San Juan Island Update - serving San Juan Island, Friday Harbor, and Roche Harbor



Click here for last week's news...


October 17, 2008

It's Homecoming Weekend!
You're pretty likely to see a lot of purple & gold this weekend, with the parade tonight at 4:45 & the football game tomorrow at 3pm, with most of us the enthusiastic FHHS supporters that we are (like golden-haired Margaret Nash, Kiersten Radden, and Megan Goudie at last weekend's game).

The soccer team (9-3) did their part last night to kick things off with an impressive 3-0 win over Orcas to remain undefeated in league; the volleyball team's homecoming game is tomorrow at noon.

Purple & Gold fever is so pervasive that our opponents in the football game have ALSO agreed to go purple. Now THAT'S school spirit, even if it happens to be their school colors.

Things get pretty wild and crazy at the Homecoming Parades - here are the photo galleries I took last year and the yaer before - see how many people you know in the pictures!

The 2007 Homecoming Parade
The 2006 Homecoming Parade

That was the "Senior Couch" at Homecoming in 2004....
set up in the endzone, only people in the twelfth grade could sit there.

What's happening on the island!
click for more info:
sanjuancalendar.com


October 16, 2008

That was Kia Johns (right) at the FHHS football game last weekend, with her friend Kai aboard. This weekend's game is the homecoming game at 3pm on Saturday - see you there!

Last weekend....
Don't miss this one - RUMORS plays at the Community Theatre tonight and Friday with its last show on Saturday. (This one is REALLY funny.... here's more.)

Enough with the bottled water already.....
So many people have been using those reusable bags for shopping - they get it! - that it's time to start taking about bottled water. Studies have been showing for years that it's not any better than tap water (in many cases, it IS tap water), and sometimes is worse (here's one case). Our island doesn't need more stuff in the landfill - time for you to get a filter for your home tap (especailly if you live in Town), and ditch the bottled stuff.

Meanwhile, after the pep rally....
On Friday, the Homecoming Parade is at 4:45pm with the pep rally afterwards and then...ya gotta wait for the football game & dance the next day.

Or not.

Sylvia tells me there's a cool thing happening on Friday night:

Hey, Ian! Thanks for being willing to help get the word out about Friday's post-pep rally party! With lots of help from the community, the Presbyterian church is hosting a party for all high school youth from 6-9:30 pm this Friday after the Homecoming pep rally.

Since there is no football game or dance that night, all high school youth are welcome to head over to the Presbyterian church for some dinner and a safe space to chill out for the evening.

There will be a 16-player Halo 3 game going, using a hub with four X-Box 360s hooked up, Poker & Texas hold 'em games, an artist wall, various Wii games and hopefully some live music and of course, free food and brownies. This event will be alcohol and drug free.

If you have questions about this event, feel free to call the Presbyterian Church @ 378-4544.

Again, thanks for your help, Ian, and the work you do with keeping us up-to-speed with the Update.

Sylvia Sullard

Dolphins in Panama, in a photo by Susea McGearhart last week...what IS that
white thing on the dolphin? Click on the photo for a larger version.

Susea checks in, just ahead of the Dolphin talk....
Looks to me like she's doing research on dolphins close-up as she & Gene continue their cruise - here's their report:

Hola Ian, from Panama!

Your website is so fun for us to read. Its intimacy with the locals and the happenings in Friday Harbor make us feel like we're close to home even though were 5,000 miles away.

You mentioned Thomas White's book signing this Friday. It was late in the afternoon having sailed all day from Costa Rica into Panama. We blasted across the shipping lanes as quickly as possible, with the plan to continue overnight to Isla Pedro Gonzales in the Las Perlas Islands when this pod of spinner dolphins surrounded us. Never have we had dolphins stay with us so long (about 45 minutes). They were especially joyful, leaping up in the air, and chirping loudly.

I sat up at the bow pulpit shooting pictures and cheering them on. I could see scars on one dolphin's head and back. But the strangest sight of all was to see the baby, or whatever it is, latched onto one of the dolphins. At first I just thought it was the lighting and reflections, but it stayed attached regardless of which side of Moody Blues' bow it had raced around to. But it was not one leaping in the air or spinning over to look up at me.

Perhaps if you go to the book signing you can find out what is latched onto the dolphin in the below photos for us. Is it a dolphin that just had a baby or is it some sort of sucker fish?

Hasta luego and gracias for all the FH updates!

