White Center Now: The blog about White Center

By Tracy Record
White Center Now editor

Car thefts are on the rise in White Center and surrounding areas, “and I don’t expect summer to really help that,” is how King County Sheriff’s Deputy BJ Myers opened the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council‘s second public-safety forum tonight.

His tips
*Don’t leave your car running
*Don’t leave valuables out in the open
*Don’t leave your windows open

*Do have your vehicle license plate #/make/model written down or memorized
*Do park in areas that are well-lit, with high traffic – big parking lots like apartment complexes are where a lot of thefts happen

If somebody calls to report a possible stolen/abandoned car, he explained, they do fingerprinting and evidence processing, which is key to identifying “who’s stealing these cars, so that we can put a stop to it,” since many thieves are repeaters, Deputy Myers explained.

Here’s what a dumped stolen car looks like:
*Obvious damage that might not be from a collision
*Unusually parked – looks like somebody just stopped it and left
*Wheels that don’t match
*Windows rolled down on nights when they shouldn’t be
*Odd-looking seat positions
*Broken windows
*Ignition damage

“If you see that, call (911) and say there’s a suspicious car that might be a stolen vehicle,” and give them the plate/description, he advised. If they can’t get hold of the car’s owner to confirm whether it’s stolen or not, they might still take possession of the car so as not to lose the chance to investigate.

OTHER CRIME ISSUES: Deputy Myers was asked about last night’s robbery at the Subway on 16th SW (we had tried to follow up earlier today with the person temporarily handling media relations for KCSO), but had no additional information.

LIQUOR INITIATIVE UPDATE: The liquor initiative is going well, he said, about six weeks in: “The stores we really hoped would be on board are on board.” No sales of single-serving alcohol for offsite consumption from 6 am to 1 pm. Deputy Meyers says “8 or 9 stores in the downtown area” have told distributors that they are participating and have put up signs, and have been seen turning people away during those hours. “They tend to be some of the smaller shops,” he said – “I don’t think any of our big chain retailers are going along with it,” but, he added, stores of those sizes tend to keep problems down. He says that the WCCDA will offer recognition, along with KCSO, during Spring Clean next Saturday. Even Chevron has signed on, along with ZipMart, Rainbow, Shorewood Grocery, Smoke Town, Cigarette Depot on Delridge, a few small grocery stores, are among the participants he listed. But, he said, “We still see guys drinking at eight or nine o’clock in the morning” – the initiative is intended to be a “speed bump.” One storeowner told him they’re not losing business – “we just make it all back after 1 o’clock.”

SPEAKING OF INTOXICATION: … what if marijuana is being smoked openly? Deputy Myers was asked. “Call 911,” he said. “We don’t get those calls,” so far. Asked if he had been inside the Cannabis Farmers’ Market, he said that he had been asked not to go inside “because I’m not a patient.” Someone suggested, “So get a card – you can do it right next door.”

CRASH UPDATE: Asked about the man in a wheelchair who was hit by a vehicle, Deputy Myers said that he had heard the victim was out of the hospital and recovering at a private residence, at least as of a week and a half ago. They still have no idea who did it.

METRO TRANSIT POLICE CHIEF LISA MULLIGAN: Rather than launching into a speech, Chief Mulligan – who is also a Major in the King County Sheriff’s Office – started by engaging attendees in conversation, asking which routes they ride (answers included 120, 125, 113, 3, 4, 550, 216, 54, 55, 516), and whether they’d ever had a bad experience on a bus. Fare evasion and rudeness were mentioned. She leads 69 Metro Transit Police Officers, all of whom also are deputies, assigned specifically to Metro, stationed from an HQ in SODO. Almost half are patrol officers, but there also are anti-terrorism officers, captains, sergeants, bicycle officers … “We are so proud of what we do with what we have,” she said, while noting clearly that they are spread pretty thin. However, “we’ve gotten pretty good at figuring out where our bus drivers and passengers say the problems are.” They track reports written by drivers about trouble during shifts, “and that’s how we police.” Every month they have a top 10 list “based on the number of security-incident reports,” and 120 is consistently on the trouble list, “almost every month.”

