BTB Humorist and local Author Shawn Underwood took the photo above, showing several flags at half-mast on the north beach of Burien’s Three Tree Point, as residents commemorated the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

If you have a photo to share with our Readers, please email us and we’ll consider posting it!

BTB Advertiser Statements Home Decor is celebrating their first anniversary this Saturday April 30th from 10-6 with 20% off everything in the store!

This one day only event will include a gift with purchase of $50 or more and complimentary hor d’oeuvres and champagne.

Statements is located at 917 SW 152nd Street in Olde Burien.

When asked to describe her store, owner Teresa White said:

“Casual Elegance and a little bit of everything.”

Enjoy an additional 5% off everything in the store on April 30th when you say “I saw this on the B-Town Blog!” (not combinable with any other offer).

by Jack Mayne

It was ten years ago today (Feb. 28) when Highline Community College student Kristopher Kime died after being hit by a 17-year-old runaway during a Mardi Gras melee in Pioneer Square, but Kime’s mother, Kim Parks is still recovering from the horrid event.

Parks said last week that she had just gotten an e-mail from LifeCenter Northwest that said, “Ten years ago, Kris Kime saved the lives of five people when he became an organ donor after being killed trying to save a woman’s life from an angry mob.”

LifeCenter Northwest is the organ and tissue program that services four Northwest states.

She said the knowledge that part of her son still lives in these people is “why I can sit here at my desk at work and deal with the things I need to deal with and I now have a photo of my son, Kris, on my desk and it has only been on my desk for about six months . . . because I just could not work seeing his photo. It is now there and even though his photo is in front of me, he is behind me pushing me all the way.”

Once Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, was a big community event in Pioneer Square, but not any more. Things have quieted down to the point the Seattle Police Department plans only its normal patrol of the area on March 8, this year’s celebration date.

Kris Kime's Mom, Kim Parks, serves as Co-Chair of the Highline Relay for Life, and works in Community Outreach for BTB Advertiser Normandy Park Senior Living.

In early morning of Feb. 28, 2001, Kime was celebrating with his friends in the streets that had mushroomed from drinking in bars to a night of rowdiness in the Pioneer Square streets.

Kristopher Kime, then 20, who worked in construction and attended Highline Community College, came to the aid of a lone woman on the ground being assaulted. One of them, 17-year-old Jerell Thomas, came up behind him and hit the back of Kime’s head. Kime never regained consciousness.

Seattle police detectives had played news video of the Mardi Gras mayhem to Thomas and said he identified himself as a young man who was attacking people, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported at the time. Thomas told officers he was angry because someone had hit him with a bottle, but that Kime had done nothing to provoke him.

Jerell Thomas was convicted by a jury in 2001 and was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the beating death. But, in 2005, the Washington state Court of Appeals overturned the conviction in a ruling that was not unexpected.

In 2008, Thomas pleaded guilty to second-degree manslaughter, avoiding a new trial. Thomas’ original conviction brought a 15-year sentence, but he was re-sentenced to 10 years for the lesser offense, the Seattle Times reported.

Thomas was released from jail on Dec. 7, 2009, after serving eight and one-half years. He was jailed again just two months later, in February 2010 after visiting an ex-girlfriend. Thomas was charged with two felonies in connection with the visit, but pleaded guilty to three misdemeanors and was jailed again. He was released just before last Thanksgiving.

Parks says she misses her son “terribly.”

“I try not to focus on the negative things,” she says, “I try to focus on the positive thing about the wonderful gift of life he’s given to these people. People we have talked to say, ‘You know, Kim, I have heard about what your son did and because of that, I have signed up to be an organ donor.’

“When I focus on the person who caused this, it makes me sick to my stomach, I feel kind of lost sometimes, and I just feel it is so unfair. I know that when he was in prison he could get visitors,” Parks said. “For me to go visit my son, I go out to Tukwila to the cemetery.”

“I have a real problem when I try to justify it to my own children and to my grand children when they start asking questions. They know all about uncle Kris, they know who he is, they know about him. But ‘how come, grandma, when bad people do things like that, they are not in jail forever.’ I kind of ask myself the same question, but it tears me up if I continue to focus on that.”

She says she was asked why Kime went to help the woman during the street fight.

