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
Orcas Health Care District will meet January 25
||| FROM TOM EVERSOLE, INTERIM HEALTH CARE DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT ||| The Board of Commissioners of the Orcas Island Health Care District will meet Tuesday, January 25 via Zoom at 5:00 PM. Members of the community are encouraged to attend this public meeting. Elizabeth Corcoran, Assistant Audit Manager of the WA
Port to hold meeting to submit goals for 2021-2023
||| FROM JEANNIE SHARPE for PORT OF ORCAS ||| The Port will be submitting DBE Goals for 2021-2023 and are required to have a public meeting and post the goals. If you are interested, please see our attached proposed goals and public notice. If you have questions please
Paradise full: Finding space to rest at Lopez Island cemetery
||| FROM SALISH CURRENT ||| On a clear day, from the hill at Lopez Island’s Union Cemetery, the Olympic Mountains range across the southern horizon and Mount Baker peeps out to the northeast. Sheep here, cattle there range in the pastures below the rural-Gothic-style Center Church. Lilacs brighten the air
Endangered coho salmon spotted returning to CA spawning grounds after well-timed precipitation
||| FROM THE GUARDIAN ||| The heavy rains that soaked California late last year were welcomed by farmers, urban planners – and endangered coho salmon. “We’ve seen fish in places that they haven’t been for almost 25 years,” said Preston Brown, the director of watershed conservation for the Salmon Protection and Watershed
Couple of Orcas road closures coming up on Tuesday
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY COMMUNICATIONS ||| San Juan County will be closing Cormorant Bay Rd to through traffic on Tuesday, January 25 from 7 a.m. to noon for road work. Also, we will be reducing traffic to one lane on Killebrew Lake Rd, east of Laporte Rd, on Tuesday
Funhouse — where winter and hot apple cider merge into fun
||| FROM THE FUNHOUSE COMMONS ||| One day in early December just before Orcas schools went on winter break, our new Board President, Maia Vechey, spent an afternoon at The Funhouse making hot apple cider with the kids. “It was a nice break between playing tag and making crafts,” said
Sun Days on Orcas | What do you exude?
||| SUN DAYS ON ORCAS BY EDEE KULPER ||| There was a tragic accident here a few weeks ago. I’ve been thinking about the person whose life completely changed after the moment of impact. Seeing as I’m not a family member, a close friend, a news reporter, or even an
Department of Health to make significant changes to COVID-19 data dashboard
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| OLYMPIA – Today, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) will make a number of changes to the way it presents information on its COVID-19 Data Dashboard. The goal is to display current trends and information that are most applicable to the current phase of
Blood shortage impacting Washington
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE ||| As a nationwide blood supply shortage affects health care in Washington state, leaders in the medical community are encouraging the public to help. Washingtonians can donate to a range of organizations, including BloodWorks Northwest, the Red Cross, and Vitalant. Some organizations are also seeking volunteers
Library Endurance Series continues with rock star stonemason
“If you are one of those people who can see poetry in stone, then the story of Richard Rhodes may need no explanation.” - New York Times ||| FROM CAROL DAPOGNY for ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| Richard Rhodes Join us for Episode 6 of the Orcas Library Endurance
No more yurts. Orcas Islanders want affordable places year-round
||| FROM KUOW.ORG ||| REPRINT AT REQUEST OF ORCASONIAN READER If you can find a place to live and work on Washington's Orcas Island you’re set. But workers and business owners don't want more yurts, cabins, and tents. They want creative solutions for after the big tourism season. The idyllic
Salmonberry School scales up to serve more students
||| FROM PAUL FREEDMAN for SALMONBERRY SCHOOL ||| January 18, 2022 witnessed the arrival of a new classroom building for Salmonberry School. A crane, barged over from Anacortes lifted a building in two halves over a 30’ utility pole and delicately nestled it onto its foundation. With this new arrival,
In Hawaii, it’s ‘Kanikapila,’ but at Senior Center, it’s ‘let’s play music’
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Join the Kanikapila, Hawaiian for “play music,” led by Kathy Collister every Thursday from 1 to 3 p.m. at Orcas Senior Center. Kathy led a similar group prior to the pandemic, and she is back! The first half hour will be
Midnight Mutterings | Stacey’s extraordinary words
|||MIDNIGHT MUTTERINGS BY JACKIE BATES ||| Yep, I’m muttering about Stacey Abrams again. She has a new book out. This time it’s a children’s book. Her first, and in addition to the wide range of books she has published previously: politics, mystery, thrillers, romance (under pen name Selena Montgomery). In
Sheriff’s Report | January 12 – 18, 2022
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12 22-000260 Suspicious Person/Circumstance 09:04:15 01/12/22 A Lopez Island Deputy took a report of a subject trespassing on private property. The subject had left prior to the Deputy's arrival. 22-000264 Malicious Mischief 12:30:05 01/12/22 A Deputy on San Juan Island
Inslee shares Washington’s pandemic story with U.S. House COVID committee
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF GOV. JAY INSLEE ||| Almost two years to the day after the first case of the novel coronavirus in the U.S. was confirmed in Washington state, Gov. Jay Inslee testified before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis about how the state has responded
