White Center Now: The blog about White Center

What could have been a frightening morning at Holy Family School turned into a story about smart second-graders who knew just what to do when they saw something dangerous-looking. Here’s the tale.

Also note – tomorrow and Sunday are the days for the big Community Street Fair at Holy Family, with new features this year including salsa and chili contests!

Just reported on partner site West Seattle Blog: The Hooters that opened almost exactly a year ago, claiming to be in South Park but really more in Boulevard Park, has closed – blaming the South Park Bridge closure. Full story here.

… which is actually in West Seattle, as you likely know. 6 pm, it’s a gala fundraising dinner and live auction, at Brockey Center on the SSCC campus (6000 16th SW). The theme: “Celebrating Our Global Village.” Online registration is closed, but the WCCDA website has full details on who to call to see if there are still tickets available!

Their original endorsee Marcee Stone -a former White Center resident – didn’t make it to the general election, so tonight in West Seattle, the 34th District Democrats had a decision to make: Endorse Burien’s Joe Fitzgibbon, or West Seattle’s Mike Heavey, for the State House Position 2 seat? The result was Fitzgibbon – 96 votes to 31 votes. That was the biggest of many endorsement votes during tonight’s meeting, which we chronicled as-it-happened on partner site West Seattle Blog – above, our brief interviews with both candidates afterward.

Good luck to students and staff – be sure to check out the Highline district website for the newest information! You can also find the district now on Facebook and Twitter.

Came across the announcement for this while doublechecking on Labor Day schedules: 9 am-3 pm next Saturday (September 11th) at Evergreen High School, there’s a special recycling event – with some changes from ones in the past. The full list and other details can be seen here.

TRANSIT: Metro is on a Sunday schedule. Sound Transit – per its Facebook page – will run its express buses on a Sunday schedule, but no Sounder train service. Washington State Ferries‘ Fauntleroy-Vashon-Southworth run is on a weekend schedule.

TRASH/RECYCLING: Normal schedule if you have pickup through Seattle Public Utilities

KING COUNTY LIBRARIES: Closed today

LIQUOR STORES: Open

MAIL DELIVERY: No

PARKING: If you visit an area of Seattle with parking meters/pay stations, note there’s no charge today, since Labor Day is a “parking holiday”

FOR A REGIONAL OVERVIEW: Here’s the “what’s open/closed” roundup from the Seattle Times (WSB partner).

After a couple reports today about a large King County Sheriff’s Office presence in downtown White Center last night, possibly related to a shooting at or near Club Evo, we contacted KCSO’s media liaison Sgt. John Urquhart – and here’s what he tells us: Just before midnight last night, “a very large group of people (was) in the street (100+) and many of them (were) fighting. A gun came out and several shots (were) fired. One of our deputies on the scene saw the man firing and ran him down. (The suspect was) arrested and booked. One handgun was recovered. Much of this was gang related.” Sgt. Urquhart says an 18-year-old was reportedly shot but not seriously hurt, “since he refused treatment and was not transported. ” The suspect, he says, is also 18.

Thanks to Alice and Helen, readers of partner site West Seattle Blog, for the tips that led us to this information: The government of El Salvador has set up a “mobile consulate” at Denny International Middle School in West Seattle this weekend, till 4 pm today, and again 8 am-4 pm tomorrow. This is particularly important to Salvadorean citizens who need to re-register for Temporary Protected Status, with a deadline coming up next week.

Thanks to Michelle for the tip on this – we’d heard there was a serious crash on 16th SW in White Center; she reports:

Just north of the intersection of 112th and 16th, there was a sign up and many, many police cars. The sign said “Road Closed due to Accident Investigation.” This was approximately 40 minutes ago. We had to take a detour to get back to (West Seattle).

Those are all the details we have so far. 2 AM NOTE: Drove past the scene and tow trucks were taking away at least one damaged vehicle – it appeared 16th SW was about to reopen, after being shut down from just south of 107th to just north of 112th.

Story and photos by Deanie Schwarz
Reporting for White Center Now

Thursday night’s North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meeting highlighted three relatively new public-safety-agency representatives reporting on their respective departments and appointments serving the North Highline community.

North Highline Fire District Chief Marstrom comes to North Highline from a former Fire Chief position in the Pierce County city of Lakewood. His initial assessment of the budgeting decisions to be made in the next quarter was that the “status quo will no longer apply.”

Chief Marstrom will be reporting at the next North Highline Fire District Board meeting, rescheduled for Friday, September 17 at 10 AM in the Training Room of the Fire Station. (The regular meeting time is the second to last Tuesday of the month.) NHUAC councilmember Pat Price encouraged attendees to write directly to the Board to request that board meetings, currently held in the daytime, be rescheduled to evening hours to improve public access to “open” meetings. * Such requests can also be made by asking that the change be put on the Board’s agenda via the board’s secretary, or suggested during an open public-comment period at meetings; you can reach the secretary by phone at 243-0330 or e-mail at office@northhighlinefd.org.) “Evening meetings are easier for most people to get to,” Price said.

