It was take your dog to work day last Friday
So, did you take your dog to work last week? That was Skipper on the keyboard at the Port of Friday Harbor office...he was pretty fast on the keyboard, but not so keen about it all when he found out he was supposed to work, too.
Estate sale on the 7th
Funk 'n Junk's Mike Adams wanted me to tell you that he's got Andor Toth's estate sale coming up next week...here are the details.
Christ the King holds men's gathering
Vic Woodward let me know that there was a men's retreat this weekend for Christian men on San Juan Island and Lopez Island...here's more, with photos.
And now for the NEXT twenty....
That was Nan and Steve Simpson's anniversary last Wednesday...you'd probably agree that twenty years deserves a party, so they had a nice get-together at their house on Friday night with family and friends.
Retired teacher Nan has taught more third graders (and more) than you could count, and Port Director Steve has probably parked more boats than you could count, but overall they look as happy here & now as when they started. Good folks to have around.
More about that cell tower....
I mentioned below [June 22] that we had us a cell tower pretending to be a flag pole behind the Dance Studio...well, I got curious about all that, so I contacted Shannon over in Planning to see if there was more to it (she was in on approving that cell tower over on Lopez, so I knew she'd know.)
Seemed to me that you'd hope they weren't emitting too much radio radiation, since it's so close to a dance place with kids (and us older kids) so close by.
She was nice enough to write back:
There are actually two cell phone towers behind the dance studio. One is the free standing flag pole type and the other is attached to the southwest corner of the dance studio building. A representative for a personal wireless communication company pointed it out to me. If you look at the building you’ll see what looks like a chimney enclosed in siding on the upper part of the building. That’s it.
The County Personal Wireless Communication Facilities Subarea Plan (San Juan County Code Chapter 16.80) requires annual monitoring of the radio frequency radiation to determine if it is within maximum permissible exposure limits (PEL) for the public. In this case you would want to measure the cumulative radio frequency radiation from the two towers. I would imagine that the Town has similar monitoring requirement for facilities within town limits.
Property owners who have cell phone towers on their property receive income from the cell phone companies, so that is the incentive to locate them on one’s property.
FHHS grad finishes at Stanford
Ian Robinson Thomsen of Friday Harbor earned the Bachelor of Science in Geological and Environmental Sciences degree from the School of Earth Sciences at Stanford University on Sunday, June 17. Ian is a graduate of Friday Harbor High School, and is the son of Tim Thomsen and Marty Robinson.
After the summer spent hiking in France and Spain with his proud mother and brother Elliot , Ian will be employed in Reno, Nevada for Golder Associates Inc. supporting mine pit slope geotechnical studies.
Quote
"A person writing at night may put out the lamp, but the words he has written will remain. It is the same with the destiny we create for ourselves in this world." - Shakyamuni
June 25, 2007
At the Lineman Rodeo
This weekend, Roger Sandwith competed in the Andrew York Lineman Rodeo - here's the story from Marlis late last week (I'll let you know what I found out, soon as I hear):
Dear Mr. Byington - Thought I’d send in a little piece of news about my husband, Roger Sandwith as I am VERY proud of him! He is a lineman apprentice for OPALCO, and tomorrow (Saturday) he will be competing in the Andrew York Lineman Rodeo at Rocky Reach Dam, near Wenatchee, WA. For more info on this event, see the web site: http://www.chelanpud.org/4020.html
Thanks!
Marlis K. Sandwith
Two decades & counting
She just keeps rolling along - Susie Doyle opened Susie's Mopeds in 1987 and she's seen a lot of changes on the island since then - the whale craze, the increased influx of visitors, and even the forced re-location of her business from its longtime spot at the top of the ferry lanes (below the former, now-moved Churchill Square) to her present spot on Nichols Street.
She just keeps smiling and setting folks up to explore the island a little slower & more thoughtfully than a car, and is one more smiling face tourists see when they come. Check her out at her website - you'll enjoy the ride.
Benefit Players launches summer season this week
The Benefit Players Theater gets going this week with four plays in repertory (that means they're gonna rotate 'em, rookie - so, there will be a new set after the 15th) - here's more from Yvonne:
The Benefit Players Theater announces that it will be kicking off Part One of a series of performances for their Summer Repertory Theater which will run every weekend, (except the weekend of the fair) beginning June 29. Show time is 7:30pm. Come early to guarantee a seat as seating is on a first come basis. The theater is located on the corners of Tucker and Guard Streets. Call the theater at 370-5560 for more information.
