Ruralite
September 2024 • Volume 72, No. 9
CEO Michael Shepard
SENIOR VP OF CONTENT Leon Espinoza
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Mike Teegarden, CCC
DEPUTY EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Noble Sprayberry
SENIOR EDITOR Jennifer Paton, CCC
ASSISTANT EDITORS Chasity Anderson, CCC; Victoria Hampton, CCC; David Herder, CCC
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Valeri Pearon, Nina Todea
PUBLICATIONS PRODUCTION SR. MANAGER
Elizabeth Beatty
SENIOR PUBLICATIONS COORDINATOR
Alyssa McDougle
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Shining a Light on Rural Life
While I live in the suburbs now, I grew up on a country farm until I was about 12 years old. I understand what life away from common services and conveniences is like.
I had few neighbors as a child and even fewer with children my age. I spent a lot of my youth roaming our 50 acres with my dog, catching salamanders, feeding sheep and riding my bike. I became adept at entertaining myself.
Two stories this month highlight different aspects of rural living and the effort required to overcome obstacles.
Our Spotlight feature on Page 12 looks at how two rural high school athletes successfully raised their profiles to attract interest from college programs. Success wasn’t easy or instant. It took dedication and hard work to accomplish—something rural athletes know a lot about.
The Up Close feature on Page 10 takes us to
a small, remote Alaskan village, where harsh elements make having a solid home a matter of survival.
One organization designed a new energyefficient home that is expandable and adjusts as the foundation shifts due to temperature changes. So far, six of these homes have been built. The villagers who live in them save significant money on their heating bills thanks to the efficiencies of the new construction. They also are more comfortable and have room to process and store the fish and game they harvest to feed their families.
More homes are planned as funding becomes available.
Calendar Photo Contest
I want to thank the many readers who entered our calendar photo contest this year. As always, choosing the winners is a challenge. Congratulations to the winners. Visit ruralite.com/2025-calendar-winners to see the winning photos.
Mike Teegarden Editorial Director
For supplemental and interactive content, search @Ruralite on your favorite social media sites.
Better Homes for a Better Life
New energy-efficient design changing lives in small community Up Close, Page 10
Running Toward the Future
Rural athletes overcome hurdles to win scholarships Spotlight, Page 12
District 1 Candidate
Stephanie O’Day
Q: The current Utility Element (Section B8) in the Comprehensive Plan states: “Our community strives for energy independence … we use renewable energy.” To achieve this vision will require significant land and water areas to host local renewable energy power sites. What is your vision for the future of energy for San Juan County as a whole?
A: No answer. See general response.
Q: What are you, as a candidate, doing to educate yourself on the complexities and impacts of energy policies on the citizens of San Juan County?
A: No answer. See general response.
Q: Where will you draw the line between local energy resilience and island aesthetics?
A: No answer. See general response.
Q: Do you plan to encourage electrification of transportation in San Juan County, and if so, how?
A: No answer. See general response.
General Response: The need for reliable power in the islands is evident. I applaud OPALCO for investigating all possible resources to provide our county citizens with an affordable reliable power source. We must continue to explore the alternatives in a deep dive to balance the costs and reliability of every option. The County Council is the legislative authority and has the final say in how to and whether there is a need to amend the directives in the upcoming Comprehensive Plan review. I look forward to receiving more information and more data on the alternatives. The job of the Council with regard to this issue is to balance energy requirements with private property rights. Many years ago a previous Council adopted the Open Space Atlas, which defines the specific vistas in our islands that must be protected. The adoption of any regulations regarding the siting of solar farms must take the protection of these vistas into consideration. n
District 2 Candidate
Justin Paulsen
Q: The current Utility Element (Section B8) in the Comprehensive Plan states: “Our community strives for energy independence … we use renewable energy.” To achieve this vision will require significant land and water areas to host local renewable energy power sites. What is your vision for the future of energy for San Juan County as a whole?
A: It’s not immediately feasible for San Juan County to be energy independent. We will continue to depend on the lowcost hydro power “extension cord” from the mainland as the foundation to meet our energy needs. However, San Juan County should embrace as much renewable generation as it can to provide a stabilized power supply for times of disruption and help manage our total demand for power. Achieving this goal will require us to balance the clear need for energy with the concerns of our residents related to land use.
My vision for the future of energy in San Juan County is a mix of 1) low-cost renewable hydro power from the mainland; 2) lowering our demand for energy through efficiency gains which will improve our housing stock and affordability; 3) supporting transportation systems which reduce emissions and provide alternatives for our residents ; 4) supporting local renewable generation wherever it makes sense: rooftop solar, community solar –even tidal generation if funded by grants.
