NEWS BRIEFS: Sequim Civic Center open house set today . . . and other items

SEQUIM — The public can take a look at Sequim’s new civic center today.

An open house is set from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the newly constructed $14.5 million facility at 152 W. Cedar St.

City Council members and city staff will be available to answer questions and direct visitors through the new facility.

Parking is available on Cedar Street, accessed from Second Avenue, and at the public parking lot on Sequim Avenue and Cedar Street.

Visitors should enter through the main entrance on the southeast corner of the building.

The 33,000-square-foot civic center includes a police station as well as most other city departments under one roof, eliminating the need to rent space in area buildings.

City employees began moving furniture and equipment into the building earlier last month.

Functional operation of the building as City Hall and the Police Department is expected to begin May 18.

The opening of the art exhibit “What Sequim Means to Me” — originally planned today at the civic center — has been postponed.

Finishing touches are still being made, and the exhibit space is not prepared for the display, city officials said.

The art show opening will be announced once a date is confirmed, sometime after the new civic center is officially open.

For more information about the open house, contact City Clerk Karen Kuznek-Reese at 360-681-3428 or kkuznek@sequimwa.gov.

No ferry service

PORT TOWNSEND — The state ferries system will repair the Coupeville terminal transfer span Saturday and Sunday.

No ferry service will be offered those days between Port Townsend and Coupeville on Whidbey Island.

The terminal will be closed and all ferry service on the route canceled for the weekend.

Alternate routes include the Mukilteo/Clinton or Edmonds/Kingston ferry routes, or travelers can drive around via Interstate 5 and state Highway 20, ferry officials said.

Road closure

FORKS — Forest Service Road 3000-200, located about 30 miles northeast of Forks, will be closed to vehicle access beginning today and continuing through June 30.

The road closure is on a spur off National Forest Road 30, about 3 miles east of the Hungry Bear Cafe on U.S. Highway 101.

This temporary closure is to ensure public safety during logging operations by KOCC Timber Sale, the National Forest Service said in a news release.

A combination of Douglas fir, hemlock and some hardwoods will be harvested as the area is thinned for habitat restoration, the National Forest said.

For more information, phone 360-374-6522.

Boat stopped

PORT ANGELES — The crew of the Coast Guard cutter Sea Lion, while on patrol in the Strait of Juan de Fuca east of Port Angeles, terminated the voyage of a fishing vessel for safety concerns.

The three-member crew that was harvesting geoducks aboard the 28-foot vessel Enforcer was safely escorted Wednesday to Port Angeles, where the vessel was ordered to remain until the crew fixed the especially hazardous safety condition of lacking any personal flotation devices.

“I can’t stress enough the importance of carrying enough life jackets with you for everyone aboard the vessel, and this is a mandatory requirement on all commercial vessels,” said Eric Cookson, a command duty officer at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound.

“We offer free vessel safety examinations where we will come to your boat to check that it meets all applicable rules and regulations. A Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Decal is awarded for those meeting the safety standards.”

Passing a Coast Guard fishing vessel examination will become mandatory Oct. 15.

For inspections along the central Washington coast and the Puget Sound, contact Robert Cuddeback at 206-217-6187.

The Sea Lion is a 87-foot patrol boat based in Bellingham.

OMC fundraiser

The Olympic Medical Center Auxiliary will have a fundraiser selling Holly Zhang pearls in the hospital lobby, 939 Caroline St., from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday.

It will hold another sale in the lobby of the Sequim Medical Center, 800 N. Fifth Ave., from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Proceeds will go toward scholarships and hospital equipment donations by the auxiliary.

For more information, phone Mary K. Conner at 360-797-1127 or email dungenessmk@hotmail.com.

‘Old Times’ show

PORT TOWNSEND — The Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Theater Circle will present “Old Times: An Evening of Scenes, Monologues and Music” in the Fellowship Hall, 2333 San Juan Ave., next Friday, May 8, at 7 p.m.

The program features situations encountered by older folks — some humorous, some serious.

Tickets are $5 and can be purchased by sending a check made out to “QUUF” to Tickets, 2933 Jackman St., Port Townsend, WA 98368.

Tickets will be held at the box office.

Studio tour

PORT TOWNSEND — Centrum artist-in-residence Brandon T. Truscott is inviting art lovers to see his new work, “Mnemonic Type,” in a free studio tour Saturday. 

Truscott will host the tour of his space on the second floor of Building 205 at Fort Worden State Park, 200 Battery Way. 

The studio will be open from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. that day, and no state parks Discover Pass is required to visit.

“Mnemonic Type” is a three-dimensional installation made of 1,700 straws and 770 printed sheets of paper. When Truscott finishes, it will be about 5 feet tall and 32 feet long. 

Truscott has also entered two pieces in the Port Townsend Wearable Art Show scheduled for Saturday, May 9, at Fort Worden’s McCurdy Pavilion. 

For details about the show, a benefit for the Jefferson County Fund for Women and Girls, see ptwearableart.com.

Celtic roots music hosted this month

PORT ANGELES — St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church will hold “A Celtic Journey” with The Fire Inside in Peninsula College’s Little Theater, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, May 8.

This exploration of Celtic roots through music is open to all.

Admission is $10. Tickets can be purchased at Port Book and News, 104 E. First St., or at the church, 510 E. Park Ave.

For more information, phone Von Markely at 360-457-4862 or visit www.thefireinsideceltic.com or www.standrewpa.org.

Unity speaker

PORT ANGELES — Unity in the Olympics, 2917 E. Myrtle St., will hold a 10:30 a.m. service Sunday featuring the Rev. Pat Mawson, whose lesson will be “You Are the Healer.”

A potluck will follow the worship service.

The Board of Trustees will provide meat and vegetarian entrees.

Bring a side dish or dessert to share.

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.

All are welcome.

Grail course set

PORT TOWNSEND — “Sacred Union: Magdalene, Jesus and the Grail” is the next course in a series of Jung esoteric studies offered through the Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Adult Learning Programs (ALPs.)

All six classes will be held at the Unity Spiritual Enrichment Center, 3918 San Juan Ave.

Classes are Thursday nights May 7-June 11 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The mythologist Joseph Campbell and the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung believed the grail legends to be numinous doorways into western European mysticism.

According to a news release: “Gnostic Christianity from the Hidden Stream is re-emerging in our time with its deep soul wisdom reflective of these grail mysteries.

“Explore Magdalene, Jesus and the grail as templates for the modern integration of feminine and masculine energies into conscious wholeness.”

Pamela Douglas-Smith and Diane Ritchey Vaux will facilitate the course.

The course is free of charge, though a $5 fee will be asked for the photo set of the windows at St. Baum.

Participants are asked to bring a journal each week for inner process work; a bibliography will be provided.

Registration is online at http://tinyurl.com/pdn-spring2015alps.

Pre-registration is highly recommended so photo sets can be ordered.

For questions about registration, phone 360-385-6519.

For more information on classes at Unity, visit www.unitypt.org.

Day of Prayer

PORT TOWNSEND — On Thursday, celebrate the 64th National Day of Prayer in Jefferson County.

People will gather at local churches to pray.

They are invited to attend two public meetings at the Jefferson County Courthouse flagpole, 1820 Jefferson St., at noon and 7 p.m.

The focus of the national organization for the event is “Lord, Hear Our Cry.”

The scripture is found in 1 Kings 8:28.

Local gatherings will focus on praying for government at various levels. An admonition to do this is found in 1 Timothy 2:1-3.

For information, contact Dennis Feten at 360-531-2465 or dfeten@gmail.com.

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