Just in time for the holiday weekend, the county burn ban has been lifted

The Burn Ban for campfires and barbecues is lifted in San Juan County

Chinmayo throws some finishing touches on the fabulous spread that was set out for the Bike & Build group – SJ Update photo

The back of a Bike & Build jersey shows the major routes ridden each year by the organization – SJ Update photo

For the third year in a row, the San Juan Community Home Trust is hosting Bike & Build, a national non-profit organization that engages young adults in service-oriented cycling trips to raise money and awareness for the affordable housing cause.

This particular group of 25 riders started their route in Portland, Oregon about 18 days ago. From there, they rode to Aberdeen, Neah Bay, Port Townsend, Port Orchard, Mount Rainier and up through Seattle to Whidbey Island – doing 5 community service projects along the way – and finally ending up in Friday Harbor.

They arrived late yesterday at the fairgrounds campground and were treated to a large potluck dinner donated by members of the Home Trust, the SJI Trails Committee and other community members.

Today, they will help knock out a trail across the southern edge of the Home Trust’s Sun Rise II neighborhood. This segment will eventually be a part of a trail spanning from Sunday Drive, across the Home Trust neighborhoods and connecting with the Lafarge Open Space property, essentially becoming the last part of a safe walking route from town to Jackson’s Beach – a dream come true for many islanders that has been a long time in the making.

If you can spare an hour or two today and would like to be a part of this work party, bring some gloves, sturdy shoes and whatever yard tools you have (clippers, rakes, shovels, etc…) and meet the group at the Sun Rise II neighborhood anytime after 9:30 AM. To get there, just head east off of Argyle on Grover Street until your only option is to turn right. Turn right and find a place to park and there you are.

Many thanks to the Home Trust and their board member Chinmayo for her determination and dedication in making this event happen year after year.

Tomorrow, the Bike & Build crew will pack up their tents and sleeping bags, catch the ferry back to Anacortes and then ride up to Bellingham which will mark the end of this ride.

Click below for more photos of last night’s potluck – Continue Reading

It’s moved up a month this year – the Friday Harbor Film Festival will be held over the weekend of October 26, 27 & 28 instead of in November like previous years.

Check out their website, www.fhff.org for all things FHFF! From volunteer opportunities, film descriptions and trailers, to film venues and schedules. And buy your tickets early at this link.

Program guides are out too – pick one up at various FHFF sponsor locations around town, on the ferries and at the FHFF office at 10 First Street.

The Local Hero Award this year goes to composer Alex Shapiro. It’s an award presented to a current or former resident of the San Juan Islands who has made outstanding contributions to our quality of life, impacting people, animals, the arts, health, or the environment.

Alex is a composer known for her seamless melding of live and recorded sounds that often include striking visual and physical elements, and for her innovative uses of technology in her works. Alex moved to San Juan Island in 2007 to continue her successful creative life after an impressive career composing for film and TV, and concert music in New York and California.

She will be honored on Sunday, October 28 at 7:00 p.m. during the FHFF Final Awards Presentation. The evening will include celebrations of the Local Hero, film Category Favorites, and a screening of the Audience Choice Film Award at San Juan Community Theatre.

Captain Paul Watson has been chosen as this year’s recipient of the FHFF Andrew V. McLaglen Lifetime Achievement Award. This annual award honors an individual who has made outstanding contributions to raising the general public’s awareness of important issues, either through his/her activism or as a filmmaker. It is presented in memory of Andrew V. McLaglen, the award-winning film director and long-time resident of San Juan Island.

Paul Watson is one of the original founding members of Greenpeace. He also founded Sea Shepard Conservation Society and was more recently featured on seven seasons of Animal Planet’s Whale Wars TV series.

Captain Watson will be honored on Friday, October 26, during the FHFF Opening Night Gala. The gala will take place at San Juan Community Theatre, and will include a screening of the film “Chasing the Thunder”, a high-seas documentary that follows the eco-warriors of Sea Shepherd as they engage in an epic 110-day, 10,000-mile chase of the notorious poaching vessel, the Thunder.

Mark your calendar and join your community Saturday, September 8^th from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm for a Day of Caring that will benefit our island friends and neighbors. Our aim is to gather volunteers and lend a hand toward small projects that make a big difference to those in our community who need just a little extra help.

Our project list has been compiled by the local nonprofit organizations that United Way supports throughout the year such as our family and community resource and senior centers. This one-day volunteering event promotes the spirit of helping others and building community. Can we do more? Yes – all we need is you! Learn more and sign up on line at www.unitedwaysjc.com

We can all lend a hand in big and small ways to lift our community on all islands. United Way’s Day of Caring supports our local nonprofits, who are dedicated day after day, to meet critical needs in our community. We hope you will join us and volunteer one morning. Help us extend our reach!

