Floating ferry meeting hears and comments on long-range WSF plans

At the interisland ferry meeting on Jan. 15, residents of San Juan, Orcas, Shaw and Lopez Island (pictured above left) heard Washington State Ferries (WSF) officials present their draft long-range plan.
Ferries Division head David Moseley, (pictured above right, along with Ray Deardorff, WSF staff, and Ed Sutton, San Juans' Ferry Advisory Committee chair, left to right) said unequivocably stated that the key problem facing WSF and its riders is long-range funding: “The ferries are not financially sustainable.”
The WSF draft long-range plan, published Dec. 19, is in fulfillment of a directive from 2007 legislation.
Deardorff introduced the 99-page Executive Summary of the draft plan, saying that WSF was charged with three key goals:
1) to maximize existing system capacity
2) to plan adaptive management and pricing strategies
3) to deliver the highest service at the lowest cost

Deardoff agreed that the key challenge facing WSF was “the lack of capital funding for investment.” He pointed out that the ferries have “an aging asset base,” with the average age of vessels being 34 years, and that there is a long lead time for vessel construction.

The plan presented two options, (see Dec. 22 Bullwings post), both resulting in a shortfall.
Plan A would require $3.5 billion additional funding. Plan B, a leaner option with fewer boats in service, would still come up short $1.4 billion. Moseley stated that the shortfall would need to come from other sources.

Financing options are being identified by the State Transportation Commission; their conclusions to the Legislature are expected mid-February.
Moseley said, “In this session, our hope is that the legislature will pass legislation” to address the funding problems that have plagued the ferries system since state Initiative 695 was passed in 2000, revoking the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax.

Both options involve a reservation system for vehicles, tailored to the needs of each route and users of the route, plan to keep terminal impacts to the community at a minimum, add and bolster transit solutions for walk-ons, increase passenger fares at half the rate of vehicle fares to encourage walk-ons, and keep increases of fares to 2.5% per year, with the possibility of fuel surcharges at times.

Plan A would build 10 new vessels by 2030, with the Sealth becoming the interisland boat in the spring, summer and fall, and an Illahee-sized vessel to operate in the San Juans in the winter.
Plan B will retire without replacing vessels, resulting in 3 boats instead of 4 in the fall, winter and spring, and four boats instead of 5 in the summer. This plan cuts the Sidney, B.C. destination from the San Juans’ route. Other routes in the system will also see cuts under this plan, resulting in 17 vessels and no standby boat in case of vessel breakdown.

The San Juan County Council rejected Plan B, which cuts ferry service from several runs throughout Puget Sound, and said that Plan A provides minimal service. In its letter to Moseley, the Council said:

By eliminating the Anacortes/San Juans/Sidney vessel, over 80 % of the domestic service capacity on that vessel is eliminated for seven months of the year, which is a 20% reduction in daily service capacity during this period.
Plan B does not meet current or future service demands.
There is insufficient information and time on both plans to allow the legislative bodies and communities to participate in a meaningful review.
Lack of a financing component, as required by ESHB 2358, makes qualitative decisions impossible.
Plan B removes one vessel from a totally ferry-dependent community.
....
Balancing the state budget for the 2009-11 biennium should not be the justification for a long-term state service mistake.

For the complete County response to the WSF draft, go to the Jan. 14 Bullwings post, "Letter from County's Council and Ferry Advisory Committee reject Plan B."

Many on the four-hour route expressed the need for the continued run of the Sidney B.C. ferry route from the San Juans, and the need for the interisland ferry. San Juan resident Allison Johnston-Laurie said that many people who regularly use the interisland boat were not at the hearing, but at their jobs.
County Council member Lovel Pratt commented, as an individual, “The plan doesn’t identify an adequate funding source.” She also noted that the legislature’s restriction that ferries be constructed only by state shipbuilders restricts the state from using federal stimulus funds.

Questions about reservations and options for sustainable funding for ferries were also asked.

During the past week, WSF conducted a series of eight meetings as public hearings of ferry-served communities, and will present their findings to the legislature.
A public rally in Olympia is scheduled for Feb. 17.
For further information on ferries legislation, go to www.leg.wa.gov/legislature, and type in "ferries."

Comments are still sought for input to the draft plan, by email to wsfplanning@wsdot.wa.gov, or by mail to WSF, Attention Joy Goldenberg
2901 3rd Avenue, Suite 500
Seattle WA 98121-104

Bureaucracy: love of privilege

Taken from Václav Havel's speech of February 21, 1990, "A Joint Session of the U.S. Congress," appearing in The Art of the Impossible: Politics as Morality in Practice by Václav Havel. Translated from the Czech by Paul Wilson and others, published by Alfred A. Knopf.
In a speech he gave in 1991, Václav Havel, the President of Czechoslovakia, commented on the privileges that begin to accrue to someone in high office:

"I go to a special doctor, I don't have to drive a car, ... I needn't cook or shop for myself, and I needn't even dial my own telephone....

