Contributed Photo/EMS. Paramedic Lainey Volk delivers Thanksgiving dinner to an islander.

By San Juan Island EMS

San Juan Island EMS Community Paramedic Lainey Volk spent a portion of her day on Thanksgiving delivering dinners to 15 of her patients/clients who are vulnerable and shut-in.

Several of these people have no other family on the island.

The meals, including turkey with all the trimmings, were procured from the San Juan Island Community Dinner and delivered to all ends of the island.

Contributed Photo/EMS. Paramedic Lainey Volk visits a patient on Thanksgiving.

“Several cried at the kindness. I was called an angel by a few as well. Sometimes this job is very rewarding” said Volk.

The main goals of the community paramedicine program are to improve the quality of life and health of our citizens while reducing the cost of healthcare. This meets the hospital district’s goal of “aging in place,” by helping meet the needs of higher-risk patients while keeping them in their homes.

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By Washington State Department of Health

The Washington State Department of Health is adopting the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to reduce quarantine for people who have been exposed to COVID-19.

Although both the Washington State Department of Health and CDC currently recommend a quarantine period of 14 days, there are circumstances that allow for a shortened quarantine.

These include:

• If a person who is in quarantine has no symptoms, quarantine can end after Day 10.
• If a person who is in quarantine receives a negative COVID-19 test and has no symptoms, quarantine can end after Day 7. Get tested within 48 hours before ending quarantine.

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By Town of Friday Harbor

The Town of Friday Harbor thanks the community for supporting the local food bank with their generous contributions to the Harbor Life Ring program this November.

Town utility customer donations of $3,010 were matched with a $2,000 grant from the town for a total donation of $5,010 to the Friday Harbor Food Bank.

This is the eighth year that supporters of the Harbor Life Ring program have helped the food bank provide for island families during the holiday season when the need threatens to outweigh the supply.

“The continued support from our community has been just amazing,” said Friday Harbor Mayor Farhad Ghatan. “We are so very thankful, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.”

The Harbor Life Ring program was established in 2013 to assist families in need of financial relief on their town utility bills.

The program is funded through donations that town customers add to their monthly bill payments.

By San Juan Island Library

The San Juan Island Library presents “Classic Films for the Holidays” at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 9, online.

Join Therese Finn – that Elf of Entertainment, Hostess of Holidays – in reviewing a handful of classic holiday films. 

She’ll do a sled-by of the classic classics: “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “White Christmas,” “The Miracle on 34th Street,” “A Christmas Carol” (Alistair Sims), and “Meet Me in St. Louis.”

Therese will then drop down the chimney into “Remember the Night,” with Barbara Stanwyck and Fred McMurray, and “I’ll Be Seeing You,” with Ginger Rogers and Joseph Cotten.

Sorry, you’ll have to make your own popcorn, but enjoy the holiday cheer! 

Email Boyd Pratt at bpratt@sjlib.org for a Zoom meeting invitation at least 30 minutes before the program begins.

By EDC

The San Juan County Economic Development Council is resuming regular programming with the return of our Business Recovery Zoom Meetings, now called Business Recovery Workshops.

This bi-weekly workshop, in a Zoom environment, will give business owners the opportunity to speak with professionals on a wide variety of topics related to the continuing economic recovery in San Juan County and stay on top of trends and data.

Please join us for our premiere meeting, from 9-9:45 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 8 via Zoom.

EDC Executive Director Victoria Compton will lead a conversation about ways to help businesses get through the winter. We will be joined by Val Curtis to discuss social media and marketing as more local businesses seek to find a way to pivot to an effective online presence.

To join the Zoom call please visit https://www.sanjuansedc.org/edc-resumes-its-business-recovery-workshops-starting-dec-8th/.

The San Juan County Economic Development Council strives to strengthen and diversify the economy of San Juan County. We believe a strong economy builds a strong community.

Contributed Image/CDC

By San Juan County

Since the last update on Friday, Nov. 25, total cases in San Juan County have increased from 63 to 66. Two of these new cases are on San Juan Island, the other is on Lopez Island.

Current positive case numbers are available online at the San Juan County Case count page.

As indicated on that page, these numbers are only updated after case confirmation is complete, usually daily. It is possible that other information sources in the community may be quicker to report on new cases, but ensuring privacy and accuracy is critical for this official information source.

Orcas Island

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“FREEZER BURNED: Tales of Interior Alaska” is a regular column on the San Juan Update.

By Steve Ulvi, San Juan Island

Just how much difference can a few bunnies make?

Common notions when hearing of the place called Alaska, are a mish-mash of life experiences (or lack thereof), bookish knowledge and an active imagination. That place name has represented a dreamscape for people the world over thanks to the incredible popularity and widely translated prosaic tales of daring-do from Robert Service and Jack London. There were no photos and few drawings. Programs about Alaska using the incredible lenses of drones and modern cameras blow our minds but often underachieve with simplistic narration and silly wildlife sequence music.

Panoramic images flood and excite the brain far more than words. In my view, nearly all of the proliferation of so-called reality TV shows set in the north, play fast and loose with common preconceptions but invariably become farcical with production artifice to maintain ratings.

Admittedly, “Sergeant Preston of the Yukon” impregnated my imagination from a small black and white TV (and radio show) in the late 1950s, yet was as predictable and simplistic as any adventure show could possibly be. Even by that era’s standards.

A person cannot predict how the worm of imagination will turn in that part of the brain where wanderlust and vision quest are nurtured.

Today’s spectacular advances in science and technology shed light on old mysteries of the north, but more often open exciting new threads of inquiry connecting the dots in the web of northerly enigmas. Read More »

By San Juan Island Library

Receive “tech help” thanks to the San Juan Island Library, at 3 p.m., Mondays, Dec. 7, 14, 21, and 28.

Get help with computers, tablets and smartphones via Zoom.

After determining your needs, you will work one-on-one with a volunteer.

This class is designed to help you learn to use your technology and troubleshoot minor problems.

Visit https://www.sjlib.org/event/tech-help-via-zoom/all/ to complete a registration form to attend.