Ferry chat: Desperation leads to abuse

Orcas Islander Suzan Chamberlayne recently published the following letter. On an interisland ferry commute, Orcas Island Prevention Partnership Director Marta Nielson and others discussed the content of the letter.
These opinions and discussions are what Bullwings: Orcas Issues finds valuable for publication to the Orcas Island community. We welcome the public using Orcas Issues as a forum for opinion, conversation, argument and common ground.
Suzan's letter follows:

How disappointing to see our local paper [the Sounder] sensationalize a tragedy like domestic violence (Dec. 31, pg. A3).
To headline a national statistic (rather than local), to focus on the negativity of victimization (rather than the healthy behaviors, circumstances and mindsets that can prevent it), and to intimate that violence is only “perpetrated” by men is misleading and/or inaccurate journalism, regrettably beneath our standards. As the article says, “Verbal abuse can often lead to physical abuse.” We all need to take responsibility — the abusers, the abused, and those who do nothing. Until we cease our victim mentality, we maintain the phenomenon of victimhood.
Don’t get me wrong — I recognize the need for people in crisis situations to receive intervention and support. When someone does not know where else to turn, having a hotline, emergency assistance, and advocacy group can be invaluable, sometimes even life-saving. But I caution against absolutist thinking.
If a person feels the need to exert “power and control” over another (what the executive director of DVSAS identifies as “the main cause of domestic violence”), that person’s need is likely the tragic result of their feeling powerless and out of control.
Instead of shunning and branding them with labels like “terrorist,” let’s find ways to help them not feel so desperate. The DVSAS might make a bigger “difference in the lives of victims and potential victims” by finding ways to give hope, by offering understanding, support and compassion to those they have labeled “the perpetrators.”
Years ago, my friend Gail Brooks (who lived & died a supporter of the DVSAS) and I considered the question, “Might there possibly be a subliminal message in the title Domestic Violence Sexual Assault Services that unfortunately intimates the exact opposite from its intention?“ Let’s consider what “services” we wish to provide and be sure that is the true focus. Rather than fighting violence with a Coalition Against Sexual Assault, let’s declare what we are for and support a Coalition for Peace, Respect, & Compassion.

More affordable housing off North Beach Road soon

On Wednesday, Jan. 7, the county Hearing Examiner found nothing objectionable in an affordable housing development on Shady Lane, according to Orcas Islander John Campbell. The binding site plan for six family homes, proposed by the non-profit organization, Homes For Islanders (HFI), was reviewed by the Hearing Examiner in 12 minutes, said Campbell, who presumes that approval will be forthcoming, upon meeting conditions in the staff report.
Those conditions are to provide affordable housing in accordance with county code, abiding by the site plan, and meeting all agency requirements prior to occupancy.
"This is a dream project, where everything falls into place and works without agony," said Campbell.
"So far everything has been easy -- the zoning, the density bonus -- sometimes thinks work like falling out of bed." The density bonus allows six houses with garages and separate yards within one acre.
Campbell expects to begin construction on the homes this summer.
"We're looking for more people," he said of the latest HFI project, where homeowners work in teams to build their own homes. HFI can help interested parties obtain loans through government programs, even if they have had a poor credit record in the past.
The "Woodlands" project, currently under construction off Rosario Road, is the fourth project HFI has undertaken. To view a model of HFI construction, visit the project on San Juan Island, across the street from the library.
For more information, contact Campbell at 376-2035 or email jmc@rockisland.com or go to www.HomesforIslanders.org .

Whence came the wet weather

These lenticular clouds, spotted over Mt. Rainier last Friday, Jan. 2, are harbingers of wet, rainy weather such as we've experienced the past week. Photos by Scott Sisek.

Environmental Center at Moran Park closing means less revenue

On December 19, 2008, Linda Sheridan of the Environmental Learning Center at Moran State Park, wrote the following:

"I wanted to give you an update about Moran Outdoor School, Moran State Park, and the Washington State Parks budget plan .... On December 18th the Governor sent out her budget proposal for the 2009-2011 biennium. As you may have read in the news, virtually every state agency takes cuts in this proposal, and Washington State Parks is no exception. To view the proposal please go to http://www.governor.wa.gov/priorities/budget(go to Budget Highlights: Natural Resources then to Culture and Recreation to find State Parks specifics).
In the budget Governor Gregoire proposes Permanent Park Closures stating:

