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JANUARY 12, 2022
VOL. 103, NO. 2
Fundraiser organized to benefit Magnolia couple who lost house in mud slide last week By Jessica Keller
QA&Mag News editor
A Gofundme account has been set up to benefit a Magnolia couple whose house was destroyed following a mud slide on the hill behind their home on Perkins Lane, Friday. James and Didi Fritts sustained minor injuries, but both of their dogs perished when their house slid off its foundation and col-
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lapsed on itself during the mud slide. Jamee Dunn, who organized the gofundme to benefit her friends, said the Frittses are staying with friends while they look for a new place to live. According to the gofundme description, Didi was reaching for the front door handle when the top story of their house crashed down. She crawled to safety, but James Fritts was trapped under a refrigerator, which fell on his legs.
Firefighters extricated James Fritts and also put out a small fire that broke out, presumably when the house collapsed. Dunn said in the gofundme description that the Frittses lost almost all of their belongings in a matter of minutes. “If you see the house, the first floor where they were has been flattened, and they cannot believe they are alive,” according to the gofundme.
According to the gofundme, the Frittses had lived in the house for 10 years, but insuring it for mud slide damage was not an option. The fundraiser will help the couple pay off their home loan and also replace their belongings. As of Monday afternoon, almost $100,000 had been donated for the couple. Go to https://www.gofundme. com/f/for-james-didi-fritts? to make a donation.
Dog park proposal moves forward
Residents will have plenty of opportunity to comment
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By Jessica Keller
QA&Mag News editor An application asking Seattle Parks Department staff to consider creating an off-leash dog area at David Rodgers Park in upper Queen Anne has been submitted to the city. Don Harper, chairman of the Queen Anne Community Council Parks Committee, sent off the paperwork Thursday morning after the QACC approved sponsoring the application, with more than 10 members in favor. Pursuing a possible off-leash dog area in David Rodgers Park is part of an effort to give residents on Upper Queen Anne a sanctioned place to let their dogs run around without breaking leash or park rules. At a parks committee meeting in December, Harper said, without an easily accessible off-leash area at the top of Queen Anne, pet owners have resorted to letting their dogs off-leash at all the local parks and athletic fields, despite it not being permitted. As a result, Harper said, the quality of the parks and ball fields are deteriorating because dogs tear up the fields and turf and, in some cases, make the play fields unusable. “I will say that the more OLA’s that we have, the greater the chance we have of saving our parks,” Harper said at the December Parks Committee meeting. “Our parks are being ruined by the dogs off leash in them.” The proposal, however, has at-
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Photo by Jessica Keller A person plays with their dogs at the Big Howe Park ball field in Upper Queen Anne, last month. To discourage this behavior, which is not permitted and damages the grass and ballfields, an application has been submitted to the city’s Parks Department asking staff to consider creating an off-leash dog area at David Rodgers Park in Upper Queen Anne. tracted a fair number of opponents, many of whom are neighbors to David Rodgers Park. Prior to Wednesday’s meeting, a letter signed by people calling themselves Friends of David Rodgers Park, was submitted to the QACC opposing the OLA. “Queen Anne has a lot of parks, many of them with great views in addition to sports fields and playgrounds,” according to the letter. “But David Rodgers Park is special; its intended purpose is more expansive. It does not
have the views, but instead it has nature. Come to this park for the walking trails that begin at the more landscaped top section of the park and wind through a natural habitat setting, loaded with native plants, trees, naturally felled trees that create log bridges and the blackberry bushes that are great for foraging. Creating an Off Leash Area (OLA) would completely change the sense, purpose, intention and feel of this unique park.” Since last week, more than 60
people have signed the letter, with residents who do not support an OLA establishing themselves as Stewards of David Rodgers Park. Amy Carlson, a member of the Stewards of David Rodgers Park who submitted the letter to QACC, said before the Community Council vote last week that the park is enjoyed by many residents and home to a number of wildlife, including coyote and barred owls. David Rodgers Park
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