Marney Reynolds – Contributed photo

New board member, Marney Reynolds brings to the San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA) her love of art and education. Walking into the museum about 5 years ago she was “amazed and thrilled at the sight of this art showcase and someday dreamed of being a part of it.”

Born and raised in Seattle, Marney was surrounded by people who were designers and craftspeople. Having graduated with an MFA in Ceramic Sculpture at the University of Washington, she went on to teach in the art department at Western Washington University.

Moving back to Seattle, she was a studio artist, devoting time to her art and activism. Eventually, she started a graphic design business and invested time in the Henry Art Gallery (UW) to become one of their premier docents. Spending several years in the business world and art education world she then set her sights on moving up to the San Juans (having been visiting here since childhood).

Today she and her husband live on Lopez Island, have a very large garden, and run a berry selling operation. Marney currently serves on three boards: Vice President of Lopez Locavores, Co-Director of NoSprayZone (Seattle), and now San Juan Islands Museum of Art.

Using her experience, skills and insights, one of Marney’s first projects is to work with other volunteers on developing a docent program for SJIMA.

Working on a Puzzle in the Mullis Center Library – Peggy Sue McRae photo

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

Even while we cherish our late summer days there is a twist to the seasons this time of year.  Kids head back to school and while I’ve been out of school for a long time I still feel the urge to get some new clothes and sharpen my pencils. September is a pivotal month shifting from maximum visitors and events to a little bit quieter and a little slower pace. What better way to enjoy local society than to take a class or join a group at the Mullis Center?

There are two wellness classes currently taught at the Mullis Center. Balance Class, presented by San Juan Physical Therapy, is held on Wednesdays from 1 – 2 pm. (Suggested donation of $5 members, $7 non-members, all are welcome regardless of ability to pay). Chair Yoga, taught by Katrina Wen, is taught on Tuesdays from 1 – 2 pm. “everything is easy to learn and you will leave feeling taller and exuberant” (note: no Chair Yoga on September 3, class resumes September 10, $6 members, $7 non-members, $8 drop-ins).  There may also be a new Chi Gong class later this fall.

Have you always wanted to know how to play Mahjong? The Mahjong group meets at the Mullis Center on Wednesdays from 12:30 – 4:00 pm. Players have offered to meet individually with newcomers to the game to help get them up to speed. Would you like a game of Bridge? The Party Bridge group meets on Mondays and Wednesdays at 1:00 pm. and welcomes new players. If you play Pinochle get in touch. There is growing interest for a Pinochle group. The possibilities are endless. Fun Friday Bingo, a game following lunch on certain Fridays, will resume later, in October. A few volunteers would be welcome to keep this fun tradition going. Continue Reading

In collaboration with the San Juan Island Fall Farm Tour (https://islandgrownsj.com/), Friday Harbor Film Festival will screen Dirt Rich at 6:30 pm on September 20 at Brickworks. Marcelina Cravat, the film’s director, will lead a lively post-show discussion. Admission is free. Donations will be accepted to support SJI Farm Tours. A pre-show social will begin at 6 pm with refreshments available for purchase.

Dirt Rich explores strategies that re-stabilize atmospheric carbon levels and revitalize the soil in an effort to reverse the effects of runaway global warming and to protect life as we know it. The film inspires the viewer to discover that through the return of carbon to the soil, we solve two of the most challenging environmental issues of the day.

It explores and endorses a variety of geo-therapy strategies — such as regenerative agricultural practices, reforestation of abandoned land, and the protection and restoration of carbon-rich wetlands and keystone species – all of which will help return our atmosphere to safe carbon levels. And in the process, one of our fragile earth’s most precious resources, its soil, will be protected.

The trailer for the film can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/255968372.

The 2019 Friday Harbor Film Festival program is available at the FHFF office (10 First St., Friday Harbor) and on the Washington State ferries.  Full information about the Festival can be found at FHFF.org.

League of Women Voters to host health care forum

John Geyman M.D. – Contributed Photo

The next League of Women Voters of the San Juans meeting will offer islanders a fresh look at what to expect as health care options change.   

The event titled “Update on Health Care: Two Points of View,” will be held from noon-2 p.m., Monday, September 9th at the San Juan Island Library meeting room.

Varied perspectives and new information will be presented by John Geyman, local author and professor emeritus of family medicine at the University of Washington, and Jennie Noskoff, development director of Mount Baker Planned Parenthood.

A Q&A will be included in the free, open meeting. Visit  www.Facebook.com/lwvSanJuans for more information.

In the SJ Update mailbag today we have this letter from the library…

San Juan Island Library Calls for Macmillan to Reverse Library eBook Embargo

On July 25, Macmillan Publishing announced it would become the only major (Big 5) publisher to limit eBook lending for U.S. libraries. Under its new licensing model, scheduled to begin November 1, 2019, a library may purchase one copy upon release of a new title in eBook format, after which the publisher will impose an eight-week embargo on additional copies of that title sold to libraries.