The council also heard from King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. JJ Hodgson, who has recently taken Sgt. Buschley’s place at the West Precinct, so recently that he had not yet had business cards printed, but his e-mail contact is joseph.hodgson@kingcounty.gov. He also had not yet received an analysis of the Crime Stats to identify any trends, but he did mention a few of the more basic numbers available to him on such short notice. In brief, incidents for July and August, respectively: Auto Theft – 17, 15; Commercial Burglary – 2, 7; and, Residential Burglary – 14, 13.

There are currently two deputies assigned for coverage between Seattle and North Burien. Unless there is a special issue, Burien cars do not work in unincorporated areas. Concerns were voiced about ongoing traffic enforcement in the area around the school at 112th Ave SW and 10th Ave SW; Sgt. Hodgson didn’t have any easy answers.

Another KCSO position change noted was Sgt. Mattson is now the contact at the Precinct for drug houses and other drug-related matters, through the Special Emphasis Unit, replacing Sgt. Hancock, according to Hodgson.

Sgt. Chinnick, working the Gang Unit for the area since May, agreed with Councilmember Barbara Dobkin’s comment that “…with all the resources going to Club Evo … the community is being held hostage.” Club Evo was recently shut down by the Department of Revenue for unpaid taxes, but reopened last Friday, reportedly after the out-of-town owner leased the property to an employee who legally reopened the facility for the weekend. Club Evo still does not have a business or dance hall license as required by King County and Chinnick said he was told by the Department Director of DDS that they will put the matter on the front burner as they continue to investigate. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office is working on the case too.

While the investigation continues, KCSO Emphasis Patrols are being deployed consistently against the ongoing “attractive nuisance” at the club. Funded by grants, the unit is limited yet resourceful in extracting KCSO personnel to apply to Club Evo on Friday and or Saturday nights. The owners and manager will either come into compliance, or they will close, according to Chinnick. KCSO’s purview is to systematically address the criminal problems associated with the facility. Deputies have recently used pepper spray and sirens to irritate and flat-out annoy the criminals to deter them from crime, as well as preventing people from getting hurt, he said, adding that the club manager was observed using pepper spray on his own clientele last weekend to control the crowd.

Also at the meeting: Burien City Manager Mike Martin announced that a “visioning” project for Burien will begin in earnest in January, to define its future community character and to determine the comprehensive plan for parks, streets and overall land use schemes. Budgeting for the process has been allocated for the master development plans for the next five to 15 years. Citing a recent survey conducted by the city of Burien for the North and older Burien areas, Martin said he was “trying to build a government based on the values of the people who live here.”

Dick Thurnau, Friends of Hicks Lake, was recognized by King County Councilmember Jan Drago‘s representative Linda Robson for countless volunteer hours given in service of his community, and was given a certificate of acknowledgment for his service.

Before closing, the Council voted to organize a Candidates’ Forum for sometime in the fall and will immediately begin contacting venues and coordinating candidates.

It was also noted that the Elections Committee will be convening to address how and whether to advertise for the open positions on the Council for District 3 and District 1. District 3 is the area between 4th Ave. SW and 16th Ave. SW and District 1 covers all of the area east of Highway #509.

Reminder that the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council meets tonight – 7 pm at the North Highline Fire District headquarters as always. You can see the agenda here.

Mac’s Triangle Pub has added breakfast, according to proprietor Geoffrey “Mac” McElroy – 8 am-1 pm on Saturdays and Sundays. This comes as his establishment gets ready to celebrate its 5-year anniversary – with a party set for September 10th.

Story and photos by Deanie Schwarz
Reporting for White Center Now

A picnic with free barbecue brought out a hungry and hardy crowd to enjoy Hicks Lake at Lakewood Park on a slightly chilly Saturday afternoon. Smoke billowed from burgers on the grills as neighborhood folks milled around the tables to chat and learn about where things now stand with Lakewood Park and where they might be headed.

Frana Milan, program manager for the Enterprise and Partnerships Unit of King County Parks and Recreation Division (pictured above with civilian-attired King County Sheriff’s Office community officer Vary Jackson), was available to receive first hand the feedback from the community about the proposed trail improvement around the north and west side of the lake.

In a conversation with community members, Milan explained the different responsibilities for different county agencies discussing the future plans for Hicks Lake and the surrounding natural systems. It is the Water and Land Resources Division within the Department of Natural Resources and Parks that addresses the stormwater management issues and has lake-ecosystem experts on staff.

Milan explained further, “I always like to say that Water and Land takes care of nature for nature’s sake and Parks takes care of nature for people’s sake.” A map was available to instruct the picnicgoers and the other groups present about the complex context of neighboring stormwater systems, wetlands and lakes.

