Topic: People

Bill & Rita

Written on May 13, 2016 at 5:34 am, by

From the SJ Update Mailbag, here’s a letter to the community from Bill and Rita Ament… With a short notice we need a home before June 30th. We need to find this home now. We are even ready to take a house that is available June 1st. We need either a: 2 bedroom + office (den)  Continue Reading

Chief Marler Receives SAR Award

Written on May 12, 2016 at 5:55 am, by

Dave Vandaveer shares this story…  Former San Juan Island Fire Chief Steve Marler received the Fire Safety Commendation Medal from the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) in a presentation at the Mullis Fire Station. The award was presented posthumously to his wife, Karen. Also present at the station were his daughter, Stephanie, and her  Continue Reading

Meet the New Executive Director at Wolf Hollow

Written on May 12, 2016 at 5:43 am, by

Wolf Hollow welcomes Amy Saxe-Eyler as its new Executive Director. Amy is a seasoned finance leader with a personal passion for education and observing and preserving natural resources.   She moved to Orcas Island in 2009 after a successful career in banking and was the Manager of Member Services and Energy Savings at OPALCO until  Continue Reading

Kendra’s Going Exploring on the Nautilus

Written on May 10, 2016 at 5:49 am, by

FHHS Junior Kendra Clifton-Pew has been selected to explore the ocean on the “Nautilus”, the exploration vessel used by Dr. Robert Ballard when he discovered the Titanic shipwreck. Educators and students participate in groundbreaking STEM initiative exploring deep-sea biology, geology, and archaeology in the Eastern Pacific Kendra has been selected as a 2016 Honors Research  Continue Reading

Rachel Dietzman to Retire

Written on May 9, 2016 at 5:55 am, by

Rachel Dietzman will retire June 3 after 9-1/2 years at County Public Works (five as County Engineer). She worked in the private sector before joining Public Works, and says at that time she “thought government work would be easy. I imagined the job would give me an opportunity for research and training and learning skills  Continue Reading

So Where Was Becki, Anyway?

Written on May 6, 2016 at 5:52 am, by

Answer: Becki was visiting chamber member businesses all month. If you hadn’t heard… The Chamber of Commerce, along with Islanders Bank, sponsored a “Scavenger Hunt” of sorts, where Chamber Executive Director Becki Day would visit chamber member businesses and snap a “selfie” photo of herself, once each day all month, and post them to the Chamber’s  Continue Reading

Be Glad Your Dad…

Written on May 6, 2016 at 5:45 am, by

Here’s some press for the new book by local author and creative director Sara Jensen… On May 3, Sara Jensen read her newly released book “Be Glad Your Dad…” aloud at Friday Harbor Elementary School to grades K-4. The book is available locally at Pebble and Griffin Bay Bookstore, both located on Friday Harbor’s Spring  Continue Reading

OPALCO News

Written on May 5, 2016 at 5:28 am, by

Lineman Okay After Electrical Arc Caused Power Outage In Eastsound Wednesday’s outage in the Eastsound area was caused when an arc occurred during a system maintenance project in the Eastsound Village area. Journeyman Lineman Roger Sandwith was working on energized equipment with a hot stick and received minor burns to three knuckles of his hand.  Continue Reading

Thank You United Way

Written on May 4, 2016 at 5:31 am, by

Teresa Tilton of FHES shares this thank you letter… Dear Editor, I am writing this letter in support of United Way of San Juan County. The Special Pal Program (P.I.P) is one of the programs available at Friday Harbor Elementary School designed to help each student have the most successful learning experience possible. P.I.P staff  Continue Reading

The Avian Visitor

Written on May 2, 2016 at 5:51 am, by

Cynthia Burke shares this cool story of a pigeon that came to visit… Recently, on a sunny day, a beautiful bird decided to check out my husband’s custom woodworking shop.  The bird flew into his shop, walked about on the saw table, proceeded to hop on to our Golden Retriever’s back and carry on with a  Continue Reading

Monnelly Releases For My Daughters in Time for Mother’s Day

Written on May 2, 2016 at 5:42 am, by

Renowned landscape photographer Dorothy Kerper Monnelly (currently on exhibit at SJI Museum of Art) has paired her large-format black and white images with poems to create a book, “For My Daughters.” The poetry that inspired the book was written by the photographer’s mother, Dorothy Darling Kerper between 1920 and 1945, the year she died. “I  Continue Reading

A Therapist and a Minister Walk into a Church…

Written on May 1, 2016 at 10:18 am, by

SJ Island photographer John Miller shares this photo of Dave Eden and Elizabeth Purdum at their wedding… I had the honor and privilege of photographing the wedding ceremony of Reverend Elizabeth Purdum and Dr. David Eden at St Davids on Saturdey. Attached find an image taken in the church, commemorating the wonderful occasion. John

Litter Free By the Sea

Written on April 29, 2016 at 11:53 am, by

Lori Stokes shares this recap of last week’s clean up event on the islands… Co-organizers of the sixth annual Great Islands Clean-Up on San Juan Island — Lori Stokes, Jana Marks, and David Dehlendorf — would like to thank our island’s approximately 300 volunteers who participated this year, helping to make San Juan Island “litter-free  Continue Reading

A Wine Event at Duck Soup Inn

Written on April 28, 2016 at 6:28 pm, by

Emily from the Duck Soup Inn writes to share an invitation to their upcoming event this weekend…  We have a fun wine event happening this Sunday that I thought Islanders might be interested in. Next Sunday May 1st will be our first wine social of the season featuring Brooks Winery of Willamette Valley, Oregon. This  Continue Reading

Washington Achievement Award for FHES

Written on April 28, 2016 at 4:29 pm, by

SJI School District Superintendent Danna Diaz shares this letter to the community… Friday Harbor Elementary School receives the Washington Achievement Award Spring is here and we are having beautiful weather in Friday Harbor. Students and teachers are back from spring break and we are busy teaching and learning. On April 7, we received news that  Continue Reading

SJI Cheese Raises Nearly $2K for Ecuador

Written on April 28, 2016 at 3:56 pm, by

A note from San Juan Island Cheese on their recent fundraiser… Dear Friends: A big thank you to all who attended and contributed to the Ecuador Earthquake Relief fundraiser last Friday evening. We had a packed house! Thanks to the generosity of our guests and our staff, San Juan Island Cheese is donating $1,932.00 to the  Continue Reading