OPALCO Members Get Year-End $$ Money Back!

Colder temperatures in 2017 brought in greater revenue than projected and, as a result, all OPALCO co-op members who paid a bill for any part of 2017 will receive a credit on their last bill in December. The average credit for residential members (based on typical energy usage) will be about $50.

Back in 2015 when warmer temperatures caused a reduction in co-op revenues, the Board put Policy 29: Rate Design into effect with an Energy Charge Adjustment. The Energy Charge Adjustment provides a variable mechanism to balance fluctuations in energy revenues, positive or negative. This year, members will get money back!

Surplus revenue, such as occurred in 2017, provides little benefit the Co-op budget for the next year and creates a larger capital credit obligation on the backs of members in 25 years. The Board would rather put the dollars in members’ hands now instead of waiting 25 years.

The 2017 margin was trending toward about $4M as the third quarter came to a close. Estimating weather (temperatures) and year-end expense, the Board decided to adjust the year-end revenue to return a portion to the membership, increase capital credit distributions to include ~45% of next year’s obligation, and create a Board Restricted Fund of ~$500K to cover unforeseen emergencies or opportunities.

If you have questions or comments about this energy charge adjustment bill credit, please join us for a live streaming event on Facebook (@OrcasPower) scheduled for 10:00 am on Tuesday, December 12th. Staff will be discussing the bill credit and answering questions.

Dr. David Gimlett M.D.

Dr. David Gimlett, a dedicated family physician for over 40 years, passed away on Sunday, November 26, 2017 in Tacoma, WA. Born in Salt Lake City, David wanted to be a physician from age five on. He worked in  hospitals during his later teens, then went on to medical education via a unique pathway: one year at Harvard, pre-med with major in English at Stanford, graduating in 1955; one year at University of Washington in organic chemistry, philosophy, and literary criticism; the following year at the University of Heidelberg in Germany in medicine; then graduating from the University of Washington with his M.D. degree in 1961. His residency training in general practice was in Tacoma hospitals.

David was a renaissance man, with broad interests ranging from science to philosophy. His major interest was in people and how to make their lives better. He was committed to working toward social justice and reform of health care through universal coverage in a single-payer Medicare for All program. We were fortunate to have him practice here on San Juan Island from 1990 to 2000, where he served as Medical Director of the Inter- Island Medical Center. We practiced together during that period, so I came to know him well as a dedicated and able physician, effective administrator, and leader toward the common good. After “retiring” for the first time, he and his wife Sherrie, moved to Edmonds, where he worked in urgent care for seven years in the Everett General Hospital system. After “retiring” again, they moved to Steilacoom, where he again worked in urgent care before finally retiring at age 80.

Over his 40 years in family medicine, Dr. Gimlett delivered some 2,000 babies while practicing broad breadth family practice based on his earlier training and ongoing continuing medical education. Patients lucky enough to have him as their physician were grateful by the hundreds for his skill and compassion in their care. He will be missed by all whose lives he touched. His legacy lives on as one who lived his entire life serving others and as a passionate activist for social justice.

Shared with the Update by Dr. John Geyman, M.D.

Dr. Jason Oost, M.D.

PeaceHealth welcomes a new emergency medicine provider to PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center:  Jason Oost, MD.  Dr. Oost earned his degree in Medicine from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He completed an Emergency Medicine Residency as well as an Ultrasound Fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon.

In addition to working at PeaceHealth Peace Island Emergency Department, Dr. Oost is the director of Ultrasound in the ED at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Washington, where he also provides emergency care to patients. Dr. Oost shares, “I desire to care for forgotten members of society who cannot get care elsewhere and those in immediate need of care.”

More information about Dr. Oost can be found using the “Find a Doc” tool at www.peacehealth.org.

Skagit Valley College to Host the 18th Annual Champions of Diversity Awards Ceremony

Skagit Valley College and Washington’s public universities are pleased to recognize young multicultural leaders from Skagit, Island, and San Juan counties at the 18th Annual Champions of Diversity awards ceremony. The celebration will take place on Wednesday December 6th from 6:30 to 8:00 pm in McIntyre Hall, located on SVC’s Mount Vernon Campus.

