West Seattle, Washington
08 Monday
These two advisories are from different agencies but both are potentially of interest to Fauntleroy ferry-dock users.
POSSIBLE TEMPORARY SERVICE REDUCTION: From Washington State Ferries:
Starting Saturday, Oct. 18 through Tuesday, Oct. 21, customers travelling on the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route are advised to prepare for longer than usual wait times due to a possible vessel downsizing and a two-boat schedule. The temporary downsizing and 2-boat schedule may be needed in order to maintain a full, system-wide sailing schedule while the Wenatchee is out of service for its annual mandatory U.S. Coast Guard safety inspection. Updates will occur as more information is known.
ONE-DAY REDUCTION IN BOOTH/LANE AVAILABILITY: This is from King County Wastewater Treatment, as its Barton Pump Station project continues north of the dock:
North ferry lane entrance and toll booth closed for electrical work
October 21, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.On Tuesday, October 21, a quiet generator will be brought on site to allow for Seattle City Light crews to perform electrical work at the Barton Pump Station. Work will begin around 7:00 a.m. and is expected to be complete by 3:30 p.m. During this time, the north ferry lane entrance and toll booth will be closed.
King County has been working closely with Washington State Ferries throughout the project to ensure minimal disruption to traffic along Fauntleroy Way SW and to keep ferry traffic moving.
While the north ferry lane is closed, commuters and neighbors can expect extra flaggers to assist pedestrian, bike, and vehicular traffic.
The upgraded pump station is expected to be in operation by year’s end, the county says, with restoration work, including Cove Park on the beach, planned early next year.
From the “sometimes followups take a few days” file:
(WSB photo from last Saturday)
Back on Saturday, police had a visible presence near the Fauntleroy ferry dock and Lincoln Park for a few hours. All they would say at the time was that they were “looking for a felony warrant suspect.” Finally we have tracked down the case number and report with details: A fare-enforcement officer at a bus stop by the ferry dock called police around 4 pm Saturday to say he had someone who he thought had a warrant out for his arrest (didn’t say why the enforcer thought that) but couldn’t hold the suspect.
Police arrived and found the man did indeed have a warrant out for a drug charge. They arrested him and handcuffed him; he had an empty syringe in his possession and told them he had used heroin that day. As they were putting him in a patrol car, he asked them to adjust his handcuffs, which were somewhat obstructed, the report says, by rubber bracelets and a watch. While officers were using a handcuff key to adjust the cuffs, the suspect bolted with such force “he broke the handcuff key in half.” They ran after him into the neighborhoods to the east, but lost him as he ran through yards. Containment was set up – the cars you might have seen blocking streets – and a K-9 officer was called; the dog sniffed the backpack left behind at the bus stop and followed a trail into Lincoln Park, but the suspect wasn’t found. Whenever he is found, along with the drug warrant, he is now wanted for escape.
(WSB photo from 2013 Fauntleroy Fall Festival)
The first half of October tends to be quieter, as if we are all recovering from summer, bracing for fall and winter. But now, as we arrive in mid-month, big events are on the way, including the Fauntleroy Fall Festival on Sunday, October 19th, one week from today. It’s just three hours long, 2-5 pm, but those are three full-of-fun hours, so you might even want to plan to stay for the duration. Highlights announced so far include:
*CAKE WALK: A festival favorite. You can even donate a cake to be judged and then claimed. From the festival page, here are the basics:
All ages may participate. Contest categories include Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. Cakes can be any shape or size. They should have either a Fall, Halloween, or West Seattle theme.
Bring your entry (or entries) on festival day, between 12 noon and 1 p.m. Voting begins at 1:30 p.m. and continues until about 3 p.m. Who votes? We all do! Once votes have been tallied, prizes will be awarded for each category.
The Cake Walk begins after the prizes have been awarded and continues until all the cakes have been given away. Even if you do not want to enter the Cake Decorating Contest, you can still bake and donate a cake for the Cake Walk. Cakes can be very simple or very elaborate. This is a wonderful parent/child, family, or group project! Questions? E-mail Carolyn Tucker at tucker_family @ me.com.
