Swimming the Crossing for Breast Cancer

(Ready for July's swim (left) and Damien swimming in Eastsound, May 8, 2007 (photo by Dick Rudd)

20 Hours in 50 degree F water, swimming over two days in support of the Breast Cancer Treatment Support Mission Project, Orcas Island resident and photojournalist, Damien Stark will swim a 19.5 mile route from the Anacortes ferry terminal to Orcas Island and then Orcas Island to San Juan Island over the weekend of July 26th and 27th.

The swim is to raise awareness, and funds, for the Breast Cancer Treatment Support Mission Project (360/378-4474). This San Juan County Health and Community Service, funded by the Susan G. Komen For The Cure Foundation (Puget Sound Affiliate, www.komen.org) since 2002, provides travel cost support in the form of ferry tickets, and gas and mileage reimbursement to San Juan County residents with breast cancer seeking diagnostic or treatment services on the mainland.

During 2007, with the assistance of the Komen Foundation, the Breast Cancer Treatment Support Mission Project served 29 San Juan County-based women by covering $20,000 in travel expenses.

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Stark would like for more women to have access to this support, which is the impetus for his swim (and symbolically follows the same water route the women undertake when traveling to the mainland for breast cancer treatment).

Fundraising and awareness efforts are well underway, with an informational website and on-line donation opportunities in place (www.breastcancerswim.com), plus donation sites set up at Key Banks located on Orcas and San Juan Islands. 100 percent of the monies raised from the swim will directly support the important and essential services provided by the Breast Cancer Treatment Support Mission Project.

â€œIn 1999 while living in San Francisco and working as a photojournalist and EMT, my friend Dr. Reva Lee was diagnosed with leukemia. I quit all my jobs to be her full time caregiver until her death on January 13, 2000. Reva's life was driven by a philosophy she called "The Gift", a social contract. Someone gives, you receive and you pay a return on their investment that may take a variety of forms. Following Reva's lead, this swim to raise funds for The Breast Cancer Treatment Support Mission Project is my gift to those with breast cancer.â€ - Damien Stark

Christina Orchid To Speak at Discovery Series

sss_06-19-08_Lecture-1 (46k image) Spring Street International School is bringing James Beard Awardâ€Winning Chef, entrepreneur and author Christina Orchid as the next speaker for the â€Spring Street Discovery Speaker Seriesâ€. The new, monthly Spring Street Discovery Speaker Series continues in Friday Harbor at Pelindaba Downtown â€“ Thursday, June 19 at 7:00pm.

The Discovery Series asks the question â€œRemember when you were a high school student and you wondered how do you get from here to there, from studying in your home town, to a completely different life?â€

The series will bring people who have achieved great things to speak with students who will have a chance to interview, question and talk with them about what they did, how they did it, and what they might do differently next time. Admission is free and all interested island students and adults are cordially invited!

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Skyhawks Multi-Sports Camp Comes To Orcas

June 23-27

The largest provider of youth sports programs in the country is coming to Orcas Island.

The Skyhawks Multi-Sports Camp provides opportunities for participants to gain experience in several sports: soccer, baseball, and basketball. There is no pressure, just lots of fun, while young athletes participate in all three sports through unique Skyhawks games.

This popular sports camp has been part of the San Juan Island and Lopez Island summer programs for several years and has had terrific success.

This will be the second year on Orcas Island. The camp for boys and girls ages 7-12 runs during the first week of public school vacation, June 23-27 from 9:00 - 3:00 at Buck Park; children who need childcare until 5:00 will have supervision until then.

Registration forms can be downloaded at www.orcasrec.org. The summer guide to all Orcas Island Recreation Program activities are available at the public library and at the Rec. Program office in the Senior Center. For more information or for scholarship assistance, call 376-5339.

Global to Local Video and Discussion

June 12

Videos pertaining to global trends in agriculture, environment and social welfare. Learn about solutions currently happening on Orcas Island and why they are vitally important for the planet.
Thursday June 12 7:00-9:00 pm at the Funhouse
Ages: 14 and up
Cost: Donations go to support the F.E.A.S.T. program

Meeting On A New Expanded Medical Center

Wednesday June 11, 2008 Time 5:30 p.m. Additional Information www.sjcommunityhospital.org DescriptionThe Hospital District Board will hold a Special Meeting at 5:30 p.m.

This meeting is to allow for extensive, fully informed discussion about providing enhanced access to healthcare services with a new expanded medical center.

The Report of Initial Findings of the Feasibility Assessment was presented to the Hospital Board and the community on May 28 by presented by the San Juan Community Hospital Committee assisted by PeaceHealth. Documents are available online at www.sjcommunityhospital.org.

Members of the Assessment Team including Islanders, consultants and PeaceHealth staff will be present to answer questions, listen to feedback and participate in the discussion.

SJSD Board To Meet On Funding

The Board of Directors of the San Juan Island School District will be attending a meeting Wednesday, June 11, 2008, at 6:00 p.m. in the High School Commons to discuss options for fundraising to fully fund the high school athletic program for the 2008-09 school year.

Coaches and interested parents, students and community members are invited to join a conversation facilitated by Superintendent Michael Soltman and Principal Fred Woods.

Board members will attend and listen to information presented and participate in discussions, however, no formal action will be taken by the board.

Rotary "Bike Rest" Has New Bike Rack

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(Bike riders Holly; Seda, & Aikey Durham-Guckian, and Simon Vincent try out the rack)

The Rotary Bike Rest park on San Juan Island has been upgraded with a newly installed bike rack. Mike Taylor made the rack out of a large log with slots cut in to allow a bike to be parked in the slot.

