PORT TOWNSEND –– Three conservation groups will ask today for an emergency halt to the harvest of 234 acres of timber surrounded by endangered marbled murrelet habitat in Jefferson County Superior Court.
The Olympic Forest Coalition, Seattle Audubon Society and Sierra Club will ask Superior Court Judge Keith Harper to stop lumber company Interfor from harvesting the timber from land owned by the state Department of Natural Resources in west Clallam and Jefferson counties.
The harvest is scheduled to begin Monday.
Each side will be given 30 minutes to make its case, and Harper is expected to rule shortly thereafter.
The marbled murrelet, a member of the auk family, is listed as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act.
On May 30, the state announced the harvest could begin.
Interfor bid $2,126,413 for the timber in April.
Flag Day ceremony
PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Veterans Association is sponsoring a Flag Day ceremony from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.
The ceremony is at the Clallam County Veterans Center, 261 S. Francis St.
The Sequim American Legion Post 62 will perform the ceremony.
All are invited to attend and bring unserviceable flags for proper disposal.
Cookies and drinks will be provided.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day.
It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the U.S., which happened on that day in 1777 by resolution of the Second Continental Congress.
Park road open
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — The first 3 miles of Obstruction Point Road from Hurricane Ridge to Waterhole will open this morning, Olympic National Park officials announced.
Motorists are advised to avoid blocking the gate at Waterhole.
Beyond the gate, crews are using a front-end loader to scoop and remove snow from the remaining 5 miles of the narrow gravel road that leads to the Obstruction Point trailhead.
The snow is more than 10 feet deep in places.
Elsewhere in the park, Deer Park Road is open to the Deer Park campground. Visitors are advised to use caution, as crews are using a grader to improve the gravel surface.
Deer Park campground is open for primitive camping with pit toilets and no drinking water.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Hill Road, the 1.5-mile paved road that leads past the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center to a trailhead and picnic area, is open.
For information on current conditions of Olympic National Park roads, campgrounds and other facilities, visit www.nps.gov/olym.
Hunger drive
PORT ANGELES — A North Olympic Peninsula auto dealership opens a drive this weekend to collect peanut butter to help fight hunger.
Price Ford opens its part of the Ford Motor Co.’s Ford Peanut Butter Drive today outside the Sequim Walmart off Washington Street and River Road.
Collections will be taken outside the Sequim Walmart on Sunday as well as June 21 and 22 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. all days.
Other collection points:
■ Port Angeles Walmart, U.S. Highway 101 at Kolonels Way, on Saturday, Sunday and June 20 and 22 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
■ Sequim QFC, 990 E. Washington St., on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
■ Co-op Farm and Garden, 216 E. Washington St., Sequim; Sunset Do-It-Best Hardware, 518 Marine Drive; and Price Ford, 3311 E. U.S. Highway 101, Port Angeles, are collection sites during the entire June 14-21 peanut butter drive.
The donated peanut butter will be distributed through local food banks.
Joyce museum open
JOYCE — The Joyce Depot Museum, 50883 state Highway 112, is now open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through Labor Day, Sept. 1.
There are hundreds of items of local historical interest on display in the 99-year-old log train station.
For more information, visit www.joycegeneral.com/muse.htm.
Buddhist approach feted today
SEQUIM — The Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave., will host “Beyond Hope and Fear: Buddhist Approaches to Happiness and Suffering” from 7 to 9 tonight.
There is a $10 suggested donation, but no one will be turned away.
The workshop focuses on learning, contemplation and meditation to recognize people’s basic goodness and unlock their innate potential for true health and happiness, according to organizers.
For more information, phone Devan Miller at 360-477-5445 or email port.angeles.dzogchen.sangha@gmail.com.
Memorial service
PORT TOWNSEND — A memorial celebrating the life of Robert Lapham, who passed away May 18 at the age of 63, will be held at the Masonic Lodge, 1338 Jefferson St., from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.
The memorial is open to the public.
The local spiritual communities of the greater Olympic Peninsula and the sanghas of Dzogchen Choling Center in Port Townsend and Dzogchen Tarji Ling in Port Angeles will share memories and celebrate Lapham’s contributions to the community.
The sangha, or “like-minded spiritual community,” is centered on helping each other embody the Buddhist principles of love, compassion and wisdom.
Lapham was instrumental in furthering this group endeavor with humor and a gift for storytelling that helped American students apply the Buddhist teaching to everyday contemporary life, according to organizers.
YouTube woman
SEQUIM — Heidi Mund, a German woman who has become noted on YouTube as the “Brave German Woman,” will speak at Sequim Bible Church, 847 N. Sequim Ave., at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
All are welcome to attend.
Mund is a former atheist who has turned to Christianity and gained global notoriety for standing up to Islam’s creeping influence in her homeland.
During her visit, she will answer questions from the audience.
For more information, phone the church office at 360-683-4135.
Father’s Day meal
PORT ANGELES — A special Father’s Day program will be held at Unity in the Olympics, 2917 E. Myrtle St., during the 10:30 a.m. worship service Sunday.
A potluck featuring barbecue ribs will follow the worship service.
A time for meditation will be held every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
Free child care is available.
All are welcome.
Also, a garage sale fundraiser will be held at 1228 W. Eighth St. on Saturday. Office furniture and other items will be for sale.
