White Center Now: The blog about White Center

(UPDATED FRIDAY AFTERNOON with victim’s identity)

ORIGINAL 9:54 PM REPORT: King County Sheriff’s Office reports one person shot near 9th SW and SW 100th. We’re on our way to find out more.

10:53 PM: We just talked with KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West at the scene – here’s the video:

She confirms the victim is dead – still in the street, wrapped in a tarp. She says he’s a black man who appears to be in his 40s. Detectives are just starting their investigation so the intersection of 9th and 100th will be closed for a while, and they won’t be calling the Medical Examiner to get the victim’s body until they are done with their work.

A nearby resident tells us he heard two gunshots around 9:10 pm.

12:41 AM: Sgt. West now says the victim appears to be “late 30s – early 40s.”

2:41 PM: Just checked with Sgt. West and she says there’s no official new information. (See the comment section for updates from nearby resident RJ.)

3:25 PM: The King County Medical Examiner has identified the victim as 42-year-old James Nickerson, Jr.; cause of death, “multiple firearm injuries.”

6:43 AM: From King County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West:

Just before 1 am, King County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a burglary alarm at Cascade Middle School in the 11200 block of 10 Ave SW in White Center.

When deputies arrived, they found at least 2 windows had been broken out and it appeared the suspect(s) were still inside the school. The suspect(s) ran as deputies entered the school.

While searching the school, deputies found 2 small fires that had been set. (North Highline Fire District) responded to extinguish the fires.

King County detectives are investigating the burglary and arsons and said the school had been broken into once before within the last couple of weeks. A fire had been started at that break-in also.

10:12 AM UPDATE: We went by the school, which is open. Out front, we saw both the “ARSON” sign shown atop this story, and the multiple school-security cars in the photo above this line. We’ll be following up with KCSO later today.

After five years, Company Bar in downtown White Center will close in two weeks, its proprietor Jesse Lovell just announced via this Facebook post:

Ok folks. Here goes. It has been an amazing five years serving this community, being a part of this community and growing with this community and I am endlessly grateful to all of you who have been a part of my life here at Company Bar in beautiful downtown White Center. I’m guessing you know where this is going, if you don’t know already, but it’s true, Company Bar is closing.

This has been an extremely difficult and painful decision for me to make, but it is the right choice for me and my daughter. Anyone who knows me understands that I have given this bar everything I have and more, but the circumstances of my life are such that I can’t give it everything it needs and it is time for me to step away. I am so proud of what we as a community have built here: our softball team, Rat City Recon, Rat City Royals, the concerts, the fundraisers, the art shows, the friendships formed, the eating and drinking and good times and all of the rock and roll. So much rock and roll. It has been a wild ride, to say the least, and it hurts my heart to walk away, but please trust that this is the right thing for me and the right thing for the bar.

I am currently considering some attractive offers and I’m confident that the right person or people will take the reins. February 29th will be our last day and I will do everything I can to facilitate a smooth transition for the bar to reopen quickly under new ownership. Until then, it will be business as usual. A huge thanks goes out to my fiercely loyal crew and together we are going to pack as much fun as we can into these next two weeks and we hope you join us in closing this chapter with a bang.

Love always,
Jesse

Company opened to much acclaim in January 2011.

(WCN photo)
2:03 PM: Big fire response in Top Hat this afternoon, at the convenience store in the 11000 block of 1st Avenue South. Along with North Highline Fire District, the Seattle Fire Department sent help via mutual aid. Our crew is there and says there’s not much damage visible from outside but crews are using fans to ventilate the mini-mart. Also, SW 112th is blocked right now because of the response. Regional media is at the scene too and we’re expecting a briefing shortly with details of what happened.

2:27 PM: Firefighters tell us that the fire involved vehicles behind the mini-mart, which explains why nothing’s obvious from the front. Our crew is finding out more from the chief at the scene right now.

ADDED: From comments – Erik’s video taken early on during the fire:

Thanks to Gill for the tip – we just checked out a crash that blocked northbound 16th SW for a while at the intersection with SW 102nd. King County Sheriff’s Deputies told us at the scene that four vehicles were involved but no one was seriously hurt. Right now, as of 3:40 pm, they’re about to tow the last vehicle, so the intersection should be fully open again shortly.

P.S. Breaking-news tips for White Center (and West Seattle) are welcome at any time – text or call 206-293-6302 – thank you!.

No voting for this area today, but the King County Elections ballot van is at Greenbridge as usual, until 8 pm – just over the line in the Seattle Public Schools district, today is a special election for two levies. We stopped by to photograph Joe and Mary at the van, 9720 8th SW; as of noon, they had received 49 ballots.