In other words, I find myself in the world of privileges, exceptions, perks; in the world of VIPs who gradually lose track of how much butter or a streetcar costs.... I find myself on the very threshold of the world of the communist fat cats whom I have criticized all my life.

And worst of all, everything has its own unassailable logic. It would be laughable and contemptible for me to miss a meeting that served the interests of my country because I had spent my presidential time in a dentist's waiting room....

But where do logic and objective necessity stop and excuses begin? Where does the interest of the country stop and the love of privileges begin?"

[Contributed] by Peg Tileston on www.holdthatthought.com: "In the United States, corporate executives rake in millions as their companies lay off workers." Peg has been a community activist in Anchorage for over 30 years. She is the chairperson of Alaska Common Ground, a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to encouraging all Alaskans to engage in respectful dialogue on issues of importance to them.

Shingle a roof, shovel debris, serve your community Jan. 19 (and before and after!)

Jan. 19 Observe National Day of Service here
Barack Obama is calling for a National Day of Service to take place on Jan. 19, the federal holiday for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday and the days preceding the inauguration on Jan. 20.
This year, the Orcas Island Community Foundation and Orcas Island Chamber of Commerce have announced several community service opportunities:
· There will be a work party at the Orcas Island School District to clean up in the flower beds in between the Elementary and the Administration office, and clean up and expand the vegetable garden in preparation for the Farm to Cafeteria program. All are welcome to pitch in.If you have tools (wheelbarrows, rakes, shovels, gloves, or clippers) bring them along. If not, there will be some to lend. The party starts at 9:30 and ends when the project or the volunteers are done.
· Another garden opportunity is offered by the Orcas Island Historical Museum. Volunteers are needed to help with winter clean-up and soil amending around the historical museum buildings. Meet outside the museum on the brick pathway; work will be in progress from 10 AM to 3 PM. Help keep our historical museum tidy!
· For folks who would prefer an indoor activity, Kaleidoscope is anticipating a full house on the 19th and would appreciate all who are willing to read a story, direct a craft project, or push a swing (their staff will be there to supervise, and lend a hand as needed). If you have a craft in mind, contact Amber Minnis, 376-2484, to arrange supplies.
· Finally, The Orcas Montessori School needs assistance building planting boxes for the garden at the school and cabinet doors for a storage cabinet. Therese Chocano, 376-5350, is the contact person if you are able and willing to help.
Join your Orcas Island neighbors and others around the country and spend this coming Monday—Martin Luther King Day—volunteering to serve the urgent needs in our communities.
Some folks have been hit harder by the recession than others, but we're all in it together. We've all got to roll up our sleeves and help each other out. And volunteering is always a great experience — in just a few hours, you can help make a huge difference in the lives of others, and often meet new friends.
In Washington D.C. on Monday, Americans from around the country will assemble care packages for troops in Iraq at the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (inside a heated tent).
Lopez Community Land Trust will hold a “shingling party” at the Common Ground neighborhood, where volunteers will shingle some of the 11 affordable homes being built at 758 Lopez Road from 8 a.m until 5 p.m.
On Tuesday, Barack Obama will officially start the massive job of restoring our country. As president, he plans to expand national service programs like AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps and to create new service organizations1, including:
• a Classroom Corps to help underserved schools;
• a Health Corps to serve in the nation's clinics and hospitals;
• a Clean Energy Corps to achieve the goal of energy independence; and
• a Veterans Corps to support the Americans who serve in harm's way.
To sign up for the Orcas Island Community Service Party at the Orcas school or to sponsor another event, go to http://www.moveon.org/r?r=51086&zip_radius[0]=98245&id=15391-1920211-FfJc0Cx&t=3 or visit the Renew America Together website (www.usaservice.org ) to find a service opportunity or create your own!
You can go to the website and find out about projects without registering. You can also start an event (Please let OrcasIssues know of your event by commenting to this post).
Orcas Issues welcomes comments from non-profits and other community groups for projects for Jan. 19 Day of Service projects. Please provide contact information. Thanks!

Homes for critters: one last report

With all the stories this week about small creatures taking up residence in human households, consider opening your property to injured or orphaned Orcas Island wildlife that need a safe place to re-enter their own natural surroundings.
Shona Aitken, of Wolf Hollow Wildlife, wrote in that organization's newsletter:

When the injured and orphaned wild animals we care for are ready to go back into the wild, we have to find suitable places to release them. For adult animals, which probably have a territory and/or a mate, we try to get them back as close as possible to the place they were picked up. But, sometimes we don't know exactly where they came from. Someone may have dropped them off at a vet clinic or animal shelter without leaving detailed information about where they were found.
For baby animals, which would be moving away from their parent's territory once they were grown, it is not essential that we return them to exactly the same spot. We like to return them to the same general area, but need to find suitable habitat nearby where they will have the best chance of surviving. As our local area becomes more developed, it is becoming harder and harder to find good release sites, especially for larger birds and mammals that need more space.
This is where you can help! If you live in San Juan or Skagit Counties and have property including natural habitat, where you would be willing to have animals released, we would be delighted to discuss this with you. A few families or individuals have already offered their property, but we would like to add several more key sites. Our staff or volunteers would visit your site and discuss with you which species it would be suitable for, and which species you would be wiling to have released there.
If you would like to offer your property as a release site, or have any questions, please call Shona at 360-378-5000, or send email to saitken@wolfhollowwildlife.org.

