West Seattle, Washington
25 Monday
(Click image for PDF of full-size flyer)
Though football season is still a ways off, teams are getting ready, and Chief Sealth International High School‘s head coach Luther Carr III is inviting you to a tournament he’s excited about:
We are inviting the whole community to come out and support/watch some of the best high-school football teams in the Seattle area compete in our inaugural 7 on 7 Passing League Tournament. Free to the public. This event is an opportunity for the teams listed to work on their pass offense and pass defense. The line-up is very competitive. Top teams include: Mount Si, Shelton, Woodinville, Issaquah, Liberty, and of course our local favorite, Chief Sealth.
Also: Quincy Carter, QB for Kent-Meridian HS, is considered one of the best athletes in the state, and Kentwood is a perennial powerhouse. Ballard HS is coached by former Kennedy HS and NFL alum Joey Thomas. It will be a great day of football and fun.
This is all happening at Southwest Athletic Complex (2801 SW Thistle, across from Sealth) 8 am-5 pm Saturday, July 13th.
(Jaden Sadis coming home, congratulated by Bowie Hichens, who was going up to bat)
Tomorrow night, you can go to Bar-S Playfield and cheer on either (or both) the West Seattle Little League teams playing in the 9-10 and 11-12 District 7 Tournament games that WSLL is hosting there all week. Both won this weekend; Laurie Rasmussen shares the wrapup of the 9-10 game, along with the photo above:
West Seattle Little League 9/10 All Stars team won their first tournament game Sunday night against Renton, 19-6. It was a close game in the heat of the day for both teams. However, in the fourth inning WSLL batted through the entire lineup and scored 6 runs. While in the fifth inning, things really heated up for Westside. With three players on base , Jaden Sadis hit a 3 RBI triple for Westside, followed by Dylan Mastroianni hitting a triple and finishing that inning up 19-6. Westside was able to hold off Renton in the bottom of the fifth inning with some great pitching by Jaden Sadis to end the game.
West Seattle hit through the line up twice in the game, every player on the team was on base at least once and had a total of 17 hits! Way to go, Westside. Next game is on Wednesday at Bar S fields at 6:00, playing South Highline National.
Also at 6 pm tomorrow, the WSLL 11-12 team plays Pac West at 6 pm, after winning their own game against Renton on Sunday, 13-12. Details are on the WSLL website, where you’ll find brackets and other info about the tournament as it continues through Saturday – everyone’s welcome to stop by and root for the young athletes playing their hearts out.
Almost three years ago, when we toured the then-newly built facility that Swedish Automotive (WSB sponsor) was about to move into, we reported on its environmentally friendly features – including the potential for adding solar-power system in the future. Now, that future is here, with a 9.6-kilowatt system being installed – Swedish Automotive shared the photo with that news, and, as noted in a detailed report on their website, with the hope of more to come. See more photos in this album linked from the Swedish Facebook page.
4:55 PM: Also happening right now: A police response in Highland Park. We’d been monitoring this just before the aforementioned port rescue broke out. Per scanner traffic, it started as a report of a possible carjacking, but then the story got more complicated. They’ve been searching for suspects in the Highland Park Elementary vicinity. Police explain it via Twitter this way: “Officers investigating very strange carjacking report in West Seattle. Started off as report of 6 ppl fighting in 3800 blk of Delridge……suspect fled the scene, but later called 911 himself, spoke briefly with an operator and hung up……officers are now looking for the suspect and a white Toyota Corolla.” Scanner indicates there may be a South Park address associated with this.
5:40 PM: No official updates; a WSB crew just checked the Highland Park vicinity where police were earlier, nothing happening.
5:57 PM UPDATE: Via Twitter, SPD now says, “Officers have taken two people into custody in connection with the carjacking in W. Seattle. More details when we sort all this out.”
LATE-NIGHT UPDATE: No official update yet, but activity into the evening in Highland Park may have been related; we’ll be checking back in the morning.
