San Juan County Parks Camping Reservation Information for Year-Round Residents

San Juan County Parks & Fair is again offering advance camping reservations for people who reside in our county year ‘round!

Choose from San Juan County Park, San Juan County Fairgrounds (RVs only), Odlin County Park, and Shaw County Park for any dates in 2020.

To request your reservation, please email [email protected] for a 2020 Resident Reservation request form. Resident reservations must be made directly through our admin office and are not available to book online. Early resident reservations will be accepted from January 15th until February 19th (starting at 6:00am on January 15th via email, or in person at the Parks and Fair Office in Friday Harbor at 1:00pm).

Due to the popularity of this program, duplicate date requests may be randomly selected. Proof of residency is required; 2 sites max per household per camping stay.

Click here for additional info… (note: this link has been updated since the story was first published)

The U.S. Census Bureau is kicking off peak hiring efforts for the 2020 Census.

A representative from the Census Bureau will be available at Skagit Valley College – San Juan Center 221 Weber Way Friday Harbor, WA on Tuesday, Jan 14th from 10:30 AM – 1:30 PM.

Get information on how to become a Census worker, as well as help in the application process. For San Juan County, wages are $20-22 Hour + mileage.  

For more information, visit: https://2020census.gov/en/jobs.html, or call 1-855-562-2020. 

The Friday Harbor Power Squadron will be offering “America’s Boating Course” at Skagit Valley College on 4 Sunday afternoons – January 12, 19, 26 and February 2nd from 1:00-4:00 PM. (note: the last class on Feb. 2nd (SuperBowl Sunday) can be rescheduled if the class desires).

This is a basic comprehensive course covering all aspects of boating any kind of watercraft. Completion qualifies for the WA State Boater Education card, required of all boaters operating a vessel with 15 HP or greater.

The cost is $50 for materials, which can be shared by a couple. Current students receive a 50% discount.  Instruction is free.

To register, contact Ann Einboden at 360-378-3288 or [email protected].

Pastel for the Joy of It- Mini Workshop

Magic Hour 16” x 12”

From the 16th century to the 21st, pastel has amazed and delighted artists and art patrons alike. Join award winning pastel artist, Cinda Sue Dow for a day of fun, exploring this versatile and vibrant medium.

Learn about different pastels and pastel papers. Explore various techniques of applying pastels through “hands-on” exercises. Leave with a small painting.

This workshop will jump start your pastel painting. Treat yourself, reserve your spot now!

• February 8th from 9:00-4:00  
• Beginning & Intermediate Level, $100.00

Cinda Sue Dow lives, paints, and teaches on San Juan Island. She has been doing pastel painting for 27 years. She does traditional subject matter with a contemporary twist.

Email: [email protected]
Website www.cindasue.com
Phone: (360) 317-6253

The Town is now accepting applications for the AWC Center for Quality Communities Scholarship Fund.

The scholarship is available through a statewide competitive process for students who are actively engaged in their city government and/or community and plan to attend post-secondary school in fall 2020.

Up to six $1500 scholarships will be awarded. As a member of the Association of Washington Cities (AWC), the Town may nominate one student each year. Two Friday Harbor students have received this scholarship in the past five years.

To be eligible, a student must be a Washington resident graduating from high school or home school, or receiving a GED in spring/summer 2020. The student must plan to continue their education at an accredited college or trade school in the 2020-2021 academic year on a half-time or more basis and have been involved with a city government or with a community/school leadership activity. Continue Reading

Local Severe Weather Shelter is prepared for upcoming freezing temperatures

The United Way of San Juan County’s Severe Weather Shelter Team is prepared to be open for upcoming forecasted freezing temperatures starting next week. 

Volunteer hosts have been notified, and the team is going to do everything possible to ensure the criteria for this temporary shelter opening occurs. United Way of SJC and its supporters, “Out of the Cold” Severe Weather Shelter will provide overnight shelter to vulnerable people in Friday Harbor during periods of extreme cold weather.

The goal of the SWS is to offer temporary shelter for families and individuals when extreme weather occurs.

The Shelter opens when three events transpire together: Continue Reading

Leading soprano Hui He portrays the heartbreaking title role of the doomed geisha, with tenor Andrea Carè as the American naval officer who abandons her. Paulo Szot plays the role of Sharpless, and Elizabeth DeShong is Suzuki. Pier Giorgio Morandi is on the podium for Anthony Minghella’s sweeping production, a perennial audience favorite.

Sunday, January 5, 1:00 pm at San Juan Community Theatre

Tickets:
Adult $20
Student Reserved $10
Member $19 (at box office only)

Due to a financial agreement with The Met: Live in HD, no SJCT coupons are accepted for these productions.

Get tickets now!

Washington State Ferries’ winter schedule begins Sunday, January 5, and is in effect through Saturday, March 28.

Service between Anacortes, Friday Harbor and Sidney, B.C. is suspended for the winter. The Anacortes/San Juan Island routes will operate three vessels on weekends (no dedicated inter-island vessel), with four vessels in service on weekdays.

Please check the online schedule or pick up the blue Winter 2020 sailing schedule #254 at the terminal or on the vessels.

Lorena is this week’s Pet of the Week

Well hello and a Happy New Year to you!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, with all your friends and family around you. 

I just love that kind of company myself, the more the merrier in my book!  And if you happen to have made a resolution to spend some quality time with a beautiful young tigress then look no further.  My markings come from my uncle on my mother’s side… they say he came all the way over from India on a steamboat. 

