SOUNDER THE ISLANDS’
Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
WEDNESDAY, February 24, 2016 VOL. 49, NO. 8 75¢ islandssounder.com
S pr ing 2 016
HEALTH & WELLNESS Guide
renew • reflect • revitalize A SUPPLEMENT TO THE JOURNAL OF THE SAN JUAN ISLANDS, ISLANDS’ SOUNDER AND ISLANDS’ WEEKLY
Annual guide inside this edition
Building Jordan a set of wheels by Colleen Smith Armstrong Editor/Publisher
One of Jordan Griffin’s greatest wishes is to downhill mountainbike alongside his best friends. As a paraplegic, that requires a very specialized and expensive piece of equipment. Driven by the desire to see his friend’s dream become a reality, Spencer Sare has built that bike, detailing the process from start to finish as his college senior project.
“When we started last September, everyone kind of laughed at us and said we couldn’t do it,” said Sare, who was joined by three other Washington State University mechanical engineering students on the endeavor. From his design on the computer to long hours spent in the WSU machine shop, the bike took three months to complete. Sare says it is one of the most ambitious senior projects that has ever been
Contributed photos
Above: Jordan Griffin sitting on his specially made mountain bike. He is pictured with the team who built it. L-R: Andrew Graham, Christopher Ryan, Spencer Sare and Curtis Zehnder, Right: The completed bike.
Sheriff apologizes Islanders targeted for slow response by ‘IRS’ scams time in assault case by Meredith M. Griffith Sounder contributor
A reward for information about the alleged home invasion has reached nearly $20,0000 by Courtney Oldwyn Journal reporter
Assaulted at gun point in the middle of the night in his home on Orcas Island two weeks ago, Josh Mayson and his family are still reeling over the fact that a sheriff ’s deputy didn’t arrive to investigate until 8:30 a.m. the next morning. “This was a huge error on the part of the dispatcher and the onduty supervisor that night,” said San Juan County Sheriff Ron Krebs. “The family is rightfully incredibly upset, as are we here at the Sheriff ’s office. Everyone involved understands it was not the right thing to do.” Mayson, a newly hired OPALCO apprentice lineman, was staying in
a vacation rental cabin when a masked, gloved assailant allegedly came into his home around 3:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 9. He says the man held a gun to Mayson’s head, threatened to kill him and his daughter and stated that he “had nothing left to live for” and was “not afraid to die,” according to Mayson’s stepfather Dan Kimple, who spoke during an OPALCO board meeting on Feb. 19. According to Kimple, Mayson texted his brother just after the assailant left. His brother came to the cabin, where they together called 911. They both spoke with the dispatcher who allegedly told
It’s tax filing season again, and area scammers seem to think it’s also open season on taxpayers: a time to bilk people of their hard-earned savings, or out of enough sensitive information to steal their identity. Local residents have been targeted in the past few days. Emergency dispatchers say one day recently saw 20 calls from islanders reporting phone scam attempts. “Obviously they were hitting this county,” said local undersheriff Brent Johnson. “With 20 calls reported in one day, really, you can assume there’s many more.” The swindlers appear to be working a few different angles. Lopez resident Jasmine Luckhurst said scammers claiming to be the IRS have phoned her house daily, for weeks, until she finally gave them a good sound ticking off. San Juan Islander Amelia Felton reported receiving multiple text messages claiming to be from Net Spend, the company that works with TurboTax to distribute prepaid cards containing tax refunds. The messages, sent to even her school-aged child, asked her to phone about a “disabled” - and completely imaginary - Net Spend card. And Orcas Islanders Nicole Kraayeveld and Lynn Cunningham reported voicemails threatening a lawsuit by the IRS. Many others noted similar experiences. The IRS itself warns against such scams on its website, offering the following tips to avoid becoming a victim: • Scammers make unsolicited phone calls or emails, demanding that victims pay bogus tax bills by sending them cash, most often via a
SEE ASSAULT, PAGE 5
SEE SCAMS, PAGE 5
executed at WSU. As two sets of identical twins on a tiny island community, Spencer and Sam Sare and Jordan and Josh Griffin have been best friends for more than decade. The four boys bonded over sports and outdoor adventures, but when Jordan became paralyzed from the chest down in a 2008 snowboarding accident, their focus changed. He was still included in their outings – but now as a bystander. After high school, Jordan studied film and media production at the Art Institute of Seattle. He is currently on medical leave but will be at the University of Washington-Tacoma by this summer. Despite some health setbacks, Jordan has been able to ski, water-ski and go hand-cycling. But mountain-biking was still an unattainable dream, as most bikes go for $12,000. “When I was looking all the different adaptive sports I could do, I had mentioned it (downhill biking) to Spencer briefly. I didn’t really think he was actually going to build one,” Jordan said. In his freshman year of college, Spencer created a 3D prototype of a bike that Jordan could use on the mountain. He later revisited the design during his senior year as
SEE BIKE, PAGE 6
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BIKE FROM 1
raised $6,500. Spencer was also able to convince manufacturers to donate some of the parts. “I am so thankful to the Orcas community – without you the project would never have been completed,” Spencer said. The design was based off previous models already on the market, but with improvements suggested by professional riders. Spencer and his teammates made the bike lighter, gave it a
a possible final project. His advisor told him: if you can raise the money, go for it. Classmates Andrew Graham, Christopher Ryan and Curtis Zehnder got on board to build the bike, and through personal donations, funding from the Orcas Island Community Church, a grant from WSU and nearly $1,000 from their own pockets, they
Obituary Lynette Marie Leaf June 26, 1924 to Feb. 2, 2016 Lynette Marie Leaf (nee Davis), 91, longtime resident of Lopez Island, Wash. died peacefully on Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2016 in the Hamlet House Retirement Home on Lopez Island. She was born on June 26, 1924 in Bellingham, Washington the daughter of Leonard and Marie Davis of Lopez Island and was baptized at the age of ten. The Davis family was among the original settlers on Lopez Island and her grandfather was the first non-native child born on the island.
