At around 9:15 this (Sun) morning my dog was barking at something in the alley that runs behind my house.

As I approached the rear of my house a man jogged through the alley with a bicycle under each arm. I yelled at him “What are you doing with two bikes?!” and went after him in my car. He dropped the bicycles in the alley.

If anyone near Lakewood Park and Hicks Lake is missing a bike this morning, the WC Sheriffs have them (see addendum below). One was a yellow mountain bike, the other a purple one.

Also, a big shout out to the WC Sheriffs’s Officer’s quick response. He was here in less than 5 minutes.

- A WC Neighbor

EDITOR’S NOTE: The letter Writer just sent us this update:

Shoot. The bikes are in the alley behind my house now.

I had assumed the police would have them LOL

I guess I’ll put ‘em in my yard until I figure out where they go.

If you think the bikes are yours, please email heysyd@gmail.com.

According to Q13 Fox News, King County Sheriff’s Deputies responded just before midnight Friday night (Sept. 3) to a reported shooting in the “Club Evolucion” night club located at 9625 16th Ave SW in White Center.

Police say there was a fight inside the club, and someone opened fire.

At least one man was injured, but deputies say he declined medical attention.

Investigators do not have anyone in custody and are talking with witnesses to figure out a suspect description.

Read Q13′s full report here.

The White Center Community Development Association’s FREE Small Business Social Media seminar is coming next Tuesday, Sept. 7th, beginning at 6m at 3.14 Bakery and Coffee, located at 9602 16th Ave SW.

According to a flier, this seminar will show you:

“How to market and advertise your business on the internet without costing you a single penny.

Regardless of your business’ size, type, or the services and products you provide, if your ultimate goal is to reach and bring in as many customers as you can – this seminar is for you.

Come learn how to use the fast, efficient, low-to-no-cost ways to reach your potential customers.

Our trainer has a lot of experience working with small businesses/entrepreneurs on building up their web-based marketing presence.

If you have a laptop computer, bring it to share with others around the table.

Otherwise, you can easily follow with the print-outs that we will pass out.”

Here are the details:

WHAT:  WCCDA’s Small Business Social Media Marketing Seminar.

WHEN: Tuesday, Sept. 7th, 6:00 pm+.

WHERE: 3.14 Bakery and Coffee, located at 9602 16th Ave SW (corner of 16th & Roxbury).

Click image to see larger version.

Story & Photos by Nicholas Johnson

Members of the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council held their September meeting Thursday evening, during which councilors heard from Burien City Manager Mike Martin, recently appointed interim North Highline Fire District Chief Steve Marstrom and King County Sheriff’s Office Gang Unit Sgt. Rodney Chinnick, among others.

‘The new kid in town’
Interim Fire Chief Steve Marstrom, of North Highline Fire District 11, did little more than introduce himself to the council and subsequently open himself to questions Thursday evening. He did, however, reiterate the task with which he is charged: to determine the options available to the fire district to consolidate with a partner – whether Seattle, Burien, Tukwila or any other viable option.

Marstrom is a retired fire chief out of Lakewood and Pierce County, where he served for 30 years, 9 of which as fire chief. His temporary position marks the second interim stint he has accepted since he retired ten years ago. Three weeks into the position Marstrom said he feels he has been warmly welcomed.

“I believe the board of fire commissioners have decided to go in the right direction,” he said. “They have realized that a status quo is not going to be acceptable for very long.”

Interim Chief Steve Marstrom, of North Highline Fire District 11, was appointed to administer the district in early August by district commissioners. He made his inaugural appearance in from the North Highline UAC Thursday evening, yet had little to report.

He mentioned the comments he has received so far regarding inconvenient and infrequent commissioner meetings, something he would like to improve by adding a meeting time each month in the evening so working folks may find time to attend.

“Hopefully that can be accomplished,” he said. “Can’t promise anything, but we’ll work on that.”

Club Evo
Sgt. Rodney Chinnick spent his time at the podium addressing long-standing public concern about Club Evolution on 16 Ave. SW in White Center.

“We are taking a no-nonsense, no-tolerance, book-everybody-we-can approach to all the criminal activity that goes on at the club,” he said. “It certainly appears to be an attractive nuisance, a criminal magnet.”

With a handful of attendees voicing frustration over the continued operation of the club and its perceived impact on the surrounding community, Chinnick took a moment to walk through some of his most recent efforts to put the party to rest. He said his unit has begun enforcing statutes traditionally ignored, such as dance hall age requirements. Such enforcement allowed Chinnick to toss the club’s manager in jail for a night for having under age party-goers on his dance floor.

