Anna Dowling M.D. – Contributed photo

Anna Dowling, M.D., has joined the staff at PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center. She will provide women’s health (gynecology) and surgical services as a visiting specialist in Friday Harbor, one day per month.

Dowling completed her medical degree at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles in 2005. Her residency in obstetrics and gynecology followed at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon. An experienced physician, Dowling takes a holistic approach to the practice of medicine and believes the human body has innate wisdom that – if nurtured – will provide well-being and longevity.

She says, “Medicine gives me a very special way to serve others when they are feeling very vulnerable. I focus not just on particular disease symptoms, but how my patients can achieve overall optimal health.” Dowling likes to blend natural remedies with Western medicine to create care plans that fit the unique situation of each woman she sees. She is a practiced surgeon with an interest in minimally invasive procedures. Continue Reading

The following is a message from the Town of Friday Harbor…

Thank you for your ongoing support of the Harbor Life Ring utilities assistance program. A special line item appears on your monthly utility bill for this purpose. Since the program launched five years ago, your generous donations have afforded relief to dozens of individuals and families experiencing temporary financial troubles.

Each November we ask that you help us with another important community need: The Friday Harbor Food Bank. The FHFB spends over $7,000 each month serving an average of 490 households. In the last year they provided over 410,000 pounds of food. The Food Bank does this entirely through community donations.

According to FHFB President and former County Sheriff Bill Cumming, your generous donations helped the food bank increase the offerings of fresh vegetables and proteins this last year. “More vegetables and proteins mean a significant improvement in healthy offerings for the community,” said Cumming. Food costs continue to rise and the Food Bank wants to keep these healthy alternatives available. With the holidays upon us, the number in need will grow even larger–making your contributions all the more appreciated. Continue Reading

Skagit Valley College (SVC) is pleased to announce that it has received national recognition as one of the best community colleges in the nation.

Washington Monthly magazine published its ranking of the Top 100 Best Two-Year Colleges for Adult Learners and SVC was named #38. This year’s recognition is the fourth national honor for SVC by Washington Monthly magazine.

The College was named among the top community colleges in 2007, 2010, and 2017.

“One of the many things that makes our College special is that we are deeply committed to equity as our framework for providing access, supporting student achievement, and strengthening community,” said SVC President Dr. Tom Keegan. “With this focus, our faculty and staff are meeting students where they are, and providing education, services, tools, and encouragement that build a sense of community, safety, and belonging.” Continue Reading

Rebecca Cook will be doing a book signing for her new children’s book “Calvin Splinter & His Splendid Splinter Ideas” on Saturday, December 1st at Island Studios from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Here’s more information on Rebecca and her new book in a previous post on the San Juan Update from last month.

Found this in the SJ Update mailbag…

Dear neighbors,

I was just duped by a very sophisticated scam that wrecked my bank account, so I wanted to get the word out there in hopes that this won’t happen to you. Here’s what happened:

I was called on my cell phone by someone claiming to be from the Chase Credit Card Fraud department. He sounded very professional and said that he was calling because they suspected fraudulent activity on my card ending in **** – (he recited the last 4 digits of my debit card).

He then read off two charges that were definitely not charges I had made, so I said no, I did not make those charges. He then acted very concerned and said they would make sure I wasn’t responsible for the charges. He just needed to verify my identity, so he was going to send a verification code to my phone. He sent the code and asked me to read it back to him, which I did.

So far, everything he did perfectly mimicked a real fraud alert call that one might get. I had no reason to be suspicious since he had my phone # and card number, and the code looked legit. After I read him the code, he said to hold while he made some notes on the account – and the the call was disconnected after a couple of minutes on hold. Continue Reading

Cynthia Burke shares this announcement about her daughter’s upcoming show…

Are you heading to New York for the holiday season? Catch one of our local graduates – off Broadway! We are hoping someday to bring this show to the SJ Community Theater.

Hanna Burke, 2007 Friday Harbor High School Graduate, will be performing her hit show for one night only – “Why is Everyone Laughing” – December 20th at 7:00 pm at Urban Stages, New York City.

After hit engagements at the Met Room, the Duplex, Don’t Tell Mama, and the Friars Club earned her a MAC Award nomination, Hanna Burke reprises — for the first time in more than a year — her tribute to the Tony-winning, Oscar-nominated actress Madeline Kahn.

