Dates have changed for this cruise to Sept. 22 thru 28th…

BID ON A LUXURY CRUISE IN IRELAND!

The animal shelter had so much fun doing an on-line silent auction as part of this year’s Wags to Riches, they’ve decided to have another on-line auction – but this time for one singular, extraordinary item.

Let the bidding begin on this opportunity for two people to enjoy the vacation of a lifetime! Experience Ireland in a way you will never forget…..6 nights and 7 days cruising on a luxury barge on a 125-mile adventure along the Shannon Waterway between Quiquley’s Marina on Lough Ree and the charming town of Killaoe. The Shannon Princess is a 107′ long, ultra deluxe vessel with 5 state rooms (for 10 people maximum) and a crew of 5.

This cruise is only available for the week of Sept 22nd – Sept 28th, 2013. Items not included are hotel accommodations before or after the cruise, air fare, gratuities and other items specified by the cruise operator.

For more information and your chance to bid on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure, simply visit www.BiddingForGood.com/apsfh and place your bid! Remember – all proceeds from this auction go to help the homeless animals of San Juan Island!

“Top Priority” is tonight’s movie in the Conscientious Projector series

Here’s a note from Rob Simpson inviting you to tonight’s feature:

Greetings Islander Dwellers,

Tonight’s (Monday) screening may not be for everyone.

But, if you like any of the TV shows from the LAW & ORDER franchise where they unravel a crime scene using forensic evidence to bring about justice, this true story may engage you.

It tells of a woman who, filled with patriotism after 9/11, became a highly-regarded member of HOMELAND SECURITY.

But, by doing things by the book, she suddenly found herself labeled a “domestic terrorist”.

Getting fired from a job she loved was just the beginning.

Suddenly the full force of our Department of Justice, the police, local marshals, military special ops forces and the legal system came crashing down on HER life, instead of on those who broke the law.

How the events unfolded… and what it took for she and her husband to survive is the subject of tonight’s film….TOP PRIORITY.

Again, thanks to Friends of the Library, refreshments and organic pop corn are free to those joining us.

Hope to see you tonight at 7:00 in our library’s main room.

Meanwhile, remember…we are all connected,

Rob Simpson

Sally Thomsen & Heather Spaulding, (standing) of Soroptimists, and Suki Boydston & Susan Leff (seated) of SJC Health Dept.

You may remember our story from July 8 about the WIC program and the Soroptimists pledging $2400 to help out… Well, good news – they are extending this to include one more day at the market, this coming Saturday, August 3rd. In case you missed what it’s all about, here is the original story:

Soroptimists International of Friday Harbor is teaming up with the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutriton Program this summer to provide fruits and vegetables for island families.

Click to see what Market Bucks look like

The WIC program is administered through the San Juan County Health and Community Services  and has funds to provide thirty families with checks for $20 to buy fresh fruits and vegetables this summer. The Soroptimists have pledged to provide funds to double those vouchers to $40 each and further to provide funds for $40 vouchers for another forty-five families, bringing the number of families served to seventy-five.

The vouchers will be available Saturday, July 13, Saturday, July 27 and Saturday, August 3 at the Farmers’ Market at the Brickworks in Friday Harbor from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM at a WIC/Soroptimist booth. The vouchers can be spent at the Farmer’s Market any Saturday this summer and will help support local farms.

Soroptimists International, www.sifri.org, is a service club  with the mission to improve the lives and opportunities for women and girls in local communities and around the world. The Washington WIC program does not discriminate.

Historian Boyd Pratt describes how settlement proceeded during the joint military occupation at the height of the American Civil War in a program scheduled at 7 p.m., Friday, August 2 at the San Juan Island Library.

In the brief two decades from the first EuroAmerican settlement by the Hudson’s Bay Company on San Juan Island in 1853 to the settlement of the international boundary dispute in 1872, a myriad of national, ethnic, and cultural groups occupied, settled, and lived off the San Juan archipelago, referred to at the time as “The Disputed Islands.”