Chief Mulligan was asked what they expect to happen when the Ride-Free Zone in downtown Seattle goes away on September 29 along with a variety of other changes. They actually believe this might reduce the number of assaults in a particular category – being spit on. The expected change is because the interaction between driver and passenger will be when they get on, not when they leave, once the RFZ is abolished.

She talked about the importance of the perception of safety, and how an officer’s presence can enhance that, in an area where there have been problems. She added that transit police are in closer touch with storefront deputies like Deputy Myers now, more than ever before. “It’s finally dawned on us that … 69 of us in the whole county, we need to leverage that partnership with other agencies better than we ever have … It’s one of the things we’re doing now that feels like a really positive direction for us.” Deputy Myers “has been just fabulous,” she enthused.

One note about RapidRide – there will be fare enforcement officers on board, Chief Mulligan revealed, since it’s a “proof of payment” system – you can tap your ORCA card on the sidewalk reader, and you don’t have to do it again when you board, which also means the operator may not know whether you paid or not. So “Metro has security officers that don’t carry guns but have a vest they wear to keep them safe, and they go through the bus and check everybody” for proof of payment.

Biggest crime trend in Metro right now: “Transit has become a hot spot for people to steal electronic devices,” she said, explaining that they have seen a “huge increase” in the number of people who are robbed of their smartphones. It’s often a physical, violent crime, and she says law enforcement has talked to electronics companies to make a change that would make them less attractive to robbers. Don’t be unaware of your surroundings, don’t be walking through a dark area, don’t be walking along engaged with your device and nothing else – “having someone run up and take it away is pretty common” – if that happens, she said, don’t chase after them, it likely won’t come out well. The other ruse is, “can I borrow your phone?” and then they never give it back. “Not the same kind of robbery, but the same concept,” she said. “Keep your items close, keep them zipped, be aware of yourself, and if there is a problem around you, get up and move.”

CRIME PREVENTION THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN: This has been a big topic in the area, with the West Seattle Blockwatch Captains Network getting another presentation last month, and it was the topic tonight at the NHUAC forum for visiting SeaTac Police Officer Doug Reynolds. He discussed the principles:

*Access control: It’s supposed to be done through natural means – such as a hedge, a rockery, a planter strip, “something between the sidewalk/street and your front yard.”

*Natural surveillance: “Kind of my favorite,” he said – “see and be seen as you go about your daily business.” For example, he said, commercial groups have done research showing that a shopper might not go in a store that she can’t see the inside of from the parking lot – can’t see adults inside the business. “The evildoer sees a big wall, and says, ‘I can do anything I want, nobody can see me’.” He said it shouldn’t be so tough to convince the average homeowner “to open your curtains during the day!” You can be seen, you can see, “you are a natural caregiver, you are a steward to your community.” He talked about one commercial facility whose parent company wouldn’t even allow window coverings, which is not a a problem, he said, because “what are you doing that shouldn’t be seen?”

*Ownership/territoriality: Among other things, this principle incorporates the “broken windows” theory. Let’s say first a car is seen with vandalism-type damage and nothing is done about it. Then pretty soon “all the cars around there are damaged,” and it just keeps spreading.

He also discussed location, on a tangent about skateparks and whether they are located where they would best belong, or just “where the Parks Department owns the land.”

In Q/A he was asked about the window-covering issue. Leaving the windowns uncovered 24/7 is NOT a bad thing, he said, but if you can, switch it up – cover a window sometimes, open the coverings partly, leave a light on, leave a light off … If someone knocks on your door and you don’t want to answer, don’t just be silent – they might go around back or the side and break in. So at least “let them know you are home” – shout I’M BUSY, COME BACK LATER, or something else that lets them know you are home. “Say SOMETHING!”

Datapoints he shared in the final portion of his appearance: Half of all burglars are juveniles. … If you’re going to have a burglary alarm, have an audible one that is VERY, VERY LOUD, because, as he put it, “unless they come with their own ear protection, they’re not going to stick around.” … Surveillance camera? “There is no evidence that it prevents crime. It may aid in apprehension.” However, that doesn’t apply if the camera is of poor quality and therefore its images are too. “I think there’s a lot of places to spend your money before you buy cameras.”

