San Juan County Council approved funding for the purchase of 2 new electric vehicles and charging stations at its May 10th regular meeting.

The purchase is part of a concerted County effort to replace older gas or diesel powered vehicles in its fleet with new electric technology.

“We purchased 2 electric utility vehicles for our Facilities crew a couple of years ago; they have worked out well and are very cost effective,” said Mike Thomas, County Manager.

The new vehicles are the Nissan Leaf and should go into service in the next couple of months.

Just heard this from Michele at Islanders Bank…

Islanders Bank is currently accepting applications for a Teller Position. This position is responsible for daily cash handling, processing customer transactions and customer service.

Please submit resume, in person at the Friday Harbor Branch 225 Blair Avenue, Friday Harbor, WA.

From the SJ Update Mailbag, here’s a letter to the community from Bill and Rita Ament…

With a short notice we need a home before June 30th.

We need to find this home now. We are even ready to take a house that is available June 1st. We need either a: 2 bedroom + office (den) & 1-1/2 baths or 3 bedroom or a configuration that we can have an area as an office.

Now we are even contemplating storing our belongings and moving into something available and then on top of it pay for storage. All storage units are full with a waiting list. We are 4th for the largest one, 5th for the others.

We are truly concerned and do not know where we can go. We are checking several times per day, every day for ads posted, calling everyone, emailing, and reaching out. We are making phone connections constantly and reaching people that may have a lead to home rentals, calling for houses that we have been told are sitting there empty – well, everything imaginable. We get up at 6:00 am to check what comes up everywhere online.

We are now getting ready for our Dance Happy Show and Summer Day Camps, scholarships, etc., this is a busiest time of the year for us and one that requires all our creativity and energy.

We would like it out of town – extra “in town living” fees for sewer/water ($250+) is high for us. We are willing to live in town if the rental is low enough so that the high fee ($250) can be included in our rental income.

We ask for anything that you can do to help us and see us moving into our new house.

We are in desperate need of good news and a peaceful solution. Please give us a call at 378-9628 (the best way to reach us) or email us at:
ament [@] rockisland.com.

All Our Love,
Bill & Rita Ament

SJCT’s production of The Addams Family – Tim Dustrude photo

San Juan Community Theatre’s monstrous spring musical returns this week… starting with a “Pay What You Can” night this Thursday, May 12 at 7:30 pm. No advance tickets are sold for this show; simply show up (doors open at 6:30 pm) and give what you can at the door.

The Addams Family, A New Musical then continues this Friday and Saturday at 7:30 pm and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Final shows are next Thursday through Saturday, May 19-21 at 7:30 pm.

For tickets, visit www.sjctheatre.org or call the box office at 378-3210.

Dave Vandaveer shares this story… 

Photo by Ron Garner

Former San Juan Island Fire Chief Steve Marler received the Fire Safety Commendation Medal from the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) in a presentation at the Mullis Fire Station.

The award was presented posthumously to his wife, Karen. Also present at the station were his daughter, Stephanie, and her two young children.

In the photo, Karen Marler is receiving the award from Rex Stickle and Dave Vandaveer, who represented the Sons of the American Revolution at the award ceremony.

Members of SAR have ancestors who supported the American Revolution, and inform the community about the events of this period of history in the formation of the United States. The state societies and chapters of SAR present awards each year to law enforcement officers, public safety officers and other citizens who exemplify the best civic traditions of our nation.

On this basis, the George Washington Chapter of SAR, based in Mt Vernon, selected Chief Marler for his outstanding record supporting fire safety and service on San Juan Island. Specifically mentioned were the bringing together of the San Juan County Fire and Friday Harbor fire departments in a very politically charged merger.

Additionally, Marler was recognized for his leadership in paying off the existing bond debts for the District early while refinancing and buying six new fire trucks. He left the local fire department in a very strong financial condition.

The Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor has announced the “3rd Annual Dodie Gann Dog Walk and Pet Lover’s Festival” will be held Saturday, May 28.

The event takes place Saturday, May 28 from 10:00 to 2:00 at the future location of the new animal shelter; 994 Cattle Point Road. The dog walk portion of the event begins at 10:00 and will go until 11:30

The animal shelter encourages people to bring their well-behaved dogs to walk the ½ mile or 1.4 mile route, but those without dogs are welcome to walk as well. Entry in the dog walk is free with a minimum of $50 in sponsorships. For those without sponsors, the entry fee is $10 for children under the age of 10 and $20 for adults. Entrants with sponsors will receive a goody bag as well as an official dog walk t-shirt.