PTSA Afterschool Enrichment in astronomy and Spanish

The PTSA is pleased to announce that the first two PTSA Afterschool Enrichment Classes will begin later this month! An astronomy class begins Jan. 22 and a Spanish class begins Jan. 26.
Marta Nielson will be presenting a NASA-created curriculum for 5th and 6th graders in her "Quark Academy" astronomy class, which begins Thurs. Jan. 22nd and runs for 8 sessions, through March 26. Classes will be Thursdays, 3:15-4:45 p.m., at a total cost of $40 for students of PTSA families/$50 for others.
Anna Roseberry, an Orcas High graduate with a B.A. in Spanish from Oberlin College, will teach beginning Spanish for 1st through 6th graders. First through Third graders can attend Mondays and Wednesdays, 3:10-4:10 p.m., for $50 per month, supplies included. A separate 4th-6th grade class will run from 4:15-5:45 p.m., also on Mondays and Wednesdays, at a cost of $75 per month, supplies included (the higher cost due to longer class time and increased teacher prep demands). Both Spanish classes begin Monday, January 26.
Enrollment forms (including student behavior contracts) are available at the elementary school office. Space is limited, so sign-up soon! Feel free to contact our Program Coordinator, Pat (Lohman) Hunt, at pat.lohman@verizon.net, or Barb Skotte at bskotte@yahoo.com with any further questions you might have. Also, please do not hesitate to let the PTSA know which other classes you might wish to see offered, or if you can help with creating additional classes.

Be an Orcas Idol -- or just a fun-loving friend

Attention all those who love to sing, just for the heck of it! Orcas Idol on Feb. 7 needs YOU!
Now you can share that joy with your Orcas neighbors and contribute to a good cause -- the promotion of healthy lifestyles through the Orcas Island Prevention Partnership -- by contacting Jeanne Beck at the Funhouse and deciding which of your favorite songs to sing. There's still time to sign up, Jeanne will be helping select music until Jan. 22. The Orcas Idol audition performances on Jan. 24 at the Grange will determine the Idol contestants.
Earlier this week, the editor of Bullwings was persuaded to jump on the bandwagon, and now she's hoping to bring along all those kitchen-sink and shower chanteurs and -teuses to sing your heart out. Photo right shows editor at last no-holds-barred performance. It's easy, all singers will be accompanied by karaoke music, and Bullwings will respond with suggestions to help you choose any song you'd like to sing and sure stage-fright cures.
In the past, Jenole Peacock, Jason Kraayeveldt and Locket Goodrich have won top honors, but the show isn't about competition -- it's about having a great time, sharing music, and knitting together a healthy community in a fun way.
Who else remembers Librarian Holly King singing "Oh What a Beautiful Morning" in audition and then serenading the Idol audience to second place with a series of smoky torch songs? Or island newcomer Jim Sullivan blowing away the crowd at the Orcas Center with his darkly passionate rendition of "Music of the Night," followed by a reincarnation of Johnny Cash with "Folsom Prison Blues."
The Generations Y and Z have been ably represented at past "Idols" with Anika Gresham and KD Laslo's irrepresible showmanship, to mention only a few of the past "Idol" performers.
So this year, let's just get up there and do it for the fun of it, (the more the merrier and the less we'll all feel intimidated).
I had fun yesterday pondering which songs from past loves I'll sing and so far, here's my list: "Memory" from "Cats," "Desperado" by the Eagles and "Love the One You're With" by Steven Stills.
Or maybe I'll sing "For the Good Times" and "Still the Same" by Bob Seger, or maybe "New Orleans" by Gary US Bonds, or maybe or maybe....
Contact Jeanne Beck at jbeck@interisland.net and let's make Orcas Idol 2009 a real Mardi Gras-style hootenanny.

Ferry meeting Thurs. Jan. 15 to air views on Long-range Plans A & B

On Tuesday, Jan. 13, the San Juan County Council and the Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC) unanimously endorsed a response to Washington State Ferries’ Long Range-Planning Options that calls the lower cost Plan B “an unrealistic representation of state ferry service.” The response offers support to the system’s Plan A with some caveats.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Ferries Division projects that, at the current funding rate, Plan A would create a 20-year funding shortfall of $3.5 billion. Over the same period of time Plan B would come up $1.4 billion short.
WSDOT’s proposed Long-Range Plan A calls for the acquisition of 10 new vessels over the next 20 years and would make capital investments in land transit programs at selected terminals to encourage walk-on ferry ridership.
Plan B calls for the purchase of just five new vessels, the elimination of the Anacortes to Sidney ferry route, and removal of that boat from domestic service. It assumes that some of the reduction in capacity would be absorbed by passenger ferries, operated by local entities rather than the state.
The State is holding a meeting aboard the inter-island ferry on Thursday, Jan 15. If leaving from Orcas Island, board the inter-island at 12:25 p.m., headed to Lopez. The ferry meeting will return to Orcas after sailing to Friday Harbor, and is scheduled to arrive at Orcas Landing at 2:55 p.m.