Also: Pumpkin decorating for kids, other arts/crafts activities, climbing wall, pony rides, petting zoo, musical performances, dancing to the West Seattle Big Band (3:30-5 pm) … The festival happens in the heart of Fauntleroy, both sides of the 9100 block of California SW (map) – with crossing assistance! – on the grounds of Fauntleroy Church/YMCA, The Hall at Fauntleroy, and historic Fauntleroy Schoolhouse.
P.S. Food will be available for purchase, but otherwise, the festival is free (supported by donations as well as fundraisers over the course of each year). And the Seahawks game (10 am, at St. Louis) should be over in time for fans to make it to the festival, too.
Two West Seattle Crime Watch notes tonight:
FAUNTLEROY SEARCH: Many were wondering about the police presence in Fauntleroy, near Lincoln Park and the ferry dock, since late afternoon. Officers told us they were looking for a “felony warrant suspect” who had been seen in the area, near the bus stop by the dock. No new incident/crime, apparently, but this was someone they were looking for. We don’t know whether they’ve found that suspect yet, and we don’t have details of the warrant.
PACKAGE THEFT: Fumiko in Arbor Heights (near 35th/100th) says she’s been hit by package thieves for the third and final time, and she’s just not going to get home deliveries any more. Her iPhone 6, delivered by UPS at 3:55 pm, was gone when she got home Thursday night and: “This is the third time an UPS or USPS delivered package went missing from my property (front porch and side door).”
(WSB photo of 1 Green Planet crew at Recycle Roundup last Sunday)
From the Fauntleroy Church Green Committee, via Judy Pickens:
Despite the sunny weather and afternoon Seahawks game, Sunday’s Recycle Roundup at Fauntleroy Church netted 7.8 tons of recyclables from West Seattle. An estimated 325 vehicles brought everything from water heaters to wire fencing and keyboards. We’ll do it again on April 26.
If you missed the roundup and can’t wait that long – the county website has a directory of who takes what, starting with the search box here. And for items that weren’t accepted on Sunday, the Green Committee has suggestions on this flyer they were offering to participants.
That’s the most unusual item we saw during a brief stop at the Fauntleroy Church Green Committee‘s “Recycle Roundup,” under way until 3 pm – someone’s recycling a watercooler. Tons of items (literally) are dropped off during these six-hour, twice-yearly, FREE events – and one-third of the way into today’s roundup, it’s busy:
1 Green Planet‘s team will unload your stuff and get it into their containers. Just make sure what you’re taking is on this list. If you want to recycle something that isn’t, the committee’s “Green Ideas” handout (with other sustainable-living advice) has suggestions.
P.S. The church lot is at 9140 California SW, but don’t try to drive south on the California straightaway to get there – it’s a short section that is best reached by heading west on SW Barton from 35th and following the curves (and name change), or by heading southbound past the ferry dock, and following the eastward curve up toward and just beyond the Endolyne business district.
Twice a year, the Fauntleroy Church Green Committee brings in 1 Green Planet to collect dozens of types of items that are recyclable but not routinely picked up in your curbside service. Tomorrow is this year’s second Recycle Roundup, 9 am-3 pm at the church parking lot (9140 California SW; map). Here’s the list of what you can drop off, with a few notes about what you can’t. As usual, no charge for your dropoff (the Green Committee does accept donations to help cover the cost, if you are so moved; they’ll also be offering a flyer with some green-living tips).
Feels like endless summer at the moment. But fall’s a week away. And on the eve of its arrival, it’s your next chance to clear out no-longer-needed items, without just throwing them away. Sunday (September 21st) is the fall edition of the twice-annual Recycle Roundup at Fauntleroy Church. Here’s the list of 1 Green Planet will accept at the event, free (and a few specific mentions of what they will NOT take). Just bring the recyclables to the church parking lot at 9140 California SW that day, 9 am-3 pm.
Among the events on our calendar for Saturday that are so big, preparation had to start today – the Second-Time Sale at Fauntleroy Church. We stopped by while volunteers were getting everything in place today, including all those pillows (and more). The sale runs 9 am-3 pm Saturday (with a bake sale!), 11 am-1 pm Sunday, “in and around Fellowship Hall” at the church, 9140 California SW.
