Help replace stolen van for Shoreline school for the deaf
Monday, December 10, 2012
Updated 12-18-2012 9:15AM
UPDATE: The van was found by police and returned to the school. It did not seem to have suffered damage. The school was having it checked out before returning it to service.
In early December, a van was stolen from the garage of the Shoreline school for children who are deaf and hard of hearing.
In early December, a van was stolen from the garage of the Shoreline school for children who are deaf and hard of hearing.
Vandals stole a gray, Chevy, 8 person-van (license plate number 918 WUX) from Northwest School for Hearing-Impaired Children, which serves approximately 45 area students, 3 years old to 8th grade.
This van was used multiple times daily to transport students to mainstreaming classes and events such as the Seattle Children’s Theater.
Dr. Peggy Mayer, Head of School, is grateful to the many Shoreline residents and the Shoreline Fire Department who have called asking how they can help. Since Shoreline Police are not optimistic about the likelihood that the van will be recovered or returned, the school has set up “Victory over Vandalism” fund to raise money to replace the stolen van.
Dr. Mayer says, "We have good insurance coverage, but because the van was 12 years old, what we get in our insurance settlement is about 1/4 of what the replacement cost of the van will be. The stolen van was in excellent shape and only had 15,000 miles on it, so it is not typical of a 12 year old Chevy Astro van that might be available on the market today to replace it."
Donations can be made online or by mail at NW School for Hearing Impaired Children, PO Box 31325, Seattle WA 98103.
For more information call Barb Luetke, Community Outreach Coordinator, at 206-364-4605.
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6 comments:
Doesn't INSURANCE cover this??????
Good point.
Only if the type of insurance held covers theft (comprehensive is one of these).
The story has been updated to answer the questions about insurance coverage. - Editor
Now that the van has been recovered, what becomes of the Victory over Vandalism fund? Also, vandals don't steal. Thieves steal. Was there vandalism? If so, what happened?
The question on vandalism to the School needs to be answered, because vandalism could be interpreted as a symptom of 'health and safety blight', which the City of Shoreline might someday use to justify seizing property from private property owners in Aurora Square, including Northwest School.
On September 4, the Shoreline City Council declared Aurora Square (including Northwest School) 'economically blighted', designating it a Community Renewal Area (CRA) under the State of Washington's Community Renewal Law. This is a law which the Washington Policy Center (a think tank)says needs to be "reformed to remove economic blight or ‘planner’s blight’ as a justification for condemnation."
The City's economic development manager told the Council eminent domain power would be inappropriate in the case of 'economic blight' and should be reserved for cases of 'health and safety' blight, what he nicknamed "rats and needles".
Aurora Square has not been declared a victim of 'health and safety blight'--that is, not yet.
Mayor McGlashan said from personal experience that abandoned property (like the former Dairy Queen and others in the so-called Dennys Triangle) doesn't take long to become rat-infested, echoing the Staff's 'rats and needles' theme. He was sure even the operational businesses in Aurora Square have rats after hours at the supply and entry points.
The owners of the Dennys Triangle recently sold their 4 parcels on November 15 for $2.1M. Although they vocally supported the Council's CRA designation for Aurora Square (which includes Dennys Triangle), they themselves got out before the ink was dry.
Vandalism is deemed a symptom of 'health and safety blight'. Therefore reports of vandalism and other 'rats and needles' activity in Aurora Square are very important to the community.
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