Learn to recycle naturally at a free workshop this Saturday.

The workshop is from 1:15 to 3:45 p.m. at the Orcas Senior Center in Eastsound.  It is sponsored by the San Juan County Solid Waste Division, WSU Extension Master Gardeners, WSU Ag Program, and San Juan Islands Conservation District with funding from the WA Department of Ecology.

Participants can learn how to compost food and yard waste to build healthy, productive soil with improved water-holding capacity.

Plus, they will learn how to manage brush piles as wildlife habitat, and can purchase composters at reduced cost.

Reasons for composting:

• Composting is nature’s recycling system……easy and convenient once you learn the science and art of it!
• You can save money on your trash disposal bill.
• You won’t have to bag up your yard waste to take to the solid waste facility.
• Composting saves landfill space and reduces methane (a corrosive greenhouse gas).
• Composting turns your yard and kitchen waste into a free soil amendment for your plants.
• Burning leaves and brush produces air pollution…so why not add them to your compost instead?

Participants are asked to bring their own refreshments. This will be a “Zero Waste” event, so choose reusable or recyclable materials, or take back unrecyclable trash. Appropriate food scraps will be collected to feed the worms.

Contact 370-0503 for more information.

Good food, good talk, good schools, all a part of the Orcas Island School Board's Bond Community Potluck last night.

Last night, the Orcas High School Commons was filled with a lively group discussing their viewpoints on the Orcas Island School District (OISD)Bond for Reconstruction and Repairs, which recently failed by about a 120-vote margin.

The Bond, which was for $35 million over a 25-year period, was described by many in attendance on March 10 as “just too big.”

Following a community potluck of hamburgers, veggie burgers, juice and “trimmings,” and numerous dishes brought in by guests, the Orcas Island School District Board, Superintendent, teachers, students, parents, architects, builders and other members of the public discussed what were identified as 4 critical questions, summarized as follows:

1) What concerns have you heard from those who did not vote for the bond?
2) What have you heard that would make those who voted no vote in favor of the bond the next time?
3) What questions do you have about the bond?
4) What will get people more involved in the discussion about the bond?

These questions were discussed around each of the tables where 10-12 community members sat. The entire group then heard from each table, and the concerns expressed in their answers were summarized by School Board Member Janet Brownell:

• The Bond is for too much money, especially now
• The Bond includes “wishes” as well as needs — some of the “extras” were enumerated as a track and indirect and contingency costs
• “Breaking Up” the Bond into 2 or several bonds would provide better timing and reduced expense for a construction bond
• Neighborhood groups and increased Internet presence would involve more in the discussion, as would theparticipation of teachers and students.

Brownell added that “trust issues” were also aired, particularly in the areas of sustained maintenance and the commitment to employ local builders.

The OISD Board has scheduled a meeting at 5:30 p.m. today, March 11, to discuss plans to move forward. They will consider both the timing and the amount of a future bond proposition. The meeting is open to the public, in the school library.

Board Member Keith Whitaker described the process of proposing a bond, saying, “The Board listens and responds. This bond was not the board’s agenda, but was put together after [the public] gave educational specifications of what we were told was needed…. This was a plan we heard from concerned community members.

“We will continue to do what the community asks us to do.”

Whitaker also added that some of the concerns have already been addressed, such as a Community Advisory Board for School Construction, which the Board is “committed to make happen in short order.”

People in attendance were reminded that the last time the District went out for a smaller-sized bond for capital construction after a larger bond had failed, (1978) the results were cost “savings” on materials and design that wound up costing more in terms of long-term sustainability.

Local builder Justin Paulsen corrected OISD Board Member Tony Ghazel’s reference to the Middle School Buildings as  “not being built to today’s standards.” Paulsen said, “They weren’t built to yesterday’s standards either.”

Ghazel agreed with the correction and said, “In 1978, we got what we paid for — as we go forward, we will make sure we get what we pay for. We can only move forward.”

The story of Colton Harris-Moore is a cautionary tale of what happens when a society does not provide in a positive way for its children, as when a society spends more on prisons than on schools, more on war than on health care.

We as a society have an increasing number of children with ADHD, depression and other imbalances. Medicating, punishing and imprisoning are not useful ways to help afflicted persons regain their stability and centeredness so they can be positive members of society.

When I was in Cuba in 2000, I did a story telling in a neighborhood school. I observed among the children a strong sense of cooperation and looking out for one another.  Among U.S. schools I had been observing competitiveness and bullying. When asked, the Cubans explained that their philosophy as a Nation was that one should look out for and be kind to the more troublesome or difficult children. This way they would not grow up to be a problem or threat to the community, but rather a part of it. I would call this “Properganda”!

This cautionary tale is a wake-up to re-evaluate our approach to achieving a civil society that is truly civil.

Connie Zehner

On Sunday, January 24, Connie Zehner took her last breaths on this planet, succumbing to pulmonary fibrosis, a lung condition of unknown cause that has no known treatment.

Born in 1948 in Munich, Bavaria, Cornelia Gabriela Lipp was always a bit of a rebel. She preferred reading and the outdoors to attending teas and learning to be a “lady,” as her family felt was appropriate. A love of books came naturally, owing to her father’s publishing business; Connie never lost her fascination with that world. Her professional resume reflects her experience in the publishing world, from copyediting to layout to writing, even authoring a German-language cookbook of traditional recipes (with a cup of humor) and several anthologies.

She came to the U.S. in 1982 to open the American offices of a German publishing house, and met Jan Zehner in the course of her work in Washington, D.C. They were married in March of 1984, and spent four years in Zambia with the Foreign Service. There, Connie got involved in helping local artists market their crafts. Then followed three years in Vienna before returning to the States and life on Orcas Island. Over the years on Orcas, Connie volunteered in a number of venues, in recent years at the Healing Arts Center in Eastsound. She supported many people with her wide knowledge about alternative medicine, which she loved to research.