Block Watches, he declared as the meeting wrapped up, “are the best deterrent.”

NHUAC has been holding these forums quarterly – watch their website for details on the next one, which is scheduled for August 2nd.

The first one was a hit – dozens of attendees – and the second edition is days away. From the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, here’s the agenda for the May 10th Public Safety Forum:

Thursday – MAY 10, 2012 – 7pm
North Highline Fire Station
1243 112th Street, SW
White Center

Police Reports/Neighborhood Concerns:
BJ Myers, King County Sheriff Deputy, White Center Storefront, will give an update on crime trends in the North Highline area. Deputy Myers will also take questions regarding neighborhood concerns.

Guest Speakers:
Major Lisa Mulligan, Metro Transit Police Chief, will discuss safety aboard Metro Transit and at North Highline area bus stops.

Doug Reynold, King County Sheriff Deputy, Community Crime Prevention Officer for the City of Seatac. Deputy Reynolds will discuss crime prevention techniques to reduce the opportunity for crime in your neighborhood. Deputy Reynolds is the past president of the Washington Crime Prevention Association and is recognized as an International Crime Prevention Specialist(ICPS) by the International Society of Crime Prevention Practitioners.

Block Watch Program: Join or renew the program in your neighborhood.
Discussion of the National Night Out Against Crime-August 7, 2012.

ALL ARE WELCOME!

Additional information is available on the NHUAC website: www.northhighlineuac.org

By Tracy Record
White Center Now editor

Big turnout last night for the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council’s public-safety forum, first in a series of quarterly events. The 50 or so attendees identified themselves in introductions as having come from not just the greater North Highline area but also points north and south, including West Seattle and even Federal Way.

LIQUOR CONTROL BOARD UPDATE: Lt. Woodrow Perkins opened with an update on Papa’s Pub (WCN broke the news earlier this week that the pub had proclaimed itself closed). They’ve been accused of five violations, he noted, mentioning the administrative-law hearing that was reported here yesterday, next Monday-Tuesday. He says their officers have tried to contact the owner and their perception is that there’s a chance they might reopen, though that couldn’t happen if they ultimately lose their license as a result of this process. Before GAME Lounge closed, he added, two liquor violations were filed against its owners. He also mentioned the Wah Long bar in Burien, which had been hit with three administrative-law violations. There was a hearing last October; the final decision is still pending but “pretty close,” said Lt. Perkins. In Burien, Wah Long has a new owner but that new owner does not have a liquor license at this point, he said. He also was asked about effects of I-1183, mentioning that statewide, there already are more than 100 applications for licenses to sell hard liquor (grocery stores, etc.). June 1st is the transition date.

KING COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE CHANGES: Deputy BJ Myers had mentioned this at the last NHUAC meeting, and Major Jim Graddon went into more detail, saying that KCSO is moving to a “zone command” with captains in charge, rather than the historic “precinct” style. He will remain in charge at the city of SeaTac, though, Maj. Graddon said. “It’s an efficiency thing for the Sheriff’s Office; it’s a necessary thing to do,” he noted. “We’re in a time where we have to be smarter about the way we do things.”

WHITE CENTER STOREFRONT DEPUTY UPDATE: Next, Deputy Myers reviewed current trends/happening. He says Papa’s Pub’s closing “is definitely going to have an effect on crime in the downtown area.” Meaning, he said, some types of crime “are going to move to other bars. … We’re going to other bars and seeing some of the people we’d been running into at Papa’s.” Auto thefts are running higher than usual, he acknowledged, saying detectives are monitoring whether it’s a “statistical fluke” or whether something else is going on. Deputy Myers was asked about recent robberies, including the one earlier Thursday in South Delridge – while it resembled the MO, he said there were things that led them to believe it likely wasn’t the same people. … One member of the audience reminded everyone that it’s important to report ANYTHING that happens, so KCSO knows where to focus people, and Deputy Meyers underscored that, mentioning the online reporting system too. (If you want to report something online to King County Sheriff’s Office – the link is at the bottom of this page.)

