Your help is needed to install playground

It’s not a barn-raising, but a playground raising that will bring together members of the island community July 14 and 15.

Thanks to donors from throughout the community, the Friday Harbor Elementary School PTA has raised enough money to replace the school’s aging playground with a new and safer structure. However, a successful installation requires a multitude of volunteer help.

“We need at least 20 people each day to assist the two professional installers that are coming here from off island,” PTA co-president Kim Ott said.

“We do have some skilled contractors who are switching their schedules to help us, but we will need more volunteers as well.”

Ott said all different kind of skill levels are welcome — a willingness to help in whatever way possible, for however many hours as possible would be great.

Call Ott to sign up to help, 378-8735.

Blank wall on Blair Avenue will become a mural

Friday Harbor’s yearlong centennial celebration, which begins next month at the San Juan County Fair, will be a time of reflection and creation.

Artists Chinmayo and Beth Spadafora are proposing turning the long blank wall along Blair Avenue into a centennial mural.

They propose involving other local artists, students and residents who’d like to participate in this project.

At the Town Council meeting on June 19, all council members voted to approve the conditional use permit needed to begin this project, which was recommended for approval by town staff.

The proposed centennial wall mural will consist of 20 glazed tile panels, arranged in pairs to create 10 images. The creators of these tiles will work together so that there is continuity, and the images will depict island history.

This community art project will allow children and adults to work together to create a lasting piece of history that both locals and visitors can enjoy.

The mural is expected to be completed by the time of the 2009 San Juan County Fair, when the town’s centennial celebration concludes.

— Talia Loucks, intern

Town mails annual water quality report

Town of Friday Harbor water customers will receive a publication this week detailing the quality of their drinking water.

Substances detected after treatment of Trout Lake water must be reported, as required by the state Department of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Copies are also available at Town Hall and on the town Web site, www.fridayharbor.org.