point from personal experience – after the December 2006 windstorm, our home was out of power for 4 days, and that claimed the life of a large, cherished fish (similar to the one at left) who had outlasted many tankmates. (We wrote about the loss here.) So whether you have fish, dogs, cats, turtles, whatever – don’t make the mistake we did; be prepared.
(Our first, as-it-happened HONK Fest West report can be seen here)
That photo shared by Eileen captures the brassy boisterousness of HONK Fest West, making its first West Seattle appearance, with bands spread along two blocks of The Junction in a five-hour-plus period this afternoon. So does this clip, in which we follow the Hubbub Club as its musicians “march” (more like danced, bounced, strode) their way from the designated performance area by the Junction Wells Fargo, to the SW Alaska sidewalk, then back:
And a serious dose of dancing-in-the-streets ensued in the raised crosswalk between Oregon and Alaska – where we found the Carnival Band during our 2nd HONK Fest visit, at midafternoon:
If you didn’t get a close-enough look at the Hubbub Club’s grinning tuba in our clip, Luckie‘s photo captures it for posterity:
And even the little ones were entranced by the splendor of the costumes as well as the music – witness Holli‘s photo of the Minor Mishap Marching Band (visiting from Austin, Texas):
So will this lovably loony street festival return next year? We’ve got the question out to organizers, though they may well be getting ready to recover after 3 days around town (Fremont on Friday, Georgetown on Saturday, then West Seattle today, plus a few bands’ performances in venues elsewhere tonight). Meantime, here’s the official festival website; here’s its Facebook page; and here’s a site where they’re encouraging people to upload photos. The whole thing runs on volunteer power and donations, as carts like this one reminded festivalgoers in The Junction today:
If you didn’t have any cash to throw in the kitty while you were enjoying the show(s), you can make an online donation here. P.S. Added Monday, one last shot from Colby – seems there wasn’t just dancing in the streets, there was a little bit of lying around in the streets too:
Courtesy of Denny International Middle School, that photo shows its band in Pierce County on Saturday – one of four parades, according to principal Jeff Clark, in which they participated, in the span of one day! The day began with the 77th annual Tacoma Grand Floral Parade at 10:15 am, the Puyallup Daffodil Parade at 12:45 pm, the Sumner Daffodil Parade at 2:30 pm, and the Orting Daffodil Parade at 5 pm. (You can see more than a dozen additional photos in a gallery on the Denny Music website.) Denny’s music director Marcus Pimpleton points out that the Chief Sealth International High School marching band, which he also directs, was in the parades too, “separated by a float” from the Denny band. ADDED MONDAY: A photo of the Sealth band in action Saturday:
Thanks to West Seattle photographer Gail Ann Wodzin for sharing these pictures and the story behind them, as West Seattleites, and others in our area, reach out to Poland in the wake of the plane crash in Russia that killed President Lech Kaczynski and more than 90 others. Above, Seattle Gdynia Sister City Association treasurer Harriet Wodzin of West Seattle signs letters of condolences to the people of Poland; next, Ron Golubiec of West Seattle talks with a TV-news crew about the tragic loss of the president:
Gail Ann adds:
In Solidarity, members of the Seattle Gdynia Sister City Association gathered to mourn the loss of Poland’s President Kacynski and many other high-ranking officials when their plane crashed a few days ago in Snmolensk.
Members recalled the fight for Solidarity, of which several were part of; and to remember the lost souls of Katyn; and to grieve the loss of friends made in Poland over many years of friendship with the people of Poland.
The struggle for freedom and democracy in Poland is an evolving process and we honor those who continue to move forward.
She tells more of the story of today’s gathering, with a link to additional photos, on her website.
Take a close look at the fence in front of Slices on Alki– on the left side of the photo, it’s newer than on the right. That’s because the left side is a newly installed replacement for what vandals/thieves tore down and took on Friday night. We heard about it when one of Slices’ proprietors posted in the WSB Forums to ask if anyone saw it happen or knows who did it; he speculated the stolen fencing might have been used for beach firewood. He says the thief/vandals took one of their wood tables, too. Slices just marked its first anniversary a week ago.
Things were really jumping during the West Seattle new-season celebration for the King County Water Taxi (WSB sponsor) this afternoon (see our first report here), especially when the Lafayette Elementary Popcorns jump-rope team showed their stuff. That marked the conclusion of a busy week for the school, with two other Lafayette news that came our way – starting with this photo and summary from principal Virginia Turner:
On Tuesday, Bruce Bulloch, Mark Nyberg, and Heinz Gehlhaar of Evergreen Soaring came to Lafayette Elementary to talk with the students of Mr. Schroeder’s fourth grade class about flight. Evergreen Soaring brought an Apis 13 meter glider so students could get hands-on experience with the controls and construction of real glider. Students also learned about the science of flight and the forces that influence a glider plane. This was one of the culminating activities for their unit of flight, where they learned not only the history of flight, but also the science of why and how planes fly.
