Sam Bullock, with the help of friends and interns Jocelyn Burkhart, Paul Kearsley and Charly Robinson, welcomed 12 Farm Education and Sustainability for Teens (FEAST) students to the Bullocks Permaculture Homestead and Nursery last week for a three-day private permaculture design course. FEAST is a summer-long program for high school students who receive credit while attending classes taught by local experts.
On Tuesday, June 17, the San Juan County Council amended permit fees for Owner/Builder building permits designed to give a financial break to people who want to build modest-sized homes, but charging the full rate to owner-builders who build larger homes.
The Border Patrol checks at Anacortes include “plainclothesmen” who ask ferry workers to share “intelligence,” it was learned last week when a ferry worker came forward with his objections to being asked to divulge information.
On Saturday, July 12, from 2 to 4 p.m., the Waldron Community Meeting (WCM) will host a candidates’ forum for the Orcas West District of the County Council and Judicial Candidates. Those wishing to attend may arrange transportation by calling Waldron Freight at 360-317 8041 or provide their own. The WCM will provide transportation to and from the Waldron dock. Please confirm at 360-317-8380. Each candidate will have five to ten minutes to present their position, followed by a question and answer session. Candidates are asked to bring their latest donor list and any literature to distribute.
On June 12, 2008, the Shoreline Hearing Board denied a variance for a vacation home on a narrow irregular shaped parcel along Fisherman Bay on Lopez Island. If allowed, it would be the only house on 1.2 miles of stretch of Fisherman Bay. The owners purchased the property knowing that it was unbuildable, and then applied for a variance to allow a setback from the top of the bank at 25 feet, according to Pete Rose, County Administrator.
The Department of Ecology is clarifying regulations governing the collection and use of rainwater in Washington state. Currently, homeowners aren’t required to obtain water right permits to collect and store small amounts of rainwater. The new rule for the first time would define how much rainwater can be collected and used before a permit is required.
The Chair of the San Juan County Noxious Weed Control Board told the San Juan County Council on June 17 that demands on the program – requests from property owners and site visits – have increased an average of more than 15 percent each year since 2002 and the number of information letters and noxious weed notifications sent to property owners so far this year is 20 times higher than at any time in the past.
The cranium of a whale skeleton that has been on the ocean bottom near the San Juan Islands since November 2006 finally resurfaced on Sunday, June 1, after a long, exhausting weekend for a team of University of Washington Friday Harbor Lab divers and vessel operators.
An historic sailboat that many locals have seen navigating island waters for years encountered a mishap earlier this week. Around noon on Monday, June 23, the 133’ schooner Adventuress ran aground on a rock near Wasp Pass.
We’ll spend 13 years in school preparing for college or the workplace. But it’s our first five years of life – those years before we ever set foot in a classroom — that have the most impact on our ability to learn, control our behavior and build relationships.
By age 5, we have the building blocks for success, or we have a tough road to hoe.
Two week course at Camp Orkila, July 14 to 25.
Departure creates vacancies within district, ARC, SJ Initiative