Q: What are you, as a candidate, doing to educate yourself on the complexities and impacts of energy policies on the citizens of San Juan County?
A: I’ve met with members of the County Climate and Sustainability Committee to understand the work that is currently in progress, studied the Comprehensive Plan, and met with leadership of OPALCO to learn from their expertise in the area. As
a building contractor, I’m very familiar with the benefits of efficiency measures, requirements for building codes and the trade-offs of balancing todays investments with tomorrow’s uncertain energy landscape.
Q: Where will you draw the line between local energy resilience and island aesthetics?
A: As a small family farmer and longtime 4H supporter, I understand the conflict between preserving agricultural land and potential impacts from renewable energy projects. I believe we will find ways to do both. OPALCO’s Bailer Hill Project is an example of a site where solar can potentially coexist with grazing and soil improvement for future agricultural use of the land. The line between resilience and aesthetics will evolve as people better understand the emerging energy climate (with decarbonization requirements and increasing climate impacts) and become more familiar with renewable energy. It’s my hope that we can strike an acceptable balance in our community by clearly defining parameters in the code that preserve open space while allowing us to grow our own power and keep ourselves safe during mainland disruptions.
Q: Do you plan to encourage electrification of transportation in San Juan County, and if so, how?
A: Yes. In my discussions with County stakeholders, support of individual vehicle electrification and public electric transportation systems were both key issues. I will support and encourage the County’s efforts to electrify fleet vehicles as viable, support electric vehicle charging infrastructure and continue to advocate as a member of the WSF Ferry Advisory Committee for creation of transportation solutions that allow will us to reduce the number of cars transiting to and from our County. n
Visit www.opalco.com to read the complete list of questions and answers from the candidates. There is still time to register to vote.
Better Homes for
New energy-efficient design changing lives in small community
By Molly Rettig
Alex Beans grew up on the Lower Yukon River, a network of southwest Alaska streams, ponds and coastal wetlands so vast it’s larger than Pennsylvania. His house, however, was small and crowded.
“We had 10-plus people in the house most of the time,” Alex says. “I slept on the couch for most of my childhood with my mom.”
In Mountain Village, Alaska—a Yup’ik community of roughly 700 people—more than a third of the families live with similar crowding. The same is true across more than 200 rural Alaska communities.
But size isn’t the only problem. Mainly built by federal agencies in the 1970s, these homes were not designed for the Arctic conditions—temperatures that reach 60 below and wind that can blow off roofs. The homes are cold, moldy and costly to heat.
Richard John Queenie lives in a house about the size of a single car. The foundation is so old and saggy that the walls are pulling away from the floor.
“The logs are disintegrating, just rotting away under there,” he says.
With no indoor plumbing and little insulation, Richard keeps two space heaters running nonstop in the winter.
“I go through more than 20 gallons of stove oil every two weeks, and another $322 for the electric heater over there,” he says.
That’s around $700 a month just for heat. While Richard has a good job working as a carpenter for the tribe, he can’t afford to build a new home—even the 24-by-26-foot house he’s thought of building himself.
It gets worse. Because of climate change, the region
is warming three times faster than the rest of the planet. The permafrost underlying Mountain Village is thawing and slumping in some places, freezing and heaving in others. Older homes elevated on posts—a strategy to avoid disrupting the permafrost—are tilting and shaking.
These housing issues, combined with the recent crash of the salmon fishery on the Yukon River, have prompted many to leave the region. That’s why Alex and the Asa’carsarmiut Tribe are building new efficient homes to withstand the harsh climate.
Through a partnership with the National Renewable Energy
for a Better Life
Laboratory’s Alaska Campus, in 2022 the tribe built five homes in Mountain Village. The homes get residents off floors and couches while keeping them on their traditional lands.
Another home is being built in 2024. Future homes may be added as funding becomes available.
The Yup’ik people have occupied the region for thousands of years and are experts of the land. They worked with NREL researchers to ensure new housing incorporated traditional wisdom with the latest science and technology.
Because the homes were funded to help people transition out of homelessness and stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, the original goal was to keep the homes small and build as many as possible. Community members wanted them to be energy efficient.
“The homes are very well-insulated,”
Alex says. “There’s just a small heater to heat the home, and on the extended versions, we have a woodstove. If we have the woodstove going, there should be almost no cost going to heating fuel.”
