The San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce Featured Member of the Month for January is: Vic’s Drive-In

Vic’s Drive-In is a classic drive-in restaurant. Founded in 1958 Vic’s enters its 62nd year as the longest operating restaurant in Friday Harbor.

Offering a familiar yet often creative menu of quick serve food – Vic’s takes pride in providing fast and hot food combined with quality ingredients while maintaining the islands best prices.

This restaurant has served classic American diner meals to islanders and their families and is a local (and visitor) favorite!

Winter Hours – Mon – Fri 11am-7pm Lunch & Dinner
25 2nd Street S.
(360) 378-8427

This just in from OPALCO…

Are you ready for the winter storm blowing in?

We are looking at some some serious cold coming our way this week. Please be prepared and look out for your neighbors!

Make sure you have your phone charged up, fill up your gas tank in your car, and if you have an electric well pump turn off pump breaker and plan ahead for your water needs.

Because the most detailed information, photos and updates on outages are posted on Facebook, Twitter and on OPALCO’s website, we encourage people who don’t have a smart phone to find an “outage buddy” who does, so they can share information and check up on each other.

The best way to report an outage is to call (360) 376-3500, press 1 or login to your Smarthub account. Telling your friends at OPALCO or reporting on Facebook might work but won’t be as quick as logging it into our system.

An excellent resource for emergency preparedness is the San Juan County Department of Emergency Management. Check out their resources for being prepared.

And review our checklist for winter storms (above right).

Remi is this week’s Pet of the Week – Contributed photo

Did you hear that it’s going to snow? Me too! And do you know the number one best thing in the whole wide world to do when it snows? Go sledding with a long-legged black dog of course!

Just think about it – throw a red scarf round my neck and you’ve got next Christmas’ holiday card in the bag… you’re welcome!

So there are only a few days left until the white stuff starts to fall and there’s only one of me, so hurry on over to the animal shelter and ask for Remi, you won’t be sorry.

Our caller this month is Amy Wimmer from Seattle. Amy and her husband Tom run the weekly dance at the Phinney Ridge Community Center, and Amy is a master at providing folks with a good time!

The band this month is our own Spuds, who you’ve seen playing at the farmers market and other local events. The band consists of two couples, Jim Nollman on mandolin, Katy Nollman on banjo, Val White on fiddle and Malcolm Suttles on guitar. It will be a special evening with this crew so you’d best tie on your dancing shoes and join the crowd!

As always with contra dance, each dance is taught by the caller, and since we are encouraged to change partners for each dance, you do not need to bring a partner along with you. New dancers come each time so don’t think you can’t do it, you can!

• What: Third Saturday Contra Dance
• Where: Grange Hall in Friday Harbor
• When: Saturday January 18, 2020, 7 till 9 PM
• Price: $10 donation at the door, $5 students
• Contact: Alice Deane 360-378-5250
  [email protected]

This dance is sponsored by San Juan Island Grange #966. Check out our Facebook page at San Juan Islands Contra Dance.

Here’s some good news – check out the video above and this accompanying story from Good News Network…

Diane Martindale – Contributed photo

Diane has volunteered in the arts for more than a decade. She is the board president of the San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA). She has served as co-president and worked on fundraising and writing grants for the organization.

Diane serves on the exhibition committee where she works on the team which creates the exhibitions. She curated EMERGENCE – First Nation Legendary & Emerging Artists and DEEP DIVE about icons of the Salish Sea.

She heads the marketing team for all the SJIMA activities.

Diane was instrumental in helping to form the Friday Harbor Arts Commission and has served on it for four years. Additionally, for more than 10 years, she has headed the Art Committee that brings community art to the Public Library.

At the Washington State Arts Commission (ArtsWA) she has served as a co-chair of the Advocacy Committee and a vice-chair of the commission. She is currently the commission chair and in her third three-year term. This is the group that advocates for funding the arts state-wide whether, arts organizations, arts education or public art. She loves seeing the varied arts projects nurtured all over Washington and how the arts serve goals of equity, access and social justice in education.

