Whether it’s sunny and charming in-town gardens, meadows with native plants with ponds and water features or shady waterfront settings with beautiful vistas, the annual Orcas Island Garden Club Tour on Saturday, June 7 has something for every gardening enthusiast.
Last week’s oil spill drill at Ocean Shores helped federal, state, tribal and local governments, SeaRiver Maritime Inc., and private response contractors together to determine how best to respond to a major oil spill off the outer coast.
United Way of San Juan County has announced the receipt of a $5,000 grant from the Tulalip Tribes Charitable Fund. The grant will be used for program support exclusively in San Juan County and will assist in funding programs which provide services to thousands of county residents. According to a Tulalip Tribes spokesperson, “The Tulalip Tribes would like to congratulate this organization for its continued dedication and support for such a worthy cause”.
Mary J. Getten of Orcas Island and Bob Emerson of Olympia would like to share the joy of their decision to join their lives together. They met late last year and quickly formed a deep loving connection. Mary and Bob share a love of animals and nature, and are excellent communicators (they talk a lot).
For years, Dan Powell has had a sign on his computer in the San Juan County Assessor’s office that reads: “You have a yearning for perfection” and he has applied that ambition to creating maps that are infinitely more accurate than the paper maps that were being phased out when he joined the office in 1996. Now, after 12 years of service, he is leaving the County’s employ to join a local real estate firm.
On Tuesday June 3 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Washington Liquor Control Board and Orcas Island Prevention Partnership will be offering the annual summer training on alcohol and tobacco laws at the Orcas Island Fire Hall Conference Room. The training reviews the Washington state laws regarding the sale of alcohol and tobacco to minors and places a special emphasis on checking IDs accurately, refusing sales to intoxicated customers, and promoting increased comfort in knowing when to ask for identification. This training does not qualify the restaurant and bar staff for their Mandatory Alcohol Servers Training (MAST) but does increase employee and business skills in accurately reading identification and refusing sales as needed.
On March 17 of this year, long time Orcas Island resident and Orcas FireFighterBruce Brackett had a major heart attack on the operating table at St. Joseph hospital in Bellingham.
With an enthusiasm for sharing her love of nutritious and tasty food, Cynthia Dahlinger-Koby moved from her previous role as school cafeteria cook, to her current role as Director of Food Services for the Orcas Island School District. Finding menus that appeal to student tastes and yet incorporate healthful ingredients is an ongoing interest for her.
The 40th Legislative District Democrats kicked off their campaign season with a nominating convention Sunday, May 18 at the Anacortes library. The precinct committee officers met to nominate a candidate to fill the senate seat vacated by Harriet Spanel.
County planners are confident that this time around they got it right, and that an in-depth, parcel-by-parcel study of land supply in the Eastsound urban growth area will back their conclusions.
San Juan County Council member Alan Lichter announced on May 26 that he will run for re-election for his Orcas West district. Lichter was elected as a Democrat in 2004 to the three-member Board of County Commissioners that preceded the present Council, defeating the three-term Republican incumbent by more than 1,300 votes.