Our Community Volunteers Are “The Best”

by Janet Grella

As the sun sets on the last day of National Volunteer Month, The B-Town Blog wanted to highlight some of our local volunteer efforts in the community.

These unsung heroes deserve a pat on the back, as well as the ongoing praise and thank-you’s for their volunteer efforts that keep such entitities running as our own regional hospital Highline Medical Center, the Highline School District, Des Moines Senior Center and Des Moines Food Bank.

Highline Hospital recently celebrated their 300 volunteers at a luncheon at the Normandy Park Cove. One hundred were able to attend the party, which was catered by Emerald Cove Catering.

“One of our volunteers has supported us for 31 years….and has given more than 13,500 hours of service. Incredible!” noted Mara Burke, Director of Community Relations and Volunteer Services…

Des Moines’ Woodmont Elementary Closed Due To Swine Flu

Effective Friday, May 1st, Woodmont Elementary School in Des Moines is one of four schools in King County to close due to probable swine flu infections.

No classes will be held, and all students are being told to stay home.

King County Public Health, working with both the Federal Way and Seattle School Districts decided Thursday that the best course of action is to close all schools where probable cases may have attended for at least seven days.

The schools, which are all scheduled to re-open May 8th, include…

City Offering Three Free Natural Yard Design Workshops

Three free natural yard design workshops will be offered by the City of Burien and King County starting Thursday May 7th and continuing for two additional Thursdays through May 21st.

Here are the details:

WHAT: Three free natural yard design workshops…

PHOTOS: Horsin’ Around At The Beach At Three Tree Point

Thursday afternoon (4/30) on Burien’s Three Tree Point beach saw some unusual animals at low tide – PONIES!

From left, Army Olsen, Brie Hobbs and Gigi Sferra feed local grasses to one of three ponies that were offering rides to winners of a prize from Hamlin-Robinson School’s annual auction. According to the kids, the ponies ate “just about anything, including seaweed!”

The lucky auction winners got to ride around the beach just after low tide and enjoy a picnic for about three or so hours.

Lisa Sferra (pictured below, giving her Shetland Pony Cheerio a kiss) who works in White Center, donated the rides for the school’s fundraiser. Hamlin-Robinson is located near Boulevard Park at 10211 12th Ave South.

Lisa wants BTB Readers to know that if they’re interested, they can get Pony Rides for their kids for just $40 per child (pony kisses cost extra).

She can be reached at lsferra@hotmail.com.

Red Cross To Open Relief Supply Center In Burien Friday

Friday (May 1st), at 11am, the American Red Cross will dedicate a new Disaster Relief Supply Center in Burien with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 510 SW 158th. The event will include representatives of... [Read more]

UPDATE: Now 10 Cases Of Probable Swine Flu In King Co.

UPDATE 4/30 4pm: King County’s Public Health Department announced Thursday at 3:30pm that there are now 10 “probable” cases of swine flu in King County, out of 13 in the entire state.

Still no known cases in the Burien area, and none have yet been confirmed by the CDC.

The 10 probable cases of swine flu in King County include:

• A male child of Seattle who was hospitalized and is improving
• A male in his 20s from Seattle, not hospitalized and improving
• A woman in her 30s from Seattle, not hospitalized and improving
• 7 additional probable cases in King County as of 4/30/09, 3:30pm (Public Health is still investigating and has not yet announced the locations or status)

Also, because one of the victims was a student at Seattle’s Madrona School, both Public Health and Seattle Public Schools decided to close the school for seven days, starting today, to reduce the ability of the infection to spread. The school is scheduled to re-open on May 7.

As for the Highline School District, there are no known cases or planned closures yet, and here’s the latest statement from their website (which concerned parents should check often as this news is developing quickly):

The first suspected cases of swine flu have been detected in Washington State, and Highline Public Schools is monitoring the illness and is working closely with Public Health-Seattle and King County and the national Centers for Disease Control as a precaution.

If more cases are reported in our area, Public Health will advise the district on closing schools.

PREVIOUSLY:

Just after 9pm Wednesday evening (4/29), King County Public Health Department announced that three probable cases of swine flu (H1N1) have been identified in the county.

All three were reported to be in Seattle, with none reported as being in the Burien area.

Laboratory samples have been sent to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Public Health – Seattle & King County is awaiting final confirmation.

Also today, the World Health Organization raised its pandemic swine flu alert level to Phase 5 – its second-highest level, and one that includes the language “a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent.”

