West Seattle, Washington
03 Monday
When we published Southwest Precinct Crime Prevention Coordinator Jennifer Burbridge‘s August newsletter last weekend, it included news that she would soon have free cable locks for firearm safety. Now, she tells us, they’re here:
Cable locks are now available!!! Just wanted to provide a quick update on the free firearm cable locks I discussed in my latest monthly newsletter. Late last week I received a generous donation of quite a few, and will receive my shipment of hundreds more in the next few weeks.
If you are interested in a free firearm cable lock- please email me directly at Jennifer.Burbridge@seattle.gov, and/or come visit my table at Delridge Day/SW Precinct Annual Picnic this Saturday, August 12th, from 11 am- 3 pm at the Delridge Community Center (4501 Delridge Way SW)! I would like to limit each household to two cable locks, but if you would like more than two – please email me and we can discuss this on a case-by-case basis.
As always, let me know if you have any questions or concerns, or would like to request my presence at a future meeting!
(WSB photo by Christopher Boffoli)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
Not long after we started reporting last night on the knife attack that seriously injured a 40-year-old man, speculation about the attacker’s identity focused on one repeat offender well-known in the Morgan Junction/Gatewood area: Ryan Cox.
This morning, we confirmed with police that he is the 39-year-old man who is in their custody, even as he remains hospitalized for what they described as self-inflicted stab wounds.
Cox has been in and out of the criminal-justice and mental-health systems for years. He first came to attention in West Seattle in 2009, when police asked for help identifying a man who had been on a vandalism spree, writing homophobic slurs on private and public property – not far from the scene of last night’s attack (police-released 2009 photo at right). But his criminal record dates to his late teens, according to online records.
Before we get into more about Cox’s background, an update on the victim:
1:22 PM: You might have seen citywide-media reports, starting with this one on KING 5, saying the City Council might soon be considering new policies for “vehicular living.” The City Council’s Human Services and Public Health Committee will be briefed this afternoon on recommendations from the Vehicular Living Work Group (slide deck above), including revisiting the concept of “RV safe lots.” You’ll recall one such lot was proposed for West Seattle in 2016, on a paved area at West Marginal Way SW and Highland Park Way SW – adjacent to the publicly owned site that had housed unsanctioned tent camps over the years – but the city dropped the idea before the lot was ever opened. Earlier this year, a block to the east, an unsanctioned RV camp popped up in May, but was cleared by police within a few weeks – though RV presence subsequently increased on W. Marginal to the south, among other areas. As shown in the slide deck, the work group has other recommendations too, and you can see/hear the briefing live via the Seattle Channel during the committee’s 2 pm meeting. The agenda estimates this item will start around 2:40 pm.
2:54 PM: The first agenda item is running long, and the one about vehicular living hasn’t started yet.
3:12 PM: It’s under way now.
Nannette wanted to make sure others know about this:
I was playing with my kids at Lafayette (Elementary) playground at 10:30 AM today Wednesday, August 9 and discovered a large feces pile on one of the slides. There was also another pile of feces at the bottom of the slide. This is a sanitary issue.. We cleaned off the slide as best as we could. We will contact the school district for help and further cleaning of the slide. we wanted to get the word out to be careful about the slides being clean for children or anyone.
In response to our followup question, Nannette added, “We buried the pile as best as we could in the wood chips using our shoes to slide the chips over. But kids play in wood chips too so that isn’t great. There was only so much I could do while keeping my 22-month-old safe and making sure my 5-year-old was all right too.”
We have an inquiry out to the district.
(Juvenile Cooper’s Hawk, photographed by Mark Ahlness, shared via the WSB Flickr group)
What’s ahead for your Wednesday, including highlights from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar:
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR: Need help working with a city department, and/or have questions about interacting with the city? Until 2 pm, your Community Engagement Coordinator Yun Pitre has office hours at Southwest Neighborhood Service Center – drop by to talk with her! (2801 SW Thistle)
WADING POOLS AND SPRAYPARKS: Three local wading pools are open today – Lincoln Park is open 11 am-8 pm; EC Hughes, noon-7 pm; Hiawatha, noon-6:30 pm. Highland Park Spraypark is open 11 am-8 pm. (Find addresses here)
FREE LUNCH FOR KIDS/YOUTH: Again today, 12:30 pm-1:30 pm, Delridge (5423 Delridge Way SW) and High Point (35th SW/SW Raymond) Libraries offer free lunch to anyone 18 and under.
