Kudos to Jan Sears and Milene Henley, county treasurer and auditor respectively. Instead of presenting a 2008 dream budget, according to published information they estimated realistic budget revenue within acceptable percentage of overall projection. Not intending to discredit others who contributed to the process, these department heads brought to the table revenue compilations backed by prior year histories and realistic economic trends, not lucky estimates.
San Juan Island School District Superintendent Michael Soltman is one of two finalists for the position of Vashon Island superintendent of schools. The Vashon Island School Board on Sunday chose Soltman and Arthur Himmler, superintendent of the Steilacoom Historical School District, as finalists from a field of six.
The San Juan County Council had a moment of silence Monday in memory of Jeffrey Lloyd Wasnick, the county’s code enforcement officer, who reportedly died of a heart attack Sunday. Wasnick was 55 and lived on Lopez Island. Viewing and visitation is scheduled Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Evans Funeral Chapel, 1105 32nd St., Anacortes. Memorial service is at 3 p.m.
Tom Holmes of Friday Harbor died Friday in Islands Convalescent Center. The former college and pro football lineman succumbed after a two-year struggle against Lou Gehrig’s Disease. His age could not be immediately confirmed. He was 35 when he was the subject of a front page story in the Sept. 12, 2007 Journal.
The article of letters to President Obama from the children of Stillpoint School was very sweet (“Dear Mr. President …”, page B1, Feb. 25 Journal). However, in the eight years President Bush was in office, I don’t believe you ever printed “Dear President Bush.”
Dr. John Geyman has been working within and trying to improve our nation’s health care system for decades. Join Geyman at the next meeting of the League of Women Voters of the San Juans for an assessment of the latest challenges and opportunities now facing doctors, patients and lawmakers.
As one of the actors in the Playwrights Festival that was guilty of “gratuitous amounts” of “blue” language in our production, I feel that a few comments on Howard Schonberger’s column are in order. First and foremost, one of the roles of good community theater should be to spark social comment and discussion. For this reason, the Playwrights Festival was extremely successful. It got the audience out of their comfort zones and made them think and question.
The 2009 sell-out Knowledge Bowl was proof once more that this community is enthusiastic and involved around supporting students and education on San Juan Island! There are a number of people to acknowledge and thank for the success of this evening.
This is in response to Mr. Schonberger’s article, “Blue words: Frankly, my dear, I do give a damn,” page 7A, Feb. 18 Journal.
In response to Jeff Webster’s guest column in The Journal on Feb. 11 where he advocates moving the solid waste transfer station from Sutton Road to the Beaverton Valley Road site: He also points out that every time a move is proposed, “NIMBY” groups vociferously oppose.
Many people have begun thinking, and having discussions with more optimism about race relations than they have in a long time. I must assume that some of these same people have never discussed race relations. I don’t share their optimism.
Today, if you have a concern about the quality of medical care at Inter Island Medical Center, you can take your concerns up with your elected board of commissioners. They work for you. You can talk about issues of concern at public meetings. If you are not satisfied with a commissioner’s performance, you can vote for change at the ballot box. In the future, if you have a concern about the quality of medical care at the new integrated medical center operated by PeaceHealth, you can take your concerns up with … well, that’s not clear.
The Friday Harbor Animal Shelter would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who attended our first annual “Spay”Ghetti Dinner, held in celebration of “Spay Day USA,” at Mullis Center on Feb 24.
