Asiah Gonzalez, dental therapist / Contributed Photo

Asiah Gonzalez, a dental therapist, shares her views on the advantages of dental therapy.

Growing up on the Swinomish reservation, I never imagined that I could have a career in medicine. I tried hard in school, but I never saw dentists or doctors who looked like the people I grew up with.

That all changed when our tribe brought in a dental therapist. Suddenly, my regular check-ups were with a provider that grew up on a reservation like me, and who chose their profession so they could give back to their community. I felt inspired. Continue Reading

PeaceHealth has received reports of recent phone scams – or “vishing” scams – impacting patients in the Whatcom, Skagit and San Juan areas.

Scammers are pretending to be from PeaceHealth or other health agencies and attempting to steal personal information or private health details over the phone. Continue Reading

Anemones of the San Juans

By Christopher Wells

Dr. Christopher Wells completed his PhD with Dr. Ken Sebens in 2019 in the Biology Department at the University of Washington. His research was on the biology and ecology of sea anemones in the San Juan Archipelago. He is now a postdoctoral associate at the University at Buffalo, researching the recruitment and population dynamics of Caribbean octocorals. You can follow him on Twitter @the_anemone_guy.

I first heard about UW Friday Harbor Labs, the “Mecca for invertebrate zoology,” in an Invert Zoo course during my Master’s work at the University of New Hampshire. I was told that any marine biologist worth their weight in salt needs to work at FHL, so I made it my mission to get there someday. I fell in love with sea anemones in New Hampshire and frequently read papers by Dr. Kenneth Sebens, who was the director of the Labs at the time. When I interviewed to be his graduate student, he gave me a tour around the campus and I knew I needed to be there. Being able to have an office with running seawater just a stone’s-throw from the sea was my dream. Not only that, but the giant plumose anemones ( Metridium farcimen) under the docks were awe-striking; I had never seen such big anemones in my life (turns out they’re the tallest anemones in the world and the ones under the docks are small specimens!).

Continue reading…

Commercial Club meeting – Home Products Night – SJ Historical Society photo

This month’s history column was inspired by a somewhat rare interior photograph, taken at an event by the name of “Home Products Night.” When the photo, as seen above, was donated to the San Juan Historical Society and Museum many years ago, it came with a description which offered the following information, but alas, no date.

“Commercial Club meeting – Home Products Night. Every item of food had been grown on San Juan Island – except tea and coffee. J.K. McKenzie, President. Frank Mullis, Secretary.”

Several questions came to mind. When and where was this photo taken? Knowing the names of two officers of the club did help somewhat in dating the photo, but when a relative of Raymond Madden (seated third chair from left of the post) identified him in the scene, it narrowed it down much more. Raymond died in early 1931, so we started looking in issues of the Friday Harbor Journal prior to that. Continue Reading

San Juan County has extended its Small Business Relief Grant program that launched on Sept. 1, 2020, to assist for-profit businesses impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, and opened eligibility to more organizations. Awards will range up to $5,000 for eligible San Juan County businesses to help them to remain open, retain jobs, and comply with COVID-19 prevention public health and safety measures. 

The deadline to apply is Thursday, Oct. 15 at midnight. Grant recipients will be notified on Oct. 27. Qualifying businesses can visit www.sanjuansedc.org/sjccares for program details, which includes the complete text of the “Notification of Funding Available” (NOFA) and application portal.

The application process is administered by the San Juan County Economic Development Council and an independent panel will make final award determinations. Funding for this program comes from CARES Act money received by the county.

Continue Reading

Dr. Mandy Gulla / Contributed Photo

Living Medical Arts PLLC, in Friday Harbor, Washington, has been selected by LabCorp as one of three nation-wide sites to pilot a unique COVID-19 testing program. LabCorp is a leading global life sciences company that is deeply integrated in guiding patient care. 

Dr. Mandy Gulla and staff have been working closely with LabCorp for several months to develop the protocol. She reports, “We are excited to be a participant in this beta program. The potential for use within schools is enormous as it allows easier access to testing prior to beginning in-person classes! Our experience will help further develop this program in hopes of it reaching other small clinics, like ours, across the nation..”

As we all know, access to COVID-19 testing is one important step to containing the virus and giving us all peace of mind. This program has the potential to provide a safe learning experience for students and staff everywhere. In addition, patients would be able to stay at home when they are sick and do a COVID-19 swab test. This eliminates exposure to other people outside their home, and potentially prevents the spread of the virus. Continue Reading

Ongoing construction at OPAL’s April’s Grove affordable housing project on Orcas Island. / Contributed Photo

The San Juan County Council discussed applications received for the 2020 Home Fund affordable housing project on Tuesday, Sept. 29.

