One of San Juan Island’s most popular holiday events returns this weekend. The 44th Island Artisans Holiday Market fundraiser takes place Friday, Nov. 25 and Saturday, Nov. 26 at the San Juan County Fairgrounds.

The market runs from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday. The organizers encourage everyone to come see their favorite artists, designers, and craftspeople — as well as some new ones. Stacey’s Catering & Confections will be serving food in a heated outdoor seating area.

The event is organized by Island Artisans, nonprofit founded in 1978 to raise scholarship funds for young artists within the community. The holiday market is the primary fundraiser for those scholarships. Each participating artist donates 10 percent of their sales to support the scholarship program and additional donations are welcome. Last year’s efforts led to $12,000 in scholarships being awarded to seven high school seniors.

The Friday Harbor High School boys soccer team beat Orcas Island High School 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Renton to capture the Northwest District 1B/2B state title. The win gives Friday Harbor its first state team title since the Wolverines won the volleyball championship in 1986.

Friday Harbor rebounded from a loss against Orcas Island in last year’s state semi-finals to take three of four games against the Vikings in 2022, with one win each in the regular season, the bi-district championship, and now the state championship.

The Wolverines blocked traffic at the top of the ferry landing as nearly a hundred cheering San Juan Islanders watched the team raise their championship trophy just before 10 p.m. Response vehicles from the San Juan County Sheriff’s Office, San Juan Island Fire and Rescue, and San Juan Island EMS flashed lights and blasted sirens along Front St. The crew of the MV Yakima showed their support with two blasts of the foghorn.

Friday Harbor’s state championship caps off the high school’s fall sports slate. Winter sports kick off with boys basketball on Nov. 29 at Meridian, girls basketball on Dec. 3 at home against Bellingham, and wrestling on Dec. 8 versus Darrington, Granite Falls, and Sultan.

The Friends of the Library are holding an online auction starting next week to raise money in support of the San Juan Island Library’s youth programs, teen programs, adult programs, online services, tech training, and language classes.

The auction — called Bookmarked for the Holidays — opens for bidding on Friday, Nov. 25 at 9 a.m. and runs through Friday, Dec. 2 at 4 p.m. Friends of the Library hope to raise $8,000.

More than 50 items from local businesses and residents have been listed already.

The Town shares an update about the status of the Dutch elms at the foot of Spring St.

Professional pruning of the Memorial Park elms is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 21, weather permitting. Residents are asked to avoid the area to reduce the effect of traffic disruption. Traffic will also be affected by holiday lighting installation scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 29.

The Town was advised to further prune the trees after a risk assessment was completed by Seattle-based Tree Solutions, Inc. The company specializes in urban forest management and advises municipalities throughout Western Washington on the safety of street trees. Pruning will be completed by local arborist Gustafson Tree Care.

The Town has been working to mitigate damage to the 100-year-old Dutch elms since a significant portion of one tree broke off this spring.

“We plan to open the park for the holiday season once we feel assured the public’s safety is not at risk,” says Town Administrator Denice Kulseth.

The two elms were planted in May 1922 by the Women’s Study Club as a memorial to those lost in World War I — one representing Army losses, one representing Navy losses.

Questions regarding the elms may be directed to the Town Administrator..

United Way of San Juan County sends along a request for help from the community.

We are desperately looking for volunteers to help staff the United Way cold weather shelter in Friday Harbor. The shelter is only open when the temperature drops below 34 degrees and is only for the night. It is a low-time-demand way to serve the community.

To learn more, call Allan Smith at 360-939-1055 or Jill Berger at 360-317-6539.

In their weekly update to the public, Washington State Ferries shared news about the effects of improvements made to their training programs.

While it remains important to continue hiring new crewmembers as Washington State Ferries looks to the future, our biggest short-term constraint continues to be a lack of licensed deck officers — captains and mates — who require significant training time.

Earlier this year, we created two new programs that encourage our current employees to take the necessary courses and exams to obtain a mates’ credential. Over the next 18 months, we expect more than 40 employees to complete all the training and credentials necessary to work as mates, which is great for future system stability. We’re seeking to make these programs permanent.

