West Seattle, Washington
09 Thursday
Though the West Seattle Grand Parade (and the Kiddies’ Parade preceding it) follows a straight line down California (see the map in this post from last night), other streets are affected, as you may have discovered if you came home to signs tonight (if not sooner). We asked one of the lead parade organizers, Jim Edwards – who along with others put in ENDLESS volunteer hours to make this happen – for a general outline of what you need to know tomorrow, from early morning through mid-afternoon – note this is an anecdotal sort of description but hopefully helpful:
Edmunds is open across California, I believe, but Southbound California is still closed to Dawson St East approach.
Northbound California (from south of The Junction) is open to Edmunds, but limited to the curb lane.
Oregon and Alaska will have emergency vehicle access. a soft enforcement of the crosswalks essentially.
44th Ave will be cleared to allow a north south detour between the Junction and Stevens, then it is diverted down to 45th through to Admiral Way
Assembly will close:
44th from Stevens to Lander
Lander from 45th to 41st
42nd from Admiral to Lander will be local access only (Safeway)
41st will be cleared to permit a Metro bypass between Admiral and Kander
Stevens from 44th to California will be local access only (PCC/McDonald’s)
The three blocks between Admiral and Hanford on California are closed first thing in the morning.
If you try to drive through you put in danger the many volunteers who bring this parade to you each year.
and dozens, ….. DOZENS of cars do this every year.
If you must get to Safeway to do your morning shopping…. Follow the detours down to Admiral Way starting at Hanford, (44th and 45th) then up Admiral to 42nd to get to Safeway.
It is well posted. but every year people drive by all these signs, claiming they have to get to Safeway.
We designed this assembly area to keep Admiral Way open throughout the parade, and to keep access to the major businesses open throughout the parade.
Jim also believes Metro will start diverting around 7 am, based on what they’ve done in years gone by. More parade countdown coverage a bit later tonight – including some photos from the past – fun to see what the businesses looked like, as well as parade spectators/participants. And note that everything will be open again by tomorrow night, when Saturday night Movies on the Wall begin in the courtyard next to Hotwire Coffee (WSB sponsor) – bring a nonperishable food donation for West Seattle Food Bank – come enjoy “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” starting around dusk (stake out your spot sooner); concessions are offered by West Seattle Christian Church (WSB sponsor), with proceeds also benefiting WSFB.
At Hiawatha this afternoon, proud parents and other onlookers cheered as Hi-Yu junior royalty past and present coronated the 2008-2009 court: Left to right, the girls NOT wearing Hi-Yu red and white (yet!) are new junior princesses Elyse Mitchell and Anna Fuller, and new junior queen Zoe Mahn. Here’s video of her running up after the big announcement, and then receiving her crown from 2007-2008 Hi-Yu Junior Queen Danica Tongol:
Congratulations to all. The “senior” court coronation is 7 pm Monday at Grace Church; before then, of course, you’ll see Hi-Yu royalty (and the Luna Park float!) in tomorrow’s West Seattle Grand Parade (route and other info here), and everyone’s invited to the Hi-Yu Community Brunch, 9 am-noon Sunday, at American Legion Post 160 in The Junction.
Washington State Ferries says Klahowya will start using a five-percent-biodiesel fuel tomorrow; the largest-capacity ferry on the Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run, Issaquah, is already using that mix. WSF says the biodiesel comes from tallow (beef fat), not vegetable oil. Side note: You can find out where Issaquah, Klahowya, and other WSF boats are, at any given time, by using the ferry system’s online Vessel Watch feature.
That’s Irene Stewart, West Seattle’s former Seattle School Board rep, and Fauntleroy Community Association president Bruce Butterfield. They got engaged recently on the Elliott Bay Water Taxi. We heard the story at the last FCA meeting but thought it was off the record … till the photo above, and a King County news release about it, just landed in the WSB inbox!
On a boat normally frequented by commuters and Mariners fans, West Seattle residents Irene Stewart and Bruce Butterfield found an entirely different use for the Elliott Bay Water Taxi: They got engaged.
On June 25, Stewart and Butterfield were celebrating their tenth anniversary of dating. Ten years earlier, they had taken the Water Taxi downtown for their first date, and they decided this year to do the same in celebration.
“We took the Water Taxi to make it easy on ourselves – nothing fancy, just a fun ride to a restaurant downtown,” said Stewart, who as an aide to then King County Councilmember Greg Nickels was instrumental in getting the service started.
