White Center Now: The blog about White Center

From new garden manager Mara at the White Center Food Bank:

Been looking for garden space? The White Center Food Bank’s new garden manager Mara is “wanting to get the word out about the availability of garden beds for community use. These beds are FREE, with only a commitment to care for the space as it’s provided. Tool checkout available.

Anyone interested, or with questions, can contact Mara at gardens@whitecenterfoodbank.org to find out more.

From Highline Public Schools:

Parents of middle and high school students are needed to help shape a plan that will guide schools for the next three years. It is part of a community effort to create a new three-year strategic plan.

The core planning team responsible for designing the plan is seeking ideas from Highline families and community members. The upcoming public input session will focus on ideas that can shape students’ middle school and high school experience.

“We are working toward very ambitious and necessary goals, to achieve better outcomes and broaden the opportunities for all students, and to better prepare them for their adult, working lives,” said Stacia Jenkins, a member of the core planning team and mother of a student at Pacific Middle School.

All parents are welcome, but middle school and high school parents are especially encouraged to join other families and community members for a meal and a conversation about what we want for our children and our community.

“We have heard exciting ideas from families and community members around the district,” said Susan Enfield, Superintendent. “However, we want additional input about how we can do a better job of educating all students. The middle school and high school years are so vital to student success, and our three-year plan must include strategies that work well for secondary students and schools.”

What: Highline Public Schools Community Strategic Planning Session

Date and Time: Wednesday, April 3, 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.

Location: Highline High School cafeteria, 225 South 152nd Street, Burien, WA 98148

Details: Interpretation, dinner, and child care will be provided free of charge.

Please RSVP for interpretation, child care, and dinner: Individuals who need an interpreter or childcare, or if you are coming to dinner, please call 206-277-5922 so that we can plan for you.

7-9 pm next Friday night (March 22), “Silence Is Loud” at Dubsea Coffee will bring attention to a difficult topic – but one that is imperative we all discuss – suicide. Evergreen Campus student Vanisa Long‘s invitation to an open-microphone and art show is below, shared by Dubsea proprietor Sibelle Nguyen:

Join us for a night of art and performances to promote the awareness of suicide. I’m holding this event for my senior project in hopes of bringing the community together to learn more about this issue and introduce resources for those who are depressed or have thoughts of suicide. We have performances lined up, but there will be a signup sheet for those who wish to perform the night of. If you have artwork that relate to the topic, feel free to contact me if you’d like your work to be showcased. E-mail vanisalg@yahoo.com

Dubsea is at 9910 8th SW in Greenbridge. There’s also a Facebook event page for “Silence Is Loud” – find it here.

P.S. If you or someone you know has talked or thought about suicide – there is 24/7 help via the Crisis Clinic at 206-461-3222.

When White Center’s all-new art walk debuted Thursday night, the King County Sheriff’s Office storefront was among the venues throwing open their doors – and that’s where we found Deputy BJ Myers, along with art by students from the Evergreen campus. Their work decked the counter as well as the walls:

A couple doors down, we stopped by the Center Studio too:

That’s photographer Julie Maxham, whose work graced the studio’s walls as visitors streamed in and out – delighting both proprietor Lonjina Verdugo and art-walk organizer Amanda Kay Helmick, who explained that this was something of a soft launch for the new night/time, with special events and a higher profile in the works as spring and summer proceed. Watch the official website for details.

The state legislators who represent this area are trying something out of the ordinary next week:

Who: State Senator Sharon Nelson and Reps. Eileen Cody and Joe Fitzgibbon (34th Legislative District)

What: Telephone town hall

When: 6:00 – 7:00 pm on Wednesday, March 20th

Why: To discuss legislative priorities with constituents, solicit their feedback and answer questions about the current legislative session.

34th Legislative District residents should receive a call from their legislators at about 6:00 PM on the 20th. To participate, simply pick up the phone and follow the prompts. Sen. Nelson and Reps. Cody and Fitzgibbon will deliver short opening thoughts and then will open up for questions. If you have a question for the lawmakers, simply press *3.

If for some reason you don’t receive a call, you can call into 1-877-229-8493 and enter 18646 to participate.

(One of more than half a dozen law-enforcement cars scattered around the search area)
9:42 AM: The King County Sheriff’s Office helicopter Guardian One is over the Shorewood/White Center area again, according to reader reports, confirmed by KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West, who confirms the helicopter is assisting with a ground search. No details just yet – so far it does not seem to be related to the recent search in that area. We’re headed that way and will update when there’s more information available.