As American Library Association (ALA) President Wanda Brown asserted that same day, “Macmillan Publishers’ new model for library eBook lending will make it difficult for libraries to fulfill our central mission: ensuring access to information for all. Macmillan’s new policy is unacceptable.”

And Public Library Association (PLA) President Ramiro Salazar stated, “Access to digital content in libraries is more than a financial issue: it is an equity issue. We encourage Macmillan Publishers to reverse course before libraries and the people they serve are harmed.” Continue Reading

Zylstra Lake – Tim Dustrude photo

The San Juan County Land Bank and San Juan Preservation Trust board members and staff are hosting another open house at the preserve where you can walk the preserve, hear what we’ve learned from our ecological assessments – including wildlife, wetlands, and water quality – AND share your vision!

Saturday, September 7th from 10am to 4pm.

Directions: From Friday Harbor, take San Juan Valley Road for just over three miles. Look for event signs alerting you to the turn onto the property.

Please call Tanja Williamson at 360-378-4402 or email [email protected] for more information.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to purchase locally grown wildflowers native to San Juan County! The Land Bank is hosting three sales in September featuring native plants produced by the Salish Seeds Project. Nursery gates will open to the public September 8^th on San Juan Island, with pop-up sales Sept. 21 on Lopez and Sept. 28 on Orcas.  

Many of the plants offered are hard to obtain commercially and are uncommon even in the wild. Most are showy, great for native pollinators, and drought-tolerant. Sale offerings will include harsh Indian paintbrush, camas bulbs, Canada goldenrod, Henderson’s checkermallow, and many more.

Visit the Land Bank’s website for a complete list of species, descriptions, and prices. Plant prices offset production costs and do not generate a profit. Quantities are limited so on-time arrival is recommended for the best selection.  

Native Plant Sales Dates:

• San Juan Island – Sunday, Sept. 8, 12 – 2 pm, Red Mill Farm, 290 Valley Farms Rd.
• Lopez Island – Saturday, Sept. 21, 12 – 2 pm, Sunset Hardware
• Orcas Island – Saturday, Sept. 28, 12 – 2 pm, Coffelt Farm

The Salish Seeds Project is dedicated to restoring native wildflowers and grasses in the San Juan Islands. Plants and seeds are produced at a nursery located at Red Mill Farm in San Juan Valley. In a fruitful partnership, The San Juan Preservation Trust owns the property and the Land Bank runs the nursery. 

For more information, visit https://sjclandbank.org/the-salish-seed-project/ or contact the Land Bank at 360-378-4402.

Whatcom Dahlia Society Show and Garden Spot Nursery

Dahlias are easy to grow. There is a huge range of colors and forms and they can be enjoyed in abundance from mid-July until the first frost. They come in all colors of the Rainbow and are FUN!

The Annual Dahlia Show, open to the public and free of charge, is hosted by the Whatcom County Dahlia Society growers. According to Bloomquist, at the show’s peak (and before there were issues related to crossing the border), there were more than 3,000 entries, “but now averages about 1,600 entries.” It is mandatory that all flowers include and show a set of leaves so that the judges can gauge the overall health of the plant among a full page of rules.

After lunch we will visit the Garden Spot Nursery. There we will be greeted by smiling faces ready to help us with whatever needs we may have. If you have a particular plant in mind or a gardening question, the team is there to help you. There will be plant ideas that will complement the plants you already have or suggestions for that difficult area in your garden.

• Date: September 7, 2019
• Time: Eastbound Ferry 8:05 AM * Westbound 8:20 PM
• Cost: $55 – Transportation includes ferry ticket
  The cost Does NOT include food or the driver gratuity

San Juan Island Garden Club web site
Dahlia Society web site 
Garden Spot web site

Reservations are required prior to September 1, 2019

To register contact:
Kathie Forsyth 360-378-5071
or Vonnie Harold 360-298-0859

Story by Louise Dustrude

The library booth at the Fair was the scene of some photographic shenanigans for four days last week. Beth Helstien, the library’s outreach and volunteer coordinator, snapped photos of fairgoers and then used the Green Screen Wizard app to fit their faces into pictures on the covers of well known books.

“The finished images are fantastic — some are as cute as a bug in a rug and others are delightfully creepy,” Beth wrote in an email on Monday.

Here are a few examples (you decide which are which):

Bill Cumming as Mick Jagger on the cover of a biography by Philip Norman.

Tim and Shannon are on the cover of a bodice-ripper titled “When a Scot Ties the Knot” by Tessa Dare.

Alice Hurd and I appear as Jane and Elizabeth on “Pride and Prejudice,” though the facial expressions seem more suggestive of Elinor and Marianne in “Sense and Sensibility.”

Talulah Paul-Barrette is on the cover of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.”

Many of the 350 photos taken have already been picked up, but if you didn’t get yours it’s laid out for all to see on a table at the library. Come help yourself.

