United Way of San Juan County is seeking a temporary/part-time coordinator for an education program. 5 to 7 hours per week, $15.00/hr. Background check required.

Please email unitedwaysjc [@] rockisland.com for more information.

Setting up the RESIST group – Lodie Budwill photo

Judy Chovan shares some thoughts and thanks for the gathering at American Camp last Thursday…

On Thursday, 02 February 2017, 150+ people came together at American Camp, San Juan Island National Historical Park to create a human sign to spell out our commitment to RESIST the dangerous and misguided environmental policies of the current administration.

In Judy’s words:

I want to thank the 150+ islanders who came out today to San Juan Island National Historic Park take a stand for the planet. We came together to spell out RESIST. Our camera was not quite aligned to capture it perfectly, but thank you all from the bottom of my heart. You rock and our hope for the future of our planet.

RESIST at American Camp – Bob Stavers photo

2016 High School Projects at the Fairgrounds were a great success!

The San Juan County Fairgrounds would like to give a special thank you and HUGE round of applause to four Friday Harbor High School students who took the initiative to design, fundraise, and complete three projects for the Fair and Fairgrounds!

• Dustin Rowher – Benches for Events and the Fair
• Claudio Ochoa-Garcia – Recycle bins and informational signage
• Alen Melic & Finn Cullen – Landscaping along the Argyle Avenue fence line

The San Juan County Fair & Fairgrounds staff and Fair Board are grateful for these projects and the continued support of our communities adult and youth members.

Island Rec – American Red Cross Lifeguarding Course

Registration is now open for the American Red Cross Lifeguarding Course offered by Island Rec and held at San Juan Island Fitness. If you need a renewal or are thinking about that summer job at the pool, now is the time to get signed up. Classes will be held Sundays, March 5- April 9^th for ages 15 and up.

For non-pool members, the class fee is $230, which includes access to the pool for the month of the course as well as a few weeks prior for practice in the pool. If you are already a pool member there is an $80 discount. 5 people must be registered by the early registration deadline, February 23. Register at the Island Rec office Monday – Friday 11am-5pm or online at www.islandrec.org.

It’s February now and as eager as we may be for spring, whether the groundhog sees his shadow or not, we still have a bit of winter to get through. I’m not saying this to depress you but to introduce you to the Danish concept of hygge. Pronounced “hoo-guh” or “hooga” the term hygge has no direct translation to English but it relates to coziness, conviviality, and comfort and comes from the same Norse root word as “hug”.

cinnamon roll

The Danes, known for being among the happiest people in the world, have developed ways to enjoy their long dark winters. They make sure to spend relaxed time among friends and loved ones enjoying simple cozy pleasures. Coming to the Pancake Breakfast at the Mullis Center this Sunday (Feb 5) with a friend would be a “hygge” thing to do. Those awesome cinnamon rolls are especially hygge. Joining the knitting or quilting groups, taking in some chair yoga, or just getting cozy in the library with a good book is all in the hygge mode.

While the Mullis Center offers a variety of way to enjoy the hygge life you can also get hygge at home. A crackling fire will create a cozy mood. I love the lava lamp that brings cheer to the long dark winter nights in my woodsy cabin. Lighting candles and putting on warm wooly socks might be the quickest route to the hygge experience. A hot cup of cocoa or a stout beer and a purring cat also fit the bill. The key is to get cozy and relax… Soon enough, spring will come.

Lava Lamp – Photo Peggy Sue McRae

To explore hygge further:
From The New Yorker: The Year of hygge, the Danish Obsession with Getty Cozy
From Visit Denmark: The Art of Danish Hygge

Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in No Man’s Land – Johan Persson photo

Following their hit run on Broadway, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart return to the West End stage in London in  National Theatre Live’s No Man’s Land, screened at San Juan Community Theatre THIS Friday, February 3 at 7:00 pm.

Harold Pinter’s comic classic takes us to a summer evening when two ageing writers, Hirst and Spooner, meet in a Hampstead pub and continue their drinking into the night at Hirst’s stately house nearby.  As the pair become increasingly inebriated, and their stories increasingly unbelievable, the lively conversation soon turns into a revealing power game, further complicated by the return home of two sinister younger men.

