Orcas Rotary, a satellite of the San Juan Island Rotary Club, will sponsor a special Skagit Valley College President’s Reception with Dr. Thomas Keegan, SVC President, on Friday, March 10 Open to the public, with encouragement of students to attend, the reception will be held 4:00 to 5:30 p.m. at the Fire Station in Eastsound.

Hosted by Skagit Valley College San Juan Center and the SVC Foundation, the event will provide an opportunity for community members to learn more about how SVC serves the educational needs of the residents of the San Juans and how partnerships strengthen the community and lead to student success. The program will include remarks by Dr. Tom Keegan, President of SVC, Dr. Laura Cailloux, Vice President of SVC’s Whidbey Island Campus and Centers, and Randy Martin, Director of the San Juan Center. In addition, SJC faculty member Dr. Jill Johnson will share information about upcoming class highlights for Spring Quarter.

>> About Skagit Valley College’s San Juan Center — 

SVC’s San Juan Center began in the early 1970’s and the degree program began in 1986. While, the Center was housed in various locations in the community, it moved to its permanent home on property leased from the Port of Friday Harbor in 1996. An extension in the lower part of the building, housing the Washington State University Extension and a community room, was added in 1999. Continue Reading

Humberto Orozco, Margaret Longley and Kati English – Contributed photo

San Juan Island EMS held their annual awards banquet January 28th.

Pictured left to right the 2016 award recipients are as follows:

Humberto Orozco – San Juan County Medical Program Director’s Award & Officer of the Year

Margaret Longley – EMT of the Year

Kati English – Rookie EMT of the Year

Steve Alluise (not pictured) – Chief’s Award of the Year

Rebecca Smith and Dr. Loren Johnson were also recognized and awarded for their hard work on passing the SJI EMS Levy.

Thank you all for your hard work and dedication.

The trails and open spaces on the island are popular with both residents and visitors, but they don’t just appear out of nowhere. Where does the money come from to keep them open? What can members of the public do to help? This is the second in a series of reports by Louise Dustrude trying to answer those questions.

State Parks

Historic limekiln at Lime Kiln Point State Park. Photo by Louise Dustrude

In 2009 the state legislature, with revenues falling as a result of the economic crash, voted to cut general fund support for State Parks and instead told them to “run the parks like a business”, according to San Juan Area Manager Chris Guidotti. Chris oversees Lime Kiln Point, Moran, and Spencer Spit State Parks, plus 13 marine parks.

The Discover Pass, a vehicle access pass which costs $10 per day or $30 per year, was instituted as a way of funding State Parks. Unfortunately, sales of the pass did not fully replace the general fund money that the legislature cut. As a result, approximately 40% of State Park Staff were either laid off or had their year-round positions changed to seasonal. The remaining staff had to scramble to maintain the parks.

State Parks adopted a transformation strategy to deal with the legislative direction. The strategy focuses on finding more efficient ways of doing business as well as relying more heavily on partnerships and volunteers. It also focuses on ways to increase revenues. This has led to variable pricing for camping, higher fees and exploring other ways to generate revenue with things like cabins and “glamping.” Moran State Park on Orcas is a “pilot” for advertising in parks, according to Chris, although so far it is low-key and local.

But he asks: “How far can this go before the public loses the sense that the parks belong to us all and before many families are totally priced out of the park experience?” Continue Reading

The San Juan Islands Conservation District and Master Gardeners Foundation of SJC collaborate to bring you the annual Native Plant Sale and Expo.

This year we are offering 16 species of native trees and shrubs. Come join us!

• Refreshments
• Vendors
• Educational exhibits
• Special day-of plant sales!