The interaction among these various groups, as reflected in the cultural landscape, shows that the “Dispute” went beyond politics in the adaptation and conflict of peoples with their environment and each other.

The program is free. Call the park at 360-378-2240, ext. 2233, or the library at 360-378-2798 for more information.

Pratt’s talk is the third in the summer program series, Connections: The Far West and Civil War, which explores the relationships between the American Civil War, the San Juan Islands and Pacific Northwest. All programs are scheduled at the San Juan Island Library, except for the Life and Times of General George Pickett, which is next slated August 7 at the San Juan Community Theatre.

The three remaining library programs (scheduled at 7 p.m., August 3 (7:30 p.m.), 10 and 17) are free of charge, thanks to a $500 grant to the library from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History.

It’s this Wednesday, July 31, from 6:30 to 8:15 pm, Island Rec’s Music on the Lawn, FREE Summer Concert Series. 405 Price Street, San Juan Island Historical Museum.

Correo Aéreo is a world touring multi-instrumental and vocal Latin/World music trio. They will be performing traditional music of Argentina, Mexico and Venezuela with a stunning array of string and percussive instruments with silken vocal harmonies.  You will be treated to a remarkable performance.   Go to www.islandrec.org or call Island Rec at 378-4953 for more information.  Bring a picnic dinner.  Pets and alcohol are not permitted. Sponsored by IPS, Islander’s Insurance and FANS, Families and Neighbors support Island Rec.

The “Colockum Park” fire – Photo credit: Don Seabrook, Wenatchee World

On the afternoon of Saturday July 27th, San Juan Island Fire Rescue sent three firefighters and two vehicles to assist at a fire located near Wenatchee. The “Colockum Park” fire is located in Chelan County. Since the fire was discovered earlier on Saturday, it is reported to have grown to an area covering more than 1.5 square miles.

Lieutenant Tad Lean will be working as a “Strike Team Leader” trainee. Strike Team Leaders are responsible for numerous firefighters and fire engines while working on the fire lines. Firefighters Michael Henderson and Joseph Foriska are operating a “Brush Truck” which is a pickup-sized fire engine specifically designed for wildland fire responses. The Washington State Ferry System agreed to delay the sailing for the ferry Kaleetan for five minutes so that the emergency responders would not be delayed for several hours.

San Juan Island Fire Rescue participates in the Statewide Fire Mobilization System, coordinated by the State Fire Marshal. The system reimburses participating agencies for their costs. The firefighters that participate gain valuable experience that they bring back with them and share with all of the island’s firefighters. In addition, should a major fire ever threaten San Juan County, the State Mobilization System will be available to send critical and timely assistance.

Just got this message from Island Stage Left…

Tonight is our last Roche Harbor performance at 8:30. The set is gorgeous and the venue warm and out of the wind. Come and laugh with us!

Painting an homage to “Beneath the Surface”, the library’s Summer teen reading program.

Some island teens got busy Thursday and painted The Rock out on Beaverton Valley Road (with the assistance of Library staff) in an homage to the Teen Summer Reading Program: Beneath the Surface. You might want to drive by and take a gander. They had a lot fun on a quintessential Island summer day!

Scooby is this week’s Pet of the Week

Meet Scooby, quite possibly the handsomest cat you will ever meet. Well, at least that’s what we tell him here at the shelter. He’s about three years old and a great guy. Gets along well with other cats and LOVES to play. He’s got an independent streak, but for the most part loves to give and get affection. Scooby spends a lot of time looking longingly towards the great outdoors, so he’d be a good indoor/outdoor pet as long as he’s allowed plenty of time to cuddle with his peeps inside.

Come by the shelter during our NEW business hours, Tuesday through Sunday, Noon til 4:00. 111 Shelter Drive.

