White Center Now: The blog about White Center

It was the WCCDA that started the program to address graffiti in White Center over 15 years ago. And in partnership with the CDA, the Chamber initiated and completed 15 murals from 2010-2012. We raised money from our members, coordinated efforts with the CDA during Spring Clean, worked with the Boy Scouts, Evergreen High art students, and the King County community service crews to make sure that graffiti was covered up quickly when discovered. We talked with businesses asking them to cover up tagging as soon as it is found. And we asked McClendons to save “oops” paint for our efforts. Last May during Spring Clean, we asked the CDA to allocate volunteers and our scout troop got rid of all the graffiti in the alley between 16th and 15th. It takes people who want to do the work, not people who only want to do the talk. It has all been done here before.

Gill,thank you for all you do! Although not advertised, your contribution to our community is unquestionable. You are a role model to many (unfortunately, not all) of us.

Actually, I was on the NHUAC for the four years prior to (2000-2004) and just as the WCCDA was created, and the re-painting of the business district was initiated and led by the then “new” WCCDA not the UAC. To suggest otherwise is not fact. The UAC leadership during that four year period was the former NH Fire Department chief who initiated and led the pro-Burien annexation effort, which has continued by Ms. Giba, the current Fire Department Commission and NHUAC President. The NHUAC endorsed Burien annexation in 2012 under Ms. Giba’s leadership. Also, I personally caught Ms. Giba and her friend at a WCCDA Summit several years ago with multiple electronic polling machines, trying to vote multiple times to indicate that more supported Burien annexation. When I caught her, she quickly took the extra machines out of her lap and stopped the attempt. I am an Eagle Scout, I am not making this up. To now try and shift the credit of the important mural and anti-graffiti work of the WCCDA and claim it for the NHUAC seems interesting to say the least.

Actually I mentioned the fact because I figured that someone (like Barbara), who was not there, would claim that the incident did not occur. It did. You weren’t there Barbara, so using your words, it appears to me that you are the one making the “angry, baseless, false claim”?

I have followed Mr Ufkes career in the White Center Area for more than 20 years. And he is a disgrace to Eagle Scouting and the boy scouts of America. He constantly makes false or miss leading statements and I have personally heard him threaten people of highline and white center during and after some of the meetings in the area. Mr Ufkes is a land speculator and will do almost any thing to promote his ideas and his wants. He has no real interest in the area except for his own betterment. He totally destroyed the White Center Chamber in 2 years. Which I thought was a little slow for him as I thought he would do it in one year he would do it one one year. The true people of Highline need to question his actions and statements very closely. Thanks. Bob

Final comment on this “reply” trail: Thank you to the White Center Now Blog for letting this play out.

Mr. Price, I have never threatened anyone with physical violence as you are suggesting. Ever. I did make a political comment to Ms. Giba at the recent Boundary Review Board hearing, informing her that I was going to make sure that the community knows about her many, in my view, caustic actions over the years towards anyone who does not agree with Ms. Giba’s strong support of Burien annexation. It was not a physical threat, it was a political threat. If she or anyone else misunderstood it, I am sorry.

In addition to the action by Ms. Giba, mentioned in an earlier post on this reply string, about polling at a White Center Summit, Ms. Giba also spent a year trying to undue and relocate the new White Center library out of its beautiful new location on SW 108th in White Center, demanding that the library board relocate the White Center library further south into Burien. Ms. Giba argued against building our new library across the street from our elementary school. Instead, she tried to push it away from our kids because she hoped that a location in Burien would help her quest to be annexed by Burien.

My interaction with Ms. Giba all started in a public meeting over a decade ago, where I stated publicly that we should learn about what both Burien and Seattle could offer through annexation, because at the time both cities were an annexation option. This was prior our voters soundly rejecting Burien annexation by 65% in 2012. Burien has now dropped its interest in annexing us, much to Ms. Giba’s consternation.

After the meeting, Ms. Giba (whom I had never met) came up to me, got within four inches of my face, and started screaming at me. “Who do you think you are, etc. etc. First impressions are important to me, and as a result of this outburst, I have avoided Ms. Giba whenever possible. And proudly, I have challenged her views and actions, and the views and actions of anyone else, whenever I felt that they were not in the best interests of White Center or a viable long-term governance plan that will make White Center reach its wonderful potential.

Thank you again to the White Center Now Blog for allowing me to share this bit of White Center history.

Sincerely,

Mark Ufkes
White Center resident

Some interesting background information on Mark Ufkes.

http://www.highlinetimes.com/2013/10/29/news/pro-seattle-annexation-pac-backs-wagner-armstrong