Susea & Gene
www.moodybluescruise.com

That 990 workshop....
Here's the details (for signing up & all) - and here's the deal for Friday's workshop:

This is an important workshop for nonprofits because the 990 is the document that keeps the IRS tax-exempt status for all nonprofits. There are significant changes for the 2008 tax year, including the necessity for more detailed record-keeping, and certain policies and procedures that one might want to be in place before the end of the year, so that answers on the 990 reflect good management and optimal transparency. The 990 used to be just a financial document, but the now contains far more information about the organization, all of which is available on the internet for anyone, such as potential donors, potential members, etc. to see.

You can look up the 990 for your own (or any) nonprofit organization on Guidestar.org for past years. The new 990 (starting for the fiscal year 2008) will be far more specific and detailed.

The auction at the Museum!
It's this weekend! Here's more from Kevin:

The San Juan Historical Museum invites you to join us for our 2008 Autumn Auction on Saturday, October 18, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Mullis Center. Tickets are $20 and will be available at the door.

Our harvest-themed evening will include an hors d’oeuvre buffet featuring “A Taste of Friday Harbor,” cash bar, entertainment by the One More Time Band, and Sugar on the Floor, led by folk musician Michael Cohen. In addition, there will be a very special appearance by historian Mike Vouri as General George Pickett.

Among the wonderful live and silent items up for bid will be museum-quality antiques, the ever popular night in our historic jail, mainland getaways, a full truckload of gravel and firewood, books, island services, numerous gift certificates, historical photographs, scenic tours, a performance of the popular play "The Life and Times of General George Pickett" in your home-complete with a catered dinner-and much more!

Munch on great food, mingle with your neighbors, find “that perfect gift” – and make a bid! All of the proceeds from the evening will benefit the San Juan Historical Museum, and will assist us in preserving island history. We will see you there!

Quote
I would say that the thrust of my life has been initially about getting free, and then realizing that my freedom is not independent of everybody else. Then I am arriving at that circle where one works on oneself as a gift to other people so that one doesn't create more suffering. I help people as a work on myself and I work on myself to help people.
Ram Dass


October 15, 2008

That was Brook Jangaard and Michael Sandifer yesterday at Friday Harbor High as Homecoming Week continues...you can kinda tell Tuesday was Jungle Day for Spirit Week by the way the kids are dressed. (Wednesday is "Dress for the Test!" Day, 'cause the kids all take the PSAT, while Thursday is Go Green! Recycle! Day, and Friday is, of course, Purple & Gold Day.)

Now you know what to wear.

The Homecoming Parade is at 4:45 through town, with the pep rally following at the high school gym. Here are the directions for the parade route.

Wolverine women roll on,
beat LaConner 3-1....
OK, I've been watching a lot of FHHS girls soccer since Cindi Baker started the program back in 1995, and have seen some awesome games...last night's is definitely in the top five all-time games.

The girls came out ready to play, and played a hard, closely-marked first half to a scoreless draw. Then the second half pretty much showed why the team is still unbeaten in league. Sophomore Elle Guard hit from 25 yards out just unnder the bar & just over the keep for the first score, followed ten minutes later by the gutsiest goal I've seen a Wolverine player make - Clara Brand shot from 15 yards out and followed her shot as it rebounded off the bar, headed THAT rebound off the top bar again, then settled things with her third shot in five seconds to the left lower post. Awesome.

Ever-steady, ever-ready Whitney Porter put the game out of reach a minute and a half later on a breakaway. A late penalty kick was the only way the Braves could score on keeper Hannah Snow (above, with ball), but that came too little too late.

The next match is a big one - Orcas comes to play unbeaten-in-league FHHS here Thursday for a 5:45 game that will test whether the game between these two earlier this season was a fluke as we won a tough one in overtime. If you haven't seen the girls yet this season, this is a chance to see island soccer at its best. See ya there.

It's been ten years.....
Congrats to Kenneth and Angie Atwell, who celebrated their tenth anniversary last night at Haley's with Emily & Erich...wahoo!

Angie works at Skagit Valley College - San Juan Center with the Elderhostel program, while Kenneth & the kids run Spirit Tree Books & Gifts next to Radio Shack.

More in the jungle....
That would be seniors Miki & Pablo (right), all decked out in their wearable-art shirts for Jungle Day yesterday at FHHS.

Class of '98 pulls it together for homecoming....
Cady had told me about this last week, and Stephanie Piconi confirmed it, from her daughter Cember:

Hi Ian,

For your Update, Cember said, the class of '98 is having a class reunion at the Peppermill on Saturday, the 18th of October. Cady Seiler works at the Peppermill, and was instrumental in coordinating the reunion. So far, 63 people have sent in a R.S.V.P. to partake in the event That's about all I know. Have a great day, Steph

More sad news for Southern Resident Orcas
Susan Berta & Howie Garret do a super job keeping track of the orcas, and it's a drag to hear this report from them on the Cenetr of Whale Research findings:

It has been a difficult year for the endangered Southern Resident orca population, and after wrapping up their annual survey in late September, the Center for Whale Research has reported that seven whales are missing at this time, and with the addition of one new surviving calf, the population is now believed to be at 83 (click here for Orca Network's births/deaths page).