In their update, WSF also noted that they do not anticipate being able to restore Sidney, B.C service any sooner than summer 2023.

The Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor shares a look at the adoptable animal of the week — Foster, a large year-old mixed breed.

Hi everyone, I’m Foster! Although I’ve only been at the shelter for less than a month, the people at APS-FH have been my friends for a long time — same with many of the Friday Harbor locals, and that’s because I’m a friendly guy. One of my all time favorite things is meeting new people, and I make it a point to do just that. Do you know how many nice, funny, joyful people there are on this island? In Washington state? In the whole wide world? Well I don’t know the exact number, but I spend a lot of my time thinking about how great it would be to meet all of those people and then before I know it, I’m on my way again — trotting off to explore and meet & greet whoever I come across along the way.

A lot of the people I meet are smiling and talking to me in that high, approving pitch of theirs that I like so much. They’re sometimes laughing and that makes me laugh; they’re most often smiling and that makes me smile. I’m still figuring out how to handle my excitement when I meet such happy people and especially when they’re the ones who carry delicious treats. It’s just so exciting and I get so excited! But I’m learning my manners and how to listen; I know that when I find my person(s), we’ll settle into a very happy routine, and I’ll get to prove what a very good pup I can be.

Learn more about Foster here.

The boys soccer teams from both Friday Harbor High School and Orcas Island High School won their state semi-final games on Friday afternoon, setting up a Saturday showdown for the state title. The top-seeded Wolverines knocked off fourth-seeded Saint George’s School of Spokane 2-1 in a shootout just a few hours after the third-seeded Vikings beat Mount Vernon Christian 1-0.

Friday Harbor takes on Orcas tomorrow at 3 p.m. at Renton Memorial Stadium. The winner becomes the 1B/2B state champion.

Saturday’s game marks the fourth of the season between the two schools. Friday Harbor beat Orcas 2-1 in a neutral-site shootout on Nov. 7 to win the bi-district championship and advance to state. The Wolverines also lost to the Vikings 3-2 at home on Oct. 11 and won 1-0 at Orcas on Sept. 20.

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources shares news about a major policy change related to aquaculture in the state.

Washington’s public aquatic lands will no longer be home to commercial finfish net pen aquaculture. Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz announced today on Bainbridge Island an executive order that would prohibit commercial finfish net pen aquaculture on state-owned aquatic lands managed by her agency, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources.

“As we’ve seen too clearly here in Washington, there is no way to safely farm finfish in open sea net pens without jeopardizing our struggling native salmon. Today, I’m announcing an end to the practice. We, as a state, are going to do better by our salmon, by our fishermen, and by our tribes,” said Franz. “Commercial finfish farming is detrimental to salmon, orcas and marine habitat. I’m proud to stand with the rest of the west coast today by saying our waters are far too important to risk for fish farming profits.”

Commissioner Franz’s order will align Washington’s net pen salmon aquaculture policy with policies already in place in Alaska, California, and Oregon.

Commissioner Franz was joined in her announcement by Chairman Leonard Forsman of the Suquamish Tribe and Emma Helverson, Executive Director of the Wild Fish Conservancy.

“On behalf of the Suquamish people, I want to thank Commissioner Franz for listening to Tribes and others who place the health of the Salish Sea as their top priority.” said Forsman. “Ending commercial finfish farming in our ancestral waters is an important step towards protecting marine water quality, salmon populations, and the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales. The impacts of commercial finfish farming put all of that at risk, and threatened treaty rights and ultimately our way of life and culture.” Continue Reading

If you haven’t yet checked out the new exhibits at the American Camp Visitor Center, today and tomorrow will be your last chance until 2023. Created in collaboration with native groups from throughout the region, the current lineup of exhibits opened in June of this year. The visitor center is open until 4 p.m. today and from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. tomorrow.

Charlie Anderson and Lenore Bayuk cutting the ribbon to open Peace Island Medical Center in Nov. 2012

PeaceHealth shares a detailed update about the ten-year anniversary of Peace Island Medical Center.

Today, PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center marks 10 years of serving the healthcare needs of the San Juan Island community.

