Here’s a thought…
“Old age is no joke, but it can feel like one.”
TAD TOMPKINS
Leaning into leadership
||| FROM HILARY CANTY ||| Recently, several organizations have reached out to the Orcas Island Community Foundation requesting help finding skilled Board members. With over 100 local nonprofits, the community needs to have a willing group of volunteers to provide the oversight and direction for each of these organizations to thrive.
WSF Weekly Update | ‘Ferry Talk’ podcast; rescue; retired ferries; a kudo
||| FROM STEVE NEVEY for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| A message from Steve On Monday, I had the unique pleasure of spending time with 13-year-old Toby and his mom Margot Kahn Case. They recently started “Ferry Talk” – a podcast dedicated to Washington State Ferries. Toby’s enthusiasm for our system is contagious
LWVSJ Observer Corps: Board of Health August 21, 2024
||| FROM NECIA QUAST for LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS ||| For the Accountable Communities of Health (ACH), Kristen Rezabek represented the county at a conference in Everett this month. Mark Tompkins will represent ACH at an equity conference in Atlanta. At the September Board of Health meeting the resource centers
Occam’s Razor | Our island, our world through the eyes, pen of S.C. Watson
Welcome to our weekly feature, Occam's Razor, from local artist S.C. Watson.
In Memoriam | Nick Karras, September 2, 1944 – March 9, 2024
||| FROM DENNIS KARRAS ||| Nick Karras Nick Karras passed away March 9, 2024 in Sedro Woolley, Washington. Nick was born to Spiro and Demetra Karras in Seattle on September 2nd, 1944, exactly one year to the day before the end of World War 2. His youth was
Near-extinct bird exhibit at SJ Sculpture Park
||| FROM KRISTEN ARNIM for SAN JUAN SCULPTURE PARK ||| Last year the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed 21 species from the list of species protected under the Endangered Species Act because of extinction. The extinct species include eight of Hawaii’s precious honeycreeper birds, the Little Mariana fruit bat
County Compass | Navigating the Civil Service Commission
San Juan County is pleased to present the monthly series County Compass: Navigating Civic Participation that shares ways to understand County systems, get involved with local government, and be an informed resident. ||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County benefits from a variety of boards, commissions, and
Guest Opinion | EWUA recall vote
||| FROM JIM COOK, EWUA COMMISSIONER ||| Soon it will be time to consider all that you’ve read and heard and VOTE on the EWUA recall. I wish us all luck given the degree to which discussion has become almost entirely fact free; We’ve devolved into personal attacks, innuendo, court
Apache Stronghold heads east on prayer journey to Supreme Court
||| FROM INDYBAY.ORG ||| Apache Stronghold shares their journey through the west, from the Lummi Nation to California, and in gatherings with Quechan and Hopi, and in the cities of Tucson, Phoenix and Flagstaff, Arizona. The Prayer Journey to the Supreme Court continues east in the journey to protect sacred
Sheriff’s Report | August 14 – 20, 2024
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14 24-005217 Burglary,NonRes 06:45:53 08/14/24 Orcas Island Deputies were dispatched to a Vandalism. Probable Cause was found an individual was arrested for Malicious Mischief 2nd Degree and booked into the county jail. The incident was documented. 24-005223 Suspicious Person/Circumstance 11:18:27
Are you using your Medicare preventive benefits?
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Many Medicare beneficiaries don’t realize that Medicare offers a number of free services to help keep people healthy. When you get these services from a provider enrolled in Medicare, you will not have to pay a deductible or a copay. The
A new season begins for Orcas Island Garden Club
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND GARDEN CLUB ||| SIGN UP or RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP HERE Warm greetings fellow garden club members and friends of the garden club! We hope you are enjoying a bountiful growing season, abundant pollinator encounters and quality time with friends and family. September marks the beginning of this
Seniors, emergency preparedness, and response
||| FROM TOM EVERSOLE for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Vulnerable populations, including island seniors, are at increased risk in an emergency or disaster. An ordinary inconvenience (e.g., power outage) can constitute an emergency for a senior dependent upon electric medical equipment. In 2018, Orcas Senior Center (OSC) conducted an educational
County Council’s request to governor for relief from ferry service disruptions not fulfilled
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County Council issued a request to the Washington State Governor’s Office for a ‘State of Emergency’ and ‘executive relief’ from ferry service disruptions. The 180-day interim proposal outlined a plan for financing local marine transportation alternatives that would attempt to mitigate
Free Concert
||| FROM CAROL KULMINSKI for ORCAS COMMUNITY CHURCH ||| Free Summer Concert hosted at the Community Church with Stephen Baker, Emy and Lisa Carter and friends this Saturday at 6:30 pm.
Fire risk and climate change in the San Juan Islands
||| FROM ISARA GREACEN, INTERN, LOPEZ COMMUNITY LAND TRUST ||| Climate change can significantly heighten the risk of natural disasters, particularly wildfires which pose a concern to the San Juan Islands. The State of Washington’s Department of Ecology explains that “climate change causes forest fuels to be drier and more