(Seattle Fire Department photo, shared via Twitter)
4:45 PM: Big emergency response headed to the 3400 block of West Marginal Way right now, with word that rescue help might be needed on a crane. This is at the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5, a possible medical emergency. More to come.
4:54 PM UPDATE: You might see a TV helicopter related to this. No word yet on how the rescue’s going.
(Photo by Mike Scharer)
4:59 PM UPDATE: Rescuers have made it up onto a crane. They say via radio they have found “an adult male, conscious, alert, stable” who might be doing well enough to bring down via elevator rather than in a more precarious way.
5:03 PM UPDATE: Sounds like they plan to bring him down in a basket instead.
(Seattle Fire Department photo, shared via Twitter)
6:28 PM: SFD spokesperson Kyle Moore told us at the scene that the crane op, in his 60s, apparently had heat exhaustion. More when our crew gets back.
(Video by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
7:43 PM: Added video of Moore’s briefing for reporters at the scene (including ours), and photos. The patient was brought down from 140 feet up, he said, and at last report is in stable condition.
Two reader reports this afternoon – starting with this one from a concerned parent, which might not have been a crime but was enough to raise her suspicions and get the word out:
I am writing to report a suspicious person who tried to solicit a conversation with my 13-year-old daughter after following her several blocks and passing her in his car 5 times while she was out walking our dog. Starting in the area of the 4000 block of SW Charlestown St. and contact made on the 3400 block of 38th Ave SW. Police were contacted and report filed.
Description:
late 20s/early 30s
white/caucasian male with glasses
normal build (unknown height)
dark or brown mid-length hair
driving small silver 4 door carShe was walking a 100+ pound dog! Gutsy!!
Also: Rachelle reports a search in her neighborhood, the 4800 block of Delridge Way, early this morning:
I woke up at 3 am 7/2/13 to my dogs barking in the backyard and flashes of light coming through the bedroom windows. I went to the front door and saw police searching outside our house, neighboring houses, and throughout the block. I asked what was going on and they said there was someone breaking into cars/houses and they had just jumped the fence into our backyard. He advised us to stay inside the house. Shortly after, a K9 unit arrived, so they asked us to bring our dogs inside. They searched around our house and block until about 5 am at which time they came and told us they had finished their search. The suspects had gotten away, probably headed south. They said the call came in when the suspects had broken into a garage north of our house. Apparently, there were 2 of them and they were seen with a yellow crowbar.
As much as stuff like this sakes me up a bit, I am so thankful that at least we have the officers in the SW Precinct. They always respond so quickly and are very thorough in their searches/investigations. Their kindness, communication with us, advice and understanding always helps put us at ease (if such a thing exists in a situation like this). This isn’t our first rodeo with events such as these in the neighborhood. Its reassuring to know they’re looking out. Hopefully they catch these guys. Just wanted to make the community aware. Be safe, folks.
We haven’t heard directly from any of the reported break-in victims but we do see a police auto-tweet about a middle-of-the-night break-in report in the 4700 block of 25th SW.
ADDED: After publishing this, we received two notes possibly related to the aforementioned incident:
Again this year, Seattle Parks will leave the lights on at synthetic-turf ballfields around the city to discourage fireworks. We’ve excerpted its citywide announcement to include the West Seattle fields it mentions (no WS fields will be turned off at 10):
Seattle Parks and Recreation will activate the field lighting on synthetic ballfields throughout the city on the evening of Thursday, July 4, to protect the synthetic surfaces. The ballfield lights will be turned on at 8:45 p.m. and will be turned off at either 10 p.m. or 11 p.m., depending on the field.
The lights will be turned on to discourage the use of fireworks. Fireworks are illegal in the City of Seattle and will destroy the artificial turf on the fields. The approximate replacement cost for synthetic carpet based on per average full size field (110,000 square feet) is $1.2 million. All the fields have been renovated in the past several years and benefit field users including soccer, football, baseball, Ultimate Frisbee and lacrosse.