He also mentioned efforts to work with the county’s Department of Development and Environmental Services (DDES) to enforce civil infractions. For example, Chinnick expected a relatively quiet Friday night Aug. 27 because, to his knowledge, Club Evolution had been shut down for the weekend as a result of owner Alfredo Lopez’s failure to pay taxes to the county. To his surprise the music was bumpin’ and the floor was packed. He soon discovered Lopez leased the club to an employee who had a license from the state.

“At least in that part they are legal, and I can’t throw them out,” he said.

Sgt. Rodney Chinnick, of the county sheriff’s office’s gang unit, spoke candidly Thursday with meeting attendees about a troublesome dance club causing frustration among White Center residents.

Yet he said other civil infractions remain, such as a fire sprinkler system, structural issues and a lack of a business or dance hall license. With the help of DDES Chinnick hopes shut down the club through civil infractions, however he said Lopez is an attorney and is expected to seek out loopholes to any effort to close the club.

“I’d like to have seen it closed yesterday,” Chinnick said. “But if they close it and it’s not done right, it’s just going to get more frustrating.”

At-large councilor Barbara Dobkin expressed concern about the high concentration of police resources being devoted to one “problem business.”

“This club is pulling all the resources into one place and our neighborhood is being held hostage by this one club,” Dobkin said. “If this were in a better neighborhood, this wouldn’t be going on.”

Chinnick responded, “If it were up to me the place would’ve already been closed and we would be having coffee right now.”

‘We’re good to go’
In preparation for a major asphalt resurfacing project on Ambaum Blvd. SW between SW 112 St. and SW 156 St., Burien City Manager Mike Martin met with representatives of bond rating corporation Moody’s, who commented that Burien’s finances were in great shape, unlike most cities they work with.

“Virtually every city and every jurisdiction – the county, the state – all have pretty major problems,” he said. “And we’re good.”

Martin said he plans to begin a city vision project in January 2011, something he originally planned to set in motion this summer had the “thoroughly annoying” Shoreline Master Program not eaten up as much time as it has. The goal of the vision project is to draw up street, drainage, parks and pedestrian master plans in an effort to incorporate ideas from the roughly 15,000 people annexed into the city in March.

Burien City Manager Mike Martin gave an abbreviated presentation of results from a recently completed Community Assessment Survey. Martin took special care to feature a representative group of the recently annexed portion of Burien so as to compare perspectives between “new” and “old” Burien.

“Instead of getting this fluffy vision out there like a we-want-world-peace sort of thing, we’re going to say we want this neighborhood to have this many parks within this many acres, for example,” he said. “We’re going to embed that vision into our [comprehensive] plan and that’s going to be our work plan. I have set money aside in the budget for this.”

With Martin’s dull glow of excitement emanating from behind the podium, he spoke of seemingly endless possibilities for parks and recreation, an area most city governments are forced to define as a discretionary or unnecessary use of funds in a tight economy. For example, he said he wants to establish a senior center and more recreation for teens, as well as an aquatic facility in Burien.

“We need a place to drown-proof our kids. That’s what it amounts to,” he said. “Our kids don’t have a place to swim and I think that’s a basic thing our kids need to grow up with.”

Martin also reviewed results from a recently completed Community Assessment Survey, which largely made comparisons between the newly incorporated folks in the annexed portion of North Highline and the rest of the city. Largely, the survey found people in “new” and “old” Burien are quite similar. Martin said when asked whether the city is headed in the right direction, an extraordinary percentage responded in the affirmative. He also reported that the survey found people like living in Burien because housing is affordable and work is nearby, which is supported by the finding that one in every five respondents live and work in Burien.

“These things are important because I am trying to build a government around the community values we have,” he said. “I’d like to bring the things to this community that I think the community wants.”

For a deeper analysis of this year’s community survey, keep your eyes on The White Center Blog for a report from Ralph Nichols coming soon.

WCB Real Estate Sponsor Prudential Northwest’s featured Open House for this week is an impeccably done beautiful home located on Anderson Island’s Riviera golf course.

Just bring your suitcase and toothbrush. Sleeps 6 comfortably. A large wrap-around deck, sprinkler system, heat pump and fire pit in the back yard. Lots of boat/RV parking. Private Riviera Community boat launch for the Salt Water and Fresh Water for fishing and/or skiing. One more lake just for paddling around. Must See!

Here are the details:

WHEN: Open House will be this Sunday, Sept. 5th, from 1pm – 4pm.

