A painting of Griffin Bay by Marjorie Walker

Marjorie Walker – Contributed photo

Marjorie Walker was born to a wealthy New York family, attended the prestigious Art Students League in New York, and traveled the world before finding her way to San Juan Island in 1949 to become the island’s first professionally-trained artist. 

Sandy Strehlou will cover her fascinating life before and after she discovered the island.

Monday, May 6 at 7 pm at the San Juan Island Library – free.

Refreshments will be served courtesy of the Friends of the Library and the San Juan Island Trails Committee.  

Calling all performers for the 2019 San Juan County Fair, applications are being accepted online.  Performers from San Juan County and surrounding areas are encouraged to apply.

The 2019 San Juan County Fair will be held Wednesday through Saturday, August 14^th-17^th at the San Juan County Fairgrounds, featuring multiple stages, roving family entertainment, educational demonstrations and exhibits during the Fair.

The San Juan County Fair is an opportunity to showcase your talent and celebrate the culture of the San Juan Islands.  Help represent this region through music, dance, comedy, theater, improv, storytelling, poets, parades, visual artists, and everything in-between at the largest event in San Juan County. 

About the San Juan County Fair: 
Established in 1906, the Fair is one of Puget Sound’s best kept secrets not to be missed!  

The San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the theme for the 2019 4^th of July Parade in Friday Harbor: “Parade of Stars”, past and present…

The event has been rated one of the top 10 small town 4th of July celebrations in the USA. The parade will start at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 4th. A full day of food, entertainment and music, will culminate with a glorious fireworks extravaganza over the scenic Port of Friday Harbor.

The Chamber encourages all of those interested to gather your creative crew and begin plans on your costumes, floats and themed entries. Prizes will be awarded for the following categories-

• Best Use of Theme – Float
• Best Use of Theme – Non-Float
• Best Use of Theme – Children/Youth
• Best Costume Group
• Best Animal/Animal Group
• Judges’ Choice
• Best Off-Island Entry
• Best Vehicle.

To participate in the 2019 Friday Harbor Independence Day Parade, please email: [email protected] for an application or download it at www.sanjuanisland.org

Town’s Business License Program is Online With The State

Effective April 29, 2019.

Starting this week, the Town of Friday Harbor is online with the Washington Business Licensing Service’s (BLS) to administer its business licensing program.

Businesses that are currently not licensed and doing business in Friday Harbor or expecting to renew their existing licenses will need to apply through the state BLS portal at this link.

More information and other relevant links have been posted on the Town of Friday Harbor’s website.

Renewal notices are scheduled to be mailed by BLS in early May. Businesses that receive a renewal notice from BLS should follow the instructions provided to receive a their Town of Friday Harbor business license.

Business owners that have questions about Town’s transition to the online system, renewal or application process with the State BLS, or questions about whether or not their business is exempt from licensing, can contact the Town Clerk at (360) 378-2810 or BLS at (800) 647-7706. Both the Town and BLS websites have valuable information posted.

Questions? The Town Clerk can be contacted at (360) 378-2810 for more information. The Town website will be updated frequently.

Mark your calendars – WSF and local Ferry Advisory Committees are hosting nine upcoming community meetings.

Come learn about the future of ferries, proposed changes to fares, and local projects on your route.

• Kingston: Monday, April 29, 6 p.m., Kingston Village Green Community Center, 26159 Dulay Road NE, Kingston
• Coupeville: Wednesday, May 1, 6 p.m., Island County Commissioner’s Hearing Room 1, NE 7th St, Coupeville
• Bremerton: Wednesday, May 8, 5:30 p.m., Kitsap Conference Center, 100 Washington Avenue, Bremerton
• Bainbridge Island: Thursday, May 9, 6 p.m., Bainbridge Island Senior Center, 370 Brien Drive SE, Bainbridge Island
• Anacortes: Tuesday, May 14, 4 p.m., City Hall Municipal Building, 904 6th St, Anacortes
• San Juan Islands: Wednesday, May 15, 5 p.m., Orcas Senior Center, 62 Henry Road, Eastsound
• Southworth: Tuesday, May 21, 6 p.m., Harper Church, 10384 SE Sedgwick Road, Port Orchard
• Mukilteo: Thursday, May 23. Mukilteo Multimodal Terminal Project open house 5 – 6 p.m., WSF Community Meeting 6 p.m. Rosehill Community Center, 304 Lincoln Ave, Mukilteo
• Vashon Island: Thursday, May 30, 7 p.m., Vashon Island High School, 9600 SW 204th Street, Vashon

For more information visit this link.