Prior to her retirement Lynette and Wally lived in Beaverton, Ore., where they worked and raised their family. She was a legal secretary in her husband’s law firm and also had a keen interest in real estate, purchasing and managing their investment properties. She continued that interest throughout her life.
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the project. “It was easy for me to be passionate because he is my best friend, but for my teammates, who were working 8 to 10 hour days, seven days week to make this for Jordan, who they hadn’t even met – they deserve recognition,” Spencer said. “We needed to get the project finished – and have it be rideable and safe.” Jordan says when he saw the final product, he was in shock.
Lynette had the gift of hospitality and opened her home to everyone. She was a great cook and many people enjoyed her gracious meals. Her love had no borders and her door was always open to people from far and near. Above all, Lynette loved her family. She was active in the AFS Foreign Exchange program, the Lopez Island Yacht Club, the PEO Sisterhood and the Lopez Community Church. Lynette had a high value for education and proudly displayed the degrees and certificates of all the family in her home. As an avid Scrabble player she enjoyed a daily game until the end of her life. She was preceded in death by her husband, Wally Leaf, in 1995 and her brother, Gary Davis, in 2015. Lynette is survived by her daughters, Linaya Leaf of Billings, Mont. (children, Aaron and Danica), Linda Gleeson of La Grande, Ore. (husband, Timothy, and
children, Jessica, Holland and Kimberly), her AFS daughter, Eila Chisholm of Lake Oswego, Ore. (husband, Craig, and children, Kari, Jori, Inkeri, Mairi and Suvi) and 13 great grandchildren. In lieu of flowers the family suggests that remembrances be contributions to the Lopez Island Emergency Medical Team, the Lopez Island Medical Center, the Hamlet House on Lopez Island or the Lopez Community Church. Lynette was buried on Feb. 6 in the Davis-Leaf family plot on Lopez Island. A Memorial Celebration of her life is planned for the Fourth of July weekend on Lopez Island and everyone is welcome. Arrangements are in the care of Evans Funeral Chapel and Crematory, Inc., Anacortes, Wash. and the San Juan Islands. To share memories of Lynette, please sign the online guest register at www.evanschapel. com.
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progressive suspension system, shifted the center of gravity for added stability on jumps and turning, made the front more modular so parts can be easily replaced and added aesthetics to improve its looks. They began the process in the fall and were done by December. They finished the bike on Wednesday, presented it to their advisors on Thursday and then graduated on Saturday. And yes, the guys earned an A on
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“It was 10 times better than I expected,” he said. It was a sentiment shared by others. A representative from the manufacturing company Paccar, which is based of out Bellevue, was part of the senior project panel that judged the bike’s unveiling. “He was blown away and said he would put it on the manufacturing line today exactly the way it is,” said Spencer, who is now a mechanical design engineer
at Boeing. Jordan plans to test out his brand new mountain bike this summer when the weather is better. “We want to make sure the terrain is perfect,” said Spencer. “We’re going to go to Whistler and test it out on easy trails. For him to ride, it’s one of those things that he dreams about. Just having the bike is in his life has been really good.”
Artwork needed Local visual artists are invited to submit their work to the next Orcas Center Gallery Show on Wednesday, March 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Organized by the Visual Arts Committee, the exhibit, ‘The Natural World: Land, Sea and All Life’ will showcase nature. All types of media will be accepted. The show will open with a reception on Friday, March 4 from 5:30 to 7 p.m, and display until Wednesday, March 30. All wall art must be ready to hang, including hardware and wire. Three dimensional pieces must be ready to mount on provided stands. Works may be offered for sale if desired. All members of the Orcas community are welcome to participate. For info, call Ann Jones at 376-6140.
