White Center Now: The blog about White Center

(Dancing in the street outside Center Studio during 8/2013 Block Party)
From Vy Nguyen at the White Center Community Development Association:

Downtown White Center will be kicking off summer with a block party on June 14th, Saturday, going from 3 p.m. until dusk with many activities for attendees of all ages. The June event boasts pop up shopping with Maker’s Market at Center Studio, a beer garden at Big Al Brewing, Metal Skate Night at Southgate Skating Rink along with live bands at several other local favorite establishments (Triangle Pub, Company Bar, Rat City Records, and Full Tilt to name a few), and the most delicious way to enjoy White Center with a $2 food walk.

Local non-profits White Center Community Development Association (WCCDA) and White Center Chamber of Commerce (WCCC) along with local business owners hope to build upon last year’s block party in August 2013, which was organized as part of National Night Out. The neighborhood was busier than many had ever seen with hundreds of attendees on a warm summer evening coming to White Center for the first time, or with residents who wanted to come, support their neighbors’ business or be part of something fun in their neighborhood.

Lead organizer this year is WCCC Board member and business owner of Herban Legends, Chris Cody, says, “I just think folks should come out and see what all the great businesses here in White Center have to offer.” Cody, along with the rest of the WCCC, the WCCDA, and local business owners hope to organize another – bigger and better — block party in White Center later this summer in August.

Stay updated with the June Block Party on their event page or by connecting with the White Center Chamber of Commerce on Facebook. All inquiries can also be directed to Vy Nguyen of WCCDA via e-mail (vy@wccda.org).

On our partner site West Seattle Blog, we’re covering a house fire at Delridge/Barton. This is of potential interest to WC for two main reasons: #1, you might notice the TV helicopter hovering overhead; #2, Delridge is blocked at the scene, so if you are heading north toward West Seattle, try an alternate route, like 8th SW or 35th SW.

As the flyer shows, the next North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting is less than a week away. And it’s a hot topic in more ways than one, as announced by NHUAC president Barbara Dobkin:

When: Thursday, June 5 – 7 pm
Where: North Highline Fire Station – 1243 112th Street SW

Please plan on joining us for an important community discussion regarding the future of our North Highline Fire District (NHFD). The residents of North Highline will have an opportunity to vote in August on a “Benefit Charge” to provide much needed support our NHFD. Fire Chief Mike Marrs will provide information on the past, present and future of fire district and what impact the Benefit Charge will have on property owners as well as the fire district.

We will also have our White Center Storefront Deputy BJ Myers on hand to provide updates on crime trends – this is a great time to share your concerns regarding community safety.

Just in from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office – 28-year-old Drurell J. Collier is charged with first-degree murder in the Memorial Day shooting death of 23-year-old Excalibur Scott near 2nd and Myers in Top Hat. Here’s our original report; here’s our followup, in which authorities alleged that Scott was going to “record” a fight between Collier and another man. The charging documents just made public say Scott’s phone instead recorded Collier shooting him after shouting, “You want something to film?” Collier is also charged with second-degree assault against the man he was supposed to “fight” that day, and also with burglary for breaking into a nearby home. Prosecutors requested that his $750,000 bail be raised to $2 million. More to come as we review the documents.

ADDED: Here’s the story the documents tell – As noted before, the suspect and victim were walking with people they knew. Another man came up and accused Collier of stealing from a relative of his. The two began to argue, and the group moved on to 2nd on the south side of Myers. The fourth man in the group told investigators that Collier and the other man agreed to solve the disagreement with a fight; he asked Collier to turn over the gun he knew Collier was carrying, but Collier refused. Excalibur Scott pulled out his cell phone to get the fight on video. The fourth man said he was walking away when he heard a gunshot and saw Scott fall to the ground, then saw Collier run away, with the other man chasing him. When deputies arrived, they were told of someone matching Collier’s description running through their yards. They found him a few blocks away in what turned out to be his parents’ home.

A witness to the shooting identified him, and they arrested him, finding seven .22 caliber bullets in one of his pockets; Collier’s parents told deputies a .22-caliber Derringer handgun had disappeared from their home a week earlier, and that they suspected their son of taking it.
Later, investigators discovered that Collier had gone to his brother’s home in the same area just before going to his parents’ home, and had changed his clothes there, leaving behind another pair of pants, this one with two .22-caliber bullets in a pocket.

And they found that a nearby house had been broken into, with a custom-designed sweatshirt missing – one found on Collier when he was arrested.

More to come …

If you have something to shred, you’ll be able to do that for free June 7th at PB&J Textiles, now open at the former South End Florist location at 10728 16th SW. They’re offering free shredding 9 am-1 pm that day in honor of White Center Spring Clean Day, and as part of an open-house event:

Bring (up to 4 boxes per person) of paper you would like to have securely shredded. In addition to the shredding, we’ll be open to show the community all the great things PB&J brings to White Center. Plus, stop in for a special PB&J ice cream cone from Full Tilt Ice Cream. We’ll have goodie bags, drawings and other fun activities.

