Two people who have helped chart the course for natural resource management in San Juan County are looking for new jobs. “The completion of the San Juan Initiative means that my time at the Puget Sound Partnership has come to an end,” wrote Amy Windrope, who coordinated San Juan Initiative’s contributions to the regionwide plan to improve the health of our marine waters by 2020.
Thank you to the dedicated group of WSU Master Gardeners who have spent many hours composting, weeding, planting and educating at the Demonstration Garden. In 2009, they grew and harvested more than 700 pounds of fresh fruits, vegetables and vegetable starts for our friends and neighbors at the Friday Harbor Food Bank. These volunteers are not only dedicated to growing fresh local food, but to enhancing the well being of our community.
Roadside trash collection means there will be roadside trash. Animals and wind will see to that. It also means there will be cans, bags, and some dumpsters out along the road, some cans for days before and/or after scheduled pickup, and dumpsters all the time. So much for our “scenic byways.”
On Jan. 3, sculptor Matthew Gray Palmer invites the public to an open house to view his latest public commission. Entitled “All Things Within All Things,” the piece is a life-sized African elephant entirely composed of delicate, plasma butterflies. This is the only chance to see the sculpture before it is shipped to the East Coast for installation at the Virginia Zoo in Norfolk.
Only one of three Town Council members on the November ballot had an opponent in the election. But five Friday Harbor residents have filed for appointment to the Town Council position vacated by Carrie Lacher, who became mayor Jan. 1. The deadline for letters of interest was Dec. 30.
The Mystical Mermaid is not swimming away. The Mystical Mermaid, now in its 21st year, moved Oct. 1 from its familiar location on Spring Street and is now located on A Street across from the ferry landing, in the old Sweet Spot.
The top story:Hospital District approves PeaceHealth contract (March 18)
Logic and accuracy tests for vote-counting equipment which will be used to tally mail-in ballots for the Feb. 9 Special Election are scheduled for Jan. 5. The tests will take place at 10 a.m. in the Elections Office located at 55 Second St., Suite A, in Friday Harbor. The tests are open to the public.
Cattle Point Lighthouse is one of the most photographed historic structures in the San Juans. A neighbor believes it’s also one of the most threatened. Anne Haskins said she and her husband Ken take frequent walks to the lighthouse and were so shocked this week by the cumulative erosion that she was prompted to call the U.S. Coast Guard. Wind has eroded sand from beneath a portion of the 74-year-old structure. Concrete has broken away from the foundation.
A public reception is scheduled Jan. 2, 5-8 p.m. in the San Juan Community Theatre lobby for a new show, “New Work New Ways,” with paintings by Annie Howell-Adams created over the past year. The show celebrates her induction into the Arts Student League of New York.
This is one party where you can do your Sinatra imitation without embarrassing your kids. Celebrate 2010 with family, friends and neighbors at the Community New Year’s Eve Party, Dec. 31, 7-9 p.m., at Mullis Community Senior Center.
Year 2010 is just around the corner. In its Dec. 30 edition, The Journal of the San Juan Islands takes a look at some of the stories that affected and shaped the community: The Top 10 Stories of 2009.
After conquering Whidbey Island, the Coupeville boys’ basketball team added Friday Harbor to its collection. The Wolves, coming off wins over Whidbey rivals South Whidbey and Oak Harbor, slipped by Friday Harbor High School 50-43 Dec. 22 in Coupeville.
