Volunteer Coaches Needed for Island Rec Girls Basketball
Island Rec is seeking Volunteers for the 4-8th Grade Recreational Girls Basketball League. The league focuses on fundamentals, team building and fun. Coaching is a great way to get involved in the community and share a passion for a sport you love.

There will be coaches meetings January 7 & 8 at 5:30pm. League begins, January 13-March 2, three nights per week. Please stop by the Island Rec office and pick up a Volunteer Application if interested by December 20th. Please contact Morgan at
Morgan [@] IslandRec [.] org or 378-4953 for more information.

Francis and Rebecca Smith cut a rug during contra dancing at a recent Holiday Social

This year’s annual old-fashioned Holiday Social, tree trimming and cookie potluck, scheduled noon to 3 p.m., Saturday, December 8, at English Camp, will have a decidedly international flavor.

Visitors are invited to bring holiday cookies and ornaments that reflect yuletide and winter solstice celebrations throughout the world. As always, a tree will be erected in the old British Royal Marine Light Infantry barracks building — just as it was likely done in the mid-1860s when the camp was in its heyday.

The park’s 2013 Volunteer of the Year award and volunteer recognition is scheduled for 2 p.m.

Admission is free. The park will provide beverages, two fires to warm the bones and entertainment to include staff and volunteer re-enactors in period uniforms and dress, storytelling, contra dancing as well as other multi-cultural folk dances.

A motorized golf cart will be available in the English Camp parking area for persons with accessibility needs. For information, call 378-2240, ext. 2233, 2228 or 2227.

Friday Harbor Middle School Players will be holding auditions on Wednesday and Thursday of this week (Dec. 4 & 5) at the FHHS Drama Room from 3:00 to 5:00 PM for the upcoming production of “The Importance of Being Earnest”, a comedy/farce by Oscar Wilde.

Click on the poster here for role information or get ahold of Jane Maxwell Campbell: 378-7766 (home) or 317-6843 (cell/text)

Jack is Pet of the Week

Jack has been here at the shelter longer than any of the other cats – over three years. The staff and volunteers all love with this sweet, gentle boy and know what a special cat he is. The problem is that he tends to be shy around newcomers and tends to disappear when folks come in to select a new companion. Once he gets to know you he just wants to cuddle! We think Jack is about 8-10 years old and we know he still has so much love to give! Wouldn’t you like to make Jack’s Christmas wish come true and invite him into your family? Stop by the shelter soon to meet him! Don’t forget about our Holiday Special – through the end of December all black cats are $20 to qualified adopters and the adoption fee includes 25 pounds of dry cat food and 20 pounds of kitty litter!

A workshop to learn ways to prevent a wild fire encroaching on your house, will be given at the San Juan Island Fire Rescue headquarters station at 1011 Mullis Street on Tuesday, December 3 at 6:30 PM.

Anyone interested in starting up a Firewise Community with their neighbors should attend this one hour meeting.

The Fairway Drive area and the Golf Course Rd area neighbors are in the process of organizing Firewise Communities and are encouraged to attend this meeting. Individuals can also benefit by attending. A discussion of how a wild fire works and tips on protecting your home will be the topics for this important meeting. This workshop is one of the requirements to join the National Firewise program.

On December 10, at the County Council meeting, four San Juan Island Firewise Communities will be recognized for ten years of fire prevention. Congratulations to Alaska Place, Cattle Point, Mitchell Point and Roche Harbor for their efforts. For more information go to Firewise.org or call Ron Garner, Firewise Coordinator at 378-7722.

San Juan Island National Historical Park will apply more than $800,000 in special project funds in 2014 on improvements to park roads, trails, grounds, and buildings at American and English camps, announced superintendent Lee Taylor.

Additionally the money will provide paid summer work experiences for island youths via the San Juan Conservation Corps (SJCC), founded two years ago by the park and the Madrona Institute, Taylor said.

American Camp projects include rehabilitating the interior of the Officers’ Quarters; laying new gravel on the Salmon Banks Road and adding new bulletin boards at South Beach; grading the Redoubt Road; and maintaining the vistas and appearance of the historic landscape.

At English Camp maintenance crews will repair historic rock walls and complete the major stabilization and rehabilitation work on the historic Crook House.

Trail clearing and landscape work will be done with an assist from the SJCC, as well as other national and regional youth groups such as Earthcorps, and Washington Conservation Corps.

Each year the park competes with more than 400 other national park units for money targeted for projects that address park infrastructure as well as natural and cultural resources and attendant education and interpretation programs.

“We’ll receive $863,000 altogether for these projects in addition to our anticipated regular operating budget of $930,500,” Taylor said. “It should be a year of great improvements for visitors to the park and we’re very excited about it.”

The interior renovation of the Officers’ Quarters at American Camp is especially noteworthy as it will make it possible to open this building to the public for the first time since the park was created in 1966 (see related story below), Taylor said.

For questions or comments please contact Taylor at 360-378-2240, ext. 2223 or e-mail [email protected]; or Jerald Weaver at 360-378-2240, ext. 2224, [email protected].

