BTB Real Estate Sponsor Prudential Northwest’s featured Open House for this week is an “extremely clean 3 bedroom, 2 full (all new) bath rambler” located near the beach in Hurstwood (in Burien) and priced at $376,950.

This home features newly-refinished hardwoods, new tile in the kitchen and family room, new interior paint, and a 2-car garage with huge attic storage.

Here are the details:

WHEN: Open House will be this Sunday, March 7th, from 1pm to 4pm.

WHERE: 13843 17th Ave SW • Burien 98166

INFO:

• List Price: $376,950
• Listing#: 32089
• Beds: 3
• Baths: 2
• Fireplaces: 1
• Year Built: 1966
• 2 Garage-Attached
• Approximate House SqFt: 1,420
• Lot Square Footage: 16,000

Interior Features:

• Bath Off Master
• Dble Pane/Strm Windw

Site Features:

• Cable TV
• Fenced-Partially
• Patio

Marketing Remarks:

Extremely clean 3 bdrm, 2 full (all new) bath rambler.

Newly refinished hardwoods and new tile in kitchen and family rm.

New interior paint. 2 car gar. w/huge attic storage.

Sought after Hurstwood-near the beach.

Get in this one! Furniture negotiable if interested..

Directions:

• Ambaum Blvd. to SW 144th St.
• West to 13th SW.
• Right to stop sign.
• Turn Right then immediate left to 13843 17th SW.

Click here to see the full, detailed listing.

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

BTB Real Estate Sponsor Prudential Northwest’s featured Open House for this week is a “beautifully restored 1.5 story home, with 3-bedrooms and 1.5-bath home right in the heart of Burien” priced at an affordable $269,999.

This home features an Island kitchen with newer appliances, laminate wood flooring and lots of cupboard space.

Here are the details:

WHEN: Open House will be this Sunday, Feb. 28th, from 1pm to 4pm.

WHERE: 119 SW 130th Street • Burien 98146

INFO:

• List Price: $269,999
• Listing#: 27215
• Beds: 3
• Baths: 1.5
• Fireplaces: 1
• Year Built: 1961
• 1 Garage-Attached
• Approximate House SqFt: 2,060
• Lot Square Footage: 7,478

Interior Features:

• Dining Room
• Dble Pane/Strm Windw
• High Tech Cabling,
• Skylights

Site Features:

• Fenced-Fully
• Nat. Gas Available
• RV Parking

Marketing Remarks:

Beautifully restored 1.5 story home, in the heart of Burien. This home features an Island kitchen with newer appliances, laminate wood flooring and lots of cupboard space. The living room has large picture windows, wall to wall carpeting and a fireplace. Newly painted exterior, the roof is only about 5 years old and newer vinyl windows and water heater. Do not miss out on this turnkey home.

Directions:

• From 1st Avenue South turn West onto 130th
• Home is on the left.

Click here to see the full, detailed listing. Click here to view all of Prudential Northwest’s Open Houses.

White Center Blog Advertiser West Seattle Montessori School and Academy will be presenting the play “Mulan” this Thursday, Feb. 4th, and Friday, Feb. 5th at West Seattle High School, at 7pm both nights.

Starring in the play will be the schools’ lower and upper elementary students.

Directing is WSM’s faculty member Mary Springer, local founder and artistic director of Twelfth Night Productions.

The tale of Mulan contains universal themes – that often the individual must sacrifice for the greater good, and that the path of personal discovery lies in that sacrifice.

Tickets are $7 in advance and $10 at the door.

Since 1985, West Seattle Montessori School has been an integral part of the West Seattle Community. Offering preschool through 8th grade education, WSMS prides itself on fostering independence and intellectual curiosity, stimulating personal growth, and encouraging innovation and a love of learning.

The school and academy are now enrolling for the 2010 – 2011 academic school year.

For more information, please contact the main office at (206) 935-0427, or visit their website here: www.WestSeattleMontessori.com.