From Southwest Little League – it’s signup day!

Registration for the Southwest Little League begins Saturday, February 6th and 13th, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm, at the Log Cabin at Steve Cox Memorial Ball Park. All boys and girls between the ages of 4 and 16 are welcome. If your child lives or attends school between SW Juneau St. and 128th St. SW you are probably within the Southwest Little League boundary! Divisions include T-Ball, Coach-Pitch, Minors, Majors, 50/70 and Juniors. Tryouts for Minor & Major divisions will be held Saturday, February 20th, 2016, at Steve Cox Memorial Ball Park. Please visit www.southwestlittleleague.org for more information about signing up for Southwest Little League.

By Tracy Record
White Center Now editor

Tonight’s meeting of the Westwood-Roxhill-Arbor Heights Community Council focused on future planning for not only the southernmost part of the area the group covers, but also White Center, since the group – WWRHAH for short – thinks the two areas should be looked at as potentially one, given the possibility of annexation.

During the meeting, new information about that possibility came to light. Kenny Pittman, long a City of Seattle point person on annexation, said it looks like the State Legislature is going to pass a new tax-credit incentive for annexation – higher than the previous one; he said it’s made it out of the Senate and is expected to win passage in the House.

If that is finalized – and if the Seattle City Council votes to pursue annexation – he expected it could go to a vote in North Highline as soon as November 2017. But the council isn’t necessarily a lock; underscoring that, the new West Seattle/South Park City Councilmember, Lisa Herbold, was in the audience. Her position toward annexation during the campaign was less than enthusiastic.

In the meantime, the proposal has been introduced to the King County Boundary Review Board but won’t be moved forward in the process until and unless the tax credit is finalized, Pittman said.

North Highline Unincorporated Area Council president Barbara Dobkin, at the WWRHAH meeting as was NHUAC board member Pat Price, told Pittman he needed to come to this community with an update, since even the tax-credit status was news to them.

The first Thursday of the month brings a board meeting for the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council this month, rather than a full-scale community meeting. Announced by president Barbara Dobkin:

North Highline Unincorporated Area Council will not be holding a regular monthly meeting on Thursday, 2/4. We will instead be holding a board meeting at White Center Pizza at 6:30 – the public is invited. We will resume our regular monthly meetings on Thursday, March 3. Please check the NHUAC website for details: northhighlineuac.org
WC Pizza and Spaghetti House is at 10231 16th SW.

An inspiring and emotional art show is on the way to White Center, per this announcement:

Art Gallery: Stories of Refugees and Immigrants

Dubsea Coffee
9910 8th Ave SW

Reception: February 11th 6-9PM, Gallery: February

The “visual stories” in this exhibit bear witness to the memories, struggles and dreams of refugees, asylees and immigrants of diverse ethnicities who now call White Center home. Their paintings illustrate that emotions conveyed and evoked by a single image can tell a story of a thousand words, build bridges of understanding and promote peaceful coexistence.

Thanks to a generous grant from 4Culture; the leadership of White Center Community Development Association, King County Library System and Network for Integrating New Americans; and the support of our visual storytelling workshop hosts at South Seattle College, New Futures Arbor Heights, King County Housing Authority Seola Gardens, Cascade Middle School and Highline College, we were able to offer a series of eight workshops to representatives of White Center’s foreign-born communities.

Initially, workshop participants questioned why anyone would care about their stories. Yet the more they reflected on the often daunting challenges they had overcome, the more their self-confidence grew. Soon, they began to believe in the power of their (visual) voices. Their stories did matter. In fact, they could help those who would follow in their footsteps as well as those who continue to face human rights abuses and/or extreme poverty in their native lands.

This exhibit offers never-before-seen glimpses into the life-stories of White Center’s refugees and immigrants. Drawn into their inner worlds, we receive clues to what it’s like to leave—or be forced to flee—one’s native land and rebuild one’s life in a foreign country. After reflecting on the paintings and accompanying captions, you too will be moved to honor the courage, resilience and irrepressible hope of those who contributed, often bravely.

At the end of the exhibit you will find a brief feedback form. We would be grateful if you could share your reactions and offer any words of encouragement for the workshop participants.

Finally, we would like to thank Dubsea Coffee for hosting this exhibit through the end of February. Please join us 6:00-9:00 pm, Friday, February 11, for the reception, an opportunity to learn more about the workshops and hear from some of the participants.

Erika Berg
Workshop Facilitator and Guest Curator

Sorry for the short notice, but this just came in this afternoon:

Open house at Sky’s Barber Shop in the business district. 9650 16th Ave SW, today, Thursday, January 28, 2016 – starts at 6 pm, ends around 10 pm.

