Sounder The Islands’
Serving Orcas, Lopez and San Juan County
WEDNESDAY, December 23, 2015 n VOL. 48, NO. 51 n 75¢ n islandssounder.com
A fresh face on the police force Subarea plan is approved by LESLIE KELLY
Mandi Johnson/staff photo
Special to the Sounder
There’s a few new faces at the San Juan County sheriff ’s department. David Holland has been hired to patrol on Orcas Island. He began working on Nov. 30. Holland is formerly of the Riverside County Sheriff ’s Department in Riverside, California. He has more than 10 years of law enforcement work and was named the 2014 Deputy of the Year for the Riverside County Sheriff ’s Department. He spent eight years as a street-level deputy with Riverside County, assigned to Indio Station, and two years as a military police officer. Prior to that he spent 12 years in corporate investigations. “When I interviewed him, it was immediately apparent that he would fit in here,” said Sheriff Ron Krebs. “He fits the vision of community policing that I have for this department.” Although Riverside is a much larger community than Orcas, Krebs said Holland’s ideals of how law enforcement should operate matched his own. Holland, who is in his 30s, is currently in field training and in mid February will attend a two-week equivalency course at the Washington State Criminal Justice Academy in Burien, where he will become more familiar with Washington
Left: New deputy David Holland.
state law as it applies to actions of law enforcement officers. “Some of the laws are different here than in California,” Krebs said. “This two week class addresses that.” Holland said he and his spouse wanted to move to Washington and eventually retire here. “We determined that if we could
find an agency that would be a good fit for me, and a community we both could start and raise our family in, then we would make the move from southern California,” he said. “I did about six months’ worth of research, looking into law enforcement agencies, and made four different trips up here. During one of those trips we
found the San Juan Islands.” He met with officials at the San Juan County Sheriff ’s office and “that’s how it all started.” He said what they liked most about the community was “getting to meet our neighbors, folks in town and being in an area that is beautiful. We enjoy the outdoors, spending our time exploring the islands. And feeling as though we are far enough away from all the hustle and bustle of the big city that we have come to be way too familiar with. “Washington, politically, is very similar to California, however, I think the biggest difference is accessibility to the great outdoors. The geography, demographics and weather is what’s really been the key draw us to Washington. Washington does get sunshine, and more than what I was led to believe. My initial impression was that it rained everyday out here.” He and his spouse, Carlos Salas, have been together for 20 years. They have two great “kids,” Sarra, a Bessingi dog, and Zeke a German Shepard. “We are looking at eventually adopting (children),” he said.
SEE OFFICER, PAGE 6
Washington ranked in top 10 healthiest by LESLIE KELLY
Special to the Sounder
We’re getting healthier in Washington. And San Juan County is ranked the best in the state in quality of life. That’s according to recent reports by the Washington Department of Health and by United Health Foundation. In the national study, Washington was ranked ninth healthiest among all 50 states. That’s an increased from a ranking of 13 in 2014. The Foundation conducts the America’s Health Ranking Annual reports as part of its work to encourage healthy lifestyles. The first report was published in 1990 and the study is considered to be the longest running state-bystate analysis of factors affecting the health of individuals and communities across the U.S. The report details Washington’s strengths — including low incidence of infectious disease and cardiovascular deaths — and chal-
lenges, including low immunization coverage among children and high prevalence of excessive drinking. Some Highlights about Washington’s health ranking: In the past year, excessive drinking increased 2 percent from 18.4 percent to 18.8 percent of adults surveyed; Disparity in health status by education level decreased 30 percent from 37.5 percent to 26.2 percent; In the past 10 years, cancer deaths decreased 6 percent from 194.9 to 182.8 per 100,000 population; In the past 20 years, cardiovascular deaths decreased 34 percent from 323.5 to 212.9 per 100,000 population; Since 1990, children in poverty increased 42 percent from 11.8 percent to 16.8 percent of children in the state. The report summarized data and listed Washington’s strengths as low incidents of infectious disease, low rate of cardiovascular deaths and a small disparity in health status based on level of education.
Among the state’s challenges are its low rate of high school graduation, low immunization coverage among children and high prevalence of excessive drinking. The study looks at behaviors, the community and environment, state health policy, clinical care (or what services are available), and overall outcomes. Washington ranked ninth in the number of residents who smoke, at 15.3 percent. Where drinking alcoholic drinks is concerned, Washington ranks 32nd, with 18.8 recorded as drinking excessively. As far as deaths due to drugs, Washington ranks number 30 of 50 states, with 14 deaths per 100,000 population. Obesity ranking for Washington is 13, with 27 percent of the population being obese; physical inactivity ranking was ranked at number 4, with only 18 percent saying they aren’t active. As for high school graduates, Washington’s
SEE HEALTH, PAGE 6
by MANDI JOHNSON Sounder reporter
The County Council voted to approve many of the changes to the Eastsound Subarea Plan last week. “We should be able to come up with some sort of compromise,” said councilman Rick Hughes regarding the map changes that were not adopted. “We’ll come up with a solution.” Council approved three of the five proposed map changes following the public hearing held at the Eastsound Fire Station on Friday, Dec. 11. Originally set for Tuesday, Dec. 8, unscheduled ferry maintenance interfered with the public hearing, postponing it until Friday. The remaining changes were agreed to at a meeting on San Juan Island on Dec. 15. Other changes were verbiage and allowed-use changes. For example, artisan activities previously prohibited are now allowed in the Eastsound Commercial
SEE SUBAREA, PAGE 2
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