HIGH POINT MARKET GARDEN: Fresh produce, sold next to where it’s grown, 4-7 pm at the weekly High Point Market Garden Farm Stand. (32nd SW/SW Juneau)
TAP TAKEOVER: 6-9 pm at The Westy Sports and Spirits (WSB sponsor), the next Tap Takeover focuses on ciders. (7908 35th SW)
34TH DISTRICT DEMOCRATS: Our area’s largest political organization meets tonight at 7 pm, The Hall at Fauntleroy – see the agenda here. (9131 California SW)
OPEN MIC AT SKYLARK: Sign up at 7:30 pm, perform at 8:30 pm, at the weekly all-ages-until-10 pm (21+ after that) open-microphone night at The Skylark. (3803 Delridge Way SW)
THE BILLY JOE SHOW: Live music at Parliament Tavern, 9 pm. No cover. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)
SEE OUR COMPLETE CALENDAR … by going here.
This Saturday, family and friends will gather to remember Clark J. Beck, Jr. Here’s the remembrance being shared with the community:
Clark J. Beck, Jr. was born in Wichita, Kansas on January 6, 1932, and died at his West Seattle home surrounded by family and close friends on August 2, 2017.
A much admired and respected aeronautical engineer and dedicated aerospace historian, he attended Wichita State University and received Bachelor of Science and Masters degrees in aeronautical engineering. Clark worked at the university wind tunnel and also at Beech Aircraft while attending Wichita State. He served as an officer in the US Air Force at the Arnold Engineering Development Center wind tunnel facility in Tullahoma, Tennessee.
Clark joined the Boeing Company in 1958 and worked at facilities in Wichita, Huntsville, and Seattle until he retired in 1993. He worked with the Structures Engineering Staff and specialized in vibration and noise problems associated with aircraft and space vehicles. He worked on the B-47, B-52, Saturn 1C Launch Vehicle, AWACS, 737, Supersonic Transport, Minuteman, B-l, IUS launch vehicle and 777 aircraft.
Clark took great pride and pleasure in his participation in Boy Scouts, earning the Eagle rank as a teen, volunteering with Troop 288 in West Seattle and forever embodying the scouting ideals of community service, kindness, helpfulness and excellence. Clark was a devoted husband to surviving wife Evalea, and they celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary in September 2016. He was a loving father to surviving sons Dave (Kathleen) Beck and Dan (Toni) Beck, and proud grandfather to Malcolm, Helene, Leah (mother Leslie Beck), Khrystal, Ashley, and Savannah.
In 1999 Clark became a docent at the Museum of Flight in Seattle and in his retirement years diligently researched aviation and aerospace history and shared his discoveries in regular talks and tours for museum visitors. He was a faithful leader and congregant at Seattle First Christian Church and played an important role in the merging of SFCC into All Pilgrims Christian Church. He loved his pets, his garden, listening to “Willie’s Roadhouse” on satellite radio, and keeping all things in good order and repair. He was a man of extraordinary skill and intellect, curiosity, kindness, humility, grace, love, and good humor, much loved by all who encountered him.
We celebrate his life on Saturday, August 12, 2017, at 2 PM at All Pilgrims Christian Church, 500 Broadway East. Memorials can be made in his name to All Pilgrims Christian Church or the Museum of Flight.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7:02 AM: SDOT reports a vehicle blocking the right lane of the eastbound bridge at the Admiral Way onramp.
Other notes to start:
WATER TAXI REMINDER: Today is day three without King County Water Taxi service – as the passenger-ferry service moves to a new temporary dock on the north side of the downtown ferry terminal.
BEACH DRIVE PAVING UPDATE: SDOT says work on Beach Drive SW between Charlestown and Andover will resume today, 9 am-6 pm. Flaggers will assist with traffic control.
7:24 AM: SDOT says the blocking vehicle on the eastbound bridge has been cleared.
(WSB photos by Christopher Boffoli)
10:18 PM: Seattle Fire and Police are on the scene of what medical radio transmissions describe as a double stabbing at California and Orchard [map]. Two men, both around 40, are being taken to the hospital.