10 AM: The search and ground “containment” are over a wide area, somewhat further south of the aforementioned recent search. A K-9 officer is helping too. On our Facebook page, one resident says Evergreen High School and Cascade Middle School are taking “modified lockdown” precautions – we have not yet verified that with Highline Public Schools, but it would be typical for any kind of search situation within a mile or two. (Added: Commenters say Shorewood Elementary is in lockdown too.)

10:22 AM: Here’s what Sgt. West just told us: Deputies pulled over a car that turned out to be stolen. One man who had a car-theft warrant out for his arrest took off running. He is a light-complexion Hispanic male in his 30s, puffy gray sweatshirt, blue jeans. They advise staying in your house because they have a K-9 search going on. We also have received the message that Highline Schools is sending to parents. From district spokesperson Catherine Carbone Rogers:

This morning at about 9:35 a.m. we were advised to go into a modified lockdown due to police activity in the area. This is a standard precautionary measure.

The safety of our students is our number one priority. During a modified lockdown, students can move about inside the school but not outside. For the safety of both students and parents, we do not alert parents while a lockdown is in progress or allow students to contact their parents by cell phone. This is an emergency management best practice. Police do not want parents to come to school to retrieve their children, because that could put the parent in danger and/or could compromise the police investigation.

Please know that your child’s safety is the central purpose of all our emergency procedures.

And Sgt. West reiterates that if you see or hear anything/anyone suspicious, call 911.

10:42 AM: Sgt. West says they arrested the suspect.

A new name and new night for White Center’s art walk – and tonight (Thursday), just hours away, is its debut. It’s now Rat City Art City, and you’ll find it at venues around White Center on the second Thursday of the month, 6-9 pm. The official Rat City Art City website has the lineup for tonight, with venues and artists. The venues listed as participating tonight:

Big Al Brewing (9832 14th Ave SW)
Center Studio (9611 16th Ave SW)
Company (9608 16th Ave SW)
Dubsea Coffee (9910 8th Ave SW)
Full Tilt (9629 16th Avenue SW)
GnuOrganics (9988 15th Ave SW, Ste G)
Herban Legends (9169 16th Ave SW)
King County Sheriff’s Office (9609 16 Av SW)
Meanders (9635 16th Ave SW)
Proletariat Pizza/ Caffe Delia (9622-A 16th Ave SW)
Salvadorean Bakery (1719 SW Roxbury St)
Southgate Roller Rink (9646 17th Ave SW)
Zippy’s Giant Burgers (9614 14th Ave SW)

Rat City Art City is also on Facebook, here.

From the White Center Chamber of Commerce’s Facebook page:

Did you know every second Tuesday, WC Chamber of Commerce hosts a luncheon?

Join us! Our March 12th luncheon will be held at WC Chamber Vice President (Mac McElroy)’s Mac’s Triangle Pub on 16th and Roxbury, noon-1:15 pm.

We have an outstanding line-up of guest speakers: Honorable King County Councilmember Joe McDermott and Highline School Distict Superintendent Dr. Susan Enfield.

Our partners at The Seattle Times say a woman missing from White Center has been found dead in Thurston County. The Times reports that 41-year-old Dana Kirkland was reported missing last month but may have been gone for longer. They’re trying to figure out how she died and whether it was a crime. A Thurston County news site also is reporting on the case, and the stolen car to which Kirkland might somehow have been linked.

MONDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: The missing 14-year-old girl is safe, according to KCSO; she was dropped off in the area where she was last seen.

Read the rest of this entry »

(Photo by WCN’s Patrick Sand)
Happening now in front of the White Center Chamber of Commerce – volunteers are serving lunch as part of the first-ever monthly “White Center Friday Free Lunch in the Park,” with food courtesy of Taco Time Northwest. More details in the announcement we published earlier this week.

10:57 AM: Just east of White Center and north of Top Hat, at least one TV helicopter has come to check out an investigation we have been covering on partner site West Seattle Blog, so we’re mentioning it here: Seattle Police are checking out the reported discovery of “bones” in the wooded area there (map). It was too dark for a full investigation last night, according to SPD’s Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, so they are back today. Though Homicide Division detectives and the CSI unit are part of the investigation, they don’t even know whether the reported bones are human or animal, much less what kind of circumstances were involved. They expect to know more later today, as noted in their short post about this on SPD Blotter.

1:35 PM UPDATE: Seattle Police say this is believed to involve a “missing suicidal man” – NOT a crime situation.

