Lama Khenpo Pema Wangdak on Board with John Soderberg – Contributed Photo

Lama Khenpo Pema Wangdak will be teaching a week long Shamatha meditation retreat October 3 – 9 at San Juan Island’s Tibetan Buddhist retreat center, Sakya Kachod Choling, on top of Mt Dallas.

Shamatha, is a basic meditation practice that predates Buddhism and is the basis for many other meditation practices. There are no prerequisites for this retreat and you do not have to be a Buddhist to participate. All are welcome.

Based in New York, Khenpo Pema Wangdak first came to the United States in 1982 and has been teaching western students for over 26 years. A monastic since the age of seven, he is a renowned scholar and developed the first system of Tibetan braille. Khenpo Pema established schools in India and Nepal providing education for Tibetan refuge children. He became a United States Citizen in 1990 and in 2009 became the first Tibetan to receive the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his outstanding humanitarian efforts.

If you would like to develop a mind that is strong, supple and able to act rather than react, join us for a very special week with Khenpo Pema.  

To learn more about the October meditation retreat with Lama Khenpo Pema Wangdak please call 360-378-4059

With fall approaching San Juan County once again looks toward the rainy season.  Last year the season started with a shockingly large storm event that overwhelmed our Eastsound storm sewer system.  With that memory almost one year behind us the Stormwater Utility is moving into the final phase of County wide stormwater management planning.

The County’s Stormwater project has completed Volume 1 of the County Stormwater plan which describes the nature of 37 drainage basins in terms of the geology, hydrology, current land use and potential development.  Based on that information Volume 1 makes some broad suggestion for how to manage stormwater. Continue Reading

Kim Fitts Plays Bocce – Contributed Photo

Maybe you’re a Bocce Enthusiast, or someone who just plays for fun, or maybe you are the type that can’t pronounce the name, but still has some interest in the game.  No matter what your level of Bocce, join Island Rec at the Roche Harbor Courts.  Come with a friend, or come to make some friends.  Tuesday September 9^th from 6:30-8pm.

For questions please contact Morgan [@] islandrec [.] org.

For more information call 378-4953 or visit www.islandrec.org.

OPALCO Students Earn Top Honors – Contributed Photo

Five Nourdine Jensen Cooperative Youth Scholars selected by OPALCO attended the 2014 Idaho Consumer-Owned Utility Association (ICUA) Co-op Youth Rally at the College of Idaho this summer. Each made their mark on the regional youth leadership camp and each made the Co-op proud.

The students selected as OPALCO’s 2014 Nourdine Jensen Cooperative Youth Scholarship award winners were Gabi Carver-Hackett, William Coe, Peter Kamin and Willow Paige – all of Orcas Island.  Maya Burt-Kidwell (Orcas) returned as a Youth Director at the Rally.

In addition to the $500 scholarship awards received from OPALCO, Peter Kamin was awarded the top ICUA scholarship of $500 and William Coe was awarded a $300 ICUA scholarship. Maya Burt-Kidwell earned the top second-year ICUA scholarship ($600). William was elected by his peers at the Rally to return as a Youth Director in 2014, which includes a trip to Boise in March to plan the Rally. Continue Reading

Tharald Homestead, Shaw – Contributed Photo

The San Juan County Land Bank invites the public to view the Tharald Historic Homestead on Shaw Island on Saturday, September 13, 2014.  Meet Boyd Pratt, architectural historian, at 1pm at the Shaw Island School parking area, for a guided tour of the homestead, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is protected by a Historic Preservation Easement held by the San Juan County Land Bank.

The privately owned Tharald Homestead is a pioneer farm on the west side of Shaw Island.  It serves as a significant example of early Scandinavian settlement and “Nordic” style architecture within Washington State.  It’s one of the best and oldest examples of its kind to survive in San Juan County.

For more information and to register please call Boyd Pratt at 360-378-7172 or email mulnocove [@]gmail [.] com.

Get Certified for the Fall! Upon successful completion of First Aid and CPR you will walk away with life-saving skills and have a first aid certification from the American Heart Association and/or a CPR certification, which are valid for two years.

This is an ideal class for parents, baby sitters, volunteer coaches and recreation leaders.  First Aid is September 15, 5:30-9:30pm.  CPR is September 17, 5:30-8:30pm.

Both classes will be held at the Frank Wilson EMS building and are $27 each.  Hope to see you there.

For more information or registration call 378-4953 or visit www.islandrec.org

Doe Bay Resort on Orcas Island is known for its rustic charm, world class farm-to-table café and its annual music festival. For the past two years, something else has grown on the resort’s pristine 38-acres: a boutique writing workshop drawing first-class talent to aspiring and seasoned writers. And, like the annual music festival, tickets always sell out.

Event creators Jesse Michener and Jennifer Furber met at Doe Bay Fest in 2012 and put their talents to work crafting a workshop that’s as heavy on inspiration as it is on technique. Michener is a nationally-published photographer and Furber writes a popular blog chronicling her life on San Juan Island with her family.

Write participant Alicia Lawver of Tacoma, WA, offered this about her experience in 2013, “Sometimes the best destinations are the ones we never intended to find. We set life plans and goals, try to plot out story lines and characters, and desperately schedule creatively. But, magic cannot be dictated. Write: Doe Bay empowered me to question my storytelling status quo, gave me a space for taking creative risks, and defied all my good intentions.” Continue Reading

On Saturday September 13 at dusk, join the fun with Island Rec’s free Movie in the Park: Second Hand Lions.