Update from the Fauntleroy Community Service Agency: The crowdlending campaign to raise money for remaining work at the historic Fauntleroy Schoolhouse has just passed its $500,000 goal! This is for the second phase of repair work, involving roof, painting, gutter/downspouts, and earthquake-resistance retrofitting. As reported here last month, the campaign launched in connection with Semble hit the halfway mark within its first week; by the start of this week, it was three-quarters of the way to goal; and today, it passed the half-million mark. FCSA hopes to get the work done before fall rainy season arrives.
(WSB PHOTO: M/V Evergreen State idled at Vashon)
1:55 PM: Traffic was already expected to be heavy on the Washington State Ferries Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth runs today, because of a big event on Vashon Island, and now there’s word of a complication – a boat breakdown (the un-mothballed M/V Evergreen State) has put it on a two-boat schedule. Check here for the latest alerts.
10:54 PM: Late night now, and it’s still a two-boat schedule. We’ve seen some of the results firsthand, having to go to Vashon for a family-related event this afternoon, and finally on the boat back home right now (the Issaquah departed Vashon for Fauntleroy via Southworth about 10 minutes ago). No word if there’s any chance this will be fixed tomorrow, so if you’re planning a trip on the “triangle” route Sunday, add extra time to your plan.
For so many people with so many recyclables that can’t be put out for curbside pickup, the twice-annual Fauntleroy Church “Recycle Roundup” dropoff events are highly popular. That’s why we’re sharing mega-early news of the date for the next one: 9 am-3 pm Sunday, September 21st, church parking lot @ 9140 California SW. See the newly updated “what they’ll accept” list here.
(Wednesday photo by Dylan Grace-Wells: EarthCorps crewmember beginning to blaze a path through intensive wild clematis and ivy)
Southwest of the historic Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, a green but threatened treasure is finally getting long-planned TLC – not just a round of weekend work parties, but instead, the toughest restoration project in the Fauntleroy Creek Watershed: Work has begun in the Kilbourne Ravine, announces Fauntleroy Creek watershed steward Judy Pickens, the project coordinator. After the final permit was procured, EarthCorps crew members were booked to get going with the project during two work days this past week.
The work along the middle reach of Fauntleroy Creek, between California SW and 45th SW, will focus on getting rid of invasive vegetation – aka weeds – and restoring appropriate vegetation. This in turn will accomplish goals including controlling erosion, filtering runoff, and reclaiming the ravine as wildlife habitat.
It’s a 2 1/2-acre site that is a mix of private- and city-owned property, classified overall as an “environmentally critical area.” But it’s infested, as are many of our greenspaces, with invaders including Himalayan blackberry and English ivy, as well as wild clematis and other invasive shrubs/trees. Judy reports that the work plan for the first week included:
*Cutting all clematis, especially where growing up trees, to prevent flowering and seeding this season
*Cutting blackberry (where growing in larger patches without native plants) in preparation for future spray treatment
*Pulling clematis away from native plants in preparation for future spray treatment
*If time allows, begin cutting ivy off native trees (survival rings)
*If time allows, begin treating invasive trees (holly, cherry laurel) using injection lance
*Hauling out garbage and debris as needed.
Fighting the invasives benefits more than the ravine itself – it also reduces their spread to nearby property. According to the project FAQ, this is the start of six years of work. But that will honor a legacy that is many decades old; according to Seattle Parks, its part of the ravine was donated by Dr. Edward C. Kilbourne, who established the Washington Dental Association. (Perhaps, then, it is fitting that some of the extensive work just to get to the point where restoration work can begin, sounds to have been a bit like pulling teeth.)
But Pickens and other intrepid volunteers/advocates have been at it a long time, with achievements including the restoration of Fauntleroy Creek itself as a salmon creek, so they’ve been taking it milestone by milestone, including two years of fundraising work which has yielded $55,000+ so far. Pickens notes support from “the Puget Sound Stewardship and Mitigation Fund, a grant-making fund created by the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and administered by the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment.”
