Here’s a thought…
“Deep breath. Deep breath. The air is free. You can take as many as you want.”
BUDDHIST MONK
Reservations open soon for SJC residents at county parks
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY PARKS & FAIR ||| San Juan County Parks & Fair is soon offering advance camping reservations for San Juan County year-round residents, for two weeks only. Proof of residency is required. Early resident reservations will be accepted from January 26 until February 9. Email requests
WSF to kick off the new year with two virtual public meetings
||| FROM WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| Washington State Ferries will host two virtual public meetings to kick off the New Year. Staff will be available to answer questions and give an update on what’s happening at Washington State Ferries at each of the meetings. The first meeting will be at
Editorial | Will Orcas Island Fire & Rescue respond?
||| BY LIN MCNULTY, EDITOR ||| You have probably received the mailer from Orcas Island Fire & Rescue (OIFR) by now, reassuring our community that our Fire Department will indeed respond when called. Anyone on Orcas who doubts for a minute that OIFR would not answer our calls for assistance,
PeaceHealth urges boosters, safe practices amid rise in COVID-19 cases
||| FROM PEACEHEALTH ST. JOSEPH MEDICAL CENTER ||| BELLINGHAM, WA – Due to a sudden and significant increase in COVID-19 patients, PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center is expanding its COVID bed capacity to meet the demand and asking for the community’s help in minimizing the transmission and severity of infections. The
Outlook Inn under new ownership, joins Columbia Hospitality
||| FROM AMY CUNNINGHAM for COLUMBIA HOSPITALITY ||| The Outlook Inn on Orcas Island announced that it has been sold to a private investment group. The Farish family is investing in the new ownership entity along with another local family with deep roots on Orcas Island. There are no current
School asks for assistance in reporting COVID cases in your household
||| FROM ERIC WEBB, ORCAS SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT ||| Dear Parents and Staff, Due to the widespread number of COVID cases on the island, we ask that you contact OISD school nurse, Cindy Sapp (csapp@orcas.k12.wa.us) or OISD Health Aide, Debbie Bruland (dbruland@orcas.k12.wa.us) to report any COVID cases in your household. The county
Generous donors allow Orcas Senior Center to launch home repair program
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| Thanks to so many generous donors, Orcas Senior Center’s 2021 GiveOrcas Holiday Catalog campaign through Orcas Island Community Foundation (OICF) was a success, and OSC’s new Home Maintenance and Repair (HM&R) Pilot Program reached its goal of $15,000 a whole day
Rolf Eriksen pens new book detailing history of Mt. Constitution’s tower
||| FROM TONY SURUDA ||| Rolf Eriksen has published a wonderful book The Tower on Top of Mount Constitution. It has photos and plans for the original construction, a nice discussion of the history of Moran State Park, and photos of the recent renovation. His website is MountConstitution.com. The book
Upcoming class offerings from Island Hospital
||| FROM RACHEL LAMBERT for ISLAND HOSPITAL ||| Island Hospital offers online class on healthy digestion Take a journey into the digestive system with Registered Dietitian Amber Phillips. Learn common symptoms of digestive distress. Tuesday, January 18, 10 a.m. Register online www.islandhospital.org/classes or call 360-299-4204. Island Hospital offers free memory screening
Sun Days on Orcas | Happy new year
||| SUN DAYS ON ORCAS BY EDEE KULPER ||| It has been an unusually snowy and sunny few days here, the white blanket holding longer than usual in the tolerable dry briskness, as all of the moisture is frozen. We've had temperatures as low as -2 degrees due to windchill during
Snow, COVID factor in to return to school on Monday
||| FROM ERIC WEBB, ORCAS SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT ||| Return to Learn Update Happy New Year from OISD! Our New Year return to school brings with it some challenges, but nothing we haven’t successfully overcome in the recent past thanks to the support of our staff, parents, and community! A bit
Sheriff’s Report | December 22 – 28, 2021
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 22 21-010827 Medical BLS 09:36:30 12/22/21 Assisted Aid/FD with patient transfer to ALNW. 21-010833 Welfare Check 13:04:54 12/22/21 A San Juan Deputy attempted to conduct a welfare check on a mentally ill individual with suicidal ideations at the request of
Guest Opinion | Hey, Inslee, it’s time to consider critical replacement theory at WSF
||| FROM TOM OWENS ||| Governor Inslee, It is high time that you took action to get the WSF operating again at a reasonable standard of service. As things stand now, WSF is an embarrassment to the State. Just compare WSF to BC Ferries. From a citizen point of view,
As weather warms, frozen pipes will begin to thaw, quickly draining water supplies
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| Higher temperatures starting today will begin to thaw frozen pipes. As those pipes thaw, water may leak from broken pipes in high volumes that weren't possible when things were frozen solid. These leaks can cause catastrophic property damage and can
Windy weather warning for tonight / tomorrow
||| FROM NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ||| High Wind Warning Description * What, Southeast winds 35 to 45 MPH with Gusts Up to 65 MPH Expected.* Where, San Juan County, Western Whatcom County, Western Skagit county and Admiralty Inlet Area. * When, from 10pm this Evening to 11pm PST Sunday. *
Poetry | Primero de Enero
||| POSTED AT REQUEST OF ORCASONIAN READER ||| Primero de Enero Octavio Paz translated by Elizabeth Bishop The year’s doors open like those of language toward the unknown. Last night you told me: tomorrow we shall have to think up signs, sketch a landscape, fabricate a plan on the double