A heart warming coming-of-age story about an awkward teenager left in the care of his two reluctant, cantankerous and eccentric old uncles.  In sharing the stories of their wildly adventurous younger days, the old men find a renewed spark for life, and young Walter gains the role-models he’s long been missing.

Go to www.islandrec.org or call Island Rec at 378-4953 for more information.  Free popcorn.  Come early for fun contests and prizes.  Bring blankets or lawn chairs.  No alcohol please.  Sponsored by FANS – Families and Neighbors support Island Rec. 

Sasha von Dassow – Contributed Photo

Chamber Music San Juans artistic director and clarinetist Patricia Kostek says the group’s next concert “just might be the most diverse and delightfully appealing program” in CMSJ’s long history of performances on San Juan Community Theatre’s Whittier stage.

The concert on Saturday, September 6 at 7:30 p.m., features familiar Northwest and internationally-acclaimed artists, including San Juan’s talented cellist Sasha von Dassow and guitarist Alexander Dunn.

The program covers a broad range of styles and moods, and includes Mendelssohn’s “String Quartet in D major op. 44 no. 1,” Sussmayr’s “Guitar Quintet in C Major for violin, viola, cello, clarinet and guitar,” Burgmüller’s  beautiful “Nocturnes for cello and guitar,” as well as foot stomping traditional Roumanian Dances: “Hora Brasovului”, “Dorul” and “Klezmer.” Continue Reading

In the Orchard – Photo by Bolotbek Zabira

Local farmer Bruce Gregory plans to head to Tajikistan in November as a participant in the Farmer-to-Farmer Program, a program funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the NGO – VOCA/ACDI (Volunteers for Overseas Cooperative Assistance, Agency for Cooperative Development International). 

In the remote area of Central Asia is a small country called Tajikistan that up until 1991 was part of the Soviet Union.  Tajikistan is south of Kyrgyzstan, a country we visited in 2004 and again in 2006 with the F2F program.

Tajikistan has one of the lowest per capita GDPs among the 15 former Soviet republics. Twenty-one percent of their GDP is from agriculture.  Thirty-five percent of the 8 million people who live in Tajikistan live below the poverty level.  Forty-six percent of the work force is involved in agriculture. Continue Reading

The Rock – Photo by Mike Scott

If you haven’t driven out Beaverton Valley Road in a while it may be worth a detour to check out the new paint job on “The Rock” courtesy of local artist Mike Scott. Nice work Mike!

San Juan Island’s 10th annual Relay for Life event will be held at the Fairgrounds September 27th 3:00 – 11:00 pm. There will be a Survivor’s Reception at 2:00 pm. One More Time, the 40’s big band, will open the event at 3 pm with Duncan Wilson as MC and disc jockey. Already signed on are 6 teams and 33 participants with more signing on daily.  50 cancer survivors from both San Juan and Orcas Island will be in attendance. Join them in fighting back cancer!

Some of the Other Entertainment
Ferah Bukay and Amy Lopez will perform Egyptian, Turkish and Belly Dances.
Folklorica will perform traditional Mexican Dances.

Some of the Items for Silent Auction
Altier Hair Salon, San Juan Safaris – private boat charter, Western Prince – whale watch tickets, San Juan Fitness, Even Song Hand Crafted Soaps, Hand-Made Jewelry, Museum of Flight, Richard Uri – Personal Trainer, Classical Guitar or composition lessons, San Juan Island Suites – room night, Elvis Photo 1956 ($750 value!) and tons more. Continue Reading

Open House at Friday Harbor Dentistry – Sara Parsons Photography

Dr. Michael Horn and staff invite you to celebrate 11 happy years!

Visit, have lunch, tour the office and enter to win one of two great prizes! Everyone who attends will be entered to win professional teeth whitening for life or family dental cleanings and exams for a year.

The fun takes place Friday September 12 at 530 Spring Street 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

Bruce Martin – Tim Dustrude Photo

Meet Bruce Martin, a new commercial loan officer at Islanders Bank. Bruce comes to Friday Harbor from Whidbey Island.  He brings over 30 years of banking experience with him. Bruce will be getting around to different places here in town to introduce himself and getting to know the needs of the community he and his wife now call home. 

Pink Cards – Contributed Photo

FRIENDS launched “this could be oil” wooden drift cards in the Salish Sea last week to simulate where an oil spill originating in the shipping lanes surrounding the San Juan Islands might end up.  If the proposed Kinder Morgan pipeline in BC is permitted, shipping traffic from just that project will go from 5 ships a day to 35 ships a day, which would increase the threat of an oil spill in our waters.

FRIENDS is concerned about the impacts an oil spill would have on our economy, boater safety, shorelines and larger marine environment that both people and wildlife depend on in the Salish Sea.  Information from the drift card study will help researchers calculate where oil from a spill might end up over what length of time and along what route. The results of the study will help communities allocate resources most efficiently to prepare for a spill.  FRIENDS will also use the drift card data as we prepare comments related to safety, risks and economic issues to the National Energy Board regarding the Kinder Morgan proposal.

At least 50 of the 300 cards have already been reported from this latest drop – we need your help to find the rest.  People who find the cards are asked to report the date and location on www.salishseaspillmap.org.  Continue Reading