Food, drinks, and getting to know each other.

The chamber has been inactive for some time and is revitalized and working diligently to reconnect with the community of White Center.

Phnom Khiev Market will soon shut its doors for a final time, ending a five-year run as one of the area’s most-diverse grocery stores. Known for carrying a wide selection of Mexican, Chinese, and southeast Asian grocery items, the market has been a reflection of the multicultural population that surrounds it.

Manager Cha Khiev told WCN that store leadership decided against renewing the store’s lease for the building at the corner of 16th Avenue SW and the SW White Center Cutoff when it ends in February. “It’s a lot of work and too much overhead,” says Khiev. “We decided it’s just not worth it.”

There had been outside speculation that a rent increase was forcing the market from its space. Khiev says no, that particular change was “normal.” A more-unwelcomed change cited by Khiev as a contributing factor was “too many problems around White Center.” Khiev says he has noticed a marked increase in the number of transients in the area, which has led to some general negative perception of the area surrounding the market.

When asked if he know whether the landlord had a new tenant for the space, Khiev said he didn’t know for certain.

As of our conversation with the manager, there was no set final day of business for Phnom Khiev; a customer tells us they were told this is the last week. Earlier in the month, management was allowing inventory to dwindle to the point where it no longer makes sense to open. In the meantime, only meat and vegetables were being restocked.

–Randall Hauk, reporting for White Center Now

After texts wondering about the big King County Sheriff’s Office response at 15th and Roxbury, we went over to check out what was up. Deputies were searching a car at the Texaco station on the southwest corner of the intersection. They tell us it’s a stolen car. If you see somebody pulled over and a sizable law enforcement turnout, that’s often the case – a so-called “felony stop” (since auto theft is a felony) calls for backup. We’ll check tomorrow on whether anything else was found and whether arrests were made (at least one suspect was being questioned).

For the second time this morning, a driver has hit a White Center storefront. Earlier, it was Noble Barton; then at mid-morning, the Smoke Shop on the other side of the 9600 block of 16th SW. No injuries this time, either; it was a case of mistaking the accelerator for the brake, we were told at the scene. No interruption in shop operations.

(WCN photos)
8:34 AM: Thanks to Matt for the tip – a car crashed into the front door of Noble Barton in downtown White Center early this morning. We went by a little while ago to check on whether that would affect the popular restaurant/bar’s operations today. Short answer: No, they’ll be open as usual. Nobody hurt.

We’re checking with the King County Sheriff’s Office to find out what happened to the driver, who the folks at NB told us was reported to be suspected of DUI.

11:01 AM: Just procured information from KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West:

This morning about 2:15 we responded to the NOBLE BARTON business at 9635 16 Ave Sw. Someone called and said a green Ford, SUV had done a hit and run at the Noble Barton bar at that location.

About 2:26 Seattle Fire called us and said they had a woman in the 7100 block of 30 Ave SW who said she had been involved in a collision. She had been driving a green Ford Explorer. The woman told Seattle Fire that after the accident she had returned to her house in the 7100 block of 30 Ave SW and called 911 to report the accident because she had sustained a head injury in the accident. The woman, a 57 year old local woman, was arrested for DUI and Hit and Run. She was transported to Highline Hospital for treatment and was not booked this morning due to her injury.

It’s been years since the county warned North Highline residents that the roads were in sad shape and bound to get sadder due to money trouble. Late today, the county announced the results of work by its Bridges and Roads Task Force to try to figure out how to fix that. The package is a big one, with reports and recommendations – read about it here. Short version – it suggests regional, even statewide solutions, that range from new taxes to trying to cut road-repair costs via prison labor; the full final report is here. The task force members are listed here (no NH names jump out at us, but let us know if we missed someone).

Can you spare some time to help students improve their reading skills? Reading Partners is looking for you – on behalf of 36 students awaiting tutors at Beverly Park Elementary School:

Reading Partners is a nonprofit literacy organization that recruits and trains community volunteers to work one-on-one with elementary students who are behind grade level benchmarks in reading. At each of our school sites we have a dedicated reading center where all tutoring takes place. Volunteers are asked to commit to as little as one-hour of tutoring each week. We ask that each volunteer commits to the same one-hour to work with the same student weekly. During every session tutors follow a structured, research-based curriculum with the support of a full-time AmeriCorps Site Coordinator. Additionally, we offer initial and on-going training and support for every volunteer.

Anyone interested in getting involved can follow this link to sign up or contact Reading Partners at volunteerSEA@readingpartners.org.

RP says Beverly Park (1201 South 104th) has 36 students awaiting a tutor. Tutoring runs 10 am-3:35 pm Mondays-Thursdays.