The following fields will be turned off at 11 p.m.:
· Delridge Playfield, 4458 Delridge Way SW· Hiawatha Playfield, 2700 California Ave. SW
· Walt Hundley Playfield, 6920 34th Avenue SW
For additional questions or information please contact Seattle Parks and Recreation Security Manager Corby Christensen at 206-510-2315.
See the entire citywide list in the full Parks announcement published here.
Three updates today as the 2013 West Seattle Grand Parade, presented by American Legion Post 160, gets closer (11 am Saturday, July 20th). First, parade coordinators have announced the two community honorees who will lead the parade:
ANN ADKINS CHOSEN AS GRAND MARSHAL: Generations of swimmers at the West Seattle Y (longtime WSB sponsor) know Ann, who just retired after a very long run as its aquatics director, according to Josh Sutton from the Y:
During her almost forty years, tens of thousands of kids in West Seattle learned to swim and be safe around the water, thousands of seniors engaged in water exercise classes that kept them healthy and active, and hundreds of youth competed on the Y swim team, took lifeguarding classes and started their first job under Ann’s tutelage.
Throughout, Ann has been an indefatigable leader, working within the community, the Y and with other organizations like the Arthritis Foundation and the Red Cross to ensure highly trained staff and volunteers leading high-quality programs at the Y. She does this quietly and without much need for fanfare. In addition, Ann and her husband Ron have lived in West Seattle since the 1970’s, raised their kids and grandkids, just west of the Junction.
We are so happy that Ann has been chosen as the Grand Marshal, and Y staff & volunteers look forward to celebrating with her as we walk the parade route this year!
JUDY PICKENS RECEIVES RUMMEL TROPHY: The Orville Rummel Award for Outstanding Service to the Community (named after the parade’s founder and explained in this 2010 WSB report) goes to Judy Pickens:
Judy’s decades of community service and advocacy have included a longrunning project bringing together education and environmental stewardship – Salmon in the Classroom, working with hundreds of local students and teachers every year (despite government budget cuts for program support) to raise salmon fry at schools, later released into Fauntleroy Creek, where Judy has long been a watershed steward, which in turn involves many other types of volunteer work. The other side of the salmon lifecycle sees her gathering volunteers to watch for returning spawners in the fall, after a popular annual drumming event at the creek overlook to call them home. Judy also currently edits the Fauntleroy Community Association newsletter, which is a beefy look at community news, the type that many community councils used to produce but seldom do any more.
Congratulations to Ann and Judy, who will be officially honored pre-parade during the West Seattle Hi-Yu Concert in the Park two weeks from tonight – 7 pm Tuesday, July 16th — on the east lawn at Hiawatha Community Center.
Speaking of Hi-Yu:
HI-YU SEEKING JUNIOR COURT ‘ALUMS’ FOR PARADE: That’s this year’s West Seattle Hi-Yu Summer Festival float, peering into the “Alki Deep.” In this year’s Grand Parade, a special group will march, according to this announcement Diane Szender asked us to share:
**** Calling all Past Hi-Yu Junior Court members ****
Come join in the tradition of carrying the Hi-Yu Banner and the Business Sponsor banner in front of the float during the West Seattle American Legion parade on Saturday, July 20th at 11 am. We’d love to have you participate in Hi-Yu reds and white, wearing your tiaras and Hi-Yu sashes. If you’d like to join in, please call 206 932-1704 for more details.
More parade previews in the days ahead! It starts at 11 am July 20th from California/Lander in the Admiral District, proceeding down California to SW Edmunds in The Junction (see the route on the parade website) – following the second annual West Seattle Float Dodger 5K. The parade also continues to welcome donations to help defray the costs of permits and signage.
The bicycle boom is coming to The Junction: Just revealed via the windows at 4508 California SW (the ex-Sweetie storefront), West Seattle Cyclery will open there soon. We talked there with proprietor Brad Loetel as well as exchanging e-mail, in which he explained:
West Seattle Cyclery will be a full-service bike shop offering retail bike sales, bike repair, and bike fitting. Our mission at West Seattle Cyclery is to have our customers love cycling as much as we do. We will support our customers in that effort by hiring dedicated, smart, and professional staff who will use their knowledge and experience to ensure the customer purchases the bike and equipment which best meets their needs.