Residents also wanted room in the new homes to process and store subsistence foods. So, while the homes are small, NREL designers included extra-large foundations and decks, which also make it easier to add on to the living space over time.
“One of the key things we’ve learned from people who live in tiny houses is they’re great for a certain time and then you want them to be bigger,” NREL architect Aaron Cooke says. “We designed not a house but a house that could be expanded in three different ways. If you move into a small version of the home, which is about 380 square feet, you have the freedom to expand, whether it be an entryway, an arctic entryway or another bedroom.”
Local people not only helped design the homes, but they built them, too.
“Everything that was put into the homes created jobs out here and allowed our people to have actual job
experience and learn more about the new science we can put into homes that will benefit people in a cold climate,” Alex says.
The designs are a blueprint for future building, and the workforce training gives local people tools to address their housing shortage.
Aaron says two characteristics make foundation design difficult: The ground is frozen, but it is also thawing at an unpredictable rate.
“We had to design a foundation that could handle frozen soils and can also adjust as these soils change,” Aaron says.
Steel beams under the floors rest on adjustable jacks, which sit on treated wood footers. In January, Alex crawled under a home with a level, measured the beams and then used a steel bar to adjust the jacks and level the house.
Afterward, he ducked his head inside to see Agnes Brown, 78, who had recently moved into the house. Though it was below zero outside and dropping, Agnes was in a T-shirt.
“It’s nice and warm, and the fuel is so much lower than my old house, “she says. “I’m so grateful, very grateful.” n
Alex ice fishes with his children. The village residents live a subsistence lifestyle.
Alex Beans adjusts the foundation of a new home using a jack.
Agnes Brown lived in this 1970s house before her new home was built.
Toward the Future
advantage beyond practice is traveling to large tournaments. In her role as Linfield coach, Haley often attends these tournaments to scout talent. While sports like track or swimming can recruit athletes based on their times, and some more dynamic sports like baseball can recruit pitchers based on measurables like pitch speed and ball rotation, volleyball is more difficult to measure and requires the eye test.
“One of my rules as a coach is I have to see somebody play live in order to make them an offer,” Haley says, “because there’s things that you pick up on in person that you don’t see on film.”
Club tournaments can be large. There can be 200 courts running with four teams
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY MARK GILLILAND
Max Hannum, left, will play football at Montana State this fall. PHOTO COURTESY OF MAX HANNUM
per court and 12 athletes per team. With thousands of athletes competing at once, these tournaments help coaches maximize the number of players they can see.
“It’s quite a recruiting beast,” Haley says.
Not every sport has clubs helping athletes improve during the high school offseason, but most sports have camps and showcases that help recruits get seen by coaches. Max Hannum, a football player in the class of 2024 from Thompson Falls, Montana, took part in camps operated by college teams from around the state. Typically, he’d travel two to four hours each way.
knowledge and more drills he could use throughout the year to improve. The camps also let him get to know the coaches, and the coaches got to know him.
Persistence pays off
Max wasn’t only meeting coaches in person at the camps—he often reached out electronically, too. The internet helps make
sent him game film to review through a website called Hudl. Operating somewhat like a sports version of YouTube, Hudl is a website and app where teams and athletes post game film and highlights. While reviewing his team’s film, Max would highlight his best plays and edit his own highlight reel. He’d then share the highlights on Twitter or send them directly to coaches.
I felt like all the work I put in finally paid off.
Getting your name out there is the biggest thing.
— Max Hannum, football player from Thompson Falls, Montana
“I had to travel a lot for those camps,” he says. “Going to the camps is really the only extra football you can do around here.”
Max says these camps made a huge impact on his football career. Working with coaches, he took his techniques as a tight end and linebacker to a higher level. He says collegiate coaches had extra
the world smaller, and sharing highlight tapes allows rural athletes like Max and Dannika to be seen by coaches who don’t have the time to travel to see them play. This skill of sharing one’s story has helped many athletes find homes on college rosters.
“Getting your name out there is the biggest thing,” Max says.
During football season, Max’s coaches
“My approach was just to send my highlight films everywhere, trying to get in contact with as many coaches as I could,” he says.
While that shotgun approach could have lead to more rejections from coaches, that didn’t bother Max.
“It motivated me at the same time just to get better,” he says.
Dannika Goss, here with her family, will pursue a nursing degree while playing volleyball at Linfield University.