Here’s a Facebook event you can join if you’ll need a reminder!

(WCN photo from Monday)
The man arrested in connection with Monday’s deadly shooting in Top Hat remains jailed after a hearing today, and the King County Medical Examiner’s Office has made the victim’s name public: Excalibur Scott, 23 years old.

King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office spokesperson Dan Donohoe says the 28-year-old suspect did not appear at today’s hearing in a jailhouse courtroom, but the judge ruled there is probable cause to hold him on suspicion of second-degree murder. According to documents presented in the case, based on police reports, the suspect was walking with Scott and another man when the suspect “became involved in an argument with a fourth male … over an alleged theft or burglary. (The suspect and the fourth man) agreed to fight over the allegation and (victim Scott) was to have reportedly recorded this fight.” Before it began, the suspect was said to be in possession of a .22 caliber chrome Derringer handgun. During the fight, the documents say, Scott was shot in the chest and died at the scene. The suspect ran off and was arrested nearby. The investigation continues; a bail hearing for the suspect is set for tomorrow. Records do not show any felony convictions for him in this state, but he spent a day in jail last month related to a warrant for failing to appear in connection with an obstruction-of-justice case from last fall.

WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Bail for the suspect is now set at $750,000. We should find out about charges on Thursday.

(WCN photos by Patrick Sand)
5:24 PM: A homicide investigation is under way in the 10700 block of Myers Way S. (map) in Top Hat, east of White Center. Discussion monitored via scanner earlier indicated that a shooting suspect was taken into custody in the 10800 block of 8th S. That’s all we know so far, but the King County Sheriff’s Office’s spokesperson Sgt. DB Gates is en route and our crew should have more information soon.

5:57 PM UPDATE: Sgt. Gates told media at the scene that the suspect and victim, both in their 20s, both live in the area where the shooting happened and had been in a dispute over some kind of “property.” They are still questioning the suspect; the shooting happened outdoors and the victim’s body has not yet been removed from the scene.

7:14 PM: Added video of the full briefing by Sgt. Gates (above).

Got another question on Friday about what’s going into the former White Center Blockbuster Video at 16th/107th, which closed back in February 2013. County records bring the answer: A dental company from Eastern Washington plans to open a clinic with eight chairs. We’ll be contacting the company to see if we can find out more about the timetable; they just had a “pre-construction conference” with the county three weeks ago.

The King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One was back in the general White Center area again earlier this afternoon, and we’ve just confirmed details of what was going on: According to KCSO spokesperson Sgt. DB Gates, deputies briefly pursued a car that had been stolen near Mount View Elementary, in the 12th/108th vicinity. The suspected thief abandoned the car – a Honda CR-V – and ran; he was arrested in the vicinity of SW 98th and 15th SW.

Save the date – you’re invited to a carnival at White Center’s Mount View Elementary on June 6th, with two schools getting a boost from it! Here’s the announcement:

The public is invited to attend the Mount View Elementary Carnival, benefiting its PTA and its sister school in Honduras.

Money raised at the carnival will go to Light of Esperanza, a non-profit that is renovating the village school in Vega Redonda, Honduras, Mount View’s sister school. A portion of the proceeds will go to the school’s PTA for the 2014-2015 school year.

The carnival will also celebrate the scholastic achievements of Mount View students throughout the school year.

“These students deserve recognition and a reward for all of their hard work,” said Reading Instructor Shoshanna Cohen. “What better way to do so than with a day of fun with the Seattle community.”

Carnival details:
• Mount View Elementary School

• 10811 12th Avenue SW, Seattle, WA 98146

• Friday, June 6

• 5-7 p.m.

Event activities include carnival games and prizes, face painting, circus acts with lessons, live music, art projects, raffle drawing, and more. Carnival game tickets will be $0.50 per game. Many students earned free tickets at school based on good grades and behavior. Raffle tickets will be $1.

That video is part of a brand-new crowdfunding campaign in hopes of raising money to get ukuleles for students at White Center Heights Elementary School – watch it to get their thanks in advance, and then go here to contribute.

Thanks to everybody who has tipped us that Guardian One – the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter, which assists other law-enforcement agencies too – had been circling in the North Shorewood/White Center/east Arbor Heights area. KCSO spokesperson Sgt. DB Gates tells us they were helping investigate what she describes as an assault case involving people who know each other and were in “a disagreement over money owed.” Patrol deputies are still investigating on the ground, but the helicopter should be gone now.

