Sheriff’s Deputy Rob Nou of Lopez Island announced his candidacy for San Juan County sheriff over the weekend. He is the third candidate to emerge — all from the Sheriff’s Department — since Sheriff Bill Cumming announced he was retiring after six terms.
Doris Estabrooks, who led the successful campaign to ban styrene food containers in San Juan County, and Joyce Harrell, a 50-year member of the League of Women Voters, were honored at the local chapter’s annual meeting May 10 in the Orcas Hotel. Estabrooks received the local chapter’s first annual Woman Who Made a Difference Award. Harrell was made a lifetime member.
The San Juan Community Theater’s SummerFest is under way, and the quality of performance is already high. Acoustic guitar master Leon Redbone played to a sold-out house May 1, and Desirae Whalen et al are wowing audiences in “My Fair Lady.” The rest of the SummerFest lineup promises equally enjoyable events. This year offers a few returning favorites, and even more exciting novelties.
I wanted to take a moment to recognize the accomplishments of this year’s Dragons lacrosse team. For nine seasons, the Dragons have exemplified the best in island resourcefulness: playing programs affiliated with much bigger schools (Snohomish, Bellingham, Lynnwood!) and with far larger budgets, and consistently putting together teams that are focused on sportsmanship and good team play. The 2010 team is the pinnacle of those efforts.
Watch Miss Budweiser and Miss Exide, as well as other noted hydroplanes, race Saturday on San Juan Island. Well, not the actual boats, but scale models of the famous racers. The second annual ERCU Diamond Cup & Bill Brow Memorial begins at 11 a.m. at Sundstrom’s Pond, 1578 Roche Harbor Road.
Thirteen Wolverines advanced to Tri-Districts as Friday Harbor claimed a host of Top 3 finishes at the District 1 Track and Field Meet May 13 and 15 at Lynden Christian. A shot at State will be on the line as those 13 compete against regional 1A rivals beginning May 20 at the Tri-District Track Meet at King’s High School.
If you enjoy spending time in the woods and want to pursuit a new hobby in your life, disc golf may be the perfect activity for you. Disc golf, also known as Frisbee golf, is a world-wide leisure sport that appeals to people of all ages and all athletic abilities.
Tyler McKee qualified for the 1A State Golf Tournament and Quinn Bune and Megan Cuomo qualified as first alternates Wednesday at the Tri-District Tournament at Eagles Pride in Tacoma. It was, Coach Jack Rice said, a tough day on the course but a good day in the playoffs.
It was 30 years ago today … On May 18, 1980, at 8:32 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake shook Mount St. Helens. The bulge and surrounding area slid away in a gigantic rockslide and debris avalanche, releasing pressure and triggering a major pumice and ash eruption of the volcano. Thirteen-hundred feet of the peak collapsed or blew outwards. As a result, 24 square miles of valley was filled by a debris avalanche; 250 square miles of recreation, timber, and private lands were damaged by a lateral blast; and an estimated 200 million cubic yards of material was deposited directly by lahars (volcanic mudflows) into the river channels. Fifty-seven people were killed or are still missing.
The San Juan Dragons defeated the Gig Harbor Fire 21-5 Saturday at Friday Harbor, advancing to the second round of playoffs for the first time in their history. Next, the Skagit Conference champion Dragons (12-2) host Roosevelt (10-3) May 22, probably at 1:30 p.m. The winner of that game advances to the Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association Division II semi-final.
The San Juan Dragons defeated the Gig Harbor Fire 21-5 Saturday at Friday Harbor, advancing to the second round of playoffs for the first time in their history. Next, the Skagit Conference champion Dragons (12-2) host Roosevelt (10-3) May 22, probably at 1:30 p.m. The winner of that game advances to the semi-final. That the Dragons were the dominant team was evident early. One minute into the game, Fire goalie Aaron Wolfe bumbled a shot by Dragon midfielder Weston Hedin, bumping it into the goal in an attempt to pick up the ball. Dragon attackman Ryan Guard followed up less than a minute later with the Dragons’ second goal.
The word of the boat theft spread quickly, and so did the speculation. You-Know-Who was quickly a prime suspect in the minds of several islanders familiar with his exploits. A Cape San Juan home was reportedly burglarized — neighbors said it occurred late May 13/early May 14 and a 24-foot boat on the homeowner’s private dock was stolen. Neighbors said the boat was later found grounded on Shark Reef. The Sheriff’s Department reported in a press release May 14 that the boat was “beached.”
In an effort to maintain a safe outdoor play area for our children, we have no choice but to keep the Head Start Playground locked after hours and closed to the public. We have made this decision as a result of reoccurring and increasing acts of vandalism and inappropriate use of our school playground over a period of many years.
