Calvary Chapel San Juan is now worshipping at 620-B Guard St., in the former Pig War Museum building. “The Lord has opened the door for us to lease it and we (have) begun holding services there,” Pastor Joe Gamez said in an e-mail. “Also, we have a new service time. We are now worshipping at 9:30 a.m. every Sunday and 7 p.m. on Wednesday nights.”
A letter to the editor in response to Megan Dethier (“Supports National Park Service’s plan to control the rabbits at American Camp,” Sept. 3 SanJuanJournal.com): I am not your “neighbor,” but I am a 40-year resident on San Juan Island so perhaps you are my neighbor (like it or not). I do take offense to your letter. I would think that honoring the UW you would not have stepped into a pile of controversy. I see that you are in the marine biology field. Perhaps you should keep to that.
On Sept. 13, the League of Women Voters of San Juan County will host a program devoted to a discussion of the Citizens United vs. FEC, a Supreme Court decision which was rendered in January.
Kindly inform all County Council members as well as Solid Waste management that initiating a recycling fee is the wrong way to go and definitely unacceptable.
The recent three “yes” votes by our County Council, on the approval of spending Land Bank funds to develop a Farmers Market site on Nichols Street, is very troubling. These three council members’ willingness to vote “yes” on an issue without answering or investigating the concerns voiced about this project, or in considering the legal consequences, should be embarrassing to these council members. It was clear that approval of this purchase would have triggered a lawsuit and an ethics complaint being filed against Council member Lovel Pratt, whether she voted or not on the project.
The Friday Harbor Wolverines defeated the La Conner Braves 29-8 in their season opener, Friday at La Conner. A game story will be posted Tuesday. (And look for our annual Fall Sports Preview in Wednesday’s Journal of the San Juan Islands.) Next up for the Wolverines: The Island Cup. Friday Harbor hosts Orcas on Friday, Sept. 10.
Barbara Phelps of Lopez Island, Wash., passed away Aug. 30, 2010 at home surrounded by family. She was 86. She was born Barbara Jean Plummer on Feb. 20, 1924 in Fort Collins, Colo., the daughter of Cecil and Velda Plummer. She was the oldest of three siblings.
At the risk of horrifying my neighbors, I feel that as a scientist I have to stand up for the Park Service’s plan to control the rabbits at American Camp. I think everyone would agree that National Parks are treasures that we value highly in this country, whether they be purely natural and scenic (like the Grand Canyon) or largely historic (like Gettysburg). Our local national parks are some of both. The Park’s mission, in law, is to “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects …” Unfortunately, the bunnies don’t qualify as either. They are an invasive species to which our local ecosystem is NOT adapted; they are destroying both the natural elements of the park (the prairie) and the historical elements (the redoubt).
On behalf of the Friday Harbor Elementary School, we would like to thank you for buying pie at the San Juan County Fair and supporting the PTA! We sold 320 pies and netted almost $5,800!
As I finish up my first school day as superintendent, what a pleasure it has been. I began my day wondering how the parking would go at Friday Harbor High School, and so far so good. I attended the weekly Rotary meeting. Fellow Rotarians were very curious about the first day of school. I saw one primary age girl who missed her mom and the staff was doing their best to provide support and encouragement to help her adjust to her home away from home. One third-grade student, when asked what a superintendent did, said I was a “substitute.” That warmed my heart.
County Council members Fralick and Peterson should not reconsider their votes on the Brickworks (Editorial, page 6, Sept. 1 Journal). Their decision was the right one for the taxpayers of the county. One can completely understand why those who would benefit from this project would like the taxpayers to subsidize a major portion of the cost, and provide a reduced tax burden down the road by reducing the assessed value of the property. What local business — and yes, farming is a business — wouldn’t love to have the taxpayers pay a substantial portion of their rent? But every reduction in our tax base means that the difference must be made up by all the county’s taxpayers. Why should the taxpayers not only in Friday Harbor but on
Orcas, Lopez and all the other islands subsidize these businesses?
Back in 2005, when my fellow freeholders and I crafted the home rule charter for this county, we deliberately made the County Council positions non-partisan on the basis that strong ideological views were inappropriate in local politics. We simply wanted elected officials to make sound, unemotional and reasoned decisions to make this parcel of the U.S. a better place in which to live and bring up our families.
Roy Berg, long-time resident of Lopez Island, passed away Aug. 27, 2010 in Mukilteo, Wash. He was 85. He was laid to rest Sept. 2 at a graveside service at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Everett next to his second wife, Bonnie Belle, who died of cancer in 1964.
