White Center Now: The blog about White Center

(UPDATED 7:11 PM with top finishers, now that results are online)

(WCN photos by Patrick Sand)
FIRST REPORT, 10:57 AM: Hundreds of people showed themselves to be superheroes this morning – the theme of the second annual White Center 5K Run/Walk, a benefit for three local nonprofits. Our next photo features the executive directors of two – Sili Savusa from the WC Community Development Association and Rick Jump from the WC Food Bank:

Also getting a boost from the 5K, the YES Foundation of White Center. Costumes were encouraged, and more than a few participants got into the spirit:

Leading the pre-5K warmup, White Center’s own fitness superhero, Lonjina Verdugo of The Center Studio:

Watch for results here, later.

UPDATED 7:11 PM: The results are now posted. Of the 283 listed finishers, the top male finisher was Steven Colmus in 19:21; top female finisher, Lydia Ngai in 21:49.

Even if you’re not already registered, you can sign up starting at 8 am to be part of the second annual White Center 5K this morning – just get yourself to White Center Heights Park (7th SW & SW 102nd). Though online registration is over, you can scroll down this page for all the 5K information; runners start at 9 am (when results are available, they’ll be online here), walkers at 9:10. Proceeds benefit the White Center Food Bank, the White Center Community Development Association, and the YES Foundation of White Center.

(Wednesday night WCN photo)
10:30 PM: Just in from the King County Sheriff’s Office:

At about 3:40 P.M. on March 21st, King County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes detectives arrested an 18-year-old Seatac man in connection with the shooting death of a 17 year old in White Center on March 19, 2014. The detectives are not seeking any other suspects; however, they are encouraging additional witnesses of the shooting to come forward and contact the King County Sheriff’s Office by calling (206) 296-3311.

ADDED 11:20 PM: Court and jail records show the suspect spent five days in the King County Jail last December for investigation of burglary; it appears burglary charges were filed last month. We won’t be able to get details of that case until tomorrow, as the online court records are offline for several hours this time each night.

ADDED 9:04 AM SATURDAY: Court records are available now, and they show the suspect was awaiting trial after being charged in February with an October burglary in the 12200 block of 14th S. in Burien. The court documents say his prints were found at the scene, and that he had a record with a burglary charge while he was still a juvenile (he turned 18 last July), as well as a pending theft case from earlier this year.

Friends of the 17-year-old Burien boy shot and killed in White Center last night gathered tonight to remember him.

He was hit and killed by a bullet fired at the back of the car in which he was riding, according to investigators. No word of an arrest yet. Crimestoppers is offering a reward – reach them at 800-222-TIPS.

11:13 PM: We’re checking on the investigation that has SW Roxbury closed around 15th SW, according to a reader tip. King County Sheriff’s deputies are on the scene along with other law enforcers. Seattle Police had been investigating a report of shots fired on the city side an hour or so but there was no word of a victim. More as we get it.

11:29 PM: KING 5 reports one person was shot and is at Harborview.

12:13 AM: Just back from the scene. Roxbury is closed between 14th and 15th; deputies are in the street, looking for evidence. They confirm one person was shot.

No other official information so far.

5:48 AM: KING is now reporting that a 17-year-old boy was killed.

7:10 AM: KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West confirms this, saying that so far, it appears there was “some type of verbal altercation between a group of pedestrians and a group of males in a vehicle near Bartell’s at 15th/Roxbury. The suspect was with the group on foot. He fired rounds at the vehicle as it drove away. One round went through the car and struck a rear passenger. This 17 year-old victim later died at Harborview.”

11:11 AM: The full news release from KCSO:

A 17 year old Burien teen was shot and killed last night in White Center.

Police responded to the North Highline Fire Station in the 1200 block of SW 112th last night just after 10pm to a report of a teen shot in the back. When police arrived they learned that the victim and 3 others had been getting gas at a station near SW Roxbury and 15 Ave SW when they exchanged words with a group at a nearby bus stop.

As the group drove by the men near the bus stop one of the men opened fire, striking the vehicle and hitting the victim, who was seated in the rear passenger seat. The driver of the vehicle drove to the fire station to seek aid for the injured teen.

The victim, a Burien resident, was transported to Harborview Hospital where he died from his injuries. The suspect is described as a black male, approximately 6′, and was last seen wearing a gray hoodie.