Winter book sale is this Saturday
The Orcas Library Friends Winter Book Sale will be held on Saturday, Feb. 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the public school cafeteria. Call this edition of the February event our “Massive, End-of-Winter & Pretty-much-Spring-already” -Book Sale. No more cuddling up in front of the fire, the North winds howling down the chimney, warm comforters, books and hot cocoa in our future.. We and our daffodils hope not, anyhow. But, an avalanche of books is poised to tumble down onto the new school cafeteria. Bah! “Staycation?” Get away literally, with a new Travel guide, or liter-arily with new Fiction by a favorite author or new discovery. Feed obsession with a new cookbook or anticipatory Garden design.. OR something else from whole worlds of categories. We’ll have a kid’s corner too. For just a buck or two, sneak out with a fresh treasure, indulge a whim. Make a haul of reading pleasure, a new stash for not much cash. This year, return last year’s books! Open up some shelf space for your new books. Donate your gently loved books for a bibliophile neighbor to love as well. It’s a new way to share support for your Library. Peruse special collector’s items rescued from the flood of books donated this year. Review the final plans for the Expansion project, coming with much community planning and support to a Library near you. In July! Needed: Volunteers, especially with iPads to help expedite credit card sales, or with work gloves for set-up/takedown tasks. Email OrcasLibraryFriends@gmail.com with questions or to volunteer.
Permit Resources Need help with your permit application? Call Cory for: • • • • •
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The women of the Lower Tavern Giving the gift of healing touch
Wednesday, October 21, 2015 • The Islands’ Sounder
by COLLEEN SMITH ARMSTRONG Editor/Publisher
As a pre-med student, Erin Quies Wild loved the nuances of anatomy and physiology. Yet she wanted a life that was more than flexible than being a doctor. “Massage therapy became a middle path for me,” she said. “There a lot of people in this world who don’t receive enough loving, therapeutic, healing touch.” Wild has been sharing her gift of healing since 2004 through her practice Cascadia Holistic Health (www.cascadiaholistichealth.com), offering massage, injury treatment, holistic wellness guidance and Mayan abdominal therapy. She is also a birth doula and facilitates retreats and ceremonies. Wild focuses on injury treatment and post-surgical healing, and accepts Premera and Regence health insurances and works with labor and industry claims. She works out of
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the Healing Arts Center in Eastsound. “I love the connections I have with people and the satisfaction of seeing people improve in their bodies, whether it’s from an injury
“I am tending to attract people who are ready to go beyond the physical and see their bodies as a vessel that holds our emotional stories and houses our spirit.” — Erin Quies Wild
or committing to self-care for the first time,” she said. Wild spent time in Belize and studied Mayan abdominal therapy, a practice that works with physical, spiritual and emotional elements.
Aside from digestive and reproductive ailments that she focuses on, Wild says there are many emotional and spiritual layers to that part of the body that rarely receive attention. “We have a lot of power in the abdominal section, but there is also shame, anger and grief,” she said. “As my practice evolves, I am tending to attract people who are ready to go beyond the physical and see their bodies as a vessel that holds our emotional stories and houses our spirit,” Wild said. A large part of Wild’s capacity as a healer has come through her own grief and loss. While in college, her father passed away. She later spent time visiting with her grandmother as she aged in a care facility, which is where she first noticed that the residents received very little touch. This year, her mother died suddenly, shortly after Wild and her husband Issa welcomed their daughter
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Satya Curcio photo
Above: Erin Quies Wild and her husband Issa Wild with their daughter, Matia. Erin has been offering massage, injury treatment, wellness guidance and Mayna abdominal therapy through her business Cascadia Holistic Health on Orcas Island since 2004. Matia into the world. “I am being stretched between immense gratitude and grief,” she said. “I feel the love of my mom so deeply, and I get to channel it into my daughter now.” Over the past two years, Wild has been studying the link between “the individ-
ual and the collective” and reconnecting with her love of “deep ecology,” which is our psychological and emotional connection to the natural world. She leads retreats on Orcas, exploring how we internalize the suffering from the world around us,
46 Prune Alley, Eastsound www.lowertavern.com • 376-4848
and how to move forward in our lives with a greater sense of connection, solidarity and sometimes even hope. “We are feeling a lot of loss on the planet right now, and concurrently, there is a lot of healing to experience,” she said.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
The Islands’ Sounder • www.islandssounder.com
Island Living We are all WILD and PRECIOUS by COLLEEN SMITH ARMSTRONG
S
Editor/Publisher
teven Cadwell invites you to take a seat, settle in and talk about what it means to be gay, straight and everything in between. Cadwell, a therapist based in Boston, has been presenting “Wild and Precious” to audiences across the country. It is a multi-media performance with original songs, photographs, costumes, stories and poems. “It’s 50 years of gay liberation put into an hour and 15 minutes,” said Cadwell, who calls himself the singing psychotherapist. “It’s really exciting to be doing the show now because we have this very happy ending of freedom to marry. There is more work to do but it’s such a positive arc that my generation has lived through … When I was coming of age, there was no affirming name for being gay – just slurs: queer, faggot. To feel that we have accomplished what we have around integrating LGBT folks into more of the freedom of the United States is a very powerful, positive story for all of us to take in and celebrate.” The performance is on the Orcas Center main stage on Saturday, Aug. 1 at 7:30 p.m. There will be Q&A during an ice cream social from the Clever Cow Creamery after the show in the Madrona Room. Tickets are $25, $19 for Orcas Center members and $11 for students at www.orcascenter.org. It is sponsored by Orcas LGBT Fund. “The fund is really supportive of artists whose voices speak to the LGBT community,” said Orcas Center Executive Director Kara O’Toole. “Steven shares his story so bravely.” Gay? Straight? Bi? Trans? Still trying to sort it out? Audience members will feel as if they’re sitting in Cadwell’s salon during the show. “I’ve been really getting into these oneperson shows at the center,” O’Toole said. “When the artist has that much skill and
Contributed photo
Performer and therapist Steven Cadwell.