Also serving on the ArtsWA executive committee are first and second vice chairs, Justin Raffa (Richland) and Rosanna Sharpe (Coulee City), respectively, along with Jolyn GC (Seattle), Mariella Luz (Olympia) and Monica Miller (Ellensburg). Continue Reading

In the SJ Update mailbag this morning we find this letter from Dwight Ware of Community Treasures…

Greetings CT supporters,

For all of you CT supporters who were unable to attend our “Crossroads” meeting at the Grange on December 19th, here is a summary of the issues at hand and the goals of that meeting.

I’ll begin, as I did the meeting, by starting with the 3 MAIN OBJECTIVES –  to seek your commitment to one, two or all 3 of the following:

1. Write a letter to the SJC commissioners voicing your support of CT and seeking their action to secure a permanent zoning appropriate to CT’s activities.  We have a list of suggested points to make  to help you if you make this commitment.
2. Gather signatures on the current petition to the SJC commissioners to change the land use designation to Rural General Use, and to further designate the property  as an Essential Public Facility.
3. Contribute $100 per year to the ongoing operation of CT, particularly as it can assist in the purchase of the property 6739 RH Road.

Continue Reading

This just in from the Washington State Recreation & Conservation Office…

Executive Summary

OLYMPIA–Trails contribute more than $8.2 billion to the state’s economy, according to companion studies released today by the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office.

Done in collaboration with Washington Trails Association, Washington Bikes, and the University of Washington, the studies look at the economic, environmental, social and health benefits of trails and recommend that state leaders develop more trails and use them as a way to improve the health of Washingtonians.

One study, Economic, Environmental, & Social Benefits of Recreational Trails in Washington State, estimates that trail-based activities improve health and reduce medical costs by more than $390 million a year for Washington residents. In addition, trails support 81,000 jobs annually.

“We know that trails provide a lot of benefits. People are healthier when they use trails, trails are good for local businesses and trails are better for the environment,” said Kaleen Cottingham, director of the state Recreation and Conservation Office. “It just makes sense that state and local leaders should invest in this valuable commodity. Not only will people benefit, but so will the state overall.” Continue Reading

EnChroma Colorblind Glasses to be available for loan in January 2020 at the San Juan Island Library

In addition to patrons being able to borrow their favorite books, DVDs and magazines, the Library is pleased to announce that colorblind corrective glasses will soon be available to borrow. The glasses can fit over prescription glasses so they will work for a variety of people.

Did you know? One in 12 men and 1 in 200 women are color vision deficient. Red-green color blindness happens because of an excessive overlap in the signals from red- and green-sensitive retinal cone cells in the eye, which causes colors that are normally seen as distinct and different to appear similar and confusing. Color corrective glasses have special optical filters to decrease this overlap and enhance the separation between color channels allowing colors to be seen more vibrantly, clearly and distinctly.

It is estimated that people with color vision deficiency see about 10% of the one million shades that a person with normal color vision can see.

Common color confusions include green and yellow, gray and pink, and purple and blue.

About EnChroma Continue Reading

Let’s see what’s in the mailbag this morning. Here’s a letter from Travis and Jennifer Ayers…

Dear Editor,

We encourage all eligible voters to join us and vote YES for our children, schools, and community in the upcoming election on February 11^th. The renewal of the Capital and Technology Levy will help ensure that our students continue to receive a first-rate education in Friday Harbor. Island voters have a long history of supporting our schools, and it is critical now more than ever to continue our investment in the future.

The San Juan Island School district is asking for a levy that is 15% lower than the current rate. The renewed levy would be approximately $0.392 per $1,000 in assessed value. This would mean an annual cost of $195.99 for a home assessed at $500,000. Several worthwhile projects have been identified such as: environmentally- friendly LED lighting upgrades, improving the science labs at the High School, re-roofing the Middle School, and increasing safety at the Elementary School with a bus loading zone. These are just a few examples and the entire list can be found at www.sjisd.wednet.edu.

Strong schools are the foundation upon which vibrant communities are built. Please vote YES to renew the Capital and Technology Levy on February 11^th.

Travis and Jennifer Ayers
Friday Harbor

We all know of “20-20 hindsight”, but what about 2020 foresight?

