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Wednesday, September 6, 2017 VOL. 110, NO. 36 75¢
SAN JUAN TEACHERS STRIKE Connector concerns Pear Point Road residents question plans for nearby road construction
By Hayley Day Reporter
Staff photo/Hayley Day
Teachers hold signs requesting fair contracts in front of Wells Fargo on the corner of Spring Street and Argyle Avenue on Sept. 1. Read about the strike on page 16.
Criminal convictions out at sea By Cali Bagby
General manager
On July 4, 2010, Gary Roberts drove his boat to his home on Brown Island. When he reached the landing, he noticed a man hanging off his dock. The man, Terry Sanders, had fallen from his vessel. “It was just by chance that I was there,” said Roberts, who drove Sanders back to his boat moored nearby. Little did Roberts know that Sanders would be his adversary in a fight that would span more than a half decade. “It’s been a rough seven years,” said Sanders. About 40 years ago, Roberts moved to the island and became an avid member of the boating community. Sanders came to the island, eight years later, also drawn by the idyllic marine surrounding. The island was a safe port after many years of traveling. In 1966, Sanders was drafted out of college into the Army and served time in Korea in 1967 before
SAN JUAN ISLAND (360) 378 - 3600
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returning home to Washington to finish college. After graduation, he traveled to Europe and sailed across the Atlantic on a 55-foot French sailboat. Sanders returned to Bellingham and built a 70-foot boat. He moved to the islands in 1985 and began working as a captain. After living on land for 25 years, he had a falling out with his landlord forcing him to find new housing. He found one in a 47-foot Fairliner. The floating home would lead Sanders to be the first person in the county to be convicted of criminal charges for living on a derelict vessel beyond the shoreline and living aboard with an illegal mooring. On July 26, Sanders, 70, was sentenced to 90 days in jail and fined $1,000 in San Juan County District Court for the above-mentioned violations. His sentence has been suspended as long as he complies with vessel laws. Sanders also has to serve 24 hours of community service. He said he has no problem with the service aspect as he has been a volunteer firefighter since 1994. See CRIMINAL, Page 3
The construction of the street, known as the “connector road” by islanders, has been discussed, off and on, over the last decade. The street would create a shortcut from Turn Point Road to Pear Point Road, which already connects and circles the eastern side of San Juan Island. “I had heard pieces of it,” said Councilman Bill Watson about the project when he moved to San Juan in 2006. “Now, since I’ve gotten involved with the county, it makes sense to me.” Watson ran his inaugural San Juan County Council campaign, last year, on completing the 10-year-old project, which was delayed due to insufficient funds. County and Town of Friday Harbor officials attest it will offset additional traffic from nearby planned housing developments, among other improvements. Now, with the funds allocated by a council vote in April and the right of ways being finalized, it would appear plans are coming to fruition. Not if it’s up to Gib Black. He and five of his Pear Point Road neighbors halted construction with a July 11 appeal, requesting a more in-depth environmental review of the project. The connector road, Black affirms, should not be built. Instead, the existing town street of Grover, located about four miles northwest of Pear Point, should extend to Turn Point.
History
Most San Juan County residents have heard of the connector road, but details of the plans — allegedSee ROAD, Page 4
Black’s plan
Grover Street should be built out, said Black, because a 2010 county engineer’s report recommends it. The report — based on a
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study by an engineering company commissioned by the county — states it’s the county’s most affordable road option for the planned developments. Black said he believes there is no plan to extend Grover Street because a con argument in the report states a housing development owner disapproves of it. “Can someone tell me why that makes sense?” asked Black. “Perhaps it’s because of the developers’ fear that their homes/lots will be worth less if there is traffic coming through their new neighborhood.” In a signed agreement, the Town of Friday Harbor staff also requested the developer create an “emergency access only” road between Grover and Turn Point, even if another connector road is created for public use. This, said Black, supports Grover as the quickest route.
Sports Preview Check out fall sports at Friday Harbor High School on pages 9 - 12