CROSSROADS FALL LECTURES Cartoonist David Horsey is one of three guest lecturers Page 13
IN REMEMBRANCE Orcas Islanders share their stories about the 9/11 attacks Page 3
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Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
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WEDNESDAY, September 11, 2013 VOL. 46, NO. 37 75¢
Teachers’ contract signed in nick of time
Attention sports fans Fall athletics preview inside this edition
by COLLEEN SMITH ARMSTRONG Editor/Publisher
Amy Masters/Contributed photo
Two Vikings go for the ball during a game against the Seattle Lutheran Saints in 2012. Check out our fall sports preview featuring football, volleyball and soccer stories inside this edition, pages nine to 11.
Much to the relief of Orcas parents, students started their first day of school last week as planned. Public school teachers had been protesting a “lack of contract” and advocating for “fair pay and fair contracts.” Their primary concerns were salaries, the new evaluation criteria the board approved in July and creating a “better workplace and a more successful” learning environment for students. “The informational picketing was meant to demonstrate to the district that the members were serious about getting an agreement before school started,” said first and second grade teacher Anne Ford McGrath, who is also president of the Orcas Education Association. A huge group of teachers gath-
Three marijuana stores allowed in county by STEVE WEHRLY Journal reporter
Three marijuana retail stores will be permitted in San Juan County, one each on Orcas, San Juan and Lopez, under regulations proposed Sept. 4 by the Washington State Liquor Control Board to implement Initiative 502, which legalizes marijuana production, processing and retailing. San Juan County Prosecuting Attorney Randall Gaylord said, "I think it is appropriate to make a limit of one retail store for the three major ferry served islands." The regulations are being proposed under provisions of I-502, approved in November by 54 percent of the state's voters. San Juan County had the largest margin of county approval in the state, 68 percent; Waldron Island apparently had the largest precinct approval in the state, 85 percent. The proposed regulations are required to be in effect by Dec. 1, but the liquor board has not announced when marijuana stores can begin operations. The regulations can be found at lcb. app.box.com/proposed-rules-9-4-13.
The LCB proposes licensing 334 retail locations in the state, allocated on the basis of population per county and with some allowance for projected consumption. Under the proposal, King County will have 61 stores, Snohomish County 35 stores, Skagit County 10 and Whatcom County 15. Neither growers nor processors are permitted to be licensed as marijuana retailers. If more than one applicant applies for a license in a given jurisdiction, licenses will be awarded on a lottery basis. Siting of retail locations, like the siting of liquor stores, will be subject to public comment and to a setback of 1,000 feet from a school, playground, public park, transit center, or library. "I think when people map out the 1,000 foot setback from schools and parks, the areas where a retail store may go will be quite limited," Gaylord said of the setback. "With few locations, it will be easier to assure marijuana is not distributed to or used by minors.” Advertising and display of marijuana in retail locations is limited; on-premises consumption, or even opening of packages, will
not be permitted. Retail packages will be limited to one ounce of “useable marijuana,” 16 ounces of solid marijuana-infused products or 72 ounces of marijuana-infused liquid. Combination public retail stores and medical marijuana stores will not be permitted. Nonresidents will be permitted to purchase and use marijuana in the state, but export from Washington will be illegal. The state's Office of Financial Management fiscal impact statement places a price estimate of a $3 per gram producer price, a $6 per gram processor price and a pre-tax $12 per gram average retail purchase price. Estimates of state revenue generation from all sources, including 25 percent excise taxes at the production, processing and retail levels, range up to $2 billion in the first five years of retail sales. The county council put the matter on their agenda for discussion with the prosecutor and sheriff at 2 p.m. on Sept. 24. Gaylord would not say whether local governments could ban placement of stores in San Juan County by ordinance, but did say, “I will be closely following what is happening in other communities.”
ered in front of the school on Sept. 3 and marched through town. After four days of what was described as “intense” negotiations, the Orcas Island Education Association (the entity that represents Orcas teachers) and the school district agreed to a contract on the evening of Sept. 3. The teachers’ vote was a unanimous “yes.” It will be in place for the next two years. “This is the roughest thing for us,” said School Board Member Tony Ghazel. “We've never seen our teachers strike – it would have been one of those days the kids would never forget. We're happy the teachers accepted this. It showed enormous courage; I am sure they wanted more.” The last time Orcas educators protested their contract was five years ago. That time around, negotiations went on for several months into the school year. The particulars of the contract will not be made public until
SEE SCHOOL, PAGE 6
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