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Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
WEDNESDAY, May 28, 2014 VOL. 47, NO. 22 75¢ islandssounder.com
Our visitors guide is on the streets
High school senior projects make an impact A supplement of the Journal of the San Juan Islands, Islands' Sounder and Islands' Weekly
Corey Wiscomb/Contributed photo
Some of the volunteers acting during Katie Holley’s senior project.
by COLLEEN SMITH ARMTSRONG Publisher/ Editor
For Katie Holley, an Orcas Island High School senior, spreading awareness about the effects of driving under the influence is a personal project. In 2011, Holley experienced a tragic loss when a family member was struck by a driver under the influence. It inspired her to get involved in community awareness and to devote her senior project to
this grim subject. “My baby brother is getting his license soon,” Holley said, explaining another part of her inspiration. “If he doesn’t listen to anything else I tell him, I hope he listens to this.” Holley presented part of her senior project on May 15 to the high school students. The demonstration included a mock car crash, put on with help from students, community volunteers, Orcas Island Fire and Rescue,
Orcas Towing, San Juan County Sheriff ’s Department and AirLift Northwest. Set on the trail between the high school and Buck Park, two vehicles were placed in the positions of a head-on collision. Onlookers and students “riding” in the vehicles were taken through the process of being attended to by the EMT crew, to a court hearing and even a funeral. Her presentation was a serious matter that Holley hopes can pre-
vent future tragedy by spreading awareness. Her project was one of many for the graduating class. Two Orcas students devoted their senior projects to an island tradition. The old barn on Orcas Road has been painted by graduating classes for decades. Now in serious danger of collapsing, senior Aidan Anderson spearheaded construction of a new structure. “Tearing it down is the end of an era,” Anderson said. “Since the fate of the old barn is sealed, the only real way to keep this tradition is to build a new one.” Eric Lum, in partnership with land owners Rick and Marlace Hughes, designed and built a new and improved senior barn. Anderson and a crew of builders have assisted in the construction. The structure will have feeding troughs inside for sheep and hay in the loft, but future senior classes will still be able to paint its walls. Anderson asked for donations to help pay for the construction. Those who gave $25 or more received a T-shirt that says “I saved the barn” in Viking blue. Senior Lindsay Lancaster col-
Recycling 101: where does it go? The following was submitted by Orcas Recycling Services
As Memorial Day marks the start of the summer season, the island is preparing itself for population increase. As more people enjoy Orcas, more waste is produced. How will Orcas Island deal with its waste? Although Jocelyn Cecil, server at Island Hoppin’ Brewery, actively recycles, she admits she doesn’t always know what is recyclable. “I know generally, but not as much as I should. I feel like it should be easier. I don’t always know what the numbers mean.” Cecil self-hauls her recycling to the transfer station, or The Exchange, operated by Orcas Recycling Services, or ORS. “Growing up, we watched videos about recycling. I thought all the glass was repurposed,” Cecil said.
In fact, all the glass collected at the Orcas Transfer Station and most glass collected around the country is now pulled out of the recycling stream and ends up in the landfill. “Glass is an industry-wide problem,” ORS director Pete Moe said. “Until fairly recently, glass had some value, but things are changing. As a commodity, recycled glass is currently worth virtually nothing. That is a fact we can’t control but should try and respond to creatively.” ORS, a nonprofit organization, is developing progressive waste reuse projects including refurbishing a previously-used glass crusher to create products of value for the island. Comparatively, aluminum is worth $1,600 per ton. That’s why ORS is developing a plan for separate collection of aluminum cans with the assistance of islanders so that the revenue can
be devoted to advancing the ORS mission of building a zero waste community through service, education and responsible stewardship of our waste/resource streams. “Every part of the waste stream is valued differently, and prices fluctuate wildly,” Moe says. “Where we want to go as an island is to identify the waste we can most easily extract for value and separate it. That’s why we are going to start encouraging everyone to buy their beer in cans instead of bottles from now on, and bring us the cans!” Garbage and recycling volume doubles during the summer months on Orcas. For the August weekend of Doe Bay Fest alone, the island will increase in population by more than 1,000 visitors. While enjoying restaurants, hotels, and pub-
SEE RECYCLING, PAGE 7
lected photos of the barn from years past and each image will be framed and permanently on display at the school. “I want to commemorate the old barn for all the past seniors who have painted it,” Lancaster said. “I think it will be great for all these photos to be in one place where everyone can look at them and remember back to when they painted it perhaps.” Other student projects ranged from creating art to working with kids. Sebastian Paige made an Asianthemed scroll, Zack Tillman created a mural for the Orcas Landing and Eric Eagan worked on a display for the museum. Wayne Foster put an engine in a Honda. Stephanie Kern volunteered at Orcas Montessori, and Bella Nigretto worked at Kaleidoscope Preschool and Childcare Center. Sky Bear Aguilar made a film, and Matthew Bowen created a comic that will appear in the school yearbook. Alex Rogers learned karate and Carra Bowes took self defense classes. Brigid Ehrmantraut composed a program based on “Hamlet” and rehearsed and performed with
SEE SENIORS, PAGE 6
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