Passengers traveling on the Washington State Ferries Sunday, Feb. 2, will be boarding the “M/V Russell Wilson” or crossing Puget Sound on the “M/V Richard Sherman” as Gov. Jay Inslee has directed the vessels be named in honor of the Seattle Seahawks.

“We couldn’t be more proud of our Seahawks as they represent our state in the Super Bowl,” said Inslee. “We’ve already raised the 12th Man flag on each ferry, and this honorary name change is one more way for us to show our appreciation.”

The team has counted on a strong running game to carve out a path to victory. Now fans will be able to ride the “M/V Marshawn Lynch” and go #Beastmode roundtrip from the Kitsap Peninsula.

“Although the name change is symbolic, we think it is a fun way to show our support and give fans a chance to cheer on the ‘Hawks before they pull into port,” said Assistant Transportation Secretary David Moseley.

The Washington State Department of Transportation recognizes the Seahawks achieved success this season by working as a team. WSDOT has 22 vessels in its fleet and has named each one after the Seahawks starting offense and defense team members.

We wish the entire team good luck in their quest for a Super Bowl win.

List of Vessel Names on San Juans Route:

• Elwha: “M/V Chris Clemens”
• Evergreen State: “M/V Byron Maxwell”
• Sealth: “M/V Brandon Mebane”
• Yakima: “M/V Red Bryant”

Other Vessels:

• Cathlamet: “M/V Malcom Smith”
• Chelan: “M/V Zach Miller”
• Chetzemoka: “M/V J.R. Sweezy”
• Hiyu: “M/V Breno Giacomini”
• Hyak: “M/V Kam Chancellor”
• Issaquah: “M/V Russell Okung”
• Kaleetan: “M/V Doug Baldwin”
• Kennewick: “M/V James Carpenter”
• Kitsap: “M/V Bobby Wagner”
• Kittitas: “M/V Tony McDaniel”
• Klahowya: “M/V Bruce Irvin”
• Puyallup: “M/V Marshawn Lynch”
• Salish: “M/V Max Unger”
• Spokane: “M/V Golden Tate”
• Tacoma: “M/V Russell Wilson”
• Tillikum: “M/V Michael Robinson”
• WallaWalla: “M/V Earl Thomas”
• Wenatchee: “M/V Richard Sherman”

Chris DeStaffany – trivia buff, gourmand, Island Playwright, and man of many hats – has grumbled off into the West, age 62.

Friends and family will be planning a modest bash to toast his memory, time and place to be announced.

Check out this letter written by Rock Solid Youth Group’s Zach Fincher…

Zach Fincher of Rock Solid Youth Group

Dear Editor,

I want to help bring awareness to the dangers of DISTRACTED DRIVING. I lost my Nana in a tragic car crash two years ago because someone was reading a text while driving. I don’t want this to happen to anyone else, so I would like to remind people that these are preventable actions.

Over the next few months our Rock Solid Youth Group will be making posters on the dangers of distracted driving to share in our schools and community, we’ll write a song to share this message, too. In addition, we’ll be asking our local Sheriff’s Office to help support us in getting the message out. Did you know it is illegal to use a cell phone while driving in Washington State that is not considered a hands-free device? Unfortunately, I see many people everyday passing my school using a cellphone, while driving, with it held up to their ear and I’ve even seen people texting and driving down Spring Street.

• Did you know, “When you text and drive you are 23 times more likely to crash.”
• Did you know, “77% of young adults are very or somewhat confident that they can safely text while driving.”
• Did you know, “48% of kids (12-17) have been in a car while the driver was texting.” (www.textinganddrivingsafety.com)

Please join us in helping to prevent Distracted Driving in our community. Please put your cell phones away when you get in your car and speak up if the driver of your car uses their cell phone (non hands-free device) or starts to text while driving. You just might save a life.

Sincerely,

Zach Fincher
Rock Solid Youth Group

L-R: Zach Fincher, Per Black, Madrone Jamison, Lucas Gao and Rachel May, attended the WA State Prevention Summit together in Oct. 2013 and returned to our community to help bring about positive change.