Play location:

West Seattle High School
California Avenue SW and SW Stevens Street, in West Seattle

Ticket information: www.westseattlemontessori.com/updates/mulan

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Locked out? Lose your keys? Need to replace all of your locks? Don’t worry! There is a new locksmith in town: Seatown Locksmith, located just down the road in Burien, and serving all of King County.

When Highline Lock and Key closed their doors last year, former employee Maurice Bressack said, “There’s still a need for keys!” He put his plan into motion and opened Seatown Locksmith a few months ago, bringing another former employee, Dee Stewart, with him. Maurice worked at Highline Lock and Key for eight years. Before that he worked with his uncle in his mobile locksmith company for six years.

Seatown Locksmith offers fast, friendly, professional service. They have low overhead and low prices, but they are very high in customer service. They will respond to you any time of the day or night with their 24 hour emergency service.

What is the most expensive key you own? If you own a car that was made after 1996 it is your transponder key. If you need a replacement transponder key check out Seatown Locksmith’s prices – they will be lower than your dealership.

Do you have commercial properties? Seatown Locksmith can handle your commercial accounts. They do master keying, rekeying, lock replacements and more. They even offer monthly invoicing.

Whatever you need – residential, automotive, commercial, emergency – Seatown Locksmith is here in Burien to serve you anywhere in King County. Stop by and say hello to the friendly people at Seatown Locksmith: Maurice, Dee and Shiloh.

Seatown Locksmith
135 SW 153rd Street
Burien, WA 98148

Phone: 206-420-3426

Website: www.seatownlocksmith.com

Friend ‘em on Facebook here.

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Today marks a big day in the lifespan (so far) of The White Center Blog, as we’re proud to introduce our newest section and Advertiser: Real Estate Powered by Prudential Northwest!

This means that you can now access all local real estate listings by clicking on “Real Estate” in the upper navigation menu section between Advertise and Jobs. We’re happy to be working with the local Prudential Northwest office; the entire company consists of six offices throughout the Greater Seattle area.

Techie-types at both PNW and WCB have been working ’round the clock to develop the innovative new “Zero Click House Finding Engine” for real estate listings in the White Center and South Seattle areas. Users will be able to quickly and easily see all of the area’s latest home listings, view by neighborhoods, see open house maps and more just by clicking on “Real Estate” in our top navigation menu. The real estate section is also available on our sister sites The B-Town Blog (Burien), and The Waterland Blog, and soon The Normandy Park Blog.

“To search on a real estate site we wanted to make it easy to use so that every level of user can find what they are looking for,” said PNW Sales Manager Bradley Hawthorne. “Just by clicking on ‘Real Estate,’ you’ll instantly have every listing in all of White Center, South Seattle, Burien, Normandy Park, and Des Moines without having to do anything, hence the ‘Zero Click’ technology moniker.”

Want some real proof? Just click on one of the five areas below and see for yourself:

• South Seattle
• Burien
• Des Moines
• SeaTac
• Tukwila

If you click on any of those five areas, on that page is every single listing for that area – and not just Prudential Northwest Realty listings – that is inputted into the Northwest Multiple Listing Services website! Within those five major pages you’ll also find several communities and if you click on a community again just the listings in those communities will be shown without you having to input any search criteria (of course PNW’s standard and advanced searches are still available for the techie searchers, so you can tailor our search site to any criteria that you personally want), but for those of us that need a little help when surfing the web, “This is the simplest sight I have ever seen!”

Hawthorne adds: “Tying into these fast-growing community websites will not only help us showcase the latest listings for these areas, it will also help us serve our communities better. We all love the Southwest King County area and we hope we can help others find out what a hidden gem it is.”

PNW has been a community player since they first set foot in the area seven years ago. With 56 active Realtors, they outgrew their first location and they’re now located just down the road at 127 SW 156th Street in Burien. Broker/Branch Manager Lori Alden-Pense has been managing PNW since they moved here; she’s been with them since 1994.

“It is PNW’s mission to help build a better tomorrow by partnering with our communities today,” Lori said.

She talks the talk and walks the walk when it comes to PNW’s mission of giving back to the community.

