NEWS BRIEFS: Tarboo watershed Plant-a-Thon postponed to next weekend . . . and other items

PORT TOWNSEND — An expectation of heavy rain has prompted the postponement of the 10th annual Plant-a-Thon on the Tarboo watershed from this Saturday to next Saturday, Feb. 14.

“A storm is coming in,” said Jude Rubin, stewardship director for Northwest Watershed Institute, which coordinates the annual tree planting as part of a larger effort to restore salmon and wildlife in the Tarboo Watershed.

“Tarboo Creek just started heading into a flood stage,” Rubin said in an email sent Thursday morning.

“Our planting area will likely be too wet to access this weekend.”

Some 200 volunteers will plant 3,000 trees at the Northwest Watershed Institute’s Tarboo Wildlife Preserve once conditions are dry enough.

The National Weather Service has said that rain falling Thursday was from the first of a series of storms headed for the Northwest over five days.

The five-day rain totals are expected to add up to 10 to 13 inches in the Olympics and Cascades and 1 to 4 inches in the Western Washington lowlands.

“We are really sorry for the inconvenience but are confident everyone will be happier if we wait,” Rubin said in her email.

Four Chaplains

SEQUIM — American Legion, Jack Grennan Post 62 will host the Four Chaplains Ceremony at 1 p.m. Sunday.

The ceremony will be at the Legion hall at 107 E. Prairie St.

The Four Chaplains were four U. S. Army chaplains who died as they saved civilian and military personnel when the USAT Dorchester sank Feb. 3, 1943, during World War II.

They were Father John Washington, born in Newark, N.J., who was Catholic; the Rev. Clark Poling, born in Columbus, Ohio, who was ordained in the Reformed Church in America; Rabbi Alexander Goode, born in Brooklyn, N.Y., who was Jewish; and the Rev. George Fox, born in Lewistown, Pa., who was Methodist.

In 1988, Feb. 3 was established by a unanimous act of Congress as an annual “Four Chaplains Day.

Farewell party

PORT ANGELES — The public is invited to the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center to a celebration honoring longtime board member Vicci Rudin this Sunday afternoon.

A farewell party for Rudin, who has served on the board of the Friends of the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center and on the center’s board — later becoming its chairwoman — will go from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Admission is free, and light refreshments will be served at the fine arts center, 1203 E. Lauridsen Blvd.

Following Rudin’s retirement from the board, Anne Dalton is serving as interim chairwoman until the trustees choose a permanent leader.

Also at the fine arts center is “A Family of Sorts,” an exhibition of sculptures by Guemes Island artist Sue Roberts.

The center’s indoor gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursdays through Sundays, while the surrounding Webster’s Woods art park is open from dawn till dusk daily.

For information, see www.PAFAC.org or phone 360-457-3532.

Outage, closure

PORT ANGELES — An electrical power outage and temporary road closure are planned in the area of Tumwater Truck Route on Sunday.

The outage will be from 7 a.m. until about 5 p.m., the city announced.

It will affect customers in the Tumwater Truck Route area west to the East Boat Haven between Third Street and Marine Drive.

All customers who will be without power have been notified, according to the city.

Part of the project includes the placement of new wire over the roadway, which will prompt the closure of Tumwater Street to through traffic from A Street to Marine Drive.

Marine Drive and Tumwater Truck Route will have flaggers throughout the project.

Heart-health talks

February is Heart Health Month, and beginning today, Jefferson Healthcare hospital is launching an educational series, WellHearts, that focuses on improving women’s heart health.

The series will alternate between the Ludlow Beach Club’s Bayview Room, 121 Marina View Drive, Port Ludlow, and Jefferson Healthcare’s Dirksen Auditorium, 834 Sheridan St., Port Townsend.

These are the first of many free educational programs.

The WellHearts education series informs women about their heart health numbers — numbers vital to understanding why making lifestyle changes will reduce their risks of heart disease, according to a news release.

The entire series of heart health education includes these free programs:

■ Noon today and Wednesday, beach club and Dirksen auditorium, respectively: “Taking Care of Your Heart” with cardiologist Dr. David Tinker, with free blood pressure checks and heart healthy snacks. Every woman who wears red will be entered into a drawing.

■ Noon Tuesday, beach club: “The Silent Killer: Elevated Blood Pressure and the Risk on Your Heart.”

■ Noon Monday, Feb. 16, Dirksen auditorium: “Blood Cholesterol Management.”

■ Noon Tuesday, Feb. 17, beach club: “Understanding My New Heart Diagnosis.”

■ 5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23, Dirksen auditorium: “The Silent Killer: Blood Pressure & the Risk on Your Heart.” Blood pressures readings will be taken by an RN.

■ 11:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 27, beach club: “Skipped Heartbeats: When to Worry.”

For more information, visit www.jeffersonhealthcare.org.

Roosevelt honors 2

PORT ANGELES — Two Roosevelt Elementary School students, Alivia Smith and Seth Lowe, recently were honored by Principal Michelle Olsen at a School Board meeting as Port Angeles School District December Students of the Month.

The students were selected by Roosevelt staff as part of a new program instituted by Superintendent Marc Jackson honoring exemplary students.

Olsen introduced the two students, sharing comments from teachers: “Alivia, a sixth-grader, is an excellent role model for my first-graders. She has been voluntarily coming in during her recess time to work with the younger students to build their academic skills.

“She is a great listener and spends time listening as first-graders read to her. She will also work with students that have been absent or just need a little extra time to master a concept in math.”

“Seth Lowe,” Olsen said, “is a fifth-grade student at Roosevelt. He is being recognized for being the one-man team that delivers our classroom breakfast carts. He arrives every morning at 7:15 a.m. and efficiently delivers to every classroom prior to school starting. He does so with a smile and a cheerful ‘hi.’”

Students of the Month will be announced at each school’s respective School Board meeting.

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