Not sure how well it would work out, some bikers were flagged down as they rode up to the park, and asked to give the new rack a try. Okay, so it did not work so well with the slots pointing up, so some minor adjustments, and success was achieved.

The next improvement will be to provide some shade for the tables

Rotary meets each Wednesday morning at 8:00 am at Downriggers in Friday Harbor. The restaurant is open for the breakfast meeting and to hear from a guest speaker

2008 Memorial Day Poppies

The tradition of red poppies on Memorial Day was inspired by the 1915 poem "In Flanders Fields," by John McCrea. Seeing the poem and its colorful illustration in a magazine, Georgia teacher and volunteer war worker Moina Michael made a personal pledge always wear red silk poppies as an emblem for "keeping the faith with all who died."

She also began a campaign to make the poppy a universal symbol of tribute and support for veterans. Through her efforts, the idea was adopted in the United States and spread to England, France, Australia and more than 50 other countries. Here is the poem:

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

McCrae's "In Flanders Fields" remains to this day one of the most memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of 17 days in France during a terrible battle in the spring of 1915.

Although John McCrae had been a doctor for years and had served in the South African War, this was a different battle. It was impossible to get used to the suffering, the screams, and the blood here. Major John McCrae had seen and heard enough in France to last him a lifetime.

As a surgeon attached to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, Major McCrae had spent seventeen days treating injured men -- Canadians, British, Indians, French, and Germans in his field hospital.

It had been an ordeal that he had hardly thought possible. McCrae later wrote of it:

"I wish I could embody on paper some of the varied sensations of that seventeen days... Seventeen days of Hades! At the end of the first day if anyone had told us we had to spend seventeen days there, we would have folded our hands and said it could not have been done."

One death particularly affected McCrae. A young friend and former student, Lieut. Alexis Helmer of Ottawa, had been killed by a shell burst on May 2, 1915. Lieutenant Helmer was buried later that day in the little cemetery outside McCrae's field hospital, and McCrae had performed the funeral ceremony in the absence of the chaplain.

The next day, sitting on the back of an ambulance parked near the field hospital, McCrae vented his anguish by composing a poem. In the nearby cemetery, McCrae could see the wild poppies that sprang up in the ditches in that part of Europe, and he spent twenty minutes of precious rest time scribbling fifteen lines of verse in a notebook â€"the poem In Flanders Fields.

Memorial Day Traditions
Every Memorial Day, families and communities across the nation take time to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation. Americans observe this special holiday in many different ways. Here are a few of those traditions:

Visiting Gravesites -- Memorial Day was originally known as Decoration Day because it was a time to honor the nation's dead by decorating their graves with flowers. Many Americans make special flower arrangements and deliver them as a family to gravesites of their loved ones and ancestors.

Family and American History -- Memorial Day is a favorite time for Americans to read their family history, look at old photographs and learn about their ancestors, especially those who died in the line of battle. It's also an occasion for reading Lincoln's Gettysburg Address and other historic and patriotic speeches by Presidents and leaders of the Armed Services.

Displaying the Flag -- On Memorial Day, the U.S. flag should be displayed at half-staff until noon. In the morning, the flag should be raised momentarily to the top, then lowered to half-staff. Americans can also honor prisoners of war and those missing in action by flying the POW/MIA flag.

National Moment of Remembrance -- In accordance with a congressional resolution passed in 2000, Americans pause wherever they are at 3 pm local time for a moment of silence to remember and honor the fallen.

Experience the National Memorials -- Memorial Day can also be an opportunity to visit or read about the national memorials in Washington and others around the country.

Memorial Day Parades -- The Memorial Day parade is a time-honored tradition in cities and towns across America, where neighbors come together to remember with pride those who sacrificed so much for our country.

Opening Day On San Juan Island

Twenty one teams, more than 250 children and 42 coaches will take to the three Elementary School fields this Saturday for the annual opening day festivities for the Friday Harbor Baseball & Softball Association. The event opens a season which runs until the middle of June and occupies the fields every weekday until early evening and most Saturdays all day.

This year Friday Harbor will field six coed T-ball teams; four minor league (7-10 year old boys), four major league (10-12 year old boys), one junior (13-15 year old boys) baseball teams; and three girlsâ€™ softball teams each for U13 (11-13 year old) and U10 (8-10 year old). The teams sponsored by these area businesses and service organizations.

Following a brief opening ceremony at 8:30 a.m. with Debbie Strasser singing the national anthem, all teams will take to the field for three to six inning match ups which last throughout the day. The community is invited to attend and enjoy the games, complete with a well-stocked concession stand, with games as follows:

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In addition, a cleat and mitt exchange will take place all day. The community is invited to clean out their closets and garages to find useable cleats and mitts that their children have outgrown. Tie cleats together in pairs, then bring them to the exchange table on Saturday. Children are invited to check out the table for sizes that fit. Any equipment that isnâ€™t given out on Saturday will be kept at the clubhouse for future years.

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Friday Harbor Baseball and Softball Association is led by a nine member volunteer board and is always seeking volunteers to umpire, help sort and collect uniforms, work in the concession stand or help in any of these areas:

Kris Brown, Communications/President, 378-3432
Penny Dunn, Vice President/Sponsorship, 378-4130
Marilyn Goff, Softball Coordinator, 378-3370
Alexis Hauck, Secretary/Registration, 378-9149
Michelle Herko, T-Ball/Hit-A-Thon, 298-0220
Phil Hickenbottom, Baseball Coordinator, 370-5370
Brian Lambright, Fields and Safety Officer, 378-4218
Debbie Rishel, Concessions, 378-5494
Gina Sandwith, Treasurer, 378-1233