Tickets for No Man’s Land are available online at www.sjctheatre.org or at the SJCT Box Office (378-3210), open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 am to 4 pm and Saturdays from 11 am to 2 pm.

Safe Harbor Insurance is hosting a diaper drive to benefit the Family Resource Center, and we need your help spreading the word! The FRC is in need of disposable diapers and Pull-Ups of all sizes. We’re collecting them at the Safe Harbor office, 772 Mullis St., now through the end of March.

A similar image from Acadia National Park – Contributed photo

Here’s an invitation from Judy Chovan…

We are gathering at 3:30 this Thursday, February 2nd at American Camp HQ to walk out to Golden Point. We plan to spell out “RESIST” in human letters.

We need lots of bodies. The more bodies – the bigger the letters. We hope to have huuuuge letters. Bob is going to be positioned across Eagle Cove and will take photographs. I hope to submit it to AltNPS and the Journal, Update, Islander, Pantsuit Nation, etc.

Please be prompt as it will take a few minutes to walk out there and we will lose the lighting quickly. It should not take more than an hour.

If you can, dress in bright colors – but avoid green. Clothes that you would be comfortable lying in the grass.

If you have other interested friends, neighbors, islanders – please share this email with them. We are all in this together. 

Sorry for the short notice. Thursday is supposed to be sunny – Friday rain/snow.

Questions? 378-0815 or 317-5838.

Judy

Work for Bakery San Juan!

Bakery San Juan currently has positions available for pizza makers. We have part-time or full-time positions available. Please contact Mark Sheppard or Lizette Mora at 378-5810 or at the bakery directly.

Left to right: Edna Nash, Beryl Wade, Jack Saoka, John Nash, and Yuki Saoka – SJ Historical Museum photo

This is the February edition of the history column by the San Juan Historical Museum…

This month marks the 75th anniversary of President Roosevelt’s Executive Order 9066, which he signed on February 19, 1942. In response to the World War II bombing of Pearl Harbor by Japan, it authorized the forced evacuation and relocation of persons of Japanese ancestry. It was expulsion and imprisonment. Nearly 13,000 adults and children from Washington State and 110,000 from the U.S. West Coast were imprisoned. Two thirds were U.S. citizens.

On San Juan Island, two local couples were ordered to be relocated. Hajime and Yoshi Uyetsuka were imprisoned at the Tule Lake Relocation Center in California while Jack and Yuki Saoka were sent to Camp Minidoka in Idaho. They were allowed to bring only what they could carry.

It is the Saokas we know the most about. Jack was born in Japan in 1888 as Koheiji Saoka. He had lived on San Juan Island for 25 years, ever since 1917 when he arrived with his wife Fuji and their young daughter Fumiko. Continue Reading

Tickets are on sale for Island Rec’s 12th Annual Father Daughter Dance – a special occasion for girls of all ages to get dressed up and spend quality time with their dads, granddads, or other male role-models.   Treat your darling daughters to a special night out with music, dancing, and delicious appetizers & desserts! Girls receive a free charm and a keepsake photo.

The fun happens Friday, February 10th, from 7-9pm at the Mullis Center. Tickets are $25 per couple in advance and can be purchased at Island Rec’s office or online at www.islandrec.org. Get your tickets now as the price jumps to $30 at the door. Scholarships are available. Sponsored by Vinny’s Ristorante, Market Place, and Soroptomists of Friday Harbor. For more information call 378-4953 or drop by the office 580 Guard St. Monday – Friday 11am-5pm.

Dr. Jerry Whitfield, OPALCO Board Vice President – Contributed photo

Whitfield Recognized For Innovation With Pellet Stove

OPALCO Board Vice President, inventor and former Boeing Engineer Dr. Jerry Whitfield of Shaw Island was recognized for his development of the highly efficient Pellet Stove, which burns compressed wood or biomass pellets.