When Connie and Jan parted in 2005, it was with mutual respect and affection.

From her earliest days, Connie was a strong advocate of nature. She loved being outdoors, hiking, skiing, gardening, swimming, or just sitting in the sun. She loved birds, shoes, romantic old Italian movies, a good adventure, chocolate, espresso, good food with good wine, laughing, dancing, and helping others. She was unfailingly generous to causes and people she loved.

To the end, Connie maintained her characteristic humor and her infallible caring for others. She is much missed in our community, and in the community of spirit that she inhabited so brilliantly.

Connie is survived by her brother Dieter, her niece Sabina, and her nephew Fabian, of Munich, Germany.

A Memorial Dance Party will be held for the Friends of Connie Zehner on Friday, March 12 at the Odd Fellows Hall at 7 p.m. Outrageous Dress is encouraged, and guests are welcome to bring dessert to share.

After much deliberation the San Juan County Council Tuesday authorized County staff to begin three steps toward raising money to keep the County’s solid waste utility afloat:

1)   Prepare to sell bonds to pay down a portion of the utility’s rising debt and fund state-required capital improvements to its transfer stations.

2)   Move forward with plans to transfer the Utility’s interest in a tract of land on Beaverton Valley Road and a closed land fill on Lopez to the County’s Equipment Rental and Revolving fund, to produce some cash and reduce the Utility’s responsibility for debt.

3)   Proceed with an ordinance establishing a $15 minimum charge for dropping off garbage at any of the County’s transfer stations.

Additionally, the Council said that it would declare the utility’s need to proceed with capital improvements to meet Department of Ecology requirements to be an emergency. That could speed up the bidding and acquisition process for work at the San Juan County Transfer station.

The solid waste utility has seen its income plummet with the economic downturn. Faced with increased costs for planning a replacement transfer facility on San Juan Island and moving forward on projects to meet regulatory requirements, it has built up a $700,000 debt and is staring a cash flow crisis in the maw.

Tuesday County Public Works Director Jon Shannon presented the Council with four options for keeping the solid waste system operating, three of them involved maintaining the current level of service; the fourth would close transfer stations on two of the three islands.  (Shannon’s outline of the options is available online at: http://www.sanjuanco.com/Docs/CAgendadocs/03-09-2010/County_Admin_SolidWasteMarch030910.pdf)

By a head nod, the Council indicated that reducing service by consolidating the transfer stations would be a last resort. Instead Council members indicated a preference for presenting an as-yet undefined revenue proposal to the voters in the fall election and, in the meantime, implementing the strategy of the property exchanges, borrowing and temporary fee increases to keep the utility functioning until the will of the voters is known.

Until last week, it appeared that the Council might assess a flat utility fee against land parcels in the County; however prosecutor Randall Gaylord issued a memo advising against that, saying recent case law could make such an approach vulnerable to legal challenge. Today he added that while an operating levy could be voted in by the electorate, it would have to be reauthorized by voters each year, making it essentially impractical.

Tuesday’s Council decisions were only preliminary. New fees, including any minimum drop off fee, must be adopted by ordinance after a public hearing. Council Members also indicated that they will seek public input and conduct additional discussion and deliberations before advancing a tax proposal to put on the primary or general election ballot.

This year’s Count of Homeless Persons (PIT) in San Juan County recognized 79 persons as homeless.

Among the homeless, 29 were classified as unsheltered -  living in tents, cars, boats (not equipped with facilities for living aboard) or staying in motels (with money from churches, etc.); and  50 people, including many children, were staying in temporary, unstable living arrangements either with friends or family members – a situation commonly referred to as “couch surfing”.

The state-required Count was conducted by the County Health & Community Services on Thursday, January 28th.

Count organizers had anticipated an increase in the number of homeless people in the county due to the worldwide economic crisis and significant local business closures, but the count remained close to last year’s numbers.

Last year’s count found 23 people unsheltered and 50 “couch surfing” a significant increase over the 2008 Count which reported only 9 unsheltered and 17 “couch surfing”. Similarly, in 2007 11 were reported unsheltered and 17 “couch surfing”.

Citing an extensive effort in 2006 which identified 50 homeless people, organizers, say the increased numbers reported since 2009 could be a result of the amount of effort that has been put into the count since 2009, rather than an actual increase in the overall number of homeless people.

Organizers admit these numbers are an estimate at best, it is impossible to truly know the exact number of homeless people and those staying with friends or family in unstable situations.  However, based on this year’s results and information from churches, food banks and other organizations that help the homeless, organizers see no sign that the problem is decreasing.

San Juan County PIT Count organizers and volunteers worked with local schools, food banks, churches, healthcare providers, support service counselors, youth groups, Senior Centers, Family Resource Centers, Sheriff’s department, Fire and EMS departments and many other community organizations to perform this year’s count.

The PIT was established by the Washington legislature in 2005 in the Homelessness Housing and Assistance Act (RCW 43.185c).  The goal of the Act was to reduce homelessness in our state by 50% by 2015.

Students need to submit a detailed menu which includes ingredients and cooking methods, along with a photo of the item you will be preparing in the competition (if possible and advisable) as well as a written overview of why you feel this item is appropriate, it’s nutritional value, its practicality as an item on the school lunch menu and any other information that will entice its selection to compete. We would also like a short bio of yourself.  Be sure to include your name, grade, and contact information.

For complete information on submitting an entry and more details of the competition, go to www.orcasislandf2c.org  and click on “Student Chef Competition” to download the guidelines.