Stewart said everything seemed normal until the vessel approached Pier 55 on the downtown waterfront. All of a sudden, the captain veered to the left and turned the boat around so it faced West Seattle. Everyone onboard was quite confused.
Almost everyone, that is.
For Butterfield, this was all part of the plan. Earlier in the day, he made several trips to Seacrest Park to speak with the captain and crew, and enlist their support.
With the city skyline in the background (hence the turning of the ship) and two crewmembers filming, a packed deck watched with surprise as Butterfield knelt down on one knee and asked Stewart to marry him.
Everyone cheered. But Butterfield shushed them. “She hasn’t said ‘yes’ yet,” he said, but Stewart quickly agreed. There was more cheering downtown as the Water Taxi docked and the newly engaged couple continued on their journey – in more ways than one.
Stewart is currently director of the Seattle Mayor’s Office for Senior Citizens, and was a member of the Seattle School Board from 2003 to 2007. Butterfield is a Realtor with Prudential Northwest Realty at Jefferson Square and president of the Fauntleroy Community Association. No date has been set, but the two anticipate a summer 2009 wedding.
Congratulations to Irene and Bruce! P.S. Speaking of the Water Taxi, WSB has just become a proud sponsor of West Seattle’s own foot ferry … we took a picture of our new banner yesterday while heading downtown:Read More
The Weekly’s food blog Voracious says Mural, the Harbor Properties project in the ex-Petco parking lot, will include a restaurant called Fresh, involving folks from Herban Feast, which recently moved HQ from West Seattle to Sodo.
FIRST: The 911 log showed an “automatic fire alarm” call at West Seattle High School listed as open for several hours early this morning, which is unusual, so we called Seattle Fire Department to check. Public-information officer Sue Stangl says someone “threw a small chunk of concrete through a window” and followed it up by throwing a lit string of 100 or so firecrackers through the broken window — the smoke set off the fire alarm. The only notable damage was to the window, but the call stayed “open” on the log because of the ongoing investigation.
SECOND: A reader report about suspected “casing” and a subsequent burglary attempt that neighbors think might be linked:
Belvidere neighborhood last night near Olga and Belvidere . On Wednesday, police were called when two African-Americans, one heavyset boy, one girl, both around 16-18 yrs old, all dressed in white, were going door to door without ID. Last night there was an attempted break-in in the same area at a home where the owners had placed their garbage out early due to being out of town. Police again were notified but were directed to the wrong address. Suspect could only be identified as 6’1-6’2 and African-American with normal-fitting dark hoodie. White Cadillac with dark tinted windows seen in the neighborhood around the same time as both events.
The intersection of Bronson and Harbor doesn’t show up on online maps – or else we’d have one above this sentence. But it’s a real place – on the water side, a city-owned “street end” – and the Seattle Department of Transportation is finally ready to turn it into a park. SDOT “shoreline street ends” program manager Patti Quirk, who’s a West Seattleite, came to last night’s Alki Community Council meeting to talk about the plan – something community leaders have long pushed for, but couldn’t quite get approved, till now. Read on to find out more, plus other toplines from the ACC meeting:Read More
As first reported here last week, the Jefferson Square Starbucks (the standalone store at the NW corner, not the “licensee” stand in the Safeway) is on the list of 600 company-owned stores that will close. Starbucks just released the full official list today. It’s the only West Seattle Starbucks on the list, which includes six other stores in Seattle: 328 15th Ave E, 620 Denny Way, 1220 Howell St., 2201 E. Madison Ave., 1218 N. 45th St., and the “Northgate Mall II” store. No timetable is mentioned (we’ll check with corporate PR tomorrow).
Thanks to David Hutchinson for those photos and word that the Tribal Journeys canoes have landed at Alki (which explains the Lincoln Park sighting earlier) – the canoes at Alki (on the sand east of the Bathhouse) are Muckleshoot canoes, according to the Tribal Journeys website. We visited during their stop last year (WSB coverage here) – quite something to see if you can get down to the beach tonight (reading the online schedule, looks like they may be here through tomorrow night too, with security watching the canoes while their occupants are bused to accommodations elsewhere). Canoes are traveling four routes as part of this event, all bound for a celebration in British Columbia.
