NEWS BRIEFS: Bill to make part of U.S. Highway 101 into Medal of Honor Highway passes Senate . . . and other items

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, March 4, 2015

OLYMPIA — A 4-mile stretch of near the Clallam-Jefferson county line would become Medal of Honor Highway in recognition of four Medal of Honor recipients under a bill passed by the Senate on Tuesday.

Senate Joint Memorial 8012 was sponsored by Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, who represents the 24th Legisltive District which covers Clallam and Jefferson counties and part of Grays Harbor County.

The “North Olympic Peninsula Medal of Honor Memorial Highway” would honor each veteran with his own mile.

It now goes to the House for consideration.

Two of the men served in the Civil War, one served in World War II and one served in Vietnam. Two are from each county.

Student art show

PORT ANGELES ­ — Ninety works of art, from fused glass to large-scale graphics, adorn the walls of The Landing mall atrium starting today, and admission is free to admire them all.

The 2015 Sequim Arts Student Show is a display of art by high school and middle school students from across Clallam County, said volunteer organizer Steve Edison.

He and the Sequim Arts team invite the public to the free awards reception from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; student artists will be presented with cash awards at 5 p.m.

The exhibition will stay on display through March 29 in the ground-floor atrium of The Landing, 115 E. Railroad Ave.

More about the student show, including images of the artwork, will appear in this Friday’s Peninsula Daily News.

Chain gang busy

PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Sheriff’s Office Chain Gang removed a total of 680 pounds from illegal dump sites — 520 pounds from Little River Road and 160 pounds from Glass Road — during the week of Feb. 9-13.

Crews cleared trees from storm damage at Klahanie Campground. Fallen trees were cut and stacked into firewood and dispersed to campsites.

They brushed and thinned county rights of way on Old Mill Road, Simons Road, East Green Tree Lane and Bay View Drive.

Crews performed culvert maintenance on Freshwater Bay, Wasankari, Liljedahl, Grauel-Ramapo and South Shore roads, with 90 culverts cleaned.

Evenings of waltz begin on Thursday

PORT TOWNSEND — Starting Thursday, the Masonic Lodge, 1338 Jefferson St., will host an evening of “just waltz” from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Then this dancing opportunity will take place the first and third Thursday of each month.

Local dance instructor Janice Eklund will be there to answer questions.

Admission is $8.

For more information, contact Eklund at eklundjl@aol.com or 360-379-8052.

NAMI classes set

PORT ANGELES — NAMI of Clallam County is again offering free NAMI Family to Family and Basics classes.

The Family to Family class, a free 12-week course on consecutive Thursdays, starts this Thursday and ends May 14.

They will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Wendel Room at Olympic Medical Center.

This course is for family members and loved ones of adults with mental health issues, diagnosed or not.

For more information or to register, phone Cathy Martineau at 360-461-7250

The second class is the Basics Class, a free six-week course held on consecutive Thursdays starting this Thursday until May 9 from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. at the First Step Building, 325 E. Sixth St.

This course is for parents and caretakers of children with mental health and behavioral issues, diagnosed or not.

For more information or to register, phone Angel Lucas at 360-452-5244.

Dinner and raffle

PORT ANGELES — A dinner, raffle and silent auction to support the Captain Joseph House Foundation will be held at C’est Si Bon, 23 Cedar Park Drive, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 28.

Guest speakers are Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl and Lt. Col. Celia FlorCruz at the themed event, “Honoring our Fallen and Paving the Way for Their Families.”

Tickets are $85 per person and $75 for active duty/veterans.

To purchase tickets or for more information, phone Betsy Reed Schultz at 360-460-7848 or Sam Coyle at 360-460-4079.

Stamp Society

SEQUIM — At the next monthly meeting of the Strait Stamp Society on Thursday, James Kloetzel will present a talk on the “History of the Scott Catalogue.”

His talk is at the Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave., and starts at 6 p.m.

Kloetzel traces the development of the Scott catalogs from the very beginning, and even earlier, to the present time.

Kloetzel was the editor of the Scott catalogs from 1994 to 2011. He is a consultant handling all valuing and editing of the United States and Canada portions of the Scott catalogs.

The public is invited.

For more information, phone 360-683-6373.

Kah Tai work party slated for Friday

PORT TOWNSEND — A work party will take place at the Kah Tai Prairie Preserve from 10 a.m. to noon Friday.

The public is welcome.

Sponsored by the Olympic Chapter of the Washington Native Plant Society, this is a general spring cleanup and weeding party.

Meet at the parking lot within the Port Townsend Golf Club, 1948 Blaine St., by the Kah Tai Prairie Preserve sign.

Bring gloves and small weeding tools.

Contact Dixie Llewellin with questions at dixie@cablespeed.com or 360-385-6432.

Discussion group

SEQUIM — The Sequim Great Decisions Discussion Group will meet at the Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave., from 10 a.m. to noon Friday.

The topic is “The Calm Before the Storm: Why Volatility Signals Stability and Vice Versa.”

“The best indicator of a country’s future trajectory is not a lengthy past stability but recent moderate volatility,” according to the group’s calendar listing.

The suggested background reading for the discussion is the article The Calm Before the Storm from the January/February 2015 edition of Foreign Affairs, published by the Council on Foreign Relations.

New members are welcome.

For more information, phone John Pollock at 360-683-9622, email jcpollock@olypen.com or visit www.tinyurl.com/pdn-decisions.

Red Cross Lifeguard class slated

SEQUIM — The Sequim Aquatic Recreation Center (SARC), 610 N. Fifth Ave., will offer a Red Cross Lifeguard Certification class beginning at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 19.

Classes will meet each Thursday through April 16 and Sunday mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Specific dates will be scheduled with the class.

Students must be 15 years old by the final class meeting.

The class costs $172.50. The fee includes supplies such as a fanny pack, CPR pocket mask, whistle and water bottle.

Each student must pass an initial swim test that includes a 300-yard nonstop swim, treading water with legs only for two minutes and a timed 20-yard swim to retrieve a 10-pound object from 8 feet deep.

The test will be conducted at the first class.

Interested parties can sign up or receive additional information at SARC; by phone at 360-683-3344, ext. 10; or by email at sarcaquatics@olypen.com.

Sequim applicants

SEQUIM — The city is accepting applications to fill one vacancy on the City Arts Advisory Commission and one on the Parks and Recreation Board.

Applicants for both must reside within the city.

The term for the City Arts Advisory Commission expires Dec. 31, 2019.

The term for the Parks and Recreation Board expires June 30, 2017.

Both positions will remain open until filled.

For more information or to obtain an application, contact the Sequim Administrative Offices, located at 226 N. Sequim Ave.; phone 360-683-4139; or visit www.sequimwa.gov.

Submit applications to City Clerk Karen Kuznek-Reese at Sequim City Hall or via email at kkuznek@sequimwa.gov.