Here’s a thought…
“If they can get you asking the wrong questions, they don’t have to worry about the answers.”
THOMAS PYNCHON
Ready to run for office? Window for filing opens Monday, May 17
||| FROM MILENE HENLEY, SAN JUAN COUNTY AUDITOR ||| If you have ever wanted to be an elected official, now is your chance. Offices will soon be open in fire, school, hospital, water, sewer, port, park & rec, and cemetery districts throughout the county. Three positions, including Mayor, will be
Streaming from Orcas Center: Stormy Hildreth, Mitch House, surprise guests
This Thursday, May 13 at 7 p.m. Streaming at www.OrcasCenter.org ||| FROM BETHANY MARIE for ORCAS CENTER ||| Please join local vocalist Stormy Hildreth and fellow musician Mitch House for an evening of music! With a mix of carefully selected covers and originals songs written directly from the heart, this magical
Poetry Pause | Grandmother’s Garden, Section 18
Grandmother’s Garden, Section 18 By Meena Alexander In New York City, the passage of days and night crosses things out. You enter JFK. Along with a string of others — brown people, black people, people of all tints, all ages, voices breaking with eagerness, sore voices. Your throat hurts with
Marcia Spees Fine Art launches a new website
||| FROM MARCIA SPEES ||| as Edward Hopper says: "If I could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint." Today I am pleased to announce the official launch of the Marcia Spees Fine Art website: www.speesart.com. In my determination to make lemonade out of the lockdown lemons,
Letter to Editor | With elder population increasing, we need a nonprofit home health agency
||| FROM TOM EVERSOLE ||| In San Juan County, the only age group predicted to increase over the next 15 years are those aged 75 and older. A startling 75% of Americans over 65 live with multiple chronic health conditions, including vision and hearing loss, diabetes and dementia. Most elders
Health District update on first month with Island Primary Care-Orcas
||| FROM ANNE PRESSON for ORCAS ISLAND HEALTH CARE DISTRICT ||| The new Clinic under Island Hospital’s leadership started seeing patients on Monday, April 5. Over the first month, the team provided 930 patient care visits. The types of services delivered included: 629 provider visits 152 lab visits 143 nurse
At least a dozen dead deer have been found in Spring Point area
||| BY LIN MCNULTY, theORCASONIAN EDITOR ||| Spring Point residents were surprised and shocked to learn that up to a dozen dead deer were discovered throughout the area within the last couple of days. Area residents took to email to share the news. A report has been filed with the
Spring is here! Master Gardeners will be at Driftwood to answer your gardening problems
||| FROM DIANNE MACONDRAY for MASTER GARDENERS OF SJC ||| Spring has arrived and with a new gardening season you perhaps have questions or problems related to your plants. The Master Gardeners of San Juan County will be at Driftwood Nursery Wednesday, May 12 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
SJC Fair is looking for local talent to fulfill “Lettuce Entertain You” theme
||| FROM JENNIFER ALLEN for SAN JUAN COUNTY FAIR ||| Interested in performing at the 2021 San Juan County Fair? The 2021 "Lettuce Entertain Ewe" Fair is looking for local talent to help round out this years entertainment series. The fair will be virtual this year and is looking for
Book Review | I Am 99: A southern resident orca story
||| BY LIN MCNULTY, theORCASONIAN EDITOR ||| Sailor-Lyn wants to learn all she can about the Southern Resident orcas she sees in Friday Harbor. When she finds out there are only 72 whales left, she makes a promise to help save them from extinction. Will there be 99 whales again
School Board will meet both in-person and via ZOOM
||| FROM ORCAS ISLAND SCHOOL DISTRICT ||| The Orcas Island School District School Board will be hosting their meetings in-person in the school cafeteria AND online VIA ZOOM on Thursday, May 13, 2021 5 p.m. Public health guidelines in response to the Covid-19 pandemic will be followed. In-person attendees will be
Missive from Medicare: Guard your COVID-19 vaccination card
||| FROM MEDICARE ||| After you get your COVID-19 vaccine, keep your vaccination card safe — scammers are using the COVID-19 pandemic to try to steal your personal information. Don't share a photo of your COVID-19 vaccination card online or on social media. Scammers can use content you post, like your date
EDC presents a FREE course in Sustainability Management
||| FROM VICTORIA COMPTON for ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL ||| The EDC invites community leaders, legislators, entrepreneurs, and business owners to join in a FREE 2-day course in Sustainability Management, led by world-renowned expert in corporate sustainability & social entrepreneurship, Nikos Avlonas. The course will cover in-depth, the topic of community and
Open hours at our library are gradually increasing
||| FROM PHIL HEIKKINEN for ORCAS ISLAND LIBRARY ||| We continue gradually to increase our building’s open hours, most recently adding two hours to the start of the day. We’re now open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the same days of the week as before, Mon-Wed-Fri-Sat. Library users
Too early to tell whether our statewide flattening of COVID-19 curve will continue
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| OLYMPIA – Today the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) released the latest COVID-19 modeling and surveillance situation report. There are some signs in the most recent data that cases may be starting to flatten, but disease activity remains high – meaning vaccination efforts and
EDC presents a FREE, 5-week regenerative business design course
||| FROM VICTORIA COMPTON for ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL ||| The EDC invites entrepreneurs, business owners and community leaders to join in a FREE, 5-week, intensive course in Regenerative Business Design. Led by renowned permaculture designer and educator Patty Love, the course will guide participants through the steps necessary to build –