intelligence, it’s really a treat to go on that journey with them.” Cadwell’s story is one of love, of being marginalized, of letting it all hang out and of fighting for what’s right. He says the phrase that is said over and over from audience members is: “We were completely enthralled.” “Many straight men have come up to me after the show and talked about how they learned from my show how homophobic culture also constricted their experience of being a man,” Cadwell said. “It’s a show about community, music, nature and wordplay and exploring the fuller version of who we all are. I have a very optimistic story but it’s not without pain: homophobia, AIDS. I have ‘survivor’s gratitude’ and I want to tell the stories of people who no longer can.” Cadwell has been writing poetry and music for years and says making the leap from therapy to performing “came naturally.” “It’s all part of the expressive arts,” he
said. “Storytelling is core to being a therapist. Therapy is really a theatre of two: the client and the therapist.” The production evolved from a series of poems he wrote and performed for a group of feminists in Cambridge around the theme “What are you going to do with your wild and precious life?” It was so well received that Cadwell presented it to friends and later gave small performances all over New England at colleges and theaters. He then added piano music, singing and a visual element and has taken it on the road to Texas, California, New York City and now the Northwest (he will perform at Seattle’s Gay City on Aug. 6). Cadwell was born in Vermont in the 1950s and stayed in the closet until the late 1960s. “It wasn’t easy. I struggled in and out, in and out,” he said. “It was emotional and turbulent but ultimately it’s about integrating the full range of who we are. The ‘closet’ is not just about sex, it’s about feelings, passion and your bliss. Without that, how do you make decisions about yourself? It’s about the rainbow we each are.” Over the next two decades, Cadwell became an AIDS activist and earned a Ph.D. from Smith College. He is now a married family man and psychotherapist in Massachusetts, working with individuals and couples. Cadwell has written on gender, sexuality and shame, co-edited a book on psychotherapy with gay men and worked with caregivers overwhelmed by the traumas of AIDS. “Silence equals death, the slogan developed by AIDS activists, is a powerful description of being in the closet,” Cadwell said. “Most people have been in the closet in some way in their lives. Shame is not exclusive to any one group. It is part of the human condition. The metaphor of ‘being in the closet’ is something that most of us can relate to.”
PG. 9
Wednesday, April 15, 2015
The Islands’ Sounder • www.islandssounder.com
Island Living
PG. 9
Behind the scenes of a Beatles’ tribute concert The Islands' Sounder is running a three-part series on “Across the Universe: A Celebration in Concert,” a benefit for Orcas Center. The production weaves Beatles songs into a tale of love and revolution. Directed by Grace McCune and Jake Perrine, the concert will feature the Rock on the Rock Choir, local dancers and a live band, which is profiled below. The show will run Friday and Saturday, May 8-9 and 15-16 at 7:30 p.m. by COLLEEN S. ARMSTRONG Editor/Publisher
Jim Bredouw started playing the guitar in junior high school as a way to impress girls, but he soon realized that he loved the instrument. And he really loved the Beatles. “I didn’t have a social or athletic life, so every day after school I would deconstruct the Beatles’ albums on my bass guitar,” he said. “I have many musical influences, but the Beatles are in a whole other league.” Bredouw and fellow musicians Martin Lund and Oliver Groenenwald have been busy working on the live band component
of “Across the Universe: A Celebration in Concert” coming to Orcas Center in May. The production showcases Beatles’ songs and brings together the Rock on the Rock Choir and local dancers and musicians. “This is community theatre at its best,” Lund said. The performers will be backed up by Bredouw on bass, guitar and piano, Lund on keyboard, accordion and woodwinds, Lek Thixton on guitar and Jeff Horton on drums. The horn section includes Lund, Craig Canine, Dimitri and Lorena Stankevich, Gregory Books, Steve Albouc, Dennis Cullen, Mathew Jenson and Charles Porter. The band spent four days laying down the basic tracks in Bredouw’s studio, later recording the horn section. By creating recordings, choir members are able to practice with the band’s music without full band rehearsals. All of the musicians will perform live at the concerts. “Going into the studio to record almost 20 songs over four nights with three guys you've never played with before seemed crazy,”
Cali Bagby/Staff Photo
Above: The horn section. At right: Jim Bredouw. Horton said. “Once we got started though, it all just seemed to work. Most of the recordings we did were finished in just a couple of takes, and our sessions ended so much earlier than we expected. Working with musicians of this caliber is a real treat for me, and I can't wait to take the stage with them.” For Bredouw and Lund, collaborating on music is nothing new. They began their life-long friendship in 1973 in a Seattle recording studio, and since then they have played together in multiple bands and sessions, been roommates several times and worked together for 11 years in Los Angeles writing music for commercials. Bredouw says overseeing the band has been “exhausting and wonderful.” Bredouw says coordinating the Across the Universe band has been “exhausting and wonderful.” “Getting back in touch with my 15-year-old self has been cathartic,” he said.
