Here’s a thought…
“Old age is no joke, but it can feel like one.”
TAD TOMPKINS
OPALCO annual member festival a huge success
Hiester and Osterman Win Seats in OPALCO 2024 Board Election ||| FROM KRISTA BOUCHEY for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT COOPERATIVE ||| On Thursday April 25, at the OPALCO Business Annual Meeting, Rick Fant of the OPALCO Election and Governance Committee announced the results of the 2024 Board Election. In District
County publishes six-month check-in report for 32-hour work week
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County and representatives from the Local 1849 Union are pleased to present a comprehensive review of the 32-hour work week (32HWW) initiative at the first six-month check-in. In the fall of 2023, the 32HWW was adopted to support the County in
Orca Action Month features clean water, healthy futures
||| FROM ROSEMARY CONNELLI for ORCA ACTION MONTH ||| Orca Action Month is almost upon us! This year's Orca Month theme is Clean Water, Healthy Futures. Toxic pollution and contaminants in the environment are one of the three threats facing orcas. It comes from untreated stormwater pollution, industrial discharges, and
Kindergarten transition event prepares little learners for big adventures
||| FROM MEGAN EHRMANTRAUT for ORCAS COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER ||| The 16th annual Kindergarten Transition event is happening May 15th, 5-7pm. This no cost fun-filled event is held at the Emmanuel Church Parish Hall, hosted by the Orcas Community Resource Center, and funded through generous support from the ECEAP program
Music Lecture
||| FROM LYNN BAKER for ORCAS CHORAL SOCIETY ||| Bruce Langford. Photo by Douglas Ellis If you love music, come expand your understanding as Bruce Langford, music educator and Artistic Director of Orcas Choral Society, offers a free lecture, “How to Listen to Music,” 5 p.m., Wednesday, April
Midnight Mutterings | Tools
||| MIDNIGHT MUTTERINGS by JACKIE BATES ||| What can be better than a tool that works well? That makes a task easier? That makes a repair possible by a mere mortal that would be hard, perhaps impossible, without it? I particularly love small elegant tools that fit so nicely in
theOrcasonian server migration is underway
||| BY LIN MCNULTY, theORCASONIAN EDITOR ||| Thank you to all who contributed to our fundraising effort. It was a huge success and now our Orcasonian website is in the process of migrating to a new server. The site will potentially be down for a couple of days. Stay tuned.
Salish Sea Folk Fest on Orcas is a community celebration
||| FROM SAN JUAN MAKERS GUILD ||| Have you noticed how Islander ingenuity and creativity seem to rise right up through the rock of our island home? Like the Madronas we love, clinging to the crags and leaning out toward the sea, there is a steady, lasting resilience beneath the
Book Talk
||| FROM NORTHWEST NATURAL RESOURCE GROUP ||| Book Talks - A Forest of Your Own Orcas Island Library Eastsound, WA | May 30 San Juan Island Library Friday Harbor, WA | June 1 Workshop May 31 - Free forest landowner workshop - Thinning Your Forest for Climate Resilience
Crescent Beach Preserve Stewardship and Management draft now open for public comment
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| The San Juan County Conservation Land Bank is seeking public input on its recently completed Draft Stewardship and Management Plan (SMP) for Crescent Beach Preserve on Orcas Island. The purpose of this SMP is to update overarching goals and management objectives for the Preserve’s natural
Over 2 tons of litter collected during Spring 2024 Great Islands Clean-up
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| In a powerful demonstration of unity and environmental responsibility, 282 dedicated volunteers banded together on April 20 for the Spring Great Islands Clean-up spanning Orcas, San Juan, Shaw, Lopez, Stuart, Decatur, Waldron, and Yellow Islands. Their collaborative efforts resulted in the impressive removal
County’s Conservation Land Bank moves forward with long-term agricultural leases on SJI preserves
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| In Fall of 2023 the Land Bank put out a public request for long-term agricultural lease proposals for farmland portions of two San Juan Island preserves: Frazer Homestead and Beaverton Marsh. Several strong proposals were received. Following much deliberation, the Land Bank has
Feldenkrais, 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, starting back Tuesdays May 21st at 11 am. Emphasizing a seated position, these subtle exercises rooted in the Feldenkrais Method and eurythmy
Needlework Circle
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Are you passionate about knitting, crocheting, needlepoint, or embroidery? Join Orcas Senior Center’s Needlework Circle on Tuesdays at 2 pm. Grab your ongoing project and be part of a wonderful gathering filled with camaraderie, engaging conversations, and the exchange of tips
Orcas Island Farmers Market begins next weekend
||| FROM KRISTEN FAY for ORCAS FARMERS MARKET ||| The Orcas Island Farmers Market (OIFM) begins this Saturday, May 4th! Visit us on the Village Green in Eastsound from 10am-2pm, every Saturday through September. Come explore this vibrant island hub--stock up on farm grown produce and plant starts, enjoy delicious food,
Library District Special Meeting
||| FROM KAREN MENG for ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| The Orcas Island Library District will hold a Special Meeting on May 1, 2024 from 4 – 5 pm at the Library in Maria’s Room. This will consist of an Executive Session for the purpose of considering the performance of a public