WHERE: 10904 Pioneer Drive, Anderson Island, WA 98303

INFO:

• List Price: $329,000
• Listing #: 102837
• Beds: 2
• Baths: 2.00
• Year Built: 1993
• Approximate House SqFt: 2,076
• Lot SqFt: 8,400

Interior Features:

• Ceiling Fan(s)
• Loft
• Skylights
• Vaulted Ceilings

Site Features:

• Deck
• Moorage
• RV Parking
• Sprinkler System

Marketing Remarks:

Estate Sale!

Completely furnished down to the dishes, wine glasses and golf cart.

Everything is impeccably done in this beautiful home. Just bring your suitcase and toothbrush.

Located in Riviera on the golf course.

Sleeps 6 comfortably.

A large wrap around deck, sprinkler system, heat pump and fire pit in the back yard.

Lots of boat/RV parking.

Private Riviera Community boat launch for the Salt Water and Fresh Water for fishing and/or skiing.

One more lake just for paddling around.

Must See!

Click here to see the full, detailed listing.

Click here to view all of Prudential Northwest’s Open Houses.

For 18 years, Claire Denning operated her “Pony Express” store on SW 102nd Street in White Center.

However, after her move in 2008 to her new location at 1606 SW 104th, she struggled to find enough business.

We checked in with Claire recently, and told her we’d do what we could to put the word out. Here’s what she’d like to share with our Readers:

“Pony Express continues to offer the same level of customer service on at a personal level to her long time customers and welcomes all new customers to experience the same.”

As one Facbook commenter wrote:

“…Pony Express, your Local Family owned mail box shipping center. Similar to the Post Office….but we stand in line for you!!”

Claire is currently looking to expand Pony Express with the help of her three daughters by her side.

For more information, visit Pony Express on Facebook here, or contact them at 1606 SW 104th Street Seattle, WA, 98146:

Phone:

• 206.767.6125

Hours:

• Mon – Thurs: 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
• Fri: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
• Sat: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Going on job interviews? Giving a business presentation? Leading a meeting? Need confidence? Toastmasters is the answer!

The ability to speak well is crucial to success, but have you ever evaluated your speaking skills? Many people, if they were to seek feedback, would learn that they talk too much, or perhaps too softly, that they fill their sentences with “ums” and “uhs,” or that they are hard to follow. You might say that it’s the message that matters; but if you can’t put your ideas across in a way that makes people want to listen, that promotion or that leadership position could be a long time coming.

Toastmasters offers a formal, self-paced program that will help you learn to speak better. The two keys to this are practice and feedback. Toastmasters clubs provide a friendly and supportive setting where you can practice your public speaking, and receive constructive feedback. Darlene Burrill says, “Toastmasters has given me the courage to speak in front of a group in spite of my speech impediment.”

To learn more about Toastmasters attend an Open House at Burien Breakfast Toastmasters, Thursday, September 9, 2010. Arrive at 6:45am to receive your guest packet and get your coffee or juice. There will be a light breakfast served at break time.

Burien Breakfast Toastmasters Open House
4 Lessons on Speaking from “The Karate Kid”
Highline Public Schools ERAC Building
15675 Ambaum Blvd SW, Burien
Across the street from Azteca, next to Hi-Line Lanes
7:00am – 8:15am
Arrive at 6:45am for Guest Packets, Coffee and Juice
For more info contact Theresa 206-588-5088 or burienbreakfast.com@gmail.com

There will be three parts to the meeting, the prepared speeches, the evaluations, and “Table Topics”. The prepared speeches are usually of five to seven minutes long. Each member is given in a manual that sets out ten speech projects. Each of these has a specific goal, such as speech structure, using gestures, pauses and vocal inflection. These will help you learn how to express your ideas clearly and with confidence. Bang Parkinson, the President of Burien Breakfast Toastmasters, says that using the speech projects helped her gain confidence and feel comfortable presenting at board meetings at work. “Even though I still have my Chinese accent, people understand me better. Giving speeches at Toastmasters helped me to articulate well and to speak slower, clearer and smoother.”

After each speech an evaluator, usually a Toastmaster more experienced than the speaker, provides feedback. This takes the form of an impromptu speech and the objective is to give suggestions on how to improve future speeches because feedback is essential to learning.

For many people the “Table Topics” part of a meeting is the most frightening, yet this is also of the greatest benefit for those wanting to improve how they speak at work. In Table Topics each person is called upon to speak impromptu on a subject. If you’ve never done it before, delivering an interesting and well-structured talk to a group of attentive listeners without any preparation can be extremely difficult. Yes, the first time is hard, but it gets easier with practice, and that’s precisely the point. As Jean Schmidt says, “I used to be legally blind. Science gave me back my eyesight. Toastmasters opened my eyes. Now they can’t keep my mouth shut!”