10:39 PM: WSB’s Christopher Boffoli is at the scene and reports that California is closed between Myrtle and Othello. The stabbings are reported to have happened out in the street.
10:55 PM: Though SPD has not yet commented at the scene, they’ve just tweeted that one man stabbed the other and then himself, so no one else is being sought. Seattle Fire says one man was transported with life-threatening wounds, one with non-life-threatening.
11:04 PM: While we are still waiting for a more-detailed account from police, multiple witnesses – at the scene and by phone – say the man with the life-threatening wounds was in his car when attacked by the other man. The car is reported to be the white SUV in our photo above.
12:20 AM: Police at the scene continue to decline comment, referring inquiries to media relations, so we likely will not learn anything more until later this morning. Christopher reports that as of midnight, the road was still closed as the investigation continued.
7:32 AM: So far, still no additional information from police. Meantime, a commenter identifying herself as the victim’s wife posted overnight that he was in surgery.
8:07 AM: Here’s the entirety of what police just posted to SPD Blotter, the first official information since one tweet late last night:
The male victim, age 40, is at Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries while the suspect, 39, is also at Harborview with non-life-threatening injuries.
On Tuesday, August 8th at 10:00 pm, Southwest Precinct officers responded to a call of a fight and stabbing near California Avenue SW and SW Orchard Street. Officers arrived and located both the victim and suspect. The victim had extensive injuries to his chest, head, and upper arms. Seattle Fire medics arrived and treated the victim at the scene and then transported him to the hospital. The suspect also had stab wounds to his thighs, which he stated occurred during the course of the attack.
It is unknown what led up to the confrontation, but witnesses interviewed at the scene confirmed that the suspect attacked the victim and that the victim was not armed. It is unknown what the relationship is between the two men, if any. Officers recovered a knife at the scene and submitted it into evidence.
The suspect was also treated at the scene and transported to the hospital, where he remains under police custody. Once the suspect has been cleared medically he will be booked into the King County Jail.
Detectives will conduct the follow up investigation.
This remains an active and ongoing investigation.
8:51 AM: As just noted in comments, police have confirmed to us by phone that the suspect, who remains in the hospital at last report, is Ryan Cox. WSB policy usually precludes identifying suspects until and unless they are charged, but given the neighborhood history with Cox, this is an unusual case and we are making an exception. That history goes back to 2009, when he was arrested in connection with graffiti vandalism involving homophobic slurs. At the time of his arrest, police said then, he was carrying a knife.
(added) It has been three years since he was last mentioned on WSB, after his release from jail following completion of a sentence for an assault case in which he pleaded guilty in 2013. As we mentioned in comment discussion below, we’ve checked city, county, and state records and no recent criminal cases were shown – the most recent case of any kind was a citation last December for “consuming/possessing open container of liquor in public,” according to the Municipal Court website. Before that, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespassing in August 2015.
ADDED WEDNESDAY NIGHT: Cox was booked into jail just before 8 pm tonight.
Received today, from Byron:
My 11-year-old daughter’s bike was stolen today in the parking lot next to School of Rock on 41st Ave SW.
Her bike was a dark blue 2016 Kona Dew deluxe bike with a heavy steel basket. Serial number is 13i-1640. I will offer a $250 reward for the name of the person who stole it. I want the person who stole it. I want my daughter to see horrible people who steal will be punished. I want that a-hole paraded down Alaska Junction with a thief sign on.
You made my daughter cry because you wanted to steal a child’s bike.
I will have my retribution. I have reported it stolen to the police, bike registry has it stolen, all the bike shops in a 1000-mile area know it was stolen. You might as well throw the thing off a cliff because everyone knows it’s stolen. I will find you and you will apologize to my daughter.
If you have a tip for police, Byron is still awaiting the report #, but the tracking number for starters is T17009156.
