With so many unknowns happening for all of us it is easy to stray from the positive events happening every day that make our world better. Often, those events are acts of kindness that deserve celebration. Sometimes those events are as simple as helping others plant a garden.

Last spring, the WSU Master Gardener program, Family Resource Center and San Juan County Health and Community services worked together to provide a five week, hands-on gardening program titled “Grow Your Own Food” using the WSU Master Gardener demonstration garden. The program served ten families and was successful in providing participants with skills and resources to garden at home.

Due to the COVID outbreak, the organizations knew that while they wanted to continue to support families growing their own food, they would have to do it differently – encouraging families to venture into growing food, based on the Victory Gardens of the early twentieth century, and the concept that we ensure sustainability for our community when we contribute to the food supply. After all, growing food is life-changing. It connects us to the natural world, to our own nourishment, and to each other. It is one of the most resilient acts we can make. Read More »

Superintendent Kari McVeigh – Contributed photo

May 2020

Dear Wonderful Community Members,

The 2019-2020 school year is winding to a close, and what a year it has been! We started last summer with our Aerospace Design team under the guidance of teacher Dan Garner, becoming international champions and we end this school year with our First/Second grade Science Team under the guidance of teacher Sue Kareken and Para educator Dena Royal, becoming national champions. That these two honors bookended our year is a great reminder of our purpose and of how amazing our students and staff are!

Last summer we welcomed two new administrators, Elementary School Principal, Caspar Van Haalen and Special Student Services Director, Becky Bell.   Both of these administrators have become integral members of our leadership team and vital community members.

As we end the school year, we will welcome new High School Principal, Martin Yablonovsky and new Superintendent, Fred Woods. With our uncertain pandemic future, this leadership team will be exactly what our District needs to lead us through these trying times. Read More »

Know Your Islanders: Thane Pratt, Kokoda Sketches: A Birding Trek across Papua New Guinea

Lace up your (virtual) hiking boots and join wildlife biologist Thane Pratt and artist Szabolcs Kokay on a trek across the mountain ranges of Papua New Guinea.  We’ll relive some of the adventures and experience the biological wonders of this, the world’s largest tropical island.  Authors of the field guide Birds of New Guinea, Thane and Szabi were there to search for and paint the remarkable birdlife of this remote corner of the planet.  Co-sponsored by the San Juan Island Trails Committee.

San Juan Island Library is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Know Your Islanders Thane Pratt Kokoda Sketches
Time: Jun 1, 2020 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting: Read More »

Image by 272447 from Pixabay

FREEZER BURNED: Tales of Interior Alaska is a new regular column on the San Juan Update written by Steve Ulvi…

After gritting through another sub-arctic winter, there was celebratory pleasure in first plying the roiling, wood-strewn waters of the Yukon River in spring. The boat season followed seven to ten days of heavy running ice. The big show was over. Skimming the wide water was an indescribable feeling of freedom.

Of course, there was preparation: uncovering the old outboard, hauling river water to fill a rusty drum, chamois filtering stored gas, greasing the lower unit, checking this and that, then with some necessary cussing getting it to run smoothly.   Then to wrestle it over the ice to get it onto the transom. A canoe could get us to town in a pinch, but lining back upriver wouldn’t be possible for quite some time.

There was a reshuffled landscape to be reckoned with. After a highwater, bank to bank breakout 600 yards across, the river can quickly drop several feet as the meltwater surge subsides, leaving a jumble of car-sized ice blocks mashed along the shores and back sloughs to melt in place.   Read More »

This story has been updated since it was first published…

The variance application submitted Friday afternoon was approved by the Secretary of Health mid-day on Saturday, allowing San Juan County to proceed to Phase 2 of the Governor’s four-phased Safe Start Washington plan effective immediately.

San Juan County Council Chair Rick Hughes highlights the importance of this approval, “Our community can now start to slowly re-open, a much-needed step for many of our local businesses. I appreciate the quick work of the San Juan County team in submitting the application, and the State Secretary of Health for prompt review and approval. If we all closely follow the requirements in place to minimize the risk of transmission, I’m confident we can proceed to Phase 2 safely and responsibly.”