Letter from County's Council and Ferry Advisory Committee reject Plan B

The San Juan County Council and Ferry Advisory Committee sent the following letter to David Moseley, Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Washington State Ferries on Jan. 13:

Dear David:
RE: WSF’s Draft Long-Range Plan
The San Juan County Council and Ferry Advisory Committee have jointly reviewed the December 19, 2008 Draft Long-Range Plan and reject the option of Plan B as an unrealistic representation of state ferry service.
• By eliminating the Anacortes/San Juans/Sidney vessel, over 80% of the domestic service capacity on that vessel is eliminated for seven months of the year, which is a 20% reduction in daily service capacity during this period.
• Plan B does not meet current or future service demands.
• There is insufficient information and time on both plans to allow the legislative bodies and communities to participate in a meaningful review.
• Lack of a financing component, as required by ESHB 2358, makes qualitative decisions impossible.
• Plan B removes one vessel from a totally ferry-dependent community.
We have entered the tenth year of difficult state decisions on state ferry funding in the post-I 695 transportation funding environment. We are entering the first year of what everyone hopes is a temporary economic downturn, particularly in elastic revenues received by state and local governments that necessarily slow during these economic conditions. Our first fear is that short-term finances will drive long-term funding decisions. Balancing the state budget for the 2009-11 biennium should not
be the justification for a long-term state service mistake.
The passage of time and the change in economic and government revenue fortunes have positioned WSF to be considered the ugly step-child of the state budget. Addressing the funding gap is the answer, not divestiture. Select what is right over what is easy. If the Plan A gap of $3.5 billion is divided by the 22-year planning horizon, it is a difference of $160 million per year. The loss of MVET [through I-695]in strict 1999 dollars was larger than this by many times. The legislature found a way to replace a good deal of the highway funding as a result of public pressure to fix and improve the roads. Over time (not necessarily all in this session), the legislature must do the same for the ferry system. It is clearly the east/west highway system over the waters of the Puget Sound.
The WSF Long Range Plan presents the ferry-served communities and, to a lesser extent, the citizens of this state with the age-old comparison of price versus value. While it was a conscious point of demarcation not to include economic analysis as part of the study, that decision required the highlighting of cost centers in the WSF budget, while large portions of the overall value disappear into
the general funds of the state and local governments in the form of sales tax and lodging tax.
San Juan County is a ferry-dependent community (as compared with a ferry-advantaged community) and is composed of a complex set of users representing four distinct groups: full-time residents, parttime residents, tourists and commercial users, including those that provide essential supplies. The Anacortes/San Juans route is an extension of State Highway 20 and has been identified as one of the highlights and most scenic elements of Washington State’s most recently designated Scenic Byway.
Maintenance and continued development of a functioning ferry system is critical to the economic viability of the San Juan community.
Generally, Plan A meets the needs of the San Juan County community by providing reasonable transportation options for the multiple-user groups in the San Juan Islands. However, it is not as specific as it should be when considering how the adaptive management strategies, particularly reservations, will appropriately balance the needs of those distinct user groups. It in itself is the minimum to which WSF should peg the level of service, and other targeted improvements; emergency
back-up and passenger efficiencies should also be considered.
Plan B will set in motion a divestiture approach that would make it very difficult to re-build the ferry system to the level of service provided today; it does not provide sufficient ferry capacity to meet current or future requirements. The Plan decreases the number of runs within the San Juan Islands by eliminating the Anacortes/San Juans/Sidney boat and decreases the overall number of new vessels, which will also have a significant economic impact on San Juan Island communities. It also requires passenger-only ferries to be developed and managed by locally-funded entities. It forces mode and travel choices in adaptive management strategies rather than providing them by way of incentive.
The following comments apply primarily to Plan B:
1. Economic Analysis - ESHB 2358 stated that WSF shall develop fare and pricing policies that:
“consider the impacts on users, capacity and local communities”; however a long term economic analysis is conspicuously missing. The decrease of any ferry service to the San Juan Islands will have a negative impact to the economic viability and health of this ferry-dependent community. For the past three legislative sessions, San Juan County has requested that such an analysis be undertaken.
Without data from the economic analysis impact study, WSF cannot make sound decisions about the fate and subsequent impacts of eliminating the Anacortes/San Juans/Sidney route, as well as the loss of non-WSF tourism revenue to the state by diminishing service to the San Juans.
2. Vessel Replacement – Ridership forecasts tell you to increase capacity; Plan A allows for that in a marginal manner over time without increasing the number of vessels, but Plan B, with no capacity increase, represents poor planning in the midst of the largest comprehensive ferry planning effort to date. According to WSF planning staff, Plan A retires vessels early partially in the name of keeping shipyards happy in the hope they will give you better bids. The public should not