“He was always taught that you never hit women for any reason and if somebody needs help, you go to help them,” Parks said. “The police were there, but they didn’t do what they were supposed to do. Because my son went to help someone, he lost his life.

Ten years ago, Mardi Gras was a big deal but today it has withered away to several Pioneer Square bars and clubs having in-house specials.

Kim Parks will not be attending.

“I don’t do Mardi Gras,” she said with emphasis. “That isn’t for me.”

RELATED VIDEOS:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Five years ago this Sunday, Feb. 6th, marks a very sad and tragic anniversary – that’s when the body of Nicole Pietz was found in a wooded area in Burien.

She was the victim of a homicide, and the case remains unsolved.

Nicole was last seen by her husband in Lynnwood on January 28, 2006.

Her car was found in the University District of Seattle about two weeks later.

There remains a $36,000 reward in the case.

In addition, Nicole’s mother has said the family will pay the legal costs of anyone who comes forward with information germane to the case, but wishes to use the services of an attorney.

The King County Sheriff’s Office Major Crimes Unit is still investigating this case, and would like anyone with information to call (206) 296-3311.

Here are photos of Nicole:

Three years ago today (Dec. 11, 2007, to be exact), from a humble dining room table in a home in Burien, The B-Town Blog came unto this planet, chock full of hopes and dreams of informing, entertaining and enlightening a community, and initially only as a part-time hobby.

Today, we take a look into the mirror and shout:

HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY TO US!

It’s been an amazing three years too, from humble beginnings as a hobby to now, the #1 source of up-to-date Local News, Reader Comments and more for the area, with numerous Contributors, over 45 great Advertisers, with some months getting over 75,000 Readers (October set a record…so far)!

We’re proud to say we’re built entirely by all local people who live, work, shop and spend their money right here in Burien.

And now, for trivial and archival purposes, are the first two stories we posted on our very first day:

• Welcome to the B-Town (Burien) Blog!
• Video of One of Your Uglier Neighbors

We’ve grown a bit in our short existence, and we currently publish a total of six local blogs, including:

• The Waterland Blog – for our lovely neighbor to the south, the community of Des Moines, WA.
• White Center Blog – the original Blog about White Center, our neighbor to the north.
• Normandy Park Blog – all about (you guessed it) Normandy Park
• Tukwila Blog – “100 Years in the Making” blog about Tukwila
• SeaTac Blog – “Everywhere’s Possible” with this blog about SeaTac

If you haven’t already, please join our growing Social Network:

Of course, as we’ve grown, we’ve gone from just one sole Publisher/Editor (me, Scott) to a staff of 12+ regular (and often irregular) Contributors, including:

• Michael Brunk, Photographer/Code Guru. An amazing Photographer with a great eye for “the shot,” Michael not only brings his artistic talent (what we call “Brunksmanship“) to all our sites, but his technical know-how as well. Need a great shot of something, or some WordPress, PHP, CSS or other code fixed ASAP? “Call Michael!” is our immediate response.
• Janet Grella, Sales Diva, joined the LOL Dudez team in July, 2008. Not only does The Diva sell Ads, she also writes stories, takes pics and much more for all our community blog sites. With Janet on board, The B-Town Blog has enjoyed incredible growth in both Readers and Advertisers. Janet knows the future of advertising is online, not in newspapers.
• Ralph Nichols, Reporter/Writer. A former Editor of The Highline Times, Ralph specializes in covering local issues, including political, community, business, news and much more. Ralph has many years’ experience as a reporter for numerous daily newspapers, and has made the transition to this newfangled online world quite well.
• Nicholas Johnson, Photographer/Reporter. Nicholas is a Western Washington University Journalism Major who hails from Burien. We’re lucky to have him helping us out and providing the BTB his multitude of talents.
• Jack Mayne, Reporter. Jack Mayne is an experienced old-world Journalist who has worked with The Seattle P-I, The Journal American in Bellevue and Valley Daily News in Kent and many others. He brings not only his vast Writing experience to us, but his deep knowledge of the News Business as well.
• Mark Neuman, Writer/Sales: former real-world Journalist, TV Host, Producer and Marketer, Mark is an old friend of Scott’s going back to when they worked on their high school newspaper together (West Seattle High’s “Chinook”). Mark sells Ads and Writes for the BTB.
• Bart Bryan, Sales. Another old buddy of Scott and Mark’s from their high school daze, Bart is a happy, friendly, gregarious man who loves to learn, “conversate” (as the kids say), sell Ads and of course, sing killer Karaoke.
• Gina Bourdage, Artist/Reporter/Sales: graduate of Washington State University with a B.A. in Communications, Gina is a native who currently resides on the cusp of the proposed annexation area. She does our Ad artwork, writes stories and much more.
• Rachel M. Lusby, Writer. Specializing in Human Interest stories, Rachel is a longtime resident who works for us on assignment.
• Shawn Underwood, Humor Columnist: Twenty-five years of living in Burien gives this Humorist much fodder for her writings. All of her stories are true, or at least have a grain of truth with no added embellishments. Or something like that.
• Bryan Charles, Intern. Bryan is a budding Artist and Animator who attends Highline’s Big Picture High School in SeaTac. He brings his twisted sense of humor to us through his cartoons and more.
• Philip Benais, Intern. Philip is an aspiring Writer who also attends Big Picture High School. He is a film buff, and, we think, an excellent movie Reviewer.