An individual business may only open under Phase 2 once it can do so safely by meeting the guidelines for Phase 2 opening found on the Governor’s website. A few are listed below:

• Retail businesses open, with capacity and safety precautions in place
• Restaurants open at no more than 50% capacity and safety precautions in place
• Barbers, hair stylists, and other personal services open with limitations and precautions in place
• Indoor fitness studios open at very limited capacity and will safety precautions in place
• Pet grooming open, with safety precautions in place
• Real estate businesses open, with safety precautions in place
• Professional services (accountants, lawyers, architects, etc.) open, with safety precautions in place

Now that San Juan County is in Phase 2, face coverings are required in all public businesses as per San Juan County Health Officer order 2020-4. To help educate the public and customers of this critical requirement to ensure the health of our community several printable posters have been developed. Businesses have 48 hours from the move to Phase 2 to post signage- mid-day on Monday the 25^th.

In addition, as per San Juan County Health Officer order 2020-1 and 2020-5, the ban on transient lodging for non-essential travel remains in place until the Governor moves San Juan County to Phase 3. The ban on camping and transient moorage remains in place as well, though camping is now allowed on the non-ferry served islands.

Please remember that in both Phases 2 and 3, high risk populations are strongly encouraged to stay home to the full extent possible. More information on high risk populations is available from the CDC.

For more information about COVID-19 and the ongoing San Juan County response, visit www.sjccovid.com

“I am pleased to see this Project come online,” said Friday Harbor Mayor Farhad Ghatan. “It is incumbent on us to do what we can to use renewable resources. It is not only environmentally beneficial but provides a benefit to our ratepayers.”

Next week the Town of Friday Harbor will activate its first solar power project on the Island. The solar panel array, which is a 100 kW (DC) Solar Photovoltaic System, is located on a quarter acre of Town property behind the Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The project is guaranteed to produce 95,000+ kW hours of electricity per year using solar panels and electrical inverters made in Washington State. Apollo Solution Group (ASG), through a Washington State Department of Commerce grant, installed the array. Read More »

As more unemployment fraud reports continue to come in, it may be helpful for our victims to have a greater understanding of the vastness of this. 

Investigators from the U.S. Secret Service have information suggesting that the scheme is coming from a well-organized Nigerian fraud ring.  They are still working to pinpoint who is involved and exactly where they are.  The fraud is being aided by mules in the U.S. who are being used as intermediaries for money laundering after making connections with the fraudsters online. 

The Secret Service reports that Washington State has emerged as the primary target thus far, but there’s also evidence of attacks in Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina Oklahoma, Rhode Island and Wyoming.  This scheme appears to be fairly sophisticated and the dollars lost in Washington State so far is in the millions.  As an example, Western Washington University has had more than 400 out of about 2,500 total employees targeted. 

The state hotline has been inundated with calls so they’ve hired additional help to answer the phones.  They continue to request that victims report their circumstance online:

https://esd.wa.gov/unemployment/unemployment-benefits-fraud

Ron Krebs
Sheriff

At the request of San Juan County Health Officer Dr. Frank James (link to recommendation letter), and with the support of both the San Juan County Board of Health and the County Council, public health staff are preparing a variance request that, if approved by the Secretary of Health, would allow the County to move into Phase 2 of WA State’s phased reopening plan.

Governor Inslee recently announced new criteria that allow additional counties to apply for variances to move into Phase 2 of his four-phased Safe Start Washington plan. San Juan County was one of 10 counties the Governor identified as eligible to apply.

San Juan County Council Chair Rick Hughes highlights the Council’s support for the move, “We’re looking at this as very much a soft-reopening. The Governor’s non-essential travel ban is in place until Phase 3, and the goal is to carefully start to reopen, but our intent is for this to be a way for residents to directly support these businesses and services that have been closed for so long. We agree with Dr. James that the systems are in place to do this safely and responsibly.” Read More »