Kitty Sorgen and her daughter, Jill Urbach, were awarded the Ruby Award by Soroptimist International of Friday Harbor for their work founding a quilting project in Kenya. Sorgen and Urbach both traveled to Kenya to found a quilting project run under the non-profit Oasis Africa, which sponsors a school in the town of Mashaka.
On Monday night, Friday Harbor Elementary School was filled with the sound of more than 300 drums, in an event sponsored by the San Juan Island Prevention Coalition.
The Port of Friday Harbor celebrates its 60th anniversary this spring and summer with tall ship visits, a fly-in, and a beach party. The celebration comes on the heels of the town’s centennial.
Former county clerk Mary Jean Cahail was reelected president of the San Juan Historical Society, Tuesday at the society’s annual meeting. National Park historian Mike Vouri was elected vice president; Mike Nash, treasurer; Ramona Jones, recording secretary; Kitty Roberts, corresponding secretary.
Seventy-nine people were recognized as homeless in this year’s Count of Homeless Persons in San Juan County. Among the homeless, 29 were classified as unsheltered — living in tents, cars, boats (not equipped with facilities for living aboard) or staying in motels (with money from churches, etc.).
Lavendera Day Spa presents “Island Visions,” an exhibit of works by Beth Hetrick. In “Island Visions,” Hetrick has captured the familiar, the nostalgic, the comforting vistas all islanders are familiar with. Her canvases draw the viewer in and cause some to exclaim, “Oh yeah, I’ve seen that truck!”
Richard Olin has a different theory on why his boat, the Eldorado, sank March 2 at the Friday Harbor Marina breakwater dock: A piece of driftwood wedged between his boat and the dock punctured his hull.
The San Juan Dragons lacrosse team’s annual spaghetti dinner fund-raiser is March 11, 5-7:30 p.m., at the San Juan Island Grange Hall. “We promise good food for a great cause,” the team said in an e-mail. “We will be having our famous dessert auction at 6:30.”
Friday Harbor’s Richie Ochoa tossed two perfect innings of relief to help lead WSU to a 6-3 victory over Bethune-Cookman University, Feb. 27 in Texas.
It is a fact that the San Juan Islands bear a passing resemblance to the landscapes of Ireland. There is both a negative and a positive to this. On the one side, the Irish fiddle player is forced to go through the boredom and discomfort of a 12-hour plane ride to end up in a place that looks much the same as the place he or she just left. On the other hand, however, it means that San Juan Island is the perfect place to host a festival dedicated to the culture of Irish music.
Gwen went quietly and peacefully in her sleep. She was 72. She was the first of two daughters born to Hazel and Howard Lawson of Friday Harbor.
Snow — sparse, and not enough to stick, but snow nonetheless — teased parts of San Juan Island Monday afternoon, as temperatures headed to below freezing.
The first annual Spring Sprint Triathlon is scheduled April 17. Because it is early season, the first segment of the event, a 500-yard swim, will be held in the indoor pool at San Juan Island Fitness. This will be followed by a 12-mile bike ride and a 3.1-mile run, both outside, rain or shine.