Additionally, Washington State is slated to gain a seat in the US House of Representatives based on this year’s census data.  The census count will determine which district gains that seat.  Your participation in the count will have a direct impact on that decision.

Forms are being hand delivered by census enumerators beginning March 2.  If you are not home, the forms will be left on your door.  If for some reason you do not receive a form, copies will be available at the public library.  Please make the effort to complete the census.  You count!

Hilary Canty
Olga, WA

Advanced piano skills and accompanying experience are required.  The pianist accompanies weekly choral rehearsals September through mid-May and additional prescheduled rehearsals.  The pianist accompanies the choir in two major choral performances and possible additional performances each season.

The position is salaried.  Please apply with a resume describing your accompanying and choral experience to:
The Orcas Choral Society
P.O. Box 47
Eastsound, WA 98245

On March 11, the day following the potluck, the Board will decide when to place the issue on the ballot – April is only one possibility and not a given. This will not be the last chance for community members to make their views known. The Board is committed to seeking public input throughout the design process and will create a community advisory committee to ensure that all voices continue to be heard.

The Board is open to any practical suggestion as to how to reduce the costs of the bond and has already been working towards that end, through bond committee and community meetings, and in consultation with experienced professional advisors, for the past several years. The Board cannot reduce the amount of the authorization that we request of the community based only on potential or possibilities, but that does not preclude us from pursuing any and all cost-savings measures and working to reduce the cost to the community, even after the bond is approved. This is exactly what we intend to do.

The Board has thoroughly explored the use of existing community spaces, but for regulatory and logistical reasons, the use of external facilities is not a workable means of addressing the needs of the educational program.

The amount of the bond was developed by experienced cost estimators who have worked on hundreds of school construction projects. It has been vetted against state averages and is close to $270 per square foot. The bond resolution does not mandate that unspent money be used to pay off the bond, but the Board has made it clear that it is their intention to do just that. There are significant restrictions as to how bond funds can be
spent: they can only be spent on capital projects, cannot be transferred to the general fund and must be spent within a prescribed period of time.

The interest rate of the bond cannot be accurately calculated until the bond passes in the election and it’s put up for sale. As a school building project, which is seen in a positive light by purchasers of bonds, the rate we get will be favorable. The Board intends to reduce the amount of the second half of the bond sale by as much as possible, to reflect whatever cost savings can be achieved during the design process. This will affect the total amount of the bond and the interest. Whatever amount is placed on the ballot, the Board is acutely aware that it will represent a maximum authorization only, not a mandate to spend all of the funds.

The $10 million in indirect costs on the $35M bond amount were not an unknown quantity. This portion of the budget includes many mandated costs, including required contingencies, employing a project manager, permit fees, geotechnical and other testing, as well as other known costs, such as furniture and fixtures for the reconstructed spaces, the fees for the architect, civil, structural and mechanical engineers and other consultants.

The repair and rebuilding of our school facilities is essential. Due to the condition of our aging campus, a 10%+ growth in our student population over the past year, and the increasing importance of offering programming such as Career and Technical (Vocational) Education and OASIS, that will serve all of our students now and into the future, we need to act promptly to provide a safe and effective learning environment.

The economic realities that we are all facing require us to be as prudent and as thorough as possible in our consideration of this bond, and we hope that the discussions at the BBQ and Potluck on Wednesday will be one part of that ongoing process.

We hope you will come and join us in discussing the future of our schools.

Sincerely,

The Directors of the Orcas Island School District

Miss Rose and Her Rhythm Percolators brings the art of the ukulele to Orcas Island this Saturday afternoon and evening

Contributed by Mark Morris

On Saturday, March 13, travel back in time to the earliest days of the Jazz Age with Miss Rose & Her Rhythm Percolators. They’re playing one show only, at 8:00 p.m., at the Odd Fellows Hall in Eastsound. Orcas’ Charly Robinson will open the show with a set of her own. It’s a family-friendly, all-ages event. A portion of the proceeds from the show will benefit the Orcas Island Education Foundation.

The Seattle-based quartet faithfully re-creates the vintage jazz of the early 1920s to the mid ’30s—the era when this original American music provided a playful soundtrack for the flappers who danced the Charleston and sipped illicit booze in the glitzy underworld of the speakeasy.

Miss Rose & Her Rhythm Percolators play well-known popular tunes that have since become part of the great American songbook and dust off forgotten gems from the early jazz era. Audiences delight at the unabashed romance, the playful humor, and the irresistible swing rhythms. Some can’t help but dance or sing along.

To fully transport audiences, the band members dress in period clothing, share some of the music’s history, and run a slideshow of art and photos from the era during performances.

Singer Sunga Rose croons and strums a ukulele while the Percolators—Ericka Kendall (upright bass), Holly Michelle Eckert (piano/violin), and Carey Rayburn (trumpet/flugelhorn)—keep time and knock out solos. Miss Rose & Her Rhythm Percolators revive for modern times a wonderful sound from a bygone era.
Come enjoy the band in their premiere San Juan Islands concert appearance.

Dancing is strongly encouraged. A selection of beer, wine, and nonalcoholic beverages will be available for purchase. Tickets are $10 per person, available in advance at Darvill’s Bookstore, Orcas Elementary School, Gordeaux’s, and Eastsound Instruments. For more information, call 376-3148.

Also on Saturday, March 13, Sunga Rose will lead two ukulele workshops at the Odd Fellows Hall:

Beginning Ukulele (age 10 – Adult)
2–3:30 p.m., $30
The ukulele is experiencing a new rise in popularity. Don’t you wish you too could play this extremely versatile and portable instrument? Come on! Jump on the bandwagon! This workshop truly is for absolute beginners. I’ll get you started with a few simple chords and some basic strums and send you off with a nice packet of songs to work on. You’ll be surprised at the number of songs you can play with only 2 or 3 chords! Bring your ukulele tuned G-C-E-A.

