Here’s a thought…
“Old age is no joke, but it can feel like one.”
TAD TOMPKINS
County streamlines job application process with new software
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County is pleased to launch a new software program that will make applying for a County job easier and faster. The new applicant tracking system, powered by NEOGOV, includes a streamlined option for applicants to create an online profile, easily apply
Community Water Taxi, Island Water Taxi partner to serve community during ferry outage
||| FROM ED ANDREWS ||| Members of the Community Water Taxi (CWT) and the owner-operator of Island Water Taxi, LLC sprang into action on Saturday, June 15th when the inter-island ferry went out of service for the day. The county faced the challenge of needing to move a lot of
Construction on Lopez skatepark project begins in July
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County Parks, Recreation, and Fair is pleased to begin construction for a new skatepark on Lopez Island. Construction will begin in early July and the new, approximately 6,300 sq ft skatepark is estimated to take four months to complete. Project Background
Letter to Editor | Senior Center an untapped resource
||| FROM SUZETTE LAMB ||| In 2020, my husband and I were lucky enough to become full-time residents of East-est Orcas. In 2023 I was able to start volunteering at the Orcas Senior Center (OSC) and what I’ve learned is that OSC is a quiet untapped resource that now needs
Letter to Editor | Join me in supporting Senior Center campaign
||| FROM TOM EVERSOLE ||| Orcas Senior Center (OSC) provides services and opportunities for givers and receivers on both sides of the volunteering equation. My parents died at early ages, so I didn’t get the chance to “pay it forward” with them. Volunteering at OSC allows me to invest in
Monthly financial Q&A with retired CPA Michael Kulper
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Join Michael Kulper, a retired CPA and college accounting instructor, for insightful monthly Q&A sessions on budgeting, saving, and investing. These sessions will take place at Orcas Senior Center on the first Monday of every month, starting Monday, July 1, at
US admits dams in Pacific northwest have devastated Native Americans
||| FROM THE GUARDIAN ||| The US government, in a report published on Tuesday, acknowledged for the first time the harms that federal dams have inflicted on Native American tribes in the US Pacific northwest. The report by the interior department details the “historic, ongoing and cumulative impacts of federal Columbia River
Water Board members look to recall Water Board members
||| FROM CAROL ANN ANDERSON, RON CLAUS, and JIM COOK ||| The three of us, Board members of Eastsound Water Users Association, have recently called for the recall of our fellow Board members Teri Nigretto, Jim Nelson, Mike Cleveland and Leith Templin because they have repeatedly failed to fulfil their
Chief vanSchaick leaving OIFR; Commissioners Fuller and Biddick resign
||| FROM KAT BARNARD for ORCAS FIRE & RESCUE ||| Effective June 30, 2024, Chief vanSchaick will be leaving OIFR. During her tenure, OIFR’s volunteer numbers increased significantly, and voters approved a new five (5) year levy. Simultaneously, Chief vanSchaick was successful in renegotiation of the union contract resulting for
Land Bank hosts public meeting and field trip
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County's Conservation Land Bank invites the public to a community meeting and field trip to the Crescent Beach Preserve to discuss a Stewardship and Management Plan for the area. The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank is increasing efforts to improve
All San Juan County beaches are closed to recreational shellfish harvesting
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| As of June 18, 2024, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has closed recreational shellfish harvesting in San Juan County due to unsafe levels of Paralytic Shellfish Poison (PSP). This closure includes all species of molluscan shellfish including clams, geoduck, scallops, mussels,
Mayor Jackson recognizes Juneteenth 2024 with proclamation
||| FROM RAYMONT C. JACKSON, MAYOR, TOWN OF FRIDAY HARBOR ||| WHEREAS, on New Year's Day ot 1863, using his war powers as President, Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that all persons held as slaves within rebellious states "are, and henceforward, shall be free;" and WHEREAS, word about
Land Bank meeting
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank Commission will hold its regular monthly meeting on June 21, 2024, from 8:30am – 11:15am at the Orcas Island Library, located at 500 Rose Street, Eastsound. The meeting will also be available online via Zoom. The public is invited
Judge orders railway to pay Washington tribe nearly $400 million for trespassing with oil trains
||| FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS ||| BNSF Railway must pay nearly $400 million to a Native American tribe in Washington state, a federal judge ordered Monday after finding that the company intentionally trespassed when it repeatedly ran 100-car trains carrying crude oil across the tribe’s reservation. U.S. District Judge Robert Lasnik
Feldenkrais and Eurythmy Class
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Join Andrea Preiss, a seasoned Feldenkrais practitioner and therapeutic eurythmist, for a relaxing movement class at Orcas Senior Center, Tuesdays at 11 a.m. (No class Tuesday, July 30). Emphasizing a seated position, these subtle exercises rooted in the Feldenkrais Method and
Quilter’s Showcase
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Step into the Orcas Senior Center any weekday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to delve into a magnificent display of quilting artistry! Throughout the months of July and August, we invite you to explore the dynamic Quilters' Art Exhibition, featuring