make all the compromise. Explore lengthening by a year some of the later replacements to take vessels to their full life expectancy and to spread capital costs. Also, the bidding advantage given to the private shipyards which have no out-of-state competition must be explored for an equitable solution and to provide qualification for federal funding.
The nickel gas tax provided some dedicated funding to vessel replacement. A movement toward Plan B appears to be a second abdication of the promise made by that prior legislature. A ferry-dependent community with no state highways can view that financial redirection with only a profound sense of loss.
The lack of an emergency backup vessel for more than the next five years is tantamount to driving a vehicle without insurance for that period. Emergency back-up vessels have been needed numerous times in just the past two years – there is no reason to expect the likelihood of that need to be any different over the next five years; therefore the situation should be included in any plan, not ignored.
Elimination of the Anacortes/San Juans/Sidney route has a significant impact on the mainland capacity of island traffic. Over 80% of the capacity in the off-season is assigned to domestic service.
3. Transit – Regardless of the Plan, better coordination with local transit agencies is required to ensure that this mode shift is a realistic option The Skagit/San Juan routes are the most difficult coordination opportunity due to the obvious need of residents, weekenders and tourists to move more materials than can be carried by an individual. As a result, it was ignored in either plan without even a
footnote of the need to study it. Transit improvements were ignored because of an apparent default to commuters in the vision of the study. Mode shift can be achieved, but Skagit Transit, the County and WSF must work together to make it happen. Appendix F does not include any specific transit improvements for the Anacortes terminal, let alone any of the other terminals within the San Juan
Islands. This is an item which has generated extensive comments in a number of community forums, most recently during WSF’s inter-island information meeting last fall. Provisions for transit improvements at both ends of the Anacortes/San Juan route are necessary to coordinate with ferry service if any decrease in vehicle traffic is to be supported. Any effort to encourage walk-on traffic must also address parking fees. As long as the costs of parking a car at the Anacortes terminal
approximate the cost of driving a car onto the islands, patrons will choose to drive their cars as it is more convenient.
4. Reservations – This is a key component in both Plans and one which San Juan County
supports, provided that no reservation fee is imposed. As stated in Appendix G, development of a workable system must be developed with “Island agents”. This is interpreted to mean representatives of San Juan County in order to ensure meaningful involvement in developing such a strategy, including the possibility of piloting the reservation strategy at one of the San Juan Island terminals this summer. The San Juan’s have four distinct user groups: islanders, weekenders, tourists, and
commercial. A poorly designed system based on indiscriminately filling vessels runs the risk of leaving groups at a disadvantage. In particular, island residents are still dependent on professional services and certain retail services available on the mainland. Being ferry dependent, and subject to the hours of those businesses, islanders cannot drive around the problem as those using other routes can. The last fare increase proposal engendered militant attitudes of islanders, who showed grass roots power. That attitude will be dwarfed by a reservation system that is not sensitive to ferry-dependent communities.
5. Level of Service (LOS) –The current LOS is acceptable; however, the reduced LOS in Plan B is not acceptable when considering the long waits that currently exist between vessels to and from certain islands. Additional information and analysis are required to determine the triggers for the two proposed levels and the subsequent impacts on ferry riders. Hidden in the alteration of the LOS standard is the previous trigger point for increase of vessel capacity. That has been exchanged for
adaptive management strategies that could ultimately drive housing choice decisions and change the ridership growth assumptions.
6. Foot passenger fare increases – It is very important to the San Juan County community that the existing no-charge for walk-ons on the interisland ferry continues. It is unquestionably the best mode-shift policy employed by WSF on any route, although it currently creates externalities outside the terminal area in the form of parking and transit. It is understood and accepted that passenger fares from the Anacortes terminal could increase. However, additional parking and transit
are essential to encourage increased foot traffic at the terminals at both ends of the route to maximize mode shift in this most unique run among ferry routes.
7. Passenger-only ferries (POF) – A primary premise of Plan B is that current and future passenger-only ferries will be operated and maintained by locally funded entities; without the certainty, readiness or willingness of the affected counties to step in, Plan B begins to look like an exit strategy that creates a service gap and points to self-taxing enabling legislation as the response. Before giving any consideration to Plan B, this is a major assumption that needs to be
explored further with prospective providers to determine the realistic likelihood of such a change in funding, ownership and management. The legislature must also take a broader view of the natural perception that this is an abdication of a 56-year responsibility. That broader view will engender a move toward partnership, which may cause re-thinking that such an abandonment equals no participation in local provider public subsidy. There is no guarantee of mode shift (and its positive
attributes) in placing POF responsibilities on counties – it is only a guarantee of cost shift.
This comment letter has been signed by the full San Juan County Council and Ferry Advisory Committee to signify our commitment to working with WSF to develop a logical and manageable plan to maintain the Anacortes/San Juan Island ferry route.

Signatures followed.