Intermediate Ukulele: Let’s go to the bar!
3:30-5 p.m., $30
Bar chords aren’t that scary, and adding a few to your uke arsenal is a great way to grow as a player. We’ll learn by working on some popular tunes and replacing your old “open” chords with “closed” chords (bar and other closed chords, too). You’ll be relieved to find that this will actually make some chord transitions much easier! We’ll also cover some music theory that will give you the tools to find many versions of the same chord all over your uke. Students should be comfortable with the basics and be able to change chords smoothly. Bring your ukulele tuned G-C-E-A.

If you’d like to pre-register for either workshop or have any questions, please contact Miss Rose at contact@missroserhythm.com.

Chinook School in southwestern Washington

As I drove past Chinook Elementary School in southwestern Washington State last weekend, I suddenly remembered the wet night that my gentle Dad burst angrily through the front door, rain dripping from his 1950s hat.

“What’s the matter Dad?” My college-age brother asked.

“That darn car was stuck in first gear all the way from Tacoma to Seattle!” he said. This was before I learned to drive, and didn’t understand how being forced to go a maximum of 15 miles an hour was such a handicap. He got home safely, didn’t he? Our 1956 two-tone Chevy, with the doors on the driver’s side held shut with wire, hadn’t quit on him, it just slowed him down on his way home from a job.

Dad was frequently unemployed in those days, and having a job – or a car – at all was the big deal, not how fast it went or how good it looked.

I imagined similar thoughts were put before the people of Chinook some years ago, while the school was still populated with elementary students.  And it seems as if similar thoughts are concerning people on Orcas Island who are faced with a sizable school district bond.

People say we should only repair what’s broken: the plumbing in the elementary school, the heating that wastes tens of thousands of dollars each year, things like that. We shouldn’t expand at all with new buildings, they say.

That would be like replacing the ‘56 Chevy’s doors (at sizeable cost) without addressing the larger transmission issue; it would mean spending thousands of dollars on a “fix” rather than $30 a month for a decade to drive a car that is more fuel-efficient, more road-worthy, and more of a “tool” to enable my Dad to work.

Most of the “new” construction is actually replacement construction for school buildings that engineers have told us need to be upgraded for safety reasons; the new construction is also to provide a building for the vocational (Career and Technical) education, or CTE, classes that prepare our students for careers in the growing fields of applied physics, computer technology, marine technology, agricultural, construction and carpentry trades.

Maintenance of the school buildings is an issue. And maybe my Dad’s car would have run better if its previous owners had kept up oil and transmission fluid levels. But they didn’t, and in the meantime, the cost of fuel increased, the efficacy of the heating and cooling systems improved, and the regulations on pollutant emissions increased.

The School District had years of cutting maintenance expenses and deferring maintenance in order to balance the school’s general budget (in 2006, there was only $5,000 in the district’s reserve fund – it is now at $341,000, up $100,000 from last year). What this means is that the OISD Board, assisted by the Orcas Island Education Foundation (OIEF), and the Budget Advisory Committee (BAC) have rebuilt the district’s financial structure responsibly and responsively.

Deferred maintenance, like a dangerously low reserve fund, will no longer be considered as a policy option by this school district board. The proposed school bond provides the capital (investment) outlay for a contractual maintenance plan as well as for energy savings and efficiency.

The bond, as currently written by OISD Board resolution, calls for the authority to request funds in two stages. This means that the Board may ask for the full amount they’re authorized to ask for in the first stage, but then they may well ask for a lesser amount in the second phase.

It’s been known to happen that capital projects come in under-budget: the replacement Tacoma Narrows Bridge was completed last year, under budget and before deadline; the oil field fires in Iraq following the first Persian Gulf War in the 1990s were extinguished far ahead of what was thought possible. Here on Orcas, we do the “impossible” rather frequently – purchasing Turtleback Mountain, outlawing jet skis and plastic bags, producing healthy reserve funds for our institutions, building outdoor stages with local effort, and operating cemetery and port districts at below the authorized tax dollars.

New construction business models have introduced the General Contractor Construction Manager (GCCM), rather than the design-bid-build process in which the lowest bidder (who may well be an off-island company) contracts for the entire job.  In the GCCM method, the contractor is there throughout the building process to help mitigate issues in design.

Board President Scott Lancaster has been researching the GCCM model for the last five years.  The Board hopes to write into the contract that local contractors have priority consideration, if not for the General Contractor position, but also for the sub-contracting jobs that the bond pays for.  This is why the bond has been described as a “Local Stimulus” investment that will employ islanders.

And for those over age 61 and those disabled who will “never” see an increase in their income, if that income is below $35,000, our County’s Treasury provides that their property value will be “frozen” and they can be exempted from paying any of a new bond amount. (See accompanying story “Low-income Seniors and Disabled Qualify for Bond ‘Tax’ Exemption”).

Did you know that the kids at school are building new cars? Julian Glasser, class of ’09, retrofitted an engine to use biodiesel fuel. This year, another senior is working to re-define the car as our primary mode of transportation.

This week, Kari Schuh, the Career and Technical Education Director, and Superintendent Barbara Kline are meeting with State school officials to discuss local “satellites” of vocational instruction centers. Maybe within our lifetime, Orcas students will “invent” a new mode of transportation that ends our dependence on foreign oil and high prices at the gasoline pump, much as Lakeside School students Paul Allen and Bill Gates, Jr. built a new information communications system in the last generation.

