Capitol Hill wildlife bingo card: Coyotes, owls, Eastern Cottontails… and the Meany Middle School deer

The deer was spotted Wednesday morning near Meany Middle School — Thanks to Sam Cetron for the pictures

Add a young buck to the wildlife sightings around Capitol Hill this spring. Sightings of the small deer were reported Wednesday across northeastern Capitol Hill and into the Central District including a stop captured with these pictures from near Meany Middle School.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says nobody reported the animal so it wasn’t aware of the deer’s unusual route. “It’s not uncommon for deer to find their way into green space,” WDFW communications manager Samantha Montgomery tells CHS. “If the deer is injured or sick, or causing negative interactions in the neighborhood, we would ask folks to report that.” Continue reading

CHS Pics | Early contender for saddest Capitol Hill story of the year

It’s only January 7th and we already have a contender for the saddest story in 2019 on Capitol Hill.

A new, heartbreaking flyer has joined the mix of lost dog and house cleaning service ads on utility poles around 19th Ave.

“First flight the plane took off and kept going!,” it reads. “We could see it high in the sky fly over Meany Middle School and it kept flying north.”

During the recent wind-whipped days, did you see a small, blue and white remote control airplane soaring tragically to the north?

You can make this possible saddest of 2019 into the happiest Capitol Hill story of the year. An image of the full flyer is here complete with contact info for the pilot’s crew.

 

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Partnership puts Capitol Hill community center space to work as new Miller Annex Preschool

(Image: Michelle MacKinnon/CHS)

With funds and guidelines for raising early education competency and readiness for Seattle kids in-hand, the Seattle Preschool Program and Department of Education and Early Learning have teamed up with Seattle Parks to renovate a portion of the Miller Community Center and contract a high-quality provider to operate a preschool inside.

City representatives and Launch preschool officials welcomed a small handful of parents with their soon to be preschoolers on Tuesday for a short ribbon-cutting ceremony at Miller Annex Preschool. Launch, a Seattle nonprofit provider of before and after school programs, won the two-year proposal bid for the space in 2017. Continue reading

Police: Man who made threats at Capitol Hill middle school ‘in crisis’

Police say the man tracked down last week after threats at a Capitol Hill middle school made references to a school shooting but appears to be suffering a mental crisis and was not found with any firearms when he was arrested.

Police say he had also been released from custody just hours before the threats after being evaluated by medical staff who cleared the 26-year-old for release despite his “violent thoughts including homicidal and suicidal ideations.”

According to court documents, Leonardo Rivera has been held in King County Jail on $150,000 bail after being booked for investigation of felony harassment last week. He has not yet been charged in the incident. Continue reading

Teen struck by driver near Capitol Hill’s Meany Middle School

A teenager walking to school was hospitalized Monday morning after she was struck by a driver at 19th and Thomas.

Seattle Police and Seattle Fire responded to the collision just after 8 AM at the busy intersection near the newly reopened Meany Middle School. A woman sat in a white four-door sedan facing east in the eastbound lane of E Thomas as police gathered evidence at the scene. We’re waiting for an update from SPD for more on the investigation. UPDATE 2/27/18 10:30 AM: SPD tells us the official reports on the crash — as usual with collision reporting managed by the state — are not yet available but that it does not appear that the driver was impaired. There are also some good signs for the victim’s condition — police were able to clear the scene and wrap up the investigation quickly indicating her injuries were not serious.

Seattle Fire said the girl who was struck was transported to Harborview in stable condition.

The intersection remained open during the investigation but traffic was backed up in the area during the school drop-off rush hour.

Capitol Hill middle school on schedule for fall 2017 completion

15-02-02-Meany-entrance

UPDATE: A SPS spokesperson has clarified Gonzales’ presentation and tells CHS that Madrona Elementary was mistakenly left off the feeder list. Madrona students will, indeed, be part of the Meany system.

Progress is being made on the renovations to Meany Middle School, which is still on schedule to open for Capitol Hill students in the fall of 2017.

A small group of community members gathered in Meany’s cafeteria on Tuesday to hear about the next phase of the renovation from project manager Vince Gonzales and members of the architecture and construction teams. The $17.6 million renovation is expected to be at 95% completion by next June.

Chanda Oatis of Van Asselt Elementary has been selected to be the principal of the new Meany Middle School. At the last community meeting, determining the school’s curriculum was a large area of interest for parents — Gonzales said Oatis will begin those discussions once she finishes up her time at Van Asselt. Continue reading

Starting from scratch, Capitol Hill’s middle school set to re-open in 2017

15-02-02-Meany-entranceCapitol Hill is getting back its middle school in 2017, but there are a lot of questions to answer before it opens. Will students attend based purely on their elementary school or can home address play a factor? Who will be the principal? Can the school have an arts or technology focus?

And, perhaps most importantly, what will be the Meany Middle School mascot?

Parents gathered in the school’s 21st and E Republican Meany library last week to hear from the district about how it plans to answer some of those questions and the next steps for re-creating the new school.

37644772-8DFB-4583-AA88-3FB742A229EC“We are a very diverse city and we want a school that represents that, and serves it,” said Andy Jensen, father of two Meany-bound children. Jensen is part of a group with Meany-bound kids part of a Facebook group to connect future Meany parents ahead of the start of the 2017-2018 school year.

Catchment areas have long been a top concern for parents when it comes to Meany. For most families, students from Stevens and Lowell would join those from Gatzert, Madrona (K-8), McGilvra, and Montlake in the new school. (UPDATE: “Montlake, Leschi, Stevens, Lowell, and McGilvra. Madrona K-8 middle school-aged students will be included if the Seattle School Board approves that boundary in May or September,” Jensen clarified in comments, below). However, some families near school boundaries said they want the option to choose a school that may be closer to their homes. The Seattle school board ultimately make a final call on catchment areas in a decision expected to come by this fall at the latest. Continue reading