Jack and Jan Helsell of Westsound Lumber Company have been struggling to keep their sawyer Ben Nunez in the country. He has worked for them for nearly 15 years. In 2008, while taking his 80-year-old neighbor Natalie White to the hospital in Anacortes, Nunez was picked up by Customs and Border Patrol. Lacking proper immigration documentation, he was ordered to be deported.

Nunez could be deported this spring, so his friends and employers are asking islanders to call the following three people and urge them to introduce a private bill on behalf of Benjamin Nunez

• Senator Patty Murray: (202) 224-2621

• Senator Maria Cantwell: (202) 224-3441

You can also write letters on Nunez’s behalf to Pete Helsell at PO Box 141, Orcas, WA 98280 or by email to Pete at nw_eagle@hotmail.com.