West Seattle High School alumni celebrate their centennial
At West Seattle High School tonight, the WSHS Alumni Association‘s annual All-School Reunion included even more special moments than usual. This is the centennial anniversary of the first WSHS graduating class in 1910 (12 seniors, per a WSHS history summary) – in their honor, the half-centennial-anniversary class of 1960 appeared together onstage with emcee Gary Smith (Class of ’66; photo above). Then, there were three Hall of Fame inductees:
The trio included WSHS’s highest-ranking current alumnus, King County Executive Dow Constantine (Class of ’80), shown above with Karen Seamens Dobbs (Class of ’71), current WSHS Alumni Association president. The other inductees are internationally accomplished photographer Harald Sund (Class of ’61) and retired business executive Wendell Hurlbut III (Class of ’49). Hurlbut couldn’t be there, but Sund was on hand:
Another big part of the program – presenting scholarships; this year, the first-ever Tim Brenton Scholarship, in honor of the WSHS-alum Seattle police officer killed in the line of duty last year, went to Genneva Machmiller:
That’s Genneva with the WSHSAA president. She’s planning to major in nursing at UW. Other scholarship recipients from the Class of 2010:
*Korinne Ainsworth (Friedline, WSHS Alumni scholarships), planning to major in English at UW
*Sam Ameny (WSHS Alumni scholarship), planning a business law/sports agent major at UW
*Raymond Carter (Duke/Radar scholarship), planning a chemical enginering major at UW
*Triston Endreao (Blauert scholarship), planning an environmental-studies major at Whitman
*Karen Lowe (WSHS Alumni scholarship), planning a biochemistry/medical research major at UW
*Carl Swenson (WSHS Alumni scholarship), planning a nursing major at Gonzaga
*Biniaim Woldehaimanot (Bacas Delimitro scholarship), planning a law major at Western Washington
Before the award ceremony, attendees got to “roam the halls” and admire classic cars displayed along SW Stevens before joining in one of more than three dozen by-class reunions assigned to various WSHS classrooms. The West Seattle Big Band then played a set in the theater before the award announcements got under way.
Holy Rosary students ‘Running for Robel’ in Race for the Cure
When the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure hits Seattle streets this Sunday, it’ll be a new location – around Seattle Center, instead of on the Alaskan Way Viaduct – but some things will be the same: The love, emotion, and determination, of those who both are there to support a cure for breast cancer, and those who have survived it. One special story has come to our attention, thanks to Komen volunteer Meg Paynor, who shared a letter written by an 8-year-old Holy Rosary School second-grader:
My name is Anne-Louise Lorentz. I am 8 years old and attend 2nd grade at Holy Rosary School in West Seattle. Recently, my teacher, Karen Robel was diagnosed with breast cancer. She will not be able to finish the school year with us because she will be undergoing surgery. My classmates and I are running to support my teacher and help raise funds and awareness for this disease. Your support and contributions are a blessing. If you are not able to make a monetary donation, I ask that you please say a prayer for our beloved teacher, Karen Robel.
Meg says, “Cherie Skager, the director of communications at Komen, who reads all the
story submissions, was so moved she contacted Anne-Louise¹s mother and asked
her if Anne-Louise would be the ‘Official Starter’ of the 1k Kids Race on Sunday. Anne-Louise was so thrilled, she asked if her entire class could lead the Kids’ Race. On Sunday at 8 am, the 20+ students of
Karen Robel will start the Kids’ Race, with Anne-Louise leading the group.” Meg adds that they will be obtaining a group photo to frame as a “Get Well” gift for their teacher, who had her surgery this week. They will all be
wearing t-shirts that say “Running for Robel.”
Last year, the Kids’ Race also had a West Seattle flavor – Adam Westerman was grand marshal, after helping raise thousands in honor of his mom, breast-cancer survivor Eddie Westerman. Even if you’re not planning to join Sunday’s Race for the Cure, you can donate online here.
Des Moines crash victim identified as Sam Backman of West Seattle
It’s been a tough few months at Hegge Chevron in Sunrise Heights; first, the sudden death of owner Mark Hegge this past March. Today, the staff is dealing with news that one of their co-workers was killed in a car crash. 
