New National Park Superintendent to Meet Public on February 18

Elexis Fredy, SJINHP Superintendent – Contributed photo

Islanders will have their first opportunity to meet Elexis Fredy, the new superintendent of San Juan Island National Historical Park at a public reception on February 18 at the San Juan Historical Society, 405 Price St in Friday Harbor. The event will be from 1 to 3 pm and refreshments will be served.

Fredy comes to San Juan Island from Yosemite National Park, where she was serving as the lead manager in the Merced River Plan, a National Park Service (NPS) project to protect and manage the 81 miles of the Merced River corridor within the park.

“Elexis brings strong experience and skills in strategic planning, project management, team building, public involvement, employee development, communications and more” noted NPS Pacific West Region Deputy Director Chip Jenkins in his announcement of Fredy’s acceptance of the position last December.

She and her family, husband Russell and two daughters, will be moving to the island, and are looking forward to joining island life.

The park’s previous superintendent, Lee Taylor, left in the fall of 2015, after nearly three and a half years on San Juan. She is currently the deputy superintendent at Olympic National Park.

Liza Michaelson Gently Cleaning the Buddha – Peggy Sue McRae photo

Losar, or Tibetan New Year begins this year on February 8 or 9. In Tibet, Losar is an important holiday and is traditionally celebrated for several weeks. In preparation for the new year Tibetans clean house and at Sakya Kachod Choling Tibetan Buddhist Retreat Center on top of Mt Dallas we have been busy cleaning the shrine room for the new year.

Through most of the year the center is open to the public for Sunday meditation from 1:30 – 2:30 pm. Call 378-4059 or email [skc @ rock island . com] for more information and directions.

This is the year of the Fire Monkey. Expect the unexpected!

Link to: Sakya Kachod Choling

Pigs on the Wing tribute to Pink Floyd – Contributed photo

Pink Floyd Tribute February 13
Electricity will be in the air in Friday Harbor on Saturday, February 13 when Portland’s Pink Floyd Tribute Band lands at San Juan Community Theatre at 7:30 pm.

Pigs on the Wing takes us back to the electric intensity of the Dark Side of the Moon-era Pink Floyd, heavily emphasizing the rock dynamics and psychedelic power of 1970s Floyd. The seven-person band brings an intense, high energy experience to the table, something they proclaim “is both true to the original British band and unapologetic in its interpretation.”

The tribute band formed in 2006 as a one-off performance of Dark Side of the Moon and has grown its tours to include live renditions of the infamous Wizard of Oz sync, full performances of multiple Floyd albums, and music from every era of Pink Floyd’s career.

The evening’s Business Partner is Friday Harbor Suites. Concert tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for student reserved, with $5 student RUSH one hour before the show. The Box Office is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. or tickets may be purchased on-line at www.sjctheatre.org

The Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor is asking that people help support local pets and families by donating pet food during its annual Valentine’s Day Community Pet Food Drive.

By providing pet food for families in need the animal shelter is able to help pets stay in their homes – where they belong!

If you’d like to help, bring your donations of canned and dry pet food to the shelter or one of the following locations between February 9th and 23rd:

• Friday Harbor Pet Supplies
• The Barking Bird
• Islander’s Bank
• Windermere Real Estate
• Lavendera Massage Center

For those who don’t have time to purchase pet food, financial contributions are also welcome and will be used to purchase additional food.  Checks may be made out to:  APS-FH and dropped off at theAnimal Shelter – 111 Shelter Road, Friday Harbor, WA  98250.  Checks can also be mailed to APS-FH PO Box 1355, Friday Harbor, WA  98250.

Merry Ann Keane – Contributed photo

Merry-Ann Keane named chief administrative officer for PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center

Merry-Ann Keane, MSN, BSN, RN, has been named interim chief administrative officer for PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center, following the retirement last month of Jim Barnhart.

Prior to joining PeaceHealth in 2012 as nurse manager of the Childbirth Center at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, much of Keane’s early nursing and management career was in southern British Columbia, where she held a variety of positions increasing in responsibility.

Keane holds a Master of Science in Nursing degree, which she earned at the University of British Columbia. She received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from the British Columbia Institute of Technology. She also is certified in neonatal and perinatal nursing.

Keane is on the board of the United Way of San Juan County and is a member of the local Soroptimist International chapter.

She and her husband, Liam, live on San Juan Island and have one adult daughter.

Elliott is this week’s Pet of the Week – Contributed photo

Hello Friday Harbor! My name is Elliott. I’m about 3 months old and I already have my own tennis ball and a personal trainer.