Thanks to all for another memorable Thanksgiving.

We have much to be thankful for in this community. The Community Thanksgiving Dinner is a way of expressing that gratitude with more than 100+ volunteers working together with a positive and welcoming attitude that any fine dining restaurant would be proud of. These energetic volunteers prepared and served a traditional Thanksgiving dinner to over 400 diners on Thanksgiving Day.

This was one of our most successful and smooth running Community Thanksgiving Dinners and we are very grateful to all the volunteers who bake pies, cook turkeys, boil potatoes, prepare and serve food and drinks, and wash a ship-load of dishes; both on the day before and on Thanksgiving Day itself. All of this is possible because of the volunteers who are so plentiful that sometimes you have to elbow your way into the kitchen. The dinner was a great success enjoyed by everyone.

Special thanks to Islanders Insurance, that always cheerfully gives a large financial contribution to get us started, and to King’s Market for the contribution of 28 turkeys. Community Treasures and the service clubs: Lions, Rotary, Kiwanis, Soroptimists, American Legion, Sons of the Legion, and American Legion Auxiliary each donate toward the cost of the food and provide many of the volunteers. Market Place helps us with special food orders and a discount on the food purchase. The Leos club and the “S” Club helped with table set up. During the meal Boy Scouts and the UGS (Unofficial Girl Scouts) came in to help with serving coffee and tea, greeting people and bussing tables. The San Juan Grange donates the use of the building for three days and the Friday Harbor Grange and LLB clubs coordinate the event. There are many more individuals who cheerfully give their time, expertise and energy to this event. The list would be too long to print if we mention them all. But we are grateful to each one. Each volunteer and each group is an essential piece of the grand Thanksgiving puzzle.

It is very satisfying to participate in an event that has voluntary attendance, voluntary contributions, and voluntary effort that brings people together to recognize and give thanks for all we have. This is a labor of love for us and we are already looking forward to the next Community Thanksgiving Dinner.

Jim and Minnie Knych
Friday Harbor, WA 98250

Cynthia Burke shares some good news about what her daughter is up to these days in New York. Check this out…

Thought I would send you some photos of Hanna in her role as “Mother” in Ragtime.
Hanna moved to New York after graduating with a BFA in Musical Theater from AMDA in Los Angeles. One year to the day of moving to New York, Hanna received a call stating she had been given one of the lead roles in the part of “Mother” in the musical version of “Ragtime”. The play was held at the College of New Rochelle as the city celebrated their 325th year.

E.L. Doctorow, the author of the novel, Ragtime, was presented the key to the city of New Rochelle. E. L. Doctorow wrote the book in his home in New Rochelle where he resided with his family. Hanna is residing in New York, working hard and auditioning often. The role of “Mother” is one of her most beloved dream roles, and was a wonderful beginning to realizing her goal of a career in musical theatre.

Contributed photo

[Updated] At 6:15 pm on Thanksgiving, the Sheriff’s Office received a call of a truck that collided into the building at Cannery Landing and other vehicles in the parking area.

The driver was in the ferry lanes waiting to load the next ferry and had fallen asleep. When awakened by the ferry worker loading vehicles, he put his vehicle in gear and continued forward into the building. At least one other parked car was involved and may have helped stop his truck from plunging into the bay. The building is being secured and vehicles will be removed later today.

The accident is still under investigation. The 65 year old male driver, from Mt. Vernon, was taken into custody for DUI after being examined by SJ EMS. No other injuries were reported.

More information will be posted when it becomes available. Click here for more photos:  Continue Reading

Serving up the goods

Mmmmmm mmmmmm Good! Good times. Good Friends & Neighbors. Good Food. The Community Thanksgiving Dinner was… Good! Huge turnout this year. Minnie Knych told me they had so many people last year (about 400) that they decided to extend it for an extra hour this year. And that she was hoping, but wasn’t sure if there would be enough food to last until 5:00. Lots of happy satisfied people there. What a great tradition!

Click for more photos and see who all you recognize… Continue Reading

Artwork by Debbie Pigman – Basket, woven with sea grass and rush with bull kelp embellishment, and leather band bracelets.

The Island Artisans Holiday Market will be held Friday from 10:00 – 5:00 pm and Saturday from 10:00 – 4:00 pm at the Friday Harbor Elementary School.

An additional section has opened up to allow for more artists, expanding the variety of local arts and crafts!

WSF is holding two community meetings on Wed, Dec. 4: 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at the San Juan County Council Chambers, 55 Second St., Friday Harbor; and 5-7 p.m. at Anacortes City Hall Council Chambers, 904 6th Street, Anacortes.

The Friday Harbor meeting will be streamed live from the Orcas and Lopez libraries and on the San Juan County website  http://www.sanjuanco.com/council/video.aspx#mode.live. Viewers can submit questions to [email protected]. Discussion topics for both meetings include: route-specific issues, legislative session, liquefied natural gas, new vessel construction, and long-range planning. We look forward to your participation!