If you have information about this crime please call the King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311 (24 hours) or you may remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000 by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-(800) 222-TIPS (8477)

10:35 PM: Thanks to Gill for the original tip on a helicopter search in the White Center/Highland Park vicinity. We kept getting texts from people on the Seattle side of the line and couldn’t find the helicopter for quite some time, until finally spotting Guardian One over the west side of Greenbridge around 9:30 pm. Found a sheriff’s deputy on the ground who told us they were looking for someone believed to be a suspect in an armed robbery at a produce stand earlier. We don’t know which produce stand – drove around looking through the business district to see if we might find any KCSO units on the ground to ask – will have to follow up on that tomorrow. Apologies for the lag in reporting here – we were able to publish to WSB via the smartphone but not here (usually isn’t a problem). We did tweet to the WCN Twitter account, which you can always check in times of breaking news – twitter.com/whitecenternow.

10:44 PM UPDATE: The Guardian One team just tweeted that the suspect they were seeking was not found. Description: “… male … about 5’9″, wearing a red hoody, blue jeans, wearing a black beanie.”

ADDED 9:36 AM WEDNESDAY: Here’s what KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West tells us: “(Last night) at about 8:40 pm at the Best Roasted Corn Stand on the corner of SW 98th and 15 Av Sw: A male suspect walked up to the stand, displayed a handgun and demanded money. The suspect also demanded the employees cell phone. The suspect fled on foot. The suspect spoke to the victim in Spanish. He was described as a Hispanic male, skinny, about 5’8″ tall, mid 40’s and was wearing a red sweatshirt, blue jeans and a black beanie. The victim has seen him in the area before.”

Thanks again to White Center Heights Elementary PTA president David Sonsteng for the alert about the WCH kindergarteners’ big day today – Emergency Services Day. The weather was perfect for them to meet their visitors outside – above, the North Highline Fire District; below, the King County Sheriff’s Office Air Support Unit and its famous helicopter Guardian One:

Listen to the excitement in our video clip recorded as the helicopter approached and landed:

Also on hand – an American Medical Response (AMR) ambulance crew. If public-safety crews respond to an injury/illness situation that is not necessarily serious enough to require a medic unit, the private ambulance crews of AMR are called in.

This was part of a “community helpers” module the kindergarteners were working on, Sonsteng explained. First graders were part of the event too.

One more reminde – as first noted here last week, White Center Heights Elementary is due for a special visit by the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One around 1:25 this afternoon, as part of a special project kindergarteners have been working on. The North Highline Fire Department will be there too. WC Heights is at 6th SW and SW 100th.

We don’t usually get early warning when the King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One heads this way, but this time we do! Next Thursday afternoon (March 13), you just might notice it over Greenbridge/south White Center. White Center Heights Elementary PTA president David Sonsteng sent early warning of the plan for a visit at the school. Kindergarteners are “working on their community-helpers module in class,” he explains, so Thursday, 1:25 pm-2:25 pm, they will “get to meet some of these community helpers.” In addition to Guardian One, they’re scheduled to meet KCSO Deputy BJ Myers (who’s based out of the downtown WC storefront office), a fire engine from the North Highline Fire District, and an ambulance from AMR. We’ll remind you again that day, but if you might be anywhere near the area, store away the info. (The school is at 10015 6th SW.)

A memorial and reception are planned in White Center on March 15th for Robert “Bob” McCoy, who died this week at age 81:

Robert “Bob” McCoy passed away March 3, 2014, with his family by his side.

Bob was a resident of West Seattle for 50-plus years. He started his career at Forest Lawn Funeral Home in 1964 and retired in 1998. He was a member of the White Center Eagles.

Bob was born February 2, 1933, in Seattle, to Harold and Jessie McCoy. He was raised in Kent and attended Kent Meridian High School. He is survived by his wife Ilene of 60 years, daughter Debra and her husband Joe Ruskamp, daughter Linda and her husband Michael McGee, daughter Barbara, son John, and daughter Pam and her husband Cary Hood, 10 grandchildren, 7 great-grandchildren, and his brother Jack McCoy of Vancouver, Washington. He was preceded in death by his sister Helen and his brother Phillip.