Peter Morrison mowing the Airport Trail. This was in June of 2005 when the trail had got a little bit overgrown – John Dustrude photo

The Trails Committee needs some mowing help just for the rest of this year – the slow-growing season!

The volunteer who has been mowing both the Airport Trails and Turn Point Park is having to take a break, and we need someone to step up and mow both of those a few times before the end of the year. It could be more than one person so each wouldn’t be overwhelmed with work. We can provide the necessary equipment for you.

Please let me know if you think you might be one of those people. Thanks.

Louise Dustrude, for the Trails Committee

The Nature Connection Gallery, at 85 Front Street next to the Dr’s Office Treatment Cafe, welcomes special guest artist from Florida, Lynne Barletta, inspirational artist and founder of Visionary School of the Arts.

Lynne will be at the gallery Friday, Saturday and Sunday 1:00 to 5:00, and will be available to meet and converse, or for the community to enjoy her working live on artworks periodically. For more information please call 360-280-1872 or e-mail pam [@] thenatureconnection [.] net

To the 85 people who marched with us in the parade on July 4th to raise public awareness regarding safe shipping in the San Juan Islands, we say “Thank You!”

The much larger than expected turnout of concerned citizens — together with a coal ship, ferry boat, oil spill, informative signs, and singing children — had such an effect, that the judges deemed us “Spectacular”!

To the 15 people who volunteered for the construction and transportion of the 32-foot cardboard coal ship, “Accident Prone”, and the to-scale Washington State ferry, we also extend many thanks!

Together we truly can stop the permitting and construction of the Cherry Point coal export terminal near Bellingham. This terminal would allow gargantuan Capesize vessels to traverse through Haro and Rosario Straits, exponentially increasing the risk of an oil spill in our surrounding waters and threatening the very ecosystem that drives our County’s economy.

For anyone who wants more information on this subject, look for our ship at the San Juan County Fair!

Liza Michaelson and Shaun Hubbard, San Juan Island

August 13th, 20th & 22nd
Cost is $35.00 at time of appointment.
Please call the office to schedule your appointment at (360) 378-1338

Mandatory Sports Physical paperwork is available on the Patient Forms page on our website or by stopping by our office.
Please bring your completed form to your appointment

San Juan Healthcare
689 Airport Center, Ste B
Friday Harbor, WA 98250
www.sanjuanhealthcare.org

Fire Chief Steve Marler coordinating initial attack on the wildland fires on Tuesday – Ron Garner photo

San Juan Island Fire & Rescue responded to two wildland fires Tuesday afternoon just outside the town limits of Friday Harbor, west of the Harbor Ridge Trailer Park on Roche Harbor Road.

San Juan County Fire Marshal Steve Marler is investigating the fires and would like any information the public might have regarding them. One possibility is that they were started by illegal fireworks. Personal fireworks are not allowed in San Juan County at any time.

Anyone with information about how the fires started should call the Fire Marshal’s Office at 378-3473.

The two fires were not more than 1,000 feet  apart and each fire was between a quarter acre and one-half acre. One was paged at 1:06 p.m. and the other was paged at 1:20 p.m. It was nearly 7 p.m. when the last responders left the scene.

Sixteen firefighters responded with one engine, two brush trucks, two tenders and the rescue.

San Juan EMS provided rehab support for the wildland firefighters on scene.

Current fire conditions are moderate. Only recreational fires 2 feet in diameter in an approved fire pit are currently allowed. Permits for yard waste fires will be available around October 1.

For more information, call San Juan Island Fire & Rescue at 378-5334.

Westwind Aviation (in conjunction with Cessna Aircraft Corp) is hosting Cessna’s “2013 Discover Flight Challenge” this Friday and Saturday July 26 & 27.
This is a great opportunity for anyone interested in learning to fly or interested in a new airplane to come out and take a “test flight” in a Cessna 172 Skyhawk.

Flights are compliments of Cessna Aircraft Company.

Times available are limited and going fast. Anyone interested should call Westwind at (360) 378-6991.