By Hayley Day, Suan Juan Update

At 5 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 10, the San Juan Island School District Board of Directors will hold a meeting on Zoom.

The board will review a presentation on the draft plan for “secondary in-person instructions.” View the entire agenda here.

The board will also hold a closed meeting in executive session from 4-4:50 p.m. before that to evaluate the qualifications of an applicant for public employment or to review the performance of a public employee.

To access the meeting, visit https://sjisd.zoom.us/s/85902854953.

Or call to join: +1 253 215 8782 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 646 558 8656 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 312 626 6799.

The webinar ID is 859 0285 4953.

If you need additional information, call 360-378-4133.

Submit public comments to [email protected] before 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 10. Comments will be read into the minutes during the meeting. 

Contributed Image/CDC

From San Juan County

Given the recent spike in cases, this update is being provided ahead of the standard reporting schedule. The regular report will be released on Friday, Feb. 12 as usual.

Since the last update on Friday, Feb. 5, total cases in San Juan County have increased from 111 to 123. Four new cases are on Lopez Island, and eight on San Juan Island.

Approximately 63 close contacts of positive cases are currently in active quarantine.
Continue Reading

Contributed Image/CDC

From San Juan County

San Juan County Health and Community Services has received confirmation that San Juan County will not receive the first doses for the COVID-19 vaccine this week.

This is due to a state-wide disruption to the supply chain. Reservations will NOT be available at 9 a.m., today, Feb. 8. 

Read the first notice from the county here.

Contributed Photo. Tim and Sally Thomsen.

By Louis Dustrude, San Juan Update

After 40 years of operating San Juan Kayak Expeditions and 33 years of guiding multi-day trips, Tim Thomsen has sold the business to Todd Starnes, owner of Washington-based adventure companies Bicycle Adventures, Evergreen Escapes and Sacred Rides.  Cole Wilson, a long-time guide with the company, has been hired as the operations manager here in Friday Harbor. (Cole is no relation to other Wilsons on the island.)

Tim founded the business in 1980, the original islands’ sea kayak outfitter. He spent 33 years personally guiding three- and four-day trips in the San Juan Islands, and 13 years guiding seven- and 10-day trips in the Sea of Cortez. He married Sally Kerr in 2007. She continued as Island Rec director at that time, joining him in the kayak expedition business in 2015. 

Sally Thomsen said, “We are confident that our past guests will continue to enjoy the quality of service they expect from San Juan Kayak Expeditions under Todd’s leadership and long-time employees of our business.” Continue Reading

From Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor

Bandit and Sassy are a powerful little feline duo!

These two love to be affectionate and are extremely outgoing. Bandit and Sassy took a long journey to come all the way out to beautiful San Juan Island, and are looking for their forever home. If you’re looking for two perfect little pals, then look no further! Bandit and Sassy are ready for their family and can’t wait to meet you!

They are both approximately 6 months. One is male and the other female. They are both domestic shorthair tuxedos
To apply to take them home, visit www.apsfh.com/adoption-program/feline-application.

Continue Reading

From San Juan Preservation Trust

Thank you for helping us carry the San Juan Island Western Bluebird Project into the future with an online Western Bluebird training refresher on Thursday, Feb. 25.

As this project evolves from a Preservation Trust-led to a volunteer-run program, it’s critical that we have a number of solidly committed community members who are willing to continue or join this project on a multi-year basis.

If you are a volunteer or nest box owner who helped us out last year (or in previous years), we would appreciate your re-commitment. We’re asking that all of our volunteers sit in on the refresher and prepare to resume seasonal duties after the lull of the wintertime.

If you know anyone who lives on San Juan Island and would be interested in joining this project, please share this information with them.

We are looking for: Continue Reading

From the Town of Friday Harbor

On Feb. 4, the Friday Harbor Town Council adopted an ordinance sending the proposition of town annexation into San Juan Island Fire District 3 to its voters on April 27.

Currently, all properties on San Juan Island are part of District 3 with the exception of those in town.

The effect of annexation will be that owners of real property in town will pay the same rate as other property owners on San Juan Island for their fire services. Continue Reading

San Juan Island Fire and Rescue – Contributed photo

By Bob Jarman, Chair of the Board of Commissioners, San Juan County Fire District 3

At our last San Juan County Fire District 3 meeting, San Juan Island Fire and Rescue Chief Norvin Collins told the board he was not going to take his contracted cost of living increase.

In the course of his report to the board of commissioners, Chief Collins said he and his wife agreed to decline taking the routine addition of an annual cost of living increase. In the commission meeting, Chief Collins stated that he has been acutely aware of the impact on our community’s families and workers facing budget challenges due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the San Juan County Economic Development Council, San Juan County experienced the largest decrease in employment in Washington state, and the decrease was more significant than the 2008 Great Recession. Continue Reading

From Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor

Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor’s volunteer for the month of February is Pam Monin.

Pam has been volunteering at the APS-FH Treasure Hounds store since July 2017. She has worked as a retail sales clerk for the store as well as being our visual merchandising and display guru.

Pam comes to the store once a week for about four hours to reorganize the store’s products and incorporate newly donated items into beautiful displays and special presentations designed to attract and entice our customers. Pam also developed a comprehensive educational guide for other Treasure Hounds volunteers to learn how to effectively set up displays in the store.

“Treasure Hounds has been a ground for my creative bent toward designing ‘vignettes’ that would be pleasing to the eye,” she said. “We want our customers to delight in the merchandise, and the way it is displayed, for a relaxing and enjoyable trip through our wonderful store.”