Mighty mice responsible for 125,000 - 200,000 fires per year

No this isn't a quote from the National Enquirer, but from Orcas Island Fire Chief Mike Harris, who researched national statistics for figures on the number of structure fires caused by rodents -- mice, rats, squirrels, possums, anything that gnaws -- chewing through electric wires in their search for warm "nesting places."
"They're just looking to get out of the elements, and if they can find a place inside your house -- even better," says Harris.
The danger of rodents inside a house (which can be accessed through any point of entry in both older homes and brand-new construction)is that their gnawing can cause wiring shorts that lead to fires, as the Orcas Fire Department experienced first-hand on Dec. 14 when they battled a multi-room fire on Spring Point which resulted in extensive smoke damage.
The house was a three-story "dream house" said Harris, and the culprit was a rat who was electrocuted. "That's all the Fire Marshal needed to see," said Harris, to determine the cause of the fire.
Harris described the fire as the most difficult fire he'd experienced on Orcas, and "one of the most difficult in my career." The heat ducting carried the smoke to three different rooms, but it was the bitter cold that contributed to the difficulty of fighting the fire, as well as the challenges of a steep icy road and the house being built on a cliff, which limited access.
Beyond the fire hazard, the problem of rodents finding a home within your home is that they reproduce so fast. Harris says, "If they target your house, it's not just them but the ones they're creating."
Food and water access are the main reasons for rodents entering buildings. Storing food (including trash) in sealed metal or hard plastic containers is a must. In addition, since rodents can enter buildings through holes as small as 1/4 inch, it is essential to seal off entry points with metal materials, such as steel wool or small-mesh metal screens.
Trapping and baiting are also important measures to take should food, water, and access restriction fail to address the problem of unwelcome house guests.

Warm thoughts (and misgivings) about all creatures great and small

I'm so relieved, but a little worried too.
On Sunday, I got word from my neighbors that the furnace in my little house in Indianola, in Kitsap County, was apparently "out."
The house was cold, below the 50 degrees that I keep it at when not in residence. So I went down to check it out, with the thought that perhaps the oil (purchased at peak price last July) in the tank had run out in the recent cold spell.
I left with the idea of getting to Indianola before dark, so that I could make a fire in the wood stove in plenty of time to heat the old homestead before nightfall.
I got to the 12:45 ferry to find I was on overload for the 2:55 ferry. I'd checked the new schedule, even correctly read the weekend schedule information, but didn't realize the earlier ferry takes only 50 cars from Orcas, vs. the usual 90 cars.
So, being an adaptable islander, I figured I'd take advantage of the extra time to call my old buddy from college days, Steve.
Steve has a habit of buying old homes and fixing them up, starting with a HUD house that he purchased for $3,000 in 1974 at an auction, and more recently, an old beauty off the fashionable 26th Street in Portland.
When I called, Steve was preparing to wrestle with squirrels.
He told me that there were squirrels in his attic that were increasing in number and becoming quite a problem. Plus, there was no access to the attic from inside the house, and once in the attic, it was insulated with "glass wool" -- treacherous, nasty stuff. Plus, he was leery of heights, and had been rigging up scaffolding and harnesses to scale the heights of his roof. (He's a retired IBM engineer, so he thinks things through beforehand).
He's planned to direct the squirrels to a trap whereby they'd exit the attic. I just couldn't get the thought of deliberate Steve crouching his way through a low-roofed, fiberglass-filled attic with a long-barreled squirrel gun, and I laughed at his dilemma as I described my own, the failed furnace.
He pointed out many of the possible ramifications of running out of oil: the need to "bleed" the line, frozen or burst pipes, etc.
So I was relieved that when I arrived at the house after dark, it wasn't too cold and the water still ran through the pipes and there wasn't any apparent "collateral" damage. The furnace reset button was unresponsive.
I was a little peeved at signs that critters had taken residence: little wads of sofa stuffing scattered on the living room carpet. But I remembered my mom's facedown with a mouse when she lived in the house.
She told me of sitting at the dining room table eating her dinner and spying a little mouse across the room coming from a corner. It stopped stark still, and she swore it was frozen in fear on looking at her, a monster that outweighed the mouse by over 100 pounds.
Mom told me, "I thought to myself, 'What harm could a little mouse do me?' and it turned around a disappeared into some hole."
That was so like my mom, who picked up hitch-hikers and gave them her jackets, and retreated into her own house when a neighbor exploded in anger because she didn't want to embarrass him ... her "live and let live" attitude extended to most everyone outside our family (which was her domain of control).
So I picked up the stuffing and swept the house, and then built a fire and watched the sad ending of Tess of the D'Urbervilles on Masterpiece Theater.
In the grey light of dawn, I checked the oil tank and found that there was a good 24 inches of oil left. I called the furnace company and was lucky to get a serviceman to come out that afternoon.
He checked the reset button and the thermostat, and identified the problem within three minutes as a loose wire. We went to the basement and he was so happy to find the wire chewed off right where the line entered the furnace, at the floor level. "I was afraid I'd have to look into the walls; this is a snap," he told me.
"Do you think a mouse did it?" I asked.
"Yeah, or a rat, some kind of rodent."
Yikes, this is totally different -- a sinister, plague-bearing rat, a despised, long-tailed, baby-biting rodent!
So much for animal compassion and oneness with all creation! This was my karma for laughing at Steve's squirrel situation.
So now as I plug all points of entry and ponder how to "dis-invite" the critters into my beachside cabin, another thought occurs to me: how lucky I was that the damage to the electrical wiring didn't cause a fire.
Tomorrow: Fire Chief Mike Harris comments on the fire hazards created by creatures seeking warmth.