1st Prize – Cannondale 24 Trail Bike

Prizes will be awarded to the three people who raise the most money in sponsorships. Meat Machine Cycles of Friday Harbor has donated the grand prize, A Cannondale 24 Children’s bicycle, valued at $415, OR $415 off the price of an adult bike. The second place prize is a Go-Pro Hero camera valued at $150 and the third place prize is a Nutribullet Pro Deluxe Smoothie Blender valued at $110.

2nd Prize – GoPro Hero 4

Participants are invited to pick up entry forms at the Animal Shelter, Meat Machine Cycles, The Barking Bird, Friday Harbor Pet Supplies, Harbor Veterinary Services or Island’s Veterinary Clinic. Participation is easy – simply gather sponsors and submit entry forms and money on the day of the dog walk. Prize winners will be announced at the end of the dog walk.

3rd Prize – Nutribullet Pro Deluxe Edition

The Pet Lover’s Festival will kick off after the dog walk, featuring contests, games, vendors and a pet parade. Lunch will be available for purchase during the event and walkers are welcome to grab a blanket and picnic on the lawn and enjoy the Pet Lover’s Fair; featuring pet-related vendors and lots of fun activities for dogs and people alike!

For more information visit apsfh.com or call the animal shelter at 378-2158.

Grab your magnifying glass and explore nature in San Juan Island National Historical Park, like never before! On May 20-21, national parks across the country, including San Juan Island, will participate in the National Parks BioBlitz. BioBlitz is a fun, fast-paced biological survey of a park’s creepers and crawlers, plants and pollinators, mammals and more! The National Park Service is celebrating its 100th birthday with more than 100 BioBlitzes across the country.

During this free event, teams of scientists, naturalists, students and volunteers will discover and document the living creatures in the park. Get pumped for the BioBlitz starting Friday evening, May 20, at Drive-in at the Fairgrounds: The Big Year with parking beginning at 7:30pm This film is FREE OF CHARGE and brought to you by San Juan Island National Historical Park and San Juan County Parks and Fair as part of the BioBlitz weekend extravaganza! For more information about Drive-In at the Fairgrounds, visit their website.

Then join us on Saturday, May 21 for inventories and our Biodiversity and Cultural Festival from 10am to 3pm on the English Camp Parade Ground.

Here’s a snap-shot of our schedule of events:

8 am – Bird Inventory and Workshop
10 am – BioBlitz Dance Flash Mob
10:30 am – Pollinator Workshop
11 am – Pollinator Inventory
11 am – Storytime with the Library
12 pm – Native Plant Workshop
12:30 pm – Plant Inventory
1 pm – Storytime with the Library

10am-3pm – Reef-net Fishing Demonstration and Canoe Rides
10am-3pm – San Juan Island Wildlife
10am-3pm – Willow Weaving Demonstration
12pm-3pm – Marine Invertebrate Touch Tank
2:15-2:45pm – Tales from the Field
2:45-3pm – Closing Ceremony

Visit our website for a detailed list of events and to register, www.nps.gov/sajh.

American Express is the national sponsor of the 2016 National Parks BioBlitz.

Explorers of all ages are needed. All events are free and open to the public. Whether you have a couple of hours or a full day, there are activities to engage the whole family. To learn more about the National Parks BioBlitz and activities go to:

nps.gov/sajh

go.nps.gov/2016bioblitz

natgeo.org/bioblitz

Wolf Hollow welcomes Amy Saxe-Eyler as its new Executive Director.

Amy is a seasoned finance leader with a personal passion for education and observing and preserving natural resources.  

She moved to Orcas Island in 2009 after a successful career in banking and was the Manager of Member Services and Energy Savings at OPALCO until late 2015.  

Amy has a long history of volunteering and fundraising and served on the boards of Salmonberry School and the Friends of Moran on Orcas Island.  She now lives on San Juan Island with her husband and daughter.

“I’m excited to bring my finance and leadership skills to Wolf Hollow, an organization that so closely mirrors my core values” said Amy. “I have admired Wolf Hollow’s mission and expertise for many years, but to witness the day to day operations from the inside is nothing short of amazing. There is a magnitude of knowledge and spirit among our small staff, board, and volunteers. The grounds and facilities on San Juan bear witness to the longevity of service to wildlife – almost 35 years. I look forward to sharing Wolf Hollow’s history and vision with a wider audience, to renew bonds with the wonderful people who have supported us over the years, and to breathe new life into our membership programs and fundraising efforts. These are all essential for Wolf Hollow to continue its mission now and for many years to come.”