After a bit of an unscheduled break, we’re back. Big day at the White Center Library, in case you are looking for things to do – three events on the schedule: Game On! 3-5 pm, Homework Help 5-7, Somali Story Time for all ages, 6:30-7 pm. P.S. All branches of the library will be closed for Memorial Day on Monday.

Next Friday – May 16th – is this year’s Bike To Work Day, and as the map from the Cascade Bicycle Club shows, there are two “commute stations” in White Center again this year, at Dubsea Coffee in Greenbridge, and on 16th SW in the heart of the main business district. Click either marker on the map for details on what you’ll find.

Just a quick invitation to head north and shop West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day tomorrow (9 am-3 pm Saturday, May 10th) – more than 280 sales of all sizes, just a few miles away. In Arbor Heights and Shorewood, they’re even closer – just to the west – check out the online and printable versions of the map, including classified-ad-style listings for each one highlighting featured items, by going here.

Out of the WCN inbox:

OSO FUNDRAISER at the White Center Eagles, Saturday, May 10th, from 12 Noon to 4 PM. Mod Men will entertain from 2PM to 4 PM (a sixties rock band). Hydro Bob is bringing down his hydroplane simulator – a real hydroplane that you can virtually pilot around Lake Washington for $10 ($5 to Oso fund). We’ll have Roasted Smoked Pig with side dishes for $10 a plate, plus beef ribs or barbequed chicken by the piece. 10245 15th Ave SW, 206-248-1400. Eagle members and your guests, please join us.

We got a question about King County Sheriff’s Office activity in the 6th/106th area. Just checked and we’ve learned it was a search for burglar(s) in the neighborhood. Though a K-9 team and helicopter joined the search, no arrests, and some of the units are starting to leave. We’re also seeing via Facebook that Cascade Middle School was in a modified lockdown for a little while earlier this afternoon, and believe that was the same incident.

Memorial plans are now finalized for Dick Thurnau, the longtime White Center resident and community activist who died earlier this week. His family shares that news and this remembrance:

Dick Thurnau, 89, a strong advocate for the White Center community, passed away peacefully on May 4, 2014.

He was born February 17, 1925 in Pingree Grove, IL, the 6th son of Alice & John Thurnau. He graduated from Edison Technical Institute in Seattle and served in the Army in the South Pacific in WWII from 1943 to the end of the war in 1946. Upon his return home, he married Helen Grisham of Illinois, on April 25, 1946. On their honeymoon they traveled by train to Seattle where they made their home. Dick worked for Mack Trucks starting as a mechanic and working his way up to Manager of Service Engineering for the Mack Western Division in Hayward, California. He retired in 1980 with 30 years of service, moving back to Seattle & the home he bought in 1948. He loved woodworking and made many beautiful things for family and friends. He worked tirelessly for his group called Friends of Hicklin Lake to clean up the lake water and the surrounding park & neighborhoods. He was also an ardent supporter of TAF (Technology Access Foundation, a school which teaches young people about technology), which is now located at the edge of the Lakewood Park Property. He will truly be missed by many.

Dick had four children, Terry Thurnau, deceased (Wendy Schufreider), Kathleen Dombrowski (Joseph), Marvin Thurnau (Sue) & Cheri Buettner (Gordon), 8 grandchildren, Robert, Jennifer, Todd, Jennifer, Cynthia, Mandy, Samuel, Suzanne, 12 great grandchildren Tim, Kevin, Hayden, Jacob, Sawyer, Trevor, Tyler, Meranda, Crystal, MacArthur, Marshall, Lucas, Abigail and 1 great, great grandchild, Adrian.

He is also survived by Marcia Wollam, a significant partner with Dick and who has assisted him with his community efforts, especially with the Floating Islands that are now part of Hicklin Lake.

A memorial service will be held at 2 pm, Friday, May 9th, at the Technology Access Foundation Building, 605 SW 108th, Seattle, WA 98146. To honor Dick and in lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be sent to TAF at the same address.

(Also published on partner site West Seattle Blog)

Dozens of local nonprofits are participating in today’s GiveBIG one-day donation drive coordinated by the Seattle Foundation. Whatever money you give TODAY ONLY to any or all of the participating nonprofits is not only a big help all by itself, it also boosts their eligibility for a “stretch pool” of partial matching funds, to be distributed proportionately depending on how much each participating nonprofit raises during GiveBIG, by 11:59 pm tonight. BIG catch: You **must** donate through the special pages all participants have on the foundation’s website, NOT via their own websites. So again this year, here’s our list of those special pages for participating White Center, West Seattle, and South Park-based or -founded/-connected nonprofits. The special links take you to pages on the Seattle Foundation website with background information, as well as the donation links to use for this one-day event. There’s also info below on a White Center-only event tonight – Dine Out for Hunger, raising money for the WC Food Bank.