In the end, the real reason we’re going and growing stronger after three years is because of YOU, our Readers and Advertisers! Without either of you we wouldn’t exist!

Thanks, and we look forward to an even better fourth year!

It was one year ago today (Nov. 12, 2009) that Mark Ebinger, 25, was stabbed and killed outside Good Time Ernie’s in Burien.

Far as we know the suspect is still at large.

We also believe there is still a $10,000 reward being offered by the Ebinger family, along with Crime Stoppers, for info leading to the arrest of the murderer.

Here’s a brief re-cap of the tragic incident:

Mark and his brother Peter, 24, were attacked outside the Burien bar around 1:45am on Nov. 12, 2009. Mark died from stab wounds at the scene. Peter was stabbed numerous times, but survived.

Detectives believe there were several witnesses to the attack, and these witnesses might have information that could solve the case.

The homicide occurred outside Good Time Ernie’s Pub, located at 15747 Ambaum Blvd SW in Burien.

Peter recalled the attack, saying that a “few words were spoken to someone who was with us in the bar, and I told Mark we should leave…and as we left a group of guys came out the other door, a bottle was thrown at us, then they came at us with knives.”

“I was just scared, and was trying to get away,” Peter said. He also added that Mark was “kind of far away” from him in the parking lot at the time of the attack.

Peter also added that “someone else had words with one of the guys in the other group…” and he had no idea what was said, but is certain that the attacker(s) were in that group.

Once outside, “one guy came up in my face and tried to take a swing at me and another guy hit me from behind,” Peter continued. “I got stabbed probably six or seven times in the back…”

Anyone with information on this case is asked to call Crimestoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or the King County Sheriff’s Office at (206) 296-3311 (24 hours), or 9-1-1.

Here’s a video report on this case from KING-TV:

Mark Ebinger was just 25 when he was killed outside Good Time Ernie's Nov. 12, 2009.

Read The B-Town Blog’s previous coverage of this tragic incident here.

BTB Advertiser The Yard Sale will be celebrating the first anniversary of its Grand Opening starting Monday, Nov. 1st.

The Yard Sale is located at 14017 First Avenue South #101 in Burien.

They will be celebrating with a big sale …  50% off all colored tag items … to make room for holiday merchandise.

Owned by The Cross Church and Discipleship Center of White Center, The Yard Sale’s proceeds go to sustaining the ministry Pastor Jerry Wilson started at the church in 2003. The ministry is dedicated to helping people who have become distressed through crisis in their lives.

Here is a list of some of the products you’ll find at The Yard Sale:

• Office supplies
• New and used clothes
• Electronics
• Ceramics
• Paintings
• Jewelry
• Games and toys
• Books
• Collectibles
• Appliances
• Furniture
• Books
• Cards
• Kitchenware

“Our office supplies section is huge,” says Pastor Wade Carson, who is lovingly referred to as Pastor Wade.

Jael Heart

Pastor Wade and Jael Heart have been at the store from day one nurturing and caring for one of God’s ministries.

Donations are gladly accepted at the Yard Sale store or at the Cross Church & Discipleship Center, located 1320 SW 102nd Street in White Center.

“We can pick up donated items locally,” Pastor Wade emphasizes. “We can clean out your grandmother’s house, your garage, your attic.”

