No teachers will be laid off in San Juan Island schools. But hours were cut for classified staff members and district officials are still scrambling to raise another $165,000 money to qualify for all pledged matching funds and fully eradicate the district’s budget shortfall. That’s the top story in Wednesday’s Journal of the San Juan Islands, which is available tonight at some outlets. It will be available at all carriers and newsracks and in the mail Wednesday.
Turns out the idea of using the Land Bank as leverage proved too hot to handle. So the San Juan County Council last week set its sights on the county’s multi-million-dollar road fund instead. Road revenue, the council agreed at its May 13 meeting, will provide a line of credit that hopefully will convince state officials of the county’s commitment to fulfill its obligation to manage stormwater runoff in the Eastsound Urban Growth Area.
Since San Juan Island Community Radio’s construction permit application was held up, due to possible interference with Canadian broadcasting by some 1,500 yards, we have contracted with an FCC-approved broadcast engineer to finish our application, which is now on file with the FCC for public inspection.
Memorial Day traditionally means the arrival of summer crowds desiring to board a Washington state ferry en route to a long weekend of fun. Adding sunshine and blue skies to this three-day weekend can mean traffic backups on Friday afternoons and evenings westbound and again on Monday, eastbound, as travelers return home.
Frank Kelly, former superintendent of the San Juan Island School District, died Wednesday in Redmond. He was 68. A Celebration of Life will be held May 18, 1 p.m., at 11525 19th Ave. SE (Bothell/Everett Highway), Everett.
Gone is half the athletic program’s budget. Gone is the Primary Intervention Program for at-risk elementary school students. Gone is the food service program for every student. Gone are teachers’ aides, secretarial jobs and custodians.
Some Friday Harbor residents expect to tighten their belts more — and do away with extras — to meet the costs of escalating utility rates
Impact on tourism cited as local elected officials look to Senators Cantwell and Murray, and Congressman Larsen, for help in changing inspection procedures
Daniel Flemming, 48, is the new postmaster of Friday Harbor. Flemming brings 28 years of experience with him, working his way up from a variety of different jobs. “My first job with the postal service was as a letter sorting machine operator,” he said.
Houston Taylor, a Shaw Island resident who leads the Skagit Hospice team serving San Juan County, has been named a Real Hero by the Anacortes/San Juan Islands chapter of the American Red Cross.
You can honor a loved one by sharing their story, sing in “Relay Idol,” and try some standup comedy …
Wayne Fitzgerald, who has lived on San Juan since 2003, is the man behind the title design for the original 1962 film of Meredith Willson’s “The Music Man.”
Wednesday: Orcas Spring Lecture Series: “Hydrology of Cascade Creek Watershed,” 7 p.m., Orcas Senior Center, off North Beach Road on Henry Lane, Eastsound. Jeff Bash, watershed lead for the state Department of Ecology, gives this lecture. Sponsored by the San Juan Nature Institute. Free. Call 378-3646 or visit www.sjnature.org.
