With the new year just one week old, resolutions are still fresh, and the future’s bright. Arbor Heights Elementaryteacher Mark Ahlness mentioned his third-graders’ resolutions today via Twitter; after checking them out, we got his permission to share the link. Some are simple; some are big dreams, and not even on behalf of the resolution-makers. Writes Yadira:
My wish is that everybody can have a house. Because then if people have a house and it rains people won’t get wet. But if people don’t have houses people will get wet. So they have to have a house so the people don’t get cold.
(Photo by Cleary O’Farrell)
Just announced by McQuaid Commercial Real Estate – they’ve sold a 24-unit West Seattle apartment building, Sound Crest at 3515 SW Ocean View Drive (map) in Arbor Heights, for $2,050,000. The announcement quoted broker Michael McQuaid as saying, “We are pleased to get this property closed in 2010, after an exhaustive marketing effort over many months.” The firm adds that this is the first-ever sale of the building, built in 1979; they identify the buyer as local investor David Katt, who they say plans to spend $200,000 on the building for “deferred maintenance and upgrades.”
SIDE NOTE: We just checked the current commercial listings to see what other apartment buildings are on the market in West Seattle right now. Top of the price list is Ivy Court in Morgan Junction, 6525 California SW, listed for $5.6 million – 33 units and three commercial spaces (currently bicycles, mailboxes, fitness).
We’re on our way to a “fire in single-family residence” call in the 10000 block of 42nd SW (map) in Arbor Heights. Per the scanner, first crews on the scene are seeing smoke. 2:47 PM UPDATE: Just added a photo. Our crew at the scene reports lots of smoke but no flames visible. It’s being described on the scanner as “a smoldering fire in blown-in insulation.” Some of the units from the big initial response have been cleared to leave. There are no reports of injuries.
(Photo by Christopher Boffoli) 3:12 PM UPDATE: Firefighters tell our crew at the scene that it appears to have started in the kitchen and moved to the roof. But they confirm everyone got out safely – including the family dog. As for how soon the residents will be able to go back into the house, and how extensive the damage is, too soon to tell. Metro has rerouted the #21 bus for now – here’s the rider alert:
At 3:00 PM – Route 21 is rerouted off 44 Av SW between SW 100 St and SW 106 St. Use stops on SW 100 St east of 40 Av SW or on SW 106 St east of 40 Av SW. Until further notice.
4:19 PM UPDATE: Metro says the 21 is back to its normal route. The fire is in mop-up mode. Neighbor Kevin calls our attention to the fact there was a call at the same address this morning around 10:30; the 911 log calls that one “food on the stove, out.”
Thanks to MargL and Todd for the tip – a solar-powered sign showing approaching vehicles’ speed has just gone up on southbound 35th SW (which has been dubbed “I-35” along much of its length) near 100th (map). Signs like this are part of SDOT‘s Arterial Traffic Calming Program – read more about it here.
Three West Seattle Crime Watch notes this morning. First, Howard in North Admiral is asking that you be on the lookout for his stolen car, a graphite-gray 2010 Subaru Outback 3.6R (which would look like this), license plate starting with AAV, taken from outside his home in the 3700 block of SW Grayson (map) late last night or early today. He believes another car nearby was prowled at the same time; call police (206-625-5011) if you have any information. Also, via Facebook, Regan reports a car prowl at 112th & Marine View Drive (map), with some items from the car “found down the street.”
(added 11:52 am) Shortly after we published this, we received another note about car prowls, and it makes more sense to add it here than to publish a separate item: Someone smashed the window of Brian’s 2008 Chevy Avalanche overnight, in the 7100 block of Wright (map), north of Lincoln Park. He shared the photo shown at right. The truck was ransacked, with a Bluetooth headset the only item missing. Brian says the same thing happened overnight to a neighbor’s vehicle, and that there have been several other car break-ins in their neighborhood recently.
(back to original 11:10 am report) Also: A West Seattle crime survivor is telling her story: The 68-year-old woman targeted in a “home invasion” robbery in Highland Park on August 26th talked with KING 5, which aired her story last night, after the two suspects’ arraignment:
Thanks to Christina for the cameraphone photo of a car that flipped in her Arbor Heights neighborhood, near 34th/100th SW – a few other people have texted/e-mailed. Just as we were writing this, our photographer arrived and confirms nobody’s hurt (which is why it wasn’t on the 911 log) – someone hit a parked car, theirs flipped, but everybody’s OK.
The flipped car already has been righted, but 34th is still partly blocked till everything’s cleared.
Two weeks till the first day of school, and another local campus gets a bit of a facelift – Arbor Heights Elementary‘s playground-painting project is almost done, after two volunteer work sessions in the past four days.
Thanks to John for sharing the photos:
John wanted to share some acknowledgments:
I would also like to say thank you to BEAN, 99.9 The Rock, 100.7 The Wolf, 103.7 The Mountain, 107.7 The End. They worked their bottoms off. THANK YOU to everyone who helped!! Parents, Staff, Everyone! A HUGE THANK YOU to Amy, David, Jihyun, Rossyln, Molly, Gina, Hema, and Chris!!!!