The CDC has determined that the swine flu virus H1N1 is contagious and is spreading from human to human.

Symptoms of swine flu include:

• A fever of more than 100°F
• Coughing
• Joint aches
• Severe headache
• And, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea

“Now that swine flu is likely in King County, we expect to see more infections, but it’s too early to say how severe the illnesses will be. We are working to provide needed information and assistance to these people and their families. We are also working with health care providers and community partners to prepare in the event that the situation becomes more serious,” said Dr. David Fleming, Director and Health Officer for Public Health – Seattle & King County.

“We’ve prepared for this day for the past four years, and now we must all do our part to reduce its spread,” said Ron Sims, King County Executive. “We encourage everyone to get prepared at home, find out about plans at your job, and take steps to protect yourself, your family and the community by staying home when you are sick, washing your hands often and covering your coughs and sneezes.”

“In the last few years, Seattle has prepared for pandemic flu. We will activate our Emergency Operations Center at the first level so our emergency operations personnel can coordinate procedures and communications,” said Greg Nickels, Seattle Mayor.

As of April 29, there are three probable cases of swine flu in King County, in addition to two cases in Snohomish County and one case in Spokane County.

The three King County residents with probable swine flu include:

• A male child of Seattle who was hospitalized and is improving
• A male in his 20s from Seattle, not hospitalized and improving
• A woman in her 30s from Seattle, not hospitalized and improving

Officials did not release any other information, such as whether the victims had traveled to Mexico recently.

When should you seek medical care?

Use the same judgment you would use during a typical flu season. Do not seek medical care if you are not ill or have mild symptoms for which you would not ordinarily seek medical care. If you have more severe symptoms of fever, cough, sore throat, body aches or are feeling more seriously ill, call your health care provider to discuss your symptoms and if you need to be evaluated.

Public Health will continue to work with health care providers to test flu patients who develop severe illness or are associated with clusters, but does not currently recommend testing for all flu patients.

If the following flu-like symptoms are mild, medical attention is not typically required: runny nose or nasal stuffiness; low-grade fever for less than 3 days; mild headache; body aches and mild stomach upset.

What can I do now to get prepared?

This is an excellent time to get prepared at home and work for a possible influenza pandemic. See www.kingcounty.gov/health/pandemicflu

Everyday behaviors to stay healthy

• If you are sick, stay home from work or school.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. If you don’t have access to soap and water, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• To further prevent the spread of germs, avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
• Avoid close contact with sick people

What is swine flu?

“Swine flu” is an influenza A (H1N1) virus normally found in pigs. There are many such viruses and they rarely infect humans. The virus currently causing human illness is a new type of swine flu that has developed the ability to infect people and be transmitted from person to person.

Although this new virus is called “swine flu,” it is not transmitted from pigs to humans, or from eating pork products. Like other respiratory diseases, it is spread from person to person through coughs and sneezes. When people cough or sneeze, they spread germs through the air or onto surfaces that other people may touch.

Rest assured The B-Town Blog will be following this story closely, and we urge all readers to be vigilant in following the directions listed above, as well as seeking immediate help if you suffer from any associated symptoms.

For more information and frequent updates: www.kingcounty.gov/health/swineflu, or call the Public Health Hotline: 206-296-4949.

Here’s a link to a PDF called “Pandemic Flu Planning Guide” which is probably now worth a read.

BREAKING: Boeing 777 Emergency Landing At Sea-Tac

At 3:30pm Wednesday (4/29), a Boeing 777 returned and landed safely at Sea-Tac Airport after reporting an engine fire, then dumping its fuel over Puget Sound.

We raced to the airport in hopes of getting a photo, but, alas, we chose the wrong end of the runway, then were thwarted by Port of Seattle security from getting any closer.

Here’s the release issued by the Port:

Media Advisory Uppdate – 3:30pm

The aircraft emergency has landed safely.

At this time there appears to be no other problem.

The aircraft is taxiing to the gate.

Previously…..

Media Advisory – 3:25pm

Sea-Tac Airport is currently responding to an aircraft emergency at this time.

A Boeing 777 aircraft, identified as Asiana Flight #271 has reported an engine fire.

Currently the aircraft is dumping fuel before returning to the airport.

The aircraft is set to arrive on Sea-Tac’s 16 Center runway.

Rescue crews are in place for response.

We will respond with further information as it becomes available.

New Advertiser West Seattle Montessori School Sale Is Sat.

The B-Town Blog is proud to welcome as our latest Advertiser the wonderful people of the West Seattle Montessori School.