The owner and employees are from West Seattle so we have a strong desire to make sure we provide the West Seattle community with exceptional customer service. We have been waiting for a space in the Junction for quite a while now because we know the Junction is the hub of West Seattle. The development currently going on around the Junction will no doubt bring changes but I think it provides more opportunities for local business to grow and be prosperous.
Brad says the shop will open in phases over the next several weeks – the repair area will be ready first; the sales area will follow.
(Thanks to Amanda for the sign-spotting tip!)
Big news for WestSide Baby as this year’s “Stuff the Bus” mega-diaper-drive approaches (Sunday, July 21st). Today its warehouse is receiving a million diapers, the first of two committed shipments by the National Diaper Bank Network, for WS Baby, partner Eastside Baby Corner, and the Tri-Cities Diaper Bank. The WS Baby announcement includes this reminder of why they are desperately needed:
King County reports over 10,000 children* under the age of three living in poverty. The diapering needs for these children is 22 million diapers per year. Unfortunately, this incredible need forces many families to choose between buying diapers and paying bills. Diapers are not covered by any government aid program, including food stamps and Women, Infant and Children (WIC) programs. Struggling students or working parents most often must bring a daily supply of diapers when dropping their children off at daycare.
According to Joanne Goldblum, Executive Director of the National Diaper Bank Network, “Children can miss out on early childhood opportunities if parents cannot supply diapers, which most centers require. Though Early Head Start programs are mandated to provide diapers, the budgets they receive from the federal government are often too tight to allow for that. These programs sometimes turn to diaper banks, community-based non-profits dedicated to keeping every baby clean, dry and healthy.”
Big donations like this are only a drop in the diaper bucket – your help matters in a big way, too. You can donate to WestSide Baby in a variety of ways detailed on their website – and watch for diaper drives big and small, including at the Admiral 4th of July Kids’ Parade this Thursday and then the big Stuff the Bus collection on July 21st, 10 am-2 pm in the parking lot of AmericanWest Bank.
If you’re checking to see what’s happening on the holiday this Thursday, our West Seattle 4th of July page is now up and running – 
see it here, or find it on the row of navigation tabs beneath the sunset-photo header on every WSB page. The page includes details about the traditional West Seattle events happening again this year, including the Admiral 4th of July Kids’ Parade on Thursday morning. The page is a work in progress until the holiday arrives, so if you have an event, or restaurant/store hours, to add, just let us know – thank you!
(Live view from the east-facing WS Bridge camera; other cameras are on the WSB Traffic page)
6:07 AM: The holiday approaches! So does the weekend 99 closure – Battery Street Tunnel to Valley St., Friday night to Monday morning. Before that, there are holiday transit notes on our newly published West Seattle 4th of July page.
9:35 AM UPDATE: Thanks to Kay for the tip about emergency vehicles on the eastbound bridge. There was a short-lived crash call, already closed, and even as we type, someone has called to tell us the scene is clearing.
6:32 PM UPDATE: Headed into downtown, passed major backup on SB 99. Don’t know whether crash or stall, but 2 SPD cars were pulled over with someone in the stadium zone.
Coach Eric Olson shares the news about the team that just won a regional tournament:
The 8U All Stars from West Seattle Baseball defeated MTYAA to win the PONY NW Super Regional Tournament Sunday. These kids played great baseball despite the 97-degree heat. Top to bottom, every kid contributed both offensively and defensively over the weekend. This is definitely a special group of kids.
As seen in the photo Eric shared, they are:
Front Row: Jason Mai, Jing Gardner, Patrick Galvin, PJ Barton, Jack Cahill
Middle Row: Ethan Wyatt, Joel Clark, Chase Clifton, Brendan Johnson, Tyler Eisenhut, Mason Holmes, Brody Olson
Back Row: John Cahill, Eric Olson, Paul Barton
Congratulations!
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