Retired art teacher Pat Speer died quietly in her sleep Sunday night at her brother’s home in Plattsmouth, Neb., the San Juan Island School District announced today. Speer retired from teaching in June 2008 after a 35-year career in the San Juan Island School District, beginning in September 1973. She was 62 years old.
A family photo from 1975 shows my son, then four years old, wading at Griffin Bay and leaning down to kiss a jellyfish he had lifted gently from the water. Only a moment before, his mother — seeing him lifting and dashing them on the sand — talked quietly with him about the sacredness of all living things.
I do not live in the Town of Friday Harbor. I am not in need of lower-cost housing. But I feel I have a very real interest in the outcome of the proposed annexation to the town which will enable the San Juan Community Home Trust to provide permanently affordable homes on the Buck/Boreen property.
The presentations by the MRC coordinator and the Lead Entity coordinator at a recent County Council meeting clearly demonstrate the vital importance of these two programs to all San Juan residents as well as most visitors to these islands.
The American experiment is essentially this: can we the people be trusted to govern ourselves? Throughout our history the answer has been yes, we can. But self-governance takes work and it requires leaders. Leaders to help us confront issues and work out answers so that we may make good decisions for ourselves.
The superintendent of the local educational service district will present the possibilities and pitfalls of consolidating the islands’ school districts Nov. 3, noon, at a yet-to-be-named venue in Friday Harbor. The meeting will be open to the public and will constitute a special meeting of the San Juan Island School Board. Orcas School District officials are expected to participate. The Lopez School Board will discuss participation on Oct. 29.
There will be a surprise in every OPALCO member’s October bill: a credit for a good portion of the electricity used during the October billing period.
At Cal’s request, no services will be held. His ashes will be dispersed in the waters of the San Juan Islands. Memorials may be made to the Animal Welfare Institute, Friday Harbor, (360) 378-8755.
The Nov. 4 general election is, as John McCain and Barack Obama tell us, perhaps the most important election in recent history. That applies on the local as well as national level. The challenges have increased since the campaign season began in early summer. Getting the economy moving again and paying the bills for basic public needs during a time of economic turmoil are two of the heavy challenges looming over each winner on Nov. 4.
The Wolverines got a cruel lesson about who not to put on the Homecoming guest list. The Nooksack Valley Pioneers, ranked No. 7 among state 1A schools, turned the tables on Friday Harbor’s Homecoming celebration Saturday and left town with a convincing 22-7 start-to-finish victory in tow.
The recent barrages of online negative comments on County Council candidates are attempts to promote a specific candidate by throwing dirt. The candidates’ sometimes respond emotionally, and that shows they are human and care. I have had to endure similar attacks due to the ideological positions that I have taken in our community over the years.
San Juan County Republicans gathered at E.J. Thorndike’s big red barn for a country hoedown Oct. 11. Included with a mix of politics, music and dancing, the group took time to congratulate Bianca Tobon, San Juan County’s most recent U.S. citizen.
Given the possible outcomes of the Nov. 4 elections, locally and nationally, it is indisputable that we will be in need of people in government with a sense of levity, of irony. It is equally indisputable that, locally, Gordy Petersen is that person.