2009 Council Chair: Rich Peterson; Vice-Chair Richard Fralick

By Stan Matthews
County Communication Program Manager

Yesterday, Jan. 12 District Court Judge Stewart Andrew swore in newly Elected County Council Members Richard Fralick and Lovel Pratt, along with Howie Rosenfeld who was elected to his second four-year term in November.

Richard Fralick, entering his first term as Council Member from Orcas West, said he was looking forward to completing the work that the Freeholders and the County Council has done in transforming the County Government. “I hope that as a council we will do what we can to fully implement the possibilities expressed in the charter and provide for our citizens the best possible County Government.”

With the new Council Members sworn in, Council Clerk Ann Larson reconvened the session to select the Council’s officers for 2009. Council Member Rich Peterson of San Juan Island was elected Chair without opposition. Peterson took over the gavel and presided over the election of new member Richard Fralick as Vice-Chair. The term of each of those positions is one year.

Here comes the sun, and a joke for ferry riders

The sun is supposed to break through the fog, haze, clouds and rainstorms this week. In the meantime, here's a joke to put a smile on your face.

A blonde was feeling so depressed that she decided to end her life by throwing herself into the Puget Sound. She went down to the docks and was about to leap into the frigid water when a handsome young man saw her teetering on the edge of the pier crying.

He took pity on her and said, 'Listen, you've got a lot to live for.. I'm off to Europe in the morning and if you like, I can stow you away on my ship. I'll take good care of you and bring you food every day.

Moving closer, he slipped his arm around her shoulder and added with a wink, 'I'll make you happy, and you can make me happy.'

The blonde nodded 'yes' through her tears. After all, what did she have to lose?

That night, the sailor brought her aboard and hid her in a lifeboat, along with blankets and food. From then on, every night he brought her sandwiches, water, wine and fruit and they would make mad, passionate love until dawn.

Three weeks later, during a routine inspection, she was discovered by the Captain.

'What in the heck are you doing here?' the Captain demanded angrily.
'I have an arrangement with one of the crew,' she explained. 'I get free food and a trip to Europe . Meanwhile (she says coyly) he's taking advantage of me so to speak (wink, wink).'

'He sure is, lady,' the Captain said, 'This is the Bremerton Ferry.'

Census jobs on Orcas Island $17.50/hr

Mary Lisenbery, Recruiting Assistant for the US Census Bureau, recently announced that the Census Bureau is recruiting workers in the San Juan Islands for the 2010 Census. Wages are $17.50 to $20.50 per hour plus $.585 per mile
Jobs will come available starting this month.
Testing will take place at the Orcas Island Library on Jan. 14 and again on Jan. 28. Those interested should call 206-501-4160 to determine eligibility and documentation.
For further information, go to www.census.gov, or call 866-861-2010.
Workers are also needed on San Juan Island and testing will take place at the San Juan Library.

Permits opening for Accessory Dwelling Units - Feb. 6 deadline

A total of 14 Permits will be available for the construction of New ADU structures in 2009. An additional 3 Permits will be available for the conversion of existing accessory structures that have existed legally for at least five years to an ADU.
On January 12, 2009, the San Juan County Community Development & Planning Department (CD&P) will begin accepting applications for Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) Permits to be issued in 2009.

This year's ADU Permit Lottery will take place on Feb. 20, 2009.

All ADU Lottery Applications must be submitted on the CD&P ADU Lottery Application Form. Go to www.sanjuanco.com and click on the development and planning department to find the ADU Lottery Applications form.
Completed Application Forms can be obtained and filed in person at the CD&P office during normal business hours at 135 Rhone Street, PO Box 947, Friday Harbor, Washington, or by fax or by mail. The fax number is (360) 378-3922. A "hard copy" of each application must be submitted on the CD&P ADU lottery application form. No electronic applications will be accepted.

CD&P will accept ADU Lottery Applications until the close of business on Feb. 6, 2009. Any ADU Lottery Application received by CD&P after the close of business on Feb. 6, 2009 will be ineligible for the lottery and will be added, in the order received, to the appropriate waitlist at the end of the appropriate waitlist established on Feb. 20, 2009.

Questions regarding the application procedure and requirements can be addressed to CD&P staff either by phone at (360) 378-2354 or fax at (360) 378-3922 or by email at permits@sanjuanco.com.

