Left, the outside looks the same but inside….. Right, Agate Beach’s toilet boasts a homey island touch, replete with fresh flowers, colorful paint, and a friendly reminder to keep things tidy.

Budget cuts everywhere hit everyone hard, but the Lopez community once again answered the call for help. Many people on Lopez know that volunteers are now assisting with day parks on the island, but the creativity of the islanders as always, brings a smile to visitors’ and locals’ faces alike. Just look at this marvelous touch-up job to the Agate Beach county day park’s toilet. Cynthia Dilling and Carl Jones have made the latrine their personal project.

“It’s been eye-opening,” Carl Jones said. “Once we spiffed it up, people have been extra-careful about keeping the facility clean and tidy.”

Many other islanders as well contribute their time and equipment to several day parks on Lopez: Agate Beach, Blackie-Brady, Mud Bay, Otis Perkins, and Shark Reef are among the parks in need of volunteer oversight and assistance. For example, besides the pit toilet refurbishment, lawns are mowed, edges kept trimmed, and recently Nick Gervasi and Scott Rozenbaum helped with the permit paperwork necessary to have the stairs at Blackie-Brady re-built. A fund drive will start soon to purchase materials to rebuild the staircase.

Along with Ann Palmer, Charles Janeway, Ann Goss, Teresa Danielsen, Barbara Fulton and Toni Petrinovich, other volunteers like Linda Noreen, Shannon Hoffman and Sorrel North are giving their volunteer time to pitch in and help keep the day parks tidy and welcoming. As always, if you can help out in any way, please call Carl Jones at 468-3251.