Letter to Editor | OIFR extinguishes wildland fire, while department morale plummets
||| FROM PATRICK SHEPLER ||| Thank you, Orcas Fire & Rescue, for the excellent job done on Saturday's wildland fire. Your quick actions led to another successful operation. Now rewind to last Monday night, at the Board of Fire Commissioners (BOFC) meeting, where one commissioner said the board may need
A whimsical poem from Burce Hanna
||| FROM BRUCE HANNA ||| Einstein imagined traveling faster than time on a trolley approaching a large clock Say the trolley was a mile away… several clicks of the minute hand would occur before the trolley got there But if the trolley moved twice as fast… only half the amount
Boat America safety class is upcoming soon. Register now.
||| FROM PENNY MILCZEWSKI for U.S.C.G. AUXILIARY ||| We hope you have had the opportunity to be out on the water. We have one class of Boat America currently pending. It starts Tuesday, September 7. This may be our last class for 2021 Washington State Parks administers the recreational boating
A startup Is turning houses into corporations; neighbors are fighting back
||| FROM NPR.ORG ||| On a sleepy cul-de-sac amid the bucolic vineyards and grassy hills of California's Sonoma Valley, a $4 million house has become the epicenter of a summer-long spat between angry neighbors and a new venture capital-backed startup buying up homes around the nation. The company is called
What’s the deal with Orca and peanut head?
Peanut head: What is it, when does it happen, and what are the causes? CONTENT WARNING: Contains photographs of severely emaciated killer whales. Several weeks ago, K21, the oldest male killer whale (orca) in the Southern Resident community, was photographed and videoed in a state of severe emaciation, showing an
Orcas Island Jazz Festival returns this week at Orcas Center
||| FROM BETHANY MARIE for ORCAS CENTER ||| The Orcas Island Jazz Festival (OIJF), lights up Orcas Center every Labor Day weekend to celebrate and share the music of jazz. This year, COVID-friendly precautions will be taken to hold socially-distanced in-person events as well as live-stream options for those who
Upcoming workshop | Solar opportunities/considerations for NW WA farmland
||| FROM KATE MIKULAK for WSU EXTENSION OFFICE ||| Solar on Farmland- Opportunities and Considerations in NW WA When: Thursday, Sept 23, from 6:30 - 8 p.m. Where: Online via Zoom Registration: Free! Click here to register: https://bit.ly/farmlandsolar Speakers: Chad Higgins Oregon State University, Biological and Ecological Engineering Addie Candib American Farmland Trust With special guest
Call for assistance | Might you have a spare computer for a worthy cause?
||| ELEANOR HOAGUE ||| I have worked for a long time with the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN), a very successful non-profit that promotes immigrant rights and benefits at a state and federal level. During COVID, for instance, they were able to get state funding to grant $1,000 to individuals
School superintendent offers thanks for safe start screenings
||| FROM ERIC WEBB, ORCAS SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT ||| Dear Students, Parents, Staff, & Community, On behalf of the Orcas Island School District, I would like to say “THANK YOU” to the students, family, and staff that participated in the OISD “Screening for a Safe Start” held this past Wednesday. The
Orcas Island Fire wants to know, is your property “FireWise”?
||| FROM KIM KIMPLE for ORCAS ISLAND FIRE & RESCUE ||| Orcas Island Fire and Rescue is pleased to announce a joint focus with our community on the National Fire Protection Association’s FireWise USA program. Every year, we witness wildfires occurring across the country. This raises our concern especially as
Orcas Elementary’s summer reading program is a success story
||| FROM TOM OWENS ||| Orcas Elementary’s summer reading program met with good success. Four weeks, two hours a day, 14 students received additional reading instruction. The summer vacation months are typically a period of declining reading skills, particularly for those students falling behind. The goal of the Orcas Elementary
Join JP and the OK Rhythm Boys as they close Moran Centennial music series
||| FROM ANITA ORNE for JP AND THE OK RHYTHM BOYS ||| You’re invited to join JP and the OK Rhythm Boys for the closing concert of the Friends of Moran State Park 2021 Centennial Music in Moran series on Saturday, September 4. JP, Gordon, and Anita will bring their
Sheriff’s Report | August 18 – 24, 2021
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 18 21-007479 Welfare Check 13:06:42 08/18/21 A Lopez Deputy assisted in a welfare check. The concern arose when a Lopez citizen's telephone lost power and the citizen was unreachable to family members. The citizen was contacted, confirmed to be healthy,
Typo? Or is WSF finally being upfront about their staffing shortages?
||| BY LIN MCNULTY, theORCASONIAN EDITOR ||| Ferry Alert: Ana/SJs - Update - Samish Running 40 Hours Behind Schedule - 11 p.m. Ana Delayed theOrcasonian does not routinely post the delayed Washington State Ferry (WSF) sailings on any given day, for a couple of reasons. The first reason would be
WSF weekly report
||| FROM PATTY RUBSTELLO, ASSISTANT SEC'Y, for WASHINGTON STATE FERRIES ||| Youth Maritime Collaborative aboard Tacoma I had the pleasure of meeting 10 bright minds and possible future mariners on Friday! That’s when we hosted members of the Youth Maritime Collaborative’s (YMC) Accelerator Project on a tour aboard Tacoma, where they explored the inner
Latest from Lekanoff | COVID-19 Q&A, economic recovery, and the Green Amendment
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF REP. DEBRA LEKANOFF ||| Happy Fantastic Friday! Thank you for your continued diligence as we continue to navigate the rise in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths here in our communities. We must all work together to remain vigilant and take the necessary precautions to keep