Just announced by the Department of Neighborhoods – the results of the Your Voice, Your Choice voting on how to spend city grant money for park and street projects. In District 1 – West Seattle and South Park – these are the four winners:
Delridge: Crossing Improvements at Delridge Way SW & SW Oregon St (Cost: $90,000, Total Votes: 477)
Westwood/Highland Park: Bus Stop Improvements at Delridge Way SW & SW Barton St (Cost: $90,000, Total Votes: 470)
High Point: Walkway Improvements on SW Orchard St between Delridge Way SW & Sylvan Way SW (Cost: $80,081, Total Votes: 425)
South Park: Crossing Improvements on S Cloverdale St (Cost: $85,700, Total Votes: 396)
If you paid attention to the process, which started with suggestions and continued through voting on finalists, you might notice that adds up to more than the $285,000 maximum per district that the city had said was available. The online announcement explains:
To provide some context to the results above, with $2 million to spend on park and street improvements, we allotted a maximum of $285,000 per City Council District. After the top projects in each district were selected by voters, there was $233,019 remaining in the budget. These dollars were used to fund one additional project in the three districts with the highest voter participation (Districts 1, 2, and 5).
You can read more about the winning projects (and the other finalists) in the District 1 Voter’s Guide that was circulated while voting was under way in June.
From Seattle Parks – though it’s a month away, you’ll want to sign up ASAP:
Camp Momentia is an inclusive day-camp experience for people living with dementia and their loved ones hosted by Seattle Parks and Recreation and partner organizations at Camp Long in West Seattle. This is the fourth year of Camp Momentia and this special event has expanded due to popular demand to offer two days of camp to accommodate more participants. Sunday, September 10th will be a family-friendly day of camp welcoming youth 9 years and older, coinciding with National Grandparents Day.
Sign up today for Saturday, September 9, 10 am-3 pm or Sunday September 10, 10 am-3 pm. (lunch provided)
What happens at camp?
Each year is unique, offering opportunities for exploring nature, being creative, and developing social connections and camp always ends with s’mores and songs around the camp fire. This year will feature a special musical theatre performance created and performed by UW Musical Theatre students, directed by Silver Kite Community Arts’s Jen Kulik, created in partnership with The 5th Avenue Theatre, UW Medicine, and an advisory group of people living with dementia and their care partners. This year’s activity sessions will include nature-inspired art-making with a certified horticulture therapist and group story-telling with trained facilitators using the TimeSlips™ method developed by MacArthur Genius award winner Anne Basting (www.timeslips.org).
Camp Momentia is made possible through partnerships, sponsorships and dedicated volunteers. This year’s partners are Seattle Parks and Recreation, the Associated Recreation Council, PNA/Greenwood Senior Center, Senior Center of West Seattle, Providence Mount St. Vincent. Sponsors are Aegis on Madison and Quail Park of West Seattle.
Fees for camp are kept low to increase accessibility. $20 covers the day including one care partner. Transportation available from North Seattle, South Seattle, and Bellevue.
Space is limited, so register today. Contact Cayce by August 29 at 206-615-0100, cayce.cheairs@seattle.gov
Momentia is a grassroots movement empowering people with memory loss and their loved ones to remain connected and active in the community. The Momentia website features a community calendar of dementia-friendly programs and events throughout the greater Seattle Area: www.momentiaseattle.org. Keep an eye out for Momentia t-shirts and banner decorating the Walking on Logs Statues starting on August 30th.
(Trailer for ‘Inconvenient Sequel’)
Just in from the Admiral Theater:
This Friday, we are excited to begin our engagement of “An Inconvenient Sequel,” Al Gore’s follow up to his 2006 pivotal movie, which brought the importance of the global-warming issue to the forefront.
A decade ago, “An Inconvenient Truth” brought climate change into the heart of popular culture. Gore’s follow-up sequel shows just how close we are to a real energy revolution. From director Davis Guggenheim, An Inconvenient Sequel, offers a passionate and inspirational look at one man’s commitment to expose the myths and misconceptions that surround global warming and inspire actions to prevent it.
The movie will normally screen at 7 PM, but Friday starts at 6:30 pm so that after we can bring an exciting and informative Q&A panel of experts to answer questions and teach our audience what they can do in Washington to battle the effects of this very real issue.The evening will be hosted by Washington Women for Climate Action Now!. This summer, WashingtonWomenCAN partnered with Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project to train women across our state to speak eloquently and confidently on the urgent need for powerful climate action. Climate change affects us all, but the impacts and solutions often depend on where we live. This partnership has empowered more than 50 Washington women to speak out in their own communities across our state and to lead us to a clean energy future.
