Transition Fidalgo and Friends Seventh Generation Supper Notes for the month of June

Transition Fidalgo & Friends   Seventh Generation Supper  
Tuesday, June 24th, 5:45 pm       Anacortes Senior Center

Bill Testerman emceed the evening and lively music was provided by Transition Fidalgo's own Ron Larson.  Ron had some fun with his last song, "I Just Don't Look Good Naked Anymore."  Attendance was 43. 

 Community Announcements:

• Maggie and Larry Collinge, with friends Michelle Ledeen and Bruce Hall, are collecting good, saleable "stuff" for a Shipwreck Days booth to benefit Oso slide victims - all proceeds will be donated to the Red Cross. They are hoping for contributions ( no clothes please) and volunteers to help man the booth. Home phone, 360 466-3431, cell 360 202-5618; lmcollinge@gmail.com  Larry (360-202-5618) or Bruce (206-251-6862) will pick up items.  Please call.
• Carolyn Gastellum asked for volunteers to sign up to be a TF&F Supper Emcee.  Volunteers are being sought for July, August, & Sept.  In addition, helper bees are needed for set up and clean up.
• Carolyn also noted three upcoming events regarding the Oil Train issue.
• ---Oil Train Event #1 - June 30, 6:30 - 8:30, "Oil Trains in Skagit." Hosted by Protect Skagit, in the Skagit PUD Aqua Room, 1415 Freeway Dr, Mt. Vernon.  Protect Skagit is an all-volunteer group that will inform the public about the transport of Bakken crude oil by trains through Skagit County.  Local volunteer Ginny Wolff will preside over the meeting that will feature Mt Vernon  Fire Chief Roy Hari to discuss emergency response planning and practices for possible oil train accidents.
• ---Oil Train Event #2 - July 7th, 5:15pm. Commemorative Event in Remembrance of Lac-Megantic, Quebec.  Meet at the plaza of the Skagit Transit Center, south of the Skagit Station building at 105 Kincaid Street, Mt. Vernon.  We will walk from the plaza along the Kincaid Street sidewalk and cross the BNSF tracks to the Skagit County courthouse.  This event will remember the 47 deaths from a derailed Bakken crude oil train explosion.
• ---Oil Train Event #3 - July 8th, 6:30 - 8:30 pm, Anacortes Senior Center, 1701 22nd Street. "Risky Business: How oil transport threatens Washington's health."  This free event is a public forum concerning oil by rail safety with featured speakers Matt Krogh from Forest Ethics and Stephanie Buffam from Friends of the San Juan Islands. 
• Eric Shen reminded everyone that there is a "Fix-It" booth at the Farmers Market every 4th Saturday.  Bring your broken items and the team will repair them if possible.  All proceeds go to benefit the Deception Pass Park system that is under financial stress with state cutbacks.  The next Fix-It day is Saturday, June 28th, 9-2pm.
• Bill Bowman and Howard Pellet presented the Skagit Living Democracy initiative on the Community Bill of Rights today to the Skagit County Board of Commissioners.  Bill has brochures and a "Living Democracy" petition focused on proposing a local Community Bill of Rights. The principles of the bill include protection of local natural resources; protection of residential neighborhoods; full rights for workers; and the transition to carbon-free power sources. For more info, contact Bill at kinetic.ki.bill@gmail.com
• Phyllis Dolph requested everyone contact Governor Jay Inslee either through letter or on his website, asking him to STOP oil and coal trains from coming through our state.
• Rich Bergner invited everyone to march with TF&F in the 4th of July parade.  Meet at the movie theater area on "O" Ave about 10:30 for a 11am parade start. Be creative - dress up, carry signs, show your "Vision 2030" spirit - or use props we'll have available.
• Evelyn Adams mentioned that the Timebank Summer Social will be Wednesday, July 16th, 6:30pm, at the Washington Park picnic shelter.  Bring a potluck item, place setting, and lawn games if you have them.  Also, the Sept 30th 7th Generation Supper will be devoted to the Time Bank and will include a presentation and silent auction fundraiser to support the TimeBank. The committee is hard at work planning the auction (some great gift baskets are in the works!) and they will be looking for unique items from the TF&F and Time Bank communities. Evelyn also noted that our free skillshare workshops (co-sponsored by TF&F and the Farmers' Market) are in full swing - this Saturday's 10 am workshop will focus on culinary herbs, and July workshops will include medicinal herbs, mason bees and raising urban chickens. The 3rd annual "Tour de Coops & Crops" will take place 1-4:30pm on July 26, following the chicken class - 11 families in Anacortes are on the tour list.
• Kevin Maas discussed the three proposed Skagit County Community Solar Projects - Kevin is seeking local investors.  One project will be at the Anacortes Library, a second project will be at the Anacortes Middle School, and a third project will be at the Mt. Vernon Waste Water Plant.

Here are a some important points in Kevin's presentation:

1.      we are developing three projects, each with similar anticipated size (17kW), cost (~$85k), and performance (5-15% annualized return, depending on tax situation)

2.      each project needs to sell 16 "units", each representing one kilowatt of solar panels

3.      we have prepared a prospectus for each project; if we know which one you are most interested in, we will send you that specific prospectus--otherwise, we'll take a guess!

4.      we are looking for "soft commitments" to invest by the end of the month, while actual investment of cash ($4250) won't take place until September.

5.      since some projects may fill up with commitments sooner than others (the Anacortes Library, probably), consider a second-choice project

Call Kevin with your project preference or any questions. 360.770.9212

• Ron Larson, Treasurer of TF&F, was delighted to announce that we have surpassed our $2,500 goal in donations to our matching gift fund.  TF&F will still gratefully accept donations - use our website's paypal feature or mail to TF&F, PO Box 62, Anacortes.

 
Featured Presentation by Adam Lorio, Samish Indian Nation: "Past, Present, Future"

An inspiring presentation featuring information about Samish Tribal Culture and traditions was given by Adam Lorio, Educational Program Manager for the Samish Indian Nation. The Samish have lived on land in this area for thousands of years.  However, in 1792 the first Spanish sailing vessels appeared with white explorers. The land has changed since then and has lost a lot of its natural beauty.  The Samish are trying to regain some natural resources and habitat, and are involved in many restoration projects, one example being the restoration of various parts of Cypress Island.  Adam noted there are about 500 federally recognized tribes in America and 29 of those are in Washington State.  The last Samish longhouse was on Guemes Island and closed in ~1900.

Adjourned at 8:00 pm.

Bud Anderson, Secretary

Transition Fidalgo & Friends works to grow a more resilient community with a reduced reliance on fossil fuels.
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