The Wolf Hollow board and staff would like to extend a warm thank you to Julie Duke who was our Executive Director for the past two years. After stepping down from this position, she joined our Board of Directors and is helping provide a smooth transition as Amy steps into this role. Continue Reading

Do you want to own a seasonal business (Memorial Day to Labor Day) in a beautiful setting located on San Juan Island – Limekiln Point State Park?
Do you want to meet people from all over the world as they come to visit the Orcas!
Do you want to see Orcas on a regular basis?
Do you want to be your own boss?
Do you want to own the only concessionaire license in San Juan County State Parks – currently 6 years left?
Do you enjoy walking through a beautiful park before or after your working day?

Contributed Photo

Red Checkered Picnics – Seasonal Picnic Stand at Limekiln Point State Park
$35,000
Friday Harbor, Washington

This is a rare opportunity – the only concessionaire license for the State Park in San Juan Island – a beautiful location with great growth opportunity.

Price includes the exclusive concessionaire State Park license with the kiosk which includes the following –

• Wells Cargo Trailer – 8×16
• Full Deck with Wheelchair access
• Commercial refrigeration
• Commercial coffee maker
• Deli Case
• Shelving and built in cabinets
• Cash Register
• Ice Cream cooler
• Large Tent and Outdoor furniture for picnics
• Signage
• 4 years of “Blue Sky” — an excellent reputation as a great spot to stop on the West Side.

I will also be happy to assist you during the first month transition.

Cynthia’s is also happy to supply wholesale food for the kiosk unless you wish to do something else.

Cynthia also has a work crew ready to work for this summer if you need it.

Thanks and please feel free to contact Cynthia if you have any questions –
cynthiasofcourse[@]gmail.com or 360-317-7178

Mark your calendar for Friday’s lunch at the theatre and also check out this note from Matt Marinkovich, president of Fish for Teeth…

Kerwin Johnson cooks up some delicious Fish Taco goodness at a recent Fish Taco event – Tim Dustrude photo

Hello San Juan Islanders

The Fish for Teeth Taco Team will be cranking out fish burritos this Friday, May 13 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the SJI Community Theater ($7.00 suggested donation). The tacos will provide the same fantastic interlude-with-yumminess, with a small change this time…

Try as I might, I couldn’t bring back the usual allotment of wild Alaskan rockfish from my spring longline trip because the small processor that fillets and freezes these fish was refitting their freezer system and could not process the fish. This would have been quite a dilemma for the incredible fish-taco-to-dental-services relationship that Fish for Teeth has created, but a generous and caring fish company came to the rescue to help out our little program, and donated a sufficient amount of hook-and-line caught frozen-at-sea wild Alaskan Pacific Cod fillets.

Alaskan Leader Seafoods has a fleet of four hook-and-line factory longliners.   Each of their boats is maintained to the highest standards, providing a safe and comfortable working environment to their crew. The fish are hook-and-line caught (same as the rockfish I usually provide), which is gentle to the resource they harvest; their product is certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council, and gets a green-light from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch. And the Alaskan Leader Foundation is used to helping small communities, with the pledge to bring education, activities, community improvement, and support to rural Alaskan communities. It should be recognized Alaskan Leader stepped outside of their mission to help out Fish for Teeth and our San Juan Island community.

It goes to show that the momentum carried by community support for a program such as Fish for Teeth and its mission to provide dental care to those who cannot otherwise afford it, will draw the support of other caring organizations such as Alaskan Leader Seafoods, because they see our care, effort, and effective results of our program (which wouldn’t happen without the community support).

So while thanks goes to Alaskan Leader for helping fill the gap this time, I feel thanks should also go to every individual, business, and service group who has ever helped with our mission. At this point the list is too long to mention—but that goes to show the collective strength of a community and what can be accomplished when people care.

So this time if you treat yourself to one of these progressive, sustainable, and absolutely delicious fish burrito-tacos, take a moment to consider the tremendous community effort behind every delicious bite.

For information about Fish for Teeth and its dental program, go to fishforteeth.com.