In addition to 98 year old female K7/"Lummi", the elder of K pod, also missing are:

• 23 year old L67/"Splash" (Luna's mom), and
• six year old L101/"Aurora" (Luna's brother),
• 58 year old female L21/"Ankh",
• 36 year old female J11/"Blossom",
• and two unnamed calves, J43 (missing last winter) and
L111 born in August 2008 to L47, missing by the end of August).

Only one calf born this year survives, K42, born in June.

It has been apparent to those observing the whales this summer that salmon have not been in abundance - all three pods have had to leave the Salish Sea area on and off during the summer in search of salmon, and when they were present, they often were traveling in widely spread out groups, which typically means they are having to spread out to find enough salmon to feed the pod.

Our hope is for a strong chum salmon run this fall in Puget Sound, so the whales can get some nutrition before the winter season, when they leave the inland waters in search of food up and down the coast.
But if we don't act NOW to restore the Chinook salmon runs in the Pacific, this trend will likely continue, and the population is already so small that its survival hangs in the balance.

What can we do about all this?

Support salmon restoration efforts, reduced harvests, taking down dams, stopping farmed salmon operations, stop using pesticides, fertilizers or chemicals in your home and garden, and contact your elected officials to make sure they know how important salmon, orcas, and their habitats are to you. Think about these issues when you vote - who will best help clean up our waters, and save our salmon and orcas from extinction?

And visit our News Page for some recent articles on salmon restoration efforts as well as some of the human impacts that have led to the demise of our once healthy, abundant salmon runs.
If we don't save the salmon, there is no hope for the orcas -
Susan & Howard, Orca Network

Yep, that's Matt Pranger (right)....
I've been taking so many pictures of people growing their beards for the Centennial contest, it was nice to see someone going in the other direction.

Thank you from the Soroptimists!
Marie DiCristina dropped me this note that their fundraiser went pretty well:

A big thank you to all the people who helped with the 2008 Soroptimist Harvest Fundraiser. This fundraiser provides transportation funds for island cancer patients to the mainland for treatments and other Soroptimist services. This year our Harvest Bowl-A-Thon was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances but the Harvest Fundraiser was held in its place. We have wonderful support from Soroptimist volunteers manning tables at the markets with raffle ticket sales. Thank you to our wonderful community who supported by purchasing those Opportunity Drawing tickets or just making a donation. This event raised to date, $ 4,833.72 with more donations still coming in!

A special thank you to the businesses and individuals who made contributions: Lori Stokes, San Juan Florist, Laura Tuttle, Annette Schaffer, Bette Cantrell, The Toy Box, Sharon Pigman, Paradise Lanes, Kings Printing, San Juan Islander, San Juan Journal, San Juan Update, Susan Wingate, The Ale House, Garuda & I, Serendipity, Loea Design, Dominique’s, Friday Harbor Drug, Joshua Reedy of Spa D’ Bune, Crème Brulee, Dr. Pat Hansen, Islanders Bank, Dana Bune, Marketplace, Vinny’s Restorante, Richard Wills of Spa D’ Bune, Samantha Wills of Spa D’ Bune, Harbor Gallery, Ellen Roberts, DiCristina Photography and Friday Harbor House.

For more information regarding Friday Harbor Soroptimist International please visit www.sifri.org . The Bowl-A-Thon Fiesta Fundraiser and Dinner Party will resume in May 2009. Thank you all again!

Quote
Don't gamble; take all your savings and buy some good stock and hold it till it goes up, then sell it. If it don't go up, don't buy it.
Will Rogers

Now you know it's fall...shot in yesterday's early morning mist, by Josie Cleland.


October 14, 2008

Ada's got things going....
Ada Hung (right) at Mi Piace Coffeehouse above the ferry landing, has a coffee tasting set for Friday at 10am, with different roasters showing off their wares...then, a week later, she has FHHS musicians Zack Reitan, Rhiannan Franklin, and Spencer Bune playing from 2-4pm on Saturday the 25th to raise money and consciousness for the Invisible Children campaign.

On the trail again.....
One of the directions we gotta move in for the future of the island (and the planet, planet-fans) is non-motorized transport....look outside right now at this sunny morning. Don't you wish you had walked to work today, or ridden your bike?