In many ways we are in a far more precarious state, and highly susceptible to disruption out here on the islands, than our comfortable lives portray. Dependable and affordable electricity, disproportional importation of food stuffs and a lack of capacity for local recycling and reuse of our waste stream come to mind. Perhaps you fret over other issues as well.

Our watery moat, moderate weather, winter rainfall, a diversity of human skills and a strong sense of place can be critical assets in overcoming our vulnerability to serious socio-economic disruptions over the horizon.

“The future will not be determined by chance but by choice”
(David Suzuki)

Please consider joining with neighbors this Sunday, January 12 from 3 to 6 pm at the Mullis Center to launch Transition San Juan Island. We realize that the threats of snow here, and especially the Seahawks game on the “frozen tundra of Lambeau Field”, could pre-empt your desire to participate. So, taking those issues into account we have shortened this confab so that you can come and go as suits you. Please help us set the stage for a more comprehensive gathering in the spring.

There will be short background presentations to get up to speed and then several informal working groups will form around issues of community importance where you can meet with others who have similar concerns and casually share your views.

The Initiation Committee for Transition San Juan Island 2020

After the success of the San Juan County Economic Development Council’s previous trades training courses and a tremendous need in our community for trained building tradespeople, they worked to create a large-scale, in-depth building program that would offer training to new and underemployed workers. 

The San Juan County Economic Development Council (EDC) was grateful to receive grants from the Washington State Governor’s Strategic Reserve Fund, the Washington State Department of Commerce, San Juan County, the Port of Friday Harbor, the Town of Friday Harbor, the San Juan Island Community Foundation, the Orcas Island Community Foundation, Islanders Bank, Heritage Bank, Eastsound Water Users Association and other local organizations, individuals and businesses in order to offer trades courses in 2019.

Thanks to this support, the EDC presented courses in Construction Basics, Plumbing Basics, Electrical Basics, HVAC Basics, Low Voltage/Fiber Optics, Construction Welding, and, in partnership with the Eastsound Water Users Association, Water System Operations training.  The EDC has been proud to partner with local high schools, Skagit Valley College, local businesses and contractors to offer these courses.

The EDC’s Construction Basics course on San Juan Island, taught by Mike Murphy of Raven Hill Construction, finished strong with help from a Washington State Governor’s Strategic Reserve Fund grant and the Washington State Department of Commerce.  Students were able to complete scaled-down models of houses, a project that taught essential construction concepts and techniques. Continue Reading

An introduction to the benefits of natives and a review of plants available for order in the Native Plant Sale.

Presented by Jane Wentworth, botanist, native plant enthusiast and Master Gardener

Saturday, January 11, from 9:00 to 11:00 am at the San Juan Island Grange, Friday Harbor

Order plants at the Workshop and online at MGFSJC.org Jan. 11

Do you know an elementary school child who loves building with LEGOS? We do! The San Juan Island Library and San Juan Island 4-H are happy to announce a special LEGO Club this winter for children in grades K-5^th.

The LEGO Club will meet weekly in the Library meeting room afterschool on Thursdays for six weeks. The first LEGO Club meeting is Thursday, January 16 from 3-4:30 PM. All LEGOs will be provided and a light snack will be served courtesy of SJI 4-H.

Participants do not have to be active 4-H members to join the LEGO Club. The Club is free, however space is limited so advanced registration is required.

To register, please call the San Juan Island Library at 360-378-2798. For more information, please contact Youth Services Manager Melina Lagios @ [email protected].

The San Juan County Economic Development Council (EDC) is proud to announce the successful launch of the Knowledge Worker Network initiative started in 2019. 

Last year, the EDC worked to build out a new program to support San Juan County residents who work primarily with information – “knowledge workers” – by providing them a network for collaboration and the beginnings of a cohesive marketing and business-to-business platform.

Such knowledge workers include computer programmers, data analysts and statisticians, writers and editors, web and graphic designers, and many other professions. These highly skilled professions bring income into the county while supporting local businesses, and they have a small resource footprint so they can provide environmentally sustainable, year-round, high-wage jobs. Continue Reading