Those renderings by the Viaduct Preservation Group are leaning against the wall in a briefing room at Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement Program HQ in the Wells Fargo building downtown (3rd/Madison), where we are covering a briefing at which the Stakeholders Advisory Committee is going to get more information on why the idea of retrofitting The Viaduct is no longer under consideration (as announced when the options that ARE under consideration were unveiled June 26, listed here under “Step 4”). We’ll be summarizing this later along with the information we gathered the other night at the West Seattle open house for the South End Replacement project. The committee members who are here include West Seattleite Vlad Oustimovitch, who says he’d asked for a briefing like this to get a more detailed explanation on why retrofitting was ruled out. Here’s a summary of the studies analyzed as part of the process of reaching the retrofit-off-the-table conclusion.
FIRST NOTE: We guessed wrong when we speculated about the source of the jets some saw/heard earlier today — turns out it was a Boeing F22 stealth-fighter arrival. Here’s video and info on the KING5 site. Seems they were en route to a Museum of Flight ceremony; the MoF is celebrating Boeing Field’s 80th anniversary later this month AND of course a week after that, it’s Blue Angels mania (see you there?).
SECOND NOTE: Road work just announced for Highland Park this weekend. Note from SDOT:
SDOT crews will repair the concrete pavement on SW Holden Street between 11th Avenue Southwest and Highland Parkway SW in Southwest Seattle. A detour will be in place for all traffic starting at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday, July 19. By no later than 5 p.m. the same day the traffic will be reopened to eastbound traffic. By noon on Sunday, July 20, the street will be opened to westbound traffic. The street will remain open to pedestrians throughout the project.
(photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
Less than 24 hours after the construction-trench collapse that ended with that dramatic rescue, retty remarkable news just in from Sofia Zadra Goff, who with husband Sean Goff is creating Cafe Revo on Avalon, next to the site of the collapse and rescue operation (WSB coverage here and here):
Sean came down to meet with one of our vendors at the Cafe Revo space today. While he was there the man who was stuck in the trench yesterday came by to pick up something he left at the construction site in the parking lot. He is walking fine and is doing well! Sean got to meet him and his family. So I thought I would let you know to share the wonderful news :)
The semiweekly city Land Use Information Bulletin has just arrived, and the site shown above — 4103 SW Edmunds, proposed for teardown-to-five-townhomes (as first reported here in February) kitty-corner from the south side of Jefferson Square — is the only West Seattle project on it; the city has ruled that its land-use permit application doesn’t require environmental review even though it’s technically in an “Environmentally Critical Area” because of the steep slope. Its construction and demolition permits are still pending. Nothing unusual given that it’s in the densifying area around The Junction, but it comes at a time when the city is about to start reviewing “multifamily zoning” (as reported here). Related to that issue, a West Seattle resident just cc’d us on her letter to a councilmember expressing opposition to the changes – we’ve had some glowing reviews of them already, so we’re sharing this counterpoint – read on:Read More
That photo is courtesy of Martha Tuttle with the King County Wastewater Treatment Division, who just sent this update on the short-term 53rd Ave. Pump Station “bypass” that the county acknowledges made last night an extra-noisy one for Alki-area folks – she says its duration will be closer to 24 hours than the possible 36:
King County expects that the work will be completed this evening . The pipe installation is completed. This afternoon the County will use TV/video cameras to inspect the force main before restarting the pump station. We understand that this part of the construction was extremely noisy and disruptive and we appreciate how patient the nearby residents have been.
Till that’s done, all those orange trucks have been taking wastewater out of the system at 53rd and trucking it over to the pump station in the 3500 block of Harbor – more than a dozen 3,500-gallon trucks – and the pedestrian walkway on the water side of the work zone is closed, with flaggers helping people cross at both ends of it. The entire project at 53rd, which started in February, isn’t scheduled to be done till fall of next year.
7 pm, Alki Community Center. Agenda is previewed here (where you also can download the latest Alki News Beacon if you haven’t read it yet). Many more events for today, tonight, the jampacked weekend that’s around the corner, and way beyond – all on our Events calendar page (including even more Saturday additions).
Almost lost amid all the other news, till the county just called with an update: Tonight’s the night that they’ve started to use pump trucks to move sewage flow from the 53rd Ave construction site (first warning posted here last week), so that it can briefly bypass the regular pipes. County spokesperson Martha Tuttle says, “It’s a bit more chaotic than we expected.” 15 trucks are operating right now – probably fewer later as the flow slows. Here’s the route the trucks are taking.
