Erin Heydenreich shares this invitation with you…

Come shopping at Heather B Munro Yoga Studio in the Surina Business Park on Saturday, July 9th! We have tons of beautiful handcrafted items from Oaxaca, Mexico and Betina Roza Jewelry! Baskets, hammocks, clothing, textiles, bags, jewelry and more!

This is also a great time to come check out Heather’s beautiful studio and the rest of the Surina Business park gang. The brand new Hemp Seed store will be open as well as Alisha Merrick Designs. See you there!

Saturday, July 9th from 11am to 8 pm.

Edward R. Weed in 1942

On his passing, we now celebrate the life of Edward Richard Weed, devoted husband and dedicated father. Ed was born in Vancouver, BC to American parents in 1923. He was the eighth generation of his family born and raised in North America, his forbearers having arrived in the year 1630.

He joined the US Army Air Corps in 1942, served his country for 31 years, and retired with the rank of Colonel in the US Air Force. Ed was an active fighter pilot throughout his service, flying all over the world and seeing combat in WWII and Korea. During his military career he earned the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, the Soldier’s Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal, the WWII Victory Medal, and the US Air Force Distinguished Service Medal.

After retirement in 1973, Ed and his beloved wife Katie moved their large family to Friday Harbor and built a home out on San Juan Valley Road. Ed flew for San Juan Airlines for a couple years, and was a member of the school board. Once their six children were headed off on their own, Ed and Katie cruised the Salish Sea and the Inside Passage for well over 25 years in a succession of vessels from their home port in Friday Harbor.

Ed follows his wife Katie, daughter Susan, son-in-law Tony Donato, and grand-daughter Gina Donato to new beginnings. He is survived by a large and grandly extended family, including his daughter Wendy (with Burt Gershater, their children Jennie, Mat, and Jessie, and their grandchildren Livi and Izun), his daughter Karen (with her children Lily and Ethan), his son David (with Lani Momeyer and their niece Natalie Donato), his daughter Lisa (with Steve Lahmann), and his daughter Rebecca (with her children Audrey and Terren).

The waterfront side of the new Downriggers building – SJ Update photo

It seems it will be near the end of August before Downriggers Restaurant opens in their new location at Spring Street Landing, however there are 3 businesses downstairs that are open already and have been for about a week or so.

Geneva and Brian at San Juan Safaris – SJ Update photo

San Juan Safaris / San Juan Outfitters is moved in and has added a coffee & snack bar, “Riptide Coffee” in addition to their Whale Watching and Kayak Touring businesses.

Shelby and KK at Riptide Coffee look like they’re pretty happy to work at a an espresso bar with one of the best views around – SJ Update photo

San Juan Excursions is moved in and has partially filled up their new space with Jenn Rigg’s beautiful shirt designs in addition to booking tours. They’ll still be in their current location on Spring Street as well, and so will have 2 locations.

Emma Jean is ready to serve you at San Juan Excursions – SJ Update photo

San Juan Island Whale & Wildlife Tours (aka Blackfish Charters) is partially moved in. Still a work in progress is the “Blackfish Cafe” which should be open by the end of the month. Hobbes says what they’ll be offering:

“We will be selling sweet and savory crepes, sandwiches, ice cream and of course Tea and Crumpets, scones and jam along with Petes coffee!”

Hobbes is also working on “The Blackfish Bistro” where Steps used to be, and we will have more info on that soon.

That’s Casey behind the counter at Blackfish Charters, or San Juan Island Whale and Wildlife Tours – SJ Update photo

Pop on down there and check them out. And see the progress on the waterfront walkway out front. When finished it will be a great stroll.

This just popped into the SJ Update mailbag today. Take a look…

Hello San Juan Update,

I thought you might be interested in FerryTail.com, our new website that allows owners of expiring ferry passes to post them online for sale.

We were featured on the channel 7 Kiro news last week, and are on the front page of the Kitsap Sun, Bainbridge Islander and Vashon Loop.