Pam states that she is “grateful beyond words to be included in the Animal Protection Society – Friday Harbor’s mission to lovingly care for homeless pets, and their provision of a great store for Islanders and guests to shop. Treasure Hounds is a great place to volunteer!”

Effective merchandising has a significant impact on our Treasure Hounds retail business, so we are equally as grateful to Pam Monin for her long-term involvement and dedication making her an APS-FH treasure!

From Island Rec

Join Annalee Dunn, owner of Tiny Onion Cooking in Bellingham, for a one-hour live Zoom kids cooking extravaganza.

Kids will learn to make scones and herbed egg cups. For those less independent in the kitchen, parent accompaniment is encouraged.

The Zoom link to class, as well as an ingredient list, will be sent out closer to the class date. Register for the class by calling 360-378-4953 or visiting www.islandrec.org.

Ages: 4-13
Date: Feb. 17
Times: 4-5 p.m. via Zoom
Fee: $19

“Freezer-Burned: Tales of Interior Alaska” is a regular column on the San Juan Update written by Steve Ulvi.

Forever More

With the blush of light closing out a long sub-arctic night, among the first daytime creatures to engage in food-seeking are the clans of Common Ravens, who launch impatiently from their heavily branched roosts in towering spruce. 

They coordinate their foraging with varied calls, often cavorting in pairs as they radiate from the heavy canopy.  Swishing, pumping wing beats, like swimming in thick air, their emphatic kraak-kraak calls are absorbed by forest trunks and moss cover, echoed by rock faces. 

Highly adaptable, they succeed from desert to tundra biomes on all continents.

They are seen high on Denali and in the Himalayas scrounging climbing camps.  Beyond the magnet of community garbage dumps (and highly unnatural population densities), northern Common Ravens spread out to scan lake shores and stream courses for the leavings of determined predation or weakened demise during the protracted night.  They roost close, silent in the dark, for they know and fear the “tigers of the night”: ferocious Great Horned Owls, silent in flight with acute night vision, razor talons of cable-steel grip, the apex winged predator of the wintry boreal forest. Continue Reading

Contributed Image/CDC

From San Juan County

As was seen in the islands over the holidays and throughout this crisis, island residents traveling off-island or hosting guests from off-island is far and away from the most likely source of COVID transmission in San Juan County.

As most are aware, several new variants of COVID are spreading rapidly across the world. Based on current models, it is expected that those variants will become the dominant strains of the disease in Washington by sometime in March or early April.

While details are still coming into focus, these variants are approximately 50% more infectious than the current strain. Again, the science is evolving and is far from definitive, but they may also result in more severe illness, and may reduce the effectiveness of some vaccines.

The only way these strains will make their way to San Juan County is from infected individuals bringing them to the islands.

Up to 40% of individuals infected with COVID have no symptoms, feel perfectly healthy, and would not suspect that they can spread the disease.

It is almost certain that the new variants will cause a new and significantly larger number of cases. Continue Reading

Update: San Juan County Health and Community Services has received confirmation that San Juan County will not receive the first doses this week. This is due to a state-wide disruption to the supply chain. Reservations will NOT be available at 9 a.m., today, Feb. 8. 

From San Juan County

The Washington State Department of Health has delayed their regularly scheduled Friday release of vaccine allocation numbers to vaccine providers across Washington.

This disruption to the usual notification schedule prevents San Juan County from being able to schedule vaccine appointments for the coming week.

Those who are receiving their second doses will NOT be impacted by this situation.

Impacts on other island providers’ vaccine efforts are unknown at this time. Those providers will update patients and others directly.

Hopefully, shipment details are received over the weekend, and appointments for San Juan County vaccine events next week can be released at 9 a.m., Monday, Feb. 8. Originally, appointments were to be released at 5 p.m., Feb. 5. 

Continue Reading

Contributed Image/CDC

From San Juan County

Since the last update on Friday, Jan. 29, total cases in San Juan County have increased from 102 to 111. Three new cases are on Lopez Island, four on Orcas, and two on San Juan Island.

Approximately 44 close contacts of positive cases are currently in active quarantine.

Orcas Island

There are four new cases on Orcas Island. Three of the cases are tied to a single household and related to international travel.

One of the new cases is a close contact of the three recent cases.

There are three positive cases being actively monitored on Orcas Island at this time.

Lopez Island

There are three new cases on Lopez Island. Two cases are related and the transmission source has been tied to off-island travel.

One of the cases is unrelated to previous cases and the transmission source is unknown at this time.

There is one positive case being actively monitored on Lopez Island at this time.

San Juan Island Continue Reading

From San Juan County Lank Bank

On Jan. 22, Tom Marschner and his faithful walking companion, Ellie the Golden Retriever, encountered a rare and sad occurrence near the summit of Mount Grant.

Splayed out on a mossy outcrop, with broken-tipped beaks, were two dead Bald Eagles.

Tom and Ellie promptly reported the incident to Land Bank staff, and the birds were collected and delivered to Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center.

The eagles’ demise was most likely the result of a risky “pair-bonding” ritual. During courtship displays, male and female eagles soar high into the sky, lock their talons together, and then spiral and cartwheel back down to Earth. Their intent is to test each other’s strength and fitness. Their intent is to release each other before reaching the ground.

This time of year, Wolf Hollow often receives calls about eagles. Continue Reading

From San Juan County

Watch a Q&A by San Juan Health and Community Services Director Mark Tompkins, below.