It’s coming next weekend: Amy Carroll, well known caller from Seattle, will be our caller, with music provided by “Forrest Carroll and Friends” – Forrest Carroll on fiddle, Frank Blade on guitar, and Jerry Gallagher on banjo, all popular musicians from Seattle.

• What: 3rd. Saturday contra dance in Friday Harbor
• Where: San Juan Grange Hall
• When: Saturday October 20th, 7 till 9:30
• Donation: $10 at the door, $5 student

As always, all the dances will be taught, no experience is needed, no need to bring a partner, in contra dance we trade partners for each dance.

Save the Date! On November 3, between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. at Friday Harbor Chocolates.  The holidays are fast approaching, and you may already be thinking about creating your holiday menus for Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. 

With that in mind, the renown San Juan Island master baker, Felicity Milne of Cakes by Felicitations will be presenting at this event samples from an array of her imaginative and delectable seasonal desserts and Aylene Geringer of Friday Harbor Chocolates will offer complimentary tastes from her collection of imported Ports and Champagnes, specifically selected for each dessert. 

Some desserts will be available for immediate sale and holiday orders may be placed at the event.  A complimentary cordial glass will be offered to those who purchase bottles of Port or Champagne at the event. There will be a modest tasting fee of $8.00 per person. 

Reservations are encouraged.  Friday Harbor Chocolates 255 Spring Street, Friday Harbor.  (360) 370-0050.

A great example of a non eco-friendly incandescent bulb. Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

The following is a guest post from Neil Stawski with Climate Wise…

There are nearly 7 billion humans on the planet, with more being born every day. And each person comes with their own ecological footprint. When you add up the ecological footprints of 7 billion people, you begin to understand the enormous environmental effect we have on our planet.

The good news is that with our combined efforts, we can begin to turn our negative impact around and become a force for positive change. If you want to play your own part in helping our planet, here are four changes you can make to your home and community to help the environment and stop climate change.

Change Your Bulbs
Ever since Thomas Edison introduced the first light bulb, electricity has become an integral part of our homes and communities. Right now, we’re benefiting from a world that always has a light on, but at what cost? Today, the primary fuel power plants use to keep the lights on comes from burning fossil fuels. But countries like the United States continue to find better sources of renewable energy, such as solar panels.

Solar panels are becoming more and more accessible to modern households, with the average cost to install solar panels around $19,510. If adapting to solar energy is out of your price range, the next best thing you can do is reduce the amount of electricity you regularly consume. The easiest way to achieve this is by simply turning the lights off when not in use and unplugging electronics when they’re not in use. Continue Reading

We’re doing something a little different this month with our Art for Fun art pARTy… we’re painting on a tote bag!

Participants will paint their own personalized market or supply bag. This could make a great gift!

Art for Fun is a two hour, fun-filled art party set in a relaxed, interactive atmosphere. It is a great way to celebrate a birthday, share a date night, create team building or just enjoy a night out on your own. Join your friends and follow step-by-step instructions from experienced artists. Everyone paints the same thing, yet takes home his or her own unique creation.

Sunday, October 14, 2018
1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
$35 per person

Instructor: Kristen Abramson

For more information and to register, go to http://www.sjima.org.

It’s just one week until the 2018 Great Washington Shakeout earthquake drill on October 18th. You can join the growing number of islanders who are preparing for “the big one” by signing up online. It’s quick and easy to do at: http://shakeout.org/washington

So far, more than 700 people in the islands are involved. This includes school districts, fire departments, a day care, county government, local businesses, and household participants.

When you register you’ll receive Shakeout news and preparedness info, and be counted among those making preparations. The recent hurricanes in the Southeast have provided plenty of examples of the consequences of natural disasters, and the difference that preparedness makes in how communities survive.

You can help prepare your family and community by participating in the Great Washington Shakeout drill. If you have questions or would like help getting started, contact the DEM office at, 370-0587, or email [email protected]. Sign up now, and “Be Prepared, It’s The Island Way!”

For more info about the impacts of quakes and tsunamis in the islands, visit www.sanjuandem.net/quakes

Third quarter real estate report from Merri Ann Simonson at Coldwell Banker…

Merri Ann Simonson – Contributed photo

The third quarter results for San Juan Island and the County were consistent with the first and second quarter results.   Per the NWMLS, the dollar volume year-to-date on San Juan Island was $99,156,746 with a total of 181 transactions. This reflects a 12.5% decrease in the dollar volume and a 21.5% decrease in the number of transactions.