PHOTO COURTESY OF DANNIKA GOSS
Even as a coach whose email inbox can get stuffed with messages from recruits, Haley agrees that athletes should reach out to coaches they’d like to play for. If an athlete doesn’t hear back, they should be persistent.
“It’s not fun hearing no, but at least you know where you stand,” she says. “If you are, for lack of a better term, annoying, or if you’re persistent, we’re going to respond to you at some point. There’s lots of things going on.”
Fulfilling the dream
Dannika tried many methods to get recruited. She attended showcases at colleges and the one hosted by her club team. She also used an app called SportsRecruits, which connects recruits and coaches and lets athletes post videos and highlights for coaches to scout.
“I was just doing multiple things as much as I possibly could to get my name out there, because I am from a very small town here in Tillamook,” Dannika says.
Max’s moonlighting as a video editor helped keep him in contact with coaches. After narrowing the list down to fit with his academic pursuits—he intends to study construction management, with an eye on the energy industry—the staff he was in the heaviest conversation with was at Montana Technological University in Butte, Montana. This fall, when he was attending the school’s football camp, the Montana Tech coaches offered him a scholarship.
“I felt like all the work I put in finally paid off,” Max says. “I’ve always wanted to be a collegiate football player. That’s always been my dream. I grew up with a bunch of friends that had this same goal, and not a lot of them reached it.”
For Dannika, being recruited by multiple schools was fun but also stressful.
“I didn’t want to let any of the coaches down or anything, because I wasn’t fully committing yet,” she says.
Dannika signed on to play for Haley at Linfield University. Strong academics were a major factor. Dannika wants to be a pediatric nurse, and Linfield has a strong nursing program. A high point of her campus visit was talking with an anatomy and physiology professor and touring the school’s cadaver lab.
After a long effort trying to get noticed by schools, she will pursue her dreams both on and off the volleyball court. “I’m super excited to go there in the fall,” she says. n
Scoring a Scholarship
By Sara Patterson
1. Know your skill level—find camps, clinics and clubs—and NCAA or NAIA eligibility requirements found on their websites.
2. Compile an athletic resume with:
• Skills video
• Athletic stats
• Academic transcripts, ACT/SAT scores
• Extracurricular activities
3. Start emailing coaches.
• Include your athletic resume, especially your skills video.
• Subject line should include: name, current grade level, position and key stat. “Jane Doe, high school sophomore, pitcher, 90 mph fastball.”
• Individually craft each email, clearly stating why you’re interested in that program.
4. Make campus visits and line up meetings with coaches. Keep sending updated stats.
5. Lock down your offer and negotiate your amount. If a program can’t budget for a huge athletic scholarship, don’t discount merit-based, academic or other types.
To help get noticed, Max sent his highlight tapes to any coach he was interested in playing for. PHOTO COURTESY OF MAX HANNUM
Shrimp and Grits
Shrimp
4 slices bacon, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced, light and dark green parts divided
1 stalk celery, finely diced
Grits
4 cups whole milk
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup quick-cooking grits
1 small red bell pepper, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon. Cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 7 minutes. Add the shrimp to the skillet, and sprinkle with the Cajun seasoning and salt. Increase the heat to mediumhigh. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shrimp are mostly pink but not quite cooked through, about 2 minutes. Transfer the shrimp and bacon mixture to a bowl, and set aside. Place the skillet back on the heat. Do not wash it.
Melt the butter in the skillet. Add the light green scallions, celery, bell pepper and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour, and mix until incorporated. Whisk in the chicken broth, Worcestershire sauce and hot sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until slightly thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat. Set it aside while you make the grits. In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, bring the milk and salt to a boil. Whisking constantly, slowly pour the grits into the bubbling milk. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer, whisking often, until the grits become thick and creamy, about 5 minutes. Stir continuously to prevent sputtering.
Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the cheese. Taste. Adjust the salt, if necessary. Remove the pan from the heat. Cover with a lid to keep warm until ready to serve. Place the skillet with the vegetable/sauce mixture back on the stove. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Return the shrimp and bacon, along with any juices that collected in the bowl, to the skillet. Mix well. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Sprinkle dark green scallions over the shrimp.
Honey Garlic Shrimp
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 pound medium uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons olive oil
Green onion, chopped
In a medium bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, garlic and ginger to make a marinade/sauce.
Place shrimp in a large sealable container or zipped-top bag. Pour half of the marinade on top. Shake or stir, then marinate the shrimp in the refrigerator for 15 minutes or up to 12 hours. Cover and refrigerate the remaining sauce.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place shrimp in the skillet. Discard used marinade.
