This is why we're on the list...this is a photo of Mount Baker, looking past Lopez Island that I took from the air...beautiful place we live, eh?

Looks like the President has the San Juan Islands on a list of proposed national monuments. This is a big deal – here’s more, from the New West Communiy Blogs.

Jeff Hanson says the annual hunt is underway to identify the stewards of the islands:

Nominations Sought for the 2010 Good Steward Awards

You can help recognize individuals, families, and businesses that have made a significant impact on the conservation, preservation, and protection of the San Juans.

The Stewardship Network of the San Juans is seeking Nominations for the 2010 Good Steward Awards in the following categories: Shoreline Stewardship, Farmland Stewardship, Woodland Stewardship, Village Stewardship, Business Stewardship, Individual Stewardship, Youth Stewardship and Educator Stewardship.  The awards will be presented at the Sustainable Living Fair to be held at the Village Green in Eastsound, on Orcas Island on May 1, with field trips on Sunday, May 2.

The Sustainable Living Fair will have great music, engaging speakers, field trips and displays by organizations and businesses committed to creating a more environmentally and economically sustainable San Juan Islands. A highlight will be the presentation of the 2010 Good Steward Awards. The awards are handcrafted stoneware salmon by Crow Valley Pottery and have become know as the “Finnies.”  The Fair will share the Village Green with the first Orcas Farmer’s Market of the Season. The Sustainable Living Fair is a cooperative effort of the Stewardship Network of the San Juans and Sustainable Orcas Island.

If you know someone who deserves a Good Steward award, please make a nomination by April 1. Last year’s winners, award guidelines and nomination forms are available on the Stewardship Network website at www.stewardshipsjc.org

Organizations or individuals interested in providing displays and/or demonstrations at the Fair can sign up in person at the Orcas Island Library or download a registration form at www.stewardshipsjc.org

That's "The Dining Room" cast: Dorian, James, Rosa, Amanda, Nick and Marcy

If you’re into it…wahoo! There’s blues & a play this weekend at the Community Theatre…here’s more from Jan at SJCT:

Nick

Saturday, it’s Nick! Northwest blues guitarist and Washington Blues Society multi-award winner Nick Vigarino brings his unique concoction of blues to the San Juan Community Theatre on Saturday, February 20 at 7:30 p.m.

Born in Ohio in the 1960s, Vigarino was in his teens when he was hit with the music bug and soon headed toward the Seattle music scene. Here’s more…

And…tonight, it’s a preview of The Dining Room! Here’s the story:

Islanders get a chance for a sneak preview of San Juan Community Theatre’s winter play on Friday, February 19 at 7:30 p.m. on the Whittier stage.

The Dining Room, written by A.R. Gurney and directed by Merritt Olsen, takes us through several decades inside a dining room with a diverse group of characters.  The six actors– Rosa Blair, Marcy Hahn, James Krall, Dorian Oliver, Amanda Wyckoff and Nick Zervas–change roles, personalities and ages in a mosaic of interrelated scenes (some hilarious and some touching) that create a portrait of a vanishing species:  the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant (also knows as WASPs).

The play opens on Thursday, February 25 and continues February 26-28 and March 4-6.

It’s been a tough couple of days for Friday Harbor’s two basketball squads.

On Tuesday night, Lynden Christian took a one-point lead after one and went on a roll, beating the Wolverine boys 70-45 in the first game of the playoffs. FHHS had ended this season taking second in league for the year….

And it was a heartbreaker last night for the high-flying girls basketball team – FHHS’s usual leading scorer Maggie Anderson’s injured hand (she jammed it pretty badly on Saturday against Meridian) slowed her up, and the Coupeville pressure held the high-scoring Wolverines under 30 as the Wolves beat us 41-27, ending the season for league champs Friday Harbor.

Sunset over the santuary at Jackson's Beach last night...

What’s going on around here….

• Yvonne at the post office tells me yesterday was Donna Tagnell‘s birthday (she’s the one who always remembers YOUR birthday, you know), and today Jim Cole turns 44.

Eddie R (L) and Eddie W (R)....

• Making Ed lines: They work kind of across the street from each other, but I had never seen Eddie Rivera (Sotheby’s/Coldwell Banker) and Eddie Williams (The Hot Shop) in one spot. Till now.

