Our very Des Moines Police Department’s Police Blotter continues, with more local crime news fed to us directly from our good friends at the DMPD.

This week’s crimes include the arrest of a drive-by shooter, a woman being robbed in her car at a Taco Bell drive-thru, and two separate pharmacy forgeries at the same Walgreens.

Here’s the Blotter for the week ending Mar. 19, 2010:

DES MOINES POLICE BLOTTER NEWS (March 19, 2010)

Man Firing Weapon Being Investigated for “Drive by Shooting”:
A 27 year old man was arrested Saturday night, March 10th, at about 1:15 AM after discharging a firearm.

Des Moines Officers in the area of 7th Ave. South and S. 223rd heard the sound of a gunshot. One officer then saw a vehicle being driven recklessly from the parking lot of a local bar onto S. 223rd heading towards Marine View Drive South. Des Moines Officers stopped the vehicle and arrested the driver.

A gun was recovered from the vehicle.

An eyewitness identified the driver and stated the man had the weapon pointed up into the air at the time it was fired. The man was booked into jail on an outstanding warrant. Des Moines detectives are preparing felony filing documents for the King County Prosecutor’s Office.

This shooting does not appear to be related to the shooting incident from earlier in the week that happened in the same area.

Customer Robbed at Gunpoint in Restaurant Drive-Thru:
The Des Moines Police Department is asking for help in identifying a man who committed an armed robbery on March 16th at the Taco Bell located near S. 272nd and Pacific Highway South.

The incident occurred at 10:55 PM.

The man, wearing a mask and armed with a handgun, robbed a 26-year old female of cash while she was a passenger in a car in the drive-thru. The suspect went to the next car in line and tapped on the driver’s window with the gun demanding money.

The 59-year old female driver avoided the robbery by backing her vehicle out of the drive-thru.

The suspect fled northbound through a vacant lot.

A K9 from Federal Way PD conducted a track without success.

Prescription Forgery Arrests:
Des Moines Officers made two separate arrests on subjects attempting to obtain Oxycontin at the Walgreen’s on Pacific Hwy South.

A 26 year old man was arrested on March 15th at 5:30 PM and a 31 year old man was arrested on March 16th around 7:00 PM.

In both incidents pharmacy employees determined the prescriptions to be forgeries and called Des Moines PD.

Both subjects were booked into jail on forgery charges.

by Dave Markwell

“Daddy, I can’t find my phone. It fell and I don’t know where it is,” my six year-old daughter said.

My daughter loses a lot of things, so this statement was not unique or surprising in itself. What was unique and surprising was that she said it at 3:30 in the morning, waking me up from a rather strange dream involving myself, Billy the Kid and some very hostile looking penguins. As I cleared my head, I brilliantly replied, “Turn your light on.” Knowing that this ingenious solution had probably escaped her sleep-weary mind, she left.

Proving once again that, on occasion, I am not completely without value, she returned to my bed with her phone and other things. For clarity, I must disclaim that I do not endorse or promote a six year-old having a cell phone. This phone was somehow one of several extra phones we acquired in an attempt to shave a few bucks off of our monthly bill. Through some cell phone company trickery or perhaps using the Bush system of “fuzzy math,” it was somehow cheaper to have three extra phones that we don’t use than just the ones we needed. My daughter, in another attempt to feel like a big girl, adopted one of these extra phones, which she carries around the house and uses as an alarm clock. Apparently, she must have been fumbling for it in the dark and it fell off of her shelf and went under her bed, thus the reason for her concern this late night.

As she climbed into my bed, I positioned myself firmly in a comfortable spot, knowing that it would not last. I tried to calculate the appropriate distance allowance for her shifting, twisting and kicking that would eventually force me to dangle on the thin edge of the bed without a pillow or a blanket. I’m not sure how she manages to manipulate a 200-pound man into a state of absolute discomfort so effortlessly. But she does it, regularly.

Per her ritual, she grabbed her fuzzy purple blanket and favorite doll, Mary, and slipped quietly between her mother and I and snuggled closely against my warm bare back. Some nights, it is annoying and I just wish she’d sleep in her own bed, but this night was different. It occurred to me at this unfortunate hour that like many things kids do, they don’t do them forever. We get a finite number of nights that our kids will climb into our bed and snuggle with us. I can already feel the number dwindling. Our daughter is six and our son is ten. On very rare occasions will he climb into our bed. Gradually, she will stop as well.

I will be sad when they stop.

A certain duality exists in parenthood. On one hand, you want the kids to be more independent and able to help themselves. On the other hand, you want them to stay little. You want them to need you and to still be able to comfort them with a band-aid, a fudge- sickle, or a kind word.