Tracy Roberson is emerging as one of the leaders in this movement on the island, and she checks in with an action plan, from the transportation summit last month:

Please mark your calendars for next Monday October 20th at 5pm (meeting location TBD). As a follow up to the Transportation Summit, I would like to get together and brainstorm about the potential for shared use, off road trails. This will be an opportunity for each of you to express your views and ideas about bicycle safety, network with other bicycle enthusiasts, and discuss the potential for reducing our dependence on automobiles through the development of a network of multi-use trails. The goal of this meeting is to identify clear priorities and recruit a number of individuals who are committed to creating and implementing an action plan.

You are receiving this email because you have at some point expressed interest in bike/trails or safety to me, or because you are someone who I thought might be interested. If you are interested but, can't make the meeting (or are just not a meeting type of person) please email or call me (378-6920) with your ideas. This meeting is open to everyone, so feel free to share this invitation with all friends who would be interested in taking action. I am organizing this as an outreach of the SJ Island Trails Committee, and it is important that we have a broad spectrum of opinions to draw from. If you are not interested and would like to be removed from the list so as not to receive future mailings, let me know also.

Thanks, Tracy

Get your food there.....
'Member yesterday I told you that was Jane's produce at Saturday Market in the picture below? Not really - that was Jane who works for Rebecca Moore's Blue Moon Produce from Waldron Island, happily selling their stuff.

Quote
A computer might beat me at chess, but I can beat it at kickboxing.
Emo Phillips


Even on the greyest day, the fruits and vegetables at the Farmers' Market on Saturdays always shine through, as Marty drops by to check out Rebecca Moore's Blue Moon Produce from Waldron Island, looked after by Jane.


October 13, 2008

After he played Sneaky Fitch in the play last summer with his ZZTop-length beard, Scott George from the Post Office shaved - but now he's growing again, this time for the Centennial Beard Growing Contest, as you can see. He's about as close to a professional beard grower as we have around here... :)

Wolverines come close in the most exciting game in years......
When we were 0-0 at the half with Lynden Christian on Friday night, it looked like a low scoring game was in the works, but both teams threw all that out the window to settle the score at 21-21 two minutes into the fourth quarter, which held up the rest of the way, forcing overtime, where the Lyncs scored for a 27-21 win.

In spite of the cold (my feet took till Saturday morning to thaw - how were yours?), you didn't see a lot of fans leaving this one - and there was every reason to feel proud of our guys for a determined, full-game effort.

The guys are back in action on Saturday, with the homecoming game on tap for 3pm. See ya there!

True respect for our brother & sisters in the sea.....
Cindy at the Whale Museum is bring Thomas White (he's this year's UN Ambassador for the Year of the Dolphin) to speak:

Please join The Whale Museum in

welcoming Thomas White for a special lecture and book signing on Friday October 17th at 7:00 pm. (Here's a bit about his book.)

Thomas White is the author of a new book entitled “In Defense of Dolphins: The New Moral Frontier”. In this book he discusses the scientific evidence claiming that dolphins are, like humans, self-aware, intelligent beings with emotions, personalities and the capacity to control their actions. Accordingly, White argues, dolphins should be regarded as ‘nonhuman persons’ and valued as individuals. White also concludes that, from an ethical perspective, the injury, deaths and captivity of dolphins at the hands of humans are wrong.

Thomas White is the Hilton Professor of Business Ethics and Director of the Center for Ethics and Business at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. He received his doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University and taught at Upsala College and Rider University in New Jersey before moving to California in 1994. The October 17 lecture is free and open to the public, although donations are appreciated.

Leadership San Juan Islands holds October Open House to recruit Class of 2009....
Cynthia Stark-Wickman tells me:

LSJI seeks candidates from all sectors of the community, from businesses and non-profits, to education and government. Alumni from LSJI Classes 2005-2008 are also invited to the open houses, as well as graduates of other leadership programs
held around the country who now live and/or work in the San Juans.

The open house on San Juan Island will take place as follows: Tuesday, October 14, 5:00-7:00 p.m. at Skagit Valley College in Friday Harbor;

LSJI is searching for adults who would like to develop their professional leadership skills while learning more about issues facing the San Juan Islands within our “systems” of governance, education, economics, environment, social/community health and history/culture. Deadline for applications is November 7th. For further information or to download an application see www.leadershipsanjuanislands.org or call Cynthia Stark-Wickman, Program Coordinator, 378-9683 or 370-5470 (evenings).

When Google was celebrating their tenth anniversary last week, they set it up so you could look up stuff using indexs as far back as 2001 (they didn't have the ones before that).....so I looked up the Update, just to see how we were ranked back then. Using the search words "san juan island" we came up fifth in the rankings - wahoo!

