I have been carefully considering the letter of initiative that everyone recently received after Sept. 18, 2014 from the EWUA Manager Paul Kamin.
I don’t write much about telephone elder scams — it’s like warning against the ocean. Those who need to hear the message aren’t listening, and the rest seem already on top of it. Hmm, maybe not.
We supported San Juan County’s property tax levy five years ago and we are endorsing it again now.
How many times do you drive down Orcas Road wondering what will happen when you make that left turn into the ferry terminal lanes? How many times has your heart plummeted on a Friday afternoon as you see that all six lanes are full?
As an avid hiker, I often find myself alone in the woods. I find it peaceful among the trees where I am soothed by the smell of pine and fir.
If you want to learn mountain climbing, you won’t start with Mount Everest. If you yearn to become a great cook, I doubt you’ll begin by hosting a huge dinner party. For all things that are complicated and worth knowing, it takes time, education, practice and patience to learn the tricks, absorb the subtleties and understand what’s really involved.
I awaited every spring with one thing in mind: when would the box of baby chickens arrive. I fed them, stroked their soft feathers, cried when the weak ones died and rejoiced when the others grew up strong and feisty, laying eggs for us all year long.
Jim has been a guiding light and role model – both as a community minded guy and a friend to so many. Even though it is the last thing on his mind, I hope y’all are able take a minute and thank Jim. I am looking forward to his next “mission”!
There seems to be two periods in my life: the one before I met Adia and the one after.
For almost two years I have been an unofficial mentor to Adia Dolan, a vibrant, talented and now 16-year-old overall superstar, whether it comes to soccer or theater or enjoying life in general.
Garlic mustard is a flowering herb that was introduced to North America from Europe as a food and medicinal plant.
I have officially become a fogey. How and when I slipped down that slope is a conundrum to me, but all the young wonder-kid reporters working for me have confirmed my fogeyness.
Immersion experiences in wild places – “breaking the suction of town” – can run the gamut: tranquil moments, exhausting climbs, wading swollen creeks, the endless play of light and clouds, pitch darkness, hunkering under a tarp in a downpour, senses heightened and evidence all around of the ephemeral nature of life.
Alex MacLeod of Shaw Island has had three letters published by island news outlets over the past couple of months. They detail the OPALCO Board’s chicanery and apparent dishonesty.
July 4: At 7:30 p.m., OIFR responded to Raccoon Point neighborhood to assist a 67-year-old male in cardiac arrest. After CPR and other significant emergency medical procedures were administered, the patient did not respond to resuscitation attempts and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Robin Williams not only said those words but he lived them to the fullest. His madness made him one of the most brilliant comedians of the last century. Devastatingly, that spark went out when he took his own life on Aug. 11.
The only thing better than seeing bears is talking about seeing bears. Viewing such an animal and living to tell the tale is perhaps a throwback to the days when our ancestors roamed the earth living in true fear of these large predators.
When my parents moved to an assisted living community in their late 70s, my mom lived in a special memory unit because she was severely disabled from Alzheimer’s. My dad lived in his own apartment down the hall and up one floor from her, and he visited daily.
Yep, with a quick look at the calendar we’re reminded that opening day of the San Juan County Fair is just a week away. Its four-day run begins Aug. 13.
Orcas has the irresistible lure of a natural paradise and the attraction of a welcoming civic spirit – a caring human community. A decade ago, that community spirit inspired San Juan Islanders to raise $18.5 million to save Turtle Back Mountain from development and to preserve its pristine beauty.
There are two kinds of memory loss in older people.
The first is normal forgetfulness, which most of us experience starting in our 40s and 50s — like not remembering a good friend’s name or where we put the car keys. I know this one well!
There is no substitute for blood. It cannot be manufactured in a factory or created in a laboratory by scientists. Blood is one of the few life-saving measures that can only be given organically from one person to another.
The proposed Cherry Point coal terminal in Bellingham and the growler jet noise on Whidbey Island are issues that make us angry.
Who knew that Elvis was a convincing 3-D printer pitchman? In late June, I attended the American Library Association meeting in Las Vegas along with 18,000 other library lovers – librarians, trustees, and library friends from public, private and academic libraries.
Total call volume for 2012 was 783 and for 2013 it was 879. To date for 2014 that number is at 459 – a 13.3 percent increase from last year.
Here at the Sounder, we pride ourselves on covering news that pertains to our communities. And sometimes there is a national news story that has local implications.
Eastsound residents probably couldn’t help but notice a blue and white Lear Jet that made repeated approaches and departures at the Orcas Airport on Monday, June 24.
Orcas Fire and Rescue responded to the following notable alarms.
Personnel were dispatched to the Deer Point neighborhood on May 1 to conduct a search for an adult male missing overnight. He was found approximately 1,000 feet away from his home. The patient was treated for traumatic injuries and exposure.
We would like to remind everyone that personal fireworks are not allowed anywhere in our beautiful county. The use of any type of personal fireworks presents a very real danger of injury and fire.
Every year a new batch of eager young adults stand on the threshold of adulthood. With a diploma in one hand and an iPhone in the other, they are prepared to take on the world.
What is aging? When is a person “old”?
When I was a kid, I yearned to be older. My mom promised, “You’ll understand when you grow up.” But when I did get older, I discovered there were things I didn’t want to understand.
Service dog trainer Leslie Liddle spoke at the May 25 Unitarian Fellowship service describing her connection with the dogs she works with. She shares these thoughts here.
Planning to wash your car this weekend? Use pesticides in your garden? Ignore that oil leak in the old rig?
Homeless is a relatively new term. In the 1920s those without homes were hobos, tramps, bums and box-car riders. Homeless is a much nicer word for those of us who have found ourselves without a roof over our heads.
Periodic trips to the Sheriff’s office had been one of my many tasks for the better part of the past 14 years.
Shona Aitken, Education Coordinator for Wolf Hollow, will be speaking at the Orcas Island Unitarian Universalist Fellowship worship service on May 27, along with Kate Wood and Leslie Liddle. She writes here about working with wildlife.
Shona Aitken, Education Coordinator for Wolf Hollow, will be speaking at the Orcas Island Unitarian Universalist Fellowship worship service on May 27, along with Kate Wood and Leslie Liddle. She writes here about working with wildlife.
Cherry blossoms are bursting with color and kayaks are being taken out of storage.
It’s soon to be summer in the San Juans – which means tourist season is just around the corner.
Being a somewhat superstitious person, I’ve always been reluctant to trumpet good news. This reluctance comes across, at times, as pessimism. I’m not really pessimistic, though; I’d just rather be surprised by good news than by bad.
Mother’s Day has a rich history of motivating people to rise up for peace and human rights. Take a look at how Mother’s Day has affected our nation.
As we come to the end of April, which is sexual assault awareness month, we want to talk about healthy adolescent sexual development.
