Island Scene
Hawaiian singing and dancing troupe to star at Children’s Festival PAGE 9
Wednesday, April 29, 2015 Vol. 108 Issue 17
Visit the Journal online for results of the Island Rec levy renewal election WWW.SANJOURNAL.COM
Guest Column
Co-op’s new rate structure penalizes conservation, hits those that can least afford it the hardest PAGE 7
Journal
The 75¢
2015 ELECTION
Online
‘Home’ proves harder to find
2015 ELECTION
Finlayson facelift for new road By Scott Rasmussen Journal editor
Numbers nearly double in annual count of homeless Journal staff report
Nearly twice as many people living in San Juan County this year had no place to call home compared to the same time a year ago, according to the most recent homeless survey. Results of the 2015 “Pointin-Time” homeless count, a state-mandated single-day annual survey, show that 133 people living in the San Juans have no stable place to live. Of the 133 people identified as homeless in the 2015 count, 80 people, including children and disabled persons, were living out-of-doors, in vehicles or in abandoned building. The remainder had temporary or unstable living arrangements, typically with family or friends. The 2015 point-in-time survey was conducted Jan. 29. Organizers of the count worked with volunteers, family resource centers, food banks, churches, healthcare, senior centers, libraries and the sheriff ’s office to compile the results. A total of 65 people were identified as homeless in the 2014 count, with 44 of those listed as living out-of-doors. County organizers anticiSee FIND, Page 2
Journal photo / Scott Rasmussen
Construction crews rely on heavy equipment and earth movers to carve out a corridor and build a reinforcement berm on Mount Finlayson in the early phase of realignment and relocation of Cattle Point Road
Former FH resident dies in house fire
See ROAD, Page 2
Pen in hand, former Friday Harbor residents and Whidbey Island activist Wendy DeWinter takes notes, preparing to offer an opinion at a public meeting on Whidbey Island.
By Janis Reid, Whidbey NewsTimes staff reporter
A mid-April house fire claimed the life of activist, pet rescue advocate and photographer Wendy Campbell Strang DeWinter. Investigators believe the fire was accidental. While DeWinter had disagreements personally and politically, those who knew her described her as passionate, giving and obstinately tenacious. “Wendy was an awesome activist,” said her friend Becky
The relocation of Cattle Point Road began in earnest last week, as road construction crews carved out a corridor on a steep slope on the south side of Mount Finlayson, signaling the start of a new stretch of roadway that will soon rise up and over the west-facing landmark at the southern tip of San Juan Island. The $6.2 million road replacement and realignment project will no doubt dominate the landscape at the south end of the National Parks Service’s American Camp and is anticipated to be complete by mid-October, if not sooner. Though modest in scope, as construction projects go—the length of road to be realigned measures roughly 1.3 miles—it’s the largest project on San Juan Island National Historical Park property in recent memory and the biggest for Parks Superintendent Lee Taylor. “It’s a pretty big project and this is my first superintendency,” Taylor said. “So, I haven’t had to oversee a project like this before. So far, so good.” The project contract was awarded to Bellingham-based Strider Construction by the
Contributed photo / Whidbey News Group
Spraitzar. “This is a tragedy. We’ve lost a really good person.” DeWinter was not afraid to stand up for her beliefs. When a few gun-toting residents showed up at an Oak Harbor council meeting in 2013
to convince leaders to allow guns in parks, DeWinter was one of the few standing up to advocate for gun control. DeWinter was also known for holding signs in public places protesting Navy jet See FIRE, Page 4
Winner of six 1st place awards in Washington Newspaper Publishers Association 2014 BNC, 17 in all
Attention Class of 2015: Your senior memory (150 word max) and senior photo are due by May 15th. Please submit your entries to Kathryn Sherman ksherman@sanjuanjournal.com