The first set of performances are three short original plays and a monologue. “The Observers” by Charlie Bodenstab, Directed by Pam Gillette, a Monologue “The Staber” by Susan Wingate, Directed by Gray Cope, “Sometimes The River Bends In Such A Way”, by Ernest Pugh, Directed by Ernest Pugh and “The Connoisseurs” by Ed Strum, Directed By Ed Wilson. This set of performances runs June 29 – July 15, 2007.
There is no charge for admission, however, donations are welcomed and encouraged in order to contribute to the organization’s mission of offering financial assistance to community members in need. Donations are tax deductible.
Goin' to the chapel....
It was nice to get a note about Jennifer Zaehring getting married, with a photo, from her dad, Dan:
Ian - In this age of digital cameras, wedding pictures are pouring in. Since we talked (and I noticed the note you already posted) here is a pretty good one of the unofficial pictures of the new couple.
Actually they are far from a "new couple" since they have been friends since junior year at UW. They will be living in Tacoma near the campus of the University of Puget Sound where Bryan is campus staff for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, the organization where they first met at UW and became close friends. Jennifer is experimenting with ways to best use her MBA in international economic development in the inner city of Tacoma. We shall see how that unfolds.
Dan
Having talked to Jennifer about her plans, it more than warms my heart that she's interested in helping the poorest of the poor in the world with what she's learned & practiced in international economic development - she's a great one, with a great companion now at her side. Watch for great things from these two.
Going to the chapel, part two....
You know I sing at weddings (I think I told you about that), and Saturday was a great one out at Roche Harbor, as Darrin Holme married Teri Neely in a beautiful garden ceremony (can you think of a more beautiful place?), then had dinner up at the restaurant, which was a fine meal prepared by chef Bill Shaw.
The sun started to peek out a bit as they cut the cake (right) in the Fireside Room, looking out over the harbor.
OK, one more...
The San Juan Islander reports that Margaret Bell and Conrad Berthold got married on Thursday last week - click here for details!
Getting that skatepark going
There's a movement afoot to work to upgrade our eight-year-old skatepark, and one of the people working to help out is Ian Williams, who (with his buddy Jake) have been juggling like you see in the picture to raise money for the improvements - so if you see them out at the end of Black Road on Turn Point Road with their hat out, that's what they're there for.
Quote: "OUT-OF-DOORS, n. That part of one's environment upon which no government has been able to collect taxes. Chiefly useful to inspire poets." - Ambrose Bierce, from The Devil's Dictionary
June 22, 2007
Playing in the All-State Game this week
FHHS grad Tyler Hart plays this week in the All-State Football game in Yakima, before packing his bags to see if he can win a spot at Eastern Washington this fall. The Eagles will be getting one of FHHS' most talented athletes, as will Linfield College in Oregon, where last year's QB Cole Franklin hopes to make the team. We'll keep an eye on our favorite sons.
That's Cole (left) and T-Hart with Wolverine coach Richard Ledford at graduation last weekend (here are more pictures of that.)
Fairgrounds gets a better water plan
You saw all the digging - Shel over at the Fairgrounds tells me they're replacing decades-old water mains & piping on the north side of the fairground with new stuff to reduce the leaking and wasted water from the old system.
Cell tower update
I know you thought that when they were working on the flag pole behind the Dance Workshop earlier this week that they were getting ready for the Fourth of July or something...that thing's a cell tower, right in the middle of town, disguised as a flag pole. You knew that, didn't you? Some people in other communities aren't so sure it's good idea to have cell towers that close to people - here's one view.
Goats at the airport
It's an experiment, and I'd say it's a good one - the Port of Friday Harbor is using goats rather than mowers to "mow" the airport's green areas. They're environmentally way ahead of using petrol-driven mowers, safer, and, heck, they're cuter, too. Possibly most importantly, they eliminate the need for using herbicides, which run off into the water we drink, and that the orcas drink, and that all the rest of the animals & plants who share the island with us drink.
We're not the only ones with a good idea: here's a story from up the coast at the University of Northern BC where they're doing the same sort of thing. Noting the story, our Port director Steve Simpson told me, "I guess there are a lot of job openings for goats right now. An idea whose hour arrived."
If we find ones that eat Scotch Broom, that's a bonus.