Owned by long-time and well known real estate professional Mike Gain, Prudential Northwest Realty Associates has established itself as an industry leader by upholding the principles of the agent-customer relationship. Their combination of real estate expertise and responsive, flexible customer relations has allowed them to continue to grow and become one of the most influential real estate companies within the greater Puget Sound region. Constantly looking for ways to improve their company, PNW remains committed to the very highest standards of professionalism and service. More info is available at http://www.pnwrealty.com.

Prudential Northwest realty has a total of 450 real estate agents in their neighborhood offices, which, in addition to the White Center area includes Federal Way, Kent, West Seattle, Bellevue and Kirkland.

“We’re very excited to have Prudential Northwest Realty as our newest Advertiser,” said Scott Schaefer, White Center Blog Founder/Publisher. “This brand new sponsored section will help inform our local blog Readers for the latest local news, events, arts, entertainment and now – up-to-the-minute local real estate listings.”

Be sure to stay tuned for another new related feature – “Open House Friday,” where we’ll present the weekend’s best Open Houses throughout our coverage area, among other real estate related features.

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John Chattin-McNichols will be the featured lecturer Thursday night, Jan. 21st, at WCB Advertiser West Seattle Montessori School.

The approximately 90-minute presentation is scheduled to begin at 7pm.

Since 1985, West Seattle Montessori School has been an integral part of the West Seattle Community. Offering preschool through 8th grade education, WSMS prides itself on fostering independence and intellectual curiosity, stimulating personal growth, and encouraging innovation and a love of learning.

John Chattin-McNichols has a seasoned history with Montessori methodology and teaching that goes all the way back to 1968.

Some of his vast accomplishments include being the president of the American Montessori Society, the founder of the American Montessori Teachers Research Network, and a Professor of the American Montessori Society teacher education program at Seattle University.

John is respected and highly esteemed throughout the field of education, and is a published author, and world-renowned speaker.

The school will also soon be hosting two Open Houses, the first one being this Saturday.

Anyone and everyone in the White Center/West Seattle/Burien and surrounding communities is invited to attend the lecture and Open Houses.

The school is now enrolling for the 2010 – 2011 academic school year. For more information, please contact the main office at (206) 935-0427.

Open House Schedule:

• Saturday, January 23, 1pm – 3pm
• Wednesday, February 10, 6pm – 8pm

West Seattle Montessori School
11215 15th Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98146
Phone (206) 935-0427

www.WestSeattleMontessori.com

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The White Center Blog Welcomes our latest Advertiser: The Ming Wong Chinese Restaurant!

Located in a cozy strip mall just down the road in Burien near the Dairy Queen off Ambaum Blvd., the Ming Wong Chinese Restaurant is celebrating their Grand Opening this month under new owners Connie and Kwan Chan.

Connie was born in Canton, China, and moved to the Seattle area in 1995. After honing her culinary skills for 14 years at various restaurants in Seattle, she now brings her dining expertise to Burien.

Connie says “When it comes to Chinese cooking we can do everything!” They can even create your favorite Chinese dishes that are not on their menu. Just ask!

“Try our house tea,” says Connie. “Many of our customers say it’s the best tea in town.”

Some of their customers’ favorites are:

• Crispy Pork Szechwan Style
• Orange Beef
• Homemade Chicken Teriyaki
• Honey Walnut Prawns

The Ming Wong has ample room for banquets, large dinner parties, or special occasions.

They offer free delivery within a three mile radius with a $15 minimum order, and are one of the few local restaurants that allow online ordering (try it here).

Connie added “Ask me about our catering menu. We can put together something special that you can enjoy at home or at your business.”

The White Center Blog staff highly recommends the Ming Wong Chinese Restaurant because we dine there frequently, and we encourage our Readers to try their wonderful menu.

The Ming Wong Chinese Restaurant
14400 Ambaum Boulevard SW
Burien, Washington 99166

Phone: 206-241-2679

Fax: 206-241-4860

Order online: www.mingwongrestaurant.com

Hours:

• Monday through Thursday 11am to 9:30pm
• Friday and Saturday 11am to 10pm
• Sunday 12pm to 9:30pm

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We’d like to welcome back Advertiser Center Tool Rental Center to The White Center Blog!