That will never happen, you say? I remember my Dad saying, “I’ll never have a car that works,” and my Mom replying, “Never is a long, long, time.”

My Mom also went to work the following year, and two years later, bought one of those weird little Volkswagen “Bugs” – on time. She considered it an investment in her livelihood, and in our future.

Senate Bill 6350 will limit user conflicts between the increasing number of existing and new uses being proposed in our states marine waters. SB 6557 will help limit the amount of environmentally harmful copper, which ends up in Puget Sound, straits and coast waters through dissolving brake pads.            
“The Sound and our beautiful coastal waters are so critical to everyone in this state. We must do everything in our power to protect the precious environmental and economic resources,” said Ranker, the prime sponsor of both measures. “These bills will go a long way toward keeping our waters clean and their usage fair, and I appreciate the strong support in the House, particularly from my seatmate, Representative Jeff Morris,”

Marine spatial planning will limit conflicts between critical existing uses such as fishing, shellfish aquaculture, shipping and recreation while promoting renewable resources such as wave, tidal and other energy facilities. SB 6350 received a 64-34 vote in the House.            

“In order to maximize the benefits our Sound and ocean provide – both ecologically and economically – we urgently need a comprehensive process to rationally guide the multiple management objectives,” Ranker said.             Close to seven million metric tons of dissolved copper enter the Sound and ocean every year — half of which originates from brake pads.  Copper causes significant harm to salmon and other marine species.            

SB 6557, which passed through the House with a vote of 86-12, requires brake pads be made of substances less detrimental to the environment.   “We’ve found that the copper powder that comes off brake pads is a significant contributor to polluting the marine environment,” Ranker said. “Together with the auto industry, we are fixing the problem by developing a solution to keep motorists safe while protecting our waterways.”

David Dicks, Executive Director of the Puget Sound Partnership said “The best way to control pollution in Puget Sound and all of Washington’s waters is to stop it at the source.The elimination of copper brake pads is one way to reduce a significant source of highly toxic material in our aquatic environment. The passage of this legislation ensures that any new products must be safe for drivers and safer for the environment.”

Both bills now head back to the Senate for concurrence on amendments, and must be finalized by March 11.

From the San Juan County website, www.sanjuanco.com

If you are a senior citizen or if you are disabled, Washington State has two programs that may help you to pay your property taxes and/or special assessments. Your household income and your age or disability determines your eligibility for both programs.

The Senior Citizen and Disabled Person Property Tax Exemption Program freezes the value of your residence, exempts all excess levies, and may exempt a portion of regular levies. This results in:

1. Freezing the value of your residence as of January 1 of the initial application year, and
2. Providing you with a reduction in your property taxes

The assessor will continue to establish the market value of the property, however, you will only be billed for the taxes on the frozen value.

Further information about this exemption is available at sanjuanco.com/assessor/exempt

Application Form may also be obtained at this site.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Age or Disability

You must be at least 61 years old on December 31 of the year in which you apply,

or

You must be unable to work because of a physical disability. As proof of disability, you must send a doctor’s statement with your application.

Ownership

The exemption is available for your principal home and up to one (1) acre of land. If your local land use regulations require that you have a parcel of land larger than one acre for your home, the exemption may also extend to the additional acreage, up to a maximum of five (5) acres.

The property must be your principle home at the time you apply for the exemption. A mobile home may qualify as your residence, even if you do not own the land where the mobile home is located. You must occupy the home for at least six (6) months each year.

Your residence may qualify even if you are temporarily in a hospital or nursing home. You may rent your residence to someone else during your hospital or nursing home stay, if the income is used to pay the hospital or nursing home costs.

Property used as a vacation home is not eligible for the exemption program.

You must own the home for which the exemption is claimed, either in total (fee owner), as a contract purchaser, mortgagee, deed of trust or as a life estate (including a lease for life). If you transfer your home under a revocable trust agreement, you must retain the full use of the property and be able to revoke the trust and take ownership at any time. Irrevocable trusts qualify, if they can be deemed a life estate.

A home owned by a married couple or by co-tenants is considered owned by each spouse or co-tenant. Only one person must meet the age or disability requirement.

If you share ownership in a cooperative housing unit, you will be considered an owner, if your share represents the specific unit or portion where you live.

Leasehold Interest

If your primary residence or the land under your primary residence is owned by a government entity, you are eligible for a comparable exemption, if you meet the minimum qualifications.

Household Income

Your annual household income may not exceed $35,000. Household income includes your disposable income, that of your spouse, and any co-tenants. A co-tenant is a person living in your home who also has an ownership interest.

Household income does not include:

1. The income of a person, other than a spouse, who does not have ownership interest and lives in your home. However, the application must show any income the person contributes to the household,
2. The income of a person who has ownership interest and lives elsewhere. However, if someone living elsewhere has any ownership interest, the amount of your exemption will be based on the percentage of your interest in the property.

COMPUTING DISPOSABLE INCOME

The maximum amount of annual income you may receive to qualify for the exemption is $35,000. The disposable income you receive during the year you apply determines your eligibility. (The assessor will require proof of income.) Disposable income includes all sources, whether or not they are taxable for federal income tax purposes. Losses and depreciation may not be deducted. Some of the most common sources of income include:

1. Wages, salaries, and tips.
2. Social Security benefits.
3. Railroad retirement benefits.
4. Pension and annuity receipts, including retirement bonds, Individual Retirement Accounts, and distributions from Keough plans. An annuity is a payment of a fixed sum of money received at regular intervals. Some examples of annuity payments include unemployment compensation, disability payments, and welfare receipts (excluding amounts received for the care of dependent children).
5. Interest and dividend receipts.
6. Business income. Depreciation and business losses may not be deducted.
7. Rental income. Depreciation and rental losses may not be deducted.
8. Capital gains.