I’ve actually been compared to Andre Agassi. I’m looking for a doubles partner – do you play? The ball is in your court, my friend.

Let’s start with Love-Love. Stop by the animal shelter to meet me soon! I’ll just be here practicing my serve until you get here.

Animal Protection Society of Friday Harbor
111 Shelter Road
(360) 378-2158

The San Juan County Fair is now accepting vendor booth registration for the 2016 Fair.

Are you an island artisan selling handmade goods? Is your local business looking to advertise? The Fair is the place to do it!

If you are interested, please visit our website for more information on becoming a vendor.

Don’t miss this opportunity to be a part of the biggest county-wide event of the year!

OPALCO’s Energy Assist Credit and Project PAL Step Up to Help Low-Income Households

Did you notice the new line item on your January bill from OPALCO? All co-op members began paying about 45 cents per month (average residential bill) to fund the new Energy Assistance Credit to help qualified low-income households pay their electric bills. This “Energy Assist” program provides a bill credit of $10-$25 per month (depending on household size) every month of the year to members who meet the qualifications for other assistance programs such as Federal Free Lunch, LIHEAP or OPALCO’s Project PAL.

The rising cost of living is a county-wide issue. OPALCO’s Low-Income Needs Assessment in 2015 identified housing as the number one affordability issue, with combined utilities coming in fifth on the list. OPALCO is doing its part and encourages other utilities and organizations to step up to address the affordability gap for a sustainable and vibrant community.

The application for the Energy Assist program is available online (PDF), and paper copies can be picked up at your local OPALCO offices and at island Family Resource and Senior Centers. Applications will begin to be processed by the end of February 2016.

“This well thought-out program will really help low-income households to manage the recent increase in energy costs,” said Erin O’Dell, Executive Director of the Orcas Community Resource Center where she often refers clients to Project PAL. “There is a need for both programs, Energy Assist and Project PAL, to meet the growing affordability gap in our community.” Continue Reading

Here’s the latest press release from OPALCO and Rock Island…

Rock Island Working With T-Mobile To Accelerate Wireless Internet Services

T-Mobile To Offer Cellular Service In San Juan County

Rock Island will deliver on its promise to bring wireless services to both home and business users in San Juan County via LTE Fixed Wireless by working with T-Mobile USA, Inc.

“This is a win-win collaboration. We gain the ability to provide fixed LTE to our customers and T-Mobile customers now get expanded 4G LTE service in San Juan County. For the first time, we will now have true, contiguous cellular coverage in this rural island community,” says Gerry Lawlor, EVP of Rock Island.

T-Mobile brings their extensive design and engineering experience to the effort, as well as core and radio networks, equipment, maintenance and support while OPALCO/Rock Island provides the installation services, power and fiber infrastructure. Both parties are bringing wireless spectrum to collectively expand wireless capability to islanders. There is no financial exchange in this agreement.

“Bellevue-based T-Mobile is rapidly expanding its wireless network, more than doubling its LTE coverage in the past year. As a part of its coverage expansion, T-Mobile launched Extended Range LTE, using the same type of 700 MHz spectrum that OPALCO purchased in 2014.  T-Mobile’s experience and proven track record substantially reduce the risk for Rock Island’s start-up operations, and provide the ability to get to market with superior fixed LTE wireless services,” says Foster Hildreth, General Manager of both OPALCO and Rock Island. “Rock Island will dramatically improve communications for first responders resulting in better public safety county-wide. This will be equally beneficial for people dialing into 911.” Continue Reading

Brook Ashcraft of Friday Harbor High School shares this story and photos…

Lady Wolverines – Brook Ashcraft photo

At our White-Out Senior Night basketball series, our fans came pumped and our players came ready. The varsity Lady Wolverines started the night off with an intense game. Neck and neck throughout all four quarters, these marvelous ladies came out with a victory over La Conner. With 7 seconds to go and the ball to La Conner, our very own #32 Cierra Bailey intercepted a pass and prevented a last minute score by the other team. The end score was 33-30.

Our varsity boys team followed. The boys played with heart, intensity, and brought all they had and more to the court even though the score board didn’t say so. The game ended with a loss of 44-53. Many of the points by both teams were 3-pointers. Spotlight on our own Isaac Meyer #4 and John Gustafson #23, who both kept their heads in the game and showed all of us their skills.

The FH cheer squad kept the crowd pepped up and put on a show for us at half time.

A big salute to all of our incredible seniors. Thank you for working hard and bringing pride to our school. We appraciate you.

