The year is almost over, and some very important deadlines loom for our community.

First is for the King County Comprehensive Plan — a behemoth process we’ve detailed and will continue to detail up through and after its passage, which is scheduled for December 3.

It’s also budget season for our island agencies, which are deep in the process of finalizing their 2025 plans. On page 3 of this week’s paper, you’ll find times, dates and places to get involved in those processes.

One of the most pressing stories in our community is the tense relationship between island healthcare providers Vashon Island Fire & Rescue and the Vashon Health Care District (VHCD).

Perceptive readers will notice that we don’t get to that full story in our page 1 article about the rollout of DispatchHealth, a mobile urgent care provider brought to the island last month by VHCD.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: The Beachcomber is working to tell that full story, but it is complicated, entangling, and sensitive. At the same time, because we know people have questions about DispatchHealth and how to access it, we didn’t want to delay our story introducing the service, either.

As is our common refrain, we need a little more time to tell the rest of this story, so look out for a larger piece on island healthcare within the next few weeks.

Though there is obvious disagreement over who and how urgent care is provided on the island — disagreement which we know has confused some islanders — one thing should always be clear.

If you are having an emergency — call 911.

If you or someone you know is facing a life-threatening or serious, time-sensitive health problem — call 911.

If you’re in a situation where you’re not sure whether you should call 911 — call 911.

Urgent care is a wonderful thing, and we are excited and happy that so many people care about providing it here. But everyone involved agrees that it’s no replacement for emergency care.

When seconds and minutes count, you must call 911 and talk to an emergency dispatcher. If they determine that your situation is not an emergency, then you’ll be free to reach out for important but less time-sensitive care, such as urgent care.

The rest of the story is coming — stay tuned.