Wedding bells, now & then
Speaking of Steve, he and Nan are celebrating their 20th anniversary this month...meanwhile, Jennifer Zaehring got married a couple of weekends ago, and Christine down at Cotton Cotton Cotton is marrying her friend Jimmy this weekend.
Now and then
Speaking of Jennifer, I was looking for something in the archives of the Update (I started this in 1997 - check the archives button above) and saw that she was in one of the first stories we posted in the first edition, because she was helping start the high school newspaper that year.
There was also a mention that Practical Magic was due to start filming here with Sandy Bullock, with this aside:
Now that the movie's gonna be made here, reminds me of watching possibly the greatest movie of all time - The Net, with Sandra Bullock - at the Royal Theater here. In the middle of it, as she whizzed through some online stuff, someone to my right whispered "I didn't know you can do that!" while someone off to the left said, "You can't do that!"
The part I liked best was how she stayed up all night doing stuff on the Net, eating pizza by the wagon load and drinking Cokes by the bucketful, then goes to the beach looking like she's been on a brown rice diet. Best movie ever. Much better than The Titanic...they didn't even have modems.
Those were the days.
Radio star from the island
I visited with Craig from Kenmore Air about how his business is faring this summer, and he reports things are going well...he also says you might hear a familiar island voice on the radio (who isn't Pat O'Day, the island's most familiar radio voice):
I just got back from a stint in a recording studio with our ad agency working on a new Kenmore Air radio spot featuring Friday Harbor man-about-town Bill Wright (right) from San Juan Safaris. We came up a couple weeks ago to record him in his "natural environment," and I'm really excited about how the spot turned out. It'll be a great plug for the San Juans, as well as for Kenmore Air. Not sure if that's a tidbit that your readers might find interesting or not, but there you are anyway!
The spot will begin airing in the next few days on KZOK-FM, KMPS-FM, KOMO-AM, KMTT-FM, KBSG-FM and KJR-AM. Click here to hear it.
Seal pups brought over
As you know, our animal rehabilitation center at Wolf Hollow is well-known in the area, and they'll be receiving a seal pup who got touched & can't be returned to the wild - here's more, with a reminder to leave pups alone when you find them so their moms don't abandon them.
Quote: "Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them." - Eeyore, from A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh
June 21, 2007
Get too close, you'll get fined
That's the idea - putting some teeth into our whale watching guidelines that require boats to stay 100 metres away from marine mammals. The County Council directed County Prosecutor Randy Gaylord to draw up a proposal, and he suggested a $750 fine for violators. And I say - good. Here's more from the Seattle P-I.
Next thing we have to do is limit the number of boats & the extended times that people are out watching the whales - we need to give the whales a rest. This is a good start, though.
Newcomers to San Juan Island
Rikki Daniella Tobon (right) was born at 2:05 am on June 20th to parents Juan (of Juan's Detailing) and Carina Tobon. She weighed in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces and measuring 20 inches long. Rikki already has a big brother and sister, Juan Pablo and Alexandra, to show her the ropes of childhood. Both mom and baby are doing great!
Meanwhile, there's a nice writeup about Jenny Bordi and Matt Johnson & their new baby last April on the San Juan Islander yesterday. Check it out.
Flying to the island? Here's an idea
My friends at Kenmore Air have a deal you'll want to know about, especially if you fly a lot:
Kenmore Air introduces "QuickTix" - the more you fly, the more you save! These discount coupon books are available in 4-, 10- and 20-ticket sizes at 5%, 10% or 15% off regular fares, respectively. Versions are available for Kenmore Air Express land-plane service only or for the travelers choice of land plane or seaplane service. Each QuickTicket is good for any one-way flight to/from the San Juans for one year - no blackout dates or restrictions. QuickTix are fully transferable, making them a great gift for off-island friends or relatives, a perfect employee incentive, a great way to impress clients or prospects, or - naturally - great for the individual frequent flyer. QuickTix are available at the Friday Harbor Airport and online at www.KenmoreAir.Vista.com.
Shirts on sale
Saw this one (right) at the shirt shop next to King's.
Mayan Astrologer comes to visit the island
Kenneth tells me this is going to be a fun one:
Spirit Tree Gifts is honored to present Janet Hickox of The Mystik Moon as she offers her Lecture Series on Mayan Astrology.