ORIGINAL 2:23 PM REPORT: Thanks to Julie and Nicole for the tips on this: Police are negotiating with someone who is “barricaded” inside a house in the 4300 block of SW 104th (map) in Arbor Heights. That has blocked off 104th from 42nd to California (update: confirmed at the scene); Katie reports Marine View Drive is affected too. Seattle Police media unit Det. Mark Jamieson says the person is NOT believed to have anyone else inside – this is a case of police trying to talk one person into surrendering. The original call, he says, involved a concern that the person might be seeking to harm themselves. More as we get it. 2:38 PM: Adding photo, which was taken at 42nd/California – the house in the photo is NOT the one where this is happening – people are being kept well back from the scene. 3:04 PM UPDATE: The situation has ended and authorities are dispersing. We have been told it’s ending not because something was resolved but because there’s no further grounds to continue – no further danger, apparently. The roads are reopening.
As noted last night, Seattle Police told us they couldn’t comment on the incident that brought so many officers to Arbor Heights in the 5:30 pm vicinity, because it was a King County Sheriff’s Office case. We have just heard back from KCSO’s media liaison Sgt. John Urquhart, who explains what it was about:
This was a stolen car in the driveway at a house in the 3500 block of SW 97th [map]. Our detectives saw a man in the driveway who took off running when we approached. A foot pursuit ensued. SPD was called to help out. The car had been stolen from Tukwila. The person who ran was not found, but one other man associated was booked on charges unrelated to the stolen car.
The day after a celebration of West Seattle’s amazing volunteer power – a new request for you to be part of our community’s volunteer efforts, by pitching in to help with a big project. One month from today, the Arbor Heights Elementary PTSA will lead a project to paint the school playground – they provided the “before” photo and this call for help (which goes to the community at large as well as those already affiliated with the school) – the eventual “after” photo would include a big map of the states, among other things:
The PTSA is working on a project to paint the school playground. The painting project is to include some of the existing covered and outside play areas, but we will be adding some additional games. We are looking for volunteers to help in the process. Currently we need volunteers for 3 different days. We are open to any and all assistance, from parents, staff, and older students. Any day you would be able to help would be useful.
Day one (Saturday, August 21st, 9:00am-3:00pm)
We need help with cleaning, grass removal, sweeping, laying out new line work. We would need shovels, wheelbarrows, brooms, leaf blowers, etc. If a group of artistic volunteers could help with laying out some of the new line work, that would be greatly appreciated. We are adding some very fun, artistic, creative games for the kids.
Read ahead to see what they need for days 2 and 3, and how to sign up:Read More
(Photo by Jeff Siamas)
We’ve been covering the high-school and college (next story up!) graduations in West Seattle this past week – but hundreds of other students have been celebrating too – with ceremonies to mark transitions out of milestone years, such as kindergarten, fifth grade, and eighth grade. Katie shared the above photo taken Thursday at Tilden School; she reports, “Each graduate read their own original poem about their first day at Tilden School. Also, joined by the 4th graders, they sang ‘a farewell in song’ to the audience, singing ‘Where’er You Walk’ by Handel.” Tilden is a K-5 school just north of The Junction. Meantime, it’s the last few days for Seattle Public Schools students, and as Arbor Heights Elementary third-grade teacher Mark Ahlness writes, “the wheels on the bus are a little loose right now” – so it’s time to bring in some attention-getters:
One of Ahlness’s focuses, as a tech pioneer in the education world, has been to get his students writing and publishing online – and so he was thrilled to bring in Jeff Utecht, of whom he writes: “World class ed/tech blogger Jeff Utecht visited my classroom (Thursday) … He has just released a wonderful book on web 2.0 for educators. Jeff teaches in Bangkok, and spends summers in Seattle. He and his wife have Washington roots.”
(More end-of-year school news? Share it! And have a great summer!)
For the 18th consecutive year, Arbor Heights Elementary teacher Mark Ahlness and students have just delivered specially decorated grocery bags to the Roxbury Safeway store. Ahlness founded the Earth Day Groceries Project, which involves not only Arbor Heights students, but also classes from many other cities (here are online reports from 2008 and 2009). On tomorrow, the official date of Earth Day, if you shop at Roxbury Safeway, you’re likely to get one of the special bags – while they last!
You can also track the Earth Day Groceries Project on Facebook (here), Twitter (here), and photos on Flickr (here).
Our car was broken into overnight last night while parked on our driveway in the Arbor Heights neighborhood, close to the intersection of 32nd Ave SW and 104th [map]. The contents of the glove box and console were tossed as well as all of our grocery bags in the back seat. Items taken included a GPS unit, various loose items and a bag of change. Made a police report first thing this morning. We have seen an increase in drug activity and petty theft on the block.
Police have said that GPS units are a target in particular – so if you have one, not only is it important to take it out of the car, but don’t even leave hints (like suction cup/s on the windshield) visible.