The panel will feature Heidi Roop, a climate scientist with a passion for science and communication. She is currently the Strategic Communications Lead for the UW Climate Impacts Group. Heidi’s professional mission is to improve the reach and impact of climate science in order to engage, motivate and catalyze action around climate change.Additional panelists will be added during the week and hopefully throughout the run of the movie there will be additional opportunities for more speakers and Q&A panels.
As we got ready to publish this, we got word of one more panelist for Friday: Belinda Chin, a Climate Reality Leader and Seattle Parks and Rec Program Coordinator for Sustainable Operations.
Four and a half years after the final Taco Thursday, it’s Farewell Tuesday:
1:14 PM: Thanks to Carolyn Newman for the photo! Last week, we showed you the start of ground-level demolition for the mixed-use project at 1307 Harbor SW that includes the site of the former Alki Tavern, which closed in March 2013; its fans have been coming for a last look as the demolition equipment got closer. (If you’re new here, the tavern was long a popular spot for riders, especially on Taco Thursdays; the last one before the tavern’s permament closure was in March 2013.)
ADDED 4:53 PM: And now, the rest of the story … as the building came down. It’s part of this “video obituary” courtesy of Mark Jaroslaw:
Last call for Alki Tavern from JaroslawMedia on Vimeo.
The resurgence of wildfire smoke has the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency bringing back a Stage 1 Burn Ban, as of 2 pm today, two days after the previous one was lifted. From the official announcement:
No burning during a Stage 1 air quality burn ban including:
• No charcoal barbeques or similar solid fuel devices
• No fire pits, chimineas, fire bowls, or similar free-standing devices
• No campfires or bonfires
• No fireplaces, uncertified wood stoves, or uncertified inserts*
• No agricultural fires (as described in the agricultural burn permit)
• Local fire districts do not grant Native American ceremonial fire permits outside of tribal
lands during air quality burn bans.
It is OK to use natural gas and propane grills, stoves, or inserts during a Stage 1 burn ban.
* The only exception to using fireplaces and uncertified wood stoves or inserts, is if the homeowner has a
previously approved ‘No Other Adequate Source of Heat’ exemption from the Clean Air Agency
Meantime, here’s the latest on the B.C. wildfires.
Thanks to David Hutchinson for the photo – “Beethoven” is the first seal pup to show up on West Seattle shores this season. Here’s a reminder about safely sharing the shores; and if you would like to be a Seal Sitters volunteer, Saturday’s your big chance. Now, on to today/tonight – from the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar, here’s a look ahead to the rest of your Tuesday:
DROP-IN CRAFTING: 11 am-1 pm, you’re welcome at Highland Park Improvement Club – kids too. Details in our calendar listing. (1116 SW Holden)
WEST SEATTLE TOOL LIBRARY: Planning a project? Or thinking about one? 5-8 pm, the acclaimed nonprofit West Seattle Tool Library is open on the northeastern side of Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. (4408 Delridge Way SW)
CLEAN UP WITH THE CHAMBER: 4:30 pm, “join the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce as we clean the streets and give back to our community. We will meet at the 7-11 at 3801 California Ave SW at 4:30 pm to hand out supplies and form teams. Together we’ll pick up trash from SW Charlestown to SW Alaska.” Registration requested so they have gear for you.
FAMILY STORY TIME: 7 pm at Delridge Library – bring the kids for stories, songs, and rhymes. (5423 Delridge Way SW)
TUESDAY NIGHT ‘SUPPER’: Standup paddleboarding from Alki Kayak Tours, 7 pm Tuesday racing to Duwamish Head and back – details in our calendar listing. (1660 Harbor SW)
MORE MOON VIEWING? Here’s how last night’s full moon looked – thanks to those who shared photos; this one is by Monica Zaborac:
Tonight’s moonrise: 9:10 pm.
Got a couple questions this morning about a fire-alarm response at 3:47 am at Madison Middle School. Since those types of responses sometimes turn out to be triggered by burglars or vandals (or even water-pressure drops), we asked Seattle Fire Department spokesperson Kristin Tinsley what their responders found. Her reply: “The response was for a problem with the sprinkler system; the sprinkler system had triggered an alarm. No signs of vandalism that our crews saw.”