“For a long time I thought McCartney was more the musical visionary and Lennon more the social visionary. But after charting out John’s ‘For The Benefit of Mr. Kite’ and ‘I am the Walrus,’ I stand corrected. Their musical complexity kind of shocked me. I had my own narrative of the band and now it’s changed.” During his career in LA, Bredouw met both George Harrison and Paul McCartney at different sessions in one of his studios. Despite being a massive fan, Bredouw says he “tried to play it cool.” Lund first heard the Beatles’ song “She loves you” on his car radio as a senior in high school in 1964.
SEE UNIVERSE, PAGE 10
Band -mate s Jim
Bredo uw an d
Con Mart in Lu tributed photo nd in 1980.
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Wednesday, April 15, 2015 • The Islands’ Sounder
Healing Arts Fair Playfest opens April 24 at Grange The Healing Arts Center welcomes the community to attend their Spring Healing Arts Fair, on Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and 26. For this fundraiser, offered twice a year, practitioners donate their services, and all proceeds support the nonprofit organization that maintains the historic Eastsound building. The greatly discounted rates allow clients to try out new services and providers. Different styles of massage and bodywork and acupuncture are available. Several sessions of non-violent communication and empathy coaching are offered by coupons redeemable through May. To make an appointment, call the Healing Arts Center at 376-4002, or stop by 453 North Beach Road, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m., Mon-Fri.
CALENDAR WEDS., APRIL 15 HERB GARDENING: With Rolf Hokansson presented by Orcas Island Garden Club, April 15, 10 a.m., in the Madrona Room of Orcas Center. For more information, see www.orcasislandgardenclub.org.
SAT., APRIL 18 GREAT ISLANDS CLEAN UP:
From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., meet at the Village Green and divide into groups to search for litter. BACH’S MASS IN B-MINOR:
Presented by the Orcas Choral Society, 7:30 p.m, Orcas Center. Director Roger Sherman will give a preconcert talk at 6:45 p.m.
SUN., APRIL 19 BACH’S MASS IN B-MINOR:
Presented by the Orcas Choral Society, 2 to 3:30 p.m, Orcas Center.
SUN. – ONGOING ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Emmanuel Church. ADULT VOLLEYBALL: 7 to 9:15 p.m., High School Gym, $2.
MON. – ONGOING ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Benson Hall,
Emmanuel Church. AL-ANON: 7 p.m., 197 Main Street, Benson Hall, Emmanuel Church.
TUES. – ONGOING AA: For women, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., for men, 7 to 8 p.m., Emmanuel Church. KIWANIS: Tuesdays, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., Community Church Family Center.
WEDS. – ONGOING AA: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Benson Hall, Emmanuel Church. LIONS CLUB: Weekly lunch, 11:45 a.m., Legion. ANSWERS IN THE HEART: An S.L.A.A. 12-step recovery, 7 to 8 p.m., Episcopal Church. ADULT VOLLEYBALL: 7 to 9:15 p.m., High School Gym, $2.
THURS. –ONGOING STORYTIME: 11 a.m., library.
p.m., Orcas Longhouse. AL-ANON: 5:30 p.m., Benson Hall, Emmanuel Church.
FRI. – ONGOING AA: Noon, Community Church. AA: 5:30 p.m., Benson Hall, Emmanuel Church. CELEBRATE RECOVERY: 7 to 9 p.m., Orcas Island Senior Center.
SAT. – ONGOING AA: 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.,
Emmanuel Church. Potluck last Saturday of the month. Reach
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her childhood in this story about a woman succumbing to dementia. “The Certified Letter,” written by Kathi Ciskowski, directed by Kristen Wilson and starring Cat Gilliam and John Cunningham. A couple’s speculations about the source of a certified letter lead to a series of eyeopening disclosures. “Confessions of a Toilet Paper Hoarder,” written by Amy Russell, directed by Cara Russell, starring Adia Dolan and Ed Sutton. There is more than just
stacks of toilet paper coming between baby-boomer grandpa and his millennial granddaughter Susan in this play about sufficiency. “Storytime,” written by Mary Bayley, directed by Ron Herman and starring Rebecca Herman, Emily Toombs and Kevin Doyle. There is more than just jam and freshly made bread waiting at Grandma’s cabin. “The Bedroom,” written by Ron Herman, directed by Andy Martin, starring Cat Gilliam, Demi Gary, Zach Knight and John
Cunningham. When mom visits her newly married daughter’s new home, there is more to consider than what wallpaper will be fitting for the bedroom. “Tenacity,” written by Michèle Griskey, directed by Gillian Smith and starring Aaimee Johnson and Kelly Toombs. Elaine nd Bob, two coworkers from corporate America who are forced to cooperate against all odds, discover what “tenacity” really means. The plays will be presented at the Grange on Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25 and Friday-Sunday, May 1 to 3 p.m.. There will be a free dress rehearsal that is open to the public on Thursday, April 23. Tickets are $10 and all performances begin at 7:30 p.m., with doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door, at Darvill’s Bookstore or online. No one is ever turned away from an Actors Theater performance at the Grange for inability to pay.
