The Year This Far: Deep Work and Drama

 — by Margie Doyle —

Some of the year’s most significant events started out dramatically — like the Olga fires; some were the result of long-term deep work — like the emergence of the Food Cooperative; and some were a combination of both — the Exchange Fire galvanizing the reduce-reuse-resource dynamic punctuating the work of the non-profit Orcas Recycling Services or the CenturyLink cable break illuminating the work of OPALCO to expand and guarantee “hybrid” broadband. Orcas Issues takes pride in its responsive and in-depth coverage of immediate events and long-standing issues.

So here we go, with an update on 2013’s stories today and tomorrow! (Keep count with us, read to the end of the article and let us know the number of stories you heard about first, or followed as they developed, through Orcas Issues!)

1)  OPALCO Announces Plans to Expand Broadband through a “hybrid” system of fiber optics and wireless technologies. The original 2013 plan was estimated to cost $34 million and dependent upon buy-in by the rural electric cooperative members. In March, the San Juan County Broadband Forum was launched to bring “a nonbiased platform to discuss Broadband in general, and to also provide a platform for the community to weigh in on the OPALCO plan.”
In the summer the first plan was revised due to lack of member support. In the words of long-time OPALCO Board Member Bob Mhyr, “we must stay on top of a complex equation of technical, organizational and environmental concerns to keep the Co-op—and our communities—healthy and strong. The “more conservative plan” advanced in June involved sharing OPALCO’s infrastructure with all of the other Internet Service Providers. “This infrastructure provider concept means that we will offer access to our data networking infrastructure through leasing agreements with local internet providers such as Rock Island, the Computer Place and Orcas Online. The CenturyLink cable failure in November left many county internet users scrambling to find OPALCO’s fiber-optic outlets at public institutions, and many more grateful to OPALCO’s non-stop work “in the spirit of of serving our members and helping a fellow utility,” according to OPALCO’s Suzanne Olson.

2)  Orcas Response to Newtown and Meet the Deputies: The horrific killing of young children and their teachers at Christmastime last year elicited a local response to discuss how to protect Orcas schoolchildren from violence. Under the facilitation of Fred Klein, a group of 43 Orcas Islanders met to for 15 hours over four days in January and February. Their guiding direction was articulated as, “Build trust first, reaching consensus is the easy part.” Trust-building and engagement proved difficult, but the group did issue a consensus statement. Moving forward, Undersheriff Bruce Distler worked with Orcas Schools, island counselors and Orcas Issues to continue the discussion for four months, in meetings called “Meet the Deputies.”

3)  County Election Season: Due to the passage of changes to the County Charter, primary elections for a 3-member County Council were held in February. In April Rick Hughes was elected to the new position (he had previously won the 6-member council seat for Orcas West in November 2012).  Hughes’ opponent in the spring election was OPAL Director Lisa Byers; their cordiality was noteworthy in a frequently vitriolic campaign. Jamie Stephens defeated Brian McClerran on Lopez Island, and Bob Jarman prevailed over Lovel Pratt on San Juan Island.

4)  February 9 — Exchange Fire and ORS Contract and Takeover: The Orcas Island Exchange buildings were consumed by fire in the late afternoon of Feb. 9. The Exchange was the physical manifestation of Orcas Recycling Services’ 30-year pledge to “Reduce, Re-use, Recycle.” The Exchange was situated at the Orcas Transfer Station, previously operated by San Juan County. Orcas Recycling Services, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, had been awarded the contract to lease and operate the Orcas Transfer Station in November 2012.

The Orcas Fire Department worked through the night to extinguish the flames, after a full day of recruit training.

Orcas Exchange, with all its history and potential, burned on Feb. 9, 2013. Photo use only with permission of orcasissues.com

In the fire’s aftermath:

• A fund to rebuild the Exchange was opened at the Orcas Island Community Foundation;
• An Exchange Redesign Group met a number of times over the summer and offered rebuild design options to the the Site Planner Terrill Chang and the Orcas Recycling Services Board of Directors in the fall;
• In August 2013, County Public Works concluded the contract with ORS, and the transfer station was open under new management on Sept. 2, 2013.

5)  Culture Thrives! Some examples:

• Orcas Issues’ Poetry Month in April featured poems only from Orcas Island poets — a new poem each day!
• The Chamber’s Second Shakespeare Festival under the creative direction of Jane Alden took place on a sunny weekend, in sharp contrast to the first festival. Feasts, parades and performances ruled Eastsound village, culminating in a lively production of “Julius Caesar” by the young Seattle Shakespeare Company;
• The Public Library celebrated its 20th year on Rose Street with displays of the multi-volume Library archives, photographs through the years, and artwork depicting the many forums for reading and literacy brought to us by the Library. A new Seed Catalog was initiated in May, and the Library Board is now embarking on an expansion project;
• Orcas Choral Society, under the leadership of Roger Sherman, sings Mozart’s Requiem at Orcas Center and St. Mark’s Cathedral in Seattle;
• Orcas Island Historical Society had regular History Matinees with local treasures such as Katie Adams, Abby Rueb, Joyce Burghardt and Jane Barfoot-Hodde, who celebrated her 100th birthday  in July.
• Fresh from workshops at the Funhouse Commons, Orcas filmmakers Conrad Wroebel and Bruce Bosley won regional awards for their zombie movie, “Little Dead Riding Hood.

6)  CAO Decision Appealed: On April 26 the Common Sense Alliance(CSA) filed a Brief with the State’s Growth Management Hearings Board (GMHB), spelling out its objections to the County’s Critical Area Ordinances (CAO) as applied to Wetlands and Fish and Wildlife Habitat Conservation Areas in San Juan County. (The County Council approved the update by ordinance in December 2012). CSA maintained that county ordinances should be “simple to administer, easy to understand and in full compliance with the laws governing the State’s Growth Management Act and the required update of all county’s Critical Area Ordinances.” On the opposite end of the land use spectrum, Friends of the San Juans contend the critical area ordinances make too many exceptions and ask that the Growth Board use other scientific reports. A request by Citizens Alliance for Property Rights (CAPR) to join the case was denied by the Growth Board.

On September 6, the GMHB issued its 109-page decision in the appeals; its findings of the multiple issues before it were laid out in over 100 pages; and the 11 components of its order of non-compliance concluded the decision. The Friends of the San Juans prevailed on buffer, habitat, wetlands and utilities challenges. The GMHB required an answer to its findings by March and April 2014, with a compliance hearing scheduled for April 24, 2014.

In November, the CSA announced that the Board of Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF) has approved PLFs participation with CSA in its request for review of the the GMHB’s final decision order in the matter.

7) I-5 Bridge Collapses into Skagit River: On May 23 a vehicle heading south carrying an oversized load hit bridge girders on an I-5 bridge north of Mount Vernon; both northbound and southbound lanes of the I-5 bridge over the Skagit River collapsed. The state scrambled,came up with $15.6 million, and the bridge was re-opened for limited loads within one month. San Juan County business and government officials spread the word of alternate routes to the Anacortes-San Juan ferry route, and impact to county businesses was indeterminate.

More tomorrow! And please comment on our article to let us know the numbers of the stories you first found–and followed–on Orcas Issues this year!