From the Mailbag:

Let’s see what’s going on around town…

San Juan Center campus, 221 Weber Way, Friday Harbor

Skagit Valley College Registration

Registration is going on now for Winter Quarter at Skagit Valley College. Classes begin January 7 and are offered at the San Juan Center and online. Earn your Transfer Degree, GED, or High School Diploma. And, be sure to check out our highly popular Road Scholar program.

www.skagit.edu/enroll
or call (360) 378-3220

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Evaluators needed for Community Projects

The Community Service-Learning Projects class at Friday Harbor High School is a chance for juniors to explore their passions and strengths by designing a project with a community partner that addresses a need in the community. By designing and completing a meaningful project it is hoped that students will leave a lasting legacy for the school, community and themselves.

The semester is soon coming to an end and students have been working diligently all semester to complete their projects. On Wednesday January 16, 2013 (5:30 – 7:00 P.M.), students will be giving presentations demonstrating all that they have accomplished and learned this term. It will truly be an exciting evening to learn about projects such as a care package sent to an orphanage in Africa, a newly designed kitten room at the Animal Shelter, energy saving in our schools, Gary Oak habitat restoration, a new outdoor classroom at the elementary school… just to name a few!

We need community members to come and give valuable feedback to our students about their projects. For those of you who have assisted us before, I think you will be impressed with how far we have come as a school in our efforts to make community connections and do real world work. For those of you who have not attended these presentations, it’s an opportunity to see the accomplishments of students in our school. We are proud of the passion students have for their service projects.

Logistics:

We need approximately 18 evaluators.
For What: Community Service-Learning Presentations
Where: Friday Harbor High School
When: Wednesday, Jan 16th
Time: 5:30 – 7:00
Why: Give feedback to students about their projects

Please respond by email at: jennywilson [at] sjisd. wednet. edu if you can evaluate.
Thank you for all you do on behalf of the students and their learning!

Jenny Wilson

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Grief Support Group

Hospice of San Juan is sponsoring a Grief Support Group for anyone who has lost a family member or friend. The support group will provide a time to talk and share common experiences, ask questions and participate in discussion. We will also provide information and tools for dealing with the grief process, along with other topics of interest to the participants.

The group begins Tuesday, January 15, 2013, 4 – 5:30 p.m., and will meet each Tuesday for eight weeks, concluding on March 5.

Lenore Bayuk, MN, ACNS, will facilitate the group.

The group is offered free of charge through a generous grant from The San Juan Island Community Foundation in partnership with Peace Health and other partners.

Please sign up with Lenore at 360-378-3636, ext. 1 or contact Hospice Grief Support coordinators Madelyn Busse (mbusse5 [at] aol. com) or Margaret Langlie (mlanglie [at]goddulanglie .com) with any questions.

HOSPICE OF SAN JUAN
Grief Support Services
P.O. Box 1434, Friday Harbor, WA 98250

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New Recycling Fees

Increase will begin January 1, 2013

In response to a dramatic increase in hauling costs, the San Juan County Council has increased the fee for dropping off recycling at County Solid Waste facilities on Orcas and San Juan Islands to three dollars per can effective January 1st.

The fees for recycling loads over one ton will increase from a flat $25 per truck, to $95 per ton (approximately $570 for a full truck). Certified Hauler San Juan Sanitation, which will have to pay the higher rate, is not expected to increase fees to its customers for collecting recycling. The fees established for the collection service it began in September anticipated the latest cost increase.

The increase was triggered by the December 31st expiration of the County’s 10-year contract for recycling transportation and processing with Waste Management, Inc. The per-ton cost, which had remained essentially flat over the life of the contract, will double on January 1 and a new $1,108 fee will be added for each trip that the big recycling trailers make to the mainland. The result is that hauling and processing costs paid by the county will jump from the current $36 per ton to $143 per ton of recycling.

While approving the increase in recycling fees, the County Council voted to hold garbage fees at the current level and eliminated fees charged for the annual Household Hazardous Waste collection events.

This recycling fee change will not affect the customers of the Lopez facility since it will no longer be operated by the County. The Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District will take over operations there on January 1 and the District sets its rates separately from the rest of the County.

The County solid waste facilities on Orcas and San Juan Islands are scheduled to be turned over for operation by private contractors this spring.

The County Council approved the new rates by a four-to-two vote on December 18th with members Patty Miller and Lovel Pratt opposed.

A complete copy of the new fee ordinance is available on the County Web-site at http://sanjuanco.com/publicworks/solid_waste/solid_waste_docs/SW_Fees.pdf

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