Trucks traveling to the West Seattle Pump Station will follow Alki Avenue Southwest to Harbor Avenue Southwest. Trucks traveling to the Alki Stormwater Treatment Plant will follow this route: Alki Avenue Southwest to 63rd Avenue Southwest to Beach Drive Southwest to 64th Avenue Southwest to Southwest Wilton Court.
The trucks involved are similar to the rigs involved in this afternoon’s Avalon rescue – “Vactors.” We just talked to another worker at the scene – she says traffic is down to one lane for the duration of this (24 to 36 hours, so possibly all the way till Friday morning); the pedestrian walkway on the water side is closed for a few blocks, so flaggers are helping people get to the other side of the street to use the sidewalk there. The county also stresses that if you have a major problem, please call their 24-hour construction hotline – it’s linked to a pager so you need to leave name/number – 206-205-5656.
WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli shot those photos (and all others in this report unless otherwise credited) as the rescued worker was taken to an aid car to be rushed to the hospital. Meantime, we’re starting a new post here to put together all the information we have, now that the construction worker’s been rescued (see previous post for our two-plus hours of frequent as-it-happened updates). Here’s Technical Rescue Lt. Powell explaining afterward what the operation was like:
The Fire Department says the bucket of an excavator that was being used at the scene is believed to have had something to do with the collapse that trapped the worker for more than two hours. You can see that excavator on the right side of this photo (which we’ve also added to our original series of updates below):
As the owners of nearby future restaurant Cafe Revo told WSB during our updates, the crew was doing drainage work on behalf of the landlord at that site, not related to their work turning the ex-Murphy’s into a restaurant. According to an SFD spokesperson, the rescued man is “alert” but since he is just now being evaluated at the hospital, there’s no further word yet on his condition or whether he suffered any internal injuries. Here’s a shot of the roadblock during the incident – sounds from the scanner like it’s now cleared (let us know if you’re seeing otherwise):
ADDED 7:25 PM: The entire rescue unfolded before the eyes of the folks who live in the residential unit at the back of the Revo building — Sarah sent us photos including these next three, starting with this bird’s-eye view of some of the fire equipment and its personnel:
As for the actual rescue scene itself, she had to shoot through a window screen, but if you missed the earlier live aerials many of us watched online and/or on-air, you can get an idea of the incredibly intense activity that surrounded the collapse site until the worker was pulled out:
A different kind of activity hub was across Avalon, where reporters and photographers were asked to stay, for safety’s sake (theirs and the crews involved in the rescue):
ADDED 7:55 PM: More photos taken by Christopher – first one, the scene before the Vactor trucks arrived to help clear the debris that were trapping the worker:
Workers began to assemble sections of pipe after a city truck brought it in:
Nearby salon Ola had to be evacuated after a while just in case the scene became more dangerous:
More rescue teams converged around the scene:
Firefighters from Ladder 11 rigged lines and pulleys to provide leverage so they could get the victim out:
P.S. The Fire Department just updated its media-info line with a few more details. They’re not releasing the worker’s name but say he is reported to be in stable condition. He became trapped in the 8-foot-deep trench when 1 side of it “collapsed in on him.” Technical-rescue experts worked with Seattle Public Utilities crews to get the man out – SPU’s two large Vactor trucks pumped dirt out of the hole; meantime, there were “about five” Technical Rescue team members in the hole with the worker as the operation continued, while medics monitored his condition, made sure he had pain medication, kept him hydrated. Christopher’s photos at the top of this post are vastly better, but we did also shoot video as the rescued man was being taken to the aid car:
11:21 PM UPDATE: KOMO identifies the man as Kelley Vielle and quotes family members as saying he’s on oxygen but able to talk and “moving his toes.”
Adding to the traffic closures related to the construction-worker rescue on Avalon (see post below, with continuous updates) – there’s an accident of some type on The Bridge, westbound at 1st Avenue So. Traffic “moving slowly.” 5:07 PM UPDATE: They are getting ready to reopen the 1st Ave. S. onramp to the westbound bridge.
(no more updates here – post-rescue updates and wrapup can be found here)
(photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
Two of us were driving through the Luna Park business district on the way to the Water Taxi when the first emergency vehicles rolled up – the callout was “trench rescue” – we saw what looked like the site of some digging toward the southwest side of the ex-Murphy’s/Cafe Revo building, with rescuers heading for it; some texts we received suggest it’s a sinkhole; another team member is just arriving now – stay away from that part of Avalon, which is now blocked off by emergency vehicles (between Yancy and The Bridge).
