Monday ’tis…and a happy one to you

South Beach, on Halloween morning...photo by Frank & Vicky Giannangelo (thanks, you guys! Click on the picture to see the larger version!)

Let’s look around the island a little here & see what’s up:

• If you’re early to work, I hope you get a raise & it’s because you’re excited to be there, and not because you didn’t know that Daylight Savings Time switches this coming weekend.

Coolest weekend of the year – an extra hour to sleep.

• Did you remember to vote? Get it in the mail, or drop it by that big box in front of the Courthouse.

Khali: Hitting the road for Cali...

• Claire Burke tells me she’s moving to Bellingham today, while Khali at The Bean‘s taking off for San Francisco sometime next week. Over at Bakery San Juan, Leah‘s heading for Thailand mid-month.

And…bartender Jimmy at the Rumor Mill punched out for the last time Saturday night before heading on vacation to Florida & beyond, then heading to Utah to work for the winter.

• Brian from the County’s Pollution Control Department says this Wednesday is a super time to empty your bathroom cabinet (and house!) of meds  you’re not using any more…here’s the scoop:

Medication Take Back – Free and Easy!

Wednesday, November 3, 10 am to 2 pm

It is time to take a look inside your medicine cabinet.  Anything expired?  Anything dusty from years of not being used?  Anything where the label is faded and unreadable, and you don’t really know what is in there anymore?  Have you been holding onto old medication because you simply don’t know how to get rid of it easily and safely?

Great news!  The San Juan Island Prevention Coalition has teamed up with the San Juan County Sheriff’s Department and your local pharmacy to provide a free and easy way to get rid of ALL of our unwanted medications.  This Wednesday, November 3, from 10 am to 2 pm, you can stop by any of the 3 pharmacies and drop off your unwanted medications for free and safe disposal.

Meds from the last Take Back...not Hallowween candy...

Taking advantage of this opportunity to safely dispose of old medications is a great way to make sure that your medications don’t get abused, end up polluting our drinking water, or poisoning fish or wildlife.  And, did I mention it is free???  And easy!

As you are cleaning the prescription medications out your medicine cabinet, don’t forget your unwanted over-the-counter medications, as well.  It is really important that drugs like aspirin and other pain relievers, sinus medications, and sleep aides NOT get flushed down the toilet.   Instead, bring them into your island pharmacy on Wednesday:

• Friday Harbor Drug
• Lopez Island Pharmacy
• Ray’s Pharmacy.

-Brian Rader is the San Juan County Pollution Prevention Specialist.  You can reach Brian at 370-7581 or brianr (at) sanjuanco.com

Cats prowling the Halloween night...Eric & Danielle Eisenhardt with kitten Liv. Not sure if they saw the mouse in the picture above.... 🙂

• Have you ever wondered what happens to those seals that get released back to the wild after Wolf Hollow takes them in to save them? Here’s an in-depth look at one of the release programs, in the Seattle Times.

Left to right: Ben Straub, Andrew DiRienzo, David Howitt, Capt. Richard Rodriguez (instructor,) Jeremy Talbott, Marshall Davis, Elizabeth Compton, and James Rogers.

• Richard tells me he has a new class that just graduated – here’s more:

New Coast Guard Captains Qualified
Participating in the course were a combination of fisherman, professional mariners, and yachters.  The group spent two months in preparation to become qualified as 100 ton Coast Guard Masters (Captains.)  Some have also qualified in Commercial Assistance Towing, and Sailing.

Instructing the course was Zenith Maritime’s Director of Operations, Captain Richard Rodriguez.  He stated, “It was a please to work with dedicated group of mariners who will bring a new degree of professionalism to their work.”

Capt. Rodriguez has certified over 500 mariners as Captains in Western Washington in the last eight years.  Rodriguez has worked as a primary Assistance Towing captain in the San Juan Islands since 2003.  His BitterEndBlog.com receives 1,200 visitors a day.

Zenith Maritime trains mariners to become Captains across the United States. Zenith graduates operate vessels up to 200′ across the country and received their licenses through our approved training as an alternative to stressful Coast Guard Examinations

You can find out more about Captain’s Licensing by contacting Capt. Rodriguez at captrodriguez (at) zenithmaritime.com or 360-531-0698.

If you're looking for Friday Harbor espresso, there it is...this si a picture I took about three weeks ago, when I was coming back to the island with Kenmore Air. (Click for a larger picture.)

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