And related to another recent study unit – Lafayette parent Luckie shared a scene from “American Civil War Family Night” earlier this week:
Luckie explains:
The fifth graders in all three fifth-grade classes put together displays and presentations on their choice of Civil War topic. We had posters, dioramas, Powerpoint presentations, and models. Lots of parents and kids gathered to view the students’ work and learn about Civil War history. (The cake is a “taste of history”—it’s made from a historic recipe used by Mary Todd Lincoln, and it was one of President Lincoln’s favorites)
The party has started – and it’s a raucous one! Starting at the Hotwire Online Coffeehouse (WSB sponsor) courtyard and heading southward, HONK Fest West is bringing more than five hours of marching-band style music to venues around The Junction – free! – starting with Emperor Norton’s Stationary Marching Band from Boston (seen and heard in our iPhone clip above). Schedule and maps here.ADDED 4:41 PM: We just took another spin, north to south, along California and caught up with several bands. We’ll break most of the video into a separate story later – including our short march alongside one of the bands – but in case you still haven’t made it down (some accounts say there’ll be music till 6) – here’s the exuberance of the Hungry Marching Band on the north side of the Walk-All-Ways intersection, in front of Cupcake Royale (WSB sponsor):
We’re at Seacrest, where the King County Water Taxi’s West Seattle celebration already has begun, even though it technically wasn’t set to start till noon. King County Councilmember Jan Drago arrived on the Water Taxi about 10 minutes ago with the King County Ferry District’s new executive director Hank Myers; a program with speeches and performances is set to begin in about half an hour; and free rides and snacks are already being enjoyed (big crowd waiting to get on the run that leaves in a few minutes).
White chocolate mousse cake free while it lasts, along with coffee, and performances coming up including rope-jumpers and singers from Lafayette Elementary! ADDED 12:33 PM: King County Executive Dow Constantine, longtime Water Taxi champion, is on hand too – seen here in our cameraphone pic with his team’s transportation expert Chris Arkills:
ADDED 10 PM: Here’s the exuberant start to Constantine’s speech at the event:
Since the end of the last Water Taxi season, the county-run foot ferries briefly came under political attack, when supporters of Constantine’s opponent in the KC Executive race decried the service as “ferries going nowhere.” Then budget challenges raised some questions about its future, but county leaders ultimately decided to keep the West Seattle and Vashon services running, while deferring consideration of other potential routes. What remains in question now is whether the money will be found to make it the year-round service that it could be now that its West Seattle dock has been upgraded, with the $3 million project completed in the offseason; that has yet to be worked out, but we’ll be following the process. Meantime, you can find Water Taxi info including schedule and fares by going here.
Kelly from Muttley Crew Cuts just sent that photo from their fundraising event on behalf of the “Trippin’ Ta-Tas” Breast Cancer 3Day team: Bake sale and dog makeovers till 4 pm today. It’s happening at her shop, which moved a few months ago to 42nd just north of Admiral (map). Silent auction, too – check out some of the gift baskets:
(Photo courtesy David Rosen, taken last Monday afternoon)
WATER TAXI PARTY: On the first Sunday after its new season began, with a new vessel among other changes, the West Seattle-to-downtown run of the King County Water Taxi (WSB sponsor) throws a party today. Free rides all day, and a special celebration at Seacrest noon-2 pm, including performances by jump-ropers and singers from Lafayette Elementary.
HONK FEST WEST: There’s bound to be dancing in the streets as this raucous live-band event comes to West Seattle for the first time – for free! Venues line The Junction, noon-6 pm; map links and band schedules are here.
JADE WEST CAFE FAMILY BENEFIT: It’s in Wallingford but we know at least one big West Seattle delegation will be there to show support for Wah Wong and son Jason, badly hurt when a drunk driver hit them four months ago: 3-course Italian lunch, silent auction and live music, noon-4 pm at at Perché No Pasta and Vino, 1319 North 49th (map). Here’s our earlier preview.
WEST SEATTLE FARMERS MARKET: Asparagus is among the new arrivals as the market holds its regular 10 am-2 pm weekly session at 44th/Alaska. Here’s the Ripe ‘n’ Ready fresh list.
If disaster hits and you have to get out in a hurry, you’re going to gather your loved ones. And “loved ones” means pets too. So on this 11th night of our 
Your editor here can speak to the last point from personal experience – after the 
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