Please visit www.unitedwaysjc.com for more information and to SIGN UP to volunteer a few hours of your time on Saturday September 8. Your support will make a difference in the lives friends and neighbors.

The first semester Friday Harbor High School Community Service-Learning Class will begin August 30th. This class utilizes committed adult mentors who will guide students through the completion of a service project related to community improvement – both locally and globally. 

This is a great opportunity for a “win-win” partnership between students and local organizations. If you have a community improvement project in mind, a fifteen minute in-class presentation time can be arranged on September 4th, 5th or 6th  from 8:15-9:00 AM. Please contact Jenny Wilson at [email protected]  for more information.

SJICF Staff Jeanne Peihl, Carrie Unpingco and Amy Saxe-Eyler – Contributed photo

What nonprofit projects are happening now? What resources are available to get a project off the ground? How can I best support the most pressing needs in our community? If you’ve been asking yourself these questions, the San Juan Island Community Foundation is a great place to start!

Founded in 1994, our mission has remained constant: to improve the quality of life of San Juan Island. How do we do it? By helping donors, non-profits and public organizations achieve their goals through direct grants, organizational assistance and philanthropic resource management.

Please join us at an upcoming meet-and-greet event Friday, August 31^st from 2 to 5pm at our office at 640 Mullis Street, #104. Meet our staff, have a bite to eat and bring your questions about how we can help connect your philanthropic interests and goals to current opportunities in our community.

We’re excited to share the latest news as well as some recent staff additions: Continue Reading

Island Stage Left shares this announcement with you…

Ren was our Stage Manager for Doubt, some years ago and is now living in Australia.  This show has won awards at several fringe festivals in Australia and Canada and is coming to the Fairgrounds in Friday Harbor while we are away in England. (Please note it is not suitable for people under 12)

Ren is a dynamic, intelligent and sensitively creative person and we wish we could see the show ourselves! Avant garde theatre comes to Friday Harbor!

The SJI Garden Club is offering another Hosted Excursion…

Seattle now boasts two sensational glass conservatories – the Chihuly Garden and Glass museum at the foot of the Space Needle and the new Amazon Spheres.

What will you see? The Chihuly Garden is the culmination of Dale Chihuly’s penchant for displaying glass in garden settings. The colors and light indoors in the Conservatory and outdoors in the garden are dazzling. The Northwest Room has an extensive collections of ceramics, textiles, Pendleton blankets and photography of Native Americans.

The Amazon Spheres are three connected glass globes that function as an employee lounge with an eye to immersing people in a natural environment of light and plants. The Spheres are organized into several collections of over 40,000 plants, including a vertical fernery and a tree fort. The Spheres tour will be guided.

• Date: September 18, 2018
• Time: Eastbound Ferry 8:05
  Westbound Ferry 8:20
• Location: Downtown Seattle
• Cost: $50.00 – Transportation includes ferry ticket
  Does NOT include food, Chihuly entry ($24 for a senior, $29 for an adult) or the driver gratuity

Destination web sites: www.chihulygardenandglass.com and www.seattlespheres.com
San Juan Island Garden Club web site www.sjigardenclub.weebly.com

Reservations are required prior to September 10, 2018
To register contact:

Kathie Forsyth 360-378-8685 or 360-378-5071

Vonnie Harold 360-298-0859

Meeting, Classes and Excursions are open to everyone.
The Joy of Gardening is Sharing

Fellow Film Buffs, here is a description of our next movie:

Agnès Varda and JR have things in common: a passion for and the exploration of images in general, and more precisely, for places and for ways of showing, sharing, and exhibiting them. Agnès chose cinema. JR chose to create open air photography galleries.

When Agnès and JR met in 2015, they immediately wanted to work together, to shoot a film in France, far from cities, during a trip in JR’s photographic (and magical) truck. Through chance encounters and prepared projects, they reached out to others, listening to them, photographing them, and sometimes putting them on posters.

This film also tells the story of Agnès and JR’s friendship, which grew stronger throughout the film shoot, between surprises and teasing, and while laughing about their differences. An absolutely charming film about two unique individuals.

• Tuesday August 28 7:30 pm
• Faces Places
• Documentary Rated PG 89 Minutes
• French (with subtitles)

On August 31 registration begins for The Story Circle, a new after school literary enrichment program for students in grades K-2nd or home school equivalent. This free program is being offered by the San Juan Island Library for the 2018-2019 school year.

The Story Circle will include bi-weekly Thursday afternoon programs at the Library with a snack, read alouds, multi-media, and activities to reinforce the story themes. Another critical component of the program is family reading time at home using classic stories for the transitional reader. The first selection to be featured will be Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne. Each family will receive their own free book to keep.

