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
Local poet shares his spring poetry
Narcissus by Dave Kosiur Slowly it lifts its greenery from the soil And then spring into a bright bloom. Oh, what an appropriate name Spring is for the season! We may have planted the bulb and admire the clean whiteness of the bloom But it just stands there in the
Motorcycle operator from last week’s fatality accident has been identified
||| BY LIN MCNULTY, theORCASONIAN EDITOR ||| The operator of a motorcycle involved in a fatality accident on Monday, April 12 has been identified. An Orcas EMS Paramedic was enroute to another call at 2:30 a.m. on Crow Valley Road when he happened across a motorcycle off the roadway that
Rena Priest is named 2021-2023 Washington’s newest Poet Laureate
||| FROM DIANE MARTINDALE for ARTSWA COMMISSION ||| FROM OLYMPIA, WA - In conjunction with National Poetry Month, poet Rena Priest has been appointed Washington State Poet Laureate by Governor Jay Inslee. Rena Priest, an American Book Award-winning poet and member of Lhaq'temish (Lummi) Nation, is the first indigenous
Orcas Montessori about to reap benefit of a new, larger classroom
||| FROM TERESA CHOCANO for ORCAS MONTESSORI SCHOOL ||| Perhaps you are wondering what all the activity has been at the Montessori School on North Beach Road these past several months. We have been building a new larger classroom and modernizing our old space. This new light and airy space
Coming soon: Master Gardeners spring plant sale
||| FROM MO SLOANE for MASTER GARDENERS ||| Healthy veggie starts and locally grown perennial landscaping plants need new homes! Like last year, our sale is online at SpringSale.org. The sale begins Wednesday, May 5 at 9 a.m. and closes May 12 at 5 p.m. Perennials include both natives and
Here’s the agenda for tomorrow’s Fire Commission meeting
||| FROM KIM KIMPLE for ORCAS ISLAND FIRE & RESCUE ||| Regular Meeting Agenda San Juan County Fire Protection District #2 Monday – April 19th, 2021 5:30 p.m. Online / by phone via ZOOM: Dial # (253) 215-8782 / Meeting ID: 852 8703 3526/ Passcode: 241988\ Call to Order /
Skagit Valley College accepting Fall Quarter applications for its Applied Bachelor in Applied Management degree
Includes tracks in General Management and Health Care Management ||| FROM ARDEN AINLEY for SKAGIT VALLEY COLLEGE ||| Skagit Valley College (SVC) is pleased to announce that applications are now being accepted for Fall enrollment in its Applied Bachelor in Applied Management (BASAM) degree program. The program offers two tracks,
Cheese, crackers, wine, ZOOM: Sr. Center, Doe Bay Wine bringing Taste of Tuscany to you
“the virtual vineyard” by Zoom – Taste of Tuscany by Orcas Senior Center and Doe Bay Wine Company: Sunday, April 25, 5:00pm ||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS ISLAND SENIOR CENTER ||| Join Orcas Senior Center and Doe Bay Wine Company’s Cole Sisson, as we traverse through Tuscany for this
Rep. Lekanoff’s legislative wrap-up spotlights a busy week
My bill honoring Billy Frank Jr. was signed by Governor Inslee! On Wednesday, Governor Inslee signed into law my bill to honor Billy Frank Jr. by placing a statue of him in the National Statuary Hall Collection in Washington, D.C., House Bill 1372. The bill signing ceremony was held at the
Time to apply for a Lions Club scholarship if you are a local high school senior
||| FROM STEVE SCHAEFER for ORCAS ISLAND LIONS CLUB ||| Each year, thanks to fundraising and generous donations from the local community, the Orcas Island Lion Club awards scholarships to graduates of Orcas Island High Schools. Some of these are designated as "academic" and others are "vocational". This year we
Bring your old prescription drugs to this forthcoming Coalition for Orcas Youth disposal Take-Back Event
Saturday, April 24 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Key Bank Drive-up ||| FROM ALISON SANDERS for COALITION FOR ORCAS YOUTH ||| The Coalition for Orcas Youth hosts event to help prevent opioid misuse in community Eastsound, WA: The Coalition for Orcas Youth will be hosting a prescription drug take-back event
Governor’s report looks at this week’s legislative accomplishments as end of session approaches
||| FROM THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR JAY INSLEE ||| Inslee signs legislation to add Billy Frank Jr. statue to U.S. Capitol Gov. Jay Inslee signed HB 1372 on Wednesday, which will place a statue of tribal leader Billy Frank Jr. in the National Statuary Hall. Inslee was joined by members of Frank’s
Next Meeting of the Minds | Rediscovered fruit: Conserving the islands’ ancient food forests
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS ISLAND SENIOR CENTER ||| While the booming fruit export industry in the San Juan Islands of a century ago has waned, evidence of it continues to live among us in the unique seedling offspring of those early trees. Please join Meeting of the Minds
Letter to Editor | Now is the time for School District to think in imaginative, experimental way
||| FROM ANDREA HENDRICK ||| The difficulties maintaining school, in person and virtually, has been a challenge world-wide during this pandemic. The coming months can be a perfect time for the Orcas Island School District to think in an imaginative, positive, experimental and exciting way. A new Bill in the
Midnight Mutterings | Crows ll (no cats this time)
||| MIDNIGHT MUTTERINGS BY JACKIE BATES ||| I had planned to return to voter suppression tonight, and mutter about the efforts of the Georgia state legislature to pass new legislation that makes people of color have a more difficult time voting. More difficult even than in the recent rerun, when
Sheriff’s Report | April 7 – 13, 2021
||| FROM SAN JUAN COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE ||| WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7 21-002841 Welfare Check 17:59:47 04/07/21 An Orcas Island Deputy was dispatched to a welfare check. An informational report was taken. THURSDAY, APRIL 8 21-002865 Domestic Dispute or Assault 19:52:26 04/08/21 A Deputy on Orcas Island responded to a domestic
