West Seattle, Washington
03 Thursday
In case you haven’t seen it already in the WSB West Seattle Events Calendar – Our Lady of Guadalupe‘s brand-new Alex J. Brunett Gymnasium will host Hoopfest this weekend, and sign-ups are open now for boys and girls going into 3rd through 12th grades this fall. It’s a three-on-three basketball tournament this Saturday and Sunday, with these brackets:
3/4th grade Boys 3/4th grade Girls
5/6th grade Boys 5/6th grade Girls
7/8th grade Boys 7/8th grade Girls
9-12th grade Boys 9-12th grade Girls
The cost is $50 per team, with proceeds benefiting the OLG CYO sports program. Questions? E-mail olghoops@gmail.com – or if you just want to sign up, go here!
As we continue counting down to Saturday’s West Seattle Grand Parade, presented by American Legion Post 160, we have news of another honoree who you’ll see toward the start of the parade: 
Recent Seattle Lutheran High School retiree Shirley Vradenburgh is this year’s winner of the Orville Rummel Trophy for Outstanding Service to the Community.
SLHS honored Shirley, a West Seattle native, just last month – as she retired – with its first-ever Ring of Honor Award. She spent 33 years as teacher and registrar/college counselor at Seattle Lutheran, after spending a few years away from West Seattle, while she studied and taught in the Midwest.
Her community service here has included myriad roles including youth ministry and volunteer work with local nonprofits. In particular, she is well-known at Providence Mount St. Vincent, and explains:
I began volunteering at the Mount in 1996 when my mother spent her last two years there. I went every evening to visit her and began helping at dinner time. After my mother died in 1998, I was back the next day, and I have continued most days since that time. I found the Mount to be a special place; the staff were very supportive, and I have enjoyed many friendships with residents and their families through the years. It is a delight to see the smiles on the faces of residents as I spend a few minutes visiting while I help serve their drinks and the evening meal. They enjoy hearing about my activities with the students or travels, etc. I also spend time visiting with other residents around the building. Spending time with teenagers and the elderly each day makes a great balance – both are amazing groups of people.
The Kiwanis Club of West Seattle celebrated Shirley as an Everyday Hero in 2008, and the Rotary Club of West Seattle honored her recently too. Now, Post 160 is honoring her with the award named after the man who led the Post as Commander when it was first presented, 1984, Orville Rummel. Last year, community advocate/volunteer Cindi Barker was the honoree. In 2010, your WSB co-publishers were honored to receive it; that year, we wrote about its history.
So come to the parade this Saturday and cheer for Shirley – the route is California SW from Lander to Edmunds, starting around 11 am, with the motorcycles as usual launching earlier, so don’t be last-minute if you’re watching from the start of the route!
This afternoon in Mount Vernon, the West Seattle Little League Seniors Division team (15/16-year-olds) shut out their first opponent in state play, 5-0. A game scheduled for 4 pm game today will determine who they play tomorrow (here’s the bracket). They won the state berth by winning the District 7 tournament earlier this month (as reported here). More to come!
3:28 PM: If you’ve noticed the police search in the Gatewood/Fauntleroy area – they are looking for someone who might have fired gunshots, no injuries but possible damage found to a fence. The suspect was last seen on SW Willow headed toward Fauntleroy (map) and southbound on Fauntleroy, so they are checking Lincoln Park, too. The suspect was described on the scanner as white, male, around 18, 5’6″, wearing a baseball cap, black shirt, jeans (but keep in mind, that was just a preliminary description).
3:35 PM UPDATE: People in the area tell us that police are searching with rifles out, which would be standard given the nature of the call. Scanner says they’ve heard from workers in the area who think it might have been firecrackers and not gunshots. Search continues.
4:07 PM UPDATE: No luck finding anyone.
