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WEDNESDAY, January 25, 2012 n VOL. 45, NO. 4 n 75¢
Basketball coverage – PG 3 Meredith M. Griffith/Staff Photo
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And then there were eight ‘Orcas Has Talent’ finalists to compete for $500 prize on Feb. 4
Jobs cut at Moran and Lime Kiln state parks by CALI BAGBY and MEREDITH M. GRIFFITH Journal/Sounder staff
Meredith M. Griffith/Staff Photo
The auditions for Orcas Has Talent last Saturday ended with eight contestants/groups winning a “Golden Ticket” to compete at the finale show on Feb. 4. The finalists are: high school band AllMost Canadian, Al Bentley on saxophone, Carl Burger on guitar, youth acoustic string group Ceolinas led by Pamela Wirght and singers KT Laslo, Marissa Veldman, Maura Pelleteri and Rhiannon Lawson. Most of the winners are pictured above. For coverage of the event and a slide show of all the contestants, visit www.islandssounder.com. During the finale show, the performers have a chance to win a grand prize of $500. Magician Matthew Laslo-White, winner of the Orcas Has Talent junior contest, will also compete. For a story on his win, see page 2. The show at Orcas Center on Feb. 4 starts at 6:30 p.m. General admission tickets are on sale at Darvill’s Bookstore now – adults are $25, youth $15 (ages 12 and under). Tickets for general seating often sell out, so live streaming video will once again be offered in the Madrona Room. For questions, email orcashastalent@gmail.com.
Orcas Fire & Rescue reviews 2011 by VALERIE HARRIS
Orcas Fire Division Chief
Orcas Island Fire and Rescue had a number of memorable events to mark in 2011. We created a display for the public to report on the previous five years and demonstrate how the 2005 Strategic Plan was implemented. The display showed at Orcas Center and at pancake breakfasts. This summer the “Ropes Rescue Team” was given a huge opportunity – traveling to the Tetons in Wyoming to train to the next technical skill level – thanks to the generosity of Larry and Loretta Taubman. The department honored the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks with a ceremony and a plan to build a permanent memorial. One fire department member drove to New York to bring back an artifact from the Twin Towers. We took second place at Rosario’s “Festival of Trees” event, with proceeds to help fund the memorial. The final piece of the 2005 strategic plan to be completed was the dedication of the new Deer Harbor fire station on Sept. 11. We also held an educational haunted house on Halloween for the youngsters and hope to make that an annual event. The fire department is a dynamic organiza-
tion, and we have lost some valuable members to relocation and new job opportunities. Those members will be sorely missed, but we wish them all the very best of luck in their new ventures. District fire chief Mike Harris has announced his retirement, and the district is currently searching for his replacement. The fire department also had some gains: we welcomed several new members who are currently undergoing EMT training. There were 501 medical and 183 fire related calls in 2011. At 684 calls, our total 911 call volume was down slightly from 2010, but still above the last five-year average of 665 calls.
Medical calls The highest profile medical problems were cardiac, neurological emergencies such as strokes, and respiratory distress, comprising seven percent, six percent and five percent of calls, respectively. Thirty-two percent of medical calls were “general.” Trauma (or injury) is a heavy hitter, at 22 percent of calls. Thankfully we have very few major traumas. Six percent of calls were pediatric (medical or trauma). Invalid assists or medical equipment assis-
tance made up 7.5 percent of our calls. We encountered obstetrical emergencies less than one percent and deaths two percent of the time. While most births happen without the fire department’s involvement, nearly all deaths on the island involve us, even if there are no resuscitation efforts to be made. Two percent of 2011 calls were related to psychiatric problems.
Fire-related calls Nearly 40 percent of fire-related calls involved investigating reports of smoke, odors and illegal burning. Automatic and audible alarms accounted for another 25 percent of calls. We typically have more wildland fires than structure fires; responses to burning land made up just shy of three percent, and burning buildings just two percent of our overall fire calls. Another three percent involved burning appliances or electrical fires that were extinguished before the building caught fire. Almost four percent of the fire calls were chimney fires that were put out before the building caught on fire. Vehicle fires account for two percent, and fuel or liquid fires another one percent. Four percent of calls qualified as hazardous, and less than one percent was represented by one explosion.
SEE FIRE 2011, PAGE 5
For Christmas, state parks handed out pink slips instead of presents, cutting 16 full-time permanent construction and maintenance staff and 66 full-time rangers from the payroll. The rangers will be given options for seasonal employment, with the aim of keeping staffing in parks from May through September similar to current year-round levels. “It’s the heavier maintenance that happens in the winter that we’re going to be light on in order to keep staffing there for visitors,” said state Parks Communications Specialist Virginia Painter. “Over time that will show, and we know it’s not sustainable, but this is something we have to do.” Lime Kiln Point State Park on San Juan is losing two full-time positions: Ranger William Hoppe and Ken Schilling, in charge of construction and maintenance.
SEE PARK CUTS, PAGE 5
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