New

Chamber guide

By now I trust all Orcas residents have had a chance to pick up one of the Orcas Island Chamber of Commerce’s 2008 Visitor’s Guides. If you haven’t yet, I encourage you to do so. The content may surprise you.

We’ve grown as a Chamber over the past few years, and one symbol of that growth is evidenced inside our new guide. No longer is it simply a map with business listings. New this year are elements you might find in guide books about the island, including pages devoted to Orcas Island History; The Land of Orcas Island; Historic Places on Orcas Island; 10 Fun Things for Kids; Amazing Marine Wildlife; and Island Made, Island Grown. The map has been significantly upgraded this year, and the listings provide visitor and resident alike with a glimpse at the island businesses and organizations that helped make the guide possible.

Finally, let me offer thanks to those who contributed so mightily to this year’s guide. Editorial elements were provided by Tom Welch (Orcas Island Historical Society and Museum), Kathleen Foley (San Juan Preservation Trust), Joe Gaydos (SeaDoc Society), and Chris Morris and George Orser (Orcas Island Farmers’ Market members). The photographic images found in the guide show our island in all its beauty. Contributing photographers include: Nancy and Steve Alboucq, Chris Brussat, Wade Campbell, Peter Fisher, Kurt Thorson, and Shayne Vinagre. The San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau and artist Paul Lanquist deserve thanks, as does Wade Campbell for his striking design of the entire guide.

Do take a look at the guide if you haven’t done so yet. The Chamber hopes you agree with us that Orcas Island is a special place, and that the care and content that went into this guide captures that fact.

Lance Evans

Executive Director

Orcas Island Chamber of Commerce

Council member’s opposition to congressional letter

During recent discussions with colleagues on the County Council I have indicated my opposition to sending the draft letter to our congressional delegation prepared for the Town of Friday Harbor and the County Council. I have also said that I would not be willing to sign it and would write my own letter in opposition to it if the letter is sent. This letter sets forth some general concerns with the draft and discusses some issues I will include in my letter of opposition should the draft letter receive sufficient support to have it sent.

The letter misrepresents the joint meeting between the Councils as well as its outcome.

In attempting to disguise the central theme of concern for residents here illegally, the letter is unclear and imprecise.

The letter requests actions that Officer Guiliano, in meetings before the Councils and the public, has assured us are either happening now or can be easily accommodated.

The requests for behavior changes by Border Patrol personnel at check points is presumptuous and insulting.

The tone of the letter is adversarial toward the Border Patrol.

There is no request for overall national immigration reform, which would largely solve the problems we are wrestling with locally.

I provided a memo to both the County and the Town Councils that expressed 13 specific points of disagreement and the need for additional language regarding national immigration policy reform. That memo is too lengthy for present purposes but it is available electronically by request from council@co.san-juan.wa.us

It is most unfortunate that in a very compassionate, caring community such as ours that this issue has not been addressed by our federal government and we are left with the dilemma of how to best deal with a multitude of related problems in an objective and non-divisive manner. This is an extraordinary challenge with such an emotionally charged set of issues and one that our federal representatives could resolve for us and the rest of the nation if they would simply develop the political will to deal with it.

Rich Peterson

County Council member

San Juan Island

In last week’s Sounder, it was stated erroneously that Rich Peterson signed the Council/Friday Harbor letter. The Sounder regrets the error.

Children’s House provides infant daycare

I recently received the semi-annual report from Kaleidoscope and I found it informative, however there was one paragraph about which I take umbrage. Director Amber Minnis is quoted as saying that “parents with children under 30 months currently do not have access to full time childcare at a fully licensed, quality facility. It simply does not exist on Orcas Island.”

Children’s House is currently the only daycare facility on Orcas licensed by the state to care for children under the age of 29 months. It provides this service from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The six-to-seven hour period was chosen based on early childhood development studies (Ainsworth and Belski, Stanford, 1988) that demonstrated that children in extended hour daycare had more difficult time with attachment and cognitive development.

We, at Children’s House, hope that this clarifies our program and wish Kaleidoscope the very best in their new endeavor.

Dale Heisinger

President Children’s House Board of Directors

Border Patrol

to be commended

It seems that we have ourselves in a tizzy over illegal immigrants in our community. The Border Patrol is simply doing the job that we, as taxpayers, are paying them to do. I think the Patriot Act is needed at this time in history. They are protecting our country in this time of crisis. We have not had an attack in almost seven years. My hat is off to the Border Patrol. If some don’t like it, change the law, but don’t criticize the law enforcement officers.

I understand that this enforcement has been a hardship to some families. They made their choices and took the risk of living in this country illegally. Making wrong choices has consequences. They may be decent, hard working folks, however they are outside the law. They are illegal immigrants. I wonder how I would be treated if I entered Mexico or Canada illegally.

I welcome the Border Patrol to verify my citizenship when I disembark the ferry in Anacortes. They are civil servants performing a very difficult job, enforcing the laws our Congress enacted. We should commend them for their service.

Jake Jacobus

Eastsound

Harvest Meal encourages thinking and

community

I just returned from the School’s Farm to Cafeteria Harvest Meal and would like to applaud the event organizers, the people who volunteered to serve and work and the people who raised and prepared the locally grown food that was featured. What an outstanding opportunity to honor the school’s kitchen staff and local farmers while demonstrating the opportunity to grow the farm to cafeteria program. As a parent of two elementary school students, I support efforts to increase the amount of locally grown food that our children are eating in the school cafeteria. This supports local farmers, reduces the ecological impact of transporting food from all over the country to Orcas, and provides the children with a nutritious meal and a sense of from where their food comes. This is just one more example of how our Public Schools are working to educate our children to be big thinkers and strong community members.

Joe Gaydos

Eastsound