Here’s a thought…
“I am so convinced of the advantages of looking at mankind instead of reading about them, and of the bitter effects of staying at home with all the narrow prejudices of an islander, that I think there should be a law amongst us to set our young men abroad for a term among the few allies our wars have left us.”
LORD BYRON
School Board will be meeting Thursday – updated location is school library
January 27, 2022 @ 5pm ||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT ||| The Orcas Island School District School Board will be hosting their meeting IN-PERSON in the School Library AND online VIA ZOOM. Here is the link to sign up for free ZOOM: zoom.us/freesignup/ Please click on this link to join
Island Hospital is now Island Health
||| FROM ISLAND HEALTH ||| Today, Island Hospital leadership announced a new name, logo and tagline to better encompass all the services they provide. Island Hospital is now Island Health. “While the building that houses our Emergency Department, Acute Care Unit, Intensive Care Unit, Surgical Services and Birth Center will
Int’l. Year of the Salmon announces official launch of 2022 Pan-Pacific expedition
||| FROM INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE SALMON ||| The International Year of the Salmon (IYS) and the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) are excited to announce the launch of the 2022 IYS Pan-Pacific Winter High Seas Expedition supported by NPAFC member countries (Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the
Newest COVID numbers from State Health Dept.
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| Newest numbers. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reported a total of 1,203,311 confirmed cases as of 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 23.* There have been 10,458 COVID-19 deaths in Washington. *Data note: As noted in the new release mentioned below — Effective Jan. 24,
School Board Spotlight | Bridget Broderick
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT ||| Bridget Broderick and family Bridget moved to Orcas Island with her family of five in the fall of 2018. She has three children currently attending Orcas Island School District. Her background is elementary education. She taught 3rd and 4th grade for
Library’s Endurance Series to feature Bruce Benton and his book ‘Riverblindness in Africa’
||| FROM CAROL DAPOGNY for ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| Bruce Benton Author Event: Wednesday, February 2 at 6 p.m. – The Endurance Series Episode 7: The Enduring Benefits of Collaboration in the Treatment of Riverblindness in Africa with Bruce Benton. This hybrid event will be held at the library and by Zoom meeting.
School Board will be meeting Thursday
January 27, 2022 @ 5pm ||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT ||| The Orcas Island School District School Board will be hosting their meeting IN-PERSON in The OISD Multipurpose Room behind the Old Gym AND online VIA ZOOM. Here is the link to sign up for free ZOOM: zoom.us/freesignup/ Please click
Take climate change action with OPALCO
Stewards, Energy Roundtables and Island Way Workshops ||| FROM KRISTA BOUCHEY for ORCAS POWER & LIGHT COOPERATIVE ||| Are you looking for things you can DO to combat climate change? Is there a home energy efficiency project you’d like to DO this year? Do you have ideas for how we
Letter to Editor | Stewardship, community, and living wage jobs
||| FROM MIA KARTIGANER ||| Unlike mainland emergency responders with easy access to hospital ERs, Orcas Island’s EMTs are uniquely mentored in helping to sustain life for as long as it takes to shepherd people off island. We have to wait for emergency transportation to the nearest hospital or the
Warmenhoven announces candidacy for SJC Auditor
||| FROM NATASHA WARMENHOVEN ||| Natasha Warmenhoven, candidate for San Juan County Auditor It is with great excitement that I announce my candidacy for San Juan County Auditor. I believe that my education and experience will make me a great fit for this position and the County. After
Letter to Editor | An open letter to the sensible
||| FROM EDWIN WORDSWORTH ||| An open letter to the sensible, How few of us there are, of late. I know I don’t speak for myself alone when I announce that I for one have no temperament for this socialist hubbub about minimum wages and affordable housing. My America is
High quality masks are now available locally – for FREE
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| For islanders who are still using cloth masks in higher risk situations: the County Health Department is making higher quality N95 and KN95 masks available to the public at no charge. They may be obtained at the following locations while
Guest Opinion | Coronavirus and our island ecosystem
||| FROM RUSSEL BARSH for KWIAHT ||| Thus far, efforts to contain and combat the SARS-Cov-2 virus that causes Covid-19 have focused on humans. Reasonable enough, given that there are billions of us, mainly packed into dense population centers, traveling and socializing persistently, and therefore a generous viral host. Not
Reps. Larsen, DelBene to highlight federal bridge repair funding in Skagit County
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF REP. RICK LARSEN ||| SKAGIT COUNTY, WA – On Tuesday, January 25, Reps. Rick Larsen (WA-02) and Suzan DelBene (WA-01) will hold a press conference with local officials to highlight how historic investments included in the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will enable Washington communities to repair
Order from SJC Court: Due to COVID, no jury trials until mid-February
||| FROM MELLISSA DERKSEMA, SJC COURT ADMINISTRATOR ||| As of January 19, 2022, San Juan County Superior and District Courts have entered new emergency orders postponing all jury trials until mid-February, due to high transmission rates of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19. San Juan County has experienced a resurgence of COVID-19
Guest Opinion | We need to resolve our working community housing crisis
||| FROM BILL BANGS ||| Most of us know or have heard of someone who has been a hardworking neighbor in our county for many years and who has lost their long-term rental home. Some of these friends and neighbors have been forced to move to the mainland to find
