Susan Osborn’s annual Christmas Concert is Dec. 12, 2 p.m., at St. David’s Episcopal Church, 760 Park St., Friday Harbor. Guest musicians: Carolyn Cruso, hammer dulcimer, flute, guitar and voice; and Ritambhara Tyson, cello and voice. Tickets are $15 at Griffin Bay Bookstore, 155 Spring St., Friday Harbor.
The Friday Harbor girls basketball team notched its second straight win on the road, and its second straight by 20 points or more, with a 52-32 victory Dec. 8 at La Conner. Maggie Andersen tossed in a game-high 19 points and fellow senior Kelsey Barnes added 14 as the Wolverines took a 10-point lead into the locker room at the half, and then outscored the Braves 31-21 after the break to claim the win. Junior Liz Taylor had nine points.
Bob Distler, former chairman of the San Juan County Ferry Advisory Committee, was not reappointed to the State Transportation Commission. His six-year term expired June 30. He had applied for reappointment, but received a letter from Gov. Christine Gregoire on Nov. 3 that his service was over. As of Nov. 12, his position was vacant, according to the commission website. The position is one of two awaiting appointment.
Chuck Schietinger’s physics students at Spring Street International School have recreated the solar system with scale models of the planets. The planets — each suspended from a wood tripod — were displayed Dec. 7 along Spring Street in downtown Friday Harbor, but Schietinger said he was notified by the Town of Friday Harbor that a permit was required. The planets were moved to school grounds.
The county jobless rate is 6 percent, 3 percent lower than the state’s jobless rate. Sales tax revenue in Friday Harbor is down but lodging tax revenues are up. And some new local businesses have emerged. Could the local economy be saying, “Damn the empty storefronts, full speed ahead?” Perhaps it’s too early to tell. But businesses are opening, expanding, moving to larger quarters. Here’s a few of the latest.
The lives of Roy Matsumoto and thousands of other Americans of Japanese ancestry were changed Dec. 7, 1941, when Japan attacked the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor. Matsumoto, born in Los Angeles and a graduate of Long Beach Polytechnic High School, was classified an enemy alien and sent to a concentration camp in Jerome, Ark. Eager to prove his loyalty to the country of his birth, he enlisted in the Army and became a war hero.
Earthbox Motel & Spa won the San Juan Island Chamber of Commerce’s 2010 Holiday Decorating Contest, Dec. 3. “We had 16 entries — that was more than last year,” Chamber President Julie Corey wrote in e-mailed results. “We would like to have everyone participate next year.” Earthbox received the grand prize of $100 and gets its name on a trophy that it gets to display for a year.
The Friday Harbor Wolverines stepped on the gas in the second period and ran away with a season-opening 67-28 win Dec. 4 at South Whidbey. Knotted at nine points each at the end of the first quarter, Friday Harbor outscored the Falcons by 10 in the pivotal second period and led 27-17 going into the locker room at the half. The Wolverines landed the knock-out punch after the break, tallying 22 points in the third period while holding the home team to just three.
2010 was a prolific year for authors from the San Juan Islands. And history was the hot topic. Authors on San Juan and Lopez islands revisited the development of our local communities and the characters who added flavor to island life. Wolf Bauer, whose first job out of college was as an engineer at Roche Harbor Lime & Cement Co. in the late 1930s, wrote an entertaining autobiography about his experiences as a conservationist and outdoorsman. A book by Joseph R. Ornig chronicles the South American expedition of America’s greatest adventurer-president, whose legacy includes our system of national parks and wildlife refuges. There are more. Here’s a list of new local books worth curling up with during the holiday break – and worth considering as holiday gifts.
Washington State Conservation Commissioner Lynn Bahrych of Shaw Island has received a “Legacy of Conservation Award” from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Bahrych received the special award medal and certificate during the Washington Association of Conservation Districts’ annual meeting in Cle Elum for “Creating a Conservation Legacy through sustained, on-going efforts to protect and enhance natural resources on Washington’s working lands.”
Our life here on the islands seems to revolve around the ferries, and everyone has an opinion. Schedules are never quite what we want, costs are higher than we would like (and keep going up), and vessel maintenance is sometimes embarrassing. Changes in Coast Guard and union work rules have also resulted in schedule changes over the last couple of years. Now we have a new challenge: The governor has asked Washington State Ferries to cut $16.9 million from its operating budget for 2011-12. This is 4 percent of WSF’s operating budget, but a 12 percent reduction in the state contribution. And the voters have spoken clearly on new taxes and increased fees: Whatever we want, we want someone else to pay for it.
Having undergone radical surgery for cancer nine years ago, I was feeling quite confident of being cancer free, and life was good. It became evident this year that this was not the case, and radiation therapy at the Regional Cancer Care Center in Mount Vernon would be necessary. Transportation for the prescribed 39 treatments presented a logistics and financial nightmare. Outreach support from the San Juan Eagles and local Soroptimist International have turned the nightmare into a dream.
As we enjoy the lights and festivities of the holiday season, Dec. 15 seems to get neglected. On this day 219 years ago, in 1791, the first 10 amendments to our Constitution known as the Bill of Rights were ratified.