Friday Harbor Saloon on the corner of Front and Spring Streets, 1908 – Contributed photo

Peek into San Juan Islands History: Fish Tales, the First Artist, & the Last Lighthouse

A rogue barnyard animal starting a war sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. But here in the San Juan Islands, we know it’s a true story. Discover the saga of the “Pig War,” and other colorful stories during History Lives Here – National Historic Preservation Month.

Click here for information on these events and more at the San Juan Islands Visitor’s Bureau website.

Island Rec is pleased to announce the 29^th Annual Children’s Festival this Saturday, May 4th, 2019. Community organizations that you know and love will be providing all kinds of creative and hands-on activities.

Children will have the opportunity to unleash their inner super hero with crafted masks, capes, and arm bands! Island Rec is providing inflatable fun including a bounce house, a Cliff Jump Jr., and FANS has been diligently practicing their balloon animal techniques.

Come join us for some free family fun at the Fair Building – I Am Super! Saturday, May 4th, 10:00 am until 2:00 pm.

For more information, please call 360-378-4953 or visit www.islandrec.org

This year we have over two thousand organic vegetable starts and perennials, all lovingly grown and nurtured by San Juan County Master Gardeners. We’ve sold out quickly in previous years and didn’t want that to happen again!

But do come early to the Mullis Center, Saturday May 11^th at 9am. We have a few special baskets for Mother’s Day.

The Master Gardeners choose vegetables they love because they grow well in our climate and our gardens, often producing early and heavily. Most are unique heirlooms, selected for their taste, including two peppers and three tomatoes that are in Slow Food USA’s “Ark of Taste,” a living catalog of delicious and distinctive food.

As in previous years, there’s a large variety of wonderful tomatoes and peppers, including several tomatoes new this year. Look for labels at the sale that point out which tomatoes were winners in our Master Gardeners taste test last autumn! We’ve also selected more varieties suitable for containers and smaller gardens, indicated on the labels, to help you decide what’s best for your garden. Continue Reading

Help support higher education – win a gift basket, valued at $500 that includes gift certificates for food, relaxation AND entertainment! 

Raffle tickets are $5.00 each or 5 for $20.00. We’ll be selling raffle tickets at the next Saturday Farmers Market on May 4th.

They’ll also be available for purchase during business hours at Deer Hazel.

Island Air planes and EMS personnel – Contributed photo

Refusal by Kaiser Permanente to pay for medical evacuations ordered by emergency room physicians here have led to a great deal of concern, anguish and fear, and so Dr. Loren Johnson, retired ER doctor, arranged a public informational meeting at the Mullis Center last Thursday evening.

Dr. Johnson could not be in attendance so in his absence Dr. Warren Appleton stepped in to run the meeting.

Dr. Michael Sullivan, the medical program director for all of the county’s emergency medical services, and Will Hamilton, representing Island Air med-evac service, made up a panel to answer questions, along with Chris Martin of Airlift Northwest by phone.

The message from all of them was: Don’t hesitate to call for help for fear of getting a big bill. Put your health first and do what a prudent person would – call for help and be confident that you will have help if you need to fight over the charges.

And they all added that if Kaiser refuses payment for your med-evac, you have 60 days to file an appeal – and don’t do it alone: Get help from either Island Air or Airlift Northwest, the one that flew your med-evac.

The refusals of payment started last September and are continuing, though at a lower pace than earlier: None in the last month, Dr. Sullivan said; one, Hamilton said.

By Louise Dustrude

[Show slideshow]

Friday Harbor High School art students dominated the Northwest Educational Service District 189 Regional Art Competition in Anacortes. During the awards ceremony on Friday March 15^th our students won 4 out of the 8 top awards, and earned $4,000 in art scholarships. Winning half of the total awards in our district is impressive considering our students have to compete against 4A schools who are much larger and allowed to enter more pieces.

(Directly from OSPI’s website) The Superintendent’s High School Art Show is an annual event co-hosted by OSPI and the Washington Art Education Association (WAEA). High school students from all nine of the state’s educational service districts (ESDs) participate in this artistic celebration each year. The finalists from these regional ESD shows are invited to participate in the Superintendent’s High School Art Show.

Out of the four students who entered artwork three students were awarded scholarships. Soma Andrews received $2,000, and Annamarie Thomas and Lucas Chevalier both received $1,000 scholarships. Their work moves onto The Superintendent’s High School Art Show in Olympia were they will compete against the regional winners from the entire state. Continue Reading

Rex and Lisa Guard cut the ribbon to their new building – Ted Strutz photo

Rex and Lisa Guard officially opened their new building on Web Street last week. This is the building next door to FH Pet Supplies where the cleaners used to be before the fire in 2013. The building provides business space downstairs (Heather Munro’s Altar Movement) and a vacation rental upstairs (Web Suites).