• Girls Basketball
  • Allie Galt #12
  • Madi Kincaid #24
  • Lili Wood #22
  • Taylor Turnbull #14
  • Ilaria Verri #40
• Beloved manager
  • Samantha Finch
• Boys Basketball
  • Jordan Davis #34
  • Luke Stromberg #15
  • Kyle Janguard #44
  • Stanley Patrick #33
  • Danil Sonjaya #10
• Cheer
  • Cassie Rude – Senior Captain
  • Megan Ruesch – Senior Captain

Click the link for more photos. Continue Reading

What Aaron’s reading – Aaron Shepard photo

One of the pet projects of Update photographer Aaron Shepard is to take candid shots of people reading downtown and around the harbor. Later, when he zooms into the cover, he can sometimes easily identify the book being read. Other times, he might see only bits of the title or author’s name, and then identifying the book becomes a game. A little searching on the internet is usually enough to find a match for the cover.

Aaron has now posted some of those shots on his blog, An Islander’s Eye, with the books identified in the captions. He also included one photo with a book he couldn’t identify. Maybe you can help! (San Juan Library Director Laurie Orton has already left one guess in the comments.)

Check it out and see if you can guess the book.

Registration for Skagit Valley College Spring Quarter begins February 9th.

• Registration for Returning Students begins February 9th
• Registration for New Advised Students begins Feb. 25th.
• Open Enrollment begins March 10th.
• Classes begin April 5th.

For students who want to begin a new career or upgrade their job skills, Professional/Technical programs are aligned with local and state economic development strategies. High demand areas include:

• Culinary Arts, skagit.edu/culinary
• Criminal Justice, skagit.edu/criminaljustice
• Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Agriculture, skagit.edu/basec , www.skagit.edu/sage
• Fire Protection, skagit.edu/fire
• Manufacturing Technology, skagit.edu/manufacturing
• NEW! Craft Brewing Academy, skagit.edu/craftbrew

SVC also offers Academic Transfer pathways for students who want to begin their college experience and earn a bachelor’s degree. By completing two years at SVC and then transferring to a four-year university, students can study close to home and save money, compared to tuition at a four-year college or university.

Get the most up-to-date list of all available courses, visit www.skagit.edu/schedules .

For more information about programs and degrees, financial aid, career options, campus tours, and getting started. For more information, visit www.skagit.edu/getstarted or contact:

• Mount Vernon Campus, (360) 416-7697 or toll free: 1 844 2SKAGIT
• Whidbey Island Campus, (360) 675-6656
• South Whidbey Center, (360) 679-5330
• San Juan Center, (360) 378-3220
• Marine Technology Center, (360) 766-6282

Grace Willows – Contributed photo

Just heard that Grace Willows of Friday Harbor entered the high school regional classical music competition and won in her division.

Here she is at the San Juan Music Educators Association woodwind solo competition, on January 30, 2016.

This performance of the Weber Clarinet Concertino accompanied by Dorothy Baker (piano), won first place and advanced Grace to State level competition. Check it out on YouTube.

Her clarinet teacher is Sue Collado.

Congratulations Grace!

Barbara Jensen, president of SJI Audubon invites you to this lecture on bird flight this weekend…

Peter Cavanagh photo

Join us for “How Birds Fly: Photographs and Stories” with Peter Cavanagh. 

Saturday, Feb. 6, 7:00 p.m., Brickworks (150 Nichols St.) in Friday Harbor
Sunday, Feb. 7, 1:30 p.m., Orcas Center (917 Mt. Baker Road) in Eastsound

Birds fly through our lives every day, their flight might not seem extraordinary – until you recognize that it is a marvel of mechanics that evolved over millions of years. With just over 100 years of powered flight, humans are newcomers to the sky, but we have been helped to get there by studying bird flight.

Peter at Iceberg Point on Lopez – Photo by Arthur Glauberman

Peter Cavanagh , NASA researcher, University of Washington professor, and photographer, will explain the intricacies of bird flight and how our observation of it has influenced aircraft design.

Peter’s lecture will be illustrated by his spectacular photographs, and will include the evolution of flight, the basic physics and anatomy of flight, and stories about the flight of unusual birds and the people who have studied them.

Professor Cavanagh studies biomechanics – the application of engineering principles to the biology of movement.  This background, together with his training as an instrument-rated private pilot, and a deep interest in bird conservation has attracted him to the study of bird flight. This year his travels in search of interesting birds will take him to Japan, Peru, Norway, England and Wales, Ecuador, and the Galapagos Islands.