Asked if she will do it again next year, Beth said only, “No promises.”

Come and join the Cub Scouts!

• When: this Thursday evening 6:30 pm to 8 pm
• Where: in the basement of the American Legion Post on First Street
• Who: boys and girls grades K-5
• Why: to bond with your child in a structured and safe character building environment

Contact Unit Commissioner Eric Stone for more details at [email protected]

In the San Juan Update mailbag today we find this letter from Anna Coffelt at the Mullis Community Senior Center…

The District Committee of the Mullis Community Senior Center has worked through many challenges over the past few months and confronted concerns in our Friday Harbor community. We have come to better understand the perspectives of those we serve and have reinstated all Use Privileges to the four islanders who were cited for non-compliance with the established Mullis Center’s Code of Conduct.  

Our Committee’s purpose continues to be in service and to provide an inclusive, safe and welcoming environment for our San Juan Island seniors, and others we serve.  As we review our organizational structure, it becomes apparent that there is benefit in sharing how we are governed to do this work. Continue Reading

Skagit Valley College San Juan Center is now open for Fall Quarter registration

The Skagit Valley College San Juan Center is pleased to announce that it is open for fall Quarter admission and registration. 

Classes begin September 24. New and returning students are encouraged to contact the San Juan Center to make appointments with the Educational Planner.

Call or email to get started on your goals! Phone: (360) 378-3220. Email: [email protected]

The Town of Friday Harbor’s Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) is accepting applications through September 4, 2019, for grants to fund tourism promotion of events and activities taking place within the town in 2020. Preference will be given to those operations and activities that encourage tourists to visit during the shoulder and winter seasons. Summer activities are acceptable but should be scheduled to avoid what are recognized as high traffic weekends.

LTAC grants are awarded annually by the Town Council and are funded with the state’s Hotel Motel Tax collected on all in-town lodging stays of less than 30 days in length. Grant proposals are reviewed by the LTAC which is made up of council members, lodging owners, and community members appointed by the Mayor. The Town Council takes the LTAC’s recommendations under advisement when determining final grant awards.

Interested parties should review the Request for Proposal (RFP) and complete the LTAC Grant Application available at Town Hall, 60 Second Street, Friday Harbor, WA, and at the Town web site: www.fridayharbor.org. Applications must be submitted to Town Hall no later than 4:30 pm Wednesday, September 4, 2019.  

Spiraling Octopus by Bruce Kerwin

Exhibition currently running at San Juan Islands Museum of Art through September 16, 2019

Scientist and underwater photographer Bruce Kerwin says of his grand prize winning photo, Spiraling Octopus, “I am drawn to the free-flowing form of invertebrates beneath the Salish Sea.” For this shot, he had been shooting a Hooded Nudibranch toward the end of his dive day when a friend waved at him madly. A Giant Pacific Octopus was hunting just five feet away. Bruce got his impressive photo as the octopus coiled and uncoiled its arm.

Kelp Cathedral by Cy Scammell

This is one of the many stories that the photographers in the DEEP DIVE exhibition at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art (SJIMA) can tell. Area photographers who were 2018 winners in the SeaDoc’s Salish Sea In Focus contest are on display including the grand prizewinner and category winners.

In the galleries people comment on the incredible close up photographs and can be heard saying, “Who knew an anemone could swim?” “How in the world could anyone get this shot underwater?” “This looks like it should be in the Caribbean, not in our waters!” Continue Reading

Our featured member of the month is Petro San Juan. When we reached out to their employee, Danielle Cochran, she quickly gathered this information and current picture for our article. (And a big thank you Jim Horn for the picture below from one of his and Bob’s parties back in the late 90’s)

Lin and Pam Pearson have been the owners of Petro San Juan for 20 years, married for 25 years and contributing members of our community for over 35 years. They are known for their kind hearts and generosity. Their willingness to give their time and money has helped many community members and establishments over the years. Continue Reading

The Port of Friday Harbor is pleased to announce that the Port has entered into an agreement with Barnhill Construction Company to purchase Shipyard Cove Marina. The purchase price of $4,500,000 is based on appraised value and the agreement includes a feasibility period for the Port to conduct due diligence activities. Shipyard Cove Marina adjoins the Port’s recently acquired Albert Jensen Shipyard and Marina.

The Port of Friday Harbor Commission believes that a coordinated redevelopment of a combined Shipyard Cove Marina and Albert Jensen Marina represents an historic opportunity for the Port and the community. The combination of these two facilities allows for the creation of an expanded and more functional marine business park. Opportunities available in a coordinated redevelopment include a deep-water travel lift, an improved barge landing, and additional permanent moorage. Ancillary benefits of the acquisition include lowering the cost of planned environmental cleanup activities at the Jensen facility, the opportunity to improve local truck traffic issues, and lowering the per unit cost of adding new permanent moorage space. Continue Reading