Sincerely,

Matt Marinkovich (Matt’s Fresh Fish),
Fish for Teeth President

Sunday Evening Rainbow – Shelley Alan photo

Shelley ran outside just in time to get a photo of this lovely rainbow Sunday evening. Thanks for sharing Shelley!

The ER entrance at PIMC – Tim Dustrude photo

Here’s the latest press release from PeaceHealth…

PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center receives high marks for quality and safety

FRIDAY HARBOR, Wash., May 10, 2016 – Providing high quality, safe care to the residents of San Juan County is a top priority of every caregiver at PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center. Recent survey results prove that the caregivers are succeeding… in a big way!

In a re-accreditation survey conducted in April 2016 by Det Nortske Veritas, a global accreditation organization that ensures health care organization meet all regulatory requirements, PeaceHealth Peace Island was shown to not only meet all regulatory requirements of the National Integrated Accreditation for Healthcare Organizations (NIAHO) but that the hospital exceeds the established benchmarks in all categories reviewed.

Completed every three years for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the accreditation process involves thorough auditing of all facets of hospital operations, including policies and procedures, medical charting, safety and infection prevention practices, facility conditions, employee health, patient experience, nursing education and medication labeling. The unannounced full survey scrutinized every department of PeaceHealth Peace Island.

PeaceHealth leaders were thrilled with the notable survey report and cited collaboration as crucial to the medical center’s success. “It is a team effort; no one individual or department is responsible for this service excellence,” said Sheryl Murphy, manager of clinical operations at PeaceHealth Peace Island. “I am very proud of the quality and level of care that all of our PeaceHealth caregivers provide to our community everyday.”

Dear Editor,

You may be perplexed over what Washington’s May 24 Democratic Presidential Primary means, especially if you participated in the March 26 Democratic precinct caucuses. But I encourage you to vote!

The media will report the results of the Washington State Republican primary on May 24, as they use the primary results to assign delegates to their national convention.

Even though your vote will not determine Democratic convention delegates, (that was done via the precinct caucuses), most people, especially those outside Washington will not know this. We want the rest of the United States to know that we DO vote. In fact, our county historically has the highest voter turnout in Washington in presidential election years.

Although turnout was remarkable at the March 24 Democratic precinct caucuses, the great majority of Democratic voters in our county did not participate for a variety of reasons. The primary in which we vote by mail, is a secret ballot and is available to all, whether they did attend precinct caucuses or not.

Don’t pass up this opportunity to be counted in this much more broad-based referendum on your preferred presidential candidate.

If you have questions, call the San Juan County Elections Office at 378-3357.

Diane Martindale
San Juan County for Hillary coordinator

Northern Lights over Boundary Pass – Chris Teren photo

Chris Teren shares this awesome photo from Saturday night up at Stuart Island. Here’s what he has to say about it…

Chasing the Northern Lights on Stuart Island

Mother Nature put on an AMAZING show last night, kicking off Mother’s Day with some of the best Northern Lights I’ve ever seen in Washington State!! I took this photo around 12:30 am looking north from Stuart Island, over Boundary Pass towards Pender and Saturna Islands.

Check out my website for more Aurora Borealis photos! http://terenphotography.com/

Rebozo won “Best Overall” in the Opening Day Boat parade – Contributed photo

The Opening Day Boat Parade, “A Community Afloat” on May 1^st was a wonderful, fun community event! Forty boats were involved in the Opening Day festivities. Orca Star with the American Legion Post 163 Color Guard led the parade, saluted by 3 volleys from the American Legion Rifle Salute Squad, and followed by the classic wooden boat Baten with Grand Marshall, Sheriff Ron Krebs.

The Port of Friday Harbor and American Legion cannons added to the festivities, getting everyone’s attention. Representatives of the community in the parade included the Lion’s Club, Rotary Club, Masonic Lodge, Community Theater, Children’s Theater Workshop, Peace Island Medical Center, UW Labs, Friday Harbor Power Squadron, the Library, Pintail, the Port’s Pumpty Dumpty, four Vessel Assist boats, three Sheriff’s boats, a USCG patrol boat, and a host of other community boats. The Sheriff – Fire boat Sentinel closed the parade with her water monitors spraying the harbor.

Community boats competed in one of four categories; winning boats and their skippers are listed below: Continue Reading

Ted Strutz was at the Children’s Festival on Saturday and shares these photos… 

I saw lots of cars and kids, so I stopped off at the Fairgrounds and found a Children’s Festival going on.  Here are some snapshots! Continue Reading