Cavanagh also recently organized an exhibition on Bird Flight at the Seattle Museum of Flight.  He has written 5 books on topics varying from Bone Loss during Long Duration Space Flight to the Biomechanics of Running – and he is currently at work on a book with the same title as the upcoming lecture – How Birds Fly.

Thank you to our co-sponsors – Orcas Currents and the Port of Orcas.

Rod Turnbull, Athletic Director at FHHS shares these sports updates with you…

The ferry system will be able to accommodate an unscheduled stop at Orcas for the 7:30 ferry leaving Friday Harbor on February 10th. So we will host both Orcas boys and girls on Wednesday, February 10th for the first round of the District playoffs.  Our girls game will begin at 3:45, and our boys game will start at 5:15.  Please help in getting the word out.

We are just beginning the winter portion of our post season events. Below is an update on the post season opportunities for our winter sports teams:

• Wrestling – Our wrestling team will begin their post-season journey as they compete this weekend, Saturday, February 7 in the sub regional tournament held at Concrete HS. Weigh-ins begin at 9:00 and wrestling will begin at 11:00. We will be sending 8 Wrestlers to the sub-regional match. Competitors will need to finish 1^st or 2^nd in their weight class to advance to the regional state event at Adna HS on Saturday, February 13. Visit our league website at http://www.nw1a2bathletics.com/ , for more information on seeding and brackets.

• Girls Basketball – With one regular season game left to play, our girls Bi-District playoff seeding is set. The girls will enter the Bi-District tournament as the #2 seed and will be hosting a first round game vs Orcas HS on Wednesday, February 10. The game is set to start at 3:45. Win or lose, the girls will be playing again on Friday, February 12 at Sedro Woolley High School. Game time and opponent for Friday will depend on the outcome of games on February 10. At the Bi-District Tournament, our girls will be playing to advance to the Regional State Playoffs.       The Bi-District bracket is posted at http://www.nw1a2bathletics.com/ Use the girls basketball tab to access the playoff information.

• Boys Basketball – Like our girls, with one regular season game left to play, our boys Bi-District seeding is also set. The boys will enter the first round of the Bi-District Tournament as the #2 seed and will also be hosting Orcas HS in a first round game on Wednesday, February 10 at 5:15pm. Win or lose, the boys will play again on Saturday, February 13, at Sedro Woolley HS. Game time on Saturday is dependent on the outcome of games on February 10. Like the girls, the boys will also be playing to advance to the Regional State Playoffs. The Bi-District bracket is posted at http://www.nw1a2bathletics.com/ Use the boys basketball tab to access the playoff information.

Go Wolverines…

You may have noticed some new crosswalks around town lately. These are all part of the Town’s commitment to safer walking routes.

The most obvious ones are on Guard Street at the intersection with Marguerite, and on Spring Street at the intersection of Mullis Street – these 2 new crosswalks include lighted signs that blink a warning to drivers, alerting them that people are crossing the street. Pedestrians can simply push the button on the signpost before they cross.

New Guard Street crosswalk with lighted signage – Tim Dustrude photo

There is also a new 2-part crosswalk on Spring Street at Lampard Road, up by the water tank. This one is not 100% finished yet, but it crosses Spring Street to a “relief island” and then continues across Lampard. It will have crosswalk stripes on the roadway when completed within the next couple of weeks.

The intersection of Lampard and Spring Streets, up near the water tank – Tim Dustrude photo

“The Town Council and the Town Administrator have worked hard over the years to secure funding to improve the walkability of our Town. This not only improves pedestrian safety but enhances our unique quality of life” said Mayor Carrie Lacher.

In addition to the crosswalks, some improvements to sidewalks are in the works too. The Town has just received a $190,000 sidewalk grant to finish the sidewalks on Park Street just past the Football field.

Town Administrator Duncan Wilson adds, “The Park Street TIB grant is to complete the sidewalk in the gap just west of the football field and will connect to the existing sidewalk up near the church. The monies will also fund the asphalt in the area which is now gravel and connection of the storm sewer system. In addition, a portion of the monies will go to complete the sidewalk section on Reed Street, across the street from Public Health between Printonyx and the County Complex.”

Mayor Lacher also noted that “We are looking forward to beginning the improvements, including sidewalks, on Tucker Avenue in the very near future. Renderings of these improvements can be seen at Town Hall and at the San Juan Island Library.”

Work will start in two months on the Tucker Avenue reconstruction which will bring sidewalks to both sides of the street. Phase two next year will take the sidewalks all the way out to the edge of town by the manufactured home park.