We stopped in recently to say Hi to our friends right here in White Center. While there we picked up on tips to keep in mind in preparing for and dealing with the coming seasonal shift in our Northwest weather.

“When the rains and winds come, we’ll be ready to assist you,” said Center Tool’s Doug Stevens. “We’re here to help you meet all your winter weather needs.

“We have generators, pumps, dehumidifiers and wet vacuums,” he said. “We have log splitters, chippers and chain saws, too.

“We’re open seven days a week and our slogan is ‘We Rent Most Anything’.”

Doug and his crew are located in the bustling Delridge Triangle, where West Seattle meets White Center at Roxbury (see map below).

Doug began working at Center Tool Rental when his parents, Jack and Stella, started the business in the 1970’s.

“My parents were really good at the personal touch, asking people about their kids, and giving them advice on how to complete a project,” he said. “Some of my current customers are the grandkids of Mom and Dad’s first customers.”

And Zoe, Doug’s friendly German Shorthaired Pointer, is doing great as usual, happily greeting all comers to Center Tools.

“Yes, Zoe is still doing her Zoe thing!”

Center Tool Rentals
9444 Delridge Way SW (at Roxbury)

Phone: 206-762-5057

Hours:

• Monday through Saturday:
  • 9am to 5pm
• Sunday:
  • 10am to 4pm

View Center Tool Rental in a larger map

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The White Center Blog welcomes Fetch Pet Care, our newest advertiser, owned by Deva and Hunter Samuels.

Fetch Pet Care offers in-home care for dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, rodents and even fish.

Fetch Pet Care is a locally owned and operated franchise, so they are able to call on their parent company if they need any support with making sure your pets’ needs are met.

Deva has taken a nine-month Veterinary Assistant course offered by Pima Medical Institute in Renton and received her diploma so she is well qualified to care for all types of animals.

Deva offers a free in-home consultation to make sure you and your pets’ needs are a perfect match for her services.

She specializes in taking group excursions (four animals or less at a time) to off-leash dog parks, including Luther Burbank Park on Mercer Island, for robust canine swimming parties.

Deva can also take care of the special needs of animals, including medical injections and special diets.

When not working, Deva volunteers her time for Bulls Eye Dog Rescue, a group that pulls dogs from local shelters and fosters them, providing medical care and placing them in loving homes.

Fetch Pet Care is located right on the West Seattle/White Center border, so its location is perfect if you work downtown and need a great place to keep your pet happy and secure while you are at work

Contact Deva for more information:

Fetch Pet Care
9425 12th Avenue SW
Seattle, WA 98106

Phone: 206-965-9851

Website: http://fetchpetcare.com/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/Seattle-WA/Fetch-Pet-Care-of-West-Seattle/60648432694

Email: westseattle@fetchpetcare.com

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The White Center Blog welcomes Super Deli Mart, our newest Advertiser!

New owner Min Chung has been in the grocery business since he was young and has vast experience having managed his first store when he was only 17 years old.

Super Deli Mart’s grand reopening was this past Labor Day weekend and it was a big success. He made and sold a lot of Hoagies!

Min welcomes you to Super Deli Mart.

“What makes these Hoagies so good?” we asked.

“It’s the mamu.”

“Mamu?”

Min said “it’s the secret sauce used on the original Hoagy’s Corner sandwiches and we still use the same secret ingredients and we make it fresh daily.”

These sandwiches include:

• The Cheesy British
• The Canadian
• The German
• The French
• The American
• The Italian
• And many others

Min’s Super Deli Mart is unique because they not only have those wonderful Hoagies, but they are now offering full and half size kegs to go with stock on hand and a menu of all kegs offered in the Seattle area!

If you pre-order a week in advance your keg will be waiting for you at a perfectly-chilled 36 degrees.

They also offer a selection of wines at great prices. Buy four bottles, get an additional 10% off and you can mix and match!

