Cherie Kidd, left, a Port Angeles City Council member and fundraising chairwoman, looks on as Karen Gustin, superintendent of Olympic National Park, and Russ Veenema, executive director of the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce, hold a check for the Hurricane Ridge Road effort at a chamber luncheon Monday. Jim Hallett, president of the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce, is at right.   Photo courtesy of Russ Veenema

 

The results are in: Hurricane Ridge Road will remain open through the winter season this year.

Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Russ Veenema said a check for $75,000 was presented to Karen Gustin, superintendent of Olympic National Park, at a chamber luncheon on Monday.

The park service will supplement the $75,000 with $250,000 to keep the road open. Veenema said the park will begin hiring and implementing plans to keep the road open immediately.

"This really started the third week of June and to get the word out, get the concept out there as far as what we wanted to do and collect the money within six or seven weeks was very, very good," he said.

The Hurricane Ridge Winter Sports Club had several fundraisers and garnered more than $16,000, Veenema said.

Clallam County and the city of Port Angeles donated $20,000 each, with Sequim pitching in $5,000 and 7 Cedars Casino $2,500, he said.

The Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce donated $2,000, the Olympic Peninsula Bed and Breakfast Association donated $1,000, Capacity Provisioning raised $2,000 by auctioning off a fiber optic service, and $3,000 was donated by the Olympic Peninsula Tourism Commission, he said.

"It was really a cross section of not only businesses and groups but also people going online and contributing $5 or $20," he said.