The Story Circle is made possible through funding by the Friends of the San Juan Island Library. For more information, please call the Library at (360) 378-2798 or visit www.sjlib.org.

Online licensing services will be unavailable from Sunday, August 26, through Monday, September 3; and state licensing offices will be closed Friday, August 31, through Monday, September 3. As a result, many county licensing offices – including San Juan County’s – will also be closed Friday, August 31. Normal services will resume September 4.

The reason for the closure is that the Department of Licensing (DOL) is upgrading its systems over Labor Day weekend in order to better protect your information and add some new features.

The Driver and Vehicle System project (DRIVES) is a 4-year effort to upgrade the state’s driver and vehicle technology systems.  DRIVES R2, to upgrade driver licensing technology, is the second in a series of overhauls to the legacy systems. DRIVES R1, which updated vehicle licensing systems, was implemented in December of 2016. A third project, DRIVES R3, to upgrade Business and Professional Licensing systems, will begin later this year.

Once complete, DOL will have the ability to:

• Provide DOL staff and vehicle licensing business partners better processes
• Provide more accurate records to law enforcement
• Implement new initiatives faster
• Increase system reliability and reduce downtime
• Develop and support new business processes

New features!

The system will also bring new features for customers. Here are some of the things you will soon be able to do from the comfort of your own home:

• Change your driver license to an ID card. No longer want to drive? You’ll be able to easily switch to an ID card online.
• Lost your license? You’ll be able to replace a lost license even if you have a CDL (some restrictions may apply).
• Apply for a restricted license.
• Pre-apply for an Enhanced Driver License. Start your paperwork online before you even enter an office!

Questions? Need help?

• General questions: [email protected]
• DRIVES Support Command Center: (360) 664-9698 or [email protected]

Vegas is this week’s Pet of the Week – Contributed photo

Hello again. It’s just me, Vegas, reporting from the animal shelter, where I continue to wait to be discovered.  

I’ve been asked to leave Kamp Kitty for certain “transgressions” against the other feline residents. Apparently not all cats enjoy my Jean-Claude Van Damme imitation. Go figure.

They gave me a promotion and now I’m in charge of lobby security. I even have my own office. Stop by and meet me. Call first to get my nap schedule, please.

Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor
111 Shelter Road
(360) 378-2158

Appearing at Mr. Believable’s on Sunday, August 26, 2018 AT 7:00 P.M.

Come hear local musician Paul Kollet play some great songs on the piano.

From Chopin to Coldplay, Adele to Elton John – From Beatles to U2 , From Pearl Jam to many more!

Great Music Makes for a Great Time!

PADs for Parkinson’s of San Juan Island would like to acknowledge all who supported the PADs Program with your presence, your interest, and your support during the San Juan County Fair.  You are making this ground-breaking program possible. 

We extend our heartfelt thanks to the San Juan County Fair Event Team; to our training session volunteers and handlers who continue to support our 14 fabulous sniffer dogs; to the many who attended the live demonstrations of the dogs at work; and to those who provided much-needed financial support. We extend a special bow of thanks to The San Juan Island Community Foundation and to the many who contributed to the SJICF match-funding effort for PADs.

Due to the amazing support of the SJICF and its benefactors, we are now able to purchase and install a wheelchair ramp at the PADs facility. This will provide access to the facility for all who are mobility-challenged, many of whom are our own Parkinson’s Sample Donors, so that they too can observe the PADs (Parkinson’s Alert Dogs) in action. Continue Reading

An invitation for you from Islanders Bank…

Please join us for our Annual Shred Event!

• When: Tuesday, August 28th
• Where: Friday Harbor Branch
• Time: 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM or until the shred truck is full

Shredding services provided by Iron Mountain.

Participants are asked to wait while their paper documents are shredded.

Monday Aug 27, 2018, the San Juan Island School District Board of Directors will hold a Special School Board Meeting at9:45 am in the high school library.  This is an open public meeting.    

All public comment, with the exception of public hearings on policy, budget or other specific items, will be heard during the “Public Comment” section of the Call to Order.  Anyone wishing to address the board on any topic will be scheduled to speak during the public comment period by the Administrative Assistant present at the board meeting.  Check in to be scheduled to speak will occur during the 15 minutes before the start of the meeting.     

To see the agenda, access BoardDocs from our website at www.sjisd.wednet.edu  (then locate the BoardDocs School Board agenda access).  Or go straight to the agenda itself at https://www.boarddocs.com/wa/sjisd/Board.nsf/Public. (be sure to click the Meetings tab at the top)

(This is a quick look at the board agenda for your convenience.  Please be aware that the agenda could change prior to the board meeting.)