Cook shrimp on one side until pink, about 45 seconds, then flip shrimp over. Pour in remaining marinade/sauce and cook it all until shrimp is cooked through, about 1-2 more minutes.
Serve shrimp with cooked marinade sauce. Garnish with green onions.
Thai Shrimp Curry With Jasmine Rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cup thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts
2 cloves garlic, minced
21/2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
14-ounce can coconut milk
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 tablespoons lime juice
Lime wedges for serving 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until soft, about 3 minutes.
Add the scallions, garlic and green curry paste. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.
Add the coconut milk, water, fish sauce and sugar. Bring to a gentle boil. Add the shrimp. Cook, stirring frequently, until the shrimp are pink and just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes.
Stir in the lime juice, and sprinkle with the cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Serve with jasmine rice.
The answer: Although tremendous strides have been made in
those cost reductions have not been passed on to
See the effects of extreme temperatures in
Death Valley
What Is It?
Straddling the border of California and Nevada, Death Valley is one of the hottest and driest places on Earth. Unique geological features create the hot, dry climate, but life finds a way to thrive in the valley.
Why so Dry?
Rain shadows help prevent moisture from reaching Death Valley. When wet clouds over the Pacific Ocean travel east toward the valley, they must first pass over four mountain ranges. The clouds rise, making the moisture cool and condense, causing rain to fall. This successively happens, and an average of just 2 inches of rainfall a year lands on the valley.
Why so Hot?
Death Valley has low elevation— almost 300 feet below sea level— and is bowled in by mountains on all sides. When the desert floor heats up, the warm air rises but is trapped by the mountains and moves back to the valley floor. Despite this, winters in the valley can reach freezing temperatures, as the desert doesn’t retain heat as well as other biomes.
What to Do?
Death Valley can be great for a fall or winter road trip, when you won’t need to max out the air conditioner. Badwater Road is one of the most popular paths, takes about 90 minutes to drive and showcases the lowest point in the valley, as well as other viewpoints. Another popular spot is Zabriskie Point, a vista from which visitors can look over the badlands.
More Information
Death Valley is experiencing one of the hottest summers on record—it reached 127 F this July. Fall, winter and spring trips are much more popular. To start planning your trip, call 760-786-3200 or go online and visit www.nps.gov/deva.
ADOBE STOCK PHOTO BY MENGCHAO
In the Autumn of My Life
By Dave LaBelle
I remember photographing an elderly man leaning on a hoe while working in his garden. Watching him through a telephoto lens, I was curious what he was thinking. I may have asked him, but I don’t remember. Later, as I looked at the photograph, I wondered what his life had been like.
What were his dreams or regrets?
Then a year or so later, I was assigned to photograph a philosopher who was in town to speak. He was staying at a luxurious inn. Arriving early, as is my habit, I noticed a man walking slowly down a tree-lined driveway, his hands behind his back. Unnoticed, I stopped and
made a few photographs before approaching him.
I asked him about his morning stroll.
“I take long walks alone,” he answered. “I ask intelligent questions and get intelligent answers.” Then he added, “But my best thoughts usually come to me when I am on the toilet and have nothing else to do.”
Fifty-five years later, I see myself in the posture of both aging men. Either image could be a self-portrait of sorts, of me contemplating life now.
I have often seen glimpses of myself in others, for good and bad. In a quiet, subtle way, I think I have photographed others to express what I was experiencing. In telling their story, I was telling my own. Someone once wrote and said they had watched my daily newspaper photos for years and felt they knew me. I hadn’t thought much about that before, but reasoned there was some truth in their observation. No doubt those who follow this column or read my blog can say with some accuracy, they know me. The subjects I choose, the personal things I share— they are doors into my life and heart. I feel the same about some authors or sports announcers.
There was a period in my young life when I felt alone and hopeless. I photographed
Reader Challenge
Make a picture that expresses where you are in your life’s journey. Maybe it is something that reveals what you believe or how you see yourself? Or perhaps, like me, it’s something or someone you aspire to be like. This is a tough assignment but one worth trying.
Email your best image (just one, please) with caption information, including an explanation of how it affects you, to GPH@pur.coop. We may share submissions on our website and social media channels.
many sad and lonely people, transients and those who had lost loved ones. I think I was crying in my camera, silently asking for help through my photographs.