The 2012 opening celebration, attended by hundreds of community members and PeaceHealth caregivers, was the culmination of a five-year, grassroots effort by local residents to bring integrated, high-quality healthcare to the San Juan Islands.

Under the umbrella of the San Juan Island Community Foundation, these citizens formed a hospital committee and began researching potential operating partners. They ultimately chose PeaceHealth, impressed by its mission of respect, compassion and caring and depth and breadth of services. The committee identified a 25-acre family homestead near the airport. Local residents generously donated $10 million towards the effort, with PeaceHealth contributing another $20 million. Construction started in July 2011; the hospital opened on time and on budget at 11:17 a.m. on Nov. 17, 2012  — a nod to the street address, 1117 Spring St.

A 10-bed critical access hospital, Peace Island was built to reflect the culture and values of the island, featuring sustainable materials, abundant local artwork and design elements that complement the natural beauty of the islands.

In addition to a 24-hour Emergency Department, Peace Island houses a cancer care and infusion center, inpatient medical unit, imaging department, laboratory, surgery suite and family medicine clinic.

With access to an array of services previously unavailable to them, San Juan Island residents have been saved thousands of off-island medical visits since Peace Island opened. Some 10-year totals include:

• 35,817 Emergency Department visits
• 1,575 patients admitted
• 133,203 clinic visits
• 17,661 chemotherapy infusions
• 2,825 colonoscopies
• 8,600 mammograms
• 16,934 CT scans
• 1,841 MRIs
• 9,330 ultrasounds
• 380,174 lab tests
• 14,719 outpatient rehab therapy sessions — added in 2020
• 159 orthopedic outpatient surgeries — added in 2015
• 356 general outpatient surgeries — added in 2015

Today Peace Island employs 109 full-time caregivers and providers and eight visiting specialists, and is supported by the exceptional Peace Island Volunteers organization. The medical center works with multiple valued community partners, including San Juan Public Hospital District, the Joyce L. Sobel Family Resource Center, and San Juan County Health & Community Services to keep local residents safe and healthy.

“We are proud of our progress and incredibly grateful to our caregivers, volunteers and community partners for helping us serve with compassion and dedication, and to our patients for trusting us with their care,” said Jack Estrada, Peace Island chief administrative officer. “It’s been our honor. We look forward to serving the community for many more decades to come.”

With my Mom, Flossie, at Plimoth Village 1991

Each year Thanksgiving comes around as a timely reminder to be thankful for the many ways in which we are blessed. One thing I am thankful for are my memories of a family trip to Boston and visit to the historic Plimoth Plantation.

The main reason for the trip was my sister Betty’s wedding but the rich history of the place was impossible to ignore. Right there in the churchyard where the wedding took place were the gravestones of both Benjamin Franklin and Mother Goose!

As tourists we saw a replica of the Mayflower and the real Plymouth Rock. Without the plaque Plymouth Rock would be unremarkable, but it is said to be where the Pilgrims first set foot on the American continent in 1620. We also visited a replica of a 17th century Pilgrim village. Here actors played the parts of historic folk, a preacher, a blacksmith, and industrious farmwomen.

Also part of the museum was a native wetu — a house. In this setting, descendants of Wampanoag natives demonstrated tanning a deer hide and cooking but what I found most memorable were the jokes they told about the Pilgrims.

So much of the history between European settlers and indigenous Americans is a grim story of violent conquest. This was true about the Pilgrims, yet in the fall of 1621, after a year of hardship and sickness, the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag gathered together for three days of feasting and entertainment.

This Thanksgiving if you are gathering with family, friends, or community, between the turkey, pie, and football be sure to take a few moments to count your blessings. My Mom and Jim are gone now. The children of my sister’s marriage are now grown-up adults. Time has swept by since I poked Plymouth Rock with my own toe.

I’m thankful for pumpkin pie and turkey sandwiches. I’m thankful for my dear friends and the beautiful island I call home. I’m also thankful for my memories of a fun family journey across the country to the place of the first Thanksgiving. Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Note: The island’s 24th annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner will take place from noon to 5 p.m. at the Mullis Center. The Mullis Center will supply the space but the Community Thanksgiving Dinner organization is putting on the event. To participate or volunteer, visit their website.