West Seattle, Washington
15 Thursday
Now that June’s here, the big events are rolling in like the tide.
Two weeks from today – on Saturday, June 18th – we are proud to again be co-sponsoring the Morgan Junction Community Festival, in and around Morgan Junction Park, 10 am-5 pm. It’ll bring the first West Seattle summertime sighting of The Bubbleman, at 11:30 am; the Bark of Morgan Pooch Parade is back too, welcoming you and your canine companion(s) at 1:30 pm; and throughout the day, you’ll enjoy live music, food trucks, kids’ activities, and a treat for reading fans – a chance to meet and hear from more than a dozen local authors. We’ll be there to cover the festival live all day – hope to see you there!
Want to do a good deed before the weekend’s out? Be part of the first donation drive for a new community group called Care for Kids. Organizer Nicole Jackson explains that the goal is to make sure that kids have access to the hygiene items they need even if their families can’t afford them. Noon-6 pm tomorrow, she’s hoping for donations of the following items:
Please feel free to drop off fresh: toothpaste, deodorant, dental floss, hair care and styling products, cocoa butter lotion, Gold Bond powder, small hand sanitizers (backpack convenient) and anything else you wonderful, generous folks feel like donating.
She says the first goal is to make kits for students at Sanislo Elementary. The dropoff spot is in West Seattle, 1701 SW Austin, noon-6 pm tomorrow (Sunday).
3:58 PM: We’ve received two reader reports that Highland Park Spraypark is out of service so we’re sharing the news here before anyone else heads that way and is disappointed. We’re trying to find an after-hours number for Seattle Parks to see if we can find out whether help is on the way; we’ll check at the park shortly, too, and will update when we get word it’s working again.
5:15 PM: Not fixed yet.
SATURDAY NIGHT NOTE: We never did get word on its status before official closing time but will check as close as we can to 11 am opening time on Sunday.
(Added: WSB photos)
2:45 PM: Big police response right now in the 10th/Roxbury vicinity, where police have found “multiple shell casings” after a report of gunfire. No shooting victim(s) reported so far but a crash nearby might somehow be related.
Per the scanner, police say witnesses reported seeing at least one person shooting on the passenger side of a “black Impala,” described only as a “black male, bald, white shirt, firing out the window.”
3:05 PM: We are in the area; Roxbury is closed 9th to 12th for this investigation.
Our photographer says King County Sheriff’s Deputies (some units are Burien PD, which is part of KCSO) also are investigating; they and SPD are canvassing both sides of the street looking for witnesses.
4:05 PM: Photos added. We’re heading back over shortly to see if the street has reopened.
5:16 PM: Finally got back over to check. All clear and open.
(Added 2:29 pm: Rescue boat after arrival at Seacrest)
1:42 PM: A big Seattle Fire response to the 4800 block of Beach Drive, south of Emma Schmitz Viewpoint, has just been scaled back, but several fire units are in the area and two SFD boats are still on the way. We’re en route to find out what happened.
1:48 PM: The call has just been described (as monitored via scanner) as “two people resting on an overturned kayak.”
1:53 PM: Both people are reported to be OK, “just cold.” A rescue boat will be taking them to Seacrest to catch up with medics on shore.
1:56 PM: Our crew just arrived at the Beach Drive scene and has been told that two men were rescued and are being checked out for possible hypothermia while being taken to Don Armeni/Seacrest vicinity. Meantime, from the scanner, it sounds like boats including one from the Coast Guard are still out at midchannel between Fauntleroy and Vashon, looking for the kayak that was involved.
2:04 PM: That kayak has now been recovered and also is being taken to Seacrest/Don Armeni.
(WSB photos by Patrick Sand)
After 54 years, it’s down to three weeks before students and staff have their last classes at Schmitz Park Elementary, before moving to the new Genesee Hill Elementary, opening this fall.
Last night, hundreds of people gathered at the school to celebrate its half-century-plus history.
They included members of the extended Schmitz family, which not only donated the land on which the school was built, but has stayed involved with the school all these years:
At the event, we photographed Dietrich Schmitz, great-grandson of Ferdinand and Emma Schmitz, with wife Mary Howland Schmitz and mother Vicki Schmitz Block. Family photos and memorabilia were part of what was displayed around the school last night:
The “love (the Schmitz) family has for this community” was subsequently acknowledged by high-profile Schmitz Park alum, King County Executive Dow Constantine, speaking while holding toddler daughter Sabrina, acknowledging “fond memories of a place that did quite right by us.”
For eight years, Gerrit Kischner has led Schmitz Park as its principal:
He recalled arriving at the school in 2008, when its enrollment was 315 and it was something of a well-kept secret; it has more than doubled since then, to 650, the capacity of the new campus half a mile away.
New memories will be made from the moment that school opens on September 6th, but those from last night will linger as well. The event was organized by parent Fiona Preedy:
After speeches in the courtyard, last night’s celebration moved on to group photos – see some of them after the jump: Read More
(Alki Point, where you’ll find two of today’s calendar highlights! Photo by Long Bach Nguyen)
Good morning and welcome to the first weekend of June! Lots going on, but first:
WEATHER ALERT: Noon today through 9 pm tomorrow, the National Weather Service has a “heat advisory” in effect, so be mindful of that – stay hydrated and take extra good care of vulnerable people and pets (don’t leave them in cars!).
