As I sit here in Anacortes writing you this letter, I can hear a Navy fighter plane roaring directly over my house. It is NOT a pleasant sound but one I hear at almost any time of day or night since moving here from Cattle Point the first of the year. I can only imagine how noisy it will be with flights more than doubled!
Thanks for the story regarding the Navy’s plans for increased overflights (“Learn about, and comment on, Navy plans,” page 6A, March 18 Journal). You bring up some important questions for the Navy to address.
In its 11th year, The Family Umbrella Group has never turned down a qualified preschool scholarship application, making it possible for more than 200 local island children to attend the preschool of their choice. Our annual fund-raiser will be held on April 3 in Mullis Community Senior Center. The theme this year is “Spring at the Seashore” and will include a silent auction and social hour beginning at 11, gourmet lunch served at noon, followed by a live — and lively — auction led by Eugene Cuomo.
We are born wired to learn. By age 3, our brains have one trillion synapses — more than we’ll have in adulthood. By age 6, our brains are 95 percent the size of mom’s and dad’s. We’ll spend 13 years in school preparing for college or the workplace. But it’s our first five years of life — those years before we ever set foot in a classroom — that have the most impact on our ability to learn, control our behavior and build relationships. By age 5, we either have the building blocks for success, or we have a tough road to hoe.
A celebration of Meagan Egger Warren’s life will be held at the home of her sister, Kelly Shipley, on March 28, 2 p.m., at 23581 Monument Place N.W., Poulsbo.
Porter Jacob Nixon was born on March 16, 2009, at 2:33 p.m. at Island Hospital in Anacortes to happy parents Sarah McCutcheon and Barret Nixon. Porter (P.J.) weighed in at 7 pounds 9 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long. He joins his older siblings, Jordyn and Anthony, at home on San Juan Island.
Skagit Valley has a new team and ended up on the losing end in a 9-0 contest March 24 in Friday Harbor. But the Flyers, outscored 22-6 in two games, still had something to teach the San Juan Dragons.
Michael Jean Carpentier and Sidney S. Smith were married Sept. 27 in Friday Harbor Presbyterian Church. Pastor Archie Brooks of Transformation Church officiated.
Friday Harbor Middle School presents a different take on storybook classics in “Mother Goose is Eaten by Werewolves,” Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the San Juan Community Theatre. This tongue-in-cheek comedy will make you laugh — and perhaps make you a little nervous, as a mysterious wolf wanders the theater during the performance.
San Juan Island’s community chorus sings its way through the century on April 4 at 7:30 p.m. and April 5 at 5 p.m. at the San Juan Community Theatre. Led by Angel Michaels, the San Juan Singers share music that dates back to 1900 and all the way through 2001, representing a variety of aspects of life.
The Washington state ferry Elwha is out of service for repairs. The 8:35 a.m. sailing to Orcas and the 9:50 a.m. sailing from Orcas to Anacortes were cancelled. The Yakima and the Sealth will pick up additional traffic in the islands, Washington State Ferries reported.
On March 19, Jacque Grone suffered a brain aneurysm and was flown off-island to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. After extensive surgery, she remains in intensive care. The recovery and rehabilitation will be extensive but her doctors say her prognosis is very good.
Amid frigid temperatures and frigid economy, a ray of sunshine peeked through the clouds. But don’t break out your shades yet.
There were six closed sales and seven pending sales on homes listed with the Northwest Multiple Listing Service in February. The median sales price was $520,000, up from $492,500 the same month a year ago and $480,000 for all 12 months of 2008.
