Public meetings are planned this week to discuss possible alternatives for traffic delays and detours during planned rehabilitation of U.S. Highway 101 around Lake Crescent.
Olympic National Park and Federal Highway Administration staff will conduct public meetings today in Port Angeles and Wednesday in Forks to get comment on six preliminary alternatives for routing traffic around work, which is expected to begin in 2017.
Both meetings will be from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Port Angeles meeting will be at the senior center at 328 E. Seventh St. The Forks meeting will be at the Quileute tribe 101 Building at 196281 U.S. Highway 101.
Written comments can be made until June 7 at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-highwayatlakecrescent, mailed to Superintendent, Highway 101 EA Scoping, Olympic National Park, 600 E. Park Ave., Port Angeles, WA 98362; or faxed to 360-565-3015.
Work will fix potholes, rock fall hazards, failing retaining walls and rotten guardrails on 12.3 miles of the primary thoroughfare between the West End and the rest of the North Olympic Peninsula.
Alternatives range from three years of 30-minute delays during the construction season, which is from March to November, to closing the stretch of highway entirely for 1.7 construction seasons while traffic is diverted onto state highways 112 and 113.
Comments will be used to prepare a draft environmental assessment to be released this summer or fall.
For more information, see http://tinyurl.com/PDN-highwayatlakecrescent.
Ceremony set today for Civic Center
SEQUIM — The public is invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony today for the new Sequim Civic Center.
The ceremony will be held at noon at the main entrance of the building, located at 152 W. Cedar St.
Also beginning today, the $14.5 million Civic Center will be open for business Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The 33,000-square-foot Civic Center will house the police station and most other city departments under one roof, eliminating the need to rent space in area buildings scattered throughout Sequim.
Park road opens
OLYMPIC NATIONAL PARK — The first 3 miles of the 8-mile-long Obstruction Point Road is open.
The road is clear of snow and has been graded as far as Waterhole, said Barb Maynes, Olympic National Park spokeswoman.
Parking is limited at Waterhole. Visitors are asked to take care to avoid blocking the gate, Maynes said.
Beyond the gate, crews are clearing and preparing the remaining 5 miles of road, she said.
In addition, Hurricane Hill Road — the 1.5 miles of road that leads past the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center to the Hurricane Ridge picnic area and Hurricane Hill trailhead — is open.
More information on visiting the park and conditions of roads is available at www.nps.gov/olym.
RSVP for PA Monday Musicale
PORT ANGELES — Monday Musicale will offer public entertainment at the Queen of Angels Hall, 209 W. 11th St., at 1 p.m. today.
The musical entertainment will be preceded by a noon meeting for the group.
The objective of Monday Musicale is to encourage music study in schools.
Recently, three students were chosen for three scholarships:
■ Kyle Sholinder, first place, marimba.
■ Michael Helwick, second place, double bass.
■ Beth Ann Brackett, third place, voice.
For reservations and more information, phone Ruth Welch at 360-457-5223.
Senior meals offered in PA this week
PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles Senior Nutrition Site dinners will be served at 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday at the Port Angeles Senior Center, 328 E. Seventh St.
A suggested donation is $5 for those who are 60 or older.
People younger than 60 can attend for $8.
Reservations should be made 24 hours in advance to 360-457-8921.
Menus are subject to change.
■ Tuesday: Pea salad, macaroni and cheese with ham, broccoli and cauliflower and watermelon.
■ Wednesday: Spinach salad, baked potato with chili and cheese, grapes and brownie a la mode.
■ Thursday: Cranberry salad, hot turkey sandwich, whipped potatoes with gravy, peas and citrus sections.
■ Friday: Potato salad on a bed of greens, cheeseburger, baked beans and apple pie a la mode.
Pasture grass talk
SEQUIM — Horse and livestock owners are invited to attend a free workshop on identifying and controlling weeds and improving grass growth in pastures from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.
The workshop is at Robin Hill Farm Park, located between Port Angeles and Sequim off Dryke Road, 0.25 miles north of U.S. Highway 101.
The workshop will meet in the parking lot located off Pinnell Road and will take place outdoors.
Cathy Lucero of the Clallam County Noxious Weeds Control Board will identify local weeds that can cause serious health problems in horses and livestock.
Her presentation includes samples of common pasture weeds and tips for controlling nuisance plants.
Participants are encouraged to bring fresh weeds — in a bag — for identification at the workshop.
Planners with the Clallam Conservation District will give advice for boosting production in pastures and hay fields through the use of rotational grazing, soil testing and fertilizing.
For more information and to register, phone the district at 360-775-3747, ext. 1, or email info@clallamcd.org.
DAR meeting set
PORT ANGELES — The Daughters of the American Revolution will hold their monthly meeting at the Port Angeles Veterans Center, 413 S. Francis St., at 10 a.m. Wednesday.
The meeting is open to the public, and members are encouraged to attend.
Guest speaker Kathy Monds of the Clallam County Historical Society will talk about the new exhibit on the U.S. Coast Guards stationed at Ediz Hook.
There will be an installation of new members and a memorial service for Martha Carle.
For more information, phone Janis Flanagan at 360-457-1446.
Sea Gal, Blitz visit
PORT ANGELES — The Seattle Seahawks’ mascot, Blitz, recently visited Hamilton and Jefferson elementary schools, bringing along Sea Gal Tamaria to remind students about the importance of healthy eating and staying active.
One way they said to do this is through the Fuel Up to Play 60 program, in which both schools are already participants.
The program, started by the National Dairy Council and the National Football League in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, encourages physical activity and a healthy lifestyle for youths.
Representatives from the Washington Dairy Council were also in attendance.
Sea Gal Tamaria and Blitz expressed the importance of eating from the four food groups — dairy, vegetable, fruit and grain — and encouraged students to think of them as the four “plays” to good health, similar to “plays” made in football.
The two schools were awarded a grant in 2013 to purchase supplies to run a “Families in Training” program to extend nutrition and physical activity education to students’ families.
For more information about the Fuel Up to Play program, contact Krista Winn at 360-565-1647 or kwinn@portangelesschools.org.
PT student aids women in project
PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson Community School senior Amelia Hemsley recently presented her capstone project about her research of human trafficking and held a homemade jewelry sale at the school.
Community members, students and family were in attendance.
The presentation and sale raised awareness and $1,500 to benefit female and child victims.
The jewelry is handcrafted by the rescued women, and the money raised will provide safe houses for six women for a month in locations around the world, according to a news release.
Admiralty Audubon
PORT TOWNSEND — Live raptors and owls with their wildlife rehabilitators will present a free informational event at the Port Townsend Community Center, 620 Tyler St., from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday.
Cindy Daily of Discovery Bay Wild Bird Rescue (Port Townsend) and Jaye Moore of the Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center (Sequim) will bring live raptors and owls to educate the public about the birds’ natural history and the role of wildlife rehabilitators.
The event is free and open to the public.
For more information, visit the centers online at www.discoverybaywildbirdrescue.com and www.nwraptorcenter.com.