Cabaret Scenes praised Hanna’s use of songs and stories “to illuminate the short—but brilliant—life and career of this extravagantly funny lady who never truly, deeply understood ‘Why is everyone laughing?’”

At Winter Rhythms, Hanna will be joined by music director Jeff Cubeta and guest performers Rachael Joyce, Adrian Rifat, and Will Anderson.

Produced by Kahn’s biographer, William V. Madison, in association with Elise Goyette.

Ratchet up your imagination with tens of thousands of LEGO parts! Build engineer-designed winter wonderland projects such as ski slopes, gondolas, snowmobiles, and bobsled tracks – let your imagination rule!

Kids get to design and build as never before and explore physics, engineering, and architecture in a supportive environment. An instructor from Seattle’s Play-Well TEKnologies will be here to organize this one-of-a-kind camp taking place at the FHHS STEM Building.

Early Fee: $106.00 expires December 20th, it will be $116.00 thereafter.

Camp will be held on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, January 2nd through 4th with the following group times:

• Ages 5-8: Introduction to STEM with LEGOs – 9:00 am-Noon
• Ages 7-12: STEM Challenge Camp with LEGOs – 1:00 to 4:00 pm

For more information or Registration call 360-378-4953, visit www.islandrec.org, or stop by our office at 580 Guard Street, 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

Editor’s note: Click on the video above from the Play-Well TEKnologies website to see the cool kinds of things they do.

Getting antsy about the Winter Flea & Craft Market at the Fairgrounds? Be sure to mark your calendars for December 1st and buzz over to the Fairgrounds this Saturday from 9am-1pm! 

The American Legion Auxiliary will have a booth serving breakfast and lunch from 8:30am to 1:00pm with proceeds going towards their scholarship fund, which is open to all seniors.  

4H will be selling baked goods, and the Class of 2019 will be selling holiday wreaths. 

We are hosting a Gingerbread House Contest (entry forms are due by Friday, November 30th at 5pm).  Gingerbread houses will be on display during the Flea & Craft Market on Saturday to get you in the holiday spirit (and you can vote for your favorite). 

Craft vendors will be selling handmade goods, such as jewelry, journals, ornaments, hand knit & crocheted items, ceramics, reusable bags, eye masks, cleaning supplies, soaps, paintings, frames & sculptures. 

Our flea market vendors will be selling household items, children’s books, clothing, accessories, furniture, antiques and collectibles.  In other words – it’s going to be a great (BIG!) Flea & Craft Market you won’t want to miss! 

For more information, please visit www.sjcfair.org or call 360-378-4310.

Come join the fun festivities out at Lime Kiln!

Santa photos, treats, tours to the top of the lighthouse and a silent auction too!

Sunday, December 9, 2018 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM

Hosted by F.O.L.K.S. (Friends Of Lime Kiln Society)

The Friday Harbor Port district will hold their regular Port Commission Meeting at 271 Front Street (in the Port meeting room, under San Juan Yacht Club), today – Wednesday, November 28, 2018 at 4:00 pm.

Click here to see the Meeting Agenda (PDF)

CORRECTION: The SJ Update has just been informed that arrival of the 2nd house has been changed to Friday at 9:30 am…

Windsor house – Contributed photo

The San Juan Community Home Trust is “Barging Ahead” with our last two houses for our Sun Rise II neighborhood, which we call the “ultimate recycling” project. Both houses will be brought ashore at Jackson Beach.

The first, “Windsor” will come in on Wednesday, November 28th at 8:30am and the second house, “Stewart” will arrive on Friday, November 30th at 9:30am. Two more houses for island families.

Stewart house – Contributed photo

This is a community event. All are welcome to join us to celebrate their arrivals. Bring coffee and something to munch on and enjoy the show.

The first house, already off it’s foundation, is “Windsor” and the second house is “Stewart”. (It will arrive without that nifty deck!)

We hope to see you there.

Cars, bikes and pedestrian on Bailer Hill Road, San Juan Island – Tim Dustrude photo

Today the SJ County Council unanimously adopted a Complete Streets ordinance that will open up the possibility of state funding to help pay for road improvements that increase the safety of bicyclists and pedestrians on our roadways, among other things.

