Islands' Sounder, September 28, 2011 by Sound Publishing

SOUNDER THE ISLANDS’

Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 28, 2011 n VOL. 40, NO. 39 n 75¢

Sports coverage: pg. 8 Colleen Smith/staff photo

www.islandssounder.com

State parks budget is in peril

A century’s worth of memories

by MEREDITH M. GRIFFITH Staff reporter

Orcas Island resident Maurine Taylor turns 100 by COLLEEN SMITH ARMSTRONG Editor/Associate Publisher

Maurine Taylor has advice for anyone with aspirations of living to 100: be happy. “Every day put together the best attitude you can and have a cocktail,” says the 99-year-old Orcas resident. On Oct. 10, Taylor will celebrate a century of living during a party with her two sons, three grandchildren, eight great-grand children and a long list of Orcas friends. “With any luck, the new baby will be there at the party,” her son Steve said. “That is the only great-grandchild she hasn’t met.” Maurine has a lot of pals on Orcas, where she spends her summers. She goes to the Orcas Senior Center luncheons twice a week (on Oct. 11 she will be treated to cake and ice cream) and most of her days are spent visiting good buds around the island, going to the Exchange and taking rides on the ferry. In Palm Springs, her winter locale, she enjoys golfing. One of Maurine’s favorite activities is finding dolls at the Exchange. She began collecting dolls because “she thought she needed some cheerleaders,” says

Colleen Smith Armstrong/staff photos

Above: Maurine Taylor with her doll collection. Right: A letter from President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, congratulating Taylor on reaching 100 years. her caregiver Mai McNamara. Looking back on her 100 years of living, Maurine is most proud of raising her children and being able to speak French. Although she did not attend college, she was adamant that both her sons go to university. Maurine has been coming to Orcas from May through October for the past 40 years. Her husband, a lawyer in Seattle, passed away 30 years ago. She has maintained independence for decades, only recently hiring caregivers. In addition to McNamara, who spends the day with Maurine, caregiver Sharie Horne lives in the guest house. Maurine has been free of any major health issues and McNamara says she is

“strong as a horse.” President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden sent Maurine a congratulatory letter for her centenarian achievement. When discussing the letter, she beamed with pride. “Amazingly for her age, she is up for anything,” McNamara said. “Maurine is a real example of what you’d want to be when you reach 100. She’s a firecracker.”

Charter Review to 2011 examine government ELECTION by SCOTT RASMUSSEN County reporter/Journal editor

Fine-tuned. Overhauled. Tossed out altogether. The choices will be almost limitless when the soon-to-be-created Charter Review Commission gets around to conducting its review of San Juan County’s Home Rule charter, and then offers up a list of recommendations as to what that guiding document ought to contain in the future. “There’s no real limitation on their authority or on what they can do,” Prosecuting Attorney Randy Gaylord said of constraints on the review commission. “That

means they can even recommend a return to the commission form of government.” Voters will select a total of 21 people to serve on the commission as part of the November election. Ratified by voters in 2005, the county charter ushered in sweeping changes in the way local government is structured, how it operates and in the amount of access and influence islanders can have over decisions made by the county’s elected legislators, primarily through the process of initiative and referendum. The charter stripped the former county commission of its exec-

utive powers – management of county personnel and day-to-day business – in favor of an administrator serving at the pleasure of the county council. It divided the county’s previous three legislative districts into six, with a mostly equal number of residents in each and allowed for each district to elect a representative of its own to the county council, while at the same time doing away with county-wide elections for the county’s legislative body: the council. But that’s not all. The charter also turned the three former commissioner positions into six nonpartisan, part-time posts, and created a citizens’ salary commission

to determine how much the county should pay its elected officials. San Juan Island’s Greg Hertel, a former member of the Board of Freeholders, which created the charter, maintains the amount that the county’s part-time legislators are paid – $35,000 a year plus benefits – and the influence of the salary commission are two areas that the charter review commission should revisit. That’s too much money for part-time work and encourages council members to become too involved in areas in which they needn’t be, Hertel said. The former chairman of the freeholders, George Johnson of San Juan Island, is among eight candidates competing for three positions from District 1. Knowing there would be a chance to make changes five years down the road,

SEE CHARTER, PAGE 6

State senator and Orcas Islander Kevin Ranker says it’s possible that Moran State Park is in jeopardy, despite the newly implemented parking passes aimed at bringing in more revenue. Bleak news from Olympia last week announced that state revenue will fall another $1.41 billion short of earlier projections, following a $4.6 billion reduction in the 20112013 budget that took effect July 1. Now Gregoire has scheduled a special session in November, requesting additional five and 10 percent cuts to state agencies. “Of the $35 billion [previous state] budget, all but $10 billion is restricted,” said Ranker. “Only $10 billion is available for cuts … the only areas we can cut are the areas that matter most to our communities … and that becomes very difficult.” State parks are expected to become completely self-sustaining by July 2013, with $17.3 million in “bridge funding” allocated in the last version of the budget.

SEE PARKS, PAGE 6

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