Island Scene
Storytime; where writers share a passion for prose PAGE 9
Profile
Meet the folks that fight your fires, and save lives PAGE 8
Guest Column
Bad for the environment, bad for the economy; reasons are many for the U.S. to keep its coal PAGE 7
Journal
The 75¢ Wednesday, February 19, 2014 Vol. 107 Issue 8
of the San Juan Islands
Proposal seeks to preserve, protect Ag land
www.sanjuanjournal.com
Upperclass reclaims K-Bowl crown By Steve Wehrly Journal reporter
By Rebecca Gourley
WNPA Olympia News Service
A proposed change to a law aimed at preserving farmland and open space could result in higher taxes for some Washington property owners. House Bill 2306 would expand a tax classification on land actively used for agriculture, timber production or undeveloped open space. While property tax is generally assessed on the market value of a parcel, the state’s Open Space Taxation Act allows land to be taxed at a lower rate based on its current use, such as farming. Under the current law, if a farming operation is 20 acres or more, the parcels must be contiguous in order to be eligible for the lower tax classification. The bill proposes to take out the “contiguous” stipulation, opening up this tax classification to farms that have multiple parcels that total 20 acres or more but aren’t necessarily touching each other. “It’s the preservation of farmland ... that is my ultimate goal,” Rep. Kristine Lytton, D-Anacortes, the bill’s primary sponsor, said at a Jan. 21 hearing before the House Finance Committee. Allen Rozema, executive director of Skagitonians to Preserve Farmland, says the bill could help preserve farmland and open space that is not currently eligible for the lower tax rate. See PROPOSAL, Page 2
Journal photo s/ Steve Wehrly
Top; San Juan Public Schools Foundation Treasurer Jim Skoog presents the “big check,” a $66,706 donation, to school district Superintendent Rick Thompson at intermission of the Knowledge Bowl, Feb. 22, at the Community Theatre. Left; 9th-10th grade teammates Echo Wood and Kyle Jangard hold up an answer to one of the many trivia questions posed at the Knowledge Bowl.
Suleiman the Magnificent, Atticus Finch, Gene Gould and Sacagawea were the answers. Do you know the questions? Except for Gene Gould, whom no one could identify as Friday Harbor’s first mayor, the juniors and seniors came forth with those names without difficulty on their way to winning yet another coveted Knowledge Bowl championship, sponsored for the 20th consecutive year by San Juan Public Schools Foundation. By winning, the Friday Harbor High School “fab four” evened the all-time, adultstudent competition at 10 wins each since the 1995 inception of the now-legendary contest. It was the third year in a row for a school team, following back-to-back wins by the 9th-10th grade team in 2012 and 2013. Senior Ellery Von Dassow is the only student known to have won the Knowledge Bowl more than once while competing with a different class. In addition to helping the junior-senior team win this year’s K-Bowl crown, Ellery was a member of the winning 2012 9th-10th grade team. However, as a senior this year, Ellery has no chance to challenge Howard Schonberger, See CROWN, Page 4
Waterfront clearcut? It’s $3K fine By Steve Wehrly Journal reporter
David Honeywell has paid a $1,000 fine for clearing some 80 trees and several acres of shrubs and other vegetation from waterfront land at their Orca Dreams estate, formerly the Mar Vista resort, near False Bay on the west side of San Juan Island. The fine was imposed as part of a “Notice of Violation” issued on Feb. 6 by the San Juan County Community Development and
Real Esta te
An aerial photograph show an area cleared of shoreline vegetation, without permits, at a San Juan Island westside property formerly known as Mar Vista Resort. Contributed photo / Chris Teren
Planning Department. The violation lists Orca Dreams of Spokane, Wash., as the property owner and Dave Honeywell as the responsible person. The notice also included Allen Benjamin Engle, who did the
work on the property through his business, Solid Ground, as an additional responsible person. Engle was fined $2,000; he has reportedly told the county he will pay the fine. See FINE, Page 4
2011 Special Award; Second Place: General Excellence from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association
in the
San Juan
Islands February
Contributed
photo
2014
Published the Journal of the San Juanthird Wednesday of each mon Islands, th by the Islands’ Sounder and Islan ds’ Weekly
Real Estate in the San Juan Islands
See inside for January’s real estate sales, listings and statistics.