Parents and kids form new playgroups

Salmonberry School on Orcas Island invites parents and their birth to 4/5 year old children to participate in two different kinds of parent/child gatherings.
The first is a drop-in group which meets on Wednesdays, from 9-11 a.m., every week that Salmonberry School is in session. Mothers, fathers, caregivers and even expectant parents can enjoy a cup of tea and informal conversation while their children play in a Waldorf inspired environment.
This is a great way to meet other parents in the community and share ideas, experience and resources. A growing library is available with books on parenting, child development and education. This group will meet in the back of the Salmonberry grades building at 867 North Beach Road with fee by donation.
A more structured Parent/Child class will take place in the Waldorf-inspired preschool/kindergarten classroom on Saturdays Jan. 31 to March 14 from 10-11:30 a.m. with optional outdoor play until noon. This course will be led by Waldorf educator, Jesica DeHart and long-term Orcas playgroup facilitator, Kathi Ciskowski.
Circle time, sharing a meal, creating a simple craft item and parent education will be part of this offering. This class will have an enrollment limit, pre-registration is required and the course fee is based on a sliding scale.
Contact Jesica DeHart at jesicadehart@yahoo.com or at 376-3367 for more information on both groups or to register for the Parent/Child class.

The week ahead Jan. 12-18: Ferries, 4-H and Pudd'n Head Wilson

4-H starts up on Orcas Island, led once again by Kathy Morris. The informational meeting is at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 12 at the Orcas Christian School cafeteria. Sometimes island life doesn't seem that rural, but for introducing our kids to the outdoors and animals and their other creative abilities, 4-H is hard to beat.
Also on Monday, Jan. 12, the County Council's work session begins at 10 a.m. with new council members (including Richard Fralick from Orcas Island) being sworn in, followed by the selection of the Council Chair and Vice-Chair. Citizen access time, during which the public can bring up concerns to the council, is scheduled for 10:10 a.m.
Upcoming agendas for council business through Feb. 10 will be reviewed.
Appointments of council members to various boards and commissions will follow.
The Washington State Ferries Master Plan will be discussed, as well as an agreement between the Puget Sound Partnership & San Juan County.
County Administrator items are scheduled for review at 11 a.m. and will include the Eastsound GMA Hearing Board Decision and an update and discussion on Long Range Planning Priorities.
The General Government Subcommittee will discuss Code Enforcement and the Marine Resources Committee at 12:30 p.m.
For further information, go to www.sanjuanco.com or call 378-2898
Tuesday, Jan. 13, The Ferry Advisory Committee will meet from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. in the Legislative Building across the street from the County Courthouse.
"Cucumbers and Urchins - Natural History and Fisheries" with Michael Ulrich of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Lectures will be the subject of the Marine Lecture Series at Camp Orkila on Tuesday, Jan. 13. The lecture will be at the Marine-Salmon Center on Orcas Island at 7 p.m. Contact Jean Spalti at jmspalti@ucdavis.edu, or phone 376-3910 for further information.
The Orcas Fire Department's regular meeting will be held at the fire hall at 7:30 p.m.
David Sarver begins a class on "Puddin' Head Wilson" by Mark Twain this coming Wednesday, Jan. 14, at the Parish Hall of the Episcopal Church in Eastsound, from 10 a.m. to noonish. Puddin' Head Wilson has been described as a grown-up Huckleberry Finn. The course will run for three consecutive Wednesdays.
The County Park Board meeting will be held on Thursday, Jan. 15 from 8:30 to 11:15 a.m. at the County Legislative Building Conference Room at 55 Second Street #119 in Friday Harbor. Contact information: phone 360-378-8420, fax 360-378-2075, e-mail
Parks@sanjuanco.com, website www.sanjuanco.com/parks
A "floating" ferry meeting will be held on the interisland ferry with WSF on Thursday, Jan. 15, The meeting is a public hearing on WSF's draft Long-Range Plan options aboard the San Juan Inter-Island Ferry from 11:35 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The main topic of the long-range plan is sustainable financing for ferry operations, which will be taken up by the state legislature this session. The draft plan considers two options, one of which is local communities absorbing some of the costs of operations.For more information on the plan, search this blog for "ferries draft plan" in the top left-hand corner search window of this blog (Dec. 22 post) or go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/planning/eshb2358.
San Juan County’s transportation planner, Shannon Wilbur, has prepared a brief summary of Plans A & B which points out similarities and differences in the plans and highlights specific items which will affect San Juan County. That summary is available in PDF file format at www.sanjuanco.com/docs/news/FerryPlanReview_public.pdf
On Friday, Jan. 16, the county Planning Commission meets at 8:30 a.m. at Islander’s Bank Annex, downstairs, 225 Blair Ave, Friday Harbor, San Juan Island to continue public hearings and discuss the Madrona Coast LLC Open Open Space, Orcas Island, File No. 08OS004; The Proposed Update of the
San Juan County Comprehensive Plan Housing Element; the Amendment of the
Comprehensive Plan Land Use Element and Appendix 1 to Allow for 50% of the San Juan Island’s Future Population Growth to Occur in the Friday Harbor UGA; and delberations only on proposed amendments to the Unified Development Code (UDC) and Appendix 2 of the Comprehensive Plan to allow for Essential Public Facilities (EPFs.
If necessary, the meeting will reconvene at 1 p.m. following a lunch break scheduled at noon.