Here is a link to a recent article written by Ed Friedrich of the Kitsap Sun.

Best –
Robin Kallas
President and founder
FerryTail.com
Ferry Tail LLC

Amanda Smith teaches acting – Contributed photo

Spots are still available for The Actor’s Toolbox, a two-week Theatre Arts for Kids workshop led by Amanda Smith at San Juan Community Theatre. It starts Monday, July 11 with classes Monday through Friday from 3 to 5 pm at the Theatre.

Youth ages 12 to 18 will discover the tools of the actor; namely the body, the voice, and the imagination.

Registration at the box office is required; $125, with limited scholarships available.

The SJCT box office is open Tuesday through Friday from 11 am 4 pm and Saturday from 11 am to 2 pm.

Aiyanna O’Prussack, winner of the youth play pack – Contributed photo

How can Islanders save 77 Million Gallons of Water this Year?
By Lauren Platman, Friends of the San Juans

With summer underway, some islanders are already feeling the heat – and the drought. Some wells are already being starved of fresh water, which makes the rainy autumn season seem a long way off. As climate change affects our region, including our water tables, adopting climate resilient strategies for a sustainable future is critical.

Islanders can do their part by conserving resources – from water, to food, to energy. This April many islanders did just that, joining Friends in doing “Just One” earth friendly activity a day, to see how making simple changes can add up to significant resource conservation.

Over 50 islanders, including students, took on the Earth Month challenge in April to help make the San Juan Islands a healthy, resilient, and thriving community. Citizens tracked their actions, and Friends quantified the results. By doing things like walking instead of driving, taking shorter showers, shopping locally, replacing red meat with vegetables or chicken, and unplugging electrical strips when not in use, participants led the way in making our Island community more sustainable. This exercise revealed that large changes begin with small actions that, when shared across a community can have dramatic effects.

Extrapolating the Results:

• Islanders shortened their showers to 5 minutes or less 153 times, saving roughly 1,009 gallons of water. If all 16,000 islanders take 5-minute showers instead of the average 11 minutes, the island community would save roughly 77 million gallons of water per year, resulting in fuller aquifers and wells year round.
• Islanders made 214 trips by foot or bike instead of by car. If 1 out 10 people switched to an alternative form of transportation, CO2 emissions would drop by 25.4 million tons per year.
• Islanders substituted chicken, fish, and veggies for beef 259 times. If all US citizens chose a vegetarian diet – it would be equivalent to removing 46 million cars from the road.
• Islanders shopped locally 112 times. If every family in the Mount Vernon metro area spent $10 a month at a local store $3,632,261 would feed back into the community.

Several Earth-month participants were randomly selected and awarded prizes for their effort. Chuck and Rita O’Clair of San Juan Island won dinner to Mike’s Café and Wine Bar and to Aiyanna O’Prussack won a youth play pack. “We applaud these community heroes for leading the way toward sustainability,” stated Stephanie Buffum, Executive Director of Friends.

To learn more about Friends of the San Juans, visit www.sanjuans.org or call 360-378-2319.

From the San Juan Update mailbag…

Dear Editor,

We all look forward to summer, but it’s easy to forget that it can be a time of stress for young families. Many parents are working long hours while school is out and their childcare options may be limited.

United Way of San Juan County recognizes the importance of providing safe, structured activities for children and working parents in our community during the summer months. United Way’s support of our Youth Mentoring Program enables school-aged kids – mostly from single-parent families – to be paired one-on-one with an adult mentor. Together, Mentor and Mentee meet weekly to do everything from hiking to summer reading, as well as getting involved in wonderful 4-H activities.

Likewise, United Way funding enables our center to offer free parent-child playgroups four mornings a week through our Family Support Program, providing valuable time for new parents (and grandparents!) to connect with one another while their infants and preschoolers build social skills through cooperative play and group activities. It’s a terrific way for families to stay connected even when schools are closed for the summer.