Memorial service will be held on Saturday, March 15th, 1:00 pm at Yarington’s/White Center Funeral Home, 10708 16th Ave SW. Reception follows, 2:30-4:30 pm at the White Center Eagles, 10452 15th Ave SW.

(Crossposted from partner site West Seattle Blog)

(Looks like the early-morning outage map, but this is the NEW one)
If you were up for the two-hour power outage in the middle of the night – because the footprint is just about the same. About 2,000 homes and businesses are without power right now, according to the City Light map, in White Center as well as parts of West Seattle and South Park. City Light explains:

A large tree fell into wires near Highland Park Way SW and SW Othello Street. It broke several of the tie wires that keep the power lines attached to the insulators on the poles.

Crews are working to reroute power around the damage. This will bring about 75 percent of the affected customers back into service in the next 60-90 minutes.

Crews will then remove the tree and re-hang the wires in order to restore service to the remaining customers. We estimate being able to get that done about 5 p.m.

We’ve heard some are getting power back already, as we publish this.

On this stormy night, more than 2,000 homes and businesses are without power in White Center, South Park, and eastern West Seattle. City Light‘s map shows the extent but does not mention a specific cause yet, saying only as of right now, “investigating.”

5:13 AM UPDATE: SCL now says a tree is to blame for the outage.

6:06 AM UPDATE: The map now shows everyone’s back on (please let us know if you’re not!).

The North Highline Unincorporated Area Council has two hot topics on the March agenda, this Thursday, March 6th, 7 pm at the North Highline Fire District HQ, 1243 SW 12th:

Wondering where your property tax dollars go – have questions about why your home value may have decreased, but taxes increased – curious about pending levies and how they may impact your tax bill – then plan on joining us and have your questions answered by King County Tax Assessor, Lloyd Hara.

We are also pleased to have Kari Boiter, who is active in the largest national medical marijuana advocacy group, “Americans for Safe Access”. Ms. Boiter is working with lawmakers to help them understand the concerns of medical marijuana patients, and how the new bills before the Washington State legislators may impact access for patients.

COMMUNITY MATTERS * BE INFORMED * BE INVOLVED * BE HEARD

And here’s the agenda:

7:00 pm Call to Order – Flag Salute – Roll Call –
Approval of Agenda – Approval of Minutes

7:05 pm Public Announcements
7:10 pm Public Comment
3 minutes for Individuals
5 minutes for Groups

7:20 pm Deputy B.J. Myers – White Center Storefront
7:30 pm Lloyd Hara, King County Tax Assessor
7:50 pm Kari Boiter, Americans for Safe Access
8:10 pm Committee Reports
8:15 pm New/Old Business
• April Forum
• May Mtg
• June Mtg

Saturday, they were making art; soon enough, they’ll be making decisions. Youth of all ages were part of this year’s White Center Community Summit, spanning four hours at Mount View Elementary School, presented by the White Center Community Development Association. We stopped in for a while during the second hour, peeking in on the first of two runs each for workshops that focused on topics including transportation…

… connecting with community agencies/partners …

… and the perennial hot topic, annexation:

As noted in our earlier report, this was a lively discussion; those in the room included community leaders with varying views, and the hotly fought campaign over Burien’s annexation proposal two years ago was brought up repeatedly. A King County representative (Karen Freeman from the County Executive’s Office) led the discussion, not espousing a particular annexer – the area remains potentially annexable by Burien or Seattle – but saying “it’s time to make a decision” because the county just can’t keep supporting an urban area; the state experts urban areas will become part of cities, either creating their own (which isn’t considered financially feasible for White Center) or becoming part of another. Freeman invited those interested in the topic, seeking accurate information, to contact her – here’s her listing in the county directory.

Other workshop topics, according to the handout made available at the door: Housing help for those “underwater” or facing foreclosure; bilingual/biliterate education in Highline Public Schools; drug prevention/intervention; White Center “asset-mapping.”

A much-anticipated part of each White Center Community Summit is the “I (heart) White Center” T-shirt, this time in Seahawks colors:

Everyone who registered for the summit got a T-shirt. The event also included a resource fair, featuring informational tables from a wide range of regional agencies and organizations – including some recruiting for jobs – and lunch.