TRAFFIC NOTES: No West Seattle Bridge closure tonight – next one is Sunday night – but starting at midnight tonight, crews are scheduled to start installing the new “zone” signs on the bridge, and until about noon Sunday, that could mean “rolling slowdowns.”
Now, from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar for today/tonight:
ADMIRAL NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION ADOPT-A-STREET: Meet at 9 am at Metropolitan Market (WSB sponsor) to help ANA with the quarterly cleanup. Treats and a sack lunch are your reward, as well as knowing you’ve helped your community. (41st/42nd/Admiral Way)
SHOREWOOD STREETS OF GARAGE SALES: If you loved West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day last month, you’ll love Shorewood Streets of Garage Sales, just south of southwest West Seattle, 9 am-4 pm today. Here’s the map.
EMERALD WATER ANGLERS FLY FEST: The annual big-fun day with Emerald Water Anglers (WSB sponsor) happens today at Me-Kwa-Mooks Park. Here’s the updated schedule:
10 AM – Double Hauling and Dealing with Wind w/ Bill Wheeler
11 AM – Trout Spey w/ Tom Larimer
12:30 PM – EWA Guide Cookoff and Free Lunch
2 PM – Fly Fishing the Puget Sound w/ Dave McCoy
3 PM – Fly Fishing the Cascade Mountain Creeks w/ EWA Guide Staff
All free! (4503 Beach Drive SW)
BEACH CLEANUP WITH SEAL SITTERS: 10 am, meet at Alki Statue of Liberty Plaza to join the “Sentinels of the Sound” beach cleanup with Seal Sitters and the Alki Community Council. Today’s low tide means just a couple hours of helping out can have a big effect on the marine-debris problem that threatens seals and other wildlife. (61st SW/Alki SW)
LOW-LOW TIDE WITH BEACH NATURALISTS: 10 am-2 pm, volunteer Seattle Aquarium beach naturalists will be out at Constellation Park (south of Alki Point) and Lincoln Park (near Colman Pool) to help you explore safely and informatively. Today’s low-low tide bottoms out at -2.7 feet at 10:55 am.
GATEWOOD ELEMENTARY FAMILY FUN FEST: 10 am-2 pm, “FUN free community event with face painting, sidewalk chalk paint, giant bubble wands, arts and crafts, music, jump rope demonstration, and a science demonstration. You can support Gatewood’s 5th grade camp by trying your chances to win a yummy dessert at the cake walk. Express Mexican Grill food truck will there to cover all your hunger needs!” (4320 SW Myrtle)
HIGHLAND PARK SPRAYPARK: Open 11 am-8 pm today and every day until Labor Day – free, fun, and cool. West Seattle’s only spraypark. (1100 SW Cloverdale)
BENEFIT BARBECUE LUNCH: 11 am-4 pm at West Seattle Thriftway (WSB sponsor) – look for the tent and get lunch with the proceeds going to a good cause! (California/Morgan/Fauntleroy)
COLMAN POOL’S 2ND PRESEASON WEEKEND: Three swim sessions noon-7 pm at West Seattle’s only city-run outdoor pool, on the shore at Lincoln Park. See the schedule here. (8011 Fauntleroy Way SW)
ALKI LIGHTHOUSE TOURS: 1 pm-4 pm, free tours at historic Alki Point Lighthouse with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary – be there by 3:40 pm for the final tour of the day. (Alki SW/Beach Drive SW)
WEST SEATTLE HIGH SCHOOL ALL-SCHOOL REUNION: 2-5:30 pm, it’s the biggest reunion of the year, with all WSHS alums invited to the school to catch up and celebrate another year. (3000 California SW)
LEGO MANIA! 3-5 pm at West Seattle (Admiral) Library, for ages 5-12. Free! (2306 42nd SW)
ANNIVERSARY: Help the Community Acupuncture Project of West Seattle celebrate its 7th anniversary, 3-5 pm, live music and more. (4545 44th SW)
WEST SEATTLE MEANINGFUL MOVIE: “Love Is a Verb” will be screened tonight at Neighborhood House’s High Point Center. 6:30 pm doors open, 7 pm movie; more info in our calendar listing. (6400 Sylvan Way)
AT C & P: 7 pm, Dog House Prayers perform at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) with “country-ish rock ‘n’ roll.” (5612 California SW)
AT KENYON HALL: 7:30 pm, Casey MacGill and his new band bring arrangements to Kenyon Hall “that conjure up the ’20s and ’30s.” Ticket info is in our calendar listing. (7904 35th SW)
AT PARLIAMENT TAVERN: Three bands, 9 pm. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
Thanks to Highland Park Elementary PTA president Holly Briscoe for photos and a report on “an exciting event” at the school Friday morning:
Cristian Roldan, Seattle Sounders FC Midfielder, came to HPE for the morning assembly. He was there to help the school celebrate the successful completion of their Breakfast Challenge, which is a part of the Fuel Your Future campaign.
The campaign is a joint effort between United Way and the Seattle Sounders to help reduce food-insecurity. School Nurse Tina Urso worked to bring both the campaign and Cristian to HPE. Go, Sounders!
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