I believe most of us ask ourselves why we are here on this earth and what plan or purpose we serve. Now, at 73, I have come to realize one of the talents my creator has blessed me with is the gift to give others a voice while serving as a mirror to show others themselves, especially their beauty and value. n
Renowned author, photographer and lecturer Dave LaBelle has captured special moments for more than half a century. For more of his writings, visit davidlabelle.com and bridgesandangels.wordpress.com.
NIKON F2, 300mm lens Tri-X film at ASA 400, f/4.5 at 1/250
This quiet moment captured on film reflects the thoughtful feelings of the photographer. PHOTO BY DAVE LABELLE
TO ORDER BY MAIL: Submit payment with cookbook title, your name, address and number of cookbooks wanted to:
This book of more than 220 recipes from our 2005 contest has garden fresh and warm winter meals sure to appeal to every taste. Recipes include Lucious Pumpkin Soup, Nacogdoches Pheasant Stew and Smoked Salmon Chowder. The 8½-by-11-inch spiral-bound, indexed book is $8 (includes postage).
Cookbooks P.O. Box 1306 North Plains, OR 97133 TO PAY BY PHONE: Call 503-357-2105 for credit card payments with Visa, MasterCard, Discover or American Express. TO ORDER ONLINE: Visit www.ruralite.com.
Please allow two to three weeks for delivery.
MARKETPLACE
Agriculture
4x5 round bales, Meadow Foxtail Orchard Grass. 4x4 Timothy, small square. 208-435-4637 or 208-435-4002; nas@cpcinternet.com. 1224
Reinforced custom-sized pond liners (39 cents/sqft.). Hay covers, greenhouse covers, any width and length. Truck tarps and more. High puncture and tear strength. Best price guaranteed. Celebrating 43 years in business. www.btlliners.com. 541-447-0712.
2024 grass hay. 50 to 60 small square bales. Very good quality. 24760 Hwy. 101 South, Cloverdale. Call 503-812-2313 or 503-812-6539.
Antiques and Collectibles
Buying antiques and collectibles: advertising signs, porcelain signs, gas pumps, beer signs, antique toys, cast-iron coin banks, neon signs and more. Jason, 503-310-3321 or tjabaughman@yahoo.com. 0924
Antique country store items. 1910-60. Tins, light-up signs, clocks, Coca-Cola, drugstore, soda fountain, barber items, beer sign and much more. Cash. Gregory, 208-301-4246. 0924
WC Collectibles. We buy comic books! Local to the Inland Northwest, willing to travel. WCCollectiblesCheney@gmail.com; 509-496-1835. 1024
Collection of ID license plates from 1920-40. 23 plates, 14 dates. Can text photo, $400 for all. 509-254-1947.
Mantle, Mays, Aaron, Koufax, etc. If interested in buying 1957-73 vintage baseball cards, let’s talk. Jim, 530-283-2826 or 530-394-8668.
Buying American Indian collectibles, Navajo blankets and rugs, baskets, beadwork, etc. Also, quality paintings of the early Southwest and Americas. Call 760-409-3117 or send photos to amer.ind.baskets@gmail.com. 1024
Automotive
Rare 1960 Chevy pickup 4x4. Shortbed. Not running now. Text or call 661-713-3377. Leave message. $7K. 0824
Storage space for any RV, vehicle, boat and trailer. 24/7 security and access. Any size, $100 a month. Text Mark for call back, 714-949-6913. 0924
Books, Magazines, Videos
Book restoration. Bibles, cookbooks, cherished family heirlooms. Beautiful work. We give renewed life, more durable than original, to last for generations. 775-537-7066; salacanstudio@gmail.com. 0924AR
Quick, Affordable: How to Place an Ad
Ads 25 words or fewer are $35 a month. An extended ad of up to 35 words is $50 a month. Contact information is included in the word count. Phone numbers and emails count as one word.
Longer ads may be placed. Contact 503-357-2105 or info@pioneer.coop for pricing information.
Ads are for customers of member co-ops, public utility districts and municipals only. Subscribers and nonmembers may inquire about pricing at 503-357-2105 or info@pioneer.coop.
Ads must be direct and in first person, and are subject to approval and editing.
Closing deadlines (in our office): November issue—Sept. 30, 2024.
If submitting ad by mail, send appropriate payment with your name, address, email, phone number and the name of the electric utility that provides your magazine to: Marketplace, P.O. Box 1306, North Plains, OR 97133. Make check or money order payable to Ruralite.
We accept credit card payments for ads submitted by email. Send ad to info@pioneer.coop.
Call 503-357-2105 to pay by credit card.