North Highline Unincorporated Area Council president Christine Waldman led a large contingency from the North Highline group working their way through the tables. She observed that Friends of Hicks Lake‘s Dick Thurnau had successfully brought together for the first time these varied groups which can together face a long-standing problem which they all agree must be addressed. “It’s been long enough. Something really needs to be done.”

Thurnau’s passion for the Hicks Lake area is legendary around here. Many other group representatives nodded and spoke in agreement about the need for some kind of formal recognition for the tireless decades of volunteer work he has done on behalf of the area. His two daughters were on hand assisting him in his work during Saturday’s event. One had flown up from California to help him with the coordination and planning because, she says, “It is so important to him.” Dick, along with Sherry Williams (with him in the photo above), enjoyed the crowd’s anticipation as they drew raffle tickets for a much desired prize of smoked sockeye salmon. A number of other items were raffled off as well to some lucky picnicgoers.

Williams is deputy director of TAF (Technology Access Foundation) and said the groundbreaking for the new TAF Community Learning Space is still on track for next April, with completion of the “warm shell” by the following fall of 2011. To be located in the northeast quadrant of Lakewood Park, the building will be built green and developed in phases following the initial structural development. ( The term “warm shell” describes the future large building edifice and its completed systems, but does not include specific classroom equipment or furnishings.)

Additional feedback on plans for Lakewood Park, Hicks Lake and/or surrounding parks can be provided to the county through this website: parksfeedback.com.

Did you make it over to South Park for the big day of sales – and more? We’ve got coverage on partner site West Seattle Blog – check out the photos, video and story here.

Lakewood Park, 11 am-2 pm, be there. Find out more about the present, and the hoped-for future, of this needs-help White Center gem, and meet local neighbors and community leaders. Here’s our original preview.

Just in from the King County Sheriff’s Office:

Sheriff’s detectives are looking for help from the public to solve a 2001 homicide. The crime occurred on August 28, 2001, exactly nine years ago tomorrow.

➢ Specifically, they at least hope to find the White Center house where the suspect took the victim and her sister prior to fatally shooting one of them on a street corner.

Case History: Crystal Vaughn (above; age 29 at the time) and her sister Misty were drinking beer at a bus top in White Center when they were contacted by the suspect. They went back to the suspect’s house for a drink. An argument ensued and the sisters were driven back to the area of SW 101st and 15th Ave SW.

The argument continued between the suspect and Crystal. The sisters were out of the man’s car and walking away when he pulled up next to them and shot Crystal three times. She died at the scene.

Suspect’s Residence: The house was about a mile or so away from where the women were first approached, generally in the area of the 3700 block of SW 106th, unincorporated King County in the White Center neighborhood.

➢ See attached drawings of the interior of the house (above).

The women were asked to remove their shoes when they came in. The man said his “niece was sleeping” and to they had to be quiet. The interior of the house was neat and tidy, and there were children’s toys in the house.

There was a large stereo and a CD collection, as well as a free standing stove or fireplace in the living room. The women were served brandy to drink.

Suspect Description: A black male about 27 to 35 years old (above). He was “big” and 6’ to 6” 3” tall. He smoked Marlboro Red cigarettes.

Vehicle: A black or possible dark green SUV, similar to a Chev Tahoe (above). There was a dolphin display on the stereo face. The front seat might have been a “bench seat” and the seats were possibly leather.

The public can also view the drawings on our web site beginning this afternoon.

Anyone with information, especially on the house, is asked to call the King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311 (24 hours) or 9-1-1.

2:43 PM UPDATE: Here’s the webpage on which KCSO has posted all its imagery and info in the case.

From King County Public Health‘s regular bulletin about “food establishment closures”:

Asian Bubble Tea located at 9835 16th Ave SW, Seattle, WA 98106* was closed by a Public Health food inspector on August 26, 2010 at 1:15 pm for improper preparation and service of foods under their current Risk 2 permit classification. The Person in Charge of the establishment has not upgraded facility nor obtained a Risk 3 permit classification to accommodate new menu items including preparation of raw foods and cooking equipment. The food establishment will be reopened when the inspector confirms that all issues have been resolved.

With a home-invasion robbery in Highland Park, and new developments reported in the Evo situation, there’s bound to be lots to discuss at tonight’s White Center-South Delridge Community Safety Coalition meeting, 6-8 pm at the DSHS building, 9650 15th Ave SW (map), lobby on the second floor. King County Sheriff’s Office and Seattle Police Department reps are usually both on hand, as well as the Liquor Control Board, so there are many authorities with whom you can take up concerns directly.

Just received this:

A bright green parakeet just flew into our apple tree. It is very tame and came right to us. It also appears to be very exhausted and is now resting in our house in White Center. Please e-mail if you are missing this bird: mo_orange@yahoo.com