Min enjoys a good cigar on occasion so he offers a great selection of premium hard rolled cigars at great prices.

Min grew up in Burien. He grew up eating these Hoagies. He and his father would stop at the store on their way to Vashon Island to fish and fuel up on Hoagies purchased at the same store that he now owns, 22-years later. His lifelong dream is realized!!

Min would like to thank all the folks who stopped by this Labor Day Weekend making his grand re-opening a rousing success. And a special thanks to those who came all the way from Burien to stop in and say Hi.

Super Deli Mart:

9051 35th SW
Seattle, WA 98126
Phone: 206-937-1442
“Call to pre-order!”

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We’d like to welcome back Advertiser Three Tree Montessori School, which serves student learners from the Highline and West Seattle area – you know, that’s the school behind those whimsical columns on SW 160th in Burien. They’ve been guiding students in this area since 2003. “Guiding,” as in not “teaching” – well that’s the Montessori philosophy, you see.

Montessori is a time-tested, (since 1907 in Europe, and the mid-50s in the US), child-centered developmental education method that is focused on the individual child’s potential, giving the child hands-on experiences that nurture the love of learning. It emphasizes collaboration, self-expression, and self-motivation in beautiful learning environments, which foster respect, peace, and joy.

Every Thursday morning from late October through May, Three Tree Montessori welcomes interested parents and the community to experience Montessori by watching classroom activities. BTB recently spent time viewing Three Tree’s students at work. It wasn’t like any classroom we knew of, being products of public school, but it was interesting and worth explaining to our readers who are interested in public school alternatives.

Montessori divides classes by age, not grade level. The Toddler Program includes children aged 1 (and walking) to 3. This is where young children experience their first structured contact with other children. There are two toddler classes with 12 students in each class guided by a Montessori-certified teacher and an assistant teacher. There is one half-day class and one full-day class.

To give you an idea of what the Three Tree Montessori is like, here’s a slideshow of photos:

I was paired with an anxious mother from West Seattle who needed to watch her 1-1/2 year old son in his first week in class (he was doing much better than Mom!).

The Toddler environment is prepared to meets the needs of the child and to foster independence, motor coordination and language acquisition. This is where young children experience their first structured contact with other children. We observed tea parties, biscuit-baking, sweeping and cleaning—all performed with age appropriate tools.

Next we were off to the Primary Program for ages 3 to 6. We observed one of three primary classes. There is one teacher/guide, one assistant, and one support staff. One of the basic tenets of Montessori theory is the multi-age classroom. Here students learn practical life, sensorial, cultural, math and language activities and of course, outdoor play. There isn’t a desk in sight – instead there are chairs and tables that are age appropriate. Many of the children were using floor mats, studying math and geography working in groups or individually, with the older students mentoring the younger. We noted how quiet it was as they were learning at their own pace.

Finally we were welcomed into the Elementary classroom for ages 6-12. Yes, welcomed. Two girls (class greeters) welcomed BTB and offered tea. Students were working in small groups. Elementary children are noted for their questioning minds and their imaginations. The ability to reason is at its greatest capacity in the child of this age. The elementary classroom is designed to be the stepping-off point into the universe. The study of language includes writing, reading and oral expression. Math includes arithmetic, geometry and algebra (and we’re talking little kids learning this stuff!). Once again, all this learning is done on the floor or at tables.

After our tours of the classrooms were complete, we toured the gardens. Outdoor education is as important as indoor education at Three Tree Montessori. Each age level has their own garden area planted outside their classrooms, and are all aspiring gardeners. Their gardens include a compost pile as well as rain barrels (which were overflowing).

Service to the community is an important aspect of the Elementary program. Over the years, the children of Elementary have raised money for a Montessori school in Kenya, organized food drives for Northwest Harvest and holiday gift drives for the non-profit organization Baby Boutique, and held a clothing drive for a local family who lost all their belongings in a fire. And this past school year, the Elementary class has sent a work party of students each Friday to Marra Farm, a non-profit community farm promoting sustainable agriculture and education that donates tons of fresh produce to local residents.

