Here’s a thought…
“Before we work on artificial intelligence, why don’t we do something about natural stupidity?”
READER BOARD
Volunteers needed for Solstice Parade road closures
||| FROM TARA ANDAYA for ORCAS ISLAND COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ||| The winter solstice luminary parade is this Saturday at 5 pm! The parade is in need of volunteers to help with road closures for a brief amount of time. Can you help or do you know anyone that can help? Please email
Shoreline Workshop for Local Contractors
||| FROM TINA WHITMAN for FRIENDS OF THE SAN JUANS Join local and regional shoreline experts from Friends of the San Juans, the Northwest Straits Foundation, Peninsula Environmental, the San Juan County Department of Community Development and the State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation on Friday, January 17 from 8:30am
Optimistic gardeners
||| FROM LAURA WALKER for ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| It’s often difficult to be optimistic when faced with the current state of the world, but we gardeners are a lucky lot. We have the good fortune to naturally see possibilities. With hope and positivity, we look beyond the weeds
‘Tis the season
||| FROM ORCAS CHORAL SOCIETY ||| Orcas Choral Society members and Orcas Christian School students carol at Island Market Dec. 16, led by Christian School teacher Andy Rivera.
New winter sailing schedule starts on Sunday, Dec. 29
||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| The new winter sailing schedule for the Anacortes/San Juan Islands route begins Sunday, Dec. 29. These schedule changes will help improve on-time performance and provide more certainty that boats will arrive and depart on time. Learn more about how we developed the new schedule on our project
WSF: Expect a bumpy ride
||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| All ferry passengers should be prepared for possible service disruptions starting this afternoon through tomorrow morning due to weather. The National Weather Service is forecasting high winds throughout the region that could impact service. Anacortes/San Juan Islands and Port Townsend/Coupeville routes: With stronger winds in
Wind, again
||| FROM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ||| URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Seattle WA 1251 AM PST Tue Dec 17 2024 San Juan County-Western Whatcom County-Western Skagit County- Including the cities of Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Anacortes, Burlington, Friday Harbor, and Sedro-Woolley 1251 AM PST Tue Dec 17 2024 ...WIND
Health Care District Board Meeting
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT ||| The Orcas Island Health Care District Board will hold a Special Board Meeting on Wednesday, December 18, 2024 from 5:00 - 7:00 PM in the Community Room at the Orcas Island Library, 500 Rose Street, Eastsound. The agenda and board packet are available below. Agenda
OCS students volunteer to build classrooms for nursing students in Belize
||| FROM ORCAS CHRISTIAN SCHOOL ||| A group of 14 high school students, three parents, and two teachers from Orcas Christian School (OCS) are giving up their spring break this year to travel to Belize for a mission trip aimed at building classrooms for nursing students at Belize Adventist Junior
Sing in Orcas Youth Chorus or Kids’ Chorus this Winter!
||| FROM LYNNE BAKER for ORCAS CHORAL SOCIETY ||| All Orcas kids and youth are invited to have fun making music together this winter with the Orcas Youth Chorus (grades 6-12) and Kids’ Chorus (grades 1-5). The two choruses will meet for an 8-week winter session January-March, with a spring
Council extends agreement with Lopez Solid Waste by three months
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| Council held a special meeting today and voted to extend the existing interlocal agreement with the Lopez Solid Waste Disposal District (LSWDD) for three months. The LSWDD’s managing board had signed the extension during a meeting on Friday, December 13. This extension enables
Poetry | ‘Twas December on Orcas
||| BY HELEN HUBER, ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB |||
Holiday Music Celebration at Orcas Adventist Chapel
||| FROM ORCAS ADVENTIST CHAPEL ||| A festive holiday music celebration will take place at the Orcas Adventist Chapel, featuring island musicians of all ages. The event will begin at 11:00 AM on Saturday, December 21 where the chapel will come alive with the sounds of local talent performing a
Candlelight Labyrinth Walk
||| FROM JEFFRY STEELE ||| Candlelight Labyrinth Walk (indoors), 12/31/24, 5-7:00 PM, Emmanuel Church Parish Hall, 242 Main, Eastsound This annual ritual to be accompanied this year by Jeffry Steele, offering 8-string guitar improvisations through atmospheric audio effects.
How everything became surgery
Removing a wee splinter? Treating a wart? If a doctor does it, it can be billed as surgery. ||| FROM THE WASHINGTON POST ||| When George Lai of Portland, Oregon, took his toddler son to a pediatrician last summer for a checkup, the doctor noticed a splinter in the child’s
2024 Bullitt Prize winners weave culture and conservation together for environmental justice
||| FROM WASHINGTON CONSERVATION ACTION ||| SEATTLE, WA – Washington Conservation Action announces Free Borsey and Raven Borsey, of the Lummi Nation, as the winners of its 18th annual $100,000 Bullitt Prize. They dedicate themselves to nurturing and passing on traditional ecological knowledge, to resisting projects that damage the natural environment,