The council approved Home Fund grants and funding commitments to five projects totaling $1,782,734.

These funds will contribute to the construction of 59 total new affordable housing units, and the preservation of another 19 affordable housing units.

All units funded will have long-term affordability restrictions. Total estimated project costs for the five projects amount to $26,523,437. Continue Reading

Minnie Knych photo

Minnie Knych shares this report of a Freedom Flotilla down at the harbor…

Despite the cool, foggy weather more than 50 people showed up at Fairweather Park to celebrate living in the greatest country on Earth with a Freedom Flotilla on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Signs, flags and music marked the occasion. Candidate for WA State Legislature Russ Dzialo and 2nd Congressional District candidate Tim Hazelo were speakers sharing their vision for WA State. Several passers-by joined in the fun and requested flags to fly on their boats.

The convivial group celebrated and then a flotilla of boats flying flags and candidate support signs sailed on to Lopez for another celebration, leaving the park area as clean and pristine as when they arrived.

Boats moored at the Port of Friday Harbor Marina – Update file photo

The Port of Friday Harbor will host a Special Meeting at noon, Oct 7 via Zoom.

View the agenda and meeting access information here.

The meeting will discuss designs for the marine technical center to be located at Jensen’s Boatyard, as well as information on the Salt-Water Farms site plan.

From 2-3 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6, Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) will host a live virtual discussion via Facebook Live on resources available to Northwest Washington’s students, teachers and families for the 2020-21 school year.

Click here to view the live stream. This event is open to the public.

The discussion will highlight resources available to support virtual education during the school year.

Continue Reading

Artist Gareth Curtiss with statue of Ed Warbass and Bob.
Matt Pranger / Contributed Photo

A life-size bronze statue of town founder Edward D. Warbass and his companion, Bob, was added to the town’s public art collection this week.

The piece by northwest artist Gareth Curtiss has been installed at the First Street entrance to Sunshine Alley as part of the town’s Sunshine Alley Design Plan.

Warbass is one of three men credited with founding the town. He was also instrumental in breaking San Juan County away from Whatcom County and making Friday Harbor its county seat. The bench is positioned to face towards Warbass’s namesake street, Warbass Way. Continue Reading

SHIBA Medicare open enrollment presentation will take place online on Wednesday, October 7 at 1:00 pm. Like our previous presentations, we will have our trained SHIBA volunteer, Pegi Groundwater, from Orcas Island leading the Medicare presentation on October 7. Information regarding the presentation is listed below:

Medicare Open Enrollment runs from October 15 – December 7. During this time, plans can be reviewed and changes made for 2021.

Attend a free online presentation to learn what’s new and how you can get help from a trained SHIBA volunteer. Continue Reading

Dear FROG Supporters,

The Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) is conducting a new survey. Even if you haven’t ridden the ferries over the past few months, your thoughts and feedback are critical to this research. We are looking to gather input regarding how your ferry needs may have changed this year, WSF’s COVID-19 response, your customer service experience, and other topics.

Click Here to take the survey

Your participation in FROG surveys informs decisions being made at the state level as possible policies and funding approaches are considered for WSF.

Thank you for your input and participation!

The County Council is searching for San Juan County citizens to fill current and upcoming vacancies on various boards and commissions. Additional information about each committee is available on the County’s website at: http://sanjuanco.com/641/Board-Committee-Vacancies.

Persons interested in serving on a board or advisory committee should fill out an Advisory Committee Application or Contact the Council Office at: (360) 378-2898 [email protected]

Ever wonder why fog makes the ferries late? Art Smith shares this photo taken from the car deck in his vehicle (that’s his dashboard at bottom of the photo)on Saturday afternoon. – A ferry crew member on fog watch for any potential obstacles that radar won’t pick up.

Thanks for sharing Art!

Supporting the health of our most vulnerable neighbors during COVID-19 is critical as we enter the winter months on San Juan Island. To help reduce the risk of influenza, SJICF recently granted $15k to help fund flu vaccinations for residents who could not otherwise afford one.

The grant funds were awarded in late September to San Juan County Health and Community Services. Funding was made possible by community donations to the SJICF Community Emergency Response Fund, created in March at the start of the COVID-19 health crisis.

While the flu vaccination will not prevent COVID-19, it will help to reduce the spread of influenza in the community by providing 800 vaccines to community members who may not otherwise get a flu shot due to financial barriers or lack of insurance coverage.

San Juan County Health and Community Services will partner with Peace Island Medical Center, Friday Harbor Drug, San Juan Island EMS, Eventide Health, and San Juan Island Public School District to administer the vaccines via a drive-through service. Continue Reading