(Historic photo of Camp Colman dock, courtesy YMCA)
Though it’s not in West Seattle, thousands of West Seattleites old and young know all about YMCA Camp Colman – which is celebrating its centennial this year. The Colman family, which founded the camp on Case Inlet in south Puget Sound, had major roots in Fauntleroy – which is where you can be part of a celebration coming up on July 27th. Here’s the announcement from the Y (WSB sponsor):
YMCA Camp Colman, located on the Case Inlet in lower Puget Sound, is celebrating 100 years of helping kids and teens to realize their potential and give back to their communities throughout greater Seattle and beyond.
Founded in 1912 by the Colman family (Seattle pioneers and philanthropists), Camp Colman is a year-round facility featuring more than 100 forested acres, a protected saltwater lagoon and views of the snow-capped Olympic Mountains. Camp Colman offers a wide variety of programs offering positive role models, connection to the natural world and personal challenges. Programs include youth and teen summer overnight camp, family camps, Outdoor Environmental Education programs and Women’s Wellness Weekends.
Centennial Events
The central events of Camp Colman’s Centennial Year will be celebrated by camp alumni and friends of Camp Colman this July. Key dates include:• July 27, 5:30 pm-8:30 pm: Bean Feed Dinner & Centennial Film Premiere at The Hall at Fauntleroy, 9131 California Ave. SW, Seattle
• July 28-29, 2:00 pm arrival and 5:30 pm dinner: Celebration Weekend at Camp Colman! Salmon Bake Dinner, Campfire, French Toast & Goop on Sunday Morning and other activities. Location: 20016 Bay Road, KPS, Longbranch
• For the latest news and information on the Centennial and other events, visit campcolman.orgHistory & Facility Enhancements
In 1912, the Colman family welcomed campers from the Plymouth Congregational Church to their property at Horsehead Bay. The program expanded to include children from the Fauntleroy YMCA located in West Seattle. Camp Colman moved to its current location on Whiteman’s Cove in 1965 to allow for more space to grow.Originally built to accommodate about 120 campers at a time, Camp Colman’s Anderson Lodge now serves approximately 220 campers attending per session during the summer. Expansion of Anderson Lodge and other renovations are also marking the Centennial. Enhancements include new bathrooms on the main floor, an improved kitchen, new floors, upgraded safety features, an expanded deck around the building to enjoy stunning views of the Olympics, a new staff lounge area and a history wall.
Over the past 40 years, Camp Colman has added new cabins to accommodate steady growth and, in the past three years, the new Freeman Village has added space for 48 more campers or guests. These improvements are increasing Camp Colman’s year-round appeal for programs such as Women’s Wellness Weekends, retreats and Outdoor Environmental Education.
1:02 PM: Big response off to the 5600 block of 29th SW, which is the golf course/Camp Long vicinity. We believe the dispatch was for someone “stuck in a tree” – we’re en route. And just as we typed that, most of the units have been canceled – we’re continuing just to check it out.
1:10 PM: We’re not there yet but we did want to let you know, if you are seeing a helicopter in the North Delridge area, it’s a TV chopper that was sent to check this out.
1:25 PM: The incident is definitely over – so over, the last fire unit was leaving as we pulled up. Still checking to try to find out a little bit more but bottom line, all’s well now.
2:28 PM: SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore says it was a report of an 11-year-old in a tree … and the child turned out to be all of five feet up, so the call was canceled.
Thanks to photographer J.P. Peck of QuickShows.com for the overview looking toward Lowman Beach – we noticed this a little while ago too – the noctiluca is back. In case you missed our earlier coverage (here’s a story from last month), and/or previous years’ stories, it’s NOT “red tide,” but rather nontoxic microorganisms. The state Department of Ecology talks about it here.
