Here’s a thought…
“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better man.”
BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
Sign up now for this free oil spill response training
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for ISLANDS' OIL SPILL ASSOCIATION ||| The Islands’ Oil Spill Association (IOSA) is offering free oil spill response training for interested islanders in March, April, and May. Sessions will be held on Lopez, Orcas, and San Juan Island. IOSA is non-profit, volunteer-based oil spill response program
Latest statewide COVID numbers
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| Statewide Response Updates Newest numbers. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 1,409,253 confirmed cases as of 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 17.* There have been 11,615 COVID-19 deaths in Washington. Data notes *Effective Jan. 24, 2022, DOH updates the COVID-19
Poetry | A Black History Month tribute
||| POSTED AT REQUEST OF ORCASONIAN READER ||| Major Jackson Let Me Begin Again Major Jackson Let me begin again as a quiet thought in the shape of a shell slowly examined by a brown child on a beach at dawn straining to see their future. Let me
Health Care District needs to fill commissioner position due to upcoming vacancy
||| FROM TOM EVERSOLE for ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT ||| At the February 15 meeting of the Orcas Island Health Care District, Commissioner Richard Fralick announced that he will resign Position # 1 effective March 16, 2022. Commissioners will appoint an interim Commissioner to fill the position until the
Reminder: Fire Commissioners meet tonight via Zoom
||| FROM KIM KIMPLE for ORCAS FIRE COMMISSION ||| The Board of Fire Commissioners will be holding a regular public meeting on Tuesday, February 22, 2022 at 5:30 p.m. online via Zoom. (Note: the meeting is being held one day late this month due to the holiday.) Meeting access information
Ticks widespread in the islands, Kwiaht study finds
||| FROM RUSSEL BARSH for KWIAHT ||| An exploratory study by the nonprofit conservation laboratory Kwiaht has discovered that ticks are widespread in the San Juan Islands, but not yet a significant threat to human health or wildlife. Funded in part by the San Juan Island Community Foundation, the 10-month
Funhouse story of the month: Meet Ashanti
||| FROM EMILIE GINCIG for FUNHOUSE COMMONS ||| Ashanti started working at The Funhouse just as COVID hit. At that time we were pivoting from our Afterschool programming to helping elementary school kids with remote schooling. She’s been with us every step of the way and now is an integral
Black History Month poetry by a local poet
||| FROM DAVID KOBRIN ||| And Ain’t I A Woman by David Kobrin (Former slave Sojourner Truth speaks at the Women’s Rights Convention, Akron, Ohio 1851) Standing there her arm, worked muscle a bonnet that speaks the field an apparition to white ladies rising to speak to that hall
Artists: Get us your entries for Art Unlocked-Pandemic Productions
||| FROM BETHANIE MARIE for ORCAS CENTER ||| CALLING ALL LOCAL ARTISTS! The Visual Arts committee of Orcas Center is pleased to announce the first Art Opening of 2022: ART UNLOCKED – PANDEMIC PRODUCTIONS, to be held from March 4 to April 12. We hope to cover all of the
Guest Opinion | In their own words: Dysfunction at OIFR as described by Commission
||| FROM AMANDA MONTAGUE ||| "Operations of the department have not been interrupted, and the Chief communicates well with the BOFC, but Chief's effectiveness this year has decreased compared to the year before. I'd hoped for improvement in terms of leadership and policy implementation, but I see no progress in
Orcas Island Film Festival’s classic series is a go
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND FILM FESTIVAL ||| As we hoped, the number of Omicron cases across the country has continued to drop significantly and we see that many of you have already signed up for a free ticket to our Classics Series. Please join us on Sunday, February 27 at 4
Trades program for kids being offered by EDC and 4-H
||| FROM MICHELANGELO (MIKEY) VON DASSOW for ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL ||| San Juan County kids are invited to learn about the skilled trades through free, fun projects organized by the Economic Development Council (EDC) and WSU Extension’s San Juan County 4-H Program. Up first, the EDC is offering 25 motor
A man’s quest to stop the decline of orcas
||| FROM CBS MORNINGS ||| Orcas are one of the most familiar forms of sea life, but in the wild, they are increasingly rare. For over four decades, a team of researchers has been studying three pods of orcas in the Pacific Northwest. The data collected has given an inside
Poetry | A Black History Month tribute
||| POSTED AT REQUEST OF ORCASONIAN READER ||| Those Winter Sundays Robert Hayden - 1913-1980 Robert Hayden's poetry, which explored his concerns about race and African-American history, gained international recognition in the 1960s, and Hayden eventually became the first Black American to be appointed as consultant in poetry to
Community Foundation is investing in affordable rentals
||| FROM HILARY CANTY for COMMUNITY FOUNDATION ||| The Orcas Island Community Foundation Board has voted to grant OPAL Community Land Trust $100,000, as needed, to support the purchase of the Northern Heights Apartments located across from the Library on Rose Street in Eastsound. This purchase will ensure that the
E-news from Governor Inslee’s office
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE ||| COVID-19 trends give leaders confidence for next phase of pandemic response Gov. Jay Inslee announced Thursday that most indoor masking requirements will lift March 21 thanks to dropping hospitalization rates, improving vaccination rates, and broad access to masks and tests. “The virus