For San Juan County, the total dollar volume was $218,491,175 with a total of 392 transactions. The County had a slight gain of 1/2% in dollar volume and a decrease of 11.6% in number of transactions. I assume we will end up 2018 very similar to 2017 if we continue with the same level of activity we have been processing this last 60 days. Further, the inventory levels may have an impact on our volume in some of the pricing categories.

Continue reading (PDF)

After being on the road for two straight weeks the Friday Harbor Wolverines get to stay home tonight to take on the LaConner Braves at 6:30.  Both teams are 0-1 having lost to the Concrete Lions.

Friday Harbor faces a familiar foe in the Braves from La Conner consisting of mainly sophomores and all starters returning from the previous season. The Braves have threats in both the running game, with junior, Arjuna Adams, and in passing with junior Mason Miles. To top off the returners on offense, the Braves welcome back sophomore quarterback Brady Wyles.

The defense for the Braves is led by senior Harley Hulbert who has made it apparent during their first five games that he is in control of stopping the run game and helps in the run support. The Wolverines’ Emeron Geiser and Kyson Jackson can expect to work for every yard since the defensive line is solid.

In the passing game for Friday Harbor, Jaden Jones, Jordan Lawson and company may find extra yards in the air as passing has been the most yards allowed against the Braves.

“Friday Harbor doesn’t exactly fill the sky with footballs,” says Friday Harbor Tiny Radio play-by-play announcer Mike Martin.  He says that the Wolverines continue to work on both aspects of the offense. “The Wolverines had a hard-fought game in their loss last week to the Highline Pirates and each week they take another step forward.” Continue Reading

San Juan County Health & Community Services Issues Varicella Health Alert

A case of varicella, or “chicken pox,” has been confirmed in a school-aged child in the Lopez Island community. San Juan County Health & Community Services has alerted medical providers, and is working closely with the Lopez School District, preschools and families to investigate the varicella case, and identify others who may have been exposed.

Varicella is a highly contagious infection, and symptoms include fever, fatigue and a rash that typically progresses from the head to other parts of the body. The incubation period is 10-21 days, most commonly 14-16 days and one can be contagious from 5 days (usually 1-2 days) before onset of rash continuing until lesions have crusted over (usually about 5 days after rash onset). Siblings have a 60-100% chance of becoming infected as well. Susceptible individuals should be considered infectious for up to 21 days following an exposure.

Those most vulnerable to complications of varicella are: persons older than 15 years of age who have not been vaccinated or had the infection, newborns and infants younger than one year, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems. Complications may include severe symptoms, prolonged illness, hospitalization and death.  During pregnancy, varicella pneumonia can be particularly severe and maternal infection can lead to congenital abnormalities. Continue Reading

Susan Waters (L) and Debbie Dardanelli (R) show off some of the clothing they’re taking to Africa – Tamara Weaver photo

Tamara Weaver shares this with you…

Thanks to the community’s generous contributions, Debbie Dardanelli, Susan Waters and Francie Hansen are on their way to Nairobi, Africa, bringing with them the cutest clothes to give to orphans in need.

Then, they’ll be off to volunteer with an elephant welfare organization! Good Luck ladies!

Male Surf Scoter – Contributed photo

From Shona Aitken at Wolf Hollow…

When someone mentions visitors to the islands, most of us immediately think of crowds of people streaming off the ferries in the middle of summer. But there are also wild creatures that are only here part time. Ospreys, Turkey Vultures, swallows and many hummingbirds and warblers spend the summer here raising their youngsters, then head south in fall. Just when they’re leaving, birds such as loons, grebes and many types of ducks are arriving from their summer breeding grounds further north.

Last week at South Beach, I saw a huge flock of birds out on the water. They were mostly Surf Scoters (black ducks with big, goofy, orange and white beaks) and Horned Grebes (slender birds with long necks and pointed beaks). As I watched, they began to dive for food. One by one they disappeared till there were no birds in sight, then, a few moments later, they all bobbed back to the surface. When something disturbed them, they took off and I heard the whistling of the Scoters’ wings as they flew low across the water.

Winter may be a quieter time for human visitors, but it is a busy time for water birds. In the next few weeks, look and listen for Trumpeter Swans arriving on ponds and lakes, try to spot little black and white Bufflehead ducks, and see how many loons you can count out on the bay.

The San Juan County Master Gardeners are pleased to welcome Craig Cogger, WSU Soil Scientist Emeritus, and Everett Chu, Owner of Azusa Farm and Gardens LLC, Certified Professional Horticulturist and Landscape Designer, to the Annual Gardening Workshop.

