Non-profit behavioral health agency invites community members to join the virtual Gala, set for October 10, 2020, to support child, youth and family services 

EVERETT, Wash. – Compass Health, Northwest Washington’s behavioral healthcare leader, is proud to honor client stories and voices at its fourth-annual Building Communities of Hope Gala fundraiser, planned for October 10, 2020. The virtual event, which coincides with World Mental Health Day, will be streamed live on YouTube, and proceeds from the evening will support Compass Health’s child, youth and family services.

“Every year, Compass Health serves 6,300 children and families across Northwest Washington. In 2020 – as families grapple with medical, educational, economic and social challenges – we know that our mental health and substance use support services are more important than ever,” said Tom Sebastian, president and CEO of Compass Health. “We’re thrilled to take this opportunity to truly amplify the voices of our clients in our first-ever virtual Gala. In this new format, we have plenty of opportunities for community members to engage with and support our work, and I’m confident that this will be reminiscent of the night of hope and community that we look forward to each fall.” Continue Reading

Are you looking for a fun fall activity for your family? Your friends? Your neighborhood? Your organization? Your business?

The Friends of the Library and the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce are sponsoring a SCARECROW CONTEST for the month of October. Registration is open from October 1-15 (free).  The Scarecrows will be displayed from October 17-31 around Friday Harbor. If you don’t have a place to put your entry please call the Scarecrow Hotline 360-378-5240 and we will help you find a spot!

Be creative!  Scarecrows can be in many forms:  Traditional, animals, Halloween characters, famous people, movie or TV themes, storybook characters.  Use your imagination and have some fun! And no political entries please!

Community judging will take place Oct. 17-31.  Be sure and stop by and see the Scarecrows and pick your favorite.

We hope you will celebrate fall and participate in this first SCARECROW CONTEST.

For registration information email [email protected]g or call The Scarecrow Hotline 360-378-5240. You can download a registration form here and send to Becki. Registration Form

For FAQ’s continue reading: Continue Reading

The Assessor’s Office mailed the 2020 Change of Value Notices on October 1, 2020. The notices show market value as of January 1, 2020 based on sales between January 1, 2019 and April 30, 2020.

The new values do not reflect much impact from the pandemic because the cutoff for the sales analysis was April 30. Sales activity after April 30 will be used for 2021 assessed values. It is too early to predict how values will change as a result of the pandemic.

The total assessed value for San Juan County increased more than $200 million over last year, including $110 million in new construction value. The physical inspection area included 2,731 properties on the west half of Orcas Island and all of Waldron, Crane, and the Wasp Islands, with an additional 652 inspections for new construction on other islands. Continue Reading

Park Cautions Visitors Against Aggressive Attacking Owls

San Juan Island National Historical Park is cautioning people recreating in the park about recent and aggressive behavior from owls that has resulted in at least four known attacks on visitors in the park.

These encounters have been reported on English Camp’s Bell Point Loop Trail in recent weeks.

Park staff have been working with Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and regional National Park Service experts to identify behavior patterns and develop safety recommendations.

At this time, the possible causes for this behavior include: Continue Reading

Reconnected salt marsh after restoration. / Contributed photo

Almost seven years ago, Friends of the San Juans began working with Washington State Parks on a salmon recovery project on Sucia Island. After a lot of research, surveys, designs, engineering, and permitting, the on-the-ground work to restore habitat has come to fruition.

Located along a major migratory pathway for juvenile Chinook salmon, Sucia’s marine shorelines are a top priority for salmon recovery efforts in San Juan County. Sucia’s Mud Bay hosts a forage fish spawning beach and a salt marsh, providing very rare and valuable habitat for juvenile salmon and the food web that supports fish, birds, and marine mammals.

Before last week, a decades-old, low-lying road crossed the beach and salt marsh at Mud Bay. The road blocked tidal exchange and fish passage, burying forage fish spawning habitat, and preventing the site from adjusting to rising sea levels.

Restoration actions completed over the past two weeks included full removal of the shoreline road and its associated fill, rock, concrete armoring, and the undersized culvert. The beach was nourished with rounded sand and small gravel. To allow full restoration, a new low impact road was installed at an inland location to provide Parks staff access to their maintenance buildings.

“It was amazing to see the tide coming into the marsh unimpeded for the first time in over 75 years. The restored habitat will now directly support migrating juvenile salmon, forage fish, and through the marine food web, our endangered orca” said Tina Whitman, Science Director, Friends of the San Juans.