Just announced – a monthly free lunch to help those in need in White Center, thanks to the efforts of multiple local community groups, and businesses – and a local student! Here’s the announcement shared by Mark Ufkes:

The White Center Homeless Summit community group, a coalition started by the White Center Chamber of Commerce and many local service entities and local businesses has been working for almost a year on a strategy to support the White Center homeless and chronic alcoholic populations to recovery. Participation includes many White Center organizations, churches, street ministries, business owners and residents who are working to reduce the negative impacts that can occur from White Center’s homeless on our business district and in our community. One outcome was to try a program called “White Center Friday Lunch in the Park,” patterned after a successful effort in Kent, where each Friday, free lunch is provided in a local park for Kent’s homeless, pulling them out of the business district for a few hours, and putting them in touch with people and programs that can support them to recovery.

This Friday, March 8, will be our first White Center Friday Free Lunch in the Park meal. It will begin at noon in front of the White Center Chamber of Commerce office in Steve Cox Park (corner of SW 102nd and 14th Ave. SW) behind McLendon, across from the Cross Church site. Volunteers will provide fresh tacos to the crowd, supplied by our White Center Taco Time. A big White Center thank you goes to Frank Tonkin and the entire Tonkin family, owners of Taco Time Northwest/Accord Inc., as they have agreed to provide hot meals for 40 homeless residents once a month for six months to try this program here in White Center. Additional critical support has been provided by Mac’s Triangle Pub, Grace Church, Union Gospel Mission, Mount View Presbyterian Church, Westside Church, Holy Family School, with essential community facilitation from Westside Baby. White Center businesses Proletariat Pizza and Uncle Mike’s BBQ have encouraged the discussions and provided positive direction and encouragement.

Lunch will be served by community volunteers until the food runs out. This project is implemented with the help of Alex Campbell, a Evergreen High School senior, as his required senior community service project. Alex helped with the homeless count this year, handed out over 200 flyers to local residents and businesses, and will be organizing and serving during the lunches this Spring. Alex plans to attend WSU in the fall to study business administration.

11:53 AM: You might have noticed the helicopters – the King County Sheriff’s Office has serious presence in Shorewood right now looking for a man who escaped deputies last week at Harborview Medical Center. He’d been taken there after being arrested on theft warrants; he apparently had ingested drugs. He was handcuffed when he bolted there on February 25th; KCSO spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West tells us a man believed to be the escapee was spotted at Shorewood Market earlier this morning; he dropped a duffel bag believed to contain stolen property, and ran. They think he’s still in the area of the market and have just brought in a K-9 patrol. Here’s his mug shot:

Read more about the case in this Monday update from CapitolHillSeattle.com. KCSO says suspect Alan Polevia’s head is now shaven, since that photo. He is described as 5’8″ and about 170 pounds. Here’s what Sgt. West told us in an interview at the search scene:

We’ll continue checking back for word on whether he’s been caught.

4:13 PM: No capture reported yet. But here’s an updated mugshot:

We’ve also learned about the suspect’s background – tied to some high-profile incidents in West Seattle; details are in our report on partner site West Seattle Blog.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Rat City Rollergirls, founded in White Center in 2004, hit the one-decade mark next year. This week, RCRG reps will be live online for a chat with sports editors at SeattleTimes.com (WCN partner), noon Wednesday (March 6th). Meantime, from their recent return to WC, with bouts at Southgate Roller Rink, we have melded their post-bout writeup with photos taken that night by Nick Adams for WCN. Roller-derby play-by-play ahead!

(At left, Foxy Throwdown gets ready, pre-bout)
Photos by Nick Adams for White Center Now
Story by Peter Cozine – Special to White Center Now

The line waiting for entry into the bout was out the door and snaked around the block on 17th SW in White Center. The energy was high as fans flocked to Southgate Roller Rink February 23rd to watch the Rat City Rollergirls battle it out on the roller-derby track where the league got its start nine years ago.

Rat City’s four home teams were in action: Derby Liberation Front (DLF) took on the Throttle Rockets (TR) and Grave Danger (GD) played the Sockit Wenches (SW).

(Referee Don Juan Jovi)
More than 400 fans, skaters, referees, and volunteers packed the rink to watch the Rollergirls take it back to the shiny wooden track at Southgate.

The TRs showed some explosive offense early in the first half, winning lead jammer in 5 of the first 7 jams.

