Chief Sealth PTSA kicks off new year hearing from new principal
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Just as Seattle Public Schools gets ready to discuss its “capacity management” plan with district families, yet another school has hit capacity – and then some.
Speaking to his school’s PTSA for the first time, new Chief Sealth International High School interim principal Chris Kinsey said the school has 1,247 students (as of just before his appearance last night), while its estimated capacity is about 50 below that.
Because of the extra enrollment, Sealth is scheduled to get up to five more teachers, Kinsey said, but he has to figure out where they would work – since the classrooms are maxed out; he said it may mean teachers must give up their classrooms during prep time. And since now-adjacent Denny International Middle School has almost 800 students, Kinsey noted, the newly colocated campus is school-day home to more than 2,000 students.
His comments, and some Q/A, were part of a wide-ranging meeting on the Sealth side of the campus Galleria last night, as Kinsey revealed that he’s even been doing some teaching as part of his new job, because of the overflow.
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West Seattle Crime Watch: Car thefts don’t just happen at night
Many of the auto thefts we hear about happen in the middle of the night – but here’s another reminder thieves might be brazen enough to strike in the middle of the day, too: Amber reports that a gray late-’90s Nissan belonging to a neighbor’s employee was stolen from the street in front of her house today, between 7:45 am and 5 pm. She’s on 18th SW near Thistle (where, she says, a neighbor was hit by burglars just last week).
Food trucks in West Seattle: Highland Park to follow ‘Chowdown’
If you are a food-truck fan, you no doubt are counting down the days till Sunday, when the Mobile Chowdown will take over the heart of The Junction with more than 20 food trucks (listed here), 11 am-5 pm, all ages, no admission fee. Turns out that the Mobile Chowdown will be something of a preview for what the Highland Park Improvement Club hopes will be a weekly, growing food-truck gathering! On the following Saturday, October 8th, what you might call a new West Seattle node of food trucks will debut. You probably already know that Marination Mobile and Parfait Ice Cream, both of which will be at Mobile Chowdown, have been at 35th/Graham on Saturdays. Now, HPIC is inviting food trucks to use its spacious parking lot on Saturdays – and the first two official takers are Lumpia World and I Want Curry Now, both of which will also be at Mobile Chowdown this Sunday. So to review:
*Mobile Chowdown in The Junction this Sunday (October 2nd), 11 am-5 pm, California SW from Edmunds to Oregon, one-time event
*HPIC food-truck Saturdays start October 8th, 11 am-3 pm, 12th/Holden, recurring
P.S. On October 8th, you can make a day/night of it at HPIC – they are having a Harvest Dinner potluck that night at 6 pm, asking participants to “bring their own homemade food to share, plus a plate to leave behind, which will become part of the community kitchen we are building.” Cabaret and musical entertainment and a no-host bar. (If you’ve never been to HPIC, maybe this reference will help – a few blocks east of where Zippy’s used to be.)
West Seattle schools: Nature program needs volunteers
With all the nature lovers we’ve encountered in WSB-land, we’re startled to hear that this local school program is low on volunteers. But that’s what Marieke Stientjes Rack from the Seattle Audubon Society reports – so we’re sending out the call:
Seattle Audubon has provided FUN for FREE at Sanislo Elementary School for 10+ years. FUN is a environmental education program for 3rd and 4th graders. The program introduces students to the natural world in their own schoolyard habitats through observation, discovery, and scientific inquiry. Seattle Audubon has been and is able to provide this high-quality program, including small group instruction, because of volunteers. Volunteers are trained and then work with small groups of 4-5 students for 4, one-hour lessons, over the course of 4 weeks.
FUN students spend over 8 hours getting to know their schoolyard habitat and, on average, showed a 13% increase in environmental science knowledge for the 2010-2011 school year. Here is a link to the program website; interested volunteers can contact Seattle Audubon’s Volunteer Coordinator at volunteerc@seattleaudubon.org.
Update: Water rescue, fire calls both resolved quickly
11:45 AM: Busy hour for the Seattle Fire Department – after clearing a major callout for a possible water rescue on the south end of Beach Drive, they are now responding to a “fire in building” call in the 6500 block of 32nd SW. Our crew is on the way.
11:49 AM: Neither call has turned out to be a major incident – Seattle Fire spokesperson Helen Fitzpatrick says the “water rescue” was a report of an overturned kayak, but the person in the kayak swam safely to shore, and that the fire call has turned out to be “food on the stove.”
Update: West Seattle Bridge motorcycle crash turns fatal
11:20 AM: We have just confirmed with Harborview Medical Center what two people reported in the comments on coverage of Tuesday’s West Seattle Bridge crash: The 53-year-old man whose motorcycle crashed as he swerved to avoid a car has died. Commenter JD says, “He was a very kind, and wonderful person. He served the community with honor and integrity. He will be greatly missed.” We are not publishing his name until we confirm with the King County Medical Examiner’s Office that their notifications have been made, but another commenter had described him as a state Ecology Department employee who commuted to Bellevue from Kitsap County. A commenter says he leaves a wife, three sons and a daughter, and many others who love him.
