The deadline is Dec. 31 to submit writing and/or visual art to Shark Reef online magazine for its spring 2010 issue. “We welcome submissions from anyone who lives in the islands or has ever visited here,” editor Lorna Reese said.
Seven organizations will share more than $1.4 million in funding for projects to improve salmon habitat in San Juan County. All told, the state Salmon Recovery Funding Board today announced the awarding of $42.8 million in grants to protect and restore salmon populations to communities across Washington state.
Everyone in San Juan County wanting to receive the H1N1 vaccine is now eligible to do so, the county Department of Health has announced. The county Health Department will sponsor H1N1 vaccination clinics Wednesday, 1-4 p.m., at Mullis Community Senior Center in Friday Harbor; Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Orcas Island Senior Center in Eastsound; and Friday, 9 a.m. to noon, at Lopez Island Senior Center.
We are grieving with hope because we know that John is in God’s hands and we will be with him again. Even in this overwhelming sadness the children and I feel such pride in the legacy left by John. He has left us an example of a life well lived, and a remarkable life to remember with grateful hearts.
The Friday Harbor Town Council’s last scheduled meetings of the year will arguably be its most significant of the year.
Nanette Robinson Weissinger died Friday, Dec. 11, at Islands Convalescent Center in Friday Harbor, after a short and unexpected hospitalization. She was 90. She had lived in Friday Harbor for the past 10 years.
St. David’s Episcopal Church invites the community to attend services at the church on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Three local dogs — Ella, Riley and Tater — and their owners have graduated from the American Kennel Club’s S.T.A.R. Puppy Training Class at Downtown Dog. S.T.A.R. stands for Socialization, Training, Activity and Responsible owner — all of the things a puppy needs to have a good life. The program is a precursor to the AKC Canine Good Citizen Test.
Please put a reminder on your pages to the people who ride bicycles after the hours of darkness the need to wear bright, hopefully, reflective clothing with appropriate lights, hopefully flashing lights on both the front and rear of the bike. We are receiving complaints and concerns about how unsafe some bicycle riders are, especially when it gets dark now before 5 p.m.
Artist Marsha Rachlin died Dec. 8, 7:25 p.m. in a care center next to Skagit Valley Hospital in Mount Vernon. She was 72 and had been battling cancer. An obituary is forthcoming. A memorial celebration of her life will be held in February in the American Legion hall. In lieu of flowers, donations are preferred to the new Island Artisans Endowment Fund, which will fund scholarships for graduating high school seniors.
The San Juan County Land Bank has purchased historical preservation and open space conservation easements on a portion of the San Juan Historical Museum property for $200,000. The allocation was unanimously approved Dec. 8 by the San Juan County Council. The money, proceeds from the 1 percent excise tax on real estate sales, will help the museum restore and maintain three buildings, which date to 1894.
The ballots are counted and results have been certified. But there’s at least one issue from the November election which has yet to be put to rest. Don Burkhart of Blakely Island, who led the effort to repeal the ban on the use of all consumer fireworks in San Juan County, including those considered “safe and sane,” believes the ballot title of the fireworks referendum was written in such a confusing manner that the choice presented to voters was unclear.
County Fire Marshal Bob Low has applied for the Friday Harbor Town Council seat that will become vacant when Carrie Lacher becomes mayor Jan. 1. Low received 305 votes to Lacher’s 429 votes in the mayoral election Nov. 3. Lacher’s council term expires Dec. 31, 2011. Town Council members receive $85 a meeting, with a maximum of four meetings per month. They help approve budgets, set policy, and determine town government’s direction on public services and quality of life issues.
