Fish for Teeth sponsors a mobile dental van for dental clinics on San Juan Island, three times a year. Contributed photo

Islanders unable to afford dental care can receive it for free thanks to the local nonprofit Fish for Teeth from Thursday, Oct. 4 – Saturday, Oct. 6. On Thursday, the van will be located at the Lopez Center for Community and Arts and on Friday and Saturday, it will be parked at the Mullis Community Senior Center on San Juan.

“Many volunteers and local businesses work as a team to bring this service to those who cannot otherwise afford dental care,” said Fish for Teeth Founder Matt Marinkovich, a San Juan Island commercial fisherman.

Fish for Teeth sponsors a mobile dental van for dental clinics in the San Juan Islands, three times a year. The Medical Teams International’s van can handle dental hygiene appointments to root canals.

Patients are seen by appointment only. Pick up applications at the San Juan Island Family Resource Center, the Lopez Family Resource Center or the county health department. They can also be download at www.fishforteeth.com. Those on San Juan can submit applications to the San Juan County Health Department on Rhone Street, while Lopez patients can turn them into the island’s resource center at 160 Village Road. Volunteers, not the county health department employees, determine scheduling before the clinic, based on severity and space.

To raise funds for the van, Fish for Teeth volunteers will sell fish tacos at 11 a.m., Friday, Oct. 5 outside the San Juan Island Community Theatre Box Office until they sell out. Tacos, which are as large as burritos, are made with Alaskan rockfish harvest and topped with Pablitos Salsa, Tillamook cheese, fresh greens, and a squeeze of lime. Volunteers ask for a donation of $8 per taco.

Marinkovich formed Fish for Teeth in 2007, after noticing a community need for affordable dental care. The Fish for Teeth board, comprised of local fishermen and dental professionals, sponsors the mobile dental clinic every January, May and October on San Juan Island. Fish for Teeth receives no federal funding and relies solely on donations, which are tax-deductible.

For more information, visit www.fishforteeth.com or email fishforteeth@rockisland.com.

Local Artists and Writers Encouraged to Apply…

The Orcas Island Lit Fest today issued a reminder to all San Juan County artists, writers and poets that the submissions window for proposals to be considered for the 2019 Lit Fest will close after September 30.  

“Supporting and promoting local and regional writers is a key aspect of our mission,” said Lit Fest co-founder and president Jule Treneer.  “We’re counting on San Juan County folks to help spread the word, and encourage local writers to submit a proposal.”

The second annual Orcas Island Lit Fest will take place April 5-7, 2019.  Applicants are encouraged to apply online at oilf.org/call-for-proposals. All applications will receive a reply by mid-November.  The Orcas Island Lit Fest gives special consideration to San Juan County residents.

About Orcas Island Lit Fest

The mission of the Orcas Island Lit Fest is to bring together people who love to read books with the authors who love to write them.  This April, the Lit Fest will bring a select group of nationally acclaimed authors to beautiful Orcas Island to join local and regional writers in sharing their art, wisdom and knowhow.   Festivalgoers will have the chance to attend readings, panel discussions, a Friday-night lit walk, and a Saturday-evening marquee event on the Center Stage at the Orcas Center. For more information, visit www.oilf.org or find us on Facebook. 

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

There are so many things in this world I haven’t figured out yet.  The long green snake that spits water is just one of them.  And what about the big metal box with wheels that brought me here all the way from Texas?  What’s that all about?  And furthermore, why don’t people have tails?  My name is “Sky”and I’ve just arrived here at your animal shelter.  I’m looking for answers to life’s complex questions and a forever home.  Come meet me soon!

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

Sharon Towson on Cobe and Theresa Simendinger on Zanzibar enjoy the Mitchell Hill trails – Louise Dustrude photo

For September’s Know Your Island walk, follow San Juan Islander Theresa Simendinger and her horse Zanzibar on a walk along her favorite trail; the Horse Trails on Mitchell Hill. She will make stops along the way and tell us about building trails for horses, how to share the trail, what it is like to take care of a horse and her love for the outdoors.

Saturday, September 22, from 1-4pm
Meet at Horse Trail Rd. entrance, off of West Valley Rd.
Distance: about 3 miles
Terrain: Easy, wooded trails
Please leave the dogs a home for this hike.

