Here’s to many more years of Beacon Hill blogging!
Happy birthday to us
Is this your cat?
Neighbor Heather writes:
“Can you please put this photo up of this cat? A couple of us have seen it around 13th-14th Avenue South and Stevens. It’s super friendly, but has no collar. Just want to make sure it has a home.”
Plan ahead: Halloween activities for kids at community centers
Beacon Hill families take note: Jefferson and Van Asselt community centers both have Halloween activities planned for neighborhood kids later this month, including a haunted house, a flashlight hunt, and carnivals.
Jefferson Community Center (3801 Beacon Ave. S.) will welcome kids aged 12 and under to their Halloween Carnival and Haunted House on Friday, October 26, from 6-7:30 p.m. They promise “scary fun.” Costumes are encouraged. The event costs 25 cents per game, and $1 per person for the haunted house.
Further south, Van Asselt Community Center (2820 S Myrtle St.) is holding a Teen Halloween Flashlight Hunt and Carnival for kids aged 10-17 on Monday, October 29, from 7-8 p.m. The evening will include carnival games and activities. Admission is free.
Beacon Hill teachers trying to raise funds for needed supplies
Several teachers at Beacon Hill schools are using the DonorsChoose.org online charity website to appeal for donations from the community for supplies needed in their classrooms.
Teacher Diane Trudowski at Maple Elementary School is seeking donations toward the purchase of an iPad for use by her class, “Mrs. Trudnowski’s Second Grade All-Stars.”
On the fundraising page at DonorsChoose.org, Trudowski explains:
“iPads are transforming education at the primary grades! Children being able to connect with math, writing, and reading just through the touch of their hands is incredible! Sadly, my district’s budget has not kept up with advances in technology (i.e. iPads) – our computers are 10+ years old and slow.
“…This year 3 primary grade classrooms at our school have been using iPads every day. It has been eye-opening to observe how this incredible technology has transformed the way children are learning – it’s a whole new ball game! I want my students to be able to hit a home run with their learning – an iPad and protective cover will engage my ‘team’ and increase their academic achievement to Major League levels! Won’t you step up to the plate and help us be in a league of our own?”
The amount remaining is $940 for a 64G New iPad with cover, sales taxes, fees, and an optional $148 donation to help support DonorsChoose.org.
Over at Beacon Hill International School, BHIS Art Specialist Mary Howard Logel is requesting donations for art supplies: watercolor paints, brushes, permanent black markers, watercolor paper, and a portable drying rack. The project totals $835, with $333 remaining to raise. An anonymous donor is matching donations to the project.
Logel says:
“This project will provide painting materials for a whole year for my students as well as a drying rack that will be used for many years to come. Art increases student confidence, motivation, and critical thinking skills while allowing them to express their learning in diverse ways.”
Also at BHIS, Ashley Meier is raising funds for six iPads for classroom use.
At Kimball Elementary, Laurie Roseto wants to fund a book cart and privacy partitions. Another Kimball teacher, Mary Gallagher, needs chairs for her first grade class to use.
At Van Asselt Elementary School, Laila Henderson’s fifth grade class needs two Dell netbooks. She explains:
“Students in this low-socioeconomic area come to my 5th grade class with limited typing and research skills. With the proper resources such as these laptops, they will engage in hands-on projects in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies.”
High school teachers are also in need of supplies. At Franklin High School, Melissa Anne Povey is raising funds for 31 science books, including Women in Science, The Joy of Chemistry, The Physics of Baseball, and more.
You can see all the Seattle School District DonorsChoose appeals here.
Two men attacked, one injured in greenbelt under I-5
by Ray Marcham, KOMO Communities
(Beacon Hill Blog news partners)
A man is being treated at Harborview Medical Center after an attack at the Jungle, near the Beacon Hill greenbelt.
According to Seattle Police, two men arrived at the Metro bus facility at Airport Way and Atlantic Street at around 1:30 a.m. and said they had been attacked nearby. Police were called soon after, and they were told that the men had been attacked nearby.
Officers were told that the men were under I-5 in the Jungle when two other men approached them. One man was hit with a rock by one of the suspects, while another suspect bit the victim on the neck and bit off part of the victim’s lower lip.
The two suspects then grabbed the victim’s wallet and left on a bicycle. The man who was with the victim was not injured.
The uninjured man told officers that the attackers had been seen in the Jungle a few weeks earlier, but they were not known.
Community Engagement Online for All workshop at Beacon Hill Library 10/11
“Building inclusive online community engagement in neighborhoods” is the subject of a workshop this Thursday, October 11, from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. at the Beacon Hill Library (2821 Beacon Ave. S.), organized by the non-profit BeNeighbors.org outreach initiative of Minnesota-based E-Democracy.org. Co-sponsors include the City of Seattle, the Seattle Foundation, and the National Conference of Dialogue and Deliberation.
The event will include two parts: “Seattle Neighbors Online Networking – Who is doing what?” and “Inclusive Community Engagement Online – Lessons to adapt and deploy locally,” to discuss existing neighbor-networking efforts, tools and processes for community engagement, and ways to build inclusive and integrated online community engagement.
Find out more about this workshop at the event web page.
Southeast Seattle vs. West Seattle: a lip-smacking Snackdown
Get your votes in for Southeast Seattle! Seattle Weekly‘s Voracious food blog is running their annual Snackdown, in which regions of Seattle compete for the Snackdown title as “Seattle’s best eating district.” This week, Southeast Seattle is up against West Seattle and White Center. You can vote on the website.
In this year’s competition, the suburbs are included, and some Seattle neighborhoods are lumped in with others. So, Beacon Hill is part of the “Southeast Super Region” along with the Central District, Madrona, Mount Baker, Georgetown, Columbia City, and Rainier Valley. Last year’s champion, White Center, gets paired with West Seattle. The Southeast wiped out the Northeast Super Region in a pre-competition qualifying round last week.
Of course, we know all about the great food that can be found on Beacon Hill and elsewhere in the great Southeast. Surely we can defeat the Westerners this week. The winner of this week’s competition will then face the winner of the competition between Downtown/Belltown/Pioneer Square/Sodo and the International District.
Finally! The Oak opens tonight
Owner Lisa tells us that the Oak (3019 Beacon Ave. S.) passed its health and fire inspections on Friday and after a weekend of “running around like mad doing last minute things,” the owners decided tonight would be the night.
The Oak is the second of two restaurant/bars to open recently after lengthy delays; the Tippe and Drague opened a few weeks ago further south on Beacon Avenue.
Have you seen this chicken?
I have a lost chicken near Maple Elementary School. She is a small Bantam Chicken white with black tail. Lost on Wed Oct 3rd. Please call Brett @ 206-931-9078.
If you know of the whereabouts of this wayward fowl, give Brett a call.
Parks making improvements to Beacon Mountain
You may have noticed the slides at Jefferson Park’s Beacon Mountain Playground have been closed. Have no fear — they are only closed so that Seattle Parks and Recreation can make the final revisions and tweaks to the new playground that opened in July. The work is being done in conjunction with the contractor and manufacturer of equipment, before the warranty expires. The work should be done by year’s end.
The work will include additions and alterations to the playground including revisions to the surfacing in the spraypark and additions to the mechanical system for spray features; plant replacement and hillside fortification to prevent erosion; revisions to hillside slides; and additions to site furnishings such as picnic tables, benches, bike racks, and trash receptacles. New interpretive panels describing solar energy production in the park will also be installed.
The slides will be closed through December.
For more information (or if you want to suggest additional improvements), contact project manager Andy Sheffer, 206-684-7041 or andy.sheffer@seattle.gov.