Diana Mancel was there and has this to report:

It was a dark and stormy night….

Wait a second….that can’t be right!  Susan Wingate’s Writing Workshop had its first of six sessions this past Saturday (it was rainy, but not dark and stormy), with a room full of aspiring writers, eager to hear Susan’s slant on the writing life.

Susan Wingate

Using humor, knowledge of her craft and audience participation, Susan has engaged twenty or so islanders to delve deeper into their writing, beginning with scene components.  Through the exercise, some interesting characters were created, including a man using a jackhammer, a lady assassin, and a mischievous ten year old boy.  During the weeks to come, we will learn how to move our characters through dialogue, plot, viewpoint, and all the magical ingredients for a successful story.

The Friends of the San Juan Library covered the cost of the workshop, and is providing snacks each week. Through their contribution, island writers have been given an incredible opportunity to enhance their writing careers.  We are so grateful!

Margaret Langlie tells me that there are still openings for the Hospice of San Juan Grief Support Group beginning next week…

Hospice of San Juan is sponsoring a Grief Support Group for anyone who has lost a family member or friend. The support group will provide a time to talk and share common experiences, ask questions and participate in discussion. We will also provide information and tools for dealing with the grief process, along with other topics of interest to the participants.

The group begins Tuesday, January 15, 2013, 4 – 5:30 p.m., and will meet each Tuesday for eight weeks, concluding on March 5.

Lenore Bayuk, MN, ACNS, will facilitate the group.

The group is offered free of charge through a generous grant from The San Juan Island Community Foundation in partnership with Peace Health and other partners.

Please sign up with Lenore at 360-378-3636, ext. 1 or contact Hospice Grief Support coordinators Madelyn Busse (mbusse5 [at] aol. com) or Margaret Langlie (mlanglie [at]goddulanglie .com) with any questions.

HOSPICE OF SAN JUAN
Grief Support Services
P.O. Box 1434, Friday Harbor, WA 98250

Boo Boo James (L) and Kerry Andrews (R) check in for the run

It’s that time again… BooBoo and Kerry want you to know that Run Ladies Run will be hosting their annual 10K and Half Marathon. March 24th 2013. Both events will start at 9:30 am beginning at the EARTH BOX MOTEL and SPA (410 Spring St. Friday Harbor, WA)

Runners and walkers alike are welcome.

All registrations for the event are through Active.com. So get signed up and get running!

+++++++++++

Lita

Looks like the odds are on her side – and as a result, The American Legion’s Minnie Knych is happy to announce that Lita Gislason is this year’s winner – here’s more:

American Legion Auxiliary unit 163 of Friday Harbor, WA is proud to announce that Lita Gislason of Friday Harbor is the recipient of a Washington State Samsung Scholarship for 2012.

The Samsung American Legion Scholarship is available to high school juniors who participate in and complete the Boys State or Girls State programs and are direct descendants (or legally adopted children) of wartime veterans eligible for American Legion membership. Students who qualify for and are interested in the Samsung Scholarship must submit a completed application to Girls or Boys State staff upon their arrival to Boys State or Girls State.

Recipients of the scholarship may use the funds for undergraduate studies (e.g., room and board, tuition and books), and each applicant is selected according to his or her school and community activities, academic record and financial need.

Lita, a senior at Friday Harbor High School, attended Girls State during the summer of 2012.  Her grandfather, Derry Gislason, served in the Air Force as a pilot during the Korean War.  He passed away in 2010.  Like many Korean War veterans, Derry Gislason he did not discuss his experiences in the war with his children or grandchildren.  However, according to Lita, “He was definitely affected by being in the Air Force…”  She says, “In my father’s family, he was the advisor, negotiator, logic and voice of wisdom. He was the strongest man I knew.”

The scholarship application process was complicated by a computer glitch.  Continue Reading

Found this in some tech magazine we had lying around the office several years ago:

“ADO is the friendly face on OLE DB, which lets you leverage your experience in DAO and RDO (because much of the interface is the same). And since OLE DB has a provider for ODBC, you can still access your DSNs (System DSNs) on your machine when you want to write your ASP’s.”

Not being all that tech savvy, I put down the magazine PDQ.

Roving Update book reviewer Diana Mancel has this report on a local book:

Just finished reading this book, Time Shadows & Tall Tales – San Juan Island in Earlier Years, by Dr. Jack J. Crawford.  Dr. Crawford passed away in 2000, and this book was printed in 2010 with a preface from his wife, Nedell.  I checked out the website for One Horse Outfit (http://www.onehorseoutfit.com/) and apparently it is now available as an e-book.