So I tolerate my own lack of comfortable sleep and wake early with a sore back and don’t get up, but lay still and watch my daughter sleep. Her fresh and peaceful face evokes feelings that only a parent of sleeping children understands. At bedtime, they cry and whine and say “no way,” but then sleep and dream and are happy. You can then remember why you love them so. It is a forgiving time. It is a special time that reaches a place in the heart of a parent that is often untouched and overlooked and probably wouldn’t exist were it not for the vision of sleeping children.

While I may I complain and futilely shove her back in place, sometimes a little violently, I feel the clock ticking on her, as well as me, and I understand that this time, like all other times, is fleeting and I’d better just appreciate it, because I know I’ll miss it when it’s gone.

[EDITOR'S NOTE:"Feel Good Friday" is a regular column written by Des Moines resident Dave Markwell, who extols to all neighbors: "Enjoy where we live. Put your feet on the pavement and truly feel how great it is to live here!"]

Waterland Blog Advertiser Zenith Holland Gardens will be holding its Spring Plant Sale this weekend, from March 19th through the 21st.

“It’s the best plant sale in the South end,” says Lyn Robinson of Zenith Holland, which is located just south of downtown Des Moines.

Get there early if you can. Four-inch Danova Primroses are free to customers while supplies last.

Featured this weekend will be Pansies, Hardy Perennials, and Ferns.

Look for Edible starts, Sedums and more.

“We have an incomparable selection of much sought-after Hostas and Peonies,” Lyn adds.

Zenith Holland Gardens is easy to find:

• Head south through downtown Des Moines on Marine View Drive.
• You’ll pass the Red Robin restaurant on your right. Stay in the right lane, curving gently up the hill, past the Taco Time on your left.
• About a quarter mile up you’ll see Zenith Holland’s entry point wooden sign on your left.

Along with the usual cash, Visa and Mastercard, Zenith Holland also takes personal checks.

Plant Sale Hours:

• Friday and Saturday 9am to 5pm
• Sunday 10am-5pm

Zenith Holland Gardens
23260 Marine View Drive South
Des Moines, WA 98198
Phone: 206-878-7002

[Would you like to have a “Blogvertorial” story, Ad and/or Event Listing like this on a popular, fast-growing website seen by thousands of interested Local Readers every month? Email us for more info, or check out our Advertise page!]

Local singers in KidSounds, YouthSounds and TeenSounds will be taking the stage at the Highline Performing Arts Center on Friday, March 19th at 7pm for “A 20th Century Celebration” concert.

These area youth are a part of Northwest Associated Arts’ commitment to providing musical education and performance opportunity for young people from grades 3 through 12 in South King County. The three choruses perform together for two mainstage concerts at the Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien.

The goal of KidSounds, YouthSounds & TeenSounds Northwest is to foster a love of singing by engaging a wide variety of music repertoire. Proper vocal technique, theory and artistry are emphasized with an eye towards developing well-rounded young musicians.

WHAT: KidSounds, YouthSounds & TeenSounds Spring Concert

WHEN: Friday March 19 at 7:00 pm

WHERE: Burien’s Highline Performing Arts Center, located at 401 South 152nd Street, next to Highline High School.

TICKETS: $10-$15 (17 & under free with a paid adult ticket) are available for purchase online: www.nwassociatedarts.org or via phone: 206-246-6040

INFO: From a poster:

Overture…light the lights! An entire century of music represented in one work! This fabulous 55-minute revue, complete with an original opener by Greg Gilpin, takes us on a decade-by-decade celebration of popular music. Under the direction of Paula Hawkins, KidSounds, YouthSounds and TeenSounds Northwest will join forces with a fun-filled program designed just for families.

You’re A Grand Old Flag, Give My Regards to Broadway, Rock Around the Clock, Fame, Good Vibrations, plus many other favorites combine to make this fast-paced show a must-see for anyone who loves popular music. Narration, dancing, and solos blend together seamlessly with wonderful choral singing in this showcase of the budding talents of our youth choruses.

Families hunting for affordable entertainment will delight and parents looking for a risk-free way to introduce their children to the joys of choral music can rest easy because Northwest Associated Arts youth ticket program lets young people 17 and under in free with a paid adult ticket.

YouthSounds & TeenSounds Northwest demonstrate Northwest Associated Arts’ commitment to providing musical education and performance opportunity for young people from grades 3 through 12 in South King County. Each year the three choruses perform together for two mainstage concerts at the Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien. In a time of radical funding cuts to music programs in the schools, these ensembles provide an important and life-changing opportunity for students to learn through the discipline of music. Along the way, audiences are delighted with the entertaining performances of these dedicated young singers. The goal of KidSounds, YouthSounds & TeenSounds Northwest is to foster a love of singing by engaging a wide variety of music repertoire. Proper vocal technique, theory and artistry are emphasized with an eye towards developing well-rounded young musicians.

The NWAA young people’s music education program is funded, in part, by the generous support of: 4 Culture, Lucky 7 Foundation, Glaser Foundation, Norcliffe Foundation, City of Burien, JR Mailing Services, Inc, and many individuals & families throughout our community.