Orca whales Author to discuss playing in the sea climate change If you are lucky you might be able to see a pod of orcas playing in the sunshine and splashing in the waves around Orcas Island. These dolphins are found in oceans all over the world. It is wonderful to watch them as they play, hunt for food and raise their young in the waters surrounding our island home. Sadly these animals are declining in number. Pollution, motor noise, boat traffic and loss of food source are all threats to their survival. Their population is much smaller than it used to be Fortunately there are things that we can do to help
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The 10th Annual Playwrights’ Festival, presented by The Actors Theater of Orcas Island, will be performed on the Grange stage. Come and see this year’s series of seven short plays, all written, directed and performed by members of the Orcas community. “PlayFest will surprise you, make you laugh, make you think and always, make you cry – but just a little,” say organizers. The plays included this year are the following. “A Most Auspicious Day,” written by Kristen Wilson, directed by Tom Fiscus and starring Zach Knight, Bailey Sande and Ella Conrad. In this heartwarming tale, unforeseen events on opposite ends of the world culminate in the creation of an unlikely international family. “Peggy,” written by James Wolf, directed by Cara Russell, starring Carla Weston, Kevin Doyle and Hayley Klein. Peggy retells
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make sure they survive. One thing you might do is participate in a beach cleanup. Keeping trash off the beaches keeps it out of the water, the orcas’ home. Another thing you might do is to use biodegradable cleaning products. This helps keep bad chemicals out of the water. Finally, spread the news, talk to others. Get everyone involved in saving these marine mammals. If we are lucky the orcas may return to their previous number. We will be able to enjoy watching them from many years to come!
Robert Arthur Stayton of Santa Cruz, Calif. will speak at the Parish Hall on Wednesday, April 22 at 5 p.m. about a change that’s coming that will set human civilization on a new course for the future as he traces the history and evolution of energy from fire to fossil fuels and the everincreasing pollution from their unintended consequences. His book “Power Shift” enumerates the choices we have to shift away from fossil fuels, advocating his preference for solar-based energy. The good news, he tells us, is that this safe and environmentally conscious change can be accomplished without legislation and is available at the level of individuals and institutions. Stayton speaks with authority and experience by virtue of his education as a physics instructor, and deep research on the subject of energy, as well as from his direct experience of installing and using solar power for almost a decade. For more information, contact Marilyn McGuire at marilyn@marilynmcguire.com.
UNIVERSE FROM 9
taneously developing their musical and harmonic complexities. They could sophisticate the listener’s ear while still staying commercial – not an easy thing. ]And sociologically, it’s entirely possible we might not have the yoga craze today if it wasn’t for George Harrison’s avid interest in Eastern culture.” Thixton first heard the Beatles as a boy when his dad brought home the album “Help!” “I’ll never forget how awesome that record was
“I thought, oh my god, this is going to be a huge hit,” he said. “It sounded old and new all at the same time. The Beatles didn’t sound like any other band at the time.” Bredouw credits that same song with turning his musical tides. “When I heard the last chord of that song, it converted me from Beach Boys to Beatles,” he said. “The Beatles understood the value of a hook while simul-
and how it made me feel: like I wasn’t 5, but the same age as the Beatles,” he said. “It made me want to grow up. Between listening to the music, looking at all the photos on the album cover from the movie, I remember just wanting to be a Beatle – not John, Paul, George or Ringo – I just wanted to be a Beatle too. I would sit out on our front porch and listen to that record over and over, faking it with my toy guitar and trying to show the whole navy base neighborhood that I was cool.”
SOUNDER THE ISLANDS’
Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
WEDNESDAY, July 15, 2015 VOL. 48, NO. 28 75¢ islandssounder.com
State funds county projects
Olga Daze on Saturday – page 3
A semester at sea
AN ISLAND GIRL SHARES HER STORY OF TRAVEL
by MEREDITH M. GRIFFITH
by ANNA V. SMITH
Sounder contributor
Orcas Island will receive millions of dollars for capital and transportation projects as part of the 2015-17 budget package recently passed by the Washington state legislature. “I think we did pretty well for this session,” said San Juan County council member Jamie Stephens. “I worked hard, Rick [Hughes] worked hard, and Bob [Jarman], to get some of these things done, and our legislators really worked well with us to get this much. We’ve had years where we get absolutely nothing.” Funding includes $1.4 million for the Orcas Island Library; $760,000 for an Orcas Village Park and Ride at the ferry landing; $350,000 for a feasibility study to determine the best way to repair or reroute Lopez Island’s failing MacKaye Harbor Road; $243,000 from the Department of Ecology to install rain gardens and curbgutter sidewalks along Eastsound’s Prune Alley; and $115,000 from the Recreation and Conservation Office to replace the dock at Odlin Park on Lopez. For San Juan Island, the county council had requested funding to construct a connector between Pear Point Road and Turn Point Road but was denied. County Engineer Rachel Dietzman said the plan for the Orcas “park and ride” is to use the five-acre parcel belonging to Washington State Ferries above the newly installed ferry tollbooth. San Juan County would lease this parcel from WSF and develop it to include free 72-hour and possibly two-week parking to serve daily commuters and short-term visitors. Dietzman said that while public works has ideas for the project, the county expects to initiate an “extensive public process”