If you were retired for two or more months during the application year, your household income will be computed by multiplying the average monthly disposable income received during the months you were retired by twelve. If your spouse died before November 1 of the application year or you have a significant change in income that is expected to last an indefinite period of time, your household income is computed by multiplying the average monthly disposable income, after the occurrence, by twelve.

Deductions from Disposable Income

To determine your disposable income, you may take deductions for the following:

1. Capital gains you receive from the sale of your principle residence, IF the gain is reinvested in a replacement principle residence.
2. Non-reimbursed amounts you pay for your spouse, yourself, or co-tenant to live in a nursing home.
3. Non-reimbursed amounts paid for prescription drugs for yourself, your spouse, or co–tenant.
4. Non-reimbursed amounts you pay for goods and services that allow you, your spouse, or co-tenant to receive in-home care. The care received must be similar to the care provided by a nursing home.
5. Medical treatment, physical therapy, Meals on Wheels (or similar meal delivery service), and household and personal care. Personal care includes assistance with preparing meals, getting dressed, eating, taking medications or areas of personal hygiene.
6. Special furniture and equipment, such as wheelchairs, hospital beds, and oxygen.

Exemptions

The gross income maximum limit for the Exemption Program is $35,000. The three tiered benefit [provides for] the assessed value [to be} frozen as of the year of application, and remain frozen for the duration of participation in the exemption program. Therefore, taxes are paid only on the frozen value for the duration of your participation in the exemption program, even though the market value of your property may increase. You also have the right to apply for the exemption retroactively for three (3) previous years, using separate application forms and income documentation for each year.

"Stroking Into a New Day" watercolor by Caroline Buchanan, who resides on Obstruction Island.

Contributed by Caroline Buchanan

Do you have a story, a journey story to tell? How did you get to the Islands? Or how did your family come West?

Do you have a meaningful journey such as a high-mountain backpacking trip in which you discovered truths about yourself? Or how about a children’s story – that amazing journey (down the creek, through a part of town you weren’t supposed to go, or ….) through the eyes of the little child you once were?  It is time to tell those stories.

This July the Orcas Island Historical Museum will host the “Journey Stories,” a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum on Main Street. This is an outstanding exhibit for Orcas. As part of the exhibit, the Historical Museum is encouraging us islanders to become involved and tell the stories of our journeys.

How to choose the story? What to include?  How do you present it? To help you get started and guide you in exploring ways that best present your story, Caroline Buchanan is offering a class at the Senior Center, Telling a Life Journey Story. It is on Fridays, two weeks apart March 12, March 26, April 9, and April 30, from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Come this Friday with ideas for your story and any materials you have. Caroline will help you decide how to use line drawings to illustrate it. Or photographs. Or mementos, like tickets. She will show you how you can draw (even if you don’t really draw) to illustrate your story. She will guide you in developing the writing.

If you want to do a children’s story, Caroline will demonstrate an easy way to story-board and set the pages up. Or perhaps a large collage is the answer. Your way of telling your story should be as unique as the story you tell.

In between the class sessions, you will continue work on your story, using the class time to review your progress and work with guidance. Although she is known for her watercolors, Caroline says she is delighted to be teaching a class again that combines writing and art. She has taught journalling (drawing and writing) workshops frequently, overseas as well as in the Islands.

Several students from past children’s story workshops have gone on to publish their work while others created them just for grandchildren. For this class, she believes the important thing is to get you on your way – the journey of telling your story – and see what happens from there.

You may contact Caroline with questions or for more information: 376-5509, or watercolors@rockisland.com

The price of the class is $165. Register with the Senior Center, 360-376-2677.

A story not told is a journey not taken.

Harbor seal populations have exploded nearly tenfold in the Salish Sea since the 1970s, while at the same time many rockfish species have plummeted. Some fishermen blame that on the increase in hungry seals. But coincidence is not science. So who ya gonna call?

SeaDoc-funded scientists rolled up their sleeves and collected almost 1,000 samples of seal scat in the San Juan Islands. Detailed analysis of these samples revealed that herring make up nearly 60% of these harbor seals’ diets, with their next favorite meals being salmon, pollock and cod-like fish. The seal’s total menu, though, was surprisingly diverse, with seals chowing down on at least 35 species of fish! Still, through the entire first year of the study, less than 3% of samples contained rockfish bones. Case closed? Not so fast…

In the second year, 12% of the samples contained rockfish remains, particularly in the winter when there are fewer salmon locally. With all the seals in the Salish Sea, those numbers could impact rockfish recovery. That doesn’t mean, however, that we should start controlling seal populations: this study showed seals also have a taste for dogfish, another major fish predator. So fewer seals could mean more dogfish. The real answer is to remember that all parts of our ecosystem are tightly intertwined. Rockfish recovery depends upon ecosystem recovery, including salmon recovery, herring recovery and so on around the Sea.

To learn more, visit www.seadocsociety.org

Iris Parker Pavitt in Aspen's Garden at the Orcas High School

Updated March 8 at 7 a.m.

The energy of youth continues to work to make the world a better place. One quiet but constant example is Iris Parker Pavitt.

Iris, an Orcas High School junior,  is the President of the Orcas High School Environmental Club.

Since taking over leadership of the Club, which meets Mondays after school and consists of about a dozen members, the club is at the forefront of recycling reminders, especially to the school population. It is also, like most clubs, heavily involved in fundraising. This year, its goal is to help finance a trip the club will be making to the Hanford Nuclear Facility.