Read the rest of this entry »

This photo and accompanying report appeared today in the WCN inbox:

I was in White Center recently to welcome my sixth grandchild into the world. During this time I took the older kids on errands etc. On one trip to the Safeway I accidentally locked my 2-year-old granddaughter in the van. I was totally distraught and had someone call the police to help. During the time I was waiting on the police a firetruck answered a call to this Safeway. After the firemen/emt’s completed their initial call they noticed the distraught grandma in the green sweater standing by her van. They all came over, brought tools and after about 30 minutes were able to unlock my van. While they were working on the lock they were very positive and friendly. No one made me feel bad or commented on the situation I had created. These men came to my rescue and did it with grace and professionalism even when I was not the original call.

I have attached a picture of just two of the gentlemen but all of them need to get credit for the act of kindness they showed to the distraught grandma in the green sweater in the silver van. A big thank you is well deserved.

J.D. Curry
Odessa, TX

Good going, North Highline Fire District!

Received from Astha Tada, who wants to share her thoughts on the White Center Library decision far and wide:

Hoorah! It’s been decided! Our new, larger 10,000 square foot library will be built right behind Mount View Elementary at S.W. 107th Street and 14th Avenue S.W. This will be a welcomed resource since effective early elementary education is crucial for school success. It is also still within walking distance from Cascade Middle School/ Evergreen campuses, closer to White Center Heights Elementary and low income facilities.

The requests to delay the decision to understand the full impact of the sites and get greater community involvement were denied by KCLS Trustees who felt rising building costs, long delays, generous loan allowances and another interested buyer compelled them to make this choice.

Like planning a home, the White Center community needs to be sure that the King County Library System (KCLS) has our input in designing our library so that it meets the needs of our diverse White Center patrons. For example, our teens need more access to computers and other technology not found in their homes. Many of our adult citizens rely solely on the library for job applications and searches.

Gratitude! Before we begin the building process, recognition is needed for the hard work, diligence and perseverance of those who fought to keep our library from closing. If not for their efforts, we would not be celebrating right now!

Comments that the library closure was a ploy for annexation are not correct. As one who participated in the long battle to keep both Boulevard Park and White Center libraries from closing, annexation was definitely a key issue presented by KCLS as a reason for consolidation and closure of our smaller libraries. Thank you to those who sacrificed much personal time by attending numerous KCLS Issaquah meetings to testify, monitoring diligently KCLS agendas that listed our libraries, writing letters and editorials, gathering over 2000 petition signatures, informing organizations and citizens, etc.

When the KCLS Board of Trustees was going to vote for consolidation, those who attended would not leave unless the decision was delayed, pending the annexation vote. It was a face-to-face standoff! If you were there, you would have been proud of our supporters’ combined grit and determination to keep our beloved libraries open!

Credit for the hard work include members of the White Center Library Guild, North Highline Unincorporated Area Council, Burien City Council, King County Councilman Joe McDermott, Highline School District, White Center Community Development Association and numerous citizens from Boulevard Park, White Center and elsewhere whose individual actions collectively made a significant difference. The Highline District Board of Directors passed a 2-page formal Resolution 2479 unanimously opposing the closure of our libraries.

I want to, especially, recognize one individual whose passion and commitment were crucial in saving our two libraries. Rachael Levine, former White Center Library Guild president, never wavered in leading the fight, even when many were ready to give up. She was willing to bring her sleeping bag and camp out with me in front of our library to keep it open. Her integrity in how she battles on, the respectful manner in dealing with opposing individuals, and her wisdom and continued service after years of participating in many humanitarian and social organizations make her a true White Center warrior!

Let’s begin the building process by coming together, collaborating and cooperating to build the best library for our White Center community. Time keeps ticking and our high-potential, high-need students are counting on us to help them climb out of poverty. The building bond for this project was approved in 2004. KCLS needs to host planning sessions in our community so that many of you can give input. The Highline School District has offered KCLS school space for these events. Everyone is welcome! All aboard! ONWARD!

Gracias, cam on, ar kun, mahad sanid, fa’afetai, arigato, thank you,

Astha Tada
Community volunteer
Retired Cascade Middle School librarian
2nd Vice President of Beta Beta Chapter of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, an organization focused on educational excellence

(Sketch of future library site, from KCLS Board briefing document)
A site on the south side of 107th between 14th and 16th is now the focus of the King County Library System‘s plan to build a new White Center branch. That’s after a vote of the KCLS board last night – 4-0 with one member (Burien City Councilmember Lucy Krakowiak) abstaining. Here’s how the briefing document for the board (see it here) described the site:

Site C consists of three parcels of land located at SW 107th Street and 14th Avenue SW. The site is currently owned by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission and was originally purchased by the Housing Commission for affordable housing under Washington State’s Rapid Response Program (RRP), a loan program initiated by the State Legislature in 2008 for the preservation or development of affordable housing and community facilities. The Housing Commission had entered into a loan agreement with a partner for the development of affordable housing on this site but the partner was unable to obtain the necessary financing for construction and the deal fell apart. As a result the State has now taken steps to prepare to sell the parcel. Their asking price is $1.3M.