For more information, visit http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/commuterupdates/pub_meetings.htm.

Are you a business owner or looking to become one? Victoria Compton from the Economic Development Council reminds us that because of the EDC’s grant from the USDA last year, islanders can now attend most of the EDASC (Economic Development Association of Skagit County) classes below via webstream at very low cost….

The Economic Development Association of Skagit County presents the next installments of its Education Series. Sessions are designed for both the seasoned business professional and the budding entrepreneur. The series is designed around workgroups that allow business owners to engage and learn from each other’s experiences. Topics presented in this program are based on current needs with the most current listings available on-line at www.Skagit.org.

Business owners, managers and entrepreneurs may participate in these sessions in-person or by live web streaming to a computer near them.

12/6 – Swing in to the Holidays. Join us in kicking off the 2013 Holiday Season in high style! This festive evening is filled with music, good friends, champagne & diamonds, delicious food and a high-energy fast-paced auction. All proceeds benefit EDASC & our programs. 6pm: Social Hour, featuring special entertainment. 7pm: Elegant dinner catered by Swinomish Lodge followed by a lively auction, entertainment and dancing. Registration information available on-line or by calling 360-336-6114.

12/10 – Planning and Financing a Business. A three and a half hour odyssey of what it takes to start and maintain a high performing business. From financing to business plans this is a must do for anyone who has recently started or is considering to launch a business. FREE! 1:00pm – 4:30pm. Refreshments provided. Continue Reading

Wanna help out the Whale Museum when you do your holiday shopping? Here’s Jenny Atkinson with some ideas for you…

Orca Enthusiast on your list? Shop at The Whale Museum.

• We have a storewide sale going on through the end of the year. Stop by our Gift Shop (62 1st Street North, Friday Harbor) and take advantage of the deals.
• Rather shop from home? We have a great items in our the web too! Go to http://whalemuseum.org/and check out our on-line store.
• Want to help your gift recipients get to know the whales even better? Adopt an Orca for them. Visit The Whale Museum’s website to “Meet the Whales” and select your gift package.
• Looking for a “Green” Gift? Check out our Eco-Adoption packages!

For other holiday shopping ideas, check out GoodShop (www.goodsearch.com).

Hundreds of stores participate in GoodShop. Just select The Whale Museum as your charity – then every time you shop in your favorite on-line store via GoodShop you contribute to The Whale Museum. GoodShop has over 1,000 online partners! Partners like Amazon where you can buy almost anything! And Zazzle where you can upload your own photos and customize fun items from coffee cups to t-shirts! Each partner contributes a portion of your sale back to your charity … which, I hope is The Whale Museum. There is no additional cost to you but The Whale Museum gets much needed support every time you shop!

L to R, Standing: Mike Martin the Husky Fan, Donny Galt the Cougar Fan, Greg Swinford with a Cougs sweatshirt and a Dawgs helmet; kneeling in front with the Cougs Cape – Donald Galt

Mike Martin tells me he will spend an hour on Saturday outside Ace Hardware waving a WSU Cougar flag for all to see. This is pretty big news because Mike is a die-hard UW Husky fan. Of course, he’ll only do that he says, if the Cougars win the Apple Cup tomorrow. He’s banking on the Huskies winning and says that Donny Galt will fly a Husky flag if that happens. Mike and Donny have had a friendly rivalry going for some time now, and always look forward to the Apple Cup.

“I think Ace Hardware, decked out in Purple and Gold (Husky colors) will add a touch of class they haven’t seen in a while”, Mike says. “The Apple Cup goes back over 100 years and has been dominated by the Huskies, although for the past year Donny has had bragging rights.” The Cougars won last year 31 to 28 in overtime. Huskies are favored to win by 14-1/2 this year. (or by some estimates, as much as 16-1/2).

Finally, Mike adds, “What do you get with a room full of Cougars? – A full set of Teeth”. 

[Editor’s note – This post may contain controversial material that you find offensive. You should be aware of San Juan Update’s content disclaimer, which explains that the views and opinions expressed on this web site are soley those of the original authors and other contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of the San Juan Update, its staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site or advertisers. If you are offended by anything on this page, please leave a comment and let’s get the brawl started.]

Fixing the pilings on J-Dock – SJ Update staff photo

The Port of Friday Harbor’s contractor, Neptune Marine, is utilizing their crane to repair eight pilings on J-dock. They will accomplish the repairs by splicing and cross-bracing the tops of the pilings. This is just one phase of a multi-year marina reconstruction project. Next they will move over to the shallow water docks on A, B and D walkways to replace the small slips and repair the structural walers. The replacement floats will have grids to allow light penetration to the seafloor.

The Port will also add two new concrete multi-hull slips on E walkway, near the floating restrooms. This shallow water project is funded by the Port’s Marina Reconstruction Fund for a total $638,393 dollars.

The next major marina project will be the replacement of C, E and F docks. Bids for this project will be opened in January 2014.