Friday Harbor Mayor Farhad Ghatan and Mike Cohen – Contributed photo

How often does the mayor proclaim a day in your name? Ask Mike Cohen, who will turn 90 this week!

Here’s what the Town had to say:

Click to enlarge

“Michael J. Cohen”
Our friend and fellow Island resident Mike Cohen will turn 90 on Saturday, December 14th.

This is a noteworthy life event for anyone, and we wish to honor Mike, as he is a distinguished member of our community. Founder of Project Nature-Connect, and a school in the discipline that boasts students world-wide,

Mike has created and experienced much in his long life.

Mike was raised in a forward thinking artistic and musical family. He has run a ski lodge in Vermont, a traveling school that took students around the country to learn from experiencing the natural world, compiled a repertoire of hundreds of folk songs and dances, and has participated greatly in the preservation of many aspects of our national folk culture.

And he brought it all here to San Juan Island in the late 1990s, where he has enriched our island with his contributions to music, dance and education ever since. You see him at his contra dance, playing music at the farmers market, entertaining customers at the Cask and Schooner, and the residents at The Village, to mention just a few of his current activities.

Friday Harbor would be much the poorer without Mike’s cheerful presence and we would like to honor him as an indispensable community member.

Congratulations and Happy Birthday Mike!

Read more about Mike and this award here on his Project Nature Connect website.

Results of Survey of San Juan County Residents over 70 years old are in.

Background: In August and September of 2019, thanks in part to donations from county residents, the Foundation commissioned a survey of county residents to determine the extent and magnitude of unmet needs for community based long-term care services in San Juan County.

A total of 393 surveys were determined to be complete.  A two-page summary of the KEY FINDINGS can be found by clicking this link: IIHF Survey Summary (PDF)

Next Steps Included submitting an application for federal HRSA grant funding to formalize governance and organizational structure to proceed with an analysis of long-term care options in San Juan County.

If awarded this grant, funding would be made available in March or April of 2020. For a review of the complete HRSA Funding Opportunity; HRSA 20-026, click this link: FORHP HRSA-20-026 P10 (PDF)

Thank you for your donations and interest in this critical planning process. Please feel free to contact IIHF if you wish to learn more.

Warren Frederick Jones 82, passed peacefully on Tuesday, November 26, 2019 at Skagit Valley Hospital after a brief illness.

He was born on January 28, 1937, the son of John Gregg and Ida May (Souza) Jones, in San Luis Obispo, California.

A graveside service will be held on Sunday, December 15, 2019 at 12:15 PM at St. Francis Catholic Cemetery, 454 Madden Lane, Friday Harbor.

A reception will be held following the service at the Masonic Lodge, 15 2nd St N.

Lynn Danaher shares this invitation with you…

Due to our long-standing friendships with some of the residents, we have been invited by the Pitcairn islanders themselves to spend a month on Pitcairn exploring petroglyph sites and conducting forensic archaeology. 

We will be the first to test for DNA at a historical burial site in Adamstown, of some of the original mutineers.  We anticipate 2 teams of 2 weeks each, max 6 participants per team, plus guides, researcher and forensic anthropologist.

This is a true remote expedition into a rugged difficult place with limited amenities.  It involves flying to Mangareva from Tahiti and taking a small ship to Pitcairn via a 32-hour passage embarking via a original style long boat thru surf. 

Must be fit and have a positive attitude for adventure.  This an Expedition not a Tour!

All expenses are covered from Tahiti; hotel, airfare to Mangareva, ship transport to and from Pitcairn, all food, lodging & transport on the island, plus, all necessary tools and professional guides.

If interested, please contact Lynn for further information and an application to join this unique expedition.  

Capt. Lynn Danaher, FN’05
Pacific Islands Research Institute
Cell & Text ; 808-755-8045     4islandexplorer@gmail.com

International ferry M/V Chelan and Mt. Baker – Tim Dustrude photo

Beginning on Monday, December 9, the international sailings will resume between Anacortes/Friday Harbor/Sidney B.C.  M/V Chelan rejoins the route following annual maintenance and inspections and will sail in the #1 position. Reservations are available online at TakeAFerry or by calling 206 464 6400 and speaking with an Information Agent. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this recent downsize and maintenance demands throughout the WSF system.

Please be advised the schedule will resume the fall 2019 sailing schedule which eliminates the additional sailings at 9:55 a.m. from Friday Harbor to Lopez and Anacortes, 10:40 a.m., Lopez to Anacortes (commercial only), 11:55 a.m. Anacortes to Lopez and Friday Harbor and the 12:45 p.m. Lopez to Friday Harbor.

https://www.wsdot.com/ferries/schedule/ScheduleDetailByRoute.aspx?schedrouteid=1862

Celebrity canine Mia with owner Barbara Wright and Auditor staff Christie Boman, Kira Sable, and Oren Combs.

The dog licensing season was kicked off in grand fashion at the courthouse last week, when the first dog tag of 2020 was issued to a special “celebrity” canine. Mia, an 8-year old Standard Poodle, escorted by her owner Barbara Wright, received tag #1 at the Auditor’s office. Dog licenses are now available for all local canines at a variety of San Juan County locations.

Mia is involved in the “PADs (Parkinson’s Alert Dogs) for Parkinson’s” program. Mia and her canine colleagues at the PADs center are trained to sniff out the distinct scent of a person afflicted with Parkinson’s disease. The scent can potentially be detected several years before the devastating symptoms begin to take effect with these patients. Read More »

Anne Blackburn 1930 – 2019

Anne Blackburn, née Olive Anne Freeman, died Wednesday 20 November 2019, age 89, at her home in El Cerrito, California, from complications associated with her long-standing heart condition. She was surrounded with love by her daughters and grandchildren and two close family friends at the time of her passing.

A loving, generous, witty and insightful person, Anne spent most of her years in proximity to the ocean, which she loved. Born 30 October 1930 she was raised at Newport Beach, California with her beloved brother Dickinson (Dick) Reed Freeman. Read More »

Please help out the SJI Prevention Coalition by participating in this community survey. Cynthia explains that they need more public input…

The deadline to gather community input is Saturday, December 14 (and) we have not yet reached the minimum requirement for participation in this annual mandatory CPWI Coalition survey.

Please complete the survey ASAP, if you have not done so;  thank you to those that have completed the survey. Please also circulate via email, newsletters, social media:  facebook page, twitter and organizational website page.  Add a brief personal message.  See below for links and background info.  (P.S.  This is not the Coalition Assessment Tool taken at the coalition meeting on October 18=-)

This survey takes 3-5 minutes, and we need to gather parent responses. Click here for the survey: Read More »