ART FOR ANIMALS’ SAKE – go here

ARTS CORPS – go here

ARTSWEST – go here

ASSISTANCE LEAGUE OF SEATTLE – go here

DELRIDGE NEIGHBORHOODS DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION – go here

DENNY-SEALTH PERFORMING ARTS – go here

DUWAMISH RIVER CLEANUP COALITION/TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP– go here

ENVIRONMENTAL COALITION OF SOUTH SEATTLE – go here

ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CENTER – go here

FAUNTLEROY CHILDREN’S CENTER – go here

FRIENDS OF SEALTH – IB SCHOLARSHIP FUND– go here

HELPING LINK-MỘT DẤU NỐI – go here

HIGHLINE SCHOOLS FOUNDATION FOR EXCELLENCE – go here

KILLER WHALE TALES – go here

KING COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM FOUNDATION – go here

KOL HANESHAMAH – go here

MARRA FARM COALITION – go here

NATURE CONSORTIUM – go here

NAVOS – go here

NEIGHBORHOOD FARMERS MARKETS – go here (gifts of $50 & up will be matched, says NFMA)

NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE – go here

NONFICTION MEDIA– go here

NORTHWEST CENTER – go here

OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE SCHOOL – go here

PLUMBERS WITHOUT BORDERS – go here

PONGO PUBLISHING – go here

PROVIDENCE MOUNT ST. VINCENT FOUNDATION – go here

PUGET SOUNDKEEPER ALLIANCE – go here

SAFE FUTURES YOUTH CENTER – go here

SCHOOL OF ACROBATICS AND NEW CIRCUS ARTS – go here

SEAL SITTERS – This is an unusual path; you need to go to the Associated Recreational Council GiveBIG page, click donate, and then in COMMENTS, you must write that it’s for Seal Sitters (ARC is its fiscal sponsor)

SEA MAR COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTERS – go here

SEATTLE CHINESE GARDEN SOCIETY – go here

SEATTLE GLEE CLUBS – go here

SEATTLE PARKS FOUNDATION – go here

SEATTLE POLICE FOUNDATION – go here

SEATTLE PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION – go here

SEATTLE YOUTH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS – go here

SENIOR SERVICES – go here

SOUTH PARK AREA REDEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE – go here

SOUTH PARK INFORMATION AND RESOURCE CENTER – go here

SOUTH SEATTLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOUNDATION – go here

SOUTHWEST SEATTLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY – go here

SOUTHWEST YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES – go here

SPORTS IN SCHOOLS – go here

TECHNOLOGY ACCESS FOUNDATION – go here

THE SALVATION ARMY – KING COUNTY – go here

THE SERVICE BOARD – go here

THE VILLAGE OF HOPE – go here

THE WHALE TRAIL – go here

TRANSITIONAL RESOURCES – go here (matching-gift pool from their board, too!)

TWELFTH NIGHT PRODUCTIONS – go here

URBAN ARTWORKS – go here

WEST SEATTLE FOOD BANK – go here

WEST SEATTLE HELPLINE – go here

WEST SEATTLE JUNCTION ASSOCIATION – go here

WESTSIDE BABY – go here

WESTSIDE SCHOOL – go here

WHITE CENTER COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION – go here

WHITE CENTER FOOD BANK – go here – and again this year, WCFB has added events on GiveBIG day. This morning, there’s a donation station at Caffé Delia; then it’s Dine Out For Hunger, as announced by WCFB:

Several fabulous White Center restaurants will host Dine Out for Hunger events by donating a portion of their proceeds (today/tonight) to the White Center Food Bank. Grab a friend, a colleague, or a family member and head out for burgers at Zippy’s Giant Burgers, pizza at Proletariat Pizza, dinner and drinks at Company, ice cream at Full Tilt, or pub fare at Mac’s Triangle Pub. Look for White Center Food Bank staff board members at these locations, and come say hello!

According to the WCFB Facebook page, Meander’s Kitchen also has joined.

WHIT PRESS – go here

YES FOUNDATION OF WHITE CENTER – go here

WEST SEATTLE/FAUNTLEROY YMCA – go to the YMCA of Greater Seattle donation page and write in the comments that it’s for the West Seattle YMCA

YOUTH MEDIA INSTITUTE – go here

YOUTH VIOLENCE PREVENTION NETWORK – go here

YWCA OF SEATTLE-KING COUNTY – go here

Just last Friday, we reported here on King County Executive Dow Constantine‘s proclamation of “Dick Thurnau Day” in honor of the longtime community advocate, recently diagnosed with cancer. Sunday morning, Mr. Thurnau passed away, according to North Highline Unincorporated Area Council president Barbara Dobkin. No memorial information just yet but we expect to hear from Mr. Thurnau’s family soon. He was 89 years old.