SEE STATE, PAGE 6
Orcas man charged with assault Journal reporter
Contributed photo
Jessi Gudgell participated in a semester at sea this past spring. She is pictured above in Myanmar. by COLLEEN SMITH ARMSTRONG Editor/Publisher
Jessi Gudgell is heading into her junior year at the University of Oregon, and she can already cross some major items off her bucket list. The 21-year-old is back on Orcas for the summer after the experience of a lifetime: circumnavigating the world during a semester at sea program. “There are moments and faces from my adventures that will never be erased from my mind,” she said. “The hearts of love and welcome attitudes that most everyone in each port I visited shared with me and my travel companions was incredible. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have a group of American college students invade your hometown, but with our gracious hearts and their warm welcomes and constant kindness we were able to create friendships with people all over the world.” Gudgell saw the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal in India, Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the landscape of temples in Myanmar. She gave out TOMS shoes to impoverished children in South Africa and volunteered in orphanages. “I was taken aback at the realization that some organized orphanage visits seemed more like a ‘field trip’ than time for us to actually help the children,” Gudgell said. “They would get attached to us and we would leave – just like everyone else. And that absolutely broke my heart. Our intentions were good but maybe we were doing more harm than good.” Gudgell says she was overcome by the reality of
poverty and how Americans interact with others in foreign countries. “Imposing our Western ideas on people of different mind sets than our own is not necessarily going to be beneficial to them,” she said. “I would like to travel and do aid work in the future, but only if it is asked for by the people and not forced upon them.” The study abroad program was sponsored by the University of Virginia and included 550 U.S. students and 100 international college kids. There were also life-long learning students, families of professors and crew members aboard the 600-foot, seven-deck vessel, bringing the passenger total to 900. Over the course of four months the ship traveled through Asia and Africa. Gudgell lists Myanmar, South Africa and Morocco as her favorite locales but says, “I fell in love with every place I saw and left pieces of my heart behind in each port.” The philosophy on the ship was “ubuntu,” a South African saying about human kindness that means “I am because we are, and we are because I am.” Those on the ship were without internet or phones for most of the trip. Gudgell said it made for deeper, more connected relationships. “People were really there to learn about the world and immerse themselves in the community,” she said. “I played games with children on streets and crawled through temples with natives who knew the town like the back of their hand. Despite
SEE ABROAD, PAGE 6
Orcas Island resident Peter William Sherman, 27, has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon in the second degree for an incident on July 4 in Eastsound. Bail was set at $10,000. Sherman is awaiting a trial set for Sept. 21. Sherman allegedly pointed an Ithaca 20-gauge shotgun at three people after a verbal altercation with one of them. According to court documents the gun was not loaded, but witnesses said they did not know that at the time. Witnesses also said Sherman told one man he was going to kill him. According to the responding officer’s report, Sherman admitted he pointed the gun at the three people. He added that he had been consuming alcohol, stating he had not been thinking straight. Sherman initially called the San
SEE ASSAULT, PAGE 6
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ABROAD FROM 1 the language barrier we were able to communicate by facial expressions, gestures and love in our hearts. Love is a universal language.” Gudgell took five classes and each course also had a field lab – an outing in one of the countries where they stopped. In Vietnam her Spanish class met with college students in the area and they conversed only in Spanish. The ship spent six days in each port it visited,
and the students had five nights to explore on their own. Next on her list is to visit all seven continents. She has three left: Australia, Antarctica and South America. Gudgell is also considering joining the PeaceCorps. Her degree is in family and human services, but after the semester abroad she wants to pursue nursing or public health. Gudgell is sharing her story of travel in the hope that it will inspire others to travel and gain a sense
of global awareness. She says that kind of education is especially important for those – like herself – who are raised in small communities. “There is only so much learning that can be done in a classroom,” Gudgell said. “Experiencing different religions, political views, conflicts and beliefs by immersing yourself in different cultures is of inexplicable value and importance to everyone, no matter what one’s background might be.”