• Ever look at the police reports on other islands? Here’s the one from Whidbey. Don’t drink your coffee while you’re reading it, or you’ll have it coming out your nose…

• Our bunnies made Newsweek, which paints ’em as destructo-rabbits. Here’s more (not much – it’s pretty short.)

• Leslie at the Animal Shelter is celebrating Spay Day next week (you should, too!) – here’s more:

Tuesday Feb 23rd is the Humane Society’s National Spay Day
Celebrate National ‘Spay Day’ at the 2nd ANNUAL ‘SPAY”GHETTI DINNER

You'll get yours....

The Friday Harbor Animal Shelter will be holding its 2nd Annual ‘Spay’Ghetti Dinner on Tuesday Feb 23rd at the Mullis Center from 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm. Enjoy great food (both meat and vegetarian spaghetti available), live music performed by Terry Lush and Erin Quinn and lots of good conversation with friends. All proceeds benefit the animal shelter’s Spay / Neuter Programs. Tickets available at the door. Adults $10 Kids (10 and under) $5. For more information contact the shelter at 378-2158.

• Tonight at the Labs: George Hunt, Research Professor, UW Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, will be the third speaker in the 2010 Arthur Whiteley Lecture Series sponsored by San Juan Nature Institute in collaboration with UW Friday Harbor Labs. At 7 p.m. in The Commons at the Labs, he will discuss Seasonal sea ice cover and the production of walleye pollock in the Bering Sea: Implications of warming.

• First Aid/CPR classes with Island Rec: Be prepared for an injury or life-threatening emergency that could take place in your home or workplace.  Island Rec is offering a First Aid Class on Monday, March 22 and CPR on Wednesday, March 24.  Both classes meet at the Aid Unit on Spring Street and run from 5:30-9:30 pm.    Participants can register for either or both classes.  Cost is $25 per class and pre-registration is required.   Registration forms are available in Island Rec’s Winter/Spring Program Guide and from www.islandrec.org, Call Island Rec at 378-4953 for more information or stop by 580 Guard Street, 1-5 pm from Monday through Friday.

In Whistler...

I told my friend Anna Maria at Tucker House/Harrison House that I’d be happy to tell you about this – she has a rental place right next to the Olympics that is, amazingly, available this weekend & next. Here’s more:

There is still time to catch the Olympics. Slope side townhouse by base of the 2010 Men’s Downhill Competition available from February 19- 28th. Three bedroom/2 bath – sleeps 9.  Four decks overlooking the valley. Barbecue grill, private hot tub, washer dryer and fully appointed kitchen.  For more information, please contact us at 360.378.3587.

Check it out!

I lost count, but I think there is something like 150 island couples in this little vid, put together by me with help from Sophie Rice. It’s got love – from little islanders to alpaca-love (never before seen footage) to old married couples who still have the glow…

For the music, I chose a special piece…Whisperings solo piano artist (and FHHS ’87 grad) Joe Bongiorno recreated one of my songs “There May Come A Time,” from the Love You on the Run CD ) as a solo piano piece that I just love, and I hope you do too.

Folks were pretty fired up for Relay for Life 2009....

It was nice of my good friend Corey to give me a bunch of pictures back in August from July’s Relay for Life here…it just took a while to get them made into a little gallery to show you. So here you go – check them out!

Better late than never.

You’ll remember that on that day in late July we had a lightening storm in the evening, which sent the ceremony for the night into the gym….you can see the skies getting steadily darker in the pictures….

Jim & Emilio take to the streets with their friend Bob Beattie (left)...

You know Jim Stegall, who was one of the leaders in getting the Dog Park going? One of the sad parts of that project was when his guide dog Rinda passed away right after the park opened, leaving Jim pretty lonesome.

Well, I had heard that he got a new dog, and I was lucky enough to run into him & Emilio last night in the street. Jim says that Emilio is calm & does a super job, and he’s sure glad to have him around.

Howard Zinn

“To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.

“What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places–and there are so many–where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.

“And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”

— Howard Zinn

(Dr. Zinn passed away in late January.)

Dennis Willows sets up for the San Juan Jazz Quintet's regular Friday night gig at Pazzo Vivo.