He was recognized in Seattle Magazine’s 2016 list of “Top Essential Innovations that Seattle Gave the World.”

Congratulations, Dr. Whitfield!

EDC offers free workshop on Cybersecurity for Business

Cybersecurity is not just for large businesses: Small and mid-sized businesses are targeted just as frequently by cyber-crooks. Join the San Juan County Economic Development Council for a FREE workshop on the topic of Cybersecurity for Business, on February 8th from 9:15-10:15 a.m. on Orcas Island, sponsored by Island Market. Advance registration is required.

Noted management consultant and author Mike Sanders will provide important tips to work more securely on the Internet and to protect your company’s valuable information and financial assets against online fraud and other cybercrimes. Topics will include creating better passwords, protection of data including customer data, identifying phishing, spotting cyber criminals online, basic cyber-protection and discussion of the evolvement and types of cybercrimes. The hour includes a fun quiz and an open discussion at the end.

Details: Orcas Island, Wednesday, February 8th from 9:15-10:15 a.m. downstairs at Russell’s Landing on Orcas Island (next to the ferry dock). Free workshop – advance registration is required: https://orcascybersecurity.eventbrite.com. Questions? 360-378-2906, or email: [email protected].

The EDC thanks Island Market, San Juan County government, our ports, the Town of Friday Harbor, Heritage Bank, Islanders Bank and the Department of Commerce for their support of this workshop.

The San Juan County Economic Development Council (EDC) strives to strengthen and diversify the economy of San Juan County. We believe a strong economy builds a strong community. The EDC works to build an environment that helps business owners create jobs. We serve business: linking organizations and resources, providing valuable information, rendering assistance and advocating for an improved island business environment.

High turnout at recent LWVSJ meeting – Contributed photo

The San Juan County League of Women Voters membership and interested community members met on Monday January 9th to plan upcoming educational programs for the coming year. There was an exceptionally high turnout for this meeting and the discussion was interesting and very productive. In addition to planning for our local chapter, the task was also to give feed back to the state organization about what we would like to see them take up this year.

Inasmuch as the League is a grassroots organization, priorities for its work are set starting at the local unit level, then funneled to the state from units across the state, or to the national organization from across the country. State and National boards collate the information and determine a proposed set of priorities which are then submitted to the annual convention for acceptance or rejection. Priorities and ideas are given from across the political spectrum and consensus is reached about what the League takes up in a given biennium.

Our local League Unit seldom has enough members willing to participate in an active way in projects at the state level. We do, however, always have something to say. We suggested that the State establish priorities to include Adequately funding education as required by the McCleary Decision; Looking into what can be done about the ACA, now that it is likely to be defunded; Continuing to be vigilant about the threat of proposed oil tanker traffic through the Salish Sea. Continue Reading

“Stacked Swans”, a photo by John Miller

Local wildlife photographer John Miller checks in again with this recent photo of swans at Skagit Flats. Here he is with the details…

This is a shot I captured this morning at sunrise on the Skaget flats. I call it “Stacked Swans”
Tech info – Nikon D500 w/200mm f2, shot @ f2.8, 1/1000 sec and 100 ISO

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

Next week, the Palace Theatre will be showing The Eagle Huntress, a beautiful film about a young Mongolian (Kazakh) girl who wishes to follow her family’s heritage and become an eagle hunter. While there are questions about some of the movie’s assumptions (e.g. she is definitely not the first female to do this), the main character is totally charming, the filming spectacular (using drones and GoPro cameras) and the scenery wonderful. I heartily recommend you see it next week.

I had considered including this film in our Tuesday Night at the Movies this summer but since The Palace is showing it we will be able to include another film. The selection of this year’s films is coming along nicely and as soon as permission is received to show them, I’ll send out the list.

Hope everyone is enjoying the off season. Please let people know about our Series and suggest they send me an email. I will then add them to the distribution list. The larger the attendance, the more likely we can show the highest quality films. Also, should you wish to longer receive our emails, let me know.

Larry Soll
Film Coordinator
San Juan Community Theatre