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Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
www.islandssounder.com
WEDNESDAY, June 26, 2013 VOL. 46, NO. 26 75¢
Taking care of local veterans
Let the sun shine in
by CALI BAGBY Staff reporter
Colleen Smith Armstrong/Staff photos
Islanders, like the one pictured above, rejoiced in the beauty of summer during the annual Solstice Parade on June 22. Music and dancing in the Village Green followed the event. At left: Ariahna Tidrington (l) and Zonia Darnall (r) share a laugh during the parade. Visit www. islandssounder.com for a slideshow of photos.
Survivors of war have traveled between worlds – from conflict to peace. As they traverse these two planes of existence they struggle to understand the past and how to move forward. Sometimes this journey takes years, for others traversing the road from memory to reality is a life-long battle. “You don’t go through those experiences and not come back permanently changed,” said Michael Baker, a veteran who served in Vietnam. Baker is also the chairman of the Veterans Advisory Board, which provides emergency services to veterans in need, their children, widows, widowers and/ or orphans. In 2007, the advisory board was formed and became in charge of distributing money from the Veterans Assistance Fund, which comes from San Juan County property taxes.
Bumps in the road for Orcas transfer station by STEVE WERHLY Journal reporter
Just when one Orcas transfer station problem gets solved, another problem takes the stage. The San Juan County Department of Public Works and the nonprofit Orcas Recycling Services are intent on working out a contract for ORS to take over operation of the transfer station. Major and minor “glitches” keep presenting themselves as obstacles to Frank Mulcahy, director of public works, and Pete Moe, ORS board president. First, The Exchange, the recycle and reuse subsidiary of ORS, burned to the ground in February. Then somebody discovered that federal employment taxes on several part-time workers had not been paid. ORS tax consultants reduced that potential liability from $22,000 to $7,000. In addition, Errol Speed, a director of ORS, resigned from the board. Recently, Mark DeTray, the lead negotiator for ORS, who was slated to manage the Orcas transfer facility, went on “extended leave” from
his position. DeTray is expected to be replaced, according to Mulcahy. Mulcahy and Sam Gibboney, solid waste program administrator for the county, reviewed developments at the Tuesday, June 18 meeting of the county council. They announced that Moe was now the point of contact for negotiating the contract for turning over control and operations of the solid waste transfer station to ORS. Mulcahy, who said he remains optimistic that all problems can be solved, was told by Moe that DeTray might return to ORS, but that for now the board would look for a replacement. Members of the board will work on details of the transfer station, including contract negotiations. Moe and DeTray were unavailable for comment before press time. The contract between the county and ORS may not be finalized until August or September, said Gibboney, who acknowledged sticking points regarding a performance bond, liability and transportation insurance, provision of suf-
ficient operating capital and completion of a satisfactory operational plan. Orcas councilman Rick Hughes voiced continuing support for ORS, saying he was confident that Moe and the ORS board would resolve both operational and financial problems. “We (the county) will be out of the garbage business soon,” Hughes said. Disposal of solid waste operations at the San Juan and Orcas transfer stations have been a persistent issue for Mulcahy and the county council since voters rejected a councilproposed property tax increase in November 2011. Mulcahy joined Public Works as director of the county’s single-largest department two months before. Mulcahy and Gibboney reported progress in contract negotiations with Lautenbach Industries of Mount Vernon for private operation of the San Juan Island solid waste transfer station owned by the Town of Friday Harbor, but they told the council that contract nego-
SEE ORS, PAGE 3
According to County Auditor Milene Henley, the funds are an “earmarked levy,” which means that although the levy is not stated separately on property tax bills, it is required to come out of the general county levy. The amount is 1-1/8 – 27 cents of $1,000 of assessed valuation. According to Baker, former County Commissioner Alan Lichter started the board because he felt that it could be effective in providing the funds to veterans. There are a total of 607,501 veterans living in Washington state, according to the United States Department of Veteran Affairs. According to a report by ABC news, 2,333,972 American military personnel had been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan or both, as of 2011. Of that total, 1,353, 627 have since left the military. According to the Defense Manpower Data Center, nearly half, or 977,542, of those who have served in Iraq
SEE VETERANS, PAGE 5
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