Abbey Road plays the Community Theater this Saturday

These four lads from Atlanta have been so popular in their Friday Harbor visits, that San Juan Community Theatre has asked them “to Get Back” for the Independence weekend.

Abbey Road Live! takes the Whittier stage this Saturday, July 6 at 8 p.m.

The Beatles Tribute Band (not your typical look-a-likes – they don’t have mop-top haircuts or play Rickenbacker guitars) was originally formed to highlight the monumental “Abbey Road” album, but soon expanded their repertoire to more than 100 Beatles tunes from all eras of the Fab Four’s career. Expect to get on your feet and swoon to iconic tunes like “Penny Lane,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” and “Eleanor Rigby,” to name just a few.

The Business Partners for the evening are VanderYacht Propane, M & W Auto and Computer San Juans. Tickets are $25 for adults; $12 for student reserved, with $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. or buy on-line at www.sjctheatre.org.

Do you have a few minutes? Just got this quick note from Jan at the Animal Shelter:

Debbie Pigman sends this invitation to you…

Just want to let you know that our pal, Ian Byington, is in town and playing at the Art Market, Friday, July 5. His gig is from 3:00-4:30 pm and I know he’s looking forward to playing in Friday Harbor again! His act will be followed by the Rocky Bay Boys, featuring Steve Dyer, Tom Danrich and Ken Arzarian, from 4:30 – 7:00pm…..some great tunes, original and oldies, folk, blue grass… something for everyone!

In addition, we have three new artists joining us and Joseph, the sausage guy often seen at the Farmers Market, will be joining Felicity to provide us great food from the grill.

And, we are pleased to announce that two of our local art galleries are partnering with the Art Market, extending their open hours until 7;00pm on Fridays. We encourage folks to visit the galleries and then come on down to the market, or vice versa. The two are Waterworks Gallery and Gallery 9.

WaterWorks Gallery, located at 315 Argyle, is a gallery for contemporary artwork, representing artists with strong and independent voices living in the Islands and the Pacific Northwest. Oil, encaustic, glass, bronze and stone and artist handcrafted jewelry. Monthly shows, www.waterworksgallery.com.

Gallery 9, located at 60 First Street, has local art from the Northwest Islands to include elegant art wear, jewelry, nature photography, glass, and sculpture. Monthly show, www.Gallery9Art.com.

Hope you can come by the Art Market this, and every, Friday until August 30, from 3:00-7:00pm!

Debbie

Standing L to R: Pat Hansen, Julie Hanks, Sharon Pigman, Necia Quast, Gay Graham, Kim Galton, Peggy Long – Seated L to R: Heather Spaulding, Katie Loring, Dana Bune

On June 15, Soroptimists International of Friday Harbor (SIFRI), a service organization, with the mission to improve the lives of women and girls locally and globally,  installed Katie Loring, attorney, as the new President, taking over from Heather Spaulding, who will remain on the Board as the immediate past president. The new President-elect is Sharon Pigman, who joins the Board. along with other new officers and board members.

In the last year, SIFRI has provided nearly $17,000 for ferry tickets for islanders being treated for cancer off-island through the Cancer Transportation Fund. The Soroptimists awarded over $12,000 in grants and scholarships to local women seeking to further their education or making important contributions through volunteer work.  SIFRI gave financial support to many local organizations, including the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Services Agency, the Family Resource Center, the Agricultural Guild, and the Women, Infants and Children Supplemental Nutriton Program.

The club raised money for these programs through Bunco events and the annual St. Patrick’s Day Corn Beef and Cabbage Dinner.  In addition. the Soroptimists participated in many community projects, including the Great Island Clean Up, the Knowledge Bowl.  the Children’s Festival and the Pig War Piicnic and OktoberFest. The group staffs the gates of the County Fair each year.  A new program this year was a day-long free seminar on life skills called ‘Practical Magic.’

In the coming year, among other things, the club will be hosting the Area Meeting of Soroptimist Clubs in the spring.  “I am looking forward to a busy year, working together with our many talented and dedicated members to raise awareness of issues important to women and girls, to assist our local community, and to find new ways that we can do more to support women and girls locally and abroad.” said new President Katie Loring about Soroptimists’ plans for the future.