Family and friends will gather Friday (August 11th) to remember Marie E. Sundberg. Here’s the remembrance being shared with the community:
Marie Ellingsen Sundberg passed away peacefully, after a full and happy 96 years of life, early in the morning (she hated mornings!!!) on Monday, July 31.
Marie was born November 20, 1920, on Vashon Island. She was the first of five children born to Alfred and Engvarda Ellingsen. She attended Columbia School, basically a one-room schoolhouse on what was at the time a quiet, not very populated island. It was a close community, and she still cherished the friendships made in those years. She graduated from Vashon High School, and attended Western Washington State College for a short time.
After marrying Les Sundberg, also from Vashon, they settled in West Seattle in the house where she lived until just a few months before her death. She also owned a home on Vashon, which just happened to be right next door to the one where she and her siblings grew up, and in which one of her sisters lived until just a couple years ago. Yes, her roots were planted deeply and firmly in her original and adopted homes!
Marie and Les raised two daughters, Nancy and Cheryl. She was involved through the years in the PTA at their elementary school, as a Camp Fire Girl Leader, and as a youth group leader at the church they attended, Tibbetts United Methodist, for nearly 70 years. She also held several other positions at the church, and loved being involved in the annual rummage sale. Of course, many hours were spent chauffeuring her kids and their friends around Seattle. She was also an active member of Children’s Hospital Alan Richard Howard Guild.
When her daughters were older, she started working, first at Shadel Hospital, and then later at Jencelite, as a bookkeeper, from which she eventually retired, though somewhat reluctantly!
Marie grabbed life by the horns and never wanted to miss an adventure or opportunity! She loved baking (it was expected that there would be cinnamon rolls whenever It was her turn to be hostess for the circle meetings at church). She was a faithful follower of Seattle-area sports teams, including being a season-ticket holder for UW Husky football until recently. As you can imagine, that led to some conflict with Cheryl, and other family members, who were WSU grads! She loved gardening, and could find an empty spot somewhere for just one more dahlia tuber. She didn’t believe in putting plants in the compost … they had to go somewhere in her yard or to a friend or family member. And the horror of those yellow flowers in the yard … they must go, and so, right up until about a year ago, she was out in the yard getting rid of them. Her love of gardening kept her body strong, and her daily devotion to the word search in the newspaper kept her mind sharp, she always claimed.
Mostly she loved family, and that was a large number of people since that didn’t just mean blood relatives, but anyone who was a friend of family as well. Oh, the adventures we all had. In the early years, that meant camping trips to places where the fish were running, from the coast to Eastern Washington. And those trips included lots of family, lots of yummy food, lots of adventures, tons of laughter. Another memorable trip was to watch the Huskies play in the Rose Bowl. Another, a drive up to Ketchikan to visit family there. In more recent years, there were trips to Reno and Vegas and several cruises with family and friends. She loved family reunions (Sundberg, Ellingsen, and any others who would include us … like Freeman’s and Paulson’s since they were basically family) and neighborhood parties.
Marie was preceded in death by her husband Les, her parents, her brothers Dick and Karl, her sister Bea, many other family members. Those of us left behind (including her daughters Nancy and Cheryl, sister Lue (Ray) Wales, sisters-in-law Ginny Sundberg and MaryAnn Ellingsen, grandson Jeff (Linda) Johnson, granddaughter Erica (James) Johnson, and too many to name cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends), are picturing her great reunion with family and friends: eating lefse and lutefisk, playing pinochle, discussing who has the best garden with Karl, Bea, and Dick, getting Les caught up with the current Mariner wins.
Services will be held Friday, August 11, beginning with a service at Tibbetts United Methodist Church, (3940 41st Ave. SW) at 11 AM. If you choose to join us, please wear your brightest, most flowery clothes (in honor of her love of her garden), and wear your pearls (hers were always a part of her dressing up attire), if you have some. That includes men with Hawaiian type or just brightly colored shirts… no suits or ties! If you can, please bring along a few flowers from your garden as we all know those were her favorites. Burial to follow on Vashon Island.
Suggested memorials can be made to Tibbetts United Methodist Church or Children’s Hospital, uncompensated fund.
Please visit our online guestbook at islandfuneral.com.