The evening will honor many amazing students, some of whom are the first in their family to attend college. Also attending the awards ceremony will be representatives who will award SVC scholarships: SVC Foundation, BECU, Community Action of Skagit County Latino Advisory Committee, Migrant Leaders Club, Student Success Center at SVC, North Coast Credit Union, SaviBank, Skagit Bank, Skagit Publishing, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, and Skagit Regional Health. In addition, university scholarships will be awarded by: Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, The Evergreen State College, University of Washington Seattle, University of Washington College of Engineering, Washington State University, and Western Washington University.

The Champions of Diversity awards ceremony celebrates the accomplishments of young multicultural leaders in our communities and honors them with scholarships ranging from $1,500-$10,000 from Skagit Valley College and all of Washington’s public universities.

Event sponsors this year include: Shell Puget Sound Refinery, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, BECU, Skagit Publishing, SaviBank, Skagit Regional Health, Northcoast Credit Union, Skagit Bank, Skagit County Community Auction Agency, and SVC Foundation.                    

Have you seen the new shop called “Christmas Spoken Here”? It’s a candy and gifts shop across the street past the library right where Guard Street turns right to become Beaverton Valley Road.

Inside you’ll find a very homey atmosphere and a room full of old fashioned Christmas decorations. Lots of new, vintage and refurbished ornaments, decorations, fairies, angels, figurines and stocking stuffers …all of which can be personalized for you and your family or friends.

And the candy… Continue Reading

Salish Sea Youth Ballet – Contributed photo

Salish Sea Youth Ballet presents the Friday Harbor Nutcracker on December 16th & 17th

Salish Sea Youth Ballet is proud to present the 2017 Friday Harbor Nutcracker!  San Juan Island dancers will perform The Nutcracker in an intimate tea party setting at Brickworks.  This interactive, family friendly event immerses audiences into the magical winter ballet and is sure to become a family tradition.  

Our 2017 production features new, original ballet choreography that celebrates San Juan Island and its local culture while remaining true to The Nutcracker’s classical ballet roots.

The 45 minute youth ballet performance will be followed by holiday tea and sweets, a pop up Nutcracker gift boutique, and opportunities to meet the Nutcracker characters in costume.  Performances take place at Brickworks (150 Nichols St, Friday Harbor) on Saturday, December 16th at 7:00pm and Sunday, December 17th at 2:00pm.  Tickets are $30 for adults and $25 for children 8 & under, including tea and sweets.  Purchase your tickets at www.salishseaballet.com or call (360) 298-1720.

Visiting San Juan Island for the holidays? Hotel discounts are available for Nutcracker ticket holders!

The Friday Harbor Nutcracker is sponsored in part by San Juan Propane.

Old Argyle, Watercolor – contributed by J.R.Garrett

A committee of the Writing Our History Project members and the Town of Friday Harbor Arts Commission is looking for artwork by, and stories about artist and islander Marjorie Walker.

Covered casserole – contributed by J. Campbell

If any of your readers have information, art, letters, articles about or anything that would contribute to an upcoming history installation and historylink.org essay we would love to hear from them. (We want to take photos of the artwork.) We will also be doing interviews with people who knew Marjorie or who had family members that did.

Also, we just discovered that Marjorie Walker wrote, illustrated and published a children’s book called The Great Big Ferry Boat Named Klickitat. Only 500 copies were printed. We must find a copy of this book. If anyone owns a copy or has a lead to someone who does, please contact me as soon as possible.

Calls should be directed to Sandy Strehlou, Town of Friday Harbor historic preservation coordinator, (360) 622-2037. Thank you!

King Tide reaches up to the Blockhouse at English Camp – Todd Owens photo

Help us Document King Tides this Winter

Do you have a digital camera or camera phone? If so, help local and regional researchers capture this year’s king tides!

Join Friends of the San Juans and king tide volunteers from your community and across the globe to document the year’s highest tides by taking photos of your favorite local shorelines.

A “king tide” is the highest predicted high tide of the year at a given coastal location. These highest tides occur naturally when the sun and the moon align, increasing the gravitational pull on the Earth’s oceans. This only happens one to two times per year.

By sharing your pictures you will help the community see the future. Visualizing sea level rise can help us understand future impacts and how to plan for them. Friends of the San Juans will compile and share these pictures as one part of our ongoing efforts to promote habitat friendly sea level rise adaptation throughout the islands.

King tides are predicted for the mornings of December 5th through 9th and January 3rd through 7th and volunteers are needed to capture images from across our island community. Images with some recognizable feature such as a road, unique rock or tree, a recognizable public place or building are the most effective. If possible, take a photo from the same vantage point at an average high tide or even a low tide. Send your pictures to [email protected] with information on when and where the pictures were taken.

