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WEDNESDAY, April 22, 2015 VOL. 48, NO. 16 75¢ islandssounder.com
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How can we fix a system that is broken? Local filmmaker wants to make a difference in the way we treat young ‘criminals’
Contributed photo/ Heather Dew Oaksen
Left: A still frame from the documentary “Minor Differences.”
by CALI BAGBY Assistant editor
Putting a drug addict in a box for six years doesn’t solve the problem, according to Matt Stafford, who went back to what he calls “shooting stuff in his arm” as soon as he got out of prison. “I got clean because the drugs stopped working, the highs became less and less, and all that was left was negative consequences,” he said. Stafford and five other Washington state juvenile offenders in maximum security lock-up are featured in the documentary “Minor Differences,” which will be screened at the Sea View Theater on Thursday, April 30. This is the first in a spring film series called “Conversations” presented by Orcas Open Arts and co-sponsored by the Islands’
Sounder newspaper. The evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with live music, soup de jour and beer and wine in the Sea View lounge, followed by the film at 7:30 p.m. After the viewing there will be a “Q&A” with two of the film’s subjects featured in this article, producer Caroline Cumming and filmmaker Heather Dew Oaksen
followed by a reception for an informal discussion about how the community can help at-risk youth. There will be representatives from the mentorship program at the Funhouse, Orcas Family Connections and the Orcas Island School District. Tickets are available at Darvill’s and online at http://www.brown-
papertickets.com/event/1476362. Adults are $10, $8 seniors and students are free. When making the film, Oaksen hoped the stories from the young men she interviewed would inspire people to make positive changes. Since moving to Orcas two years ago, Oaksen has felt that this community is the perfect
Spotlight on Orcas Power and Light: broadband questions answered by COLLEEN SMITH ARMSTRONG Editor/Publisher
Since Orcas Power and Light Cooperative launched its full-scale broadband project in San Juan County this winter, the work has been non-stop. “We can’t keep up with the demand,” said Gerry Lawlor, executive vice president of Rock Island Communications, the new for-profit subsidiary of OPALCO. “We can’t get it out fast enough; we are a small team. We figured most early adaptors would want it cheap and easy by using a wireless adaptor, but most neighborhoods are opting for fiber installation.”
Since the co-op’s acquisition of Rock Island, Lawlor has been working 100-hour weeks. He spends a lot of time speaking to homeowners’ associations (there are 130 in the county) and property owners about the broadband process. There are currently 80 neighborhoods at various stages of the design process.
Broadband history In 1999, in order to improve electric system reliability, OPALCO started installing fiber optic lines, connecting its offices to field devices and the mainland.
Since then, it made high-speed data connections available to institutions like the public schools, libraries, medical facilities, government offices and certain small businesses. In 2011, the San Juan County Economic Development Council and the San Juan Island Community Foundation asked OPALCO to explore how its fiber option network might be used to bring broadband services to most of San Juan County. The result was a proposed $34 million project to build a hybrid fiber-wireless infrastructure that would serve at least 90 percent of the county.
That initiative was shelved in the summer of 2013 after insufficient monetary support from members. Although the scope was scaled back, OPALCO still worked on expanding the backbone of its fiber optic network to improve the safety of field crews and increase reliability of its electric operation. In February 2015, OPALCO announced it had purchased Rock Island Communications, which merged its staff, infrastructure and operations with OPALCO to deliver broadband services for homes and businesses in San Juan
SEE OPALCO, PAGE 8
place to start looking at the way we deal with young people who are in trouble. “This community has so much heart,” she said. “We could do this successfully.” The film has been used in classrooms as a way to start a dialogue with young people who are struggling with difficult issues. Part of the film’s power comes from Oaksen’s follows-up with the same men 18 years later. The audience is able to watch the boys grow to men as they explore their inner demons. For Casey Stentz, also featured in the documentary, it represents potential light in the aftermath of a dark period in his life. “If I went through that so someone could learn something, my loss becomes so much more bearable,” said Stentz at a recent screening of the film for Orcas Middle and High School students. It’s clear from both men that watching themselves on a large screen going through the juvenile system and then on to prison can be taxing. “It’s a highlight reel of your worst times,” said Stafford. “I relate
SEE SYSTEM, PAGE 7
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