The Cross Church can also provide hard working people with a variety of skills to help you with projects around your house or business if you are looking for some hired helping hands.

For information about this life changing program, go to www.crosschurchseattle.com.

The Yard Sale
14017 1st Avenue South #101
Burien, WA

Hours:

• 10am – 6pm Monday through Saturday

These folks are waiting to give you great deals at The Yard Sale, located at 14017 First Ave South.

The Burien Breakfast Toastmasters are a community club meant to help its members improve their work performance (i.e. teaching, one on one, leading meetings, giving presentations, communication, public speaking, and leadership skills, etc.).

The B-Town Blog’s own Theresa Frasch is an active member, and we can attest that she speaks quite well

Here are the event details:

WHAT: Burien Breakfast Toastmasters’ 50th Birthday.

WHEN: Friday, April 9th at 7pm.

WHERE: Highline Schools E.R.A.C. Building, located at 15675 Ambaum Blvd. SW in Burien.

INFO: From a flier:

The Burien Breakfast Toastmasters will celebrate its 50th birthday at 7 PM on April 9, 2010 at the Highline Schools E.R.A.C. Building (15675 Ambaum Blvd. SW, Burien WA 98166).

Dessert will be served. Please join us!

Please R.S.V.P. so we know how much food is needed. For R.S.V.P. or questions, please contact Mike DeLeon at gumballmike@hotmail.com or (206) 246-9183 or Terrence Dai at tkdai@yahoo.com or (206) 790-5167.

Toastmasters is a great way to learn to speak in public! It’s a chance to break bad habits, develop new ones and improve your public speaking skills. We also give you a chance to learn to speak on a moment’s notice, become a better listener, develop leadership skills, and to learn how to give and receive feedback.
Our regular meetings take place on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of every month at 7:00 AM. In the Highline 15675 Ambaum Blvd. SWSchools ERAC Building. It’s a great place to meet people and make new friends. If you want to give it a try, come join us for a morning and try it out.

Toastmasters is a worldwide non-profit organization that has a presence in more than 106 countries. It is dedicated to helping members develop andenhance communication and leadership skills. The organization achieves this goal through regularly scheduled meetings that allow participants to gain practical experience in: holding meetings, extemporaneous speaking, planned speaking, and evaluation.

For more information, visit the Burien Breakfast Toastmasters website here.

BTB Advertiser Elliott Bay Brewhouse and Pub will be celebrating its 3rd birthday this Saturday March 6th!

Live reggae from Dub Lounge International starts at 8pm.

Families are welcome and there’s No Cover!

Cheers to a great local establishment!

Elliott Bay Brewhouse and Pub is located at 255 SW 152nd in downtown Burien; phone: 206.246.4211. This family-friendly neighborhood pub offers a full pub menu, large party facilities, tournament-sized shuffleboard tables, along with party platters and beer to go.

More info on Elliott Bay Brewhouse & Pub is available at their website.

Here are a couple of videos of Dub Lounge International to whet your rastaman appetite:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Welcome back BTB Advertiser Burien Honda, which is having a birthday party and inviting everyone to come on in to check out the special green tag savings hanging from the rear view mirrors of all their cars.

They’ve been around Burien for 47 years and counting. In 1963, owner Jack Enderson opened a Honda Cycle dealership on SW 153rd and First Ave South, where “Mr. Auto” used to be (now Horizon Pets). He eventually added Triumph, BSA and Harley bikes to his inventory. In 1972, they needed more room and moved to their current location at 15026 First Avenue South.

This original 1970 N600 Honda has just 628 miles on it; its MSRP new was just $1,995!

In addition to an international reputation for its high mileage, Honda is leading the automotive industry in the Green and Hybrid Movement in automotive efficiencies. “Green” cars include the FIT Hatchback, Civic Sedan and “Hybrids” include Civic, Insight and Accord. They also have all of Honda’s conventional models. On the horizon is the FCX Clarity – a hydrogen and electric car available right now in California – and the CRV Diesel SUV sold in Europe and Japan.

Right now you can enjoy great 47 Anniversary savings on all Honda’s in stock! So stop on by and start enjoying your new Honda today.

Here’s a flashback pic of Burien Honda, circa 1972 – they’ve come a long way!: