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NEWS | Court reversal on Orcas Dreams case [3] COMMUNITY| Meet your firefighter candidates [8] OUTSIDE | Christmas Bird Count [8] LITERATURE |Q&A with local author Rod Kulbach [9]
WEDNESDAY, December 23, 2015 n VOL. 108, NO. 51 n 75¢
San Juan County No. 1 in health
Holland joins the sheriff’s force
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 increase 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-by-state 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 challenges, 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
By Leslie Kelly
See HEALTH, Page 4
Special to the Journal
Lime Kiln Lighthouse gets buffeted by waves on the west side of San Juan Island.
Contributed photo/Katie Jones
Winter weather on the island Heavy rain and high winds on the San Juans make for stormy seas The beginning of this winter has been a blustery one to say the least, with frequent wind advisories and storm warnings as weather fronts batter the Pacific Northwest up and down the coast. A dry summer that created a state of emergency of drought in parts of Washington and raging wildfires turned into a winter of wind and rain, causing flooding in a number of cities in Washington and Oregon. Here on the islands trees have blown over, the power has gone out a few times and the ferry rides have gotten rougher. John Willis, Olga weather reporter for the Journal, said that the winds have been strong, but that the storms haven’t been unusual for this time of year. “It’s not the worst winter we’ve ever had and it’s pretty normal in an El Nino year to have storms like this,” Willis said, recounting years like 1989 all the way back to the winter of 1949-1950. Willis said to those who haven’t been on the islands long it might seem unusual, especially in comparison to last year’s mild winter and this year’s dry summer. Willis said that Orcas Island has exceeded its average yearly rainfall by an inch so far, and expects to be over the average by around 2-3 inches by the end of the year.
The winds this year have been consistently impressive, especially at South Beach, American Camp and Lime Kiln Park. According to Ian Sterling, spokesman for the Washington State Ferries, six vehicles were damaged over the weekend of Dec. 5 and Dec. 6 due to waves causing vehicles to shift during transit. The damage occurred to three cars both days on the Yakima on Saturday and Elwha on Sunday, when the ferry’s wind gauge measured gusts at 134 mph. “This is a really rare event for us, usually this stuff happens once a year whole system wide, not six weekend-wide,” Sterling said. “We sail through a lot of different kinds of weather. This storm was extraordinary in terms of wind speeds, in times it was above 100 mph gusts, and ferries are very exposed on the open water.” Sterling said it happens when vehicles shift and lurch forward or backwards, and that most of the damage was to the fenders. The WSF has a tort claim process, which acts similarly to insurance for people who’s vehicles have been damaged, Sterling said. Ferry workers notify the See WEATHER, Page 4
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, Calif. 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 comSee OFFICER, Page 5
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