(WSB publishes West Seattle obituaries by request, free of charge. Please e-mail the text, and a photo if available, to editor@westseattleblog.com)
(SDOT MAP with travel times/video links; is the ‘low bridge’ closed? LOOK HERE)
7:11 AM: Good morning! No incidents reported on the routes through/from West Seattle so far.
WATER TAXI REMINDER: Today is day two without King County Water Taxi service – both the West Seattle and Vashon runs are on hold while the downtown dock moves to a new temporary location on the north side of the Washington State Ferries terminal. The outage could last up to a week; when service resumes, not only will the new dock be in use for about a year and a half, but there also will be a new schedule.
63RD SW PAVING REMINDER: Any work left to be done on 63rd north of Admiral will be done today, SDOT says. And then:
BEACH DRIVE PAVING UPDATE: SDOT says that work will resume tomorrow::
The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) advises travelers that crews will be paving Beach Dr SW between SW Charlestown St and SW Andover St on August 9.
From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, August 9, travelers can expect:
·Crews to be paving Beach Dr SW between SW Andover St and SW Charlestown St
·One lane in each direction will remain open to traffic while crews are working
·Flaggers will assist with traffic control
·There will be “No Parking” on Beach Dr SW between SW Andover St and SW Charlestown St while this work is being done
·Traffic may have slight delays during operation hours
·Drivers may enter and exit driveways, but may have to wait up to 15 minutes for equipment to clear
·Use alternate routes during this work if possible
7:48 AM: On NB I-5 before Seneca, an incident is blocking the right center lane, per WSDOT.
8:06 AM That’s clear. Now SDOT reports a crash on West Marginal at Andover.
Remember the saga of the Sanislo Elementary auction, when the PTA put out a call for help because they had sold so few tickets, they were worried they wouldn’t be able to raise the money needed to fill some of the needs for Sanislo students? That call for help resulted in action – support from all over West Seattle, and as Rebecca Evans described it, “Our outstanding success at our school auction was a direct result of the community support that showed up to support us.” That led to an idea for an ongoing communitywide collaboration, Rebecca added: “I’ve long felt something should be done to narrow the gap between affluent and Title I schools and recently decided to assist that effort by creating the West Seattle PTA Collaborative.”
It started with online discussion and now a face-to-face meet-and-greet is planned for next week, 6:30 pm Tuesday, August 15th, at Southwest Library. Rebecca continues:
The concept of the group is to strengthen the PTA board of each West Seattle school by working collectively and collaboratively to support one another, helping to promote more educational and enrichment equity amongst our community schools. Some PTAs have barely enough members, some are standing room only. Many parents come into the PTA with little knowledge of what to do or how to do it; then there’s those parents who spent their child’s entire school career in the PTA, and of course there are many stops in-between. By bringing all levels together to solicit feedback, advice, tips and guidance, I believe we can improve experiences for parents willing to step into the PTA, and all students in West Seattle.
Any PTA member, or person interested in the PTA, is welcome at the August 15th meet-and-greet; Southwest Library is at 9010 35th SW. Beyond this event, Rebecca says, the group will likely meet monthly, to collaborate in person and to “discuss a particular topic such as fundraising or enrichment.”
Thanks to West Seattle High School track and field head coach Will Harrison for sharing news of what he headlines as “stunning summer performances for WSHS track athletes”:
West Seattle HS Track and Field athletes rolled from national class spring WIAA track seasons into sizzling summer track seasons:
After capturing the 300-meter hurdles crown at the 3A State Meet to cap off his junior-year spring track season, Cass Elliott took home another state title at the 46th Annual Washington State Combined events Championship, held at Lake Stevens High School on June 2-3. Elliott won the 10-event decathlon with a score of 6008, which included winning the 400, 110 hurdles, Javelin, and 1500 outright against the top 32 athletes accepted into the meet. He would later improve his decathlon score to 6235 in July.
He next competed in the prestigious USA Track and Field Junior (U-20) Championships in Sacramento, California. As a 17-year-old junior, Elliott was up against a loaded field of the nation’s best high-school seniors and college freshman competing for a chance to finish in the top 2 and represent the U.S. at the 2017 Pan American Junior games in Peru. Elliott wound up 9th with a stunning time of 52.07 seconds. For perspective, that time that would have placed 6th in the PAC-12 Championships this season.