Susan Wingate – Contributed photo

Celebrating the publication of The Death of Vultures by Susan Wingate…

San Juan Islander Susan Wingate is launching her latest novel, The Death of Vultures, on Saturday, September 22, 2:00-4:00 pm at Griffin Bay Bookstore. If you’re an avid follower of Susan’s books, be sure to stop in the bookstore to chat with her and get your right-off-the press copy signed.

You can see letters from individuals supporting our candidates at the links below. Letters are listed in chronological order. As more letters come in, this list will be updated so be sure to check back.

For Nick Power:
Colleen Kenimond
Don Hall

For Randy Gaylord: 
Lyn Perry
Don Drozd
Cathy Ferran
Norm Stamper

Stephanie Prima – Peggy Sue McRae photo

Stephanie Prima has a message for you… 

Open Letter to Gen-X’ers, Baby Boomers & The Silent Generationals

There is something subtle, almost unnoticeable, that happens to many people as we start to age. Even if we are walking daily and stay fairly active, we can still display this mark of aging.

Like a sneaky invader, age creeps in and gradually slows our reflexes, diminishes our limits of stability, alters our balance and gait. Our ankles aren’t as flexible, our steps are shorter, our arms don’t swing as wide as when we were younger.

Do you know someone who has tripped and fallen while walking a pet? Stumbled on an uneven trail or over a rug? Got knocked accidently from the side and went down? Perhaps these and other falls seem like no big deal, but in reality they should be a wake-up call.

I remember how my mother was so looking forward to moving out of her big home when she was finally free of her family obligations. But she fell in the bathroom one night, cracked her hip, and was never able to return home again.

Falls can cause serious injury, even death, can rack up medical expenses, and dash our dreams for a long, happy life. I’m sure you want you to have the strength and reflexes to catch yourself like when you were younger. That’s why I’m offering two classes in Tai Ji Quan: Moving For Better Balanceâ (TJQMBB), to retrain your body so you can continue to do what you love to do. I believe if my mom had this training, she would still be with me today. Read More »

Susan Wingate with Robert – Contributed photo

Wingate fans have been eagerly anticipating her new psychological thriller, The Death of Vultures, a book that has been rocketing up the bestseller list at Amazon since its release on Saturday.

Wingate’s books, are sometimes referred to as “psychological suspense women’s fiction.” I wondered if that was because both the protagonist and the author are female. Here is what Susan says… “Women’s fiction, specifically stories bending toward family drama and mystery, have always resonated in me. Since a kid, I enjoyed watching movies like Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, reading Tennessee Williams, books like A Doll’s House, anything Hitchcock. Those stories got into my bones. I love stories about the human condition where family and character are central to the story’s theme.”

The Death of Vultures stands ready to deliver on those early inspirations. Here is an excerpt from the back cover…  “When daughter, Lily, dies from an apparent heroin overdose, Meg becomes embroiled in a world as exotic as it is criminal after getting swept up in the drug world.  When her husband ends up dead too, Meg has nothing left to lose and she goes on the hunt. But will she be the hunter or the hunted? Nothing is as it seems.”

Susan leaves a message for her readers on her Amazon page, a message that may make her work all the more intriguing to her island readers… “That you have added this story to your library means the world to me. Possibly, because this story goes deep into a fictional crime world that I’ve set on the island where we live. Like any community, our small island has a dark underbelly. In VULTURES, I’ve chosen to bring that darkness into the light. Of course, as a fictionalized tale one I hope rings true for the reader.” And from her webpage… “Question: Can a sense of place living on an island in the Pacific Northwest, where wildlife is as abundant as rain, not influence my writing? Simply put, place desperately influences my writing”.

As our island’s seasons turn toward the dark and rainy the time seems right to cozy up with a good thriller. Be fore-warned. I leave you with the words of James Rollins, New York Times bestseller of The Demon Crown… “ I’m still reeling after finishing Susan Wingate’s latest, The Death of Vultures. Brilliantly written, here is a tale that grips you by the throat from the opening prologue to the gut-punch of an ending. Both tender and brutal, intelligent and visceral, each page carries a reader further down a harrowing path… this novel will leave an indelible mark on your soul.”

Link to: Susan Wingate