It was fun to have Valentine’s Day here on the island….now it’s time to get ready to hunker down for the rest of the winter…

• Friday Harbor Presbyterian Church’s Joe Bettridge says you’re welcome to come to their Ash Wednesday Service at 5:30. He says, “You are invited to begin the Lenten Season with a few moments of quiet prayer, hymns, Scripture and the traditional  imposition of ashes.”

• Blues at the Community Theatre this weekend – here’s more from Jan:

“Slop Jar Delta Funk!” Got your attention? That’s how Northwest blues guitarist and Washington Blues Society multi-award winner Nick Vigarino describes what we can expect when he’s here this Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Nick’s original music, he says, has evolved to a point where he’s not sure he can call it traditional blues any longer. “I prefer the descriptor ‘slop jar delta funk.’ Mine is a gumbo of bottleneck slide with delta undertones and a dose of jazz/rock Appalachia topped off with funky licks and modern lyric.”

Vigarino has released three original recordings; received several blues awards, including Best Slide Guitar, Performer of the Year and Best Acoustic Blues Guitar 2009 from the Washington Blues Society; has performed in 13 countries; and worked with such musicians as Tom Jones and Bo Diddley.

Vigarino brings drummer Larry Dennis with him to Friday Harbor for a rockin’ duo of guitar and percussion. “It will sizzle, refresh the seasoned musician and surprise the skeptics,” he promised.

The Bluff's Jodi welcomes new chef Joseph Foriska to the restaurant, located in the Friday Harbor House.

• Over at the Bluff Restaurant, they’ve hired Chef Joseph Foriska to take over the kitchen, and by all reports, it’s going well – on Saturday night, two different couples told me that’s where they went for their Valentine’s Day dinner (a day early) & that it was awesome – way to go, Joseph!

O, Canada!

• It was cool to see folks clustered around TVs & cheering for the people in the Olympics… down at Hailey’s there was a pretty good crowd Saturday night, including Brenna Woods (she’s from Canada, in case you couldn’t guess) and her husband Paul.

• Did you see San Juan Healthcare‘s new website? Check it out!

• Did you know the Lutherans have moved their services…they were meeting at St. Francis, and have now moved over to St. David’s, each Sunday.

Laura (left) and Lauren at the Olympic Games in Whistler, where Lauren is the head librarian.

Last weekend San Juan Island Library Director Laura Tretter went to Whistler in British Columbia to visit former San Juan Island Library Director Lauren Stara & do some snowboarding & to hang out in the atmosphere of the Olympics, which they both said was pretty amazing.

Click here for a humungo version of the picture above….

Give it a listen...

As a supporter of local music, it’s been way cool that Claudia at Island Studios has carried local musicians’ work, and tends to play it all the time (which helps sales.)

Now she’s stepped that up a notch, by putting an iMac with iTunes & all the albums’ songs right there in the book section so you can hear what you’re gonna buy. She tells me that it already is a hit…last weekend was the station’s first, and people were listening – and buying.

Drop by & check it out!

FHHS head coach Eric Jangard keeps the girls fired up against Meridian last Saturday. The girls won 60-41 to set up tomorrow's playoff game at Coupeville.

This week, the Wolverines begin postseason play with both basketball & wrestling…here’s the scoop:

• Today, the boys basketball team heads to Lynden Christian to begin their journey in the playoffs, playing at 5:30pm. The guys ended up second in league this year with a steady performance over Mount Vernon Christian Friday night, and got there by taking care of business. “We don’t have to do anything spectacular,” noted head coach Rod Turnbull, when we touched base on Saturday. “We just need to play solid, and then see what happens. We’re looking forward to Tuesday’s game.”

With a win, the boys play again at Kings on Thursday; a loss ends their season.

Maggie Anderson (32) crashes the boards Friday night against Mount Vernon Christian....

• Meanwhile, the high-flying Lady Wolverines never looked back in beating Mount Vernon Christian Friday, and survived a little scare with Meridian on Saturday (with FHHS ahead by 20, the Trojans hit four threes to pull within ten, but junior Maggie Anderson hit two baskets with two & a half left to ice it.)

The league champs take their playoff show on the road at Coupeville tomorrow. They got where they are with four quarters of hustle, strong play inside (Kayla & Kelsey & Maggie are hard to score on, and rebound hard), and have developed a reliable press-breaker that not only gets the ball upcourt but makes ya pay at the other end.

This is a fun team to watch, and one of the stronger Friday Harbor girls’ squads we’ve seen in a couple of decades.