We encourage community members to support United Way of San Juan County and the efforts they make to ensure that local families have access to active, healthy summer activities.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Armstrong and Staff
SJI Family Resource Center

You are invited to listen to a presentation by D. David Brown Interim Executive Director of Cultural Access Washington on July 8th.

The meeting will be held from noon – 1:30 in the Legislative Hearing Room of the County Council Offices (55 Second Street across from the County Court House). The time has been picked to make the meeting accessible to those from Orcas, Lopez and Shaw.

David will make a short presentation about Cultural Access Washington tailored to San Juan County and how the Cultural Access Program works for counties across Washington State. This is new legislation that enables a tax levy to be used for funding arts in the county or municipality and access to cultural and scientific exhibitions and events.

Thank you,
Diane Martindale
Your ArtsWA commissioner

Town of Friday Harbor Waterline Replacement Project Construction Update

What to expect during the week of July 4th:

Location(s) of work:

• Road still needs to be restored between the Water Treatment Plant on Wold Road and San Juan County Road.
• Pipeline installation will continue on San Juan County Road between Boyce and Valley Farms Road.

Work Days/Hours:

• Tuesday through Friday
• 7 AM – 7 PM

What to expect:
During the installation of the new water main and services there will be some impact to local private properties as crews will be installing new water meter boxes and services to some homes, there will be a time when driveway entrances and side roads will be affected for short durations during the installation. These specific home owners will be notified separately as work comes close to their properties.

Detours:
Bypassing the construction site using the below mentioned roads is recommended, wait times for local and through traffic could be up to 20 minutes.

• Beaverton valley Road
• 2 School House Road
• Douglas Road
• Bailer Hill Road

We will continue to keep residents informed as the project impact continues.

If you have any questions or require more information project field contacts are listed below:

Josh Frizzell
Project superintendent
Interwest Construction Inc.
Cell: (360) 333-3184
Email: joshf [@] interwest.biz

Dan Reuss
Construction Manager
Brown and Caldwell
cell: (602) 721-5751
Email: dreuss [@] brwncald.com

Bobby and Stacie Tangney with daughters Reese and Molly. Holding the ribbon are Chamber Board members Lauren Cohen and Karl Bruno – Contributed photo

There’s a new Fish & Chips bar in town. It’s that place next door to Haley’s on Spring Street. It’s called The Bait Shop and it’s owned by Bobby and Stacie Tangney – owners of Haley’s. They just opened about 3 weeks ago and had their official Ribbon Cutting Ceremony 2 weeks ago.

It has an open air style with windows that open up to the sidewalk. They’re open for lunch 7 days a week for now and probably in October or so they will evaluate and see what days to remain open for the fall and winter.

They serve Cod & Chips, Halibut & Chips, Shrimp & Chips, Tempura Chicken Nuggets & Chips, New England Clam Chowder, King Crab Bisque, Ice Cream, Sodas and Cookies.

Hours are 11:30 am to 3:00 pm, Sunday thru Thursday and 11:30 am to 6:00 pm Fridays and Saturdays.

Cecil, Roger, Tom and James will rock it up Wednesday night – Contributed photo

The opening of the Music on the Lawn series begins tonight WEDNESDAY JULY 6 at 6:30 PM on the lawn at the Historical Museum, 405 Price Street. Brought to you by Island Rec! Come on out and support this wonderful event!

Tonight it’s the Henry James Band – Old school and way cool. Blistering slide work and vocals by the ‘Howler’ himself, Tom “Dog” Doenges. Keeping pace with him are James Barkshire, Roger McGilvery and Cecil DeMeerleer (who plays with more other local bands than anyone else on the island.)

Rock. R&B. Funk and Groove. Is there anything better?

