NEWS BRIEF: Cold case volunteer work to be honored Thursday in Port Angeles . . . and other items

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, January 14, 2015

PORT ANGELES — Special Deputy Gary Murphy will receive Thursday a commendation award for 12 years of volunteer service to the cold case squad of the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.

Sheriff Bill Benedict will present the award at 11 a.m. in the emergency operations center in the basement of the Clallam County Courthouse at 223 E. Fourth St.

Benedict said Murphy was instrumental in creating the cold case squad, which investigates murders that have been unsolved for many years, and establishing policies and procedures for the unit, as well as personally handling many cases.

Murphy directly participated in updating the files of eight Clallam County residents who disappeared under suspicious circumstances, Benedict said.

Still satisfactory

PORT ANGELES — Rachelle E. Grasso, 26, of Port Angeles remained in satisfactory condition at Habroview Medical Center in Seattle on Tuesday, according to spokeswoman Susan Gregg.

Grasso, who had surgery Thursday, was upgraded from critical to satisfactory condition Saturday and has remained stable, Gregg said.

A second person injured in the wreck, Chandra M. Johnson, 23, was released from Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles on Monday.

At about 10:18 a.m. Wednesday, Grasso’s Toyota pickup truck crossed the centerline and collided with Johnson’s Nissan Altima on U.S. Highway 101 just east of Laird Road, the State Patrol said.

The highway was partially blocked for nearly five hours as the State Patrol and firefighters treated the two women and cleared the scene.

The State Patrol said drugs or alcohol contributed to the crash.

Group meets to revitalize Port Angeles

PORT ANGELES — A Revitalize Port Angeles meeting will be held in the second-floor conference room of The Landing mall, 115 E. Railroad Ave., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday.

All are welcome to the public event.

This grass-roots movement is focused on building Port Angeles into a thriving seaport town.

For more information, phone Leslie Robertson at 661-755-3334 or email momtotwogirls@sbcglobal.net.

Discussions 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 Unravelling: How to Respond to a Disordered World.”

“With U.S. hegemony waning and no successor waiting to pick up the baton, the current international system will likely give way to a larger number of power centers acting with increasing autonomy. The post-Cold War order is unraveling, and it will be missed,” according to the group’s calendar listing.

The suggested background reading for the discussion is the article “The Unravelling” from the November/December 2014 edition of Foreign Affairs.

New members are welcome.

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

Inca shaman in PT

PORT TOWNSEND — Inca shaman Washington Gibaja Tapia will bring “Medicine Power and the Energy of Mother Earth Healings” to the Unity Spiritual Enrichment Center, 3918 San Juan Ave., from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday.

All are welcome. Admission is on a sliding scale of $10 to $30.

Coming from Peru’s Sacred Valley to share the teachings of his lineage, Tapia brings a night of “sacred opportunity of blessing and healing.”

“Well-known for his spiritual and humanitarian work and knowledge of Peru’s sacred sites, he has been gifted since childhood with healing abilities, clairvoyance and a sensitivity, which help him see into the body and soul on many levels,” according to a news release.

For more information, contact Gail Benvenuta at gailbpt@gmail.com or 360-379-5380, or visit www.unitypt.org.

Prime rib dinner

FORKS — The Forks Emblem Club No. 488 will serve a full-course prime rib dinner at the Forks Elks Lodge, 941 Merchants Road, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Saturday.

The cost is $18 per person; seniors 60 and older are $17; kids 12 and younger are $9.

All proceeds benefit Emblem Club charities.

Newlywed game

FORKS — The Forks Elks Lodge, 941 Merchants Road, is hosting The Newlywed Game and a full-course surf-and-turf dinner on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.

Dinner will be served from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m., with the game to follow.

Tickets are $25 per person or $40 per couple.

For reservations or more information, phone 360-780-2000.