Always remember – your safety is more important than an image, so use caution in high wave or high water events.

Click here for more information about king tides and sea level rise in the islands: http://sanjuans.org/2017/11/30/kingtides

Island Stage Left is delighted to be the recipient of a $5,000 San Juan Island Community Foundation grant to buy a small cargo trailer and update audio equipment.

This brings joy to our volunteers and crew by effectively halving the work we have to do loading, unloading and storing audience risers, lights and sound equipment between locations. Up until now we’d been dependent on a motley armada of volunteered cars and pick-ups for transport, and using our rehearsal space for storage.

This grant will ensure safe, proper storage and transport for the things we need to set up for each show, and quite possibly increase the lifespan of both our equipment and the volunteers! We are grateful to the Foundation from the bottom of our hearts and our aching backs for this wonderful gift. The total grant also includes funds to replace our twenty-year-old audio system amplifier. This past season the venerable old machine had begun to hum, squawk and complain about not being able to retire.

A debt of gratitude to all those who made this possible. Thank you all so very much!

Helen Machin-Smith
Island Stage Left Director and Co-Founder

Nana’s Holiday House opens on Friday – Contributed photo

Jeanine, Laura & Debbie are excited about the 5th year of Nana’s Holiday House. The location this year is at 275 A Street, next to Market Chef. They will be opening Friday, December 1st through the 23rd of December. Hours are 3-5 after school and 11-5 on weekends.

Nana’s Holiday house is a place for kids under 18 to shop for their families. All items are new or handmade and are $1.00 to $10.00. All proceeds go back to the community. Scholarships, school supplies, food & gas cards, swimming lessons and helping island families in need are a few of the recipients of Nana’s House profits.

There is a Parent’s “lounge” with cookies (donated from Market Chef) for parents to enjoy while their kids are shopping, tagging & getting their gifts wrapped.

For more information, to donate new or handmade items, or sign up for a shift as a store “elf”, visit the Facebook page, Nana’s Holiday House in Friday Harbor, or call Jeanine at 378-2598.

Thanks to the community’s support and the great kids with their shopping lists, a special Christmas tradition continues for our island families.

Datapalooza!
Legislators, business owners, community leaders: Join us Wednesday, December 6th from 10a-noon for an in-depth data and demographics event including lunch and great conversation! This year’s program, sponsored in part by Island Market, will feature speakers from the WWU Center for Economic & Business Research, the State of Washington and the EDC. Click here to learn more: www.sanjuansedc.org/datapalooza. Cost $19, includes brunch.

EDC Trades Training
The Board and Staff of the EDC are proud to report that our trades training initiative has been a great success this past year – thanks to YOU! Over 20 students were trained as marine technicians this past spring, and 9 students are currently attending our Construction Basics course on Orcas Island. Consider donating to this life-changing initiative: www.sanjuansedc.org/trades.

Co-working Space
Launch San Juan Islands business plan competition prizewinner Kathy Kane is doing a community survey to test the feasibility of a co-working space in Friday Harbor. Please participate here: www.surveymonkey.com/r/2PPT92Y. More information about the proposed Friday Harbor Hive co-working concept: www.facebook.com/FridayHarborHive.

This Friday kicks off the 4th Annual Friday Harbor High School Basketball “Tip Off Classic” Tournament!  Purple and Gold will be selling concessions.  Be sure to come grab a hot dog or popcorn and watch some exciting basketball this weekend!  The tournament schedule is below.

GO WOLVERINES!!

Schedule: Friday December 1^st 
(Home team in Whites listed first)

• 2:00 pm           Girls    South Whidbey vs. Wilson
• 3:45 pm           Boys    Kings vs Mariner
• 5:30 pm           Girls    Friday Harbor vs. Clallam Bay
• 7:15 pm           Boys    Friday Harbor vs. Seattle Lutheran

Schedule Saturday December 2nd
(Home team in whites determined by coaches)

• 10:00 am         Girls    Losers of games on Friday
• 11:45 am         Boys    Losers of games on Friday
• 1:30 pm           Girls    Winners of games on Friday
• 3:15 pm           Boys    Winners of games on Saturday

Saturday JV games

• 12:00pm           Girls   FH vs South Whidbey
• 1:30pm              Boys  FH vs Mount Vernon C Team

Flea & Craft Market at the Fairgrounds this Saturday!