Oh, and I get my love of people from my father’s side, they were door to door catnip salesmen and goodness did they have a way with words! Why they could sell grapes to a crocodile… if they weren’t living in the Pacific Northwest where both are in short supply….

Oh dear, there I go again chatting the day away… I won’t take up any more of your time, but if you would like to make my acquaintance then just pop on over to the shelter and ask for Lorena, I think you will be glad you did.

Superintendent Kari McVeigh – Contributed photo

Dear Fabulous Community Members,

Happy 2020!!!

As the San Juan Island School District enters into the year 2020, we are excited to share a new and actionable district strategic plan. Four Strategic Planning teams (mixed teams of staff, parents and community members) met throughout the fall to look at current and desired perceptions of our district, to create cultural belief statements to guide school community members’ behaviors, and finally to select two district goals that will inspire the work of staff for three to five years to come.  

Our Cultural Beliefs:

Engage the Community
I will commit to engaging others in the process, and I will be an active participant in the school community.

Advocacy
I will create safe and productive environments that embrace self-advocacy.

Cultivate Equity
I recognize, value and respect individual needs, identities, cultures, interests and strengths of all.

Provide Opportunities
I will provide opportunities to help you be successful on your path.

Cultivate Global Awareness
I will keep current on global issues and integrate these topics into community conversations and activities.

San Juan Island School District Goals: Continue Reading

The Town will collect Christmas trees for residents inside Town limits on Thursday, January 9, 2020. Trees must be placed at the curb no later than 9:00 a.m. and must be separate from other unbundled trash and woody waste.

To ensure the success of the tree recycling program, please remove the tree stand and all tinsel, lights, and ornaments as these items will contaminate mulch and compost. Trees more than eight feet in height must be cut in half. Trees should not be in plastic tree bags. Artificial or flocked (painted) trees will not be accepted.

If you have any questions, please contact the Town of Friday Harbor at (360) 378-2810.

Island Rec shares the race results for their 5^th Annual Resolution Run 5k and Salish Splash…

It was a great turn-out of 54 registered runners, the largest Resolution Run thus far! We had plenty of runners and walkers that enjoyed the good weather at Jackson Beach.

A few brave participants jumped into the waters for our Salish Splash then warmed up by the bonfire. It was a great way to ring in a new decade!

See the final results here (PDF) 2020 Results

Weaving Art and Science to Create Ocean Tapestries

In the early 1990’s, Véronique Robigou and John Delaney were exploring the bottom of the ocean in the deep-diving Submarine ALVIN off the Pacific Northwest Coast. There, they discovered a spectacular 135 ft tall sulfide structure spewing 700° F fluids out of the sea floor atop an active volcano.

Véronique and John will share how this discovery influenced two professional paths, at times radically different, and at others, fruitfully collaborative.

For this presentation their paths merge again as a study of curiosity about and exploration of the Earth written in different “languages” and reaching diverse audiences.

January 24 at 6:00 followed by talk at 6:45

Please call the FHL Office at (360) 378-2165 to reserve your spot. Tickets prepaid only (Dinner and talk: $25)
Reserve by January 21st.

In the SJ Update mailbag today we find this letter from Bob & Shannon Wilson… (Note: This has been updated since it was first published)

On February 11th our community will be voting on a replacement capitol & technology levy for our schools. Vote YES for our schools! This is NOT a new tax, but a renewal of the one that has existed for many years. Our community needs this levy!

School facilities are critical to the safety and well-being of our children and access to updated technology is the future for delivery of a sound education. 

This is not just about my children, or your children, but about strengthening our community. As a local business owner, I depend on a strong, sustainable community and a vibrant public school system is pivotal. I would like to encourage you, as neighbors and friends, to vote YES for our local school levy.

Thank you,

Bob & Shannon Wilson

Last year, Susan Dietrich Schneider, internationally known as The Space Lady, played the dome at Alchemy Art Center on San Juan Island.  Whether folks already knew of her 20-year musical career or were simply curious about someone with a name like The Space Lady, community response on the night of the show was overwhelming. 

As more and more attendees arrived for what would surely be a unique performance, members of Alchemy Art Center had to create extra parking by mowing more areas around the driveway.  In the end, all who arrived were accommodated and The Space Lady lived up to her reputation.

Susan’s unconventional career began in the 1970s, when she and her first husband Joel decided to live off-grid in order to dodge the draft.  They were both artists, and Susan sold her drawings, collages, poetry booklets, and various novelties on the street to eke out a small income. 

In 1980, desperate to support their growing family, Susan adapted popular songs on an old beat up accordion for street performance.  A few years later, she upgraded to the newly released Casiotone MT-40 and began singing through a mic and delay pedal, wearing her now iconic winged helmet.  The Space Lady was born, and Susan became an iconic figure of the San Francisco streets, performing there for nearly two decades.  Continue Reading

On Saturday the 21^st of December, St. David’s Episcopal Church hosted a standing room only audience for a performance of A European Village Christmas, a concert of carols, hymns, and anthems from France, Scandinavia, and Germany.

Those attending contributed over $3,000 to benefit both the Family Resource Center and the Friday Harbor Food Bank.

On behalf of St. David’s and all the concert participants I want to express our gratitude for the generosity of the San Juan Island Community at this Christmastide.

Richard Lind
Village Christmas Concerts Artistic Director and Conductor