Dr. Cogger will discuss “Assessing and Amending Your Garden Soil,” with guidelines for testing, fertilization and organic amendments. Learn how to do a backyard soil structure test to understand what type of soil you have, and how to choose fertilizers and organic amendments for a healthy soil ecosystem.

Mr. Chu will discuss the “Drought Resistant Landscape,” the advantages of a sustainable, aesthetically pleasing, drought-tolerant landscape. He will explain how to design, plant and maintain a garden that supports biodiversity, is ecologically sound and cost-effective. His presentation includes many recommendations for trees, shrubs, forbs and grasses that do well with minimal water. Continue Reading

School’s out early this Friday! SO grab your pals and come explore rigs of all shapes and sizes. Join Island Rec at FHES Playground for Touch a Truck. 11am-1pm this Friday Oct 12^th. Kiwanis will be there in their K-Boose providing free hot dogs. Don’t miss out on the raffle to win a ride to school in a patrol car.

For more information please visit our website, www.islandrec.org, call (360)378-4953, or stop by the office M-F between 11am-5pm, 580 Guard St.

The San Juan Island Garden Club presents a Spring Blooming Layered Bulb Planter class (a.k.a: Lasagne Containers II)

Spring containers can be the most rewarding plantings because they are a way to start gardening early. During this class you will create a glorious spring blooming layered bulb planter. The planter will provide flowering bulbs from very early spring well into April or May. With very little care the container will continue to bloom for several years.

• Date: November 3, 2018
• Time: 10:00 AM
• Location: Mullis Center Craft Room

Cost: $42.00 for the basic container, 5 kinds of bulbs, soil and fertilizer

Options for Classic or Premier Planters and Bulbs are available. (more info at www.sjigardenclub.weebly.com)

RSVP’s are helpful!
Contact Marguerite Bennett: [email protected] 360-378-8524
Vonnie Harold: [email protected] 360-298-0859
Kathie Forsyth: [email protected] 360-378-5071

The Joy of Gardening is Sharing

John Geyman announces the publication of his new book: TrumpCare: Lies, Broken Promises, How It Is Failing, and What Should Be Done.

He states: “Chaos now reigns in our increasingly fragmented, dysfunctional, and unfair health care system.This book intends to make
sense out of the chaos with four goals: 1) to describe what TrumpCare is, 2) to show how it is failing patients, taxpayers and the nation,
3) to describe the growing crisis in health care in this country, and 4) to compare the only two real alternatives before us – continuance of
TrumpCare or moving to single-payer Medicare for All.”

He describes how Americans can gain universal access to affordable health care, with higher quality and less bureaucracy, paying
less than we do now.

“This superb book is essential reading for anyone concerned about where health care is headed under President Trump. Dr. Geyman
meticulously documents what the administration is doing wrong, and provides a vital road map of where we need to go from here.”
– David Himmelstein, M.D. and Steffie Woolhandler, M.D., general internists, health policy experts and distinguished professors of
public health at the City University of New York.

The book is available at Griffin Bay Books in Friday Harbor, at Darvill’s Bookstore on Orcas Island and Lopez Island Bookshop.

San Juan County Department of Health and Community Services is working with Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Community Services Division (CSD), Opportunity Council, and the three local Resource Centers to host three Community Listening Forums throughout the county.

These forums come as a result of DSHS’s Economic Service Administration’s goal of decreasing poverty in half by 2025 in a way that eliminates disparities. The focus of these forums is to communicate the unique economic hardships and barriers that face San Juan County residents, and explain the systems currently in place to help alleviate these hardships.

DSHS would like to explore the following topics:

• What are the main drivers of poverty in San Juan County and is it changing?
• What are the most promising community-led programs to reduce poverty and create intergenerational opportunity? Be prepared to share specific information on how you see these programs working.
• Is there a role for the state to play in supporting your efforts? The state hopes to learn about innovative local best practices employed to promote intergenerational opportunity and develop better relationships between state policies/programs and the unique needs of local communities.

The forums will take place on San Juan, Orcas, and Lopez Islands on the following days and times:

• San Juan: Tuesday, November 6^th; 12:30-4:00 pm at the San Juan Island Grange (152 1^st Street)
• Orcas: Wednesday, November 7^th; 8:00-11:30 am at Emmanuel Episcopal Parish (242 Main St)
• Lopez: Wednesday, November 7^th; 1:30-5:00 pm at the Family Resource Center (23 Pear Tree Lane)

If you would like to attend, please RSVP by sending your name and which island forum you will be attending to: [email protected]