Firefighters Honored for Service in 2013 to San Juan Island Fire Rescue February 1, 2014

Click for larger image – John Miller photo

L to R in photo:

• Ian Paterson, Department Firefighter of the Year
• Joseph Foriska, Station 31 Firefighter of the Year
• Brent Johnson, Support Volunteer of the Year
• Michael hart, Station 34 Firefighter of the Year
• Brandon Baney, Rookie of the Year
• Ron Garner, Wildland Fire Safety Award
• Kurt Long, Fire Boat Crew Member of the Year
• Peter Goddu, Officer of the Year
• Tom Odegard (not pictured), Tender Operator of the Year

Those honored for longevity of service were Slava Caireac, 5 Years; Jeremy Talbott, 10 Years; Albert Olson, 15 Years; Jim Sesby, 25 Years; Brad Creesy, 30 Years.

San Juan Island Fire Rescue would like to thank the Orcas Fire Department for providing a crew of firefighters to cover an initial response in case of a call during our banquet.

San Jan Island Fire Rescue is always looking new firefighters to help protect life and property if fire strikes. To volunteer, call the San Juan Island Fire Rescue at 378-5334 or stop by the Mullis Street Station.

Matt Marinkovich, President of Fish For Teeth sends over this letter of thanks…

On Friday, Jan 24th, Fish for Teeth kicked off its third year of providing dental care for those who cannot afford it, and cooked up over 300 fish tacos to help support the effort.

Dental care is provided by local volunteer dental professionals on the Medical Teams International mobile dental van, a 40-foot two-chair tooth-fixing behemoth, which comes to San Juan Island every January, May, and October. The January 24-25 clinic helped 32 people for over $14,600 in dental services. There are no income requirements limiting those who receive services, but prospective patients must assure they have no discretionary income, and no other means of paying for dental care. Thus far the Fish for Teeth screening team is confident they are servicing only those who truly need assistance. Continue Reading

Check out this awesome aerial sunset photo shot last night by Chris Teren…

Sunset over San Juan Island – click for larger image – Chris Teren photo

Chef Hobbes is back with a new twist on a Caesar Salad…

Try this version of a caesar salad, it will blow your socks off!

Recipe for four:

4 heads of romaine, trimmed, ends left intact and cut in half lengthwise
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 t Dijon mustard
4 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
Juice of one lemon
2 turns of freshly ground black pepper
2 egg yolks
Olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together except the olive oil, when everything is mixed really well, using a whisk, ask your partner to start very slowly drizzling in the olive oil while you are whisking away. If you do this too quickly the dressing will break and you will have to start over. Keep adding olive oil until you get a nice light and fluffy dressing.

This can be done in a food processor if you like.

Lightly brush the romaine with olive oil. Making sure the grill is really hot, quickly grill the romaine, this won’t take more than a few seconds. Serve with fresh sourdough croutons and a protein of your choice.

Bon appetit! Chef Hobbes

Two brothers—both professional ballet dancers—take the leads in a new ballet featured in La Danse et La Musique at San Juan Community Theatre on Saturday, February 8 at 7:30 p.m.

After its successful premiere in 2013, the evening of vocal favorites and live dance performances promises a variety of island and professional talents.

Event director Lina Downes, founder of San Juan Island’s youth ballet dance company, La Danse de la Mer (The Dance of the Sea) has created an original romantic fantasy ballet for the evening, featuring the music of Chopin, Schumann, Schubert, Borodin and Strauss.

Northwest professional ballet dancers, brothers Sylvain and Danny Boulet (who have each performed internationally), will take on key roles. “Sylvain is world-renowned for dancing en pointe,” Downes said. “It is still a rarity in the male dance world for men to do this. He will be dancing a male part in the ballet en pointe and is fascinating to watch.” San Juan Island’s Joely Loucks, who is 13 years old, will dance en pointe opposite Sylvain. Also featured in the ballet are ballerinas Caitlin Ross, formerly of New York and Jeanne Peihl, originally from Riverside Ballet in California.

