Islanders and visitors are invited to take a hike and celebrate the opening of a long-sought trail link connecting English Camp with Roche Harbor Village on June 19. The San Juan Island Trails Committee, a part of Island Rec, will host a public ceremony and official ribbon cutting at 11 a.m. on the parade ground at English Camp.
In celebration of the 95th annual national celebration of Be Kind to Animals Week and Month, the Animal Protection Society Friday Harbor announces its first Be Kind to Animals Writing Contest for children in grades K-12. Submissions are to be mailed or e-mailed to the shelter office and winners will be chosen in early July 2010 by the APS-FH Board with announcements of said winners in both The Journal of the San Juan Islands and www.apsfh.org.
Once again, we are all reminded why we enjoy living on this island. A small group of local citizens planned and successfully launched a first time event called Share the Road Bicycle Celebration on May 15. The event was created to strengthen the notion that while using our roadways we all have the the same rules, rights and responsibilities toward one another.
Would you sign a legal contract with an organization willing to undermine the voice of citizens and pad the coffers of local government to get their way? May 25, our illustrious County Council did just that. Not only is the council going to decide the status of our property rights, they are going to do it without the input of the citizens who will be directly affected.
Congratulations on reaching this milestone in your life. As you stand on the threshold of adulthood, prepared to take on the world, here are some things we want you to know. A lot of resources have been invested in preparing you for this moment. If we failed in anything, it was in this: Not anticipating that the world you would inherit would be so different and uncertain than the one that existed that first day of school.
The State of Washington is tightening its belt out of fiscal necessity, eliminating jobs and cutting spending where ever possible. Even the ferries are rusting because the ferry system is short of funds. San Juan County is out of money, cutting expenses and furloughing employees to save cash. The Town of Friday Harbor is furloughing employees to cut expenses. The San Juan Island School Board is so cash-strapped that Island Rec is funding athletic programs. With the current above-mentioned examples of government cash shortfalls, our state senator, Kevin Ranker, has managed to convince the state Legislature to partially fund the Permanent Farmers Market site to the tune of $375,000. This bill was pushed through the Legislature with only an elite few San Juan County citizens privy to its existence (thanks to our County Council member, Lovel Pratt).
For those of you who have not heard, the former Written Word booth at the San Juan County Fair has a new name: Island Writers. Island Writers wants YOU. So dust off the keyboard, tone up the fingers, ignite your imagination and start tapping those keys. Stories, poems, non-fiction — choose your favorite genre and share it at the fair.
It rained Friday. It rained a bit on Sunday. But Saturday, the island was bathed in sunshine, as if on cue for visitors to the island’s art studios and gardens in this local summer kickoff. Some 14 studios were open to the public Saturday and Sunday for the annual Artists Studio Tour. Local musicians performed at select studios.
Saturday, artists opened their galleries, and personalities from music, radio and sports played golf for the island’s non-profits. Sunday, some of the best runners in the region competed in the island marathon. But on Saturday, the real celebrities — at least to their families and friends — were those sitting on stage in caps and gowns. Spring Street International School kicked off a week of graduation ceremonies at local schools Saturday, saluting its 16 graduates in an afternoon commencement in the San Juan Community Theatre. Alexandra Han Freeman was valedictorian; she will attend Colorado College this fall.
June 6 is the anniversary of D-Day, the Allied landing at Normandy, France, in 1944. Some 160,000 Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi troops in an operation that Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower said required “nothing less than full victory.” More than 5,000 ships and 13,000 aircraft supported the D-Day invasion, and by day’s end on June 6, the Allies gained a foot hold in Normandy and turned the tide of the war in Europe.
The San Juan Islands Conservation District Board of Supervisors will meet June 8, 8:30 a.m. at the San Juan Island Grange, 152 First St. N, Friday Harbor.
Amy Windrope said Friday she will resign next week from the San Juan Island Park and Recreation Commission. Windrope’s husband, Brian, became executive director of the Washington Trails Association in April. He was formerly the development director of the San Juan Preservation Trust in Friday Harbor. She said they expect to move to Bainbridge Island.
Arriana Eva-Mae O’Brien was born May 15, 11:02 a.m., in Island Hospital’s birthing center, Anacortes. It was reportedly one of the quickest labor and deliveries on record at the hospital; Arriana was apparently anxious to join her sailing and video-producer parents, Lisa and Darren O’Brien of Friday Harbor. She gets to go on her first sail this month, her dad said.