GANG BRIEFING: The main event was a presentation by Detective Joe Gagliardi from the King County Sheriff’s Office. We recorded his entire briefing on video. It includes some obscenity, and many photos – of tags, of suspects, of gang names, things we don’t usually include in our coverage here on WCN (or on partner site West Seattle Blog), but we’re making an exception for a public presentation made by a law-enforcement officer who specializes in gangs. If you want to know the difference between gang graffiti and non-gang graffiti, how those giant tags wind up on walls alongside freeways, why the demographic makeup of gangs isn’t what you would think, and whether gang activity is really pervasive in this area – just watch:

Our video stops before the Q/A, but one thing was of note during it: Det. Gagliardi said the number of gang cases dropped by almost a third when Club Evo(lucion) in downtown WC “went away,” since while it was open, “we’d have 5, 6, 7 gang cases, easily.”

WHAT CAN YOU DO? Dan Carew spoke about the newly convened Suburban Coordinating King County Council on Gangs. They are doing a community gang assessment to figure out what the problem really looks like – going through data including demographics, law-enforcement stats, intelligence, incident reports, school surveys, community input and resources – “what do you think should be done?” There’s a survey you can take online – and they hope you will take a few minutes to complete it:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KCGang

BLOCK WATCH: Community activist Gill Loring spoke about how it works; he’s a Block Watch captain in his area of North Highline/White Center. “You get to know people,” for starters, talking with them; as a Block Watch captain, you gather information, interact with deputies, organize the annual Night Out neighborhood event. Deputy Myers said, “It’s one of the most effective and least costly forms of law enforcement in the nation.” The deputy said he wants to “encourage the strength of our Block Watch program.” He wants to hear from everyone who is already involved in a Block Watch to make sure he has accurate information. Gill said he’s talked to people who are “scared to get started” because they’re afraid it will “take too much time” – he says that’s a myth, it does not take that much time. An attendee also offered the reminder that Block Watches can be good for more than crime prevention – it also means that in case of disaster, like an earthquake, you can more easily join forces with your neighbors to deal with the situation.

WHAT’S NEXT: NHUAC council member Richard Miller also happens to be the chair of the West Seattle Crime Prevention Council, and he invited everyone present to attend its next meeting, 7 pm February 21st at the Southwest Precinct (Delridge and Webster). The next public-safety forum for NHUAC will be in May; they’re hoping to have them quarterly.

What’s the truth about gangs – more active? Less active? And what are the trends for other types of crimes? What can you do to protect your home/business? Tonight’s the night that North Highline Unincorporated Area Council has organized the first in a series of public-safety forums, and you can come get some answers. Guests include King County Sheriff’s Office/Burien Police Detective Joe Gagliardi with the gang-activity overview, and updates from other law-enforcement leadership including: Captain Joseph Hodgson – and Deputy BJ Myers from KCSO, plus Metro Transit Police Chief Maj. Lisa Mulligan. Hear from them all, and bring your concerns, to North Highline Fire District HQ, 1243 SW 112th.

(Crossposted from partner site West Seattle Blog)

Thanks to Eric and Kristen, who both sent word of what looked like a car-bicycle crash at 8th and Roxbury earlier this morning – but was instead a case of a pedestrian hit by a car, according to King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West. Sgt. West says the driver was southbound on 8th, getting ready to turn left (eastbound) onto Roxbury, and was apparently “blinded by the sun” when she hit a 67-year-old woman who was walking northbound across the street. She was driving very slowly, Sgt. West says, so the pedestrian suffered only “very minor injuries.” The bicycle seen on the ground by passersby belonged to a witness who stopped to help, NOT to the victim, according to Sgt. West.

From North Highline Unincorporated Area Council president Barbara Dobkin, the agenda for this Thursday’s public-safety forum:

7:00 pm Flag Salute

7:05 pm Greeting and Introductions

7:10 pm Police Reports and Updates:
• Captain Joseph Hodgson – King County Sheriff’s Office
• Deputy B.J. Myers – White Center Store Front Deputy
• Major Lisa Mulligan – Metro Transit Police Chief

7:30pm PROGRAM:
Detective Joe Gagliardi from King County Sheriff’s Office and Burien Police Department will offer an update and current state of gang activity in North Highline and surrounding communities

8:15pm DISCUSSION:
• Community Concerns
• Block Watch Update (how to get involved)

As with regular NHUAC meetings, this forum will be held at North Highline Fire District hQ, 1243 SW 112th.