Most recently, he competed at the USATF National Junior Olympic Championships in Lawrence, Kansas, where athletes compete in 2-year age brackets. Elliott finished runner-up at the in the 17-18 category with a time of 52.14. He also took 2nd last year in the 15-16 division.
Cunliffe Regains Washington All-Time Sophomore Record
(Cunliffe with Coach Tim Reilly after the Junior Olympic Regional)
Sophomore star Chloe Cunliffe temporarily held the sophomore class, all-classification, all-time state record in the Pole Vault after clearing 12 feet, 9 inches back in April at the Pasco Invite before fellow sophomore, Eastlake’s Ellie Talius broke the record by jumping 13’1 at the 4A District II meet. By clearing 13’1.5 at the Junior Olympic Regional in Spokane on June 25th, Cunliffe narrowly regained the top spot in the record book.
Fortunately, the WIAA does indeed count summer marks for state records. And coincidentally, Cunliffe’s mark also would have placed 6th in the PAC-12 college ranks this year, like Elliott’s. She competed this summer with Seattle Speed TC and NW Pole Vault.
Also Notable
Other notable summer performances from West Seattle Track Athletes were junior Joe Kirk-Woodbury (above) placing 16th in the hammer throw (156’11) and 30th in shot put (44’7.5) in the 17-18 Division at National Junior Olympic Championships, and graduated senior Abdullahi Ali qualified for Junior Olympic Nationals by nationals by placing 7th at the regionals in Spokane in the 110 Meter Hurdles (15.74 seconds). Both athletes competed with High Voltage TC.
(WSB photo, August 7, 2016)
One year ago today – on August 7th, 2016 – it was a heartbreaking, yet enlightening day on the Fauntleroy shore just south of the ferry dock: A 39-foot-long juvenile female humpback whale came into the shallow waters early that Sunday morning, stranded and died. Volunteers worked to see if anything could be done to get her back out to sea, but within just a few hours, she took her last breath; then the situation became more of an investigation and finally a towing operation.
(WSB photo, August 7, 2016)
Some sampling/testing was done right on the beach after the tide went out, as noted in our 12 hours of coverage, but no formal necropsy report ever emerged. Humpbacks are no longer rare in Puget Sound – that was part of the education that this one left as her legacy, reminding those paying attention that they are increasing in numbers – up and down the entire West Coast, in fact. And since then, we have indeed had many humpback sightings (like this one off Fauntleroy in June).
One of the many experts, local and otherwise, who came to the scene a year ago (as shown in our photo gallery) was John Calambokidis of Cascadia Research Collective, well known for its whale research. We contacted him recently, looking ahead to the anniversary, asking if further information had become available. His reply:
We did get some information back but (it) did not add too much. Jessie Huggins, our stranding coordinator, indicated: “The necropsy observations of severe internal damage from the live stranding event, malnutrition, and parasitism were confirmed by histopathology. There were small amounts of biotoxins detected in the feces (both domoic acid and saxitoxin) but are considered incidental (not high enough levels to have contributed to the stranding event). The exact cause of the live stranding remains a mystery”
On the second morning after the whale’s death, West Seattle-based Global Diving and Salvage towed her carcass to a spot off Blake Island for a quiet burial in about 400 feet of water.
(WSB photo, August 9, 2016)
The humpback was the first whale to strand and die on a West Seattle beach since a gray whale in The Arroyos in April 2010.
Thanks to Lucian for the photo from West Seattle Stadium, where the $1 million track-resurfacing project is under way. Our last update was in mid-July, at which time it hadn’t yet begun and was running a few weeks behind the originally announced schedule, though Seattle Parks still expected to be finished by the end of this month. The track is closed while the work is under way; the project is funded by the voter-approved Seattle Park District.
1:42 PM: Thanks to Mark for the tip: A power outage on Alki is affecting 146 customers, according to the Seattle City Light outage map – all residential, given the area that’s shown as affected. The outage is attributed to “bird/animal”; Mark reports that “a crow shorted out high-voltage wire, according to a contractor.” SCL currently estimates the power will return around 3:13 pm, but as always, keep in mind that’s just an estimate – could be sooner or later.
2:37 PM: The SCL map shows the power’s back. If yours isn’t, be sure to call to let them know – 206-684-3000.
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