By SCOTT RASMUSSEN
The Orcas Island Fire District is not a democracy. It is a junior taxing district. The volunteer members of the…
The Fire Department needs to improve communications, especially within the department.
Consider this:
Since when did the hard-working immigrants become the bad guys? Consider the eight Mexicans who were stopped last month in the unprecedented domestic border checks while traveling from the San Juan Islands to Anacortes. One man, an Orcas resident for five years, was trying to get to the airport to pick up his wife and child who had been visiting family in Mexico.
Many, many thanks for all who helped me when I had that awful accident at Island Market on April 7 at 12:30 p.m. Sorry for the inconvenience to everyone and I really appreciate all of the assistance.
I was never so proud as a few nights ago when I had the honor of supervising one of our new EMTs assist in evaluating a patient. I watched her do a Cincinnati Prehospital Stroke Score, apply ECG electrodes, take vital signs and obtain a blood glucose value. As I read the electrocardiograph, I watched over my glasses to witness sincere compassion. Firefighters and EMTs, especially out here on the islands, should be proud of themselves and proud of their craft.
Since it began almost twenty years ago, OPAL’s core mission has been clear and consistent — to deliver attractive, environmentally responsible, and above all, affordable homes to Orcas islanders. The mission has remained the same but Orcas is changing. Looking toward the not-too-distant future we can see that our island population is getting larger, older, and on average wealthier. As land and building costs have skyrocketed, people who make our lives here either possible (teachers, construction workers, public employees) or piquant (artists, artisans, families with young children) have found life harder and harder.
I was recently subjected to a most unpleasant and disturbing experience at the hands of a U.S. government agency, specifically the Border Patrol in Anacortes as I disembarked from a domestic sailing of the WSF arriving from my home island, Lopez, on the morning of March 30.
Brace yourself, this ride is going to be more than bumpy as population and budget realities paint a daunting picture for the projected Orcas Island School District budget next year.
Dear Mr. Souder:
Say what you want about certain local sports fishermen, they are sincere… boy… they’re sincere!
Doing something tangible – walking, “flocking,” working as a team, fundraising, pooling resources to fund the prevention, better treatment, and cure for cancer – creates an atmosphere of comradeship and effectiveness in the face of an ominous and life-threatening disease.