Join us on Friday, June 22, 6pm-8pm, in Friday Harbor to finding out what your personal Tzolkin Sun Sign and Galactic tone is. Cost is $35. Please call ahead with your birth date to Mystik Moon in Sedro-Wooley (360) 855-2991or Spirit Tree Gifts 378-6442. Personal readings are $25 by appointment. Spirit Tree Gifts is an intimate setting so please call ahead to reserve a seat.
A big thank you from the parents
The parents put on a super senior party for the grads on Saturday nighth/Sunday morning, and Lori Ronhaar wanted to thank everybody who helped - check it here. Way to go!
Class of '87 comes together
They're making plans for the weekend of the 30th, with stuff going on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. If you were in the FHHS class of 1987, drop me a line & I'll tell ya who to call.
Weaving program focuses on a lost way of life
Mike Vouri out at the Park at English Camp has a great program planned - here's the scoop:
Join Cowlitz Nation weaver Judy Bridges and Fort Nisqually interpreter and storyteller Karen Haas for a fun afternoon of weaving with all-natural fibers, including wild reeds. Bridges is a direct descendent of Hudson's Bay Company pioneers. The program is scheduled noon, Saturday, June 23 on the English Camp parade ground.
The program is free. A golf cart is available to transport disabled persons to and from the parking area. Call (360) 378-2902 or 378-4409 for additional special access information.
Weaving is a common element across many cultures from Eurasia to the Americas, Bridges said. The location of a culture determines the type of creations its members will make.
While white settlers used natural resources in some aspects of their lives, American Indian relied almost entirely on what was at hand, especially the cedar tree, known to them as the “tree of life.”
Cedar served a purpose in all its forms. The bark could be pounded into cotton for clothing. Some American Indians also wrapped their dead in cedar.
Bridges began weaving because she wanted to pursue an activity that would reflect her native heritage. To her, weaving can be a spiritual experience. Throughout the basket weaving process, Bridges said, there are times when she feels connected to past basket weavers.
“I feel like I’m a part of the long line of people who have done this,” she said.
Quote: "The most alarming of all man's assaults upon the environment is the contamination of air, earth, rivers, and sea with dangerous and even lethal materials. This pollution is for the most part irrecoverable; the chain of evil it initiates not only in the world that must support life but in living tissues is for the most part irreversible. In this now universal contamination of the environment, chemicals are the sinister and little-recognized partners of radiation in changing the very nature of the world—the very nature of its life." - Rachel Carson, author, Silent Spring
June 20, 2007
Another island grad with a bright future
Cember Picconi (with proud dad Jack; proud mom Stephanie is taking the picture)) graduated last month from Golden Gate University School of Law (her degree: Doctor of Jurisprudence, with a specialization in Environmental Law).
The FHHS '98 graduate is moving to Sacramento to work for Remy, Thomas, Moose and Manley LLP, a land use and environmental law firm since 1982 working in both the public and private sector.
Sleep when you can
Yep, it's solstice, so with the longest day of the year you have a chance to stay up really late.
Pets on the Fourth
Sure, humans like all the loud noises & all the commotion that goes with the Fourth of July, but what's going on in the head of your dog? Or your cat? Noted animal communicator Mary Getten (right, she lives on Orcas) shares her thoughts.
Shakespeare discussions
The first in a series of presentations by Shakespeare scholars designed to broaden the understanding of Island Stage Left’s summer production of “The Comedy of Errors,” will be on Monday, July 16, 2007. The series will continue on the three successive Mondays: July 23, July 30, and August 6. Each evening begins at 7 pm at Pelindaba Downtown.
Here's more.
Views from off-island
I'm always intrigued by the way others perceive us...here's a blog report from a tv news guy from Portland.
Meanwhile, John Sinclair (who shuttles between here & Siberia...and you thought you had a funky commute) has posted some wonderful pix of his girl Cameron (left) - check 'em out.
Supes needed at the Fair
The Fair needs a few more Superintendents for this year's Fair. Want to help? They are looking for persons who would like to form a team, spearhead, or assist in any of the following departments:
Crafts &Woodworking, Food Preservation – Beer & Wine, Fruit, Photography, Vegetables
Fair dates this year are August 15 thru 18. Call for more information 378-4310
Quote: "'Growth' and 'progress' are among the key words in our national vocabulary. But modern man now carries Strontium 90 in his bones ... DDT in his fat, asbestos in his lungs. A little more of this 'progress' and 'growth,' and this man will be dead." - Morris K. "Mo" Udall