With snow forecast this week, one Environmental Club fund-raiser may pay out soon –  forecasting the date on which it snows in Eastsound. This contest is a collaboration with Chimayo Restaurant; contestants pay a $2 entry fee to pick a day on which it snows. That date is then marked on the calendar at the restaurant. The closest date wins lunch for two at Chimayo.  The contest will run through next winter, and Iris points out that the closest date wins, so a winner is guaranteed.

The Club also is making a video for entry into “America’s Greenest Schools.” The video shows club members planting trees in front of the elementary school last fll, Interviews with school bus drivers, and school administrators, discussing the possibility of a roof garden at school, and the expansion of the gardens and greenhouse, will also be included in the video. The winner of the national contest will receive a hybrid school bus, a “Green School Makeover” (valued at $20,000) and $500 for school supplies.

In addition to her duties as President of the Environmental Club, Iris works at the Public Library for school credit – which is “dangerous,” the book lover says, because she checks out at least three books every day she works. Iris has also participated in the Farm Education and Sustainability for Teens (FEAST) program, interned at the Historical Museum, and serves as editor for the High School Key Club, a service organization under the auspices of the Kiwanis Club. She also serves on the Farm-to-Cafeteria Board.

This week, the Environmental Club plans two community-wide events. The first is another Dodge Ball Tournament on Friday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. in the High School Gym. For $2 entry team, anyone can join a team to plan in the tournament.  A “St. Patrick’s Day” theme will be part of the event. Several Dodge Ball Tournaments have been held this year, and this may be the last, Iris says.

The next day, Saturday, March 13,  all are invited to help with a garden work party of “Aspen’s Garden” in front of the High School. The clean-up will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The garden was installed in memory of Aspen O’Donnell, an 18-year-old Orcas High School student who passed away due to illness in 1997.

Last year, Juliana Bates planted a herb garden and repaired the fence and gate at Aspen’s Garden as part of her Senior Project. The Environmental Club will purchase plants from the Farm-to-Cafeteria plant sale for the work party. Snacks will be provided.

Club Advisor Gregory Books, High School science teacher, is trying to work around a regulation for the Hanford Site Tour, which the club hopes to visit in early June: tour visitors must be 18 years old or above.

If that doesn’t happen, Iris says the Club may go camping at a State Park. “Whatever we do, it will be fun,” she says.

Ranker believes farm internships are a way to inject youth into a pivotal, but aging sector of the state’s economy.

“The average age of a farmer in Washington is 57 years old,” he said. “If we’re serious about promoting agriculture in Washington, we’re going to have to encourage younger people to get into the farms and get their hands dirty.”

In order to qualify for the program, farmers with gross annual sales of less than $250,000 must submit a written application to L&I for certification and include the nature of work and how it will provide the intern with vocational knowledge and skills. SB 6346 passed 95-2.

SB 6346 allows residents of San Juan county to operate neighborhood electronic vehicles (NEVs) and medium-speed electronic vehicles (MEVs) on city streets and county roads that are not state routes if the road has a speed limit of 45 mph or less. State law previously would not permit these vehicles on roads with speed limits of 35 mph or less. The bill passed 92-5. Both bills were amended in the House and as a result will return to the Senate for concurrence prior to arriving on the Governor’s desk.

And who cares?

The Orcas Island School District does, and it will be asking the community in general, parents, staff and students in each of the different schools (elementary, middle, and high) to complete customized surveys giving their opinions during the month of March.

For the past six months the Orcas Island School District Site Council has been designing and creating the series of surveys, using the online tool Zoomerang. There is a custom survey for each group type plus a small, one comment box general one for anybody that doesn’t want to do a full survey.

Ideally these surveys will be taken online for efficiency, but for those who don’t want to use or don’t have access to a computer, paper copies will be available at the school offices.

The surveys were finalized on Feb. 24, and are scheduled to be given to the students and staff at the school this month. Parents/guardians and community members can access their surveys online at the Orcas Island School’s website, www.orcasislandschools.org. Click on the “Orcas Island Schools (Elementary, Middle and High) Site Council Surveys” and then choose the applicable survey type.

Elementary (grades 3 through 6), Middle and High School students will take surveys created specifically for their age group while at school.

Elementary School Principal Kyle Freeman says, “The goal of the surveys is to create a School Improvement Plan that will provide guidance for the next 3 to 5 years.”

The Site Council Surveys will be monitored throughout the month, with data showing trends to be distributed mid-March, according to parent/substitute teacher Bob Connell, who has taken the lead in developing the surveys.

Texas Hold ‘em Tournament at Vern’s Bayside.   You must sign up by 12:30 p.m., with play from 1  to 4:30 p.m.

Music Advocacy Guild School Benefit Concert 3 p.m. at the Orcas Island School Gym. Performances by Orcas Community Band, the High School String ensemble, the Island Sinfonia and the Orcas Choral Society.  Admission is by donation and all proceeds go towards funding the needs of the music program in our public schools.Call Joyce Burghardt at 376-5946.

Doe Bay Café Free Movie also half price bottles of wine and free popcorn. 7 p.m.  Call 376-8059.

Monday, March 8

Orcas Island Library Board of Trustees meeting 9 a.m. at the Public Library. 376-4985.

The origins and impacts of critical area regulations with the League of Women Voters of the San Juans, meeting at the San Juan Library in Friday Harbor at 12 noon. All are welcome.

Darvill’s Book Club discusses The Good Thief, by Hannah Tinti. The group meets at 5:30 p.m. at Mia’s café in Eastsound Square. All are welcome to join in. For further information, call 376-2135

Writers Salon Series with Artsmith & Doe Bay Café, this week featuring Artsmith Writers in Residence Tim Sherry & Monica Woelfel.  Following the featured writers, audience members will have an opportunity to read their own works each week in a special Writer’s Open Mic. Reading begins at 7 p.m. Call 376-8059 or see www.doebay.com

Tuesday, March 9

Country Corner LAMIRD deliberations at County Council, 10:45 a.m. Only written public testimony will be considered.