4:10 PM UPDATE: Scanner says the exit on The Bridge leading to Harbor is going to be closed off to minimize traffic to this scene. WSB team at the scene reports it’s a construction trench that collapsed. No word on the condition of the person(s) who needs to be rescued. SFD “heavy rescue” equipment just arrived.
4:16 PM UPDATE: In comments, Sarah says a friend who works at Ola salon next to the scene was told the construction work was related to the restaurant project and the salon is effectively closed right now because no one can get into or out of the scene.
4:21 PM UPDATE: Public information officer at the scene says the construction worker is stuck about 4 to 6 feet down, by loose soil and crumbled concrete — they’re bringing in more equipment to help clear the hole, including Vactor trucks. The worker is reported to be conscious and not currently in pain.
4:29 PM UPDATE: As Nancy posted in comments, KING 5 has a live aerial feed up at this link. We can’t compete with that one – no Chopper WSB – but there’s no narration on their feed so keep checking here periodically – we have two people at the scene feeding us info we’re posting as we get it, and we’re monitoring scanner traffic (“ongoing process” is how one rescuer just described it when someone else on the emergency frequency asked for an update).
4:33 PM UPDATE: New update from the scanner — “victim appears to be doing well, he is drinking Gatorade and participating in the rescue.”
4:43 PM UPDATE: Update at the scene from fire department PIO, the victim is trapped from the waist down but still conscious and alert, the Vactor trucks will be working to help clear some of the concrete, asphalt, and dirt that collapsed and trapped him. From the comments, two people report that Ola is going to be evacuated because more digging will be necessary “under the building” to help make this rescue happen. Also note that Nancy has posted bus reroute info in comments – we will seek to verify with Metro.
4:48 PM UPDATE: KING chopper feed went to color bars, will watch to see if anything else comes up. Meantime here’s a map showing known road closures because of this rescue effort:
Sounds on the scanner like rescuers have made progress at least partially freeing one of the worker’s legs.
4:55 PM UPDATE: Yet another “heavy rescue” vehicle just arrived. And our crew on the scene says “a stretcher’s gone up” (to the rescue scene). KING just reported the man who’s being rescued is in his 30s. Their live aerial feed is back up online – intermittently.
5:06 PM UPDATE: At the scene, they’ve just rolled a medic unit closer into position – hoping that might be a sign they’re getting closer to pulling the man out.
5:14 PM UPDATE: Scanner says rescuers who are in the hole with the victim are rotating in and out to keep fresh. Our team at the scene says lumber is being cut now to take in to shore up the hole so that it doesn’t collapse further.
5:28 PM UPDATE: At least one nearby business has closed for the day (Avalon Glass Works) since nobody can get into or out of the area. Rescue work continues.
5:35 PM UPDATE: Watching the live KING chopper feed – the rescuers appear to be rigging a hoist of some kind. Scanner traffic says a crew has to go get some kind of special equipment and/or piping from another location (the “Charles Street shop”) – and they’re going to get a police escort to go get it posthaste.
5:40 PM UPDATE: Thanks so much to JH for sending this photo – looking toward the rescue scene south of Revo, in front of Ola, from Avalon:
5:43 PM UPDATE: WSB just talked with Cafe Revo co-owner Sean Goff at the scene – and what he told us is pretty much the same thing his wife and Revo co-owner Sofia Zadra Goff just left in comments – pulling it up here to the main story too – note this is NOT part of the Revo conversion work, as she explains:
My husband and I own Cafe Revo. I just wanted to let everyone know that the construction going on has nothing to do with our business or renovation. We have not begun any construction yet. The workers there have been hired by the owner of the building (including Ola and the apartments, as well as our space). She is having work done to fix some bad drainage from the parking lot that has been leaking for some time into our space (while Murphys was there) and had caused the South Wall of the building to rot out. All of the men down there that have been working have been very nice and respectful of our space. We really hope that the man is not hurt and will be okay. Thank you! Sofia
5:52 PM UPDATE: Some of the key equipment is moving closer into position.
HE’S OUT! 5:53 pm. And has been transferred into medic unit. We took a pic of the TV screen which we should be able to upload till our pix can get back. No word on condition yet, we’ll let you know as soon as media crews at the scene get that word.