Last week, we reported that West Seattle-based Grindline was the “apparent low bidder” for the Roxhill Skatespot (skatepark) and playground-renovations-prep project (here’s that story). “Apparent” was an important word in that report, inferring “not final yet” – and indeed, that has turned out to be the case: This morning, we have an update from Seattle Parks’ project manager Kelly Davidson: “After review of the bids, project budget, and WMBE Inclusion Plan, Parks has decided to reject all bids. The only qualified bidder was $29K over the engineer’s estimate and this bid did not leave a sufficient contingency in the project budget. The inclusion plan was reviewed and discussed and will be adjusted in the revised bid. This has been posted to eBid and all contractors have been notified. The bid will be posted again this week and we expect to re-bid on July 25th.” (You might recall that Delridge Skatepark also went through 2 rounds of bidding.) Davidson says that means construction is not likely to start till late August or even September.
(Photo by Jordan Petram, shared via Flickr – Alki Point Lighthouse, open for tours 1-4 pm summer weekends)
Recovered from West Seattle Summer Fest yet? (Our coverage, day by day, is linked in the sidebar “BIG STORIES” list, if you want to browse the pics and video, or here!) Rest up for more summer fun ahead – though today is semi-quiet; here are some highlights:
BRIDGE CLOSURES THIS WEEK? Short answer – NO bridge or 99/Viaduct closures. But Thursday and Friday nights (late night into early the following morning), the Spokane Street Viaduct Widening Project will require lane closures in both directions, and the ramp to the West Seattle Bridge from *northbound* I-5 will be closed as a result. Those closures are listed in the latest “construction lookahead” from SDOT/WSDOT.
WORK AHEAD AT LOWMAN BEACH PARK: You might have missed this story, published here Saturday, amid all the Summer Fest coverage over the weekend – this week, King County will start a monthlong project at Lowman Beach Park, but it’s NOT related to the upcoming megaproject to build the million-gallon storage tank to reduce combined-sewer overflows. They’re replacing the grate over the underground Murray Pump Station. That’ll block off a few parking spaces on the street and part of the south side of the park. It’s all explained here (including aerial photos).
DELRIDGE PRODUCE CO-OP MEETING: Tonight, 6:30 pm, Delridge Library (Delridge/Brandon). Marketing, membership, and upcoming events are on the agenda.
WALK OR BIKE TO FIND OUT ABOUT GREENWAYS: This month’s Sustainable West Seattle “forum” will get you out and about for a firsthand look at proposed “greenways” through eastern WS. Meet at the West Seattle Tool Library, on the northeast side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center (4408 Delridge Way SW), at 7 pm, and either bike along with Stu Hennessey of Alki Bike and Board (WSB sponsor) or walk with Feet First.
There’s more on the calendar, including events that happen every Monday, from paddleboarding to cooking!
(Photo by Long Bach Nguyen)
That’s a June 27th photograph of the Noble Discoverer, one of two Shell oil-drilling vessels that left Harbor Island’s Vigor Shipyards that day (WSB coverage here) after months of work, headed for a controversial new round of Arctic offshore drilling. A WSB’er has called our attention to a new report of trouble for the ND before it had even reached its destination; as shown in this photo published by the Washington Post, it came very close to shore in Alaska over the weekend. It went adrift off Dutch Harbor in the Aleutians (Coast Guard news release here), where it and the other rig worked on at Vigor, Kulluk, have been waiting; they haven’t made it into the Arctic Ocean because of heavier-than-expected ice, according to this detailed report from an Alaska news organization. Another update says Shell doesn’t think it ran aground; they’re still checking for possible damage.
After many expressions of love for Lincoln Park emerged among those concerned about the commercial zipline attraction proposal first reported here on June 28th and withdrawn by the Parks Department last Wednesday after an emotional meeting the night before, it was suggested that love be shown by participation in a volunteer work party. This weekend, some did just that. Volunteer forest steward Lisa McGinty says Sunday’s Friends of Lincoln Park (FLIP) work party was a success: “We had a good turnout of volunteers and lots of friendly acknowledgment from park visitors.” FLIP usually has two volunteer events each month – watch the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar for word of upcoming chances for you to get involved too.
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