Advertisements are accepted in good faith. Pioneer Utility Resources is not liable for interactions between buyers and sellers.
Business Opportunities
A great business opportunity in Boardman, OR. A small cafe you can use your imagination in. Frontage view of freeway, quick in and out access. A coffee shop on property for extra income. $1.1M. For more information, call Karen at 541-571-0636. 1024
Quaint hardware store in Maupin, OR, for sale. Inventory and interior store recently updated and refreshed. See ad on Bizbuysell.com or email Maupincountrystore@gmail.com. $259K. 0924
Community Events
“Start the Story at the End,” Sept. 6-Oct.26 and “Journeys & Convergence,” Sept. 6-28. Art Center East, La Grande, OR. artcentereast.org. 0924
Equipment/Tools
DR multi trimmer, $350. Kubota rototiller. Only 25 hours use. $1,150. 11 push-pull control cables $40-$90 each. FOB Eugene, OR. Ted, 458-910-3727. 1024
Farm Equipment
1965 Ford 3000 Tractor with auger/utility crane, rotary cutter, brush hog and box spreader. Runs. Original operator’s manuals. $4K, OBO. Cottage Grove, OR. 541-942-6837. 0924
Free Items
Free materials—church, government uniting, suppressing “religious liberty,” enforcing National Sunday Law. Be informed. Need mailing address only. TBS, P.O. Box 374, Ellijay, GA 30540. tbsmads@yahoo.com; 888-211-1715. 0924AR
Help Wanted
The Cape Blanco Heritage Society needs volunteers at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse Greeting Center and Hughes House for 2024 and 2025. Background checks are required. Free RV hookups are available to volunteers. heritage32@frontier.com; 541-332-0521. 1024
Hobbies, Gifts, Games
Selling United States postage stamp collection. Mint plate blocks and sheets dating back to the 1940s. Photo available. Bob, 541-786-6195 or brown.donna50@gmail.com.
Media
Watch Channel 25 (Southern NV)—on the go— for free on your TV, phone, tablet, computer or ROKU. Visit www.kpvm.tv and stream live today. 775-727-9400. 0924
Your ad could be here in November. See instructions above for details.
Years ago, when I started teaching disaster preparedness education in the islands, islanders fell into two camps: those who had lived through island windstorms or California earthquakes and took preparedness seriously, and those who believed bad things never happened here and had their heads firmly in the sand.
My approach was aimed at the unprepared, and I would try to scare them into action. I was pretty good at making people lose sleep.
Times have changed, and today, I feel like nearly everyone is already plenty anxious. My job is to reassure folks the islands are a safe place all in all and being prepared isn’t so hard. The last thing any of us needs is someone using fear as a communication tool or to grab attention. I probably get more questions and concerns lately about wildfire than anything else. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
• The overall fire risk in the islands is lower than almost anywhere else in the American West. Yes, it gets dry in the islands in summer, but our high relative humidity, lack of thunderstorms and a host of other factors mean risk here is relatively low. Check out www.wildfirerisk.org for a simple assessment.
• Despite our risk being relatively low, we still need to be thoughtful about fire. Dry grasses and smaller fuels burn fast. Keep fields mowed or hayed. Keep a safe space cleared around your house. Most of all, don’t start fires. Nearly all our fires are caused by humans. Cars parked in tall, dry grass, unattended campfires, illegal fireworks and metal-bladed tools—chain saws and mowers, for example—have all started island fires. We all need to be thoughtful in the summer.
• While 99% of the time fires that start in grass or thin brush tend to slow down when they hit larger trees and forest, there are rare occasions when easterly winds blow dry and hot air to the islands. This only happens every 10 to 20 years or so, but when it does, we’re at risk of a catastrophic fire. If that occurs, we’ll spread the word the islands are facing extreme
fire risk, and all activities that could start a fire need to stop until conditions improve.
• Most importantly, all islanders need to prepare by readying their homes and property in advance. Visit wildfireready. dnr.wa.gov, and sign up for a free home visit by your local fire department or the San Juan Islands Conservation District. This is a great new program, and hundreds of islanders have already enrolled.
Next, I’m going to lump together all our other most concerning disasters—winter storms, windstorms, earthquakes, and ferry or utility outages—into one group and share some quick thoughts:
• Most importantly, if you live in the islands, you need to acknowledge you’ve chosen to live in a remote setting. Sure, 99% of the time it doesn’t feel that different from the mainland, but our connections are fragile. This is true with ferries, internet service, and access to food, fuel, power and health care. Living in the islands requires embracing self-sufficiency and preparedness and taking care of each other.