5:59 PM UPDATE: TV screen update. Rescued man on way to hospital. Emergency rigs will be starting to pull out from the scene. Just heard aid crew tell hospital via radio they’ll be there (Harborview, we would expect) in about five minutes.
6:03 PM UPDATE: KOMO zoomed-in aerial photo showed the man trying to sit up, as they secured him on the gurney. We’re awaiting an official update at the scene and also possibly a chance to talk with a firefighter about exactly what they had to do to get him out. He was trapped for more than 2 hours – this all began around 3:40 pm.
6:26 PM UPDATE: We’ll have more pix to add in a separate post shortly. Also still staked out at the scene awaiting a potential update.
City Councilmember Nick Licata has a special interest in pedestrian safety – among other things, he’s created a special website about it (here’s a page focused on the 59th/Stevens concerns), and now he’s inviting you to a downtown forum. His staff tells WSB the official participants will include West Seattle representation from the Southwest District Council, but many more voices should be there to speak up on behalf of our peninsula’s needs. He’s co-sponsoring the forum at City Hall downtown, 6 pm next Tuesday, with Safe Walks; here’s a topline:
Safe Walks is seeking an equitable solution to the problem of providing safe pedestrian passageway throughout the city, especially in neighborhoods in the north and south ends. The forum will help identify sidewalk needs citywide and begin the work of identifying funding sources for those needs. Representatives from the Seattle Department of Transportation, Feet First, and neighborhoods around Seattle will be attending the event.
“South ends” in cityspeak includes West Seattle. Be there if you can. ADDED THURSDAY MORNING: Just heard from Safe Walks – if you’re interested in staying in closer touch with what they’re up to, follow this link to their Google Group.
(photo by WSB contributing photojournalist Christopher Boffoli)
Time is running out if you want to have a say on the proposal to ban most rush-hour openings of the “low bridge.” We told you May 22nd about its publication in the Federal Register, which kicked off the official 2-month comment period; thanks to Scott J for the reminder that those two months are almost up (next Monday is the last day). The heart of the proposal, as published, is as follows:
The proposed rule would enable the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT), the owner of the Spokane Street Bridge, to keep the draws of that bridge in the closed position in order to help alleviate roadway traffic Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., with the proviso that openings shall be provided at any time for vessels of 5000 gross tons or more.
So far, the number of comments received hasn’t even hit triple digits, so your comment will carry a lot of weight. The bridge proposal has been championed by West Seattle-residing City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen, who tells WSB today, “I urge everyone who travels this corridor to write in now to let the Coast Guard know that they need reliable commuting routes as the city grows in population and especially when the viaduct replacement construction projects commence. People traveling to and from West Seattle are especially vulnerable as commuting route options are limited.” The easiest way to submit a comment is to do it online; here’s a direct link to the form you need, prelabeled with the official “docket number,” and including a chance to re-read the proposal if you want to. If you’d rather postal-mail or fax your comment(s), here’s how to do that (plus info on what happens next):Read More
The state Ecology Department just sent word it’s investigating a diesel spill on the West Seattle side of the port, @ Terminal 5, involving a tug from Harbor Island-based Olympic. No word yet how big, but here’s the full news release:Read More
That’s what organizers told us when we returned to the Southwest Precinct tonight during the final half-hour of the first-ever Police Appreciation Day organized by the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council — by then, the board you see above was covered with dozens and dozens of handmade thank-you notes and cards (we photographed it in the early going, for our first report). Organizers’ running count tallied up more than 170 people participating in the daylong event — some of course were the appreciation recipients themselves:
Community appreciation is also well-deserved by the organizers – including leaders of the WSCPC, whose president Dot Beard (below left) took a moment to pose for us with Seattle Neighborhood Group staff liaison, Jennifer Duong:
WSCPC vice president Kay Newton worked hard to line up sponsors/donors to make this a festive event with everything from food and beverages to fun kid stuff, enjoyed by young visitors including these (thanks to Kacy for these next two photos):
Those with a few more years in the rear-view mirror made cards and shared sentiments – from serious to whimsical:
This event was in lieu of the Crime Prevention Council’s regular meeting for July – they’ll be back in session August 19th. Two other related events in the meantime: Night Out August 5 (register your block party here, so you can close off your street!) and Picnic at the Precinct August 16.
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