Talking about public safety is always timely – but in light of a few recent incidents, it’s an especially good time for a reminder that the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council is planning a forum on Public Safety in just two weeks. King County Sheriff’s Office storefront Deputy B.J. Myers has sent a reminder that it’s at 7 pm February 9th at North Highline Fire District HQ, 1243 SW 112th, with the evening including:

Guest Speaker: Detective Joe Gagliardi from the King County Sheriff’s Office and Burien Police Department Gang Unit will discuss what residents of White Center should know about gangs. Det. Gagliardi is one of the region’s foremost experts on criminal street gangs and has spoken in schools, courts, and community centers throughout King County. After serving with the Fairfield (CA) Police Dept., Det. Gagliardi has been working in White Center and Burien for years, making him uniquely knowledgeable about local gang issues.

Involvement: The Block Watch program will be highlighted and residents will be encouraged to get connected.

Forum: A discussion with Deputy BJ Myers about how to keep White Center safe and feeling safe.

That’s exactly one week after NHUAC’s next monthly meeting.

(Adapted from an announcement first published earlier this week on partner site West Seattle Blog)
White Center-headquartered WestSide Baby has accepted car seats for recycling before – but usually, just the ones in good enough shape to reuse. Starting tomorrow (Saturday), they will accept ALL used car seats – 10 am-2 pm on Saturday, bring yours to their donation HQ, 10032 15th SW (map) – so if you have one, in any condition, in the basement, the attic, the closet, the garage, bring it over! For the new campaign Re-Ride: Car Seat Reuse and Recycling for Local Children in Need, WS Baby is now partnering with recyclers Total Reclaim to enable acceptance of any and all car seats. If yours can’t be reused, they request a $5 minimum donation to help cover the cost of recycling its materials. WS Baby says they are only able to fill about HALF the requests they currently get for car seats, so widening the recycling program will hopefully help them fill more. P.S. If you can help them dismantle car seats in preparation for recycling, please contact Shana Allen at shana@westsidebaby.org or 206-767-1662.

By Tracy Record
Editor/co-publisher, White Center Now and West Seattle Blog

After two months of gathering petition signatures urging the King County Sheriff’s Office to restore a White Center-dedicated deputy, leaders of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council plan to present them to Sheriff Sue Rahr next week.

That’s what NHUAC members Pat Price and Christine Waldman told those in attendance Thursday night at the White Center-South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meeting, back at its longtime location at St. James (9421 18th SW) – one of several major topics at the meeting.

When we talked recently with this area’s King County Councilmember Joe McDermott about the push to restore the deputy position, he pointed out that the ultimate decisionmaker is the sheriff herself – while McDermott and his council colleagues, as well as King County Executive Dow Constantine, craft and finalize the budget, the direct staffing and spending decisions for KCSO are made by Sheriff Rahr.

So Waldman and NHUAC president Barbara Dobkin plan to meet with her next Thursday to present the petitions, as well as lobbying the council and executive “to make sure to give her the money so she can fill that position” to get a dedicated sheriff’s deputy back to “community policing” on local streets.

If you haven’t signed the petition yet, there are copies in several White Center businesses, Waldman says, and you can sign the version posted online – just go here. As Waldman put it, the deputy in this position – like Deputies Jeff Hancock and the late Steve Cox, before – would “know what’s what, who’s the good guys, who’s the bad guys” and be “extra eyes” on the street. “We really need that in White Center.”

Read the rest of this entry »

A lot to talk about as the White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meets tonight (6 pm, the former St. James Church at 9421 18th SW). It’s been nine days since the murder of 23-year-old Sweetheart Failautusi at 15th/Roxbury, with one of three suspects in custody and charged so far. In addition, permit applications have been filed for the reopening of the ex-Club Evo as Club Reventón. Previously announced for the agenda, a guest appearance by the new interim principal of Chief Sealth International High School in West Seattle, Chris Kinsey (our partner site West Seattle Blog was first to interview him after the appointment was announced earlier this month). All are welcome to coalition meetings.