We sat with the Elementary guide/teacher and learned there are no grades given in Montessori School. Rather there are two annual parent teacher conferences and a year-end evaluation (the ITBS is given to the equivalent of third and sixth graders).

Three Tree Montessori offers a diverse student and teacher population, and they work at keeping classrooms diverse and balanced (by race and sex). Tuition assistance is available. There are 120 students at the school, with room for a few more in the Toddler and Elementary Programs.

Three Tree Montessori is located at 220 SW 160th in Burien. Imported columns grace the front of Three Tree Montessori.

For more information about Three Tree Montessori, please contact the school office at (206) 242-5100, or click on their Ad for more info.

And about those columns – the originals were found in Cawa Cawa, New Zealand. They are replicas designed and built by parents from originals done by famous New Zealand artist Friedensreich Hundertwasser.

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We are happy to extend a spine-tingling and extremity-adjusting welcome to the talented crew at Premier Chiropractic as our latest advertiser on the White Center Blog.

At the heart of Premier Chiropractic is Dr. David Trueblood, DC, CCEP. He is a Certified Chiropractic Extremity Practitioner, recognized since 2005.

Dr. Trueblood has vast life experience. He didn’t jump immediately into medicine.

“No, actually, I served in the U.S. Navy for six years,” he said recently. “Probably the most memorable experience for me was passing through the Suez Canal on board the Kitty Hawk.”

The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk was recently retired after some 48 years of service.

Dr. Trueblood continued: “After my Navy duty, I toured the world as a civilian, cleaning up toxic waste during most of the 1990’s.”

And all along the way, he’s been playing rugby. A lot of rugby. Twenty-five years of rugby.

In fact, Dr. Trueblood has for some time served as the chiropractor for the Valley Kangaroos Rugby Club here at Seatac Park. Players are from our community.

“We take great pride in providing the finest chiropractic care to our all of our patients, athletes and non-athletes alike,” Dr. Trueblood says.

Here is a sampling of the different chiropractic services Premier offers in their Burien office:

• Chiropractic Care
• Corrective Exercises
• Lifestyle Advice
• Nutritional Counseling
• Spinal and Postural Screenings
• Custom orthotics
• Massage Therapy

Also on board for expert and experienced massage is Julia A. Williamson, LMP. Her practice, called Aqua Massage, works right inside the offices of Premier Chiropractic. To schedule an appointment, here’s how to reach Julia: Call 360-584-0412 or email her at 03jules@comcast.net.

Helping to run the ship is Troy Butler, Dr. Trueblood’s “right hand man” in the office (the latter description is an Official Pun-Unintended©™ comment brought jointly to you by Dr. Trueblood and the WCB staff!).

Troy says:

“We accept various insurance plans. We happily handle auto injuries, on-the-job injuries, and sports injuries. They’re all covered at Premiere.

“Also, cash payment plans plus Gift Cards are available. Call anytime, walk-ins welcome.”

Premier Chiropractic
14245 Ambaum Blvd. SW Ste. F
Burien, WA 98166
Phone: 206.431.1111

Website:

• www.premierchiropractic.net

Email:

• PremierBurien@yahoo.com

Hours:

• Monday: 9am-1pm & 3pm-6:30pm
• Tuesday: 3pm-6:30pm
• Wednesday: 9am-1pm & 3pm-6:30pm
• Thursday: 3pm-6:30pm
• Friday: 9am-1pm & 3pm-6:30pm

The White Center 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.com

View Larger Map

The White Center Blog is proud to announce that we have become the first Community Website Sponsor for Highline School’s Foundation for Excellence Gold Star Awards.

These awards have been presented annually since the inception of Highline Schools Foundation in 2001. Award recipients are selected from the following categories:

• Outstanding Administrator/Principal
• Outstanding Teacher
• Outstanding Volunteer
• Outstanding Classified Employee

To download a ballot, please click here for a PDF file which you can then print, fill out and either mail or fax in.