“The Commission will select 13 state parks and one environmental learning center for closure that do not meet its long-range plan for high quality parks with statewide significance.”
On Dec. 19 there was a letter that went out to all Parks stating where the closures will be. The good news is Moran State Park as a whole is NOT on that list, however, we ARE the Environmental Learning Center they have listed.
So what does this mean?
If/when they cut they Environmental Learning Center they will also cut Moran Outdoor School and two full time positions, the ELC Manager Ranger 2 Position (Kinnan “Wolf” Murray) and the Interpretive Specialist Position (Linda “Scat” Sheridan). I was informed that this will take effect September 15th 2009. This means School groups coming in the spring of 2009 will participate in our Program as planned, and ELC users that have reservations up until September 15, 2009 will be able to use the facility.
After September 15, the ELC (and possibly the Vacation House) will be boarded up and closed down. NO user groups after this time and NO Fall Program will be held at the Outdoor School. Linda Sheridan will be laid off and Kinnan Murraywill be moved to another Ranger position at Moran.

This is very scary for us but you need to know THINGS ARE NOT FINAL YET! This is why I am writing to you and why we need your help.

The Legislators from San Juan County are meeting Jan. 12 and will be deciding on this and many other issues. I have written a letter to them explaining what the Outdoor School Program is and what the Moran ELC is and why both are significant.

I have explained in the letter that although it does cost the State money to run and operate the ELC and the Outdoor School, these programs MAKE revenue every year and therefore should not be cut from our Park. The only reason that Rex Derr (WA State Parks Director) and Judy Johnson (Deputy Director) gave as to why our ELC got picked was that we have a “special program” and that all special programs need to be cut at this time.

It was obvious from my conversation with them and Moran Manager Jim Schuh that they do not have the full story and that they are not looking at revenue brought in from our programs and comparing them to other ELC revenues. I should be as clear on this as possible. While the state will save some money by cutting the ELC and Outdoor School, it will also give up significant revenue. Therefore, cutting the ELC and Outdoor School is an inefficient cost savings strategy for the state.

Of course, while the cost savings to the state will be minimal, the loss of services to you will be immediate and dramatic.

In our conversation with Derr and Johnson I also mentioned that because of the Centennial 2013 plan proposed by Rex Derr, that we have recently renovated many of our buildings at the ELC. You may have noticed these changes to upper camp – a new gender specific bathroom for upper camp, and four cabins with new roofs, windows, heaters, porches, and siding inside and out. In addition, we’ve completely redone the interior of Kestrel Cabin (the cabin closest to the lodge).

So here is what I am asking of you. Take the time ... to write a letter or email to the 40th District Legislators, (as well as your own State Legislators if you’re from outside the 40th District), and tell them about Camp Moran ELC and the Outdoor School Program. Explain who you are and how you are connected to this part of our Park. Explain to them how the Outdoor School program and this beautiful State Park has affected your life ... and/or how it has been an asset to your [community]. Tell them why you think the ELC should not be boarded up and closed down. Demand that they keep this ELC open and that they keep the Outdoor School up and running despite these hard times. The information for the 40th District legislators can be found on this website: http://apps.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/results.aspx?District=40
Next what I ask is that you take that same letter or email and send it to Rex Derr, the Director of Washington State Parks.
The Washington State Park Headquarters address is PO Box 42650 Olympia, WA 98504-2650. The main office phone number is 360-902-8500.
If you are really fired up you can send the letter to our region office as well. Our Region Manager is Eric Watilo and the Northwest Region Office address is 220 N Walnut St. Burlington WA 98223. Their office phone number is 360-755-9231.
The legislators are the people to contact right now so if you only want to send it to one place send it to them. They make the final decision.
Please help give Camp Moran Environmental Learning Center a voice so we can keep the long time tradition of this beautiful facility going in Moran State Park.
Thank you so much for your time and support! If you have questions please call me in the office 360-376-6173 Tuesday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. I will be in and out of the office for the next several weeks so email is best - moranee@hotmail.com."

Michel Vekved, of the Friends of Moran State Park, added the following information:
"Friends of Moran has not yet pulled together a fundraising plan. We are waiting for details so that we can target the specific funding and support needed by the park. In the meantime, any donations for the ELC program can be sent to Friends of Moran and earmarked for ELC. Our address is P.O. Box 1961 Eastsound, Wa 98245
As soon as we have current information we'll try to update our supporters on our web site (friendsofmoran.com).