• Highs & lows in wrestling, as the Wolverines head to the Tacoma Dome this weekend: When I visited with Coach Neil Saturday night after he & the guys got back from regionals at Bellevue Christian, he reviewed the high points of the day, set off by deep disappointment.

It was cool to hear that four Wolverines earned a trip to Tacoma’s final – Shawn Cutting will attend as an alternate (which means he’ll wrestle if someone doesn’t make weight or is hurt or something), while Michael Davis & Calen Mehrer & Willie Dunn took second in their divisions to earn the chance to compete this weekend. Heavyweight Dunn’s victories are especially gratifying, as the soph shed over 40 pounds throughout the season to weigh in at 279 on Saturday.

One of my favorite people on the planet is Justin James, captain of the team, who ran into a major, season-ending setback last weekend. Coach Neil told me he won his first match easily, but in his second was thrown to the mat & blacked out for a moment when he hit his head. The state association has pretty strict rules about head protection, and ended the match, and said he couldn’t wrestle for another 24 hours, effectively ending his bid for going to state. The kid who took the division was a wrestler who JJ had beaten earlier in the year whenever they met. A frustrating end to a great four years for the FHHS team captain.

A true islander has passed… Fred’s memorial service will be held Saturday, February 20 at 1:00 p.m. at Islands Community Church. Here’s more from his daughter, Kris:

Fred Bourland

Fredrick “Fred” William Bourland, Sr.
Fredrick William Bourland, Sr., a Friday Harbor resident and former general manager for Valmark, went home to be with his Lord and Savior following complications from radiation treatment for lung cancer. His life was a testimony of commitment to God, his wife, family and friends.

Fred was born October 6, 1936 in Tacoma, Washington, to William E. and Hazel C. Bourland. He grew up in Gig Harbor, Bremerton and West Seattle where he graduated from West Seattle High School in 1954. After various jobs in Seattle and California, he joined the Army and in 1959 was stationed at the Alaska Communication System in Glenallen, Alaska.

It was there he met an adventurous school teacher from North Hollywood, California, Merilyn Berthold, whom he married July 30, 1960. Returning to Seattle, he briefly attended the University of Washington and worked in accounting for Associated Grocers before the birth of twin daughters in March 1961 and two sons in July 1962 and November 1967. He was a member of Riverton Heights Presbyterian Church, where he served as an elder.

Following in his father’s footsteps, he found great satisfaction in the retail & wholesale grocery business. He worked for Associated Grocers for 30 years in accounting and as a retail accounts representative throughout Northwest Washington and Alaska. In 1971, he moved the family to Bellingham where he was active in Geneva Community Church. He “retired” to begin his second career in 1991 in the San Juan Islands where his father had been born. A descendent of Waldron Island pioneers Friederich and Louise Krumdiack , Fred felt like he was coming home.

As general manager for VMAL (later Valmark, Inc.) he enjoyed overseeing
operations for three grocery stores, Harbor Airlines and especially Roche Harbor Resort as his great grandfather had delivered cord wood for the limekilns in the late 1800s. Retiring for real in 2004, Fred enjoyed island life and shared his love of baseball, football, biking, fishing and golfing with his family and friends. Even during the last two years struggling with lung cancer he rarely missed his grandsons’ Tiger football and Little League baseball games. He faithfully served as Treasurer of Islands Community Church.

Fred was preceded in death by his parents (1959), surrogate parents Uncle Clifford (1992) and Aunt Katherine Bourland (1999) , and son-in-law Thomas Unger (1994). He is survived by his wife of nearly 50 years, Merilyn; sister Billye Anderson (Richard) of Spokane; daughters Kristine Brown (David) of Friday Harbor and Kelley Unger of Bellevue; sons Fredrick, Jr. “Rick” of Maltby and Randy of Bellingham; grandsons Carson and Connor Brown of Friday Harbor.

Memorial services will be held Saturday, February 20 at 1:00 p.m. at Islands Community Church, 127 Gilbert Lane, Friday Harbor and Tuesday, February 23, at 1:00 p.m. at Christ the King Church, 4173 Meridian Street, Bellingham. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to FHAA Tiger Football, P.O. Box 809, or Islands Community Church, P.O. Box 1326, Friday Harbor, WA 98250.