The book is a nice blend of information and legends from the islands.  Did you know an enterprise called Bueller’s One Ring Circus used to winter near Mitchell Bay in the 1920’s?  When the circus went bankrupt in the Great Depression, the owner gave all the performing ponies to children on the Island rather than have his horses go to slaughter.

There are 81 short chapters, with titles like “There’s a Monkey in the Wheelhouse!”, “Keystone Cops” and “The Swimming Mare”.  You can pick up a copy of the book at the San Juan Library in the section 979.774 for Local Interest.

This looks pretty cool right here – turn your weeds into medicine! Here’s more from Aunde:

Aunde Cornely

San Juan Island Herbalist Teaches Upcycling Weeds into Medicine

San Juan Island herbalist Aunde Cornely is offering a variety of opportunities to learn the magic and medicine of Celtic herbs—many of which are considered weeds here in the Pacific Northwest. Cornely is particularly focused on encouraging the use of plants which are well adapted to the local region, especially those plants people seem to most want eradicated.

She emphasizes that learning to identify, harvest, and create medicine lessens the environmental impact of weed eradication and reduces reliance on herbs grown and imported from hundreds or thousands of miles away. Continue Reading

Rare-albino-like bald eagle….photo by Traci Walter 

What a cool thing to hear – one of Traci Walter’s photos has been used in the National Geographic! She caught the photo above near Bellingham of a bald eagle with rare spots….you already know her wonderful, evocative photography (if not, check out her website here! I love her pictures of nature around San Juan Island….)….

And….here’s the National Geographic story – way to go, Traci!

Yep, it’s time for roller hockey – anyone can drop by! Play is underway at the Fairgrounds, and the usuals & regulars (you see a lot of familiar faces here in this pic from last night, don’t you?) are all there – thanks to Matt Shildneck for the photo! (Click to see a larger version!)

Let’s take a look around & see what’s up:

Captain Paul Watson

• You probably heard by now:  Paul Watson is stepping down as head of Friday Harbor-based Sea Shepherd, citing legal concerns & more….here’s the story from the Globe & Mail. Here is Capt. Watson’s statement about his resignation.

+++++++++

• For more info about the roller hockey folks, skip over to here.

+++++++++

• The scores are in….the Friday Harbor High basketball teams traveled to Meridian last night, with the Lady Wolverines winning 40-33 (we had ’em 21-14 at the half), and the guys dropped a 45-27 decision. Next up: Orcas here on the island this Friday.

++++++

Beading in action! From Robin’s book…..

• One of the best bookmakers AND experts about beads lives right here on San Juan Island – Robin Atkins. Her new book is called The Complete Photo Guide to Beading, and features her awesome pictures (did I mention she’s a Photoshop whiz?)

Here’s a pretty nice rundown of the book from Robin’s blog Beadlust– she tells me they should be available at Island Wool, so get yours soon!

++++++++

Talia

• You like Zumba….are you ready for Aqua Zumba? And the island’s own Talia is teaching it – here’s more from Paul at the Fitness Club:

San Juan Island Fitness will begin offering the water version of this popular class in January.

Talia Loucks, already teaching land classes at the club, was recently certified as an Aqua Zumba® instructor. According to Talia, “This is a great way to get a very low impact, fun, cardio workout. It’s also the only facility offering this particular class.”

The official Zumba website describes the program as “an exhilarating, effective, easy-to-follow, Latin-inspired, calorie-burning dance fitness-party”

“We’re excited to offer another class in addition to our existing 30 weekly classes,” says Paul Hopkins, owner. San Juan Island Fitness will conduct a demo class on Thursday, January 10 at 11:00 a.m. This class is free to members and non-members. The regular classes are currently scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays beginning January 29.

Regular classes are free to members and only $10.00 for non-members. For more information or to sign up for the demo class, call San Juan Island Fitness at 378-8341 or visit us at 435 Argyle Ave.

A few things happening – First, Teddy Deane of the San Juan Arts Council would like to publicly thank the SJICF for their help and support:

The San Juan County Arts Council would like to thank the San Juan Island Community Foundation for their support and assistance through the first official year (2012) of our existence. From our very beginnings in 2009 the SJICF has been there for us and instrumental in getting the Arts Council up, running, and serving the County Community both with it’s financial support as well as it’s encouragement and assistance. We could not have done it without you. We appreciate your concern for all the community’s needs and especially your recognition that the Arts, in a very fundamental way, help make a community healthy, strong and vibrant.