By Jordan Anderton
UW NewsLab / Special to White Center Now

White Center’s Dick Thurnau Memorial Park is gaining a traffic garden this May.

The traffic garden will be a place for children and adults to learn traffic laws and the rules of the road on both foot and bike. White Center community members weighed in at a public meeting last Thursday, discussing community goals and the next steps for the project.

While traffic gardens are common in Northern European countries, this will be the first for Washington state and one of a few in the U.S. Traffic gardens were created with communal activity in mind and are essentially streetscapes painted to scale in parks to facilitate proper road practices.

Cascade Bicycle Club (CBC), the YES! Foundation of White Center, King County Parks, and Alta Planning + Design have worked alongside White Center community members to have the traffic garden represent current community goals brought up by residents.

There were four goals distinguished within the community: quality education, access to affordable housing, access to livable wages and strong, healthy families. The traffic garden will provide an outlet for creating and maintaining strong and healthy families.

“Community members can expect a facility designed for fun, learning, and inspiration. It’s very important that this be a collaborative process that is for and of the community. Having the community voice and participation is the key to (our) success,” said Ed Ewing of CBC at the meeting.

Ewing opened the meeting with a brief overview of the traffic garden design plans. The traffic garden will replace what were described as minimally used tennis courts at the park. Construction of the traffic garden is not expected to affect the existing disc-golf course at the park, but ways to improve that course were discussed in order to fit both intended uses. Bike-polo possibilities were mentioned as well.

Safety was a large concern voiced throughout the meeting. Those in charge of design promised that there would be proper fencing to distinguish between both the traffic garden and disc golf course.

Steve Durrant from Alta, leading the design of the traffic garden, turned to meeting-goers to sketch ideas for what artwork they would like to incorporate and write comments about challenges or concerns they anticipate.

“Instead of having (instruction done in a parking lot) with cones, we will have (the traffic garden) painted to scale, created just for the purpose of teaching kids and adults roadways. This will allow for easy usage for bikes, toy cars, and walking, so you get the whole experience.” Durrant emphasized inclusiveness in this learning environment.

The project team stressed their desire for the traffic garden to represent the White Center community’s multi-cultural diversity. “We came up with the idea of a global village feel, to include all members and cultures of our community, including our history of being on Duwamish land,” said Tiffany Mowatt, who works with both YES! and White Center Community Development Association, was born and raised in White Center.

Butch Lovelace, program manager at King County Parks, anticipates a positive response from White Center community members: “We hope it is used by many people; we will be able to provide bikes to those that don’t own one. We hope people who may not otherwise consider learning how to ride a bike do so. It can be transformative. Cascade is a great organization, so we hope people take advantage of their programming, but we also hope people just drop in and use the facility.”

The traffic garden continues to seek community input via Cascade Bicycle Club, with more outreach – including youth engagement – to come.

We mentioned three months ago that this was in the works – and now the first public meeting about it will bring out lots of information. Tomorrow (Thursday) night, you’re invited to come hear about the “traffic garden” planned at Dick Thurnau Memorial Park. From the King County Parks website:

In collaboration with King County Parks, White Center CDA, the YES Foundation and other community partners, Cascade Bicycle Club is building the state’s first traffic garden in Dick Thurnau Memorial Park. The park already has a happenin’ disk golf course but an often forgotten tennis court which allows for the perfect space to build a traffic garden. Come to the meeting to see the proposals and give your feedback We would love to hear your input!

Hold up, what’s a traffic garden? It’s a miniature streetscape for youth and adults to learn to practice bike handling and traffic safety. Although the concept is relatively new in the United States, traffic gardens have been in use in other countries for many years (see video above). They are particularly helpful in learning appropriate bike etiquette. Bikes are becoming much more common in King County and with new confusing systems such as bike boxes (those giant green squares) it’s so important for cyclists to understand the rules of the road. Once the facility is built, Cascade will offer youth and adult bicycling programs at the traffic garden.

The meeting is tomorrow night, 5:30-7:30 pm at Dick Thurnau Park in the TAF Bethaday Community Learning Space (605 SW 108th).

The King County Sheriff’s Office confirms that an investigation continues into the death of a woman whose body was found inside her White Center home last weekend, apparently weeks after her death. KCSO had been called by someone who noticed a door had been open for at least a day at the house in the 1800 block of SW 98th, and realized the resident hadn’t been seen in a while. KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West tells WCN, “Deputies responded and once inside they found the resident, who appeared to have been dead for weeks. Some windows had been open on the house and it appeared as though someone had gone through drawers etc. We don’t know if this occurred before or after the death of the woman.” The case remains investigation, and the county Medical Examiner is working to determine what caused the woman’s death.