NEWS BRIEFS: Child rapist in Port Angeles sentenced to prison . . . and other items

PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles man has been sentenced to seven years, five months in prison for child rape.

Lorn Christopher Connolly, 46, pleaded guilty to second-degree rape of a child Dec. 10. He was sentenced Wednesday in Clallam County Superior Court.

Prosecutors had recommended a special sex offender sentencing alternative — or sex offender treatment — in exchange for the guilty plea.

Judge George L. Wood on Wednesday denied the recommended sex offender sentencing alternative, or SOSA, and imposed an 89-month prison sentence to be followed by life supervision.

Port Angeles police said Connolly molested a seventh-grade girl in the spring of 2012.

Ms. Wheelchair

SEQUIM — Julie Broadwell, Ms. Wheelchair Washington, will be officially crowned during a special ceremony Saturday evening.

Broadwell, a Sequim-area resident who uses a wheelchair for mobility, was named 2015 Ms. Wheelchair Washington on March 3 and will serve in that capacity for one year.

The ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. at Adagio Bean and Leaf, 981 E. Washington St.

There is no fee to attend the ceremony, although monetary donations will be accepted and a silent auction held.

Broadwell needs to raise about $1,800 to pay for her trip this summer to compete at the 2016 Ms. Wheelchair America Pageant.

The pageant will be held in Des Moines, Iowa, from July 27 through Aug. 2.

Unlike most pageants, Ms. Wheelchair America does not judge beauty.

Instead, the Ms. Wheelchair Washington and Ms. Wheelchair America organizations focus on recognizing the free spirit and accomplishments of women who use wheelchairs.

For more information about the event or about how to donate to Broadwell’s cause, call 206-240-0674.

Morning retreat set this Saturday

PORT TOWNSEND — A morning retreat, “Saints & Mystics,” will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1020 Jefferson St., from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

The retreat will feature Julian of Norwich, an English anchoress who lived from 1342 to 1416.

She is regarded as an important Christian mystic but has never been canonized or beatified, the church said in a news release.

A $10 suggested donation includes refreshments appropriate to Julian’s era.

Her work, Revelations of Divine Love, is the first book in the English language known to have been written by a woman.

Val Johnstone leads the retreat.

To register, phone the church’s office at 360-385-0770.

Unity speaker

PORT ANGELES — Unity in the Olympics, 2917 E. Myrtle St., will hold a 10:30 a.m. service Sunday featuring the Rev. Charles Mawson, whose lesson will be “Twelve Powers of Man: God’s Will for Us.”

Child care is available during the service.

A brief time for silent meditation will be held from 10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

On Saturday, May 16, Unity will be feeding youth at TAFY (The Answer for Youth).

Bring food to the church by 3:45 p.m.

Cash donations to purchase food also are accepted.

All are welcome to attend church activities.

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