In addition, Ballet Folklorico Monarca, whose members are from San Juan Island, will perform, as will classical Middle Eastern dancer Amani (Amy Lopez). Performance artist Cynthia Church will share a piece choreographed by Downes, which is set to part of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony and features Shannon Kelly, Fiona Small and Carolyn Hudson.

Vocalists featured in the program include Seattle’s “Golden Voice of Daniels Recital Hall”, Angela K. Morgan, who will sing opera; and singer Mary Lou Mills, who has performed with Opera Pacifica of Olympia and Seattle’s Gilbert and Sullivan Society.

The Business Partner for La Danse et La Musique is Coho Restaurant*. Tickets are $16 for adults, $8 for student reserved and $5 student RUSH at the door. The SJCT 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. Coho is offering a special pre-show dinner: $25 for three courses. Reservation recommended at 378-6330.

Rod Turnbull, Athletic Director at the high school sends over an announcement that there will be a home boys basketball playoff game on Monday, February 10th with a 5:00 start time. The most likely opponent will be Blaine, but there is an outside chance that it could be Mount Baker.

This just in from Stan Matthews over at the county…

Council member Bob Jarman – San Juan County Staff photo – Sept 2013

On Monday January 27, 2014, Council member Bob Jarman was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph Hospital/Peace Health in Bellingham for what now has been diagnosed as an aggressive bacterial infection – Strep A, commonly known as “flesh eating bacteria.”

Mr. Jarman extends his deep appreciation for Dr. Gossom and staff at the Peace Health Hospital (San Juan Island), and the EMS Flight Crew, who got him to the hospital in time to receive life saving treatment.

In a statement regarding his condition, Mr. Jarman writes “I will be in the hospital most of this week while I continue on a program of intensive antibacterial treatment to help balance out all systems. Talking on the phone has not been possible, but I have been keeping up with emails and texts through family members. I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and good wishes through this ordeal.”

Regarding his prognosis, Mr. Jarman states “Please know that I am on the road to recovery. I will keep up with county issues and continue working closely with my fellow councilmembers. I will see you all soon.”

A sing-a-long celebration of Pete Seeger’s life with his musical colleague, Mike Cohen at 7 p.m. followed by contra-dancing.

At the Grange – 152 1st St N, Friday Harbor.

Keeping with the theme of celebrating moms and sons, Susan Williamson and her son Will Christison, pictured here, will be lifeguarding this fun event

Here’s a photo sent over by Amy Wynn at the Fitness Center of a great mom and son lifeguarding duo: Susan Williamson and Will Christison. They will be on deck Friday night for the first, and possibly annual, Mom & Son Swim February 7, 7:00-8:30pm.

The cost is $10 per couple, extra kid extra $5.

We are planning a few extra surprises to make the night special.

This is a “fun” raiser for equipment for our spring Red Cross lifeguard class.

Tickets on sale NOW at San Juan Island Fitness, 435 Argyle Ave, 378-4449.
Get your tickets today as pool capacity is limited!

Mark your calendar now, as The Whale Museum says…

“We love our Community! We love our Museum!” We are inviting everyone to a “Free Weekend” at The Whale Museum. All admission fees will be waived during the weekend which will run from February 14 through February 17, daily hours 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Each day a docent will be available at 2 p.m. to provide a free guided tour of the Museum. We encourage you to bring your family and friends to a guided tour. If you prefer to tour on your own, the new Self-Guided Tour Maps will be available to help you navigate through the Exhibit Hall. We want to get our community and our Museum together! We hope you will join us during the “Free Weekend.”