The group in the photo above are researching the dangers of Distracted Driving and Impaired Driving. They are doing this as part of a grant they were accepted to participate in with State Farm. These students will be sharing their findings in a variety of ways: songwriting, writing letters to the Editor, making brochures and posters to distribute and put up at their school and in the community, a total of 10 “activities” to help communicate and bring awareness to these important safety issues.

They have also contacted the Sheriff to ask for his support on these issues and see how they can collaborate on building awareness. They are hoping to locate a Distracted Driver simulator that can come to San Juan Island, too. These teens have given up precious “free-time” to meet and work on these activities that hopefully will impact our community members and may end up saving someone’s life. Thanks for your support!

Rhonda Pederson, resident of San Juan County for 20 years and a San Juan County employee for 13 years, has announced her candidacy for Treasurer in the 2014 election. For over seven years Rhonda has been the Chief Accountant in the Auditor’s office and works closely with the Treasurer on a routine basis. Prior to this position, Rhonda worked as Junior District Accountant and Chief Recording Deputy, and has experience working in the Department of Licensing, and Health Department.

“I am excited to be running for the position of Treasurer. I believe my depth of experience working in the County Auditors’ office as well as the amount of time I have spent working with our current Treasurer, Jan Sears, and other county officials, will be a benefit to our community. If elected, I will bring all my skills and attention to detail to serving the needs of the citizens of San Juan County. I am looking forward to my next step in serving San Juan County and am eager to meet with and discuss any concerns with all County residents over the next several months.”

It was a beautiful day to be out and about in Friday Harbor today – especially if you like blue, green and silver.

Seahawks fans everywhere, showing support for their team. Click the link below to see who you recognize… Continue Reading

The 2013 Knowledge Bowl champion was the FHHS Freshmen/Sophomore team (L-R Mady Schroeder, Max Haenel and Echo Wood. Not pictured: Dalton Ayers).

The 20th annual Knowledge Bowl will be held on Tuesday February 11th, at the Community Theatre. The competition begins at 7 PM. Three student teams (FHMS 8th graders, FHHS freshmen/sophomores and FHHS juniors/seniors) go head to head with four local service group teams: Kiwanis, Soroptimists, Lions, and Rotary. The four-person teams will match wits to answer tricky trivia questions on a broad range of topics.

Doors open at 6:30 pm and our fabulous FHHS Jazz Band will begin performing at 6:45. The FHES music class will be demonstrating their new ukuleles in the lobby before hand. The event is emceed again this year by Brent Snow, SJI School Board President, with more Jazz Band entertainment during intermission. The FHMS PTA will be offering baked treats in the lobby before and during the event, and there will also be a silent auction.

The Knowledge Bowl is presented each year by the San Juan Public Schools Foundation Board. Through its main fundraising events, the Phone-a-Thon and Business Partnership Program in the school directory, the Foundation this year has raised over $100,000 to supplement our local public education needs. Since 1994, community support of the SJJPF mission now totals over one million dollars.

Tickets for this fun family event are $5 for adults and $3 for children, and are available at the door the night of the event. Come and cheer on your favorite team!

See the 2014 event live on Tuesday, February 11 at SJCT.

Here’s Captain Hobbes with this week’s report…

Dall’s porpoise – Click to enlarge – Melisa Pinnow photo

Well it had to happen, this is the first week since summer when I started writing these articles, that I haven’t had any nearby whale sightings of any kind! The resident orcas have been hanging around out by Neah Bay, way too far for us to go. But we are still seeing tons of other wonderful wildlife including large groups of Stellar sea lions, seals, harbor porpoise, very playful Dall’s porpoise, Elephant seals, eagles, seabirds, and exotic wildlife on Spieden Island.

Check out the San Juan Island Visitors Bureau www.visitsanjuan.com and the Pacific Whale Watch Association www.pacificwhalewatchassociation.org websites to see who’s still running trips.

Capt. Hobbes Buchanan
www.sanjuanislandwhales.com

The San Juan Island Library announced new technology training opportunities at the library. The Washington Microsoft IT Academy (ITA) will provide access without charge to a wide range of Microsoft online courses and learning resources. Microsoft IT Academy program provides industry-leading technology skills to help bridge the skills gap.

The IT Academy will also be available online. Participants may choose to access the coursework at the library or from home computers. Course certification is also available but will need to be paid for by those taking the courses.

