Here’s a thought…
“Neither the evil nor the good in our history determines who we are. It is what we do now. If we do not say something ourselves about this horror, we allow ourselves to be changed.”
TIMOTHY SNYDER
Deer Harbor Plan Review Committee will meet on Wednesday
|||FROM SHEILA GAQUIN for DEER HARBOR PLAN REVIEW COMMITTEE ||| The Deer Harbor Plan Review Committee will hold their monthly meeting on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 4-5:30 p.m. Via ZOOM (Meeting ID 841 6762 1409, Passcode 096536) Agenda topics are the development and landscaping of outlying parking areas including
Couldn’t get to The Green on Sunday? Tuesday is another chance to sign this important anti-discrimination petition
||| FROM DAVID TURNOY ||| Below is the same article that appeared on the Orcasonian on Saturday. We held our signing event on Sunday and got many signatures, but we know a lot of people who weren’t able to get over to sign. So we are going to hold another
Guest Opinion | Wandering into hateful dialog
||| FROM PAUL LOSLEBEN ||| I've been following the comments on Steve Henigson's columns and am concerned that we are wandering into an unpleasant and unproductive dialog. Steve made the mistake of identifying the COVID-19 virus as the "China virus" and then compounded his mistake by attempting to defend his
Meaningful change for ourselves, the world
||| FROM CLYDE DUKE for ORCAS ISLAND CHRISTIAN SCIENTISTS ||| We live in a world where millions of people are striving to make change for the better. So, in a world seeking positive change, how do we make sure that such change actually happens? Speaker Mark McCurties says, “We all
EDC to resume Business Recovery Workshops starting Dec 8th
||| FROM ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL ||| The San Juan County EDC is resuming regular programming with the return of our Business Recovery Zoom Meetings, now called Business Recovery Workshops. This bi-weekly workshop, in a Zoom environment, will give business owners the opportunity to speak with professionals on a wide variety
Hot Topic #37 | COVID protocols in the workplace
||| FROM BRENDAN COWAN for DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ||| As cases rise, it is worth taking another look at what employers and employees can do to protect themselves and their businesses from COVID impacts. The basics are nothing new: cover our faces, wash our hands, stay home when sick.
San Juan Preservation Trust acquires Deer Harbor’s Reef Island
||| FROM CRAIG CANINE for SAN JUAN PRESERVATION TRUST ||| A 17-acre island near Deer Harbor with a mile of shoreline habitat is now permanently conserved. Earlier this fall, the San Juan Preservation Trust (SJPT) received a $4 million donation that enabled the Preservation Trust to purchase Reef Island, which
Guest Opinion | Middle class reels, billionaires profit
||| FROM HEDRICK SMITH ||| Washington – While you and I have focused on the economic havoc of job losses and small businesses shutting down because of the pandemic, we missed noticing that the tiny sliver of super-super-rich at the apex of our economy was simultaneously amassing astronomical fortunes, thanks
Senior Center honors its first super hero: Joe Symons
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| The Orcas Senor Center (OSC) non-profit staff and governing committee recognize Joe Symons as its first OSC Superhero! The very successful Buddy Check-In program was originally Joe’s idea. Since March, buddy volunteers have contacted 1,883 seniors, resulting in pairing 56 seniors
Here’s the COVID-19 vaccine distribution plan update from State Department of Health
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) continues to make progress with our COVID-19 vaccine distribution planning efforts. Timeline: Vaccine Authorizations and Approvals Vaccine safety is of the utmost importance to our communities in Washington. The FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee
Recap of recent COVID-19 news, updates
||| FROM STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH ||| Newest numbers. The Department of Health reported a total of 172,437 confirmed cases as of 11:59 pm on December 2. There have been 2,900 COVID-19 deaths in Washington. For the most recent tally of cases by county, demographics, and more, visit the Department of Health's dashboard and
Village Voices | What are you feeling gratitude for in the midst of these difficult times?
||| BY MINOR LILE, ORCASONIAN REPORTER ||| With the monthly Village Voices series, we aim to take the pulse of the Orcas Island community. Every month we’ll be out and about, asking people to share their point of view on a particular topic. Sometimes the questions will be serious, sometimes
Stop by The Green on Sunday to sign this important anti-discrimination petition
||| FROM DAVID TURNOY ||| Manuel Ellis Two and a half months before George Floyd’s life was cruelly ended by a policeman kneeling on his neck, Tacoma resident Manuel Ellis was killed by a police chokehold. He had been walking home from church, some local police engaged him
More than 1 million users enable WA Notify within first four days
The more people who use exposure notification technology, the more effective it is ||| FROM STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT ||| OLYMPIA – The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) today announced that in just four days, more than 1,000,000 users activated WA Notify, a simple, anonymous exposure notification tool that uses smartphones
Happy Holidays from the Lions Club
||| FROM ORCAS LIONS CLUB ||| As members of the Orcas Lions Club, we, like everyone else, in this wonderful community, have been immensely affected by this once in a lifetime pandemic! Like many other organizations, we have had to cancel most of our community projects this year because of
Senior Center welcomes Michel Vekved to the team
||| FROM LENA KASSA for ORCAS SENIOR CENTER ||| The Orcas Senior Center non-profit is excited to welcome Michel Vekved to our team part-time. As a 20-year resident of Orcas Island, many of you may already know Michel from her work with Friends of the San Juans or Friends of
