Big water runners Film about running on the Colorado River Page 11
Orcas Center Golf Classic 18th annual fundraiser to hit the greens in September. Page 9
Sounder The Islands’
PEOPLE | Island kids win big at the county fair [2] CRIME | Orcas man arrested for Eastsound break-ins [3] LETTERS | See this week’s letters from the community [4]
Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
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WEDNESDAY, September 5, 2012 n VOL. 45, NO. 36 n 75¢
CAO update draws criticism
Life on the frozen continent
Islander shares tales from a decade of work in Antarctica
by Steve Wehrly Journal reporter
by COLLEEN SMITH ARMSTRONG Editor/Publisher
Jennifer Teague could smell the sea water before she saw it. And it was heavenly. After months of living in Antarctica, Teague experienced her first real scent while drilling dive holes in the ice. She describes the region as cold, indifferent, beautiful and without pity. “Antarctica will always be great and formidable and empty,” Teague said. “The wind will always find a way into a seam and unravel that seam a little more.” The Orcas resident has been spending six months of every year in what she calls “the ice age of the 21st century.” Teague worked as a heavy equipment operator for Raytheon Polar Services, a U.S. Company that provides science
support to researchers. She did such projects as maintaining runways, clearing out buildings, towing trailers and fuel tanks and drilling holes in the ice. Teague got her start in equipment operating while in the Marine Corps in the early 1980s. She then worked for the military and the Union in California. In 1990, she moved to Orcas, where her parents Clyde and Barbara live. She worked for Sea Island Sand and Gravel, but when a friend told her about an
See TEAGUE, Page 6
Above: Jennifer Teague in Antarctica, where she worked for Raytheon Polar Services. contributed photo
Left: Jennifer Teague on Orcas. Colleen Armstrong photo
Raccoon attacks in North Beach neighborhood by CALI BAGBY Staff reporter
Every night, Elizabeth Schermerhorn lets her Yorkshire terrier Rosie outside for a few minutes to go to the bathroom in their fenced-in yard, located in the North Beach neighborhood. But several weeks ago, Schermerhorn let Rosie into the backyard and just moments later heard the dog shrilly barking in what she describes as a scream. “The warning bells went off in my head and everything happened so quickly,” said Schermerhorn, who ran outside and saw a large raccoon on top of her dog. Her husband, who also heard the noises, came out and scared the raccoon away. Rosie was left with puncture wounds on her back and leg. And the Schermerhorns were left unsure who to call or what to do. Luckily, they have a friend with a medical background, who
cleaned the wounds. They called a vet in the morning. A week after the Schermerhorns’ dog was attacked, another resident in the same neighborhood said her cat was attacked by six raccoons. “I couldn’t scare them away,” said Patricia Tullock. “It was so scary, I’ve never seen so many before.” The injured pets are both recovering, but sounds of other animals being attacked in the night have left the two women worried about what the raccoons might do next and what to do if there is another attack. Although San Juan County does not have an animal control sector, the Sheriff ’s Office does handle problems, which typically involve dog-related problems, said Sheriff Rob Nou. “On issues like raccoon attacks and/ or problems, we can solicit help from Fish and Wildlife to try to trap and relocate offend-
“I don’t dislike raccoons ... I just think people need to take precautions. — Elizabeth Schermerhorn, North Beach area resident
ing critters,” he said. But Shona Aitken, education coordinator at Wolf Hollow Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, said removing problem animals does not solve the problem. “If you remove raccoons it creates an open space and other raccoons will move in,” she said. Adult raccoons weigh 15 to 40 pounds. Males have weighed in at over 60 pounds. As long as raccoons are kept out of human homes, not cornered, and not treated as pets, they are not dangerous, according to the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife. Aitken said raccoons often become a problem when they have been regularly fed by humans or when someone who has fed them for ages suddenly stops. Anyone who has been regularly feeding wild animals should discontinue, gradually, over the period of several months, she said. Another reason for an increase in raccoon activity may be the recent hot spell, said Aitken, which makes it difficult for them to find fresh water and food, so yards look more tempting than usual. The North Beach area may be enticing because raccoons love to eat clams, frogs, fish, and snails. This is also baby season, so moms “can be protective of their young … and take risks they would not otherwise consider,” Aitken added. She said that the best way to deal
See raccoons, Page 6
If the San Juan County Council needed proof it isn’t making anyone happy with its critical areas ordinance update, it got that proof at public hearings on Aug. 21. Opponents and proponents, the planning staff and all six council members insist they want to protect both environmental values and property rights, but neither the environmentalists nor the defenders of property rights are happy with the draft ordinances. And both sides are warning the council that they may go to court to vindicate their positions. Pat O’Day summed up the problem in his comments to the council: “You’re here to protect the
See cao, Page 6
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