Attend a meeting and you’ll find Toastmasters are more than willing to share stories of how Table Topics practice helped them at work. From explaining a project to a group of unexpected visitors to persuading colleagues to consider a crazy idea, being able to express thoughts clearly is essential to being viewed as both confident and competent. Roger Wells will tell you how Table Topics saved his dad’s life when with no preparation he had to convince medical authorities to hospitalize his dad at once.

You can learn these skills and more in a supportive, self paced, fun atmosphere at Burien Breakfast Toastmasters. Join us at our Open House September 9, 2010 at 6:45am or at any of our regularly scheduled meetings.

Burien Breakfast Toastmasters
Highline Public Schools ERAC Building
15675 Ambaum Blvd. SW
Burien, WA 98166
2nd and 4th Thursday of every month
7:00am – 8:15am

Freedom Systems does Residential and Commercial:

• Security
• Electrical
• Renewable Energy
• Audio / Video
• Automation

Freedom Systems owner Jimmie Beem

The owner, Jimmie Beem, started his career in the Security Industry when he was 19 years old managing two of the largest ADT dealers in the Northwest. In 2005, at the age of 22, Jimmie was presented with an opportunity to establish his very own ADT dealership.

Since then they’ve expanded their expertise into Video Surveillance, Access Control, Audio / Video and they have some of the best Commercial and Residential Electricians in the industry working for them.

Freedom Systems believes in providing their customers with the latest technology, competitive pricing and an outstanding level of customer service. They provide the freedom without the worries and care about your overall customer satisfaction.

To learn more visit their website at www.freedomsystemsinc.com or call (206) 274-9946.

Mount View and White Center Heights Elementary Schools will both celebrate back-to-school by giving out new backpacks full of school supplies to students courtesy Qwest, World Vision, Community Schools Collaboration (CSC) and Highline Public Schools.

In addition to giving out the free backpacks, families of students are invited to a free barbecue as well.

Here are the details:

• Tuesday, Aug. 31st at Mount View Elementary, located at 10811 – 12th Avenue SW, between 10am – 2pm.
• Wednesday, Sept. 1st at White Center Heights Elementary (10015 – 6th Avenue SW) from 5pm – 7pm.

On Friday, September 3, Southwest Youth and Family Services and South Pacific Youth Connections are hosting a public celebration in honor of the youth in our community who participated in their South Pacific Youth Connections Summer Program.  Through dance, poetry, and song, “Fia Fia” will showcase the talents and hard work of the youth who made the program such a notable success this year.

Young people of South Pacific ancestry in our community face daunting challenges as they navigate their way to adulthood.  They tend to experience higher than average failure rates in school and excessive referrals into the juvenile court system.  The South Pacific Youth Connections Summer Program was designed to help youth meet these challenges “through building self-confidence and cultural pride,” according to SYFS’s Joseph Seia.  The summer program offered participants “Pacific Islander-centric social studies and history courses, a fitness program, Pacific dance workshops, and anti-racist organizing.”

By all accounts, the South Pacific Youth Connections program is succeeding in its mission.  In an August 27 press release, Seia highlighted some of the students’ accomplishments.

•    Washington Strongest School Competition: South Pacific Youth Connections students took second place this year in the first annual competition that focused on fitness and strength.
•    Pacific Dance: South Pacific Youth Connections students performed cultural dance at 20 different venues this year.
•    Pacific Islander Social Studies Class: South Pacific Youth Connections students completed a social studies class for high school credit.
•    Community Forum: South Pacific Youth Connections students helped organize a successful forum to address the recent injustices with the police and the youth community.

“Fia Fia” is used in Pacific Island cultures such as Samoa and Tonga to mean “celebration,” “get-together,” or “happy.”  The event of that name this Friday promises to be all three, not to mention a great opportunity for our community to celebrate these young people’s hard work, while enjoying what promises to be an exciting display of their talent.

WHAT: “Fia Fia,” a celebration of the South Pacific Youth Connections Summer Program. Featuring dance, song, poetry, and more.

WHEN: Friday, September 3, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

WHERE: South Seattle Community College, JMB A, 6000 16 Avenue S.W., Seattle, 98106.

INFO: See flier below or contact Joseph Seia at 206.937.7680 ext. 210 or JSeia@swyfs.org for more information.