Sincerely,

Teddy Deane
Past-president SJCAC
“Where arts flourish, community prospers and lives are enriched”
info [at] sjcartscouncil .org

+++++++

Give ’em a piece of your mind:

Are you into outdoor recreation? Would you like to let the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office know how you feel about spending their limited money? We have quite a few State Parks, right here in San Juan County and if you like, you can complete this Survey, to give your views on whether they should put emphasis on maintaining existing services or adding new ones.

+++++++

Cool Local Blog

Megan Kilpatrick-Boe has been working on her blog San Juan Island Sepia. Her family has been living in the San Juan Islands since 1885, and she’s showcasing old photos and objects that belonged to them, and that relate to the history and people of these islands. Check it out!

http://sanjuanislandsepia.blogspot.com/

The DSHS Mobile Community Service Office

The Washington State Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) Mobile Community Service Office is coming to Friday Harbor January 9th& 10th. They will be here to do application interviews for Food, Cash, and Medical Assistance as well as Drug and Alcohol Treatment Services, yearly reviews, and to answer any questions on active cases or about any of our services.

Stop by the Friday Harbor Resource Center (across the street from Marketplace) from 9am to 6pm on January 9th and 9am to 5pm on January 10th, 2013.

Just got this note from Sarah Crosby:

The League of Women Voters of the San Juans will hold Candidate Forums for the upcoming primary election on February 12, for seats on the new County Council. These will take place as follows:

Mon. Jan. 14th Friday Harbor Middle School, 5:30pm to 7:30pm

Wed. Jan. 16th Orcas Senior Center, 5:00pm to 7:00pm

Thu. Jan. 17th Lopez Grace Episcopal Church, 5:00pm to 7:00pm

Sad news from Brad Hanson of NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center:

A newborn orca calf was found this morning on a beach at Dungeness Spit. The neonate was 2.3 meters (7.5 feet) long, and was found only a day or two after death. The body was taken to Seattle for a necropsy to take place tomorrow, but we won’t know if this is a resident or transient orca for a couple of weeks until DNA analysis can be completed. Both residents and transients have been in the general area in the past few days, and there are no sightings near Dungeness Spit to help determine the type.
If anyone has any photos of the orcas seen in Puget Sound yesterday (Sunday), please send them to Orca Network to possibly identify those whales, and hopefully help identify this newborn orca.

Here’s a beautiful photo of Lime Kiln Lighthouse and Haro Strait by Jim Maya of Maya’s Westside Charters, shot from an angle you don’t see very often. Thanks Jim!

The north side of Lime Kiln Lighthouse – Jim Maya photo

++++++++++

2013 Call for Sculptures

San Juan Islands Sculpture Park is now accepting submissions for new sculpture. Impartial art professionals and academics will choose sculptures by blind review. See their website for details…

++++++++++

Maude Cumming passes this notice along from the School District…

Hello – Please consider this notice of a special meeting of the Board of Directors of the San Juan Island School District to be convened on Monday, January 7, 2013, 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm, at the School District Office, 285 Blair Avenue. This meeting will be a closed executive session only, in accordance with RCW 42.30.110,  to review the performance of a public employee.

No action will be taken.

Please access our board meeting agenda and packet information through our website http://www.sjisd.wednet.edu/Page/1 (click on the BoardDocs  link found on this page), or

Bookmark the link itself http://www.boarddocs.com/wa/sjisd/board.nsf

Then enter the Public Site,  click on the active meeting listed on the left, then on the View the Agenda icon.  You can even print selected pages using the Print the Agenda icon to the right of View the Agenda.

Please don’t hesitate to call for further assistance in accessing the board agenda.

Thank you for your interest in our schools.

Maude Cumming
Executive Assistant to the Superintendent
San Juan Island School District
(360) 378-4133

Miss Kitty Carlisle – Pet of the Week

Introducing “Miss Kitty Carlisle”,  2013’s first Pet of the Week!  Kitty arrived at the shelter several months ago when her owner moved into an assisted living facility.  She’s extra-special due to her curly tail but mostly just because she is such a sweet girl. She’s about 7 years old but still plays like a kitten and is very affectionate and friendly.  We think she’d get along just fine with other critters and we know she’ll make an excellent addition to any family.  Stop by the shelter to meet her –

111 Shelter Road,

or call 378-2158.

Amy Wynn passes along this notice:

Help! We need a few more beginner swimmers (age 5 and up) to make the 3:15 Wednesdays swim lessons go. Register at www.islandrec.org. Class runs 6 weeks starting Jan. 9.