With Microsoft IT Academy the library can provide online curriculum on fundamental technology skills. The courses offered are critical to be successful in today’s technologically evolving world. The San Juan Island Library can provide these online classes at no cost to the community, through a partnership developed by the Washington State Library and Microsoft Corporation.

For Educators and staff: Professional development, a full curriculum for teaching technology courses, and learning tools.

For Students: Technology skills and certifications to be college and career ready for today’s technology-centered job market.

The online ITA training expands the technology training program available at the Library. In-person classes will continue to be available, and islanders may currently sign up for a course on getting started using computers. Library staff are often available to help with technology training, such as establishing an email account or using ebooks on a one-on-one basis, and programs in these and other areas are also offered.

For more information, contact Laurie Orton – (360) 378-2798
lorton [@] sjlib [.] org
or visit www.sjlib.org

The much-debated updates to San Juan County’s Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) will take effect on March 1, 2014, and all permit applications submitted on or after that date will have to meet the new standards. Permits submitted prior to March 1 will be reviewed in line with regulations in effect when the application was submitted.

The County Council is expected to put final touches on the Critical Areas regulations in February, bringing the updates into compliance with the latest Growth Hearings Board rulings on legal challenges to the proposed updates. The final public hearing on the CAO is scheduled for the February 4th County Council Meeting.

The CAO updates were produced under a Growth Management Act mandate requiring periodic reviews of the regulations protecting the county’s most essential assets. The process was required to consider whether CAO regulations make sense in light of current conditions and the best scientific information that is available.

Among the updates which will go into effect March 1 are:

• Protections for a number of endangered, threatened and sensitive plants, animals and important habitats. Previously, the Bald Eagle was the only animal receiving special protection.
• Increased wetland habitat buffers, based on updated the State Wetland Rating System, and new requirements for buffers along streams.
• More stringent requirements for shoreline modifications (docks, bulkheads, etc.).

More information about the CAO, and helpful links to resources are contained in an information bulletin created by the Community Development and available on the County website at http://sanjuanco.com/cdp/CAO_ImplemenationDocs.aspx

People planning construction or development projects can contact the San Juan County Community Development & Planning Department at (360) 378-2354 for additional information or to arrange a pre-application meeting and site inspection.

Here’s Merri Ann Simonson’s annual review of the last year’s Real Estate Market…

In reviewing the year-end results, the sales dollar volume for the real estate market on San Juan Island was per the Real Market Data report is $88,640,111 and the year was a roller coaster.

The year-to-date volume was down 23% as of June 30th as compared to the same period in 2012. Then we made great headway until the volume year-to-date was up 9% on September 30th. We ended the year down 13% as compared to year ending 2012 when the volume was $101,523,517. Coldwell Banker San Juan Island was up 17%.  Click here for the full report (PDF)

County Parks announces the appointment of David St. George as the new Lopez Island Park Manager. David is a career Wildlife Biologist/Land Manager who has worked for public and private non-profit organizations for over 20 years.

The position became available after the resignation of Charlie Prince, who was the manager for 3 years and helped facilitate renovations at Odlin Park in addition to overseeing regular operations of the seven county parks on Lopez. The new park manager will begin work on Lopez in early February.

Dona Wuthnow, Parks & Fair Director, selected St. George from a group that included several highly qualified applicants.

“He brings a whole new level of skills and abilities to the Parks Department. His combination of talents will help us not only in the management of the newly renovated Odlin Park, but in developing a management plan for Odlin South, and improving management and operations at all the county parks on Lopez.”

St. George has extensive experience as a biologist in conducting wildlife and vegetation surveys, habitat restoration, and weed management.

As a Nature Conservancy land manager for the past eight years, he ran the daily operations of five preserves totaling 30,000 acres, including supervising employees & volunteers, managing visitor use, and performing infrastructure maintenance.

David and his wife of 27 years, Beth, have been frequent visitors to Lopez Island, often camping at Odlin Park while visiting all the public lands on Lopez.

“Lopez is a very special place to me and my wife with its rural life style and beautiful environment,” he said. “I am looking forward to living on the island and contributing to the preservation and management of the San Juan county parks for both residents and visitors.”

