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.
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.”
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.
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.
At first, I was really upset with your editorial in regards to the new Integrated Medical Center and contract with PeaceHealth. I do thank you for stating that you realize how great a need there is for a new facility. The upsetting part of the editorial is about being rushed into this. You also set the tone with encouraging the public to vote out the current commissioners if they don’t listen to the public.
It is interesting to observe different philosophies used by a couple of our public entities during these times of economic challenges. During the past few weeks, we’ve seen the San Juan Island School Board struggle to make cuts to their budget while trying to preserve services to their students and families. The School Board has proposed making cuts involving ALL levels of their organization, from principals down to regular employees.
Contrast this approach to the one taken by the County Council.
Last week, I came perilously close to losing my beautiful Golden Retriever, Henry, after he ingested Metaldehyde, an extremely deadly poison commonly found in slug/snail bait. Slug bait usually contains strong attractants such as molasses, apple, or other sweeteners to attract slugs. Unfortunately, these products are also attractive to curious pets, especially dogs like Henry who will eat most anything!
Many of us believe that Gov. Gregoire and Plan B in the draft Long Range Plan of Washington State Ferries propose to eliminate the Sidney ferry. This is an incorrect characterization of the proposal, and one that does much damage to our community’s interests.
My sisters and I awaited Orion’s appearance in the autumn sky. We each note it as our dad’s “sign” and remember him. I look for the warrior, Orion, and speak to Dad.