The San Juan County Fairgrounds will host its annual Winter Flea and Craft Market this Saturday, December 2nd from 9am until 1pm. Over 35 booths with Holiday gifts, local crafts, vintage finds, and special bargains (it is a Flea Market after all) are sure to entice shoppers of all ages!

See you Saturday!

Chelo Espinoza – Photo Peggy Sue McRae

Island Senior is a regular column written for the SJ Update by Peggy Sue McRae…

On the Friday and Saturday before Thanksgiving the Mullis Center held its first ever Holiday Craft Fair. Tables of crafts and goodies lined the large dining room, well lit by the surrounding windows. I spoke with Debbie Haagensen, the center’s manager, about future possibilities. With plenty of space, she sees setting up more tables through the center of the room. Besides the holiday season Haagensen also has thoughts about a spring craft fair. At $20 per table or $30 for two spots its a low-cost opportunity for artisans.

Trenna Middleton – Photo Peggy Sue McRae

I enjoyed making the rounds, shopping and visiting with: Chelo Espinoza who was set up with her hand-crafted jewelry, Rebekah Moore with jewelry and essential oils, the wrap bracelets of Laura Hanson, Crochet Creations by Carolyn Adler, Hats by Pat Reveles, to name just a few.

Trenna Middleton sells hand crafted soaps and hemp products. She gave me a slice of her lemon soap. It is here on my desk and the smell is so delicious I keep picking it up to enjoy the scent. Trenna will have a shop open soon in Surina Business Park so keep an eye out for that. I purchased angel and snowman ornaments made by Danielle McKay using recycled materials. There were many more crafts as well as the Mullis Center’s famous cinnamon rolls and brownies.

In the center’s Craft Room, just off the main dining room, as a separate but complimentary event, the San Juan Island Garden Club was hosting a “Make Your Own Wreath” workshop with instructions and materials for creating Kokedama moss balls and wreaths.

If you are an artist or craftsperson please keep the Mullis Center in mind as a cheerful space and economic venue to sell your wares.

Raylee Miniken and Ayla Ridwan – Photo Peggy Sue McRae

Griffin Bay Bookstore presents two upcoming events:

First it’s Flight as a Lifetime Passion: Adventures, Misadventures and Lessons
 by John Geyman, M.D.

(note: click below for the 2nd event: Volcano: an A to Z)

Share John Geyman’s 58 years in the air as he talks about his book: Flight as a Lifetime Passion: Adventures, Misadventures and Lessons on Saturday, December 2, 2:00—4:00 pm. John will be at Griffin Bay Bookstore to jaw with customers and pilots, anyone with a love of flight. Don’t miss this chance to learn about John’s life outside of medicine.

John Geyman’s planes are the “low and slow” kind, including taildraggers, gliders, float planes andopen cockpit home builts. He has crossed the country east to west, flown south to Baha and from Alaska to Friday Harbor with a variety of challenges. For John, any day in the air is a great day.

John Geyman, M.D. – Contributed photo

About the Author

John Geyman, M.D. is professor emeritus of family medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, where he served as Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine from 1976 to 1990. As a family physician with over 21 years I academic medicine, he also practiced in rural communities for 13 years. He was the founding editor of The Journal of Family Practice and the editor of The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine. Since 1990 he has been involved with research and writing on health policy and health care reform.

Continue Reading

Tickets are still available for San Juan Community Theatre’s Holiday Festival 2017 THIS Saturday, December 2 at 5 pm.  SJCT’s biggest fundraiser of the year, the Festival transforms the Theatre into a winter wonderland as guests enjoy gourmet food, silent and live auctions, a surprise raffle only that night, and island entertainment.  

More than 80 silent auctions items are displayed in the Theatre’s Gubelman Theatre, thanks to the efforts of many CATS members and dozens of generous donors in the community. 

Auctioneer Jay Fiske and host Julie Hanks will call out some 20 live auction items, include rare tickets to see Hamilton in Seattle, a casita retreat to Taos, New Mexico, and several unique experiences.  Many of the live auction items are detailed on the Theatre’s website at www.sjctheatre.org.

Tickets are $100 each and include fine wine, a gourmet dinner prepared by COHO, and a special “Cake Bar”.  Contact Julie Hanks at [email protected] or her cell phone 360-317-8327 to make your reservation.