Cars and a bicyclist on Orcas Road – Tim Dustrude photo

Someday in the future, images like these may become mere memories of what traveling on the busier San Juan County roads used to be.

So what is Complete Streets? In San Juan County, it is somewhat of a misnomer – it does NOT mean that every road in the county will be “complete”, with sidewalks and separated bike paths. In fact, most probably will not.

A bike, a car and a scooter trying to “share the road” on Fisherman Bay Road on Lopez Island – Tim Dustrude photo

What it does mean is that instead of only considering motorized vehicle traffic stats and projections when planning roads and road improvements, public works and the county council will consider all modes of transportation – motorized vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians, disabled, public transit, etc., and be better able to make informed decisions on how to improve roads for the safety and efficiency of all.

Where cost and feasibility to add biking and walking access don’t add up – no improvements will likely be made. But when it is cost effective, feasible, and there is a definite need, the new ordinance will allow funding from the State of Washington to help defer the improvement costs. Continue Reading

Emmett Carrier and Evan Foley as seen from the ROV – Contributed photo

Emmett Carrier writes to share what he’s doing for his Community Projects class at the high school…

For my community projects class at Friday Harbor High School, I worked alongside Evan Foley to do research on pollution prevention in the Port of Friday Harbor.

The ROV they used – Contributed photo

We started our project by meeting with our mentor, Dr. Derek Smith, PhD of Marine Ecology. He was very helpful throughout the project as he was a great resource for opening up our project to new possibilities. One major thing that he helped us with was finding an ROV so that we could see the pollution in the port. This is where a major factor in our project came along, Steven Roberts of Nomadic Research Labs.

Derek and Steven had talked before we met about the ROV that Steven had, the OpenROV Trident. This was a new ROV that had very great controls and an amazing 1080 pixel quality. It was very generous of Steven to share his new technology. We immediately jumped on the opportunity to work with him, and chose three different weekends to work with him at the port.

(See a video clip below.)

Continue Reading

This Sunday, December 2nd, expectant mothers are invited to move, swim and enjoy the bliss of buoyancy at SJI Fitness Club.

Meet and greet other pregnant women, connect with swimming mentors and enjoy a fun time of fitness and friendship. Think of this as an after hours pool party for pregnant women.

As an added benefit, we will help teach moms-to-be how they can be their child’s first swim instructor.

Sponsored by Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor, this event is a drop-in program, no registration required.

First Sundays, 4:00 to 5:30, December 2nd, January 6th, and February 3rd. For more information call 360-378-4953 or visit www.islandrec.org.  

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

What’s that you say? The holiday season is upon us? Fantastic. I’m bursting with joy. Bring on the carolers and eggnog. Drag a tree inside. Let’s be Merry.

Here’s the thing; I’d give up sarcasm, but that would leave interpretive dance as my only means of communication. Trust me – nobody wants that.

My name is Beau. Why don’t you just come over to the animal shelter and adopt me? Now, THAT, would make the holidays merry and bright!

Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor
994 Cattle Point Road
(360) 378-2158

Shel Bedsole – Contributed photo

Shel Bedsole, 67, passed away peacefully at home on October 12, after a short illness.  He was surrounded by his loving family, Manya Pickard, his daughter Tracy Bedsole, stepson Ebony Pickard, (Kirsten) and granddaughter Manya Pickard. He is survived by his sister Dee Polley of Boise, Idaho and nephew Shawn Surber of Boise Idaho.

Shel was born in North Carolina.  He considered himself to be “bi-coastal” as he grew up on both coasts as the son of a Navy captain.  As a young man he followed his independent spirit.  He left home in the 1960’s with his long mane of dark, curly red hair and a song in his heart! 

The Woodstock Festival helped form his lifelong love of the music of the sixties and seventies. He and his former wife Serelda and stepdaughter Charlotte escaped to a remote farm in West Virginia, where they worked the land with old style farm equipment and a team of Percheron horses. 

When they felt it was time to re-enter the world, they moved to a living history farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, with horses in tow.  He lived on the farm where he continued to work his horses in the fields and also worked as a blacksmith. 

From his father, he had learned to scuba dive at a young age and later went on to deep sea diving and underwater welding construction.  He then settled in Charlottesville, Virginia to raise his daughter Tracy and had a nice middle class life with a more traditional job for a while.  Then it was time for him to move on… Continue Reading