Community news briefs — Feb. 28, 2024

Toddler Prom set for March 9 in PA

The Olympic Peninsula Toddler Prom is back! The family-friendly event is set for 4 p.m. Saturday, March 9, at the Vern Burton Community Center, 308 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.

It includes dancing, food, drinks, free photos, crafts and face painting. A sensory-friendly time is set for 3-4 p.m. at the same location, for youths who need lower lighting and quieter music.

For more information, contact Tiffany Malean at 425-512-2028 or tsmalean@gmail.com.

Spiritual Living Center restarts its in-person services

The Sequim Center for Spiritual Living has restarted its in-person services at the Pioneer Memorial Garden Clubhouse, 387 E. Washington St. The group offers hybrid services at 10 a.m. Sundays with an option for attending online via Zoom.

Leaders said they met via Zoom in recent years during the Covid-19 pandemic, and they will continue to offer it along with an in-person option.

“So, this is an invitation to come and join us at 10 a.m. on Sundays – joining with the consciousness of Love, Peace and Harmony that allows us to go through the week staying centered within ourselves as we speak our word of Peace for a world that is unpredictable,” said Rev. Lynn Osborne.

For more information, visit cslsequim.org.

Shaw joins staff at Fire District 3

Clallam County Fire District 3 last week welcomed Misty Shaw as its new finance manager.

Shaw comes to the organization from the City of Granbury (Texas), where she worked as the assistant director of finance.

She will be training with the district’s current finance manager, Alwynn Whitaker, who is retiring at the end of February.

Clallam County seeks parks feedback

Clallam County Parks, Fair, & Facilities Department continues to seek community feedback via an Interest and Opinion Survey and feedback on the 2024 Amendment to the Clallam County Comprehensive Parks and Recreation Master Plan. To fill out the survey, visit clallamcountywa.gov/surveyparks.

Thus far, the department has received more than 500 survey responses from about 89 different zip codes, including one from Germany. County staff hope the survey will garner 1,000 responses before the March 1 deadline.

Senior safe banking discussions set

The Fifth Avenue Retirement Community, 500 W. Hendrickson Road, hosts a series of free community events aimed at safeguarding seniors against financial scams.

Amanda Hall, relationship banker at First Fed, leads discussions at 1 p.m. Tuesdays, March 12, 19, and 26 in the series titled “Identifying and Avoiding Scams.” She will cover what constitutes a scam, the psychology behind why scams succeed, various types of scams, recognizing warning signs, and strategies for building defenses against scams.

Each session will last for about one hour with additional time for questions and discussions.

RSVPs are encouraged as seating is limited by calling 360-683-3345.

Donna Ingram, administrator of The Fifth Avenue, expressed the importance of these events, saying, “protecting our residents and the wider senior community from financial exploitation is a top priority for us.”

Climate forum set for March 3

Learn about the problems and threats facing salmon on the Olympic Peninsula at a Climate Forum slated for 12:20-1:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 3, at Olympic Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 1033 N. Barr Road, between Sequim and Port Angeles. Community members are invited to hear what the North Olympic Salmon Coalition is doing to restore salmon populations and raise awareness, and how to get involved.

The event is free and open to the public; parking is available on site.

Club to host local gardening icon

The Sequim Prairie Garden Club meets at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 4, with guest speaker Leilani Wood offering “Ready … Set … Spring” starting at 10:30 a.m. Following the presentation is lunch and a business meeting at 11:45 a.m.

Wood, who was in charge of Sunny Farms Nursery for a number of years and is a yearly participant at the Clallam County Fair, will share her vast gardening knowledge. She will guide attendees through end-of-winter chores and give fresh ideas for spring and summer gardening.

See SequimPrairieGardenClub.org.

Sidekicks collecting socks for shelters

The Sidekicks, a local 4-H group, will be collecting socks from the community to homeless shelters and donation sites across Sequim and Port Angeles.

The group will have a donation site at the Clallam County Fair booths at the 39th-annual KONP Home Show, set for 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, March 9, and 9 a.m.-3 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, at the Port Angeles High School gymnasium, 304 E. Park Ave.

VHOCC to host in-person grief support group

Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County (VHOCC) is sponsoring a five-week in-person grief support group from 1-3 p.m. on Mondays, March 4-April 1, at Trinity Methodist Church, 100 S. Blake Ave.

VHOCC representatives say the group offers a place for participants to share with others their feelings and experiences with grief; gain a clearer understanding of the mourning process; and learn coping skills and strategies for dealing with the emotional pain of loss.

Attendance is free, but registration is required.

For more information or to register, call 360-452-1511 or email to reception@vhocc.org.

VHOCC has been providing free hospice services to patients and their families since 1978. Part of their organization’s mission is to offer grief support groups to not just families of hospice patients, but to anyone in the community who has experienced the death of a loved one. Learn more about VHOCC at volunteerhospice.org or facebook.com/Volunteerhospiceofclallamcounty, or call 360-452-1511.

New director at animal shelter

With more than 15 years experience in nonprofit operations and management, Jen Dupree began her tenure as Director of the Humane Society of Jefferson County’s animal shelter on Jan. 22.

She will oversee all operations at the shelter, located on “Critter Lane,” a 3-acre wooded parcel with kennels and a mobile medical unit, owned by the county.

She worked most recently as the animal behavior and training manager at the Kitsap Humane Society’s shelter in Silverdale and early on worked in Tennessee as a vet assistant at various veterinary and emergency clinics and for the Nashville Humane Association.

The current shelter facility, formerly operated by Jefferson County, has been leased from the county for over a decade and provides low income spay/neuter services; shelter, food, and medical care for abandoned, lost and surrendered cats and dogs; and a successful adoption program, placing hundreds of animals in forever homes each year.