Tax Help with Jim Biddick at the Senior Center.  $4 per session. Appointments recommended.  10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 376-2677

Free hot lunch and Food Bank 11:30 a.m. at the Orcas Island Community Church.

Friends of the Library monthly meeting 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Public Library.

Deer Harbor Plan Review Committee at the Deer Harbor Community Center from 3:45 to 5:30 p.m.   This month’s meeting has been moved up one day.  The Public is invited to this special meeting to examine some of the options for parking and property development in Deer Harbor Hamlet.  Future meetings will remain on the second Wednesday, resuming in April. Call 376-3199 for more information.

Eastsound Sewer and Water District meeting, 4:45 p.m. at District Offices, Schoen Lane off Mt. Baker Road. 376-2720.

Super Suckers — the Giant Octupus. Marine Science Lecture Series at Camp Orkila, starting at 7 p.m. The giant Pacific octopus leads a life of mystery. With a personality that’s as complex as its appearance, this animal is a master of disguise that can open jars, mimic other octopuses, and finds its way through mazes in laboratory experiments. Tim Carpenter, Curator of Fish and Invertebrates at the Seattle Aquarium, will lead the lecture. Call SeaDoc’s Jean Spalti at376-3910

Orcas Fire District Commissioners meeting, 7:30 p.m. at the Eastsound Fire Hall.  Call 376-2331 for agenda.

Wednesday, March 10

Family Fun Math and Science Night sponsored by PTSA from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Orcas School cafeteria.

School Bond Potluck The public is invited to join in a friendly discussion about Orcas Island School Repairs and Rebuilding through public Capital Bond funding. 6:15 p.m. in the High School Commons. Contact Cathy at 376-2284 for information.

Thursday, March 11

Orcas Island Park & Recreation District meets 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Eastsound Fire Station.

Town Hall with County Council Members Richard Fralick and Gene Knapp, County Administrator Pete Rose and County Auditor Milene Henley, to discuss the County Budget Crisis, uplands portions of the Critical Areas Ordinance and the Solid Waste Transfer business model, from 4 to 5:45 p.m. at the Eastsound Fire Hall. Contact the Clerk of the County Council at (360) 378-2898.

Special School Board meeting to discuss School Bond, 5:30 p.m. in the School Library.

Trivia Competition hosted by Dave Page at Christina’s every Thursday evening, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Featuring half priced bottles of wine. Call  376-4904.

Friday, March 12

Journey Stories Explorations at the Senior Center, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. We all have journey stories — How do you go about telling YOUR story? In conjunction with the Orcas Historical Museum July event, “Journey Stories,”  Caroline Buchanan will lead a series of Friday work sessions on March 12 & 26 and April 9 & 30 to help you tell your journey story.   Buchanan will help you to decide –  written, done as a journal, as a children’s book, a collage … Class limited to 10, $165.  To register, call thel Senior Center at 376-2667. For further information, contact Caroline at 376-5509 or watercolors@rockisland.com

Family-friendly Dodge Ball Tournament at High School Gym to benefit Environmental Club’s field trip to Hanford Nuclear Reactor. $2 entry fee to join a team. Starts at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 13

“Lights out” Junior Lady Viking basketball teams (4th, 5th & 6th graders) take on challengers from Friday Harbor and the Mainland. Starts at 11 a.m. in the old school gym

Dodge Ball Tournament to benefit Orcas High School Environmental Club. $2 to join a team. Starts at 7:30 p.m. in the High School gym.

“Make a Scene” Writer’s Roundtable with playwright Sandy Thompson, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Library. All are welcome.

Dallas Brass plays at the Orcas Center — An American Musical Journey. 7:30 p.m.The Dallas Brass is a nationally-recognized ensemble of traditional brass instruments and percussion, and their Orcas performance will feature several Orcas musicians.  $25, $17 (Orcas Center members), $11 (students).  Come in early for the ‘Burgers & Brew’ at 5 p.m. for $12. Call 376-2281 or visit www.orcascenter.org

Miss Rose and Her Rhythm Percolators, 8 p.m. at the Odd Fellows Hall. Orcas’ Charly Robinson opens the show, a family-friendly, all-ages event. A portion of the proceeds from the show will benefit the Orcas Island Education Foundation. Tickets are $10 person, available at Darvill’s Bookstore, Orcas Elementary, Gordeaux’s & Eastsound Instruments.

Saturday Ukulele workshops! Beginners (age 10 – adult) from 2 to  3:30 p.m. ( $30), and Intermediate from 3:30 to 5 p.m. ($30). Call 376-3148 or email contact@missroserhythm.com

Sunday, March 14

“Climate Change Science and Potential Impacts on the Pacific Northwest.” The Crossroads spring lecture series continues at 2 p.m. at the Orcas Center with Dr. Nathan Mantua’s presentation.

“Indian in the Cupboard” movie to benefit kids softball and baseball at Seaview Theater at 2 p.m.

Babysitting Clinic for Boys and Girls. Sponsored by Orcas Rec. from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Eastound Fire Hall. In this class we focus on basic childcare and safety, emergency action skills, safe play, babysitter responsibilities, and job recruitment. Each participant will receive a babysitting certificate and be placed on a community babysitters list on the Orcas Rec website if they choose.  Must be 12 years & older. Cost: $25 Participants must pre-register!  Instructor: Margie Sabine. To register, visit Orcas Rec office in the Orcas County Building (Senior Center) or call 376-5339.