Saturday March 11 from 9:00 am til noon at the Fairgrounds

Soroptimist St. Patrick’s Day Extravaganza Returns March 11

Tickets are on sale now for the annual St. Patrick’s Day Extravaganza to be held on Saturday, March 11 at the San Juan Island Yacht Club. A no host bar and auction preview opens at 5:00 p.m., followed by buffet dinner at 6:00 p.m., a dessert dash, and live auction. This popular event is the largest annual fundraiser for Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor. The Extravaganza raises money to support our local programs which include the Cancer Treatment Transportation Fund, Women’s Emergency Fund, education grants and scholarships, plus other community programs such as matching dollars for WIC recipients to use at the Farmer’s Market.

New enticements at this year’s Extravaganza are a raffle for a getaway package to La Jolla, California and trips to San Francisco and Sonoma Valley in the live auction. Other auction items are delightfully diverse, offering seasonal, handmade cocktails for your party, a Brown Island Pizza Party, an expedition to Yellow Island, and many more. There are also new offerings at the bar, featuring San Juan Distillery, Friday Harbor Brewing Company and San Juan Vineyards.

A limited number of $35 Extravaganza tickets will be sold for this traditional sell-out event. Purchase your tickets at Spa d’ Bune, the Toy Box, at our table on select dates at Marketplace, or from any Soroptimist.

Founded in 1996, the Friday Harbor club is part of Soroptimist International, a global organization that works to improve the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment. Our members join with almost 80,000 Soroptimists in about 120 countries and territories to contribute time and financial support to community-based projects benefiting women and girls.

In Friday Harbor the club raises and donates over $40,000 and thousands of volunteer hours each year to local, community projects. For more information about how Soroptimist International improves the lives of women and girls, visit www.sifri.org or find us on Facebook.

Here is another San Juan Island lifestyle video from Merri Ann Simonson.  This one offer tips about the various types of waterfront properties and the benefits and amenities of each type. 

San Juan Island Library announces a new collection of low and high tech “assistive technology” devices available to take home to try. The Aids for Better Living collection includes devices to make life a little easier for people with a wide range of functional needs or disabilities, including mobility, vision loss, hearing loss, difficulty with speaking, or difficulty handling small objects. 

Problems with seeing, speaking, hearing, memory, decreased grip strength, diminished ability to reach and bend, as well as other mobility problems can affect each of us. Sometimes it can be short term—the after effects of a surgery. Other times the issues persist for many years. Coping with these kinds of problems now might be a bit easier. The Library’s Aids for Better Living allows you to borrow assistive devices to see if they work for you. 

Persons with mobility issues might appreciate borrowing a dressing kit, a reacher for manipulating distant objects, a voice activated switch for turning off a lamp or light, and a handybar that makes getting into and out of an automobile a bit easier. There is also a kettle tipper, a utensil holder, a jar opener, and a clamp that can help with leisure activities such as knitting or model making for those with less dexterity. 

Products available for people with vision loss include jumbo playing cards, a big key computer keyboard, and CD players designed for listening to books. Various styles of magnifiers are also available. 

Hearing loss is increasingly common in our community, one of the United States counties with a large percent of the population over 65 years of age. The TV Ears system might save a marriage. There is also an amplified telephone kit and a personal amplification device. While products like this are frequently advertised, they can be expensive, and most folks want a chance to try them before making a purchase.  Continue Reading

Sam’s artwork, Baldwin piano, antique grandfather clock, mid century Danish furniture, drafting table, ping pong table, office furniture, futon, full size bed, couch, garden tools, local artist pottery, linens, kitchen, christmas items, books, indoor & outdoor plants, jewelry and lots more miscellaneous stuff.

Saturday, March 4th at 9:00 am, Rain or Shine

From Roche Harbor Road, turn right onto Davison Head and follow signs.

22 Web Street, on the corner of Web and A Streets, is the new home for FH Pet Supplies and Meat Machine Cycles

Another day and 2 more ribbon cutting ceremonies. To celebrate their move to Web Street, both Friday Harbor Pet Supplies and Meat Machine Cycles cut ribbons with the Chamber and the Town on Thursday, March 2nd. Their new location at 22 Web Street, is the building where San Juan Interiors was located before their move across the street. This building was built 40 years ago and originally housed Sollinger Floor Covering you may remember.