It’s almost time for Shakespeare Under the Stars – and Island Stage Left wants you to come and join the fun!

We all look forward to seeing you! It’s Italy in the 1950’s!

July 5th through the 9th on tour (Lopez, Shaw, Orcas – call Lopez Island Vineyards for Lopez tickets where there is a suggested donation)

And then at home on San Juan Island:
Roche Harbor July 11 – 28
1062 Wold Rd Aug 2 – 18

Click for larger version

I just got a call from Kevin Holmes – That was his daughter Jessica that got run over in the parade today. Good news is – she is home and doing well.

“She’s A-OK, she just can’t walk” says her mom.

Jessica was carrying a banner for the library, when she tripped and fell. Then the ’57 Thunderbird following behind her couldn’t stop in time. Kevin said something about those older cars’ brakes not working too well when they’ve heated up. She went under the car and was dragged a bit before the car stopped. More good news is that she didn’t get run over by the tire. People in the crowd rushed out and actually lifted the car – tipped it up so she could be pulled out from under it.

She was taken to the hospital and found to have a fractured right ankle and some road rash.

Kevin wants to say a big thank you for your concern to everyone calling, and to let you know that things are good and they are just going to chill out for the evening.

I don’t know who wrote this, it was in an email forwarded to me several years ago along with a million other people, (probably to you as well) but I thought it was great so I’m posting it here. If anyone knows the author, let me know and I’ll give them credit…

HDR Lawnmower – Tim Dustrude photo

Imagine the following conversation between God and St. Francis on the subject of lawns:

GOD: Frank, you know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there in the Midwest? What happened to the dandelions, violets, thistle and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect, no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But all I see are these green rectangles.

ST. FRANCIS: It’s the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers “weeds” and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass.

GOD: Grass? But it’s so boring. It’s not colorful. It doesn’t attract butterflies, birds and bees, only grubs and sod worms. It’s temperamental with temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there?

ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn.

God: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy. Continue Reading

New windows installed in the building, and old ones waiting to be taken away.

Have you noticed they’re upgrading the windows and the siding on the Elementary School? (Probably not, right? It’s summertime – who goes to school in the summertime?) Anyway, Dwight from LIWOL (Light WIth Out Loss) at tells me that energy savings was a big factor in the selection of new windows. These new windows have a U Value ranging from .17 to .20 which translates to an average R value of better than 5-1/2. Most houses he says have an R value of about 3.3. The old windows in the school were about R2. Don’t ask me what any of that means, but I think it’s good.

There is new siding going on as well. The work is being done by H.B. Hansen Construction out of Lynden. Dwight said no local contractors submitted bids. He also said it was quite a feat orchestrating this whole thing – they only had a narrow “window” of time (yes that was intended) to get this done before school starts, but everyone came together – Architect John Gresseth, Supplier LIWOL and contractor H.B. Hansen – and pulled it off.

And it looks like the contractors are giving away the old windows judging by that sign there…

Camp Stitch-a-Lot is coming up soon. Click the poster below for more info…

Click for larger poster

A call to join in the fun! Community groups, families, and individuals to help the San Juan Islands Museum of Art decorate their new home… A fun summer project that will begin Saturday, July 6th. Our inspiration is IMA-Visions of the Future! Plan your mural around this theme in any manner you and your group wish to!!

Don’t miss this fun, on-going summer art project. The painting will take place in front of our new San Juan Islands Art Museum (the old EMS building) at 540 Spring Street.

Families and Community Groups of all ages are welcome! Explore your creativity!!
To be held during starting Saturday, July 6th — and for seven continuing Saturdays throughout July and August 2013 from 11-4 PM!! Watch our visions grow!!

Gather your ideas and your group for hours of painting fun right there on Spring Street!! Come and see for yourselves!! Join in the fun!! Bring some paint and brushes and the rest will be provided.
We will provide the 4 ft x 8 ft plywood to be your canvas.

Our sincere thank you to our generous community sponsors Browne Lumber and Office Supplies Plus.

