If you start any kind of fire this summer, you’re going to pay the price. The San Juan County Fire Marshal has issued a burn ban for the county, which means campfires, fire pits, free-standing fixtures, and beach fires are all banned. Those who disregard the ban will be fined and/or billed the cost of fighting the fire if the fire department gets called.
The National Marine Fisheries Service is proposing new rules on vessel traffic aimed at further protecting Southern Resident killer whales. The resident killer whale pods, the subject of intense curiosity — from kayakers as well as tourists crowding the decks of commercial whale-watching vessels — were added to the Endangered Species list in late 2005. Their population is 85, according to the Center for Whale Research.
Common Sense Alliance is hosting a public meeting on the Critical Areas Ordinance today, 5 p.m., in Friday Harbor High School’s Hall Gymnasium.
A man from British Columbia is dead and a Lopez Island teen is in a Seattle hospital after a collision Sunday afternoon on Lopez Sound Road. Paul John Jaholkowsky, 26, was jogging southbound on Lopez Sound Road at about 2:30 p.m. when, according to authorities, he was struck head-on by a 1974 Chevy Nova sedan driven by a 15-year-old Lopez boy who was driving north at what is believed to be a high rate of speed.
Joan Komen passed away July 23 at her home in Roche Harbor after a courageous two-year struggle with ovarian cancer. She was 71. A celebration of her life will be held at Roche Harbor Resort Pavilion on July 29, 2 p.m.; and at Seattle Golf Club on Aug. 5 at 4 p.m.
A San Juan Island man will face a minimum of five years in prison after pleading no contest two weeks ago to allegations that he acted recklessly when he shot his live-in girlfriend in the chest with a .40-caliber handgun.
On July 13, Douglas Curnow, 36, pleaded no contest in San Juan County Superior Court to first-degree assault with a deadly weapon, a Class A felony; and to second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm, a Class C felony.
Gale Carter, a pioneer in convalescent care on San Juan Island, has died. His passing was announced by Pam Fry, RN, at Mullis Community Senior Center today.
Fiddlers will compete for division prizes, including $100 gift certificates from sponsor Hugo Helmer Music, in the San Juan County Fair’s first annual Old-Time Fiddle Contest.
Friday Harbor Postmaster Dan Fleming turned out to be the big winner in the “kiss-a-pig” Relay for Life fund-raiser. More than $1,700 was raised as islanders cast votes — donations of $1 — for one of five brave volunteers who volunteered to kiss a pig as part of a unique and apparently popular fund-raising event.
Maggie enjoyed her time working at San Juan County Bank and at various retail stores in town. She was active in her community, which she cherished. She volunteered at the Blood Bank and with the Booster Club, and was instrumental in the formation of the Purple and Gold Club in 1978. She was always an avid supporter of her children’s and grandchildren’s school activities.
Assessor Charles Zalmanek said that a 12-month extension should provide enough time for the department to appraise all of the county’s new construction, re-value one-third of the county’s property and to get back on its 3-year cycle of on-site appraisals by 2011.
County Auditor Milene Henley is “reasonably optimistic” the general fund, which pays for the bulk of the county’s day-to-day expenses, including payroll, will be short about $1 million in revenue from the amount the 2009 budget had been based on late last year.
If approved, revenue generated by a second quarter-percent real-estate excise tax would be dedicated exclusively for parks, roads, sewer and stormwater projects