Cutting the ribbon at FH Pet Supplies L-R: Mayor Carrie Lacher, Becki Day, Annie Hutton, Jerry Alhadeff, Elaine Stewart, Yvonne Buijs-Mancuso, Duncan Wilson and Steve Hushebeck – Tim Dustrude photo

For Meat Machine Cycles, the Web Street address could be a bit confusing – the store front is around the corner on A Street, directly across from Lot B, next door to Roy’s Espresso. But it is a much improved location for both businesses, closer to town, easier to find and especially for Seth, much more room to work with.

Cutting the ribbon at Meat Machine Cycles – L-R: Mayor Carrie Lacher, Joy Sevier, Becki Day, Owner Seth Cox, Jerry Alhadeff, Steve Hushebeck, Yvonne Buijs-Mancuso and Duncan Wilson – Tim Dustrude photo

Shop dog – Tim Dustrude photo

Annie and Elaine are very excited about the new location and hope to have their custom artwork which was painted by local artist Bob Von Plowman installed on the exterior walls soon. In the meantime, they continue to offer all the stuff they had at their previous location including personal shopping assistants like this one at right who can vouch for the quality of products you may be interested in.

Seth is pretty stoked about all the elbow room – he has a showroom in front for bike sales and rentals, a workshop for bike repairs, and behind that a storeroom for all the stuff that needs to be tucked away.

Seth Cox of Meat Machine Cycles in the bike repair workshop – Tim Dustrude photo

Friday Harbor Baseball and Softball Association is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2017 season! Spread the word!! Go to www.FHBSA.org to register for Baseball, Softball, T-Ball and/or Rookies. Options are available for Grades K-8.  

And – Early registration will get your child a free pair of baseball/softball pants. (Early registration ends on March 10th). Registration for all levels ends on March 24th. If you are interested in coaching or being an umpire, please contact Morgan Johnston: [email protected]

Proud mom Cynthia Burke shares some happy news from her daughter Hanna…

Hanna Burke wrote, produced, directed and starred in her show based on Madeline Kahn’s life.  The one hour show is a mixture of stories & songs from Madeline’s life and career and Hanna has been performing the show in New York over the last 6 months.  

Hanna has chosen to donate all the profits of the show to Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance OCRFA in honor of Madeline who passed away at a young age from Ovarian Cancer.  I am so happy that her work has been recognized and she has been nominated for this award –

From Hanna:
I am THRILLED to announce that “Why is Everyone Laughing?” A Tribute to MADELINE KAHN has been nominated for a 2017 MAC Award for Best Female Debut!
THANK YOU to the MAC Members who voted and to everyone who came and supported the show! I am so grateful for all of the love and recognition!

Congratulations to all of the MAC nominees! Looking forward to seeing you all on the big night! Award ceremony will be in New York on March 28th!

Charles Goodman Lecture – Photo Peggy Sue McRae

Peggy Sue McRae shares what she learned at a recent Mullis Center lecture…

A convivial group of more than 20 people gathered at the Mullis Center to attend the lecture, Growing Younger in the Third Age of Life, about Ayurveda and the aging process. Charles Goodman, MA has been practicing and teaching Ayurvedic medicine for 30 years and has a private practice here on San Juan Island. Ayurveda he explained, means Ayur, (life) and Veda (knowledge) and is a healthcare system developed in India thousands of years ago. I went to the lecture thinking I would like to come away from it with a few simple things I could incorporate into my life to, if not “grow younger” at least add some grace and well being to my own aging process.

Goodman introduced us to the three Doshas, biological energies or mind-body types relating to the elements. Each person is made up of all three types with one type being dominant. If you are unwell your doshas will be out of balance but you can bring them back into balance by making simple changes to your diet and lifestyle. Kapha dosha relates to the elements water and earth and is strongest during childhood. Kapha relates to congestive diseases. Think of that kid with the constant runny nose. Pitta dosha relates to water and fire and is strongest during the reproductive years. Pitta relates to the intellect and is associated with inflammatory illnesses like fevers or rashes. Vata dosha, the third dosha, relates to the elements air and space, post reproductive age, creativity and degenerative diseases such as arthritis and dementia.

