‘This is going to be our school’: Roxhill families tour EC Hughes
(EC Hughes entryway, WSB photo from 2016)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
There hasn’t been much of a public process around the plan to move the Roxhill Elementary School program to EC Hughes Elementary, a mile and a half north.
We first reported on what was described as a possible move almost a year and a half ago, after following up on a commenter’s question about why the district was pursuing plans to renovate the school but hadn’t given it distinct attendance boundaries on the longterm maps.
Since then, there’s been no pivotal hearing, no major discussion. An internal School Design Advisory Team, including Roxhill’s former principal, met a few times (four dates in March and April 2016, according to this document we found half a year later). That was a contrast to high-profile discussions about school changes and closures last decade. But the decision to make the move in fall 2018 has been made, and renovation work will start this spring.
And members of the Roxhill community seem ready to make the best of it.
Following up on a briefing last fall, this month’s PTSA meeting was moved to EC Hughes, pre-renovations, one week ago tonight, for a briefing and tour with reps from Seattle Public Schools and architects DLR Group.
“This is going to be our school,” declared PTSA president Amanda Kay Helmick. Read More
Celebration of life announced for greenspace activist Cass Turnbull
(WSB photo: Cass Turnbull at Myers Way Parcels meeting in West Seattle last June)
Though she was not a West Seattleite, Plant Amnesty/TreePAC founder Cass Turnbull‘s local/regional greenspace activism led many here to mourn her sudden death last month at age 65. (Here’s her Seattle Times obituary.) We promised to share the news when a memorial was announced. And the announcement arrived in the WSB inbox late today:
The Life and Times of Cass Turnbull
Please join us as we honor her on Saturday, March 25th, 2017
1 pm – 2 pm (reception to follow)
Shoreline Community College Theater
(Building #1600)
16101 Greenwood Ave N., Shoreline
A map of the campus can be found here.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations to PlantAmnesty or TreePAC.
Most recently, Ms. Turnbull had a high profile in the campaign to keep the city from selling the Myers Way Parcels in southeast West Seattle.
UPDATE: Waste Management truck gets stuck in sinkhole in Westwood
FIRST REPORT, 1:48 PM: Thanks for the tip! After a call (206-293-6302 any time!) about a Waste Management truck “stuck in a sinkhole” at 24th SW/SW Kenyon – a short distance east of Denny International Middle School – we went over to look, and that’s indeed what happened.
The front end, as our photos show, is almost wheel-deep, and the truck driver was working to get absorbent material into the hole to sop up any fluid spills – this is not far from Longfellow Creek, which runs along the east side of the Denny/Sealth campus. More help was being summoned, and we’ll check back later. Side note: This is the second Monday in a row that a WM truck got into trouble in West Seattle – you’ll recall Ann Anderson‘s reader report from Admiral last week.
2:20 PM UPDATE: Via the scanner, we’re hearing that SPD is now blocking off the area – 24th SW southbound from Holden and eastbound from Kenyon. (Here’s a map of the scene, which shows why.)
3:06 PM: We just went over to check on how things are going. In the upper left of the photo above is a tow truck that has arrived on scene. Other logistics are still being worked out.
5:20 PM: The truck has been pulled out of the hole and was towed away a short time ago. We arrived back at the scene in time for a look at it – the damage doesn’t look as bad as you might expect.
We talked briefly with an SPU rep at the scene. They have used video equipment to look under the street; water and sewer lines are not affected. They are using a vactor truck to clear water out of storm drainage just east of the sinkhole. (Added: Closer look at the hole, after the truck was pulled out.)
We’ll be checking with SDOT tomorrow about repair plans.
UPDATE: West Seattle power outage near The Triangle
10:36 AM: Thanks to the texter who mentioned an explosion-type noise near 36th and Andover – SFD went to look for a possible transformer fire in the area. We don’t know if they’ve found anything yet but we do know the Seattle City Light map now shows an 81-customer (one home/business = customer) outage in the area.
10:52 AM: The SFD call has closed out. SCL does have the cause classified as “equipment failure,” and its restoration guesstimate is 2 pm – could be sooner, could be later.
11:52 AM: The restoration estimate has now been pushed back to 2:48 pm. The photos above and below are courtesy of an area resident (thank you!) who says SCL has been focusing on the cross-arm where a “high voltage insulator broke away.”
2:34 PM: The outage has expanded by 40 customers since our last look at the map in the past hour or so. Guesstimate for restoration is now pushed back to 6-ish pm.
2:45 PM: We’ve also heard via the scanner that the traffic lights are now out at 35th/Fauntleroy, 35th/Avalon, Fauntleroy/Avalon. Remember – a broken signal = all-way stop!
3:55 PM: Thanks for the updates in the comment section – looks like the power’s back on for all but seven customers (screengrab above).
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