Did you hear? Our island’s very own Jaime Ellsworth is included in Ashley Rooney’s book “100 Artists of the Northwest”. Congratulations Jaime!

Jaime is also one of the featured artists at “The Dog Show: Loving our 4 legged Friends”, currently running at Waterworks Gallery through July 13.

The San Juan Island Conservation Corps begins their second summer season

This summer, San Juan Island National Historical Park welcomes three San Juan Island Conservation Corps (SJICC) crews totaling 23 local middle school students. This is SJICC’s second summer season following a successful pilot spring program. Last summer, the very first San Juan Island Conservation Corps of 14 local middle school students completed various stewardship projects and educational activities in the park. This summer, crews will work on an assortment of resource stewardship projects at the American Camp and English Camp units of the park.

The Park’s goal with SJICC is to create future island stewards, while getting some valuable work done on our public lands. Students will:

• learn about the history, uniqueness, and intrinsic value of their island ecosystems
• gain a sense of ownership by participating in improvement projects
• form a cohesive team to support group and individual work
• and practice responsible stewardship of our public lands

For more information, contact Raena Parsons at [email protected].

The SJC Fair invites writers from all islands to enter poetry, short fiction and children’s writing on this year’s fair theme “Footloose at the Fair”. Note the deadline of July 10th for judging. Click the poster below for more information.

My thanks to the San Juan County citizens, Councilmembers and staff who helped me keep things moving forward this past year as your Interim County Manager. While there are plenty of items still on the TO DO list, we really had a very successful list of goals accomplished:

• GOVERNANCE TRANSITIONS – With the Charter amendments approved in November, we have now had THREE County Councils! And with the arrival of Mike Thomas, THREE County Administrators/Managers. Somehow we made it through!
• GROWTH MANAGEMENT ACT COMPLIANCE – For the first time in 21 years, San Juan County achieved compliance from the State with the Growth Management Act, which opens additional State grant and funding options to the County.
• BUDGET STABILIZATION – Thanks largely to voter approval of the Public Safety Sales Tax, we were able to end five years of major budget cuts and adopt a stable three year budget forecast through 2015.
• CRITICAL AREAS ORDINANCE – Rejecting a “one size fits all” Federal/State approach the County adopted a site specific approach, trying to balance environmental protection and maximum property rights. While it is complex and challenges have yet to be ruled upon by the Growth Management Hearings Board, the County is committed to streamlining regulations and continuing to seek balance.
• SOLID WASTE TRANSITION – Moving from a County-run to public-private system has proven more challenging and taken longer than anticipated, but this allowed each Island to come up with its own solution: Lopez Solid Waste District, the Town/County/Lauderback agreement on San Juan, and the expanded ORS service on Orcas.
• SJC3 COUNTY COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS – As part of reviewing County services, service levels, and reshaping County government to better meet the needs of residents today and in the future, the Conversations held on Lopez, Shaw, Orcas, and San Juan were a great success. The results provide guidance for the 2014 Budget and beyond.

I’ll leave it to Council Chairman Jamie Stephens and new County Manager Mike Thomas to address the remaining Goals for 2013 and into 2014, but for my part, my thanks to all for your help (and constructive criticism) along the way.

And thank you for allowing me to be a temporary Island resident and to gain an understanding of “Island Quality of Life.”

Bob Jean
Interim County Manager
(May 2012-June 2013)

Friday Harbor Drug Co. c1909. This photo shows what the two-story wooden section looked like when it was built, and before the columns and balcony were added – Photo courtesy of the Tacoma Public Library

The Town of Friday Harbor is recruiting for a position on the Historic Preservation Review Board. This is an important volunteer position. Our work assisting the owners of historic buildings in town, and advising the Town Council on issues concerning the Town’s historic district, is being compromised without the full 5-member board. Applicants for this position are not required to live in town, but must live on San Juan Island and attend two 2-hour meetings each month. If you like history, architecture, design, urban planning, and working with the community, please contact Sandy Strehlou at (360) 378-2810 or ( sstrehlou [@] fridayharbor [.] org )