First – for the second time in nine days, there’s a report of suspected stolen mail found in the Arbor Heights area. Last one was discussed here on January 22nd; the e-mail we received today says:
I was walking my dog in Arbor Heights a short time ago when I noticed a pile of soggy mail behind some shrubs on SW 102nd St. at 38th Ave SW [map]. The mail was unopened, but all of it was financially related: Social Security, tax forms, credit cards. The addresses were all on a single block of 39th Ave SW between 102nd & 104th. I’m speculating that the thief was interrupted somehow and either dumped the evidence, or stashed it for later. This would be prime time for mail theft, with all of the tax forms going out. I re-delivered all of the mail, not thinking until later that perhaps I should have notified police instead.
Mail theft is a federal crime. The US Postal Service has links for reporting it as well as tampering and fraud – go here. Ahead – two break-in reports in other neighborhoods:Read More
This morning at approx. 7:20 I found a pile of stolen mail behind the bus shelter at 35th AVE SW and SW 108th [map] in Arbor Heights. The addresses are from four separate houses in the vicinity of SW 106th and 107th between the 3100 block of 106th to 35th Ave SW. Anything that appears to be of a financial nature had been opened. The Westwood branch of the post office has been notified and will turn the items over to the postal inspector for investigation.
Thanks to Nathan for the tip about a water-main problem at 35th/106th (map) in Arbor Heights. 106th west of 35th is closed at that spot, where a backhoe-equipped crew is working, but 35th traffic is not affected – except for one thing to keep in mind later: Southbound lanes are wet for a few blocks south of 106th, and that could be trouble as temperatures drop, though we also spotted an SDOT truck nearby, so the situation should be on their radar.
ORIGINAL 1:29 PM REPORT: Thanks for the tips about a helicopter search – we’ve headed in that general direction (Arbor Heights) and are making calls to law-enforcement agencies – details as we get them. 1:34 PM UPDATE: Seattle Police Det. Mark Jamieson says that Guardian One and SPD are helping with a King County Sheriff’s Office search involving someone who fled a stolen car. The call apparently started in the White Center area (17th/Roxbury) but we’re seeing the helicopter over the 11100 block of 35th SW in Arbor Heights. 1:53 PM UPDATE: Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. John Urquhart tells us the suspect is now in custody, as of just a few moments ago.
More than a few West Seattle schools had open house/curriculum night events on Thursday night – and some were combined with added special features, as was the case at Arbor Heights Elementary, where teacher Mark Ahlness shared photos. The Arbor Heights PTSA reports that more than 500 people came for dinner, and were served ably by around 30 volunteers, among them, Cub Scout Troop 799, whose scouts set up the tables, tablecloths and chairs. Leftover food was taken to a shelter in White Center. Next up, as the next picture hints, AH has its first-ever dinner/auction fundraiser coming up November 6th at South Seattle Community College (WSB sponsor).
Family, friends and the Arbor Heights Elementary School community are mourning teacher Lynn Barnicle, who has lost her fight with leukemia. Read on for the invitation to a community memorial:Read More
In West Seattle Helpline‘s “Clothesline” clothing bank (featured here in April) at Hillcrest Presbyterian Church in Arbor Heights, those two young volunteers were hard at work Tuesday morning helping brighten up the space. Other volunteers on hand during the work party were quick to point out that painting materials were donated by McLendon Hardware and TrueValue. Helpline executive director Anna Fern explains they’re painting one wall in the Clothesline space that same shade — “fruit punch.”
After the sprucing-up is done, Clothesline will reopen August 7, with an emphasis on getting kids the clothes they need for returning to school. And toward that end – Helpline’s big annual Backpack Drive is now under way. You can drop off a new backpack at Capers in The Junction – Mondays-Saturdays 10-6 and Sundays 11-5 – or at Helpline HQ in the resource center at 35th/Morgan, Mondays-Thursdays, 1-4 pm. Or donate $25 to Helpline and they will buy one on your behalf; 932-2746 is the number to call if you’d like to make a $ donation – or use the link atop the Helpline home page – also call to find out how/when to donate clothes for Clothesline.
Three 
(added 11:52 am) Shortly after we published this, we received another note about car prowls, and it makes more sense to add it here than to publish a separate item: Someone smashed the window of Brian’s 2008 Chevy Avalanche overnight, in the 7100 block of Wright (
Thanks to Christina for the cameraphone photo of a car that flipped in her Arbor Heights neighborhood, near 34th/100th SW – a few other people have texted/e-mailed. Just as we were writing this, our photographer arrived and confirms nobody’s hurt (which is why it wasn’t on the 911 log) – someone hit a parked car, theirs flipped, but everybody’s OK. 
ORIGINAL 1:29 PM REPORT: Thanks for the tips about a helicopter search – we’ve headed in that general direction (Arbor Heights) and are making calls to law-enforcement agencies – details as we get them. 1:34 PM UPDATE: Seattle Police Det. Mark Jamieson says that Guardian One and SPD are helping with a King County Sheriff’s Office search involving someone who fled a stolen car. The call apparently started in the White Center area (17th/Roxbury) but we’re seeing the helicopter over the 11100 block of 35th SW in Arbor Heights. 1:53 PM UPDATE: Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. John Urquhart tells us the suspect is now in custody, as of just a few moments ago.
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