All ballots must be postmarked by April 7th, and sent or faxed to:

Highline Schools Foundation for Excellence
245 SW 152nd Suite D
Burien, WA 98166
Fax: 206-838-6041

The winners will be honored at the Gold Star Benefit Luncheon at the Doubletree Guest Suites in Tukwila, coming up on May 29th. The Master of Ceremonies will be local funnyman John Keister, former Host of KING TV’s “Almost Live!“, local celebrity bald guy and former co-worker of the publisher of this here blog (EDITOR’S NOTE: whatever you do, don’t say this to John in an overly-enthusiastic voice: “Successful succession of successful success!“).

For more information on how you can attend this luncheon, please contact the foundation at 206-248-5196.

The Highline Schools Foundation Gold Star Benefit luncheon is sponsored by Boeing, BECU and Rogers and Norman.

Highline Schools Foundation mission is to “provide community resources to help Highline Public Schools Succeed. By enriching the classroom and school experience, we can engage students to reach a higher level.” Since 2001 the foundation has distributed over $250,000 to the 32 schools in the Highline District. Donors include corporate, foundations and private citizens.

For more information or to see how you might participate go to www.highlineschoolsfoundation.org.

The White Center Blog gives a big green “Thumbs Up” to Clean Air Lawn Care, our latest Advertiser!

Do you know that 5-10% of the Nation’s Air pollution is attributed to small engines like the ones used in gas powered lawn care equipment – mowers, blowers, edgers and trimmers?

Or that gas lawn mowers consume some 580 million gallons of gasoline annually of which 25-35% escapes unburned – that’s on top of the 17 million gallons that are spilled annually by people filling up gas mowers?

Clean Air Lawn Care of West Seattle is “Changing the Way America Mows the Lawn” by using only battery and electric operated equipment powered by renewable energy sources. The solar panels on their trucks are used to harvest the solar energy and recharge their equipment throughout the day.

Adam Werner, Owner of Clean Air Lawn Care, has been a Seattle resident since 1995 and a West Seattle resident in the Riverview Neighborhood since 2004. He has been involved with his Riverview Neighborhood group to help save the Sound Ways property from private development. He is also a member of the Highland Park Improvement Committee and a new member of Sustainable West Seattle.

In 2008, Clean Air Lawn Care was able to reduce air pollutants by 2289 pounds or the equivalent of 70,158 vehicle miles driven. According to the EPA, in 1 hour, 1 gas mower:

1. Pollutes the same as 40 late model cars.
2. Emits the amount of hydrocarbons as a SUV driven 23,600 miles.
3. Contributes 93 times more smog-forming emissions than 2006 cars.

Another huge advantage of the electric equipment is the lack of noise – it’s 50-70% quieter than traditional lawn equipment. So not only do you not have to smell the gas burning, you don’t have to hear it either. This is great for working from home, napping children, and not disturbing your neighbors on a nice sunny afternoon.

Adam says that their equipment is so quiet, “We’ve had several customers tell them that they did not even know we were at their house!”

Adam and his crew are knowledgeable, professional and courteous. They provide all of Burien, White Center, Des Moines (and beyond) spring and fall clean ups, mowing, blowing, edging, trimming, weeding, mulching, hedge trimming (up to 7 ft) and other hourly work as required.

Outside of the electricity generated by the solar panels, Clean Air participates in the Seattle Green Up program and all additional electricity used is purchased from a renewable energy broker. The windpower they purchase is used to power the lawn equipment and offices, qualifying the entire organization as carbon neutral.

Be sure to stop Adam, Josh, or Chelsea when you see them in your neighborhood to get a look at the truck with the solar panels (see photo above). Josh would love to talk you about his passion for photography – his work can be seen at www.joshuakenneymiller.com/Abstract.html.

Chelsea would be more than happy to show you some of the jewelry she makes or even teach your kids to play the piano. Check out her work at www.seatemple.etsy.com.

Help your neighborhood become clean and quieter and help Clean Air Lawn Care “Change the Way America Mows the Lawn” – please click on their Ad, check out their website, or contact Adam directly at 206-941-4180!

by Janet Grella

Welcome our newest Advertiser to The White Center Blog: Storer Enterprises, Inc., parent company to Airport Towing and Burien Towing.