Thanks to Gill Loring for sharing photos from Tuesday’s Night Out neighborhood crime-fighting celebrations in White Center. He reports, “Great crowd of neighbors numbering some 35. It is just satisfying to get a bunch of people together once a year and share what has been going on in our lives.”

And they had some high-profile visitors: “Peter Tuong, King County Sheriff’s Office Community Service Officer, showed up early on and the North Highline Fire Dept. arrived, lights flashing, a bit later.”

Plus; “(Burien City Manager) Mike Martin was making the rounds on his motorcycle.”

Gill continues, “(Burien City Councilmember) Gerald Robison stopped by as well. And the weather was PERFECT!”

Night Out is always the first Tuesday in August – so mark your calendar for August 7, 2012!

The monthly meeting of the White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition is set for tonight, 6 pm, White Center DSHS building (upstairs) – your chance to hear about the latest trends, voice your current concerns, and join with other community members to make a difference.

That’s one of the fireworks stands that officially opened Tuesday – as of today, they can be open 9 am-11 pm through Monday, but fireworks can only be used 9 am-midnight ***on*** Monday. More details in our story from earlier this week. (And remember, fireworks are banned on both sides of the unincorporated area – Burien and Seattle.)

Just a week till the 4th of July – and we noticed fireworks stands are up and waiting in the unincorporated areas (White Center, Top Hat, etc.). So it’s a good time to remind you: In the unincorporated areas, fireworks can be sold starting noon-11 pm Tuesday, and then 9 am-11 pm daily through July 4th – but even though you can BUY them before the holiday, you can only USE them on the 4th, 9 am-midnight.

As for official professional fireworks displays – there’s the Seattle show over Lake Union, visible from north-facing West Seattle, and Three Tree Point, offshore. But you might just decide to wait for the sure-to-be-spectacular-again Jubilee Days fireworks at Steve Cox Memorial Park on July 13th.

Received a notice indicating the monthly meeting is on tonight as usual – 6 pm, White Center DSHS building between 14th and 15th SW just south of Roxbury, second floor. No agenda mentioned so far (we’re checking).

Fourth Thursday means the White Center-South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meets – here’s the announcement:

More than 17,000 calls to the Washington Poison Center were about children poisoned by medicines. Washington State needs a statewide take-back program to protect its children.

Teens use medicines to get high second only to marijuana, and they start as early as 12 years old. Washington needs a statewide take-back program so families can keep unwanted medicines out of the hands of our teens.

White Center – South Delridge Community Safety Coalition

Invites you to hear the

Seattle & King County Public Health Health & Environmental Investigator

Will Perry

at our Meeting on Thursday, January 27th 6 pm

White Center DSHS Building, 2nd Floor

9650 15th Ave SW

(Photo by Deanie Schwarz)
Seattle City Light has published another update today about its ongoing systemwide streetlight inspections in the wake of “contact voltage” that killed a Queen Anne dog and spooked one in West Seattle’s High Point neighborhood – and this time, a White Center problem was found, according to City Light’s online update. It’s at 1721 SW Roxbury Street [map] – photo above (right outside the Salvadorean Bakery building) and was found with 111 volts. The utility says a faulty ballast assembly was replaced; its contractors have finished inspecting more than a third of the streetlights and associated facilities in the system

Followup on our report that Seattle City Light planned to inspect Greenbridge streetlights and poles after a “contact voltage” discovery in West Seattle’s similarly built High Point neighborhood: Tonight, SCL says the inspections didn’t turn up anything in Greenbridge. Here’s the full story from partner site West Seattle Blog.

Story and photo by Karen Berge
Reporting for White Center Now

The White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition held their final meeting for the year last night in the White Center DSHS building. This gathering was a mixture of fun as well as business, as the group organizers wanted to celebrate “a year well-spent” with a potluck. Attendees included 15 adults and a handful of well-behaved young children.