• Every islander who is able should take active steps to make sure they can stay warm, fed, hydrated and healthy for at least two weeks without power or going to the supermarket for water or other supplies. Once you get to two weeks, aim for longer. Visit www.islandsready.org for help making it happen.
• All islanders should be aware tsunamis are possible in the islands after a major earthquake—one that you feel. Knowing the basics is important. Visit www.islandsready.org/earthquaketsunami to learn more.
• Help ensure the community is notified before or during a major emergency. First, go to www.islandsready. org/alerts and sign up for our notification tool. Second, download the MyShake app onto your phone and sign up to be notified—a few minutes in advance— before a major earthquake. n
For more information, to request a speaker at neighborhood, church or business meetings, or if you need help preparing, call 360-3707612 or email prepare@islandsready.org.
BEFORE YOU GO
Share the Beauty in Your Backyard
City cat, meet country fawn.
When Kim Kauzlarich and her family moved from Portland to White Salmon, Washington, it was an adjustment for the whole family. But Ragnar the cat might have had to endure the biggest change given the wildlife visiting their backyard.
“Both deer and the cat seem to enjoy peacefully watching each other,” Kim says. “Fawns are especially curious about Ragnar and want to play, but being the busy guy that he is, he only has time for a quick meet and greet before moving on with his day.”
To submit your photo, email a JPEG file to photos@pioneer.coop. Include “Before You Go” in the subject line. Please share a bit about what inspired you to make your photo. n
Casseroles for Cooler Weather
Vegetable Casserole, Pork Tamale Casserole and breakfast casseroles are just a few of the 179 mouth-watering recipes available in Ruralite’s Casseroles booklet. Price is $8, shipping included.
To order by mail, submit with proper payment, cookbook title, your name, address and number of cookbooks wanted to Ruralite Cookbooks, P.O. Box 1306, North Plains, OR 97133.
To pay with Visa, MasterCard, Discover card or American Express, call 503-357-2105.
To order online, visit www. ruralite.com. Allow 2-3 weeks for delivery.
Ragnar meets his new neighbor in White Salmon. PHOTO BY KIM KAUZLARICH
Your member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative utility. Providing energy services to San Juan County since 1937.
Eastsound Office
183 Mount Baker Road
Eastsound, WA 98245-9413
Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday Harbor Office
1034 Guard St.
Friday Harbor, WA 98250-9240
Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Lopez Crew Station
4232 Center Road
Lopez Island, WA 98261-8098
No regular office hours
360-376-3500
STAFF
General Manager
Foster Hildreth
Manager of Finance & Member Services
Nancy Loomis
Manager of Operations & Engineering
Russell Guerry, PE
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Vince Dauciunas, District 1
Vice President
Jerry Whitfield, District 4
Secretary/Treasurer
Tom Osterman, District 3
Mark Madsen, District 1
Chuks Onwuneme, District 2
Wendy Hiester, District 2
Brian Silverstein, District 3
Board meetings are the third Thursday of each month, unless otherwise indicated on our website. Board materials are posted on the website the Monday before the meeting.
www.opalco.com
Heading Into Fall and Election Season
Hello, co-op members!
It’s been a great summer, but I’m ready to settle into fall activities, including lots of napping and snacking.
It’s a big election year, so in this issue we are including a Q&A with our county council candidates.
As an electric cooperative, democracy is key to how we’re governed. We encourage all members to vote in all elections. There is still time to register for November’s general election.
On pages 28-29 is a great article from the San Juan County Emergency Management Department to help islanders prepare for emergencies of all kinds. You can also start preparing for storm season and potential power outages. Find a list of the supplies you need at www.opalco.com/outages. Make sure to include pet supplies in your emergency prep kits.
Across the region, we’re seeing another big year of wildfires, which reminds us about the importance of Orcas Power & Light Cooperative’s right-of-way tree trimming program.
This fall, our contractors will be on the various islands trimming and removing potentially dangerous trees. This program not only keeps us safe during wildfire season but also helps prevent power outages and makes outage restoration faster. If you see a tree or branch too close to the power lines, give us a call and we’ll take a look. Thank you for your diligence. Together, we can keep our islands safe.
A reminder to local businesses: You’re likely eligible for grant funding for energyefficiency and solar projects. Start off by getting an energy audit with Sustainable Connections, which can help you access these funds. For more information, email energy@sustainableconnections.org.
Happy back-to-school month!
Pepper