Beginning on Oct. 3, the solid waste transfer stations on Orcas and San Juan islands will be closed on Saturdays to reduce the Solid Waste Utility’s operating costs. The utility’s revenue has dropped this year because it is receiving and handling less solid waste, the county announced.
Affordable housing group Homes for Islanders has received its third Self-Help Technical Assistance Grant — $570,777 — from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development. The grant funds staff and office operations for a period of two years. During that period, Homes for Islanders will provide on-site supervision and project management for 16 families building their homes through the sweat-equity program.
San Juan Community Home Trust will celebrate its acquisition of 5.1 acres for permanently-affordable homes on Sept. 12, noon to 2 p.m. The celebration is open to the public.
A woman and her grandson were shaken but escaped with only minor injuries following a single-car collision near the intersection of Douglas Road and Madden Lane that nearly toppled a power pole and left residents on the southwest side of San Juan Island temporarily without power.
A Friday Harbor man was medflighted off-island for treatment of a possible head injury and severe cuts on his face after his motorcycle collided with a deer on Turn Point Road just before Black Road, Wednesday about 5:30 p.m.
A car has reportedly crashed into a power pole on Douglas and Little roads on San Juan Island. One person is reportedly in the car and needs to be extricated; a live power line may be down and the areas has been blocked off.
Regarding the story, “Low says he may replace Fitch with a new town administrator if elected mayor,” Aug. 26 Journal, page 1: A friend of mine reminded me of a saying by Samuel Clemens: “Don’t get in a fight with someone who buys ink by the barrel.” But I still think clarification is needed.
The Citizens Alliance for Property Rights hosted a presentation Tuesday by state Supreme Court Justice Richard Sanders concerning private property rights and the courts. Sanders was as big a hit as the tri tip dinner and the camaraderie which filled the Grange Hall to capacity.
Dr. Mike Kaill, manager of the Spring Street Aquarium, reports live birth is taking place in the aquarium. “Live-bearing surf perch are producing babies,” Kaill reported by e-mail.
On Aug. 30, a private boater broadcast a report over marine radio Channel 16 that they had discovered what appeared to be a killer whale calf floating off of Lawrence Point near Orcas Island. The observer stated that the placenta was still attached to the carcass. The San Juan County Sheriff’s Department heard the broadcast and passed the information on to the San Juan County Marine Mammal Stranding Network. A fishing tender also picked up the information and notified the network’s coordinator, Amy Traxler.
June Young (Marion June Young) died in her sleep from heart failure Aug. 19, 2009 in Placerville, Calif. She was 87. A former resident of Friday Harbor, Wash., Vancouver, Wash., and San Jose, Calif., June was born Sept. 20, 1921 in La Crosse, Wis., to William and Rose Krismer. She graduated there from Aquinas High School. June moved to Washington, D.C. when she was 18, during World War II. She secured a job as a secretary in Congress, working for one of the representatives. After WWII, June graduated from Northwestern University and Evanston Hospital in Illinois, beginning a career as a registered nurse.
The Washington state Transportation Commission, held a public meeting onboard an inter-island ferry Monday. The meeting was an opportunity for public comment regarding proposed ferry fare increases. If adopted, inter-island fares for a vehicle and driver would increase 7.5 percent as of Oct. 11, 2009. The current inter-island fare for auto and driver is $16.95. The proposal would increase that fare to $17.95 in October of this year. Another increase to $18.75 is proposed for October 2010.
Every year, teachers must buy school supplies for their students who can’t afford them. To help eliminate the burden on our teachers and help classroom learning, Islanders Bank is sponsoring a Gear Up for Our Schools campaign.
