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Contributed by The Whale Museum
After several weeks of public voting with more than 6,500 votes counted, four Southern resident orca calves have new names The newly named babies are online at www.islandsweekly.com.
INSIDE
School’s garden grows By Ande Finley Special to the Islands’ Weekly
Imagine a school kitchen overflowing with 300 pounds of organic tomatoes and green beans, 60 pounds of tomatillos and 30 pounds of carrots and beets. Out of 12,000 square feet, including three hoop houses, and an orchard, bounty from the Lopez Island Farm Education garden has been pouring in since Aug. 1. All this fresh produce has transformed food culture in the cafeteria. To the delight of many, Bill Evans is back as Superintendent of the Lopez School District and as enthusiastic as ever about the Farm to School concept. “Institutionally, the place we have come to is beyond what anyone foresaw,� he
New Tap and Hip Hop classes starting in Oct. Children 3-18 call Andrea @ 468-4922 email: lopezislanddance@ hotmail.com Adults (separate classes for men and women) Call Jan @ 468-2752 email: janonlopez@ yahoo.com Adult Dance Exercise Class (contact Andrea) M 4:30, Tu 10am, Th 10am On-going, drop-ins welcome
said. The garden coordinator position has gone from donation-funded to a line item in the district budget. And processed food is scarce with all this fresh abundance. Lunch on the first day of school this year was homemade garden vegetable tomato sauce over whole wheat pasta with fresh green beans. Bowls of cherry tomatoes and carrot sticks grown by the children greet the elementary classes as they enter the cafeteria. Under Evans’ leadership, the garden program began in 2001 as a high school elective at S & S Homestead, the farm run by Henning Sehmsdorf and Elizabeth Simpson, also a teacher at the school. Henning and Elizabeth started bringing greens from the students’ gardens to the caf-
eteria salad bar. In 2006, a comprehensive school wellness policy was adopted by the school district mandating promotion of student and family health. With the help of Lopez Community Land Trust, the district also applied for a substantial USDA grant. This grant, though unsuccessful, laid a solid foundation for the fledgling L.I.F.E. Garden and Farm Program. With support from the Heller family in summer 2007, the district brought Antonia Demas from the Food Studies Institute to do a regional workshop for teachers and cafeteria staff on taking ownership for children’s health through food-based solutions. Educating kitchen staff was key to getting healthy food to students and chefs,
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Contributed photo
Above and left, newly hired gardener, Suzanne Berry, in front of two of the school’s hoop houses. Above and right, Lorri Swanson’s whimsical garden ID signs and sunflowers and cabbages in the L.I.F.E. garden
Dana Cotton and Samantha Taylor were wowed by the new perspective. Now Dana features a seasonal vegetable of the month after the kids have cooked with it in class and includes a
recipe with the menus. She and Samantha made a commitment to cut out foods with high fructose corn syrup. “I wouldn’t eat half the stuff I eat now if I hadn’t been through this,� Samantha said.
Expanding the Rishi Garden, a memorial to a Lopez student, construction on the L.I.F.E. garden was begun in 2005. SEE GARDEN, PAGE 5
‘Flying’ pastor finally lands By Rita Larom Special to the Islands’ Weekly
Frequent flyer miles have not been awarded to “flying� Pastor John Lindsay during his eleven years of service to The Lutheran Church in the San Juans, but he has certainly compiled them. The pastor has anxiously peered through the fog, rocked with the wind, and watched rain bounce off the wings as Jackie Hamilton’s Island Air carried him to congregational branches on San Juan, Orcas and Lopez Islands during 1,300 flights. After traveling in the air or on the water to fulfill pastoral responsibilities, Lindsay is now retiring. A reception in Pastor Lindsay’s honor will be held on October 2, 1:30 – 3:30 p.m., at
Grace Episcopal Hall, for all who wish to join the celebration. In addition to Lindsay’s full schedule of travel, delivering sermons and attending ecumenical and island events, he has acted as his own secretary. His book and film studies, open to the community, have wrestled with complex questions. Lindsay has relied on several pinch-hitters in the pulpit as he has tried to cover his clerical bases subject to the whims of weather and the ferry system. One memorable Christmas Eve, Morry Dalton, a retired Lopez pastor, received a late night call. Aboard a grounded ferry SEE FLYING, PAGE 5
The people of Grace Episcopal Church Warmly Welcome you and Your Animal Companions to
The Blessing of Animals On Sunday, October 2 at 10:30 am In Grace Hall
To Celebrate Saint Francis Day (followed by coffee and refreshments)
Call 468-3477 for more info.
Contributed photo
The “flying’ Pastor John Lindsay is now retiring.