On a routine WCB sales call, I was invited to join most of the Storer family for lunch at Elliot Bay Brewery in Burien. Seems like this family dines out together a lot.

One thing that struck me was the overwhelming presence at our table of Mark and Brian Storer who were killed in a floatplane accident this past summer. Both were a powerful force and inspiration in the development of this family and the family towing business.

Back in 1988, when Mark Storer was working for another towing company and his wife Lynette was doing daycare for their three young children and other neighborhood kids in their home, Mark decided to start his own towing company. With a loan from his father, Mark bought his first tow truck. They named it Airport Towing “so we’d be first in the phone book” explained Lynette, and managed it out of the house.

A few months later they found property in Burien where they remain today. Flash forward a few years and the Storers not only had Airport Towing, but also Burien Towing, a house used as Airport’s office and a very large garage that houses 12 light and heavy duty tow trucks – and one of the industry’s largest antique tow truck collections. Another tow truck is being restored right now in memory of Brian Storer.

As a true Ma and Pa business, the addition of the house/office allowed them to bring their three kids to work. The kids included Teresa, Jared and Brian. Lynette told BTB that “This is truly a family business. If you don’t like having family around, you won’t like us!”

Jared told us that he didn’t take to the towing business the way his brother Brian did. While Brian enjoyed driving the tow trucks, Jared was more interested in working sales and marketing from the office and as a volunteer firefighter in North Highline for 3-1/2 years. He’s been a firefighter in Bellevue for the past 1-1/2 years. His schedule allows him time to spend with his wife Carmen, who works for Alaska Airlines, and with their young son Liam and to keep his fingers in the family business as Vice President.

Lynette Storer is now President of Storer Enterprises, and award-winning tow driver and nine-year employee Daryl Wilson has been made General Manager. One thing that hasn’t changed is the smiling face of Colleen Zable who’s run the front office for 17 years.

Lynette’s son-in-law Kenny Savage is also part of this family business. Kenny married the Storer’s daughter, and oldest child Teresa, last summer. Jared, Lynette and Kenny shared the same thought of how glad they all were that Mark Storer was able to live long enough to see all three of his kids married.

Teresa is not part of the daily management of Airport and Burien Towing, but is helping with various financial aspects of the business as well as working with Jared on developing the property for their monthly auction of abandoned cars. Auctions are held every three weeks on Fridays at 11 am, with the preview at 8am. Currently the auctions are in South Park at 301 Sullivan St. For more information see www.airporttow.com.

The Storer family has a long history of giving back to the community as well, including Little League, Highline Sports and Theater, donations to local police and fire departments and they’ve recently developed the Storer Family Memorial Fund, which is very important to help the young widow and sons of Brian Storer.

Storer Family Memorial Fund: This fund was established to support the family of Brian Storer after he died in a sudden plane crash July 23rd, 2008. Brian left behind a wife of three years and two sons, ages 2 and 1, Sam and Toby. Brian’s AFLAC life insurance policy did not cover him traveling in a private aircraft so this fund has been established to provide relief to his family. You can donate to the fund at any Sterling Savings Bank location or through Paypal.

Asked what they would like our Readers to know that’s not on their websites, Jared responded that his wife Carmen is the twin sister of Brian’s wife Christy. Jared and Carmen met in Normandy Park when Brian and Christy were married three years ago. Maid of Honor and Best Man respectfully, it was love that was meant to be. Another Storer long-distance relationship was in the works. Sisters were reunited in Burien after Jared and Carmen were married in Iowa, where the girls were raised.

You can find Airport Towing at 817 SW 149th Street/206.243.6252 and Burien Towing right next door at 823 SW 149th St/206.243.6252.

So, hitch up your mouse to their Ad, click on their website and check out Airport and Burien Towing!

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[Are you interested in getting a "Blogvertorial" Ad like this for your Business? Email us for more info, or check out our Advertise page!]