Click on the screen shot at the right for the full deal.

Elementary School needs stuff for their garage sale.....
Here's the news from Tanja & the PTA:

Fresh from a successful fundraising campaign that resulted in Friday Harbor Elementary School’s new playground Big Toy, the 2008-2009 PTA is moving forward and beginning its 2009 campaign.In addition to funding projects like the playground, the PTA has been responsible for providing money for several school programs.

From helping to pay for teacher training to funding field trips and after school enrichment programs, the PTA is an integral part of the school community. “As we know from our budget crisis earlier this year, schools can not depend only on state and federal money to ensure our children are getting the programs they need,” said FHES Principal Gary Pflueger. “The PTA—and their incredible fundraising support—is critical to the success of our school year.”PTA co-president Tanja Williamson says an anonymous donor has pledged a $500 matching grant to start off the fundraising for the year.

Several ongoing programs need to be funded, including:
Music Enrichment
Geography Bee & Math Olympiad
Pacific Science Center Visit to School
Teacher Stipends (for special training)
Fieldtrips (ie: Orcas Salmon Hatchery, University of Washington Boat Trip, LaCrover Farm)
Development of school garden
Winter & Spring After School Enrichment Programs

The PTA will hold its first fundraiser of the year on Saturday, October 25, with a huge garage sale inside the school’s gym from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. In December, the school’s annual Scholastic Book Fair will also raise funds.Anyone interested in donating directly to a specific program, may contact Tanja at 378-6004 or send those donations to FHES PTA at 95 Grover Street, Friday Harbor.

The Roche Harbor Salmon Derby 2009....!
Signup now - there are only 50 spots left. Last year they were filled by December...here's the details.

Coming next Sunday....
An educational forum entitled, "The Challenge Ahead: Repairing Our Damaged Bill of Rights", will be presented on Sunday, October 19, 2008, from 2:30 to 4:30 P.M. in the Grange Hall in Friday Harbor. Here are the details.

Transportation Summit achieves near-zero waste....
One of the goals of the Transportation Summit was to successfully implement a green community event. Planners asked Helen Venada, Waste Reduction Coordinator for the County, to advise them on waste stream issues and following the event she offered the following “Green Report Card”:

The final estimated waste generation results are very impressive for a crowd of 200 people!
* 30 gallons of compostables, including food scraps and food-soiled paper products, that will be reused locally to build soil;
* 15 gallons of recyclables, including paper cups that were not food-soiled; these will be trucked to Cascade Materials Recovery Facility in Woodinville;
*~ 3 gallons of garbage to be long-hauled for landfill in eastern Oregon, consisting of cellophane and metallic candy wrappers; plastic straws; plastic cups and dome tops; wooden stir sticks; wooden toothpicks with plastic streamers; alkaline batteries; assorted plastic film packaging; duct tape; meat/cheese scraps; wine corks and metallic wrappings. All these items were in small quantities and some were brought in from outside the event.

She further credited pre-planning which involved re-thinking purchase choices:
* The caterer provided lunch and snacks that reflected a commitment to the concept of waste reduction; her use of washable plates and utensils attests to that.
* No Styrofoam food containers were used at the event! The unwaxed paper cups and bowls are readily compostable.
* Paper name tags were recycled and plastic holders were collected for re-use.
* The choice of 100% recycled paper from a Washington mill and purchased locally helps to improve recycling markets and greatly reduces energy use and pollution generated in manufacture of paper from virgin materials.
* Re-use of map plotter paper and blueprints from county offices as well as your use of two-sided printing cut paper waste in half!

San Juan County Public Works Department not only provided the printed-on-one-side plotter paper for the World Cafes, but also the use of the recycling containers for the event. Other organizations interested in promoting waste reduction in future event planning are urged to download the Green Event Planning Guide from the County Public Works website.


Click here for last week's (and yesterday's) news...

ble

Ian Byington sings

The information here is simply stuff we here at By Design think is important around Friday Harbor or on San Juan Island.

Some of it is news, some of it is old news, and all are just things we wanted to mention, with most of it about the things that make living here great.

There will be more next week, if anything happens.

Ian Byington


This site prepared by our friends at By Design in Friday Harbor.
The information contained here is
©Copyright 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002,
2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and next year, too
by Ian Byington/By Design, Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, WA in the USA.

Unauthorized reuse of the content of these pages is prohibited;
links to other sites is intended to be to the benefit of those sites,
and for the edification of our readers,
and does not constitute endorsement or
agreement with views expressed there.
All rights reserved, except in Britain, who have their own reserve.
Canadians welcome.


eXTReMe Tracker