Before restoration. / Contributed photo

After a formal bidding process, the public works contract was awarded to Mike Carlson Enterprises of San Juan Island, who worked with additional local contractors including Rain Shadow Consulting of Orcas Island. The restoration design and engineering were completed by Coastal Geologic Services of Bellingham. Continue Reading

When life gives you lemons, of course, you are supposed to make lemonade! But that’s hard to do if you don’t have any sugar to sweeten it. Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor was very fortunate—we had the sweetener!

Covid-19 restrictions kept us from being able to hold our annual fundraiser: our St. Patrick’s Day Extravaganza. One week before the event, we had to cancel it. Of course, we were not happy about it, but we knew it was the right thing to do for the health of our community.

We contacted all auction item donors to ask if we might keep them for a later date—and everyone said “yes.” Some of us were optimistic that we’d be able to hold an event in September; some of us were very wrong. When it became clear that any in-person event was not likely to happen this year, we decided to hold an online auction.

Our community was so supportive, both in bidding on the great items we had for auction, and by donating to one of our special fund-a-needs; Women’s Emergency Fund, Cancer Treatment Transportation Fund, and Scholarships and Awards.

The Friday Harbor Soroptimists wish to thank everyone for their support. We are excited that we will be able to continue our programs for the community, and especially for women and girls.

County Council Candidates Youth Forum on October 12, 2020
The Environmental Systems class at Spring Street International School will be holding a Youth Forum on October 12th from 1-2pm.

They will ask the County Council candidates from Orcas and San Juan Islands questions about the environment and climate change. All are welcome to join this webinar! Click here to register: www.sanjuans.org/upcoming-events.

Residential and Commercial burn permits go on sale October 5.

Fall is here and the time has come for burn permits to go on sale. Please follow this link to purchase a burn permit through our online portal. Burn permits issued at this time will be valid until the end of May 2021.

A reminder that burn permits are only valid for the parcel they are purchased for and that residential burn permits are not valid for work done by contractors/excavation companies for any sort of land clearing or site development operations.

A few reminders: Continue Reading

The next San Juan County Public Hospital District No. 1 regular board meeting will be at 5:30 p.m., today, Wednesday, Oct. 28.

This meeting is fully online due to COVID-19, and members of the public may join by dialing 509-473-0276 and entering 279 885 068#. Note that the phone number has changed from previous board meetings.

Documents for board meetings can be found at https://sjcphd.org/meeting/2020mtgs.

The agenda includes a discussion on the integration of EMS and fire departments, the potential sale of the Hospice Northwest, volunteer EMS concerns, and a capital improvement plan for EMS.

Members of the public who would like to comment should email Nathan Butler at [email protected].

The special meeting, where the 2021 Budget Hearing will be held, will be on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020, at 5 p.m. This meeting will also be online due to COVID-19. Members of the public may join by dialing 1 509-473-0276 and entering 105 002 023#. More information will be forthcoming.

Know Your Islanders Talks on ZOOM
San Juan Island Library is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

October 5, 2020 07:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Know Your Islanders Talk:
Larry Wight, Four Months on the Southern Border – Stories of Open Hearts and Broken Hopes

Join Larry Wight for an eyewitness look at conditions on our Southern Border. Larry volunteered in a shelter into which migrants seeking asylum were released by ICE; thousands of migrants passed through his life. He returned profoundly changed, having witnessed the power of the human spirit. You will hear many migrants’ stories and learn about asylum, the shelter, and El Paso.
Monday, October 5 at 7pm
Wherever you ZOOM
Free
Please email Boyd Pratt at [email protected] for a ZOOM invitation.

Visit our website: www.sanjuanislandtrails.org.

Reneé Koehne and her daughter, Brittany Koehne – Contributed photo

The Animal Protection Society – Friday Harbor (APS-FH) is happy to announce that Reneé Koehne and her daughter, Brittany Koehne have been selected as our October Volunteer(s) of the Month.

Reneé and Brittany have spent their summer weekends, for the past two years, helping trap feral cats for APS-FH’s TNR (Trap Neuter Return) program. In addition, Reneé and Brittany have fostered dozens of kittens; caring for and bottle feeding these babies until they are ready to be brought to the shelter for adoption.

Kittens raised in foster homes are often healthier and better socialized than those raised in a shelter environment. Thanks so much, Reneé and Brittany, for making a difference in the lives of numerous feral and shelter felines. Your dedication and hard work are deeply appreciated.

Editor’s Note – This story is being re-posted with corrected information. The flu shot clinic at the Mullis Center will actually be on Thursday the 15th from 1:30pm to 4pm. *Not* the 13th as previously posted.