Co-chair Sean Healy opened the business portion of meeting shortly after 6 p.m. with a round of introductions and a few remarks. He noted that there were no representatives from the King County Sheriff’s Office and Seattle Police Department at the meeting as there have been in the past. It’s not clear if members of KCSO will be able to attend future meetings because of budget cuts; he said they do expect and hope to have representatives from SPD on hand at upcoming meetings.

Next, Pat Price, from the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council briefed the group on a “Teens Against Drug Abuse” event she attended in High Point last month. She participated in a roundtable discussion about prescription drug use, a problem with growing prevalence and impact; their conclusion is that “Take Back Our Meds” programs are a huge step toward reducing the problem and could be implemented here. A one-day take-back collection effort recently resulted in more than 1300 pounds of drugs being collected. Price proposed inviting one of the speakers from the King County Hazardous Waste Division to present at a future meeting of this group; there was unanimous interest in having her pursue that. The group also touched briefly on whether they could establish a permanent take-back drop-off location in one of the local stores.

Moving on to other potential meeting topics, the WCSDCSC has received e-mail from the Technical Access Foundation . They want to present their plans to the group for a new 3-story facility near Hicks Lake. They have a well-established after-school program and have been fundraising and planning for a new building for several years; they plan groundbreaking sometime in the spring. One attendee asked how this fit in to WCSDCSC; Sean Healy replied, “Promotion and advocacy is how we tie in.”

Other Announcements

· Healy also mentioned to the group that he is helping establish a Block Watch group on 12th Ave SW near Mount View. He added, “They feel like they’re being held captive,” so he wants to see them get started.

· Healy announced that the White Center/South Delridge Community Safety Coalition is now on Facebook; he urged those at the meeting to send a friend request.

· Dick Thurnau, with Friends of Hicks Lake, updated the group on his plan to approach the King County Council to take action on contamination levels in the lake. He noted that this is an ongoing issue, a danger to the community. Thurnau plans to meet with new County Councilmember Joe McDermott. He asked the group if they would attend the presentation to the Council (a date has not yet been set). By show of hands, the group agreed.

· One member asked about “a strategy to build the populace of this coalition”; in the discussion that followed, Sean Healy mentioned that he had talked with a Girl Scout troop leader about conducting a community assessment of the youth; “What do they see?” and “What do they want to see?” Someone followed with the suggestion of trying to obtain a grant that could focus on generating more participation from youth.

Following up on topics from earlier meetings:

· Liquor license renewals – the announcement that Center Market chose not to renew their license received a round of applause at the meeting. However, there are still issues with chronic inebriates hanging out at the Chevron station next door…

· Liquor signage regulations – they discussed supporting and thanking the businesses that do follow the regulations and bringing pressure to bear on businesses that don’t.

· Enforcement of drinking in parks – Dick Thurnau reiterated some of the problems in Lakewood Park; “YouTube them” was one suggestion in reply. Someone else added a word about budget cuts.

· Club Evo – Pat Price said that the Sheriff has run some quick stats and noted a 40% drop in police calls since it’s been closed.

New business: Co-chair Angela Rambo had two items of note:

· A focus group recently surveyed White Center families what they needed; they plan to send Rambo the final results, but the preliminary report is that these “are doable needs, very small things”.

· Angela Rambo has e-mailed both Starbucks and Tully’s to suggest that they consider opening a new location on the northwest corner of 16th and Roxbury. To date, Starbucks has acknowledged her email, but Tully’s has not. Rambo hopes that others will echo that request to show these companies that there is strong community support.

The business portion of the meeting wrapped up around 7 p.m. with an invitation to stay afterward, socialize and have a bite to eat.

The White Center Community Safety Coalition generally meets on the 4th Thursday of each month, from 6 to 8 p.m., in the DSHS building at 9650 15th Ave SW in the second floor lobby. This meeting wrapped up their first year in this venue; they plan to reconvene there on January 27th.

According to this KIRO TV report, officers checking for a possible gun on campus have led to a lockdown at Evergreen High School and Cascade Middle School. No report of anyone being hurt; we are checking with King County Sheriff’s Office to find out more about the incident. AFTERNOON UPDATE: KIRO reports the searches didn’t turn up on anything.