KCLS has been told by the Housing Commission that the library would qualify under the Rapid Response program for a long-term low or zero interest loan (30 years) with fully deferred payments for the life of the loan and no upfront cash other than closing costs. The site is slightly larger than what is needed for the library. The State would allow KCLS to purchase the remainder at fair market value so that KCLS could resell it, but there is even greater interest in finding a community service partner organization that could co-locate with KCLS and potentially qualify for the same favorable loan terms under the State program.

This was one of three sites KCLS was considering; the other two were both on 16th SW – the White Center Library’s current site (plus an additional parcel the county would have to buy) and the former El Chalan/Ezell’s/Wendy’s restaurant site. The board’s briefing document suggested there’s some urgency to get this purchase moving, as the site’s owner had another prospective buyer.

In a years-long fight to improve the water quality of the lake they steward, Friends of Hicklin Lake leaders have been most recently working to get King County to procure “floating islands” – and finally everything’s a go, with installation just months away, according to this county announcement:

Help is on the way for Hicklin Lake – the small lake with big water quality problems in King County’s Lakewood Park.

In addition to the ongoing work of finding and eliminating illegal and inadvertent sewer connections that discharge pollutants into the stormwater system that flows into the lake, this year King County will experiment with technology that uses floating “islands” of vegetation to capture excess nutrients in the water that lead to Hicklin Lake’s water quality problems.

Thanks in part to a $50,000 grant from the Washington Department of Ecology Algae Control Program, King County will install four floating islands in Hicklin Lake this summer and measure their effectiveness.

Each floating island is 250 square feet in size and built of a durable polycarbonate, anchored in place.

The islands are perforated with dozens of holes that are planted with a variety of native wetland species. The plants’ roots will reach into lake as they grow, where they will take up excess nutrients.

A bio-film of microscopic organisms that forms along the bottom of the floating islands and the plant roots will also take up nutrients from the water.

King County staff will take monthly water quality samples from locations throughout the lake to test the islands’ effectiveness at absorbing pollutants for three summers.

The project is expected to start this spring and will be completed by June 2015 at a total cost of more than $86,000.

Hicklin Lake water quality has been a concern for years, with elevated levels of fecal coliform bacteria and phosphorus, as well as a history of harmful algae blooms that have posed potential health threats to people, pets and wildlife.

The lake has been treated twice with alum to reduce phosphorus levels – first in 2005 and again in 2011. It is hoped that the floating islands will prove to be effective and will help to reduce the need for alum application or types of in-lake nutrient controls.

According to e-mail shared by Friends of Hicklin Lake, the county hopes to finish the state permit process by the end of April, finalize “location and design plans” with the county Parks department a month after that, and get the installations done by the end of July.

It’s been on the calendar for weeks, and tonight’s the night! From the Rat City Rollergirls:

This Saturday Rat City Rollergirls are rolling back into White Center with a double-header bout at Southgate Roller Rink, the original venue where Seattle’s now infamous roller derby league began back in 2004!

See the blood, sweat and tears fly from your rink side seat as all four of Rat City’s home teams battle it out in this epic Bout 3 of Season 9! No stadium seating, no jumbotron, no halftime acts – just pure, hard-hitting roller derby at its finest.

Doors open at 5:30 PM, and the action starts at 6 PM. The first match-up will feature Derby Liberation Front (DLF), in their first ranked bout of the season, as they take on the ladies in black, the Throttle Rockets. DLF is coming off of a huge win in January against the visiting Faster Pussycats from Terminal City, while the Throttle Rockets are still looking to chalk up a win after a pair of agonizing close losses.

The second bout is sure to keep fans on the edge of their seats, as the Sockit Wenches take to the floor against last year’s champions, Grave Danger. The Sockit Wenches have strung together a pair of wins this season in KeyArena, taking down the Throttle Rockets in an extremely tight finish in January, and then putting up an impressive point total against the Terminal City Bad Reputations in February. Meanwhile, the 2012 Champions Grave Danger also took down the Throttle Rockets in February, and are looking pull off their own winning streak. Only one of these teams will roll out with the win. Don’t miss the chance to see it happen!

Who: Rat City Rollergirls

What: Bout 3 of Season 9

When: Saturday, February, 23 at 5:30 pm

Where: Southgate Roller Rink, White Center