SOUNDER THE ISLANDS’
Senior Resource Guide
Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
WEDNESDAY, September 23, 2015 VOL. 48, NO. 38 75¢ islandssounder.com Inside this edition
The gift of swimming Controversy over pot producer
A supplement of the Journal of the San Juan Islands, Islands' Sounder and Islands' Weekly
by ANNA V. SMITH Journal reporter
Colleen Smith Armstrong/staff photo
Above and left: Swim instructors from the YMCA program with Lorena’s Stankevich’s first and second grade class. by COLLEEN SMITH ARMSTRONG Editor/Publisher
Over the course of a week in the fall, Camp Orkila provides free swimming lessons for first through fourth graders. The half-hour, daily sessions are an opportunity for kids to learn a critical life skill. “Living on an island, we want all the kids to know how to swim,” said first and second grade teacher Lorena Stankevich. “And it boosts Susie Frank's swim lessons at the health club and Orkila's summer camp.” Five years ago, Orcas Middle and High School Principal Kyle Freeman approached Camp Orkila Director Dimitri Stankevich about offering a swim-
ming class for elementary students. Orkila partners with its YMCA head office in Seattle to bring instructors to the island for a week of water safety basics. The program, which costs around $4,000, is paid for by the camp's annual fundraising campaign. “It is so important for the kids in our community to be exposed to the water,” Dimitri said. The course teaches children some of the technical strokes of swimming but also covers water safety topics like how to wear a life-jacket and help someone who needs assistance in the water. The students are bussed over from the public school for time in the
Marijuana producer and processor NW Connoisseurs have begun the permitting process to move from their current facilities in Deer Harbor to Hope Lane in Eastsound. According to NW Connoisseurs Director of Operations Aarikka Tuss, the lease for their current building will be up soon, prompting the move. The I-502 permitted growing and processing business is currently set up in multiple buildings on a Deer Harbor rental property, but they plan to build one single building in the new location to house all operations. According to the conditional use permit application filed on July 31, the property is owned by Tusco Property Management, LLC and NW Connoisseurs will be the tenant under a long-term lease. “Right now since we’re in five separate buildings it’s a little bit more of an obstacle, because we’re going to and from each building,” Tuss said. “Meanwhile this is going to be everything inside one complete building, so it’s more efficient, better for being environmentally conscious.” The building will be 5,200 square feet without windows, and will
SEE SWIM, PAGE 6
Orcas Film Festival is back for second year Editor’s note: Watch the Sounder for a special film festival section in the Sept. 30 edition. by COLLEEN SMITH ARMSTRONG Editor/Publisher
Orcas Island is on the cutting edge of cinema. During the second annual Orcas Island Film Festival, viewers will be treated to award-winning, independent and studio films and documentaries from 17 countries. “The majority of these films haven’t come out yet – they are early views,” said Seattle International Film Festival Artistic Director Carl Spence. “It’s sort of surprising
how many amazing films we have. I am very impressed with the caliber of the line-up.” Spence says many of the films are Academy Award contenders and will be in the New York Film Festival just prior to their debut on Orcas. The Orcas Island Film Festival is presented by Orcas Opens Arts co-presented by the Seattle International Film Festival and runs Oct. 9 through 12. The films be shown at Seaview Theatre, Random Howse and Orcas Center. A full schedule of films, ticket information and more will be available at www.orcasfilmfest.
com by Sept. 24. “We are keeping the same format as last year,” Spence said. “It worked really well. But this time we have more top tier films.” There are a total of 30 films from places like the U.S., Canada, Chile, France, Iceland, Ireland, Iran, Jordan, Mexico, Spain and Taiwan. Some of Spence’s favorite selections are: • Dheepan. Winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes, this powerful drama from director Jacques Audiard follows a former Tamil Tiger soldier as he flees from the aftermath of the Sri Lankan civil war to begin a new
life in a Parisian suburb. • A Brilliant Young Mind. This film is about a socially awkward teenage math prodigy who finds new confidence and new friendships when he lands a spot on the British squad at the International Mathematics Olympiad. • 45 Years. Starring British acting legends Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay, “45 Years” is writer-director Andrew Haigh’s immensely moving and nuanced portrait of long-term love and marriage. • Good Ol Boy, a heartwarm-
SEE FILM FESTIVAL, PAGE 5
contain a lofted office. According to Tuss, the building will have selfcontained grow rooms to doublefilter the air before exhausting. The rooms will have carbon filters that will feed into a second carbon filter system attached to the building, which will then be exhausted through the peak of the roof. “This concept will eliminate concern for odor because there is no particulate matter in our exhaust air, such as smoke, and therefore will travel away, even with an inversion,” Tuss said. “Not only will we filter our exhaust air, but, we are also filtering the incoming air from surrounding businesses. This is to ensure product quality and purity.” Tuss said that their current location at 82 Lagoon Road in Deer Harbor does not allow them to make the changes they need. The business has applied for a conditional use permit at 46 Hope Lane and hope to begin building in the fall after a hearing date on Oct. 15. Public commentary for the project ended Sept. 16, which Tuss said consisted mostly of questions
SEE MARIJUANA, PAGE 8
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