The Whale Museum is located in Friday Harbor at 62 First St. N. Founded in 1976, The Whale Museum’s mission is to promote stewardship of whales and the Salish Sea ecosystem through education and research. In addition to providing exhibits, the Museum also provides programs including the Marine Naturalist Training, Orca Adoption Program, SeaSound Acoustics Program, Soundwatch, San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network, and the Whale Hotline. The Whale Museum can be found on-line at www.whalemuseum.org.

Dan and Ann are this week’s “Pets of the Week”. Click for larger image

Meet Ann and Dan, siblings who just arrived at our shelter from Oregon Dachshund Rescue. They are “Chi-Weenies”– part Dachshund and part Chihuahua, about a year old. They’ve been together since they were born and we hate to break them up. They are a little timid at first but warm up almost immediately and love cuddling and playing. They get along well with other dogs and are very polite to our office kitties here at the shelter. They each weigh about 10 pounds, so they won’t take up much space at all! They are spayed/neutered and up to date on their vaccines … all they need now is a loving home to call their own! Stop by the shelter to meet them soon – they won’t last long.

Through the generosity of our community, including the San Juan Island Community Foundation, the Women’s Fund, United Way, and many individual donors, Hospice of San Juan Grief Support Services offers a professionally facilitated Grief Support Group.

Tuesdays, 4:00 to 5:30 for 8 weeks beginning March 4th and going through April 22, 2014.

Contact Lenore Bayuk at 378-3636 ext. 1 to register. (Register early – space is limited)

Click here for more info (PDF)

Mary Haselow sent this notice over to share with you about some new things she’s offering through her business…

Island Shades of Friday Harbor has recently expanded its offering to include custom draperies, fabric shades and top treatments. This distinctive new collection of hand-crafted fabric window treatments is designed to accentuate the personal style of any home’s décor. Included are a variety of custom drapery styles and other custom window treatments such as Roman Shades, decorative side panels, fabric valances and upholstered cornices.

Island Shades offers In-Home appointments to all of the San Juan Islands. Go to Island-Shades.com to see the complete list of shades and blinds offered or give Mary a call at 298-6900.

Just in case you haven’t had enough yet of all the excitement surrounding the Seahawks SuperBowl appearance, here are some photos of the Tail Gate Party going on over at Friday Harbor Espresso, from 10am to 1pm today.

Follow the “Read More” link below this photo and then click on any photo to enlarge.

Enjoy, and GO HAWKS!

Continue Reading

The Friday Harbor Port Commission is hosting an update meeting on the Spring Street Landing Site and Waterfront Master Plan.

Meet at the Friday Harbor House conference room…
Thursday Feb. 6th from 5 – 7pm

The Port’s design teams will present a progress report resulting from public input provided at the December community workshop. We will review designs for bulkhead replacement, the SSL Building and improvements to the Fairweather Park, parking, office area and Jacksons Beach. Presentations by design teams will begin at 5:30pm.

Light refreshments will be served.

Friday Harbor Film Festival continues its Tuesday evening film series on the first and third Tuesdays of February at the Grange beginning at 7 pm. Admission is by donation.

February 4: Taylor Camp
The award-winning documentary Taylor Camp will be shown at the Grange as part of the Film Festival’s Tuesday Night Film Series. Robert C. Stone – the film’s director, co-producer, editor, and cinematographer – will be present at the screening to introduce his film and to answer questions from the audience.

Stone’s work spans a 38-year career in film and video production. He has created countless television commercials, music videos, infomercials, promos and other works. He most recently co-produced and edited a documentary feature film, When the Mountain Calls: Nepal • Tibet • Bhutan, which was nominated for a 2013 Emmy Award and is currently airing on public television.

Stone’s Taylor Camp is the fascinating story of a 1970’s treehouse commune on the Hawaiian island of Kaua’i. The film-maker was able to locate and film many of the camp’s former residents, who reflect on the experiences they had living there more than 30 years ago.

We hope you will want to join us in seeing the film and meeting Stone on Tuesday, February 4, at 7 pm. Admission to this very special evening is by donation.