(Photo by WCN’s Patrick Sand)
8:12 AM: 10 am-2 pm today, Mount View Elementary is the place for this year’s White Center Community Summit, presented by the White Center Community Development Association. It includes workshops that each will be presented twice, at 11 am and 1 pm; here’s the list, as published on the WCCDA Facebook page earlier in the week:

Annexation: White Center’s Future
Presented by King County

Asset Mapping: Economy and Opportunity in White Center
Presented by Sokha Dahn

Transportation: Here to There: Getting to, from, and around White Center
Presented by SDOT

Housing: How did we live and How are we living now?
Presented by Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County

ELL in Schools: Being Bilingual and Biliterate in White Center
Presented by Highline School District

Health and Wellness: Drug-free in WC
Presented by Navos

Community-Based Organizations: Collaborative Calendaring/Building Partnerships
Presented by KCHA and WCCDA

There’s also a resource fair beginning at 11 am. The school is at 10811 12th SW.

12:27 PM: Added a photo from the first workshop on annexation, with those in attendance including members of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council and other community leaders. “It’s time to make a decision” about annexing to SOMEONE, said the county rep leading the session. You have a chance to catch the second round of this discussion at 1 pm in the library at Mount View. We’ll add more notes and photos later – the resource fair also continues at 1 pm (it’s lunch-break time right now).

The first meeting was in White Center, and now the second big meeting about the in-the-works safety project for SW Roxbury is happening on the West Seattle side of the street – tonight, 6 pm, at Roxhill Elementary School. More details here, including the Seattle Department of Transportation‘s recap on what happened during the Greenbridge meeting earlier this month.

Need help affording home repairs? This might be for you:

Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County is providing home repairs to a limited number of White Center residents through its White Center Home Repair Program, a partnership with the White Center Community Development Association. To inform homeowners about the program and eligibility requirements for receiving home repair assistance, Habitat staff are hosting an informational meeting on Wednesday, February 26 at the Greenbridge YWCA, 9720 8th Ave SW.

Habitat Seattle-King County aims to provide White Center homeowners with a variety of exterior repair services, such as replacing broken windows, rebuilding porches or stair cases, painting to protect the home’s siding, roof repairs, and more. Blow-in attic insulation or other weatherization work may also be considered. Homeowners are selected to receive home repair assistance based off their need and willingness to partner with Habitat. The home in need of repairs must be their primary residence.

Those interested in the program are required to attend an information meeting. Please contact Donna Adair at dadair@habitatskc.org or (206) 855-5214 to register for the meeting.

Wednesday’s meeting starts at 6 pm.

This Wednesday is the third and final signup session this season for Southwest Little League: Steve Cox Memorial Park on Wednesday, February 26th, from 5 pm to 7 pm. From SWLL:

Little League Baseball is open to all children between the ages of 4 and 16 who reside or go to school in our boundary area, which is between Juneau Street SW and Sw 128th street and 35th Ave SW and 1st Avenue S, including the Arbor Heights area. Parents should check the boundary map on our website as well as review the eligibility requirements, which have changed for the 2014 season. Along with residents in the boundary area, children who go to school in the boundary area but reside in another Little League district are eligible to play for the league in which their school resides. For more complete information, please visit our website at southwestlittleleague.org

Two weeks from tomorrow – the afternoon of Sunday, March 9th – the 34th (Legislative) District Democrats’ caucuses will happen at the Evergreen campus in White Center. Here’s the official call to caucus; as it mentions, “This is truly the first step in the journey toward the all important 2016 election.” Specific tasks to be accomplished including electing delegates and alternates to the June 21st statewide Democratic convention, registering voters, collecting resolutions and platform issues for the countywide convention in April, and a food drive. The link above explains how to participate; watch the 34th District Democrats’ website for updates.

P.S. The 34th DDs’ big annual summertime fundraiser will be in White Center this year too – it was announced at the group’s February meeting (here’s coverage on our partner site West Seattle Blog) that the annual Garden Party will move to the TAF Bethaday Community Space at Lakewood Park, after years of being held in West Seattle.

(7:07 am screengrab of City Light map showing where the outage is affecting homes/businesses)
Seattle City Light has more than 7,000 homes/businesses out of power this morning, mostly to the east and south of here, hitting Burien especially hard. It’s blaming a tree for falling on power lines and expects to have power back before the morning’s over.