Noxious Weed Control charge increased

By Stan Matthews, County Communications Program Manager
In a special session Monday, Jan. 5, the San Juan County Council voted 4-2 to grant a three dollar per parcel increase in the Noxious Weed Control Levy, a flat charge on each parcel. The new annual levy will total $6.25 per parcel of non-forest land plus 62.5 cents per acre.
Noxious Weed Board Chair Amanda Azous told the Council that 93% of the parcel owners in the county will pay $18.50 or less per year most taxpayers will pay about half that amount.
Azous told the Council that because of increases in operating costs over the past six years, the program has had to reduce its two employees to half time or less and cannot fund on-the-job transportation expenses for its employees or storage facilities for equipment.
The Council had rejected the Board’s request for a larger increase in the parcel charge in November. On Monday Council Member Gene Knapp repeated his objections, citing revenue shortfalls that have forced budget reductions in 19 county departments. He and Councilman Rich Peterson, who said he would support sending the proposal to the voters to decide, voted against the increase.
In support of the increase, Council Member Alan Lichter – who was attending his last meeting before retiring from the Council – argued that the Board had already taken its cuts in previous years and joined Council Member Bob Myhr in calling its work essential in preserving the environment and protecting agriculture. The Noxious Weed Control Levy is separate from the County’s general revenue sources and has no direct financial impact on the “County Current” budget which funds other County departments.
Council Members Lichter, Myhr, Council Chair Howie Rosenfeld and outgoing member, State Senator-Elect Kevin Ranker, provided the four votes needed to adopt the levy increase.
The Noxious Weed Control levy was adopted in 2002 after a countywide advisory vote. The program is charged with working to eradicate or control the spread of poisonous weeds and invasive plants that are dangerous to humans or animals, an economic threat to agriculture or degrade the environment.
The levy increase proposal had received several dozen letters of support from farmers, environmentalists and also received support from the Land Bank, and the County Parks and Public Works departments.

Gifts of the 12 Days of Christmas

As Christmas celebrations extend from expressions of spiritual faith to commercial excess, and as the “New Reality” of uncertain income and finances spreads across the land, even to Orcas Island, the spirit of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is still upon us.

Not so much about lords-a-leaping or swans-a-swimming, The 12 Days of Christmas is about the gifts of each day of Christmas, beginning on Christmas Day and extending to Jan. 6, traditionally the day when the Wise Men arrived at Bethlehem to give gifts to the Holy Child.

So today, on the 11^th Day of Christmas, it’s a special gift to personally reflect on the gifts of the last 11 days, and on the idea that every day brings its gifts; sometimes we just have to appreciate them. Here’s some of mine:

Christmas Day

All my three adult kids and my husband were together with me in Seattle, helping prepare dinner, eating together amid conversation, and laughing at our good fortune of sharing health and happiness.

Dec. 26

I spent much of the day searching for my missing driver’s license; not anxious, but just wondering, “Why am I going through this exercise?” At last I drove to the licensing office, grateful that after a week of snow, I could drive across town. The DMV employee taking my picture couldn’t have been more friendly, and when I said, “This is the first time I’ve ever encountered a happy person here,” he responded, “I’m the change I want to see happen.” It blew me away.

Dec. 27

My daughter and I treated ourselves to a decadent, marathon, six-hour session in front of the television set, watching all of season one of “Mad Men,” which I introduced her to and she loved. In overcoming my "dashing about" habit, it was pure pleasure to just observe and comment on another soap opera beside my own.

Dec. 28

I drove back to Orcas Island, indulging my own thoughts, memories and plans in the two-hour drive – not listening to the radio, or music, or talking on the cell phone, just thinking and drinking in the beauty of the quiet, grey, Northwest winter, not worried about time or weather.

Dec. 29

My son and his wife, now living in Wisconsin, and their friends came over for dinner. My son came first and we chatted privately for an hour, then the others came and helped make dinner and then my husband “brought home the bacon” and barbecued halibut before we all sat down to a most excellent dinner. Then they raced off for the last ferry while we stayed home by the fire.

Dec. 30

I met with Michael Sky to plan an upgrade of Bullwings to include categories, forums and subscriptions. Started as a spontaneous, personal newsblog, I now want to make it easier for readers to search topics, and discuss Orcas Issues.

Dec. 31

I went to Friday Harbor to deposit a check at my Wells Fargo bank and deliver copies of The Fisherman’s Quilt to Island Studios, and had three hours to explore the big city. Lunched at the Garden Path café, shopped and tried on clothes at the second-hand store, browsed the bookstore to the bargain corner where I found a $3 sequel to 84 Charing Cross Road, which I never knew existed. It’s called The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street and is every bit as charming as 84.