David and Beth will relocate to Lopez from Wenatchee, Washington. He is a graduate of Evergreen State College and likes to fish and hunt, watch birds and be in the outdoors.

The county was fortunate to have received applications from several highly qualified individuals during the recruiting process for Lopez Island Park Manager.

Pints; joules; inches; grams; meters; Celsius; pounds; milliliters; celsius; tablespoons; ounces; quarts; tons; feet; tonnes; Fahrenheit; kilograms; fathoms; yards…

Back in the ’70s, the United States made an attempt to switch over to the Metric system. The attempt failed and we are still using the “english” system, or “standard” system. What is your opinion of this?

Here’s a message from Stillpoint School…

Stillpoint School students were delighted by a recent visit from three members of San Juan Island’s Daughters of the American Revolution organization. The DAR ladies came dressed in authentic costumes to present certificates to two Stillpoint 6th graders, Danica Islam and Jersie Angel, in recognition of their participation in the American History Essay Contest.

Stillpoint students enjoyed the opportunity to explore the lives of children during the American Revolution. Thank you very much, Daughters of the American Revolution, and congratulations to Danica and Jersie!

Click for larger image – Photo Credit: Randy Wyrick, Vail Daily (Vail Colorado)

On behalf of citizens of San Juan County, County Council Chair Rick Hughes has put some of the county’s finest produce on the line against the pride of Eagle County, Colorado (population 51,874), in a winner-take-all wager on the outcome of Sunday’s Super Bowl.

San Juan County will be backing the Seattle Seahawks with Jones Family Farms Salmon from Lopez Island, Orcas Island’s Kathryn Taylor Chocolates and Westcott Bay Hard Cider from San Juan Island. The Eagle County Board of County Commissioners is backing the Broncos with local buffalo jerky, grass fed beef, and beverages from the Bonfire Brewing Company.

Chairman Hughes is a former resident of Eagle County and says he looks forward to receiving some that County’s products after the game. But Eagle County isn’t ready to concede. “I just want to say in advance, thank you to San Juan County for some delicious salmon,” said Eagle County Commissioner Kathy Chandler-Henry.

So Sunday, while the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos are playing for the world championship in a billion dollar contest, the top elected officials in San Juan County, Washington, and Eagle County, Colorado, will each be rooting for their team to bring home the sweet taste of victory.

Photo: The Eagle County, Colorado Board of Commissioners is betting beef and beer on the Broncos against San Juan County’s salmon and hard cider bet on the Seahawks

Who says that Valentine’s Day has to be all about flowers and chocolates? Drop your k-6th grader off with Island Rec for Kid’s Night Out! We’ll provide dinner, games and activities, while you get a night off. Friday February 14th, 6-9pm at FHES. $20/Child. Registration Required, Deadline February 6. For more information or registration call 378-4953 or visit www.islandrec.org.

Here’s the latest from Jane Cable, Assistant Executive Administrator of Common Sense Alliance…
Kate Hansen of Orcas Island has been retained as the Executive Administrator for the Common Sense Alliance (CSA).
Kate has worked with multiple non-profits on Orcas and is a third generation islander who grew up in Rosario. She has a college degree in theater and is active in the Actor’s Theater of Orcas Island.

CSA founding member Mike Carlson said, “Kate brings fantastic communication skills, fun, fresh perspectives, and as a bonus she’s a multi-generational Islander!”

In her new role, Ms. Hansen assumes operational leadership of activities supporting CSA’s continuing work. “I am thrilled to be part of CSA’s critical mission to inform the public and support legislative balance that protects our indispensible community, economy, and environment,” Hansen said.

With her unique skills she will expand the range of CSA’s outreach into the community through social media and become an active participant with leaders of our county. She will also keep our donors and supporters informed of pending actions that may affect our Island way of life. “I welcome community feedback on all land use-related legislation and look forward to working with individuals and groups to create a robust and accessible resource for all of San Juan County.”

Board President Dave Cable said, “Since 2009 CSA’s mission has been to educate San Juan County citizens in the consequences of over-regulation and foster responsible government. Kate has demonstrated great leadership skills in our island community and we look forward to utilizing those skills in our organization.”