It’s a great school.

And they’re having a Rummage Sale this Saturday, May 2nd.

Go!

It’ll be this Saturday from 9am to 3pm at the American Legion Hall, which is located at 3618 SW Alaska Street in West Seattle (map below).

Booth space is available for a small fee. Call the school for more information at 206-935-0427.

Also, the West Seattle Montessori School will soon be moving to their new location in White Center.

They are now enrolling for the 2009 – 2010 academic school year.

“Choosing a school where children flourish according to their needs and abilities is more critical today than ever,” said the school’s Angela Sears. “West Seattle Montessori School is pleased to offer individualized teaching from experienced professionals, and would be delighted to assist you throughout your child’s academic journey.”

West Seattle Montessori School
4536 38th Avenue SW, West Seattle
phone 206-935-0427
www.westseattlemontessori.comru

Burien Power Outage Scheduled To End Around 4pm

If you live in the Burien area around SW 128th to SW 130th between Ambaum Blvd. and Puget Sound, you probably aren’t able to read this story since your power has been out since 9:07am this morning (Wed., April 29th).

The power outage started at 9:07am and is scheduled to last for 7 hours, ending at approximately 4:07pm…

Big Picture High School’s Auction Is May 29th

by Josh Hart

A few Big Picture High School students, which includes myself, are putting on an Auction. All proceeds will be donated to The First Place School, which is a school in Seattle that helps homeless and abused children get their education along with finding homes for them.

YOU are invited to attend the auction.

It is May 15th starting at 7pm at Big Picture High School, which is located at 2450 South 142nd Street in SeaTac (map below)…

Highline Schools Foundation Announces Gold Star Winners

And the winners are..

Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence announced its 2009 Gold Star Award winners…

Welcome Our Latest Advertiser: The Digiguy And CPI!

A very colorful B-Town Blog welcome goes out to our latest Advertiser: The Digiguy and CPI!

The Digiguy and CPI have been in the digital design and custom embroidery business in their home for the past 17 years. It is owned and manned by Chuck Northcutt Sr. and his son Chuck Northcutt Jr. They specialize in embroidered apparel, Silk-screening, Direct to Garment Printing, pins, patches, lanyards and more.

When BTB travelled to their North Highline Headquarters, we were told to look for the house with the big antennas. Seems that Chuck Sr. is a longtime HAM radio operator. It was his wife Donna that got them into the business when they both retired 17 years ago. Donna bought a small embroidery machine and started making shirts for their HAM radio friends with their ‘handles’ on them. This grew quite quickly into what you see in their former lower-level family room.

They’ve got four Amaya digital embroidery machines as well as a Happy Multi Head and several Melco Single Heads which allows them to take small and large projects.

The Digiguy and CPI tell BTB that sometimes the rather large house is stacked to the rafters with boxes for one single client.

“Customer Service and Quality Control are our number one priorities,” explains Chuck Jr. Therefore pick up and delivery is no problem, even if they have to rent a moving truck!

Chuck Sr. proudly tells BTB that Chuck Jr. is the “best digitizer in the country.” As a matter of fact, Chuck Jr. travels the country teaching the fine art of digitizing. Jr.’s an award winning digitizer who will be featured in an upcoming issue of Stitches Magazine.

And for t-shirts they’ve got an amazing Amaya Melco Jet that allows direct garment imprints in a matter of seconds from your artwork or picture to the t-shirt. They’ve got customers that come by for a new fresh shirt to wear every week. It can print millions of colors as opposed to screen printing, which takes time to print only six colors.

“The great thing about the Melco Jet is that it’s portable,” explains Jr. Last year they took it down to the Des Moines Classic Car and Wooden Boat Show. They took pictures of entrants as they drove into he Marina and had custom t-shirts waiting for them after the show. If any of our readers are interested in such a perk for your shows or events, click here.

The Digiguy and CPI interests in shows at the Marina could be because the Northcutts have their completely restored 1969 36′ Columbia Sail Boat that’s moored at the Marina and completely outfitted for their impending father-son sailing voyage to Hawaii.

If your school church or other not-for profit needs products for a fundraiser, contact The Digiguy and CPI who will create, produce and deliver products to sell at your event.

Both Northcutts left the corporate world 17 years ago to grow The Digiguy and CPI into a full-blown family business and haven’t looked back. Chuck Sr. claims to have the best commute in the world, as the business is operated in the basement of his home. Chuck Jr. and his family live right next door, so he believes he’s got the second best commute at least in North Highline, where their business is located.