Jan. 1

I delighted in my resolutions: to learn more about internet technology each day, starting by looking up “Wii,” and to end my three-hours-plus of news-watching on television each night and instead read The Duchess.

Jan. 2

Had family-style dinner at a Thai restaurant in Seattle with my three children and their spouses. Now that they are all adults and have left the nest, enjoying their company all together again is a rare event; and, now that they’ve entered their 30s, I seem to have moved from being a watchdog that they avoid to a person they can count on.

Jan. 3

Breakfast with my sister and son Jeff and his wife Alyssa at “Tilth” restaurant in the Wallingford neighborhood of Seattle. My sister and I fell into telling old family stories, this time of our three spinster cousins, whom she described as “horsey” and I described as “Amazons.” The silly spontaneity of our exchange delighted us all, and it was also fun to just visit between the four of us.

Jan. 4

Another drive back to Orcas, arriving at the ferry terminal in time to read from my next book, Mister Pipp, which was lent to me by Antoinette Botsford, from the collection of our friend Judith Struthers. So pleased that after all the stresses and distractions of life, I can once again sink into a book and care about made-up characters.

Jan. 5

So today – looking forward to a “business” day, and revelling in the fact that I’m self-motivated and enjoy ticking off business tasks, and maybe tonight we will celebrate our 8^th wedding anniversary on the 12^th day of Christmas, by taking down our beautiful tree and re-reading our holiday letters and Christmas cards before putting them away until next year.

These were just some of the gifts of the 12 Days of Christmas, pinpoints of light during the longest nights of the year. Others have told me of their little “miracles” or gifts, from transport to the airport to forgiving a long-standing dispute to finding a new job. How wonderful to focus on the gifts we receive and give to each other.

Tomorrow is the 12^th Day of Christmas, but it is the first day of the rest of my life, if I should live that long. With the weather warming up, new energy to start fresh is spreading across the island. There’s lots of meetings, and rehearsals, and causes and study to entertain us as we savor the memories of 2008 and before, and look ahead to The Season of Peace, from Martin Luther King Day on Jan. 19 to the anniversary of Gandhi’s death on April 4.

The ultimate vision of the Season for Peace & Non-Violence is to promote a proactive, life enhancing awareness of nonviolent activism as demonstrated by Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar E. Chavez, and other heroic voices for peace through justice. Such a campaign is dedicated to demonstrating that non-violence is a dynamic way to heal, transform and empower our communities, our world and ourselves. From the Unity of Beaverton , Ore. newsletter, Winter 2008.

Freedom of speech seen in Anacortes

Freedom of speech means freedom from fear when differing points of view are expressed. We haven't seen protest marches in the streets in quite a while, but in Anacortes, the turnoff corner to the ferry often is populated by war protesters, troop supporters, and government protestors. This is what the four corners looked like this weekend.

New Year - New Writing - Poetry Jan.6 and Roundtable Jan. 10

Start a new habit with the enjoyment of poetry - spontaneous bursts of thought and emotion that can be refined or not. JoEllen Moldoff leads the class through appreciation and exploration in poetry, starting with recognized poets and including participants in her classes.
Beginning this week: Three Tuesdays of Poetry for Poets, Poetry Lovers and the Curious -- Jan. 6, 13, and 20, 1-3 p.m. at the Library, 7 fee for library and copying costs. Register at the library. Instructor: JoEllen Moldoff
Moldoff says, "Poetry makes meaning through the sound and rhythm of language, metaphor, compression, tone, and how the words are broken into lines. Reading poetry together is an opportunity to share the lyricism as well as the content of poems.
In this brief session, we will read aloud and discuss the work of contemporary American and international poets, poems that will inspire and awaken the poet in you. We will consider the poem’s content and context, form, sound, tone, word choice, lyricism, meaning.
"Poets which might be included: William Stafford, Mary Oliver, Jane Hirshfield, William Carlos Williams, Wallace Stevens, Pablo Neruda, Constantine Cavafy, W.H. Auden, Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, Billy Collins, Wistlawa Symborska, Naomi Shihab Nye, Galway Kinnell, Czeslaw Milosz, Seamus Heaney, Elizabeth Bishop, Asian poets and poets of your choice."
The first Writer’s Roundtable of the year will be Saturday, Jan. 10, from 1-3 p.m. at the library. Join fellow writers for conversation, creative writing prompts, and sharing work-in-progress. All are welcome.
The third annual 10-minute play festival will accept submissions for the festival through the end of January. Come to these workshops to "prime the pump" for your playwriting efforts!