Because Vata increases with age, diet and lifestyle practices that temper Vata can help keep you feeling younger. Goodman recommended slow weight bearing exercise, yoga and slow breathing. Of the herbs recommended, garlic and ginger seemed like something I would enjoy making a point to include more often in my diet.

Hatha Yoga 19th Century Punjab

It has been two weeks now since the lecture. I’ve been enjoying the garlic and ginger. “Meditation” he said “is the most important thing you can do” so I decided it was time to bring meditation back into my life. I set a low bar of 10 minutes a day. Even with the bar that low I’m finding it surprisingly difficult to set aside the time to do absolutely nothing for 10 minutes yet most days I’ve managed to sit still and watch the circus in my head. I’ve been doing yoga too. Do I feel younger? Maybe not yet but I don’t think you can go wrong adding garlic, ginger, and yoga to your life.

The San Juan Island Fire Department, in conjunction with the Washington Department of Natural Resources (WA DNR), is offering the 2017 Firewise Communities Chipper Program. Any Firewise community will be able to rent the chipper, free of charge except for gas, from March 1 through May 26. All other fees are paid by the department and a grant from WA DNR. 

The Firewise program, created by the National Fire Protection Association, encourages local communities and homeowners to work collectively and individually to protect their homes from the risk of wildfire. San Juan Island Fire supports this program as a way to reduce the chance of home ignitions and increase firefighter safety in the event of a major wildland fire on the island. 

By reducing fuels within 30’ of your home and removing “ladder fuels,” branches and brush that would allow a fire to move from the ground up into the tree canopy, your are one step closer to protecting your home in the event of fire. Other ways to make you home “Firewise” include cleaning your gutters and properly storing fire wood. Tips may be found at www.firewise.org.

If you are a recognized Firewise community and are interested in using the chipper to clean up your properties, contact Harbor Rental & Saw Shop at 378-2220 to arrange the rental. 

Participants are asked to inform the fire department of how many hours they spend on the project; these hours may also be used toward completing their Community’s 2017 Firewise renewal. 

For more information about the chipper program or joining Firewise, contact Ron Garner at rggarner [@] centurytel.net or 378-7722.

The Housing Puzzle: How We Can Put Together a Solution
League of Women Voters presents a public forum on Monday, March 13 at noon at the Friday Harbor Grange

The League of Women Voters of the San Juans (LWVSJ) will host an affordable housing panel presentation and public discussion on Monday, March 13. Panelists are Friday Harbor Mayor Carrie Lacher, County Housing and Community Services Department Director Mark Tompkins, Community Development Department Director Erika Shook and County Councilmember Rick Hughes.

All San Juan County residents are affected by our lack of affordable housing. Employers, workers, government, public and social services are all stressed by the housing problem. We risk damaging our quality of life and the fabric of our community unless we find solutions.

The League is committed to exploring what steps we can take as a community to make sure safe and affordable housing is available for all the individuals and families who call our islands home.

The program is scheduled for noon to 2 p.m. at the Friday Harbor Grange. Everyone is welcome. The program is scheduled to accommodate inter-island ferry travel. The Grange is three blocks from the Friday Harbor ferry landing.

The League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. For further information, visit www.lwvwa.org.

We all experience grief and emotional loss, but that does not make it any easier. Loss can cause ongoing pain that is difficult to break free from. However, you can take specific actions to help the healing process.

Registration is now open for Hospice of San Juan’s 2017 Grief Support Group, facilitated by Rosa Blair. Rosa, a counselor and grief support specialist, offers this group at no charge through Hospice of San Juan.

Tuesdays, March 14th through May 2nd – 6:00 – 7:30 pm

Please contact Rosa to sign up – space is limited. (360) 298-0811
wiseselfcounseling [@] gmail.com