Historical days a delicious success By: CLARK MCABEE Director, Orcas Island Historical Museum This year’s July 3rd and 4th Historical Days were a big success thanks to all our dedicated supporters and volunteers. We sold out of hotdogs, and scores of parched people beat the heat both days in our beer garden. Friday the Harvey Family Logging show featured enthusiastic audience participation in the ring from axe-throwing to “ma and pa bucking.” More than 150 visitors took advantage of free admission to the Pioneer Museum including folks from as far away as Alaska, Paris, Brussels and as close as our neighbors next door, the Kaleidoscope kids. For perhaps the last time our “Mr. Reliable” board secretary Bill Buchan honchoed the hot dog booth ably-assisted by his partner Reed Schielbach, John Fleischer, Neil Hawkins and also board members Dr. Bruce Culver and Tony Ayer. The popular Antique Appraisal Fair was the well-orchestrated effort of museum office manager Maggie Vinson and her crew that included board members Harold Lentzner, Jamie Cier and volunteers Becky Vinson, Heather Johnson, Joanna Massey, Kathy Ciskowski and Linda Peth. The appraisers really enjoyed themselves and were impressed by the variety and quality of many objects brought for their professional valuation. We will definitely do it again. Look for some of these objects in the Museum’s September auction. Maggie also did double duty in the pie booth as well. Orcas Island Historical Society president Jim “The Hardest Working Man on Orcas” Biddick made sure the tents, pop-ups, booths, chairs, tables and other infrastructure were all ship shape and functional, heroically assisted by Don Seaman and other aforementioned volunteers pitching in when an extra hand was needed. Nearly 60 pies and seven gallons of ice cream for ala mode disappeared in a few hours bringing many happy smiles and tummies. This tra-
Contributed photos
Top: Reed, Maggie and Jamie selling desserts; little slices of heaven. Bottom: Greg Bell appraises fine art for the painting’s attentive owner. ditional event would not be possible without our dozens of pie bakers and booth workers: Don Seaman and Jim Biddick assembled the booth. Workers included board members: Susan Fletcher, committee chair, board member Jerry and his wife Joanne Smith, Nancy Schmidt, Jerry and Joan Bettendorf, and Reed Schielbach. Donating wonderfully delicious pies were: June West, Joanna Smith, Mebs Gilliam, Linda Peth, Sandy Huie, Marilyn McGuire, Mary Rancourt, Dixie Walmsley, Polly Pratt, Sue Woods, Becky Vinson, Rocky Baker, Barbara Jamieson, Susan Krieger, Betty Marcum, Judith Slater, Ann Waltersdorph, Patty Monaco, Audrey Wells, Jan Loudin, Nancy Schmidt, Cathy Vierthaler, Janice Wiemeyer, Peggy Groundwater, Jamie Cier, Candace Bodenhammer, Jim Biddick, Leslie Seaman, Marcia Spees, Katie Jensen, Maria Doss, Kathy Schoessler, Susan Fletcher, and Roses. Special thanks to Island Market, the Lions and Island Hoppin’ and the Harvey Family Logging Show for being terrific partners. Next year will be hard pressed to beat 2015.
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STATE FROM 1 before creating an actual plan. “The goal of the park and ride is to get cars off of Orcas Road,” she added. “I think it’s going to be a huge benefit for Orcas Islanders; it’s going to improve safety on Orcas Rd.” While parking is clearly needed at the landing, Dietzman said that road funds cannot be used to install “parking,” but can be used to create a park and ride that will be viewed as a traffic reduction project. The lot will host charging stations for electric vehicles, and construction is expected to begin in 2016 or 2017. On Lopez, MacKaye Harbor Road is built on a sand bluff and having significant erosion problems.
ASSAULT FROM 1 Juan County Sheriff ’s Office to report a trespassing complaint at his home, saying the guest wouldn’t leave. By the time the officers arrived at the scene the guest had left. Sherman told the officers, “Things were fine as long as [the guest] did not talk to him.” The guest was with two others in the driveway and became agitated at the officers, shouting expletives at them and refusing to identify himself. According to the report: “At one point he advanced on [us]. We each grabbed one of his arms and
“The current road is falling into the water,” according to Stephens. He said the best strategy may be to reroute the road to avoid the alternative, which is “major armoring,” a strategy that can be problematic on an environmental level. He expects the project to provide better parking and access from the county park down to the beach. The allocated $350,000 will not include any construction, just preliminary feasibility work to determine the best route and to calculate costs. Not specific to San Juan County, but also included in the state’s transportation package, is $300 million in new operating funds to guarantee ferry service levels for over six years, and an additional $40 million to build a fourth 144-car
Olympic-class ferry. This is good news for the San Juan Islands regardless of where the ferry ends up serving, since a more functional fleet should result in fewer service interruptions due to local boats being “borrowed” to serve other routes. “We also got a bill passed for Island and San Juan Counties that will allow us to use the road budget to put mooring buoys and other facilities at our road ends,” said Stephens. He said there are quite a few road ends in the county that could offer public access to the shoreline. Most road ends are about 40 to 60 feet wide, and county public works would create signage to let the public know exactly where those access points are.
pinned him against the back of the minivan. We asked him to calm down.” The guest said he would, but when released he continued his aggression. “I could see there was no reasoning with [the guest]. He never gave us a chance to talk with him.” The officers decided to leave to “diffuse the situation.” According to the officer’s report, about five minutes later Sherman called dispatch to say he had a gun and had pointed it at the guest. The officers returned to the residence to find the guest walking down the
driveway toward the patrol car yelling that “we were incompetent and worthless.” When asked, Sherman said to one of the officers that he was afraid the guest was going to assault him, and ran to get the unloaded gun from his room. According to the witnesses, the guest and two witnesses were standing together when Sherman pointed the unloaded gun at them and yelled at the guest, “I am going to kill you!” One of the responding officers wrote that a witness told him, “Sherman is unpredictable with firearms when he has been drinking alcohol.” The witness could not remember a time when a similar incident had occurred with Sherman. The officer wrote that Sherman complied with the police and gave them permission to retrieve another rifle locked in his room. Assault with a deadly weapon in the second degree is a Class B felony for those without previous offenses.
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