ADDED 2:36 PM: We know now that information about the motorcyclist’s death has been circulated in his workplace, and we feel comfortable publicly identifying him as Bradly Gilmore. We asked the Ecology media team if there was any information they can share, and got the following from Seth Preston:
I can say that those who worked with Brad thought very highly of him. As Bob Warren, manager of the Toxics Cleanup section in Bellevue, said of Brad: “There are very few people in life where you know that they have everything in the right order and priority. And it seemed that everything he did was of the highest quality and accomplished with such calmness. I will miss working with him.”
Brad worked in our Voluntary Cleanup Program, which enables owners of contaminated sites to meet state cleanup standards independently and to receive technical guidance from Ecology during the process.
Among Brad’s accomplishments was serving as project coordinator for the Shell multi-site pilot project. You can learn more about this groundbreaking effort here: ecy.wa.gov/programs/tcp/sites_brochure/vcp_sites/vcpOverview.htm.
Jim Pendowski is the manager of the entire Toxics Cleanup Program, based at Ecology’s headquarters in Lacey. Jim said in a message to program employees today that “Brad was a good guy and he made a difference. He will be missed.”
A grief counselor will be available to Brad’s co-workers on Thursday at our Bellevue office.
West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network: Preparedness, and where to get the $ for it
Story and photos by Keri DeTore
Reporting for West Seattle Blog
After a summer hiatus, the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network reconvened last night at the SW Precinct for their monthly meeting. Led by co-founder Karen Berge, the meeting focused heavily on Emergency Preparedness, as so many community events have this month, and a city rep was on hand to provide information about accessing matching fund grants to promote the issue.
First however, Karen had a big announcement: WSBWCN has been awarded a $4,000 grant from the Bill Wright Technology Matching Fund to help develop on online tool that will help neighborhoods find their Block Watch captains, and will help captains communicate with each other. Says Karen about the award: “We’re doing back flips over here!”
City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods Project Manager Garry Owens (photo at right, with Karen) was invited to discuss the city’s matching fund grants that are available to community groups undertaking projects focusing on community involvement.
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West Seattle Wednesday: School’s out (early); preparedness x 2
(Young raccoons spotted near 38th/Dakota; photo courtesy of MG)
Welcome to a wild Wednesday! Highlights from the WSB West Seattle Events calendar:
SHORT SCHOOL DAY: Today is the first two-hour early-dismissal day of the year for Seattle Public Schools.
GET CHEESY: Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) launches its annual monthlong “For the Love of Cheese” festival; today’s events at the Admiral store start at noon.
CLINIC OPEN HOUSE: Highline Physical Therapy open house 4-7 pm at new clinic, 4700 42nd SW, suite 510, free non-alcoholic beverages, everybody welcome!
SOLD WHERE IT’S GROWN: High Point Market Garden Farm Stand, 4-7 pm, 32nd SW and SW Juneau – seasonal, fresh, organically grown produce sold next to where it’s grown.
MAKE SURE YOUR PETS SURVIVE TOO: Pet preparedness is the topic of a special educational presentation by West Seattle Be Prepared, 6:30 pm at Senior Center of West Seattle in The Junction, details here.
MORE PREPAREDNESS – AT HIGHLAND PARK ACTION COMMITTEE: The local neighborhood council that usually meets toward month’s end is resuming its schedule post-summer, and Highland Park Action Committee has preparedness on the agenda too, with a guest speaker from the Seattle Office of Emergency Management with a SNAP (Seattle Neighborhoods Actively Prepare) presentation. Meeting starts with a 6:30 potluck, SNAP presentation at 7, news/announcements at 8. HPAC meets at the Highland Park Improvement Club building, 12th/Holden.
FOUR MORE CHANCES: “Amy’s View” starts its final week at ArtsWest Playhouse in The Junction, through October 1st, 7:30 pm Wednesday (also this Thursday, Friday, Saturday).
West Seattle success stories: 3 student-athlete standouts
News to share of three local student-sports standouts now scoring college success:
BASKETBALL SCHOLARSHIPS: From West Seattle High School girls’ basketball coach Sonya Elliott:
Best friends & WSHS graduates Kirby Davis and Taylor Magera will be playing basketball at Edmonds Community College this year. Kirby was West Seattle High School’s 2010-11 Most Improved Player and Taylor was Captain; they received basketball scholarships and will continue their education while playing under head coach Tarrance Tucker.
ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Tim McConnell from West Seattle Runner (WSB sponsor) shared the news that WSR part-time employee Max O’Donoghue-McDonald was named UW Husky Athlete of the Week after his recent win at the Sundodger Invitational in Lincoln Park, as the first Husky to win it two years in a row. Tim noted, “That’s a pretty big deal considering football usually dominates this time of year. Plus he is just a great kid. Customers love him and he always has a smile on his face, singing a song and just loving life. He definitely does West Seattle proud!”
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