NEWS BRIEFS: Employment law talk set for chamber … and other items

PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce’s morning meeting this Wednesday will feature a talk on independent contractors and employment law.

The speaker is McCanna Law, presenting “What Business Owners Need to Know about Independent Contractors & Employment Law.”

James McCanna is a career employer’s attorney based on the Olympic Peninsula.

Chamber morning meetings are usually held on the third Wednesday of each month at 7:30 a.m. at Red Lion Hotel, 221 N. Lincoln St. There is no cost to attend, but donations are accepted to cover the cost of coffee, tea and doughnuts.

Chamber meetings are held three times each month, once each in the morning, at lunch and in the evening, to accommodate the availability of a variety of business owners.

Chamber luncheon meetings are on the second Wednesday of each month at 11:30 a.m. at Red Lion Hotel.

Reservations are recommended and can be made online at www.chambersignups.com. The cost is $18 for members and $25 for non-members, and includes a full lunch.

Chamber evening meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of each month at 5 p.m., hosted at a different local business each month. There is no cost to attend these After-Hours meetings.

The Jan. 26 After-Hours evening meeting will be held at Sound Community Bank, 110 N. Alder St., and will be co-hosted by The Crab House Restaurant, Sunset Do-It Best Hardware, the Port Angeles Lefties and the Peninsula Daily News.

Ferry on break

PORT ANGELES — After its last sailings today, the Coho ferry will take a two-week break for maintenance.

Black Ball Ferry Line’s MV Coho ferry, which runs daily between Victoria and Port Angeles, will take its annual maintenance break from Tuesday through Feb. 3.

While in drydock, the company will refurbish and add more seating to the Coho’s solarium deck.

The glassed-in seating area on the ferry’s upper passenger deck offers views of the Salish Sea and Olympic Peninsula during the 90-minute crossing.

“We continue to invest in improvements to the ferry and our terminals in Victoria and Port Angeles,” said Ryan Malane, vice president of marketing for Black Ball Ferry Line.

“The refurbishment of the popular solarium deck is one more way we are enhancing the travel experience for our passengers.”

The Coho’s last sailing from Port Angeles will be at 8:20 a.m. today. The last sailing from Victoria will depart at 10:30 a.m.

Regular service will resume Feb. 4 when the Coho departs Port Angeles at 8:20 a.m. and later from Victoria at 4 p.m.

OPAS slated to host guest speaker

SEQUIM — The Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society will meet at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Dungeness River Audubon Center, Railroad Bridge Park, 2151 W. Hendrickson Road.

Alan Bauer will present “The Natural World Always has a Story to Share: Celebrating What is Right with the World” at the meeting.

The program is free and open to the public.

Bauer is a professional photographer specializing in the natural history of Pacific Northwest.

His photographs have appeared in numerous magazines, newspapers and books, and in a special exhibit about spiders at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. He will share an image-intensive presentation displaying his personal celebrations, from hiking, birding and something worth celebrating, according to a news release.

Clinic moves

PORT ANGELES — After 45 years on Caroline Street, Peninsula Children’s Clinic joined Olympic Medical Physicians and is now seeing patients at 303 W. Eighth St.

To contact the clinic, phone 360-457-8578.

Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue receives $10K donation

PORT LUDLOW — Port Ludlow Fire & Rescue received a check for $10,000 from Shawna Gammill Matthews and her family’s foundation just before Christmas.

This is the seventh year the Gammill Family Foundation has gifted the fire department with a generous donation, according to Fire Chief Brad Martin.

Past donations have provided funds for the purchase of updated portable radios, hydrant markers, smoke detectors and a video-equipped Laryngoscope, a tool used to place a breathing tube in a patient.

The donations have also assisted in funding the File of Life handouts for community members; programs to include the Community Emergency Response Training (CERT), a disaster preparedness course for local citizens, and the purchase of a highly technical heart monitor.

The Gammill Family Foundation donations have all been deposited in the fire district’s own foundation fund and used to purchase items that benefit services the district provides to the community and to maintain the safety of the first responders.

Matthews’ father, Kennoth Gammill, created the first long-arm quilting machine in the late 1970s.

“The family is strong believers in giving back to the community,” Matthews said.

A long-time resident of Port Ludlow, Matthews said the services provided by Port Ludlow Fire are vitally important to the entire community.

“The Gammill Family Foundation has provided the necessary funds to get needed equipment much sooner than we otherwise could have without their help,” Martin said.

“We are most grateful for their generosity.”

Anyone interested can make donations to “Port Ludlow Fire Foundation” and can either drop them off or mail them to the main fire station located at 7650 Oak Bay Road, Port Ludlow, WA 98365.

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