Here’s a thought…
“It doesn’t take a hero to order men into battle. It takes a hero to be one of those men who goes into battle.”
Guest Column: Former County Commissioners Reject Proposition 1
by Commissioner John Evans, Republican Senator Kevin Ranker, Democrat Last year, a majority of San Juan County’s citizens voted to make some important updates to our County Charter. Specifically, we voted to create a full time, three member County Council that was elected countywide. This is critical as it ensures
Letter to the Editor: Reject Proposition 1
False: "Proposition 1 is a small change in the Charter." True: This represents small change with enormous consequences effectively removing a prohibition on changing County Council districts by initiative. This restriction originally placed in the proposed Charter by the Freeholders, and passed by voters in 2005 was retained in the
Watch Out for Goblins on Halloween!
Even Dracula likes free books for a Halloween treat From Ghoulies and Ghosties and Long-legged Beasties and Things that Go Bump! in the Night Good Lord Deliver Us! Robert Burns There's many an adventure and treat in store as Orcasians young and old don costumes to celebrate All
Senior Town Hall Discusses “Aging in Place”
by Lin McNulty A group of 25-30 like-minded seniors met at a Town Hall on Thursday, Oct. 24, to discuss and exchange ideas for a shared vision of "Aging in Place." Recent Community Conversations have revealed concerns regarding senior issues such as housing, assistance, medical care. It was in response
Frontline’s Blankenship Wins SBA Award for “Revolutionizing the Industry”
Jill Blankenship from the Small Business Administration Seattle Reporter Jill Blankenship will tell anyone who listens that the days of needing a giant office space to house a call center are long gone. Also heading the way of the dinosaurs are proprietary employees who only handle technical support
Whidbey Island Visits Farm to Cafeteria
(L/R) Alexa Macaulay with Community Gardening Leadership Training (CGLT)/Good Cheer Garden; Camille Green and Lissa Firor with CGLT; Barb Schiltz with Whidbey Island Nourishes (WIN); Cary Peterson with Good Cheer Food Bank; Bruce Kinney, South Whidbey School District Food Service Director with Chartwells, Inc.; Dana Daniel, Monroe WA
Gloria! Orcas Choral Society’s Winter Concert
from the Orcas Choral Society Inspired by “Gloria,” Vivaldi’s most popular choral work, the theme for this winter’s concert is Gloria! This exciting program features Vivaldi’s Gloria! with instrumental accompaniment and a variety of holiday music designed to please and delight. As usual, this year’s concerts are at Orcas Center on
Food Co-op Reaches Founding Membership Goal
from the Orcas Island Food Co-op The first membership benchmark of 250 founding Co-op members was reached and surpassed on Tuesday, October 29th, less than three weeks into our membership drive. The outpouring of community support and enthusiasm for the birth of a true full-service member-owned Food Co-op on Orcas
Orcas Schools Superintendent Barbara Kline Announces June Retirement
Today, Orcas Island School District Superintendent Barbara Kline announced her decision to resign in June of 2014. In a statement she said, "For some time, I have known that I would be retiring either in June of 2014 or June of 2015. In the summer, I decided that June of
Letter to the Editor: Orcas Fire & Rescue’s 2014 Budget Unrealistic
Based on expected revenues of $2,050,662 for 2014, the OIFR department has devised a budget of $1,712,441 which is an increase of $125,388. in expenditures from 2013. Despite the expenditures of huge amounts for capital projects in years past financed by the current 15 year levy, the 2014 budget also
Letter to the Editor: Ghazel’s Years of Building Relationships Count
A heartfelt thank you to all of our public servants that make Orcas a safe and loving environment in which people of all ages can thrive. Our island village helped me raise my four children, three of whom are now off island passing on the gifts of community building they
Environmental Groups and Students Show What an Oil Spill Could Look Like
A new initiative helps map potential oil spills From tarsandssolutions.org Today, Raincoast Conservation Foundation and Georgia Strait Alliance launched a new initiative to study the potential spread of an oil spill in the waters around Vancouver, the Gulf and San Juan Islands, and along the Kinder Morgan oil
OPAL Develops a New Affordable Housing Model
by Margie Doyle Updated Oct. 30 at 3 p.m. Where once a single-wide trailer stood behind trees, last summer OPAL cleared four lots for new homes. (All photos by Orcas Issues) OPAL Community Land Trust, which for nearly 25 years has been providing permanent affordable housing on Orcas
Last Week for Textile Exhibit at the Senior Center
Weaving and other fiber arts are on display at the Senior Center through October from Jacqueline Kempfer Fiber arts created by members of the San Juan County Textile Guild can be seen this week at the Orcas Senior Center. Guild members are involved in a wide variety of
Permit-related Building Inspections Can Now Be Requested Online
from Stan Matthews Contractors or homeowners with an active building permit, can now request required inspections on line by visiting the County website. Consistent with the County's inspection request phone hotline, requests must be made prior to 3 pm for inspections the following day. The full web address is: https://sanjuanco.com/cdp/requestinspection.aspx
Letter to the Editor: Oppose Barcode Ballot Tracking
Imagine for a moment that former members of the CIA, FBI, and NSA created a product that could monitor and track all our votes. Any reason you'd feel uneasy about that? The Mail-In Ballot Tracker story: It's about a little barcode, unique to each voter, right there in the corner