P.S. If you pass the ravine and notice rappellers – that’s what it’ll take for some of the work, given the steepness of the slopes!
Last night at The Hall at Fauntleroy inside the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, potential investors gathered to find out more about the crowdlending push intended to bring in the final half-million dollars needed for fixing up the nonprofit-owned building. As mentioned in our preview, the Fauntleroy Community Service Agency is working with Bellevue-based social-investment facilitator Semble. FCSA’s Kevin Wooley explained that the project’s only been up on the Semble website a week, and they’re already more than halfway to their goal.
Wooley told the ~30 people in attendance that most of the money would go toward the ongoing roof-renovation project, and they hope to raise it within a month in order to get the roof work finished before the rainy season. A few other jobs are included, all work that FCSA promised would be done after its purchase of the former Seattle Public Schools property four years ago. Semble reps explained at the gathering that it’s an investment, not a donation, and interest will be paid – information on the project’s Semble webpage (see it here) includes the prospectus, FCSA financials over the past three years, and the interest rate, all of which you can take into account before deciding whether to become a lender.
Since becoming a community-owned facility four years ago, the historic Fauntleroy Schoolhouse has made major progress toward taking care of necessary repairs and other upgrades. Now there’s one more hurdle to cross – and the schoolhouse’s managers are doing it via crowd-loaning, which will cost less, and enrich community connections more, than the traditional method of money-borrowing. You are invited to come find out about it tomorrow night (Wednesday, July 23rd) in The Emerald Room at The Hall at Fauntleroy on the south side of the schoolhouse:
The Fauntleroy Community Service Agency invites you to hear about a groundbreaking, socially minded investment opportunity while learning about plans for updates to our Schoolhouse.
We have partnered with Semble, a Washington-based business that is helping non-profits significantly lower the cost of capital projects by calling on their own communities to become investors, rather than using more traditional financing
sources. Come learn how you can become an investor in the future of the Fauntleroy Schoolhouse and preserve its rich heritage. (This is not a donation but rather an investment that will earn you a rate of return.) We hope to see you!
For a preview, browse the schoolhouse project’s Semble page. That’s 7 pm tomorrow, with light refreshments, at 9131 California SW.
That photo was taken on the grounds of the historic Fauntleroy Schoolhouse, shortly after its 1917 opening. Though it’s not in service as a public school any more, it’s part of the heart of the Fauntleroy community, and that’s why planning is already accelerating for the schoolhouse’s centennial celebration. Fauntleroy communicator/community advocate Judy Pickens shares this information on how to help, starting now:
The Fauntleroy Schoolhouse will turn 100 in 2017, and a planning committee is laying the groundwork for several events to honor “A Century of Serving the Community.” Here’s how you might help:
§ Photos and memorabilia from your time at the school, either donated or loaned.
§ To build a database, your full name, contact information, and year(s) you were a student or staff member at the school.
§ Centennial event planning. If you would like to help, meet at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 31, at the Original Bakery.
If you can help with any of the above, please email faunt.schoolhouse100years@gmail.com.
The first centennial event will be an open house next May. Grander celebrations will follow in 2017.
The schoolhouse (file photo above) has been community-owned since the purchase from Seattle Public Schools was completed four years ago.
In case you also noticed the small yellow helicopter circling/hovering over Gatewood/Upper Fauntleroy (almost directly over WSB HQ for a while, so we grabbed a bit of video), thanks to Shannon for noting in a Twitter discussion that it was a tour-company helicopter. (Photo added, shared by Rey via Facebook)
(Vocalist Sarah Ackers, scheduled to sing with the WSBB this Friday)
Friday will be a swinging night in Fauntleroy – and you’re invited to be part of it. In case you haven’t seen the “Swing Into Summer” dance listing in the WSB Calendar yet, here’s a preview shared by Judy Pickens:
Swing dances (Charleston, Lindy Hop, Jitterbug, etc.) are what enlivened the nation during the Roaring Twenties and carried it through World War II and Korea. Now they’re enjoying a comeback for the fun of it as well as for the exercise. The West Seattle Big Band, Fauntleroy Community Association, and Fauntleroy Church are sponsoring a “Swing Into Summer” dance on Friday, June 13, 7 pm in The Hall at Fauntleroy. If you don’t know swing, check out the primer at youtube.com/watch?v=e7djJUwE9z8. You’ll see that knowing just two or three steps will get you on the floor, then come a half hour before the dance to practice with an instructor.