Island Senior is a regular column on the San Juan Update written by Peggy Sue McRae…

As we enjoy these sunny autumn days, one way to ward off winter blues is to proactively plan for a healthy, happy winter. It was early spring when covid-19 came into our lives stubbornly refusing to leave.  The fact that there is still no end in sight is a good reason to plan ahead. Here are a few suggestions for staying healthy and happy on into and through the coming winter months.

Plan on Staying Home: The Washington State Coronavirus Response recommendation is that staying home is still the best way to stay safe. Most of us still need to go out, when we do they recommend keeping it quick, keeping your distance, staying local and limiting the number of people outside of your household that you see in a week. Plus of course, wear a mask and wash your hands. Planning accordingly, at least for the near future, may save some disappointments.

The Mullis Center – Peggy Sue McRae photo

Get a Flu shot:  First of all stay healthy. The good news is that if you are diligently practicing safe covid-19 protocol you will also be protecting yourself from seasonal flu. The bad news is that with similar symptoms it can initially be hard to tell the difference and make diagnosis more challenging. Flu plus covid-19 could overwhelm our medical resources.

It is easy enough to eliminate the flu factor by getting a flu shot.  Make an appointment with your health practitioner or plan to take advantage of a Drive-Through Flu Vaccination Clinic at the Mullis Center on Thursday, October 15 from 1:30 to 4 pm. There is no need to pre-register. You can stay in your vehicle. Bring your insurance card and ID or $40 cash or check. Wear a mask and be prepared to bare your arm.  Nurses from Eventide Health will administer the vaccinations. “Think of it as essential to get a flu vaccine this year,” said Dr. Kathy Lofy, Washington State Health Officer. “We should all get a flu vaccine now to help protect ourselves and our communities as we navigate this pandemic together.” Continue Reading

PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center in Friday Harbor, Washington, has been named a 2020 Guardian of Excellence and 2020 Pinnacle of Excellence Award winner by Press Ganey.

These awards are a nationally recognized symbols of achievement in health care. Presented annually, the awards honor health care facilities who consistently achieved performance in the top five percent in patient experience of Press Ganey client health care facilities nationwide.

For a fourth year in a row, PeaceHealth Peace Island received The Guardian of Excellence award for Patient Experience in the Emergency Department.  Patient feedback surveys consistently placed this department in the top 95^th percentile or above for each reporting period during the award year. The survey captures patient responses related to communication, wait times, respect and courtesy, patient privacy and pain control. Continue Reading

Vote counting equipment testing October 14 at 11:00 a.m.

A “Logic and Accuracy” test of ballot tabulating equipment used in San Juan County for the November 3, General election is scheduled for October 14, at 11:00 a.m. The test works by tallying the results of a prepared set of ballots to see if the results match the votes cast. The test will take place in the Elections Office located at 55 Second Street, Suite A, in Friday Harbor.

A representative of the Secretary of State’s Elections Division will be present for the test. The test is performed before every local, state or federal election to ensure that tabulation hardware and software equipment are compliant with Washington State rules and will accurately count the votes.

All interested members of the public are invited to observe, either in person or in the safety of your own homes.  The Elections Office will livestream the Logic and Accuracy test on our YouTube channel San Juan County Elections (https://tinyurl.com/y4pzq86p). 

The San Juan Island Library District announces that it has entered an agreement with the owners of the former Life Care Center at 660 Spring Street, to purchase the property for a future Library building site.

The District has been working on alternative locations for a Library for several years given the limitations of the current Guard Street site along with rising maintenance costs. In June of 2018, the Board of Trustees voted to proceed with a project to select a building site and create a plan to fund its purchase and construction.

In 2018 and 2019 the District conducted feasibility studies and hosted town hall meetings to understand the community’s needs around space, parking, meeting rooms, and other factors that would influence site selection. After detailed site analysis and preliminary engineering and construction review, the 660 Spring Street property was selected as the best location for a future San Juan Island Library. Continue Reading

Helen and Dan from Island Stage Left share some insight into their history, what’s happening now and a look to the future in a couple of videos on SJI Community Network…

Dear ISL Friends and Supporters, visit www.sjicn.org and you will find our video and those of some wonderful people making a difference on our islands. You can spot us by the photo above.

As we actively plan (and fervently hope) for a 2021 summer Shakespeare (“Much Ado about Nothing”), we thought you might enjoy this segment – part 1 of the story of ISL – recorded and edited by Larry Greene and Heather Nicholson as part of their San Juan Islands Community Network project of showcasing islanders and their work. We are honored to have been chosen to participate (even though Helen is very squeamish about seeing herself on video!) More is to come and there are some wonderful stories on their site.

Looking forward (because it’s the best thing to do right now), to seeing you in 2021!

Wishing you good health and optimism,
Helen and Dan