It was a one-car crash in Des Moines, discovered late last night (here’s a KIRO TV report); today, the King County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the victim as 20-year-old Sam Backman, and the folks at the Chevron station tell us Sam worked there. They say he was a Seattle Lutheran High School graduate and played ‘multiple sports’ there (here’s a 2007 story noting his football accomplishments; a school newsletter has him on the SLHS Honor Roll the same year). Lately, he had been in the automotive program at South Seattle Community College. According to the tv report, his Honda Accord crashed through a rail and plunged down a ravine near South 216th/Marine View Drive. SATURDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Seattle Lutheran has announced that Sam Backman’s memorial is set for Saturday June 12th at 3 pm, at Grace Church, 10323 28th Avenue SW, just south of Roxbury. ADDED SATURDAY NIGHT: Also from SLHS: There will be a viewing Thursday 4-8 at Howden-Kennedy in The Junction. The family asks that in place of flowers, donations be made to the Seattle Lutheran Sports Department. (Photo added Sunday, provided by Sam Backman’s family)
West Seattle Crime Watch: 1 man charged in 4 car-theft cases
(May 24th photo by David Rosen from SlickPix Photography)
A followup this afternoon on car-theft cases, including the one that yielded the May 24th photo above, as well as the one discussed in this recent comment thread. Charges have just been filed against Ronald E. Thompson, a Gatewood resident who turns 20 on Monday. He is charged with three counts of auto theft and one count of possession of a stolen vehicle, all happening over the past month and a half, starting with one theft in Queen Anne on April 16th. We just obtained the documents from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. The vehicle stolen in QA was found in West Seattle, while the other three were stolen from, and found in WS – the one in the photo was taken from, and found in, the 5400 block of 46th SW. A Lexus stolen in the 6000 block of 44th on May 30th is the one in which Thompson was found two days later, when police arrested him in Gatewood, a few blocks from his house. After the arrest, the charging papers say, Thompson told police about “an assault rifle” at his home; police found a Sturm-Ruger Mini-14 .223-caliber rifle loaded with 21 rounds of ammunition; he told them he’d bought the rifle, but it was listed as stolen in a King County burglary. Thompson remains in jail and is scheduled to answer the charges June 14th; the documents say he not only has a juvenile record, but also is still awaiting trial on a different auto theft case, in which “he told police that he stole a vehicle from West Seattle and drove it to Bothell, where he was trying to sell a laptop computer.”
“We’re graduating!” Skylark marks 4th anniversary with a prom
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
A distinctive label describes the event Skylark Café and Club (WSB sponsor) will host tomorrow night to mark its 4th anniversary: Not a party, not a bash … but a prom.
“After four years, we’re graduating … we’re seniors now!” laughs Skylark proprietor Jessie Summa-Kusiak.
Four is a special number for another reason. That’s how many Skylark staffers have been with the music club/restaurant/bar since Day 1 – including the bar manager and kitchen manager, and bartender Cheryl, who is the model in many of Skylark’s ads.
Why the longevity? Here’s one unexpected reason …Read More
1 month later, High Point neighbors regroup on safety, solutions
Story and photos by Karen Berge
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
More than 50 people gathered Thursday night at the High Point Neighborhood Center for a community-safety forum, billed as a follow-up to the emotionally-charged meeting on April 29th, which followed the stabbing of a woman there on April 23rd. This 2-hour meeting began and ended with some short updates and announcements, but the primary focus was to brainstorm solutions for bringing the community together to move ahead.
Jennifer Cobb and Andrew Mead, from the High Point Neighborhood Association (HPNA), started by describing their mission, “to foster community safety” and the objective for this meeting, to keep it “focused on solutions, focused on what we can do going forward.”
Willard Brown from Seattle Housing Authority (SHA), spoke for several minutes; he remarked “the most important thing is to work together on this” and said that SHA “is committed to bringing resources together.”One tangible change that residents will notice is that they have been “working with SPD to increase the police presence in our community.”
Read More
West Seattle Friday: Café drama, WSHS reunion, and more
‘FOOL FOR LOVE’ AT EASY STREET: Tonight through Saturday, Damaged Actors Productions presents Sam Shepard‘s “Fool For Love” onstage at a venue more often known for music, Easy Street Café, starring Megan Blackstone, Todd Van der Ark, Mark Naborczyk, and Juan Davilacampodonico. Admission is “pay what you will” at the door (but everyone who offers more than $5 gets a button with the performance’s logo – see it on Easy Street’s website); showtime’s at 10, with doors opening half an hour in advance.
WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL ALL-SCHOOL REUNION: The annual event to which all former WSHS students are invited starts at 5 tonight, with the program including the West Seattle Big Band at 7 and awards/Hall of Fame at 7:30 pm. (Added 9:31 am – Rod calls our attention to the post-reunion WSHS Alumni Jam at Redline – Facebook invite here.)
ELEMENTARY EVENTS: Alki Elementary‘s Alki-A-Thon fundraising laps are scheduled for today, as are Roxhill Elementary‘s instrumental-music concert (2 and 7 pm) and Highland Park Elementary‘s 5th-grade play “Willy Wonka” (2 and 7 pm)
WEST SEATTLE VOLUNTEER RECOGNITION AWARDS: A friendly reminder that it’s Day 4 of the open-nomination period for the next round – we published the nomination form back on Tuesday night – find it here and start the process of getting someone recognized for the amazing work they do in our community.
More West Seattle wildlife: Otter-ly surprising sighting
When it rains (animal photos), it pours. Not long after last night’s coyote photo/report from Gatewood (which followed Wednesday’s Admiral chickens and Seaview frog), the WSB inbox yielded otter photos and report from Jennifer on Beach Drive:
Today I was happily baking in my kitchen, when I looked over and saw a sea otter
sitting outside my door! Amazing! I took some pictures as the otter traveled around the back of our house exploring. After about 10 minutes, the otter climbed up into the springs greenery behind our property. Truly amazing to live in a place with access to such sights. We live on the 5000 block of Beach Drive [map] and NOT on the water side. So how did that cute otter get across the street? One wonders? … I wonder if there have been additional
otter sightings this week?
Even before you start typing a comment – don’t worry, we did let Jennifer know that it’s RIVER otters, not sea otters, who live among us (state info sheet here). But we seldom see photos, so hers are a bonus.
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