Choose dance clothes that are easy to move in – roomy slacks and shirt for the men and a comfortable dress for the women (add pretty underwear under that dress if you expect to twirl every which way!). Build your outfit from the shoes up – leather soles and a snug style that you won’t dance out of.
Tickets are $15 at brownpapertickets.com or at the door. Reserve free childcare at jackie@fauntleroyucc.org and plan to purchase refreshments at the dance.
Whole lot of spring cleaning going on in West Seattle – and not just to get ready for May 10th’s WS Community Garage Sale Day. If you were part of last Sunday’s Fauntleroy Church recycling event, Judy Pickens says you were part of something big:
A steady stream of vehicles (estimated at 400 – a record) brought 10.5 tons of old appliances, computers, lawn mowers, and other recyclables to Sunday’s Recycle Roundup at Fauntleroy Church. Everything is well on its way back to the resource stream! The church’s green committee will sponsor another roundup in September.
Inbetween recycling roundups, the South Transfer Station in nearby South Park takes some things you can’t put out at curbside. The city website also has a lookup tool you can use to see what’s recyclable and what’s not.
What looks to be a record-setting month of salmon-fry releases at Fauntleroy Creek has begun. On the warmest day so far this year, Roxhill Elementary students came to the creek after school today to release salmon they’d been raising:
Longtime volunteer Dennis Hinton was there to assist the students in carefully transferring the little salmon into the creek:
Creek steward Judy Pickens has drawn up the schedule for the next four weeks and tells WSB, “We expect to see at least 600 students this year in a record 20 releases.” Then in the fall, there’s another round of volunteer activity in the annual watch for returning salmon – last year was pretty much a bust, while the year before set a record.
Across the street and up the embankment from the Fauntleroy ferry dock is a semi-hidden gem – the Fauntleroy Creek fish-ladder viewpoint. It’s been there since the restoration project 15+ years ago, and right now it’s getting a little bit of TLC – Judy Pickens shares the photo and the following description of what’s happening in it:
Al Zurowski prepares the promontory at the viewpoint above Fauntleroy Creek for new decking. He and fellow carpenter Bill Miller with Seattle Public Utilities are replacing deteriorating decking installed when the viewpoint and fish ladder below it opened in 1998. The viewpoint will be busy starting Thursday as 600+ students come to the creek during May to release coho fry.
Judy is a watershed steward and devoted volunteer who will be busy during salmon-release season too, and she says the viewpoint work – expected to last all week – should “give everyone a much-safer platform for viewing the fish ladder.”
It’s on – rain or shine as usual! Dozens and dozens of types of items – see the list here – are being accepted, for free, at the twice-yearly drop-off Fauntleroy Church Recycle Roundup, with 1 Green Planet on site, filling trucks with the types of recyclables you just can’t put out on your curb, until 3 pm today. Drive/ride/walk up, drop off, move on. (If there’s a line when you get there, please be patient, urges this commenter.) And one more time, since this is a change from past Recycle Roundups, we’ll remind you that they’re not taking TVs – but they ARE taking more than 65 other types of items. The church is at 9140 California SW, but you can’t get there by just driving south from the California straightaway – here’s a map; heading eastbound, it’s uphill from the ferry dock, or westbound, just take Barton, which curves to (briefly) become California SW by Fauntleroy Schoolhouse (which is across the street from the church).
We’ve answered a few inquiries about King County Sheriff’s Office and Medical Examiner vehicles/personnel at the Fauntleroy ferry dock Saturday evening, and in retrospect should have mentioned this here while it was happening: They were investigating a crash that killed a motorcycle rider on north Vashon and closed Vashon Highway for a few hours. KCSO told the News-Tribune that the northbound rider apparently was hit from behind while waiting to make a left turn.
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