Islanders Bank took the prize for “Best Use of Theme – Float” in this year’s parade

Here are the winners in various categories for this year’s parade:

• $600 Best Use of Theme, Float – winner Islanders Bank
• $400 Best Use of Theme, Non-Float – Building Blocks Preschool
• $300 Best Use of Theme, Children/Youth – Julie and Gianni, “Animals of American Camp”
• $300 Judges Special Choice – Cutthroat Pirates
• $200 Best Costumed Group – Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor
• $200 Best Animal/Animal Group Entry – Whale Museum
• $200 Best Off Island Entry – Seattle Seahawks Blitz and Blue Thunder Drummers
• $100 Best Vehicle – Thrift House 1923 Cadillac 53 Ford

Congratulations winners!

One trio and two individual singer/songwriters make up the next Night Music concert at San Juan Community Theatre THIS Thursday, July 7 at 7:30 pm.

Palace Guard’s unique sounds combine shades of Seattle musical backgrounds, Post-Post Grunge, with maybe a dash of 70s rock swagger. All singers and songwriters who also sprinkle in some of their favorites from David Bowie, Nirvana, Neil Young and more, the band features Richard Martin, Darvis Taylor and Daniel Deshon.

Ian Boulton learned to play guitar by ear, listening to songs on albums of the many singer/songwriters of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. His primary influences include Neil Young, James Taylor (mostly their early work) and, later, Pete Townsend of The Who. He enjoys playing classic acoustic rock music on both 6 and 12-string guitars.

Steve Dyer performs all original songs—some pertaining to life experiences and a few historical in nature. Steve grew up in the mountains of Colorado and was always interested in the local history, particularly gold mining and trains.

The Night Music concerts are in the intimate Gubelman Theatre and adjoining Steele Memorial Garden. Tickets are $12 each, with limited seating. Tickets are available at www.sjctheatre.org or 378-3210.

It’s time for this month’s history column from the SJI Historical Museum…

Before there was Free Willy… there was Namu, the Killer Whale. How many reading this today were involved in the production of that first film 50 years ago? The Journal reported that locations here included the Friday Harbor Cannery, Friday Harbor School (anyone know details on this?), Lonesome Cove, and Roche Harbor.

Click to enlarge

The stars were Robert Lansing and Lee Meriwether, and it should be noted that islander Clara Tarte, shown a right with actor Joe Higgins in this newspaper clip, also had a credit in the film as a character named Carrie. After much coverage in the Journal newspaper and elsewhere, the film premiered in Seattle on August 1, 1966.

Many Washingtonians will remember the real Namu as the original main attraction of the old Seattle Marine Aquarium, but islanders more often know that he was also a captured Northern Resident orca. Sadly, Namu died in his aquarium pen on July 9, 1966, just a few weeks before the film was released.

If you would like to see more about the film and other island activities of the 1960s, come on up to the San Juan Historical Museum during its current summer schedule of 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Thursday – Saturday and 1:00-4:00 p.m. on Sunday.

Head on over to the Fairgrounds, this Friday July 8th for the final Drive-In of the season—Dirty Dancing!

Spending the summer at a Catskills resort with her family, Frances “Baby” Houseman falls in love with the camp’s dance instructor, Johnny Castle.

Parking is first come, first served and will start at 8:00 pm, taller vehicles and/or vehicles with storage containers will be asked to park in the second and back rows-thank you! Movie starts when its dark, approximately 9:30pm.

Radio tune-in on FM dial for sound. $5/person, 5 and under FREE, Family of 5, $20.

Thank you all for a wonderful season at the Drive-In, see you on Friday!

Tea and Talk with OPALCO Board Members Vince Dauciunas, Mark Madsen &Winnie Adams

Tuesday July 12th from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at the San Juan Island Grange

Please join us for some tea and decaf, and time to talk about OPALCO and Rock Island.

• We will talk about changes affecting our future energy supply, and
• What OPALCO is doing to get ready for these changes
• We will update members on Rock Island’s progress building out service throughout the islands
• We will talk about the results of this year’s external audit of both OPALCO and Rock Island, and separating the two organizations

There will be a short talk followed by your questions and discussion.

We look forward to this opportunity. Please mark your calendar