Heather Munro cuts the ribbon to her new location – Ted Strutz photo

Notable attendees were Mayor Farhad Ghatan; Chamber President Scott Sluis; building contractors Peter, Brenda and Jayson Schmidt; Tammy Cotton of Cotton Insurance Agency; and Mike Bertrand of the Town of Friday Harbor.

An open house followed with Q&A, homemade cookies and a tour of the vacation rental including a rooftop deck.

100 people entered a free raffle for a 2 night stay and Teresa Sundstrom was the lucky winner. 3 gift baskets were also given away in the drawing, and winners were Nancy Young, Sarah Heeren and Jeff Fitts.

Lisa Guard adds: “We didn’t collect any raffle money from anyone, but we are making a donation to the Family Resource Center based on the number of entries. I just counted up the online entries and the in-person entries and we had 100 total. Rex and I will donate $5.00 per entry for a total donation of $500.00.”

“We want to help families in Friday Harbor – we received support with our babies when the resource center was just getting up and running. They provided infant CPR classes for us new parents and infant and toddler support. We want to pay it forward now.”

The San Juan Center of Skagit Valley College  to Host “Running Start” info night

If you are an academically motivated high school junior or senior, Running Start may be of interest to you and your family!

The Running Start program at Skagit Valley College/San Juan Center offers high school juniors and seniors the opportunity to take college level courses to earn dual credit toward both your high school diploma and college degree—without paying tuition! 

The San Juan Center of Skagit Valley College will host a Running Start information night for interested students and parents on Wednesday, May 1 from 6-6:30pm. This event will be held at the San Juan Center of SVC (located near the Friday Harbor Airport terminal).

Learn how the Running Start program works; what classes are available; registration and intake process; and how the program may or may not be a fit you and your family. SVC staff will be available after the event to discuss individual questions.

Cost is free and refreshments will be provided.

Please RSVP by phone 360-378-3220 or email [email protected].

The Grange invites you to this upcoming meal and lecture…

Join us May 9 for a thoughtful discussion of how we can approach gardening, farming, forestry, and land management with a more nuanced understanding of invasive species. How can we mimic nature in managing the overabundance of a particular species? Part of the San Juan Island Grange Lecture Series; 7 pm at Grange Hall; 6 pm potluck.

Tao is the author of Beyond the War on Invasive Species: A Permaculture Perspective on Ecosystem Restoration(Chelsea Green Publishing, 2015). She is passionate about linking restoration with thoughtful design of human and non-human habitat. Tao lives with her family near Eugene, Oregon and is a permaculture designer, educator and farmer.

How do we deal with the rising tide of invasive species spreading throughout our island and our world? What role are these plants and animals playing in the ecosystem and how did they get here? We live in an era of unprecedented concern for the damage being done to the natural world, but also an almost equal level of concern about plants and animals out of place. In a world beset by pollution and climate change, are invasive species just one more nail in the coffin, or a sign that life will find a way? Continue Reading

Special Family Events for Screen-Free Week April 29-May 5

No prior Registration Required. Free!

Join the fun. Participate in these Screen-Free Week activities for families:

• Monday, April 29
  Special Children’s Contra Dance hosted by the Monday Night Contra Dancers
  6-7 pm at the Grange
  Blast back to the past to learn dances that people danced before the invention of iPhones, tablets, and video games. Free, light refreshments served.
• Tuesday, April 30
  Kickball Game hosted by Island Rec
  3:15-4:30 pm at the John O. Linde Community Park
  Get outdoors and get moving. Engage in a friendly, spirited game of kickball. Free, beverages provided.
  *Rain date location is the Fairgrounds main building
• Tuesday, April 30
  Family Bingo Night hosted by Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor
  6-7:30 pm at the San Juan Island Library
  B-I-N-G-O, It’s a fun-filled night of Bingo! Don’t worry if you are new to this crowd-pleasing, entertaining game. The wonderful members of Soroptimist will show you how to play. All materials provided. Free. Light refreshments served.

Screen-Free Week is a national initiative to promote the benefits of limited screen time for children and families. On San Juan Island, children in grades K-5^th have been invited to do the Screen-Free Week challenge, promoted through the local schools and the public library. Continue Reading

Last Wednesday evening, April 24, 2019, the Board of Directors of San Juan Island School District swore in appointee Brian Moore to fill the position #5 unexpired term vacated by Jack McKenna until the election in November, 2019.     

Mr. Moore accepted the position. His responsibilities on the Board of Directors began immediately. If Mr. Moore continues his interest in serving as a district director, he will be required to file for election, along with John Kurtz and T.J. Heller, during filing week, May 13, 2019 – May 17, 2019.

Contact information for all five school board members may be found on the school district website, www.sjisd.wednet.edu then select ABOUT and then BOARD.