I was astounded and appalled to read the recent story on the…
As one of your paramedics on Orcas Island, and as a personal…
Just a little note about green (renewal energy). One cord of dried…
My heartfelt thanks to Dr. Tony Giefer of the Orcas Island Medical…
There are several groups of islanders that I would like to speak…
I have had the pleasure of working with Brad Fincher for over…
The senior center can help people with problems regarding social security, medicare,…
I’ve had the pleasure of working side by side with detective Jeff…
Several qualities come to mind when I think about what I want…
As I have met with voters during my campaign, two questions have…
As most of us who travel daily through Moran State Park will…
Plain and simple: the facilities at the Orcas Island school are inadequate.…
The main issue in the race for San Juan County Sheriff is…
I’m writing this letter to let the citizens of San Juan County…
We have always supported the Maintenance and Operations Levy for the public…
Understanding the logistics of the school bond has been a challenge for…
On behalf of Children’s House of Orcas Island, I would like to publicly thank the many, many people who contributed time and money toward the success of our two recent fund raising events – The Mayor’s Race, and our Culinary Season of eleven cooking classes. We estimated that roughly 1,000 people participated in one way or another!
The Farmers' Market is now accepting EBT cards (food stamps)! Customers will need to bring their card to the EBT booth at the market, decide how much they want to spend, and will receive "market money" in exchange.
On behalf of Orcas Family Connections we would like to say a…
I think it’s great that more people have gotten involved in the discussion of the school bond. However, I am disappointed to see the same questions or concerns repeated, often by the same people, even after they have been thoroughly addressed. This doesn’t promote genuine dialogue.
I am prompted once again to write you regarding the above project
after reading a recent article in The Sounder. In the article you are quoted as having said that the County needs to "ratchet this thing down a notch" because of environmental concerns.
My view is that this thing needs to be ratcheted down to extinction for the following reasons.
It takes a village to raise a child, and a community to…
It is with awe and reverence that we observe the passing of Ronna McEldowney.
The School of the Salish Sea was blessed with the final teaching year of this deeply committed Waldorf teacher. She came to us with a life-long generosity of spirit and focus on the children. In her last year of life, she continued to share this with the children and families in the Waldorf Community here on Orcas. She exuded love, joy, delight and “impishness” even in this, her challenging year of transitioning.
As of Friday, July 23, 104 people have completed the 2010 Summer Community Survey. Our goal, according to Library Director Phil Heikkinen, is to double that number by the end of the month. (His secret fantasy is to triple that number!)
The survey is located on the library’s home page: www.orcaslibrary.org. You can complete it online by clicking the icon that says: SURVEY. It takes about 5-6 minutes to complete.
After reviewing the many articles and letters that have been published about the forthcoming vote on the school bond, I am encouraged by the amount and depth of interest in this issue. For the most part, I see this as a reflection of community concern for the school. and I hope the outcome will be a voter turnout commensurate with that concern.
While I don’t think there is any argument that the OISD facilities need renovation and upgrade, is spending $27 million on facilities that will be used by a declining number of on-site students the solution? What bothers me is a more modest proposal is missing as an alternative to the expansive plans represented by the current bond.
I want to give everyone who was part of presenting the Women’s League of Voters Candidates Forum on Orcas Island a huge thank you! It is such a pleasure to hear from such a range of candidates, in person.
In the race for our U.S. Representative in Congress, Larry Kalb stands out as a thoughtful, respectful, hard-working, highly-educated person, who is willing to think outside the box.
I want to clarify something. Our children did participate in the OASIS program at its creation. Our children were very young and we did not see it as a traditional classroom experience. For us it was mostly social, field trips, outdoor stuff and we met at the Funhouse.
Rebekah & I are voting "NO" on the Orcas school Bond issue. This call for a mandated (mandatory tax) capital improvement when other options have not been seriously pursued or even explored seriously seems very unwise and even irresponsible to our small community.
My wife Judy and I have nearly always supported school issues when they made sense. When the superintendent offered tours of the buildings, I took her up on it and was shown through the elementary and junior high school buildings by the elementary principal and a school board member.
I am a high school student at the Orcas Island Public School, and I would like to ask something to all the people who are planning on voting "no" for the bond:
As all of you were going to school, did you have a bond that passed? If you did, isn't it fair that since your community paid for a bond, it is now your turn to pay for ours?
Under Jeff Asher’s leadership, this dive team has gained a reputation as a competent and respected dive team among state and national rescue teams. Jeff has demonstrated to us the qualities and policies that he proposes to implement as Sheriff, including careful personnel selection with an eye towards a commitment to excellence.
It really is quite simple.
If the people of this county want accountability from their Sheriff’s Department in the form of quarterly reports to the County Council and through a Citizens’ Advisory Committee, they will vote for Jeff Asher.
According to county assessor figures, on Orcas, roughly 19% of our properties fall in the less than $250k assessed range and account for 4% of our School bond tax; there are 6% of properties that fall in the over $1M range that account for 19% of the bond tax. 45% of our properties belong to owners who have off-island addresses. Eligible seniors and the disabled community can get relief from their property tax, and only need apply.
Thank you.
On behalf of Helping Hands Noramise and the people of Limbe’, Haiti, we thank you so very much for the support that enabled our Orcas youth to travel to Haiti on the first island-to-island youth exchange and also for the support you are lending to the projects we have underway in Limbe’.
Thank you, United Way, for your generous contribution to Hearts and Hands.
Your mission of ensuring a healthy living environment for all and creating systems that increase physical and mental well-being focuses on those in our community who might otherwise go unnoticed.
Last week, as part of Orcas Island Library’s Summer Reading Program for kids, a group of 17 children and parents were treated to a fascinating guided tour through the Journey Stories exhibit now on display at the Orcas Island Historical Museum.
We are writing to you as two teachers at Orcas Schools who…