If you or your business recognize the importance of corporate branding for you employees or team, give the Chucks a call at 206-243-7070 to get started. BTB did!

As the “official clothier to The B-Town Blog,” Chuck Sr. and Jr. are busy working on our new summerwear that will be premiered (weather permitting) at the Burien Farmers Market on Thursday, May 7th on 10th Ave SW in Olde Burien. Stop by our booth and check out our new shirts – we’ll be wearing them with pride and you’ll see why!

And what’s next for the Northcutts? For sure, at some point 50-year old Chuck Jr. would “someday like to swim with the Huma fish while living on a beach in Hawaii.” Both Chucks are qualified scuba divers, so this seems like a possibility.

Hmmmmm.

For more information, click on their Ad on the Right Sidebar, go to their website or call them at 206-243-7070.

[Would you like to have a "Blogvertorial" story like this for your Business, along with an Ad on every page seen by over 15,000 Local Readers per month? Email us for more info, or check out our Advertise page!]

“The Day My Parents Became Cool” To Play In Burien 8/21

We first reported on the locally-made short comedy film “The Day My Parents Became Cool” last June when we posted a call for extras needed for scenes being filmed at Highline High School.

We reported from the set, showcased photos of the action, produced a video on the first sneak peek screening, interviewed Writer/Director Steve Edmiston as well wrote about the film’s first showing in various festivals (can you tell we love to see creative success?), and heck – we even proclaimed it as the #10 Top Burien-area story for 2008!

Well now we’ve got more exciting news about this B-Town Baby, including the Burien-area premiere date, time and place…

PHOTO: Grocery Outlet’s Sign: “Burien’s Spring Pot Sale”!

Toke, er we mean Tip of the bong, er Hat to BTB Reader and local Writer/Talent Don Crawley, who alerted us to this humorous message on the Grocery Outlet sign on 4th Ave SW near SW 150th.

We’ve always thought this store was crowded because of the bargains, but now we know the real reason: it’s Burien’s Spring Pot Sale!

Some other bad attempts at lame pot humor come to mind, like:

• “No wonder those shoppers are buying such large quantities of Twinkies…and they’re so mellow!” – Don Crawley
• “Clean up in aisle three – the entire stack of discount munchies have been spilled again!”
• Listen closely to the Muzak that’s played in the store next time you’re there – nothing but Grateful Dead and Phish.
• Note the name of the espresso stand in the background – it’s called “Red Eye Expresso” for a reason!

Have any pot-related joke ideas?

Dump ‘em in Comments below, ‘cuz we could all use a chuckle now and then…

Holy Family’s Fiesta Auction & Dinner Is Sat., May 2nd

On Saturday May 2nd, Holy Family Elementary is holding its 21st annual R.E.A.C.H. (Reinforcing Education And Catholic Heritage) Fiesta Auction and Dinner.

Here are the details…

Highline Medical Center Is A Top 10 “Healing Hospital”

Burien’s Highline Medical Center has been chosen as one of the “Top 10 Healing Hospitals” for 2008 by Baptist Healing Trust, a Christian foundation based in Nashville, Tennessee.

Highline was singled out as lucky number seven in the list. This year’s six-member selection panel reviewed hospitals coast-to-coast before making their decisions about the winners. Panel members consisted of Presidents & CEOs from hospitals and health systems across the nation.

The “Healing Hospital” recognition was created to honor hospitals and leaders that have made a special commitment to creating cultures that demonstrate compassion and quality. Each hospital honored in the list has “demonstrated extraordinary commitment to patient and employee-centered care,” according to the release…

ChoralSounds Northwest “Fascinating Rhythms” Is 5/16-17

ChoralSounds Northwest’s “Fascinating Rhythms” will play at the Highline Performing Arts Center on Saturday, May 16th at 8pm, and Sunday May 17th at 2pm. Here are the details: WHAT:... [Read more]

OPINION: Mike Martin Must Tell The Truth Or Resign

An Editorial by Jim Branson

At Monday’s City Council meeting, several prominent Burien citizens spoke up for City Manager Mike Martin, saying he has done a good job and he deserves another chance. They said he shouldn’t be judged before the facts were known.

Former Council Member Jack Block Jr. said he (Block) had the disease of alcoholism, he had sought treatment for it, and it did not stop him from being a contributing member of society as long as he took the right steps.

One difference between Mr. Block and Mr. Martin is the admission of having a problem…