Community News briefs — Feb. 8, 2023

February 8, 2023 1:30 am
Photo by John Gussman/North Olympic Land Trust Thanks to community support and Conservation Futures funding, a conservation easement held by North Olympic Land Trust was finalized on Jan. 30. This agreement protects 56 acres known as Mid Valley Farm between Sequim-Dungeness Way and Evans Road as farmland. This is the 24th farm protected by the North Olympic Land Trust (NOLT), the organization noted last week. “Responding to the need to protect local farms — further underscored by a collective call to action from the community — the Land Trust’s Board has set a goal to double the pace of farmland conservation over the next ten years while continuing to meet habitat conservation goals,” NOLT representatives said in the announcement.
Photo by John Gussman/North Olympic Land Trust Thanks to community support and Conservation Futures funding, a conservation easement held by North Olympic Land Trust was finalized on Jan. 30. This agreement protects 56 acres known as Mid Valley Farm between Sequim-Dungeness Way and Evans Road as farmland. This is the 24th farm protected by the North Olympic Land Trust (NOLT), the organization noted last week. “Responding to the need to protect local farms — further underscored by a collective call to action from the community — the Land Trust’s Board has set a goal to double the pace of farmland conservation over the next ten years while continuing to meet habitat conservation goals,” NOLT representatives said in the announcement.

‘A Look at the Lyre’ set

The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribal Library, in collaboration with the North Olympic History Center, presents “A Look at the Lyre,” a Learning Our Landscape series event, at 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, on Zoom.

David Brownell, executive director of the North Olympic History Center, will give an overview of the past 150 years that have brought many changes and colorful characters to the Lyre River, home to legendary runs of chum salmon and stands of virgin timber. He will review historic maps, photographs and archival materials documenting the unique history of the Lyre.

Join through Library website at library.jamestowntribe.org/home/ProgramsEvents, or join the Zoom meeting directly at us02web.zoom.us/j/87698275538?pwd=WWlpOUdnSkoxQjduZ3hsQ21VWjdLUT09 (meeting ID 876 9827 5538, passcode 745304).

For more information, call 360-681-4632 or email to library@jamestowntribe.org.

Scout troops to host dinner, auction fundraiser

Both Troop 1498 and Troop 7498 of Sequim are hosting a spaghetti dinner and silent auction fundraiser this month.

Starting Saturday, Feb. 11 and ending Saturday, Feb. 18, the troops host a silent auction at biddingowl.com/Auction/home.cfm?auctionID=31376, where participants can register and bid on items. Pay on the auction site, or by check (made out to “Troop 1498”), cash or Venmo (@Troop1498).

The scouts also host a drive-through style spaghetti dinner fundraiser from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 18, with pick-ups at the Sequim Elks Lodge, 143 Port Williams Road. Dinner tickets are $10 prior to the event, $15 the day of the event. Dinner includes pasta, homemade meat or vegetarian sauce, garlic bread and fresh salad. Get tickets at biddingowl.com/Auction/home.cfm?auctionID=31376.

Proceeds go directly to fund Scout activities, travel, supplies and adventures for both troops, who sponsored by YMCA of Sequim.

For more information, business.facebook.com/Troops1498.7498.

Friends’ book sale set

The Friends of Sequim Library group hosts its 2nd Saturday Book Sale from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on Feb. 11 at its Rock Plaza location, 10131 Old Olympic Highway.

Of interest this month is a large donation of CDs (mostly jazz and contemporary), military tomes, Automobile Quarterly and audio books.

Attendees are encouraged to come early for the best selection.

Sale proceeds go to help fund programs at the North Olympic Library System’s Sequim branch.

Audubon group to meet

Bill Baccus presents “Snowpack, Glaciers and the Future of Olympic Rivers”at the next Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society meeting, set for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 15, in the Rainshadow Room at the Dungeness River Nature Center, 1943 W. Hendrickson Road.

Baccus, a physical science technician for Olympic National Park, will present the current state of Olympic glaciers and the long-term decline of their winter snowpack, with an eye to future expectations for river systems on the North Olympic Peninsula.

The program is free and open to the public.

Studium Generale to showcase ‘“Maria Tallchief’

Studium Generale, ʔaʔk̓ʷustəƞáwt̓xʷ House of Learning, PC Longhouse,and Magic of Cinema welcome filmmakers Sandra Sunrising Osawa and Yasu Osawa to screen their film, “Maria Tallchief” at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9.

The event will take place over Zoom and begin with the film screening, followed by the discussion with the filmmakers. This event is free and open to the public. Access the screening and discussion via Zoom at pencol-edu.zoom.us/j/88952203757 (meeting ID 889 5220 3757).

The documentary highlights the untold story on the life and artistry of Maria Tallchief, who came from a Native community in Oklahoma to become America’s first prima ballerina. Her partnership with Balanchine helped create the New York City Ballet and changed the course of ballet in America.

Rare archival clips and stills from the 1940s through her retirement in the mid-1960s trace this period of ballet and American Indian history. Peninsula College is working to purchase their collection of films to share with the community and students. DVDs of their movies are available for purchase at upstreamvideos.com.

For more information, contact Dr. Helen Lovejoy at hlovejoy@pencol.edu or 360-417-6362.

Save the date for Petals & Pathways event

The 2023 Petals & Pathways Home Garden Tour returns to Sequim this year, set for 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, June 24. Six gardens will be featured from Happy Valley to the flatlands on a self-directed map printed on the tickets.

Tickets are $15 for early bird rates, starting May 14, or $20 the day of the event. Get tickets online at clallammgf.org.

Or, get tickets in Sequim — at Over the Fence, 116 E. Washington St.; The Co-op Farm & Garden, 216 E. Washington St., and Sunny Farms Country Store, 261461 U.S. Highway 101 — or in Port Angeles at Port Book and News, 104 E. First St., Swain’s General Store, 602 E. First St., or Airport Garden Center, 200 W. Edgewood Dr.

Park reopening pushed back

Damage from a November 2022 windstorm that closed Robin Hill Farm County Park continues to be cleared, and the park, originally scheduled to reopen in late February, will now likely be open for public use in late March, Clallam County park officials said last week.

The storm made trails largely unsafe and impassible, county parks officials noted.

While closed, however, the Peninsula Chapter of Back Country Horsemen of Washington has used the opportunity to give sawyer training to its volunteers. Working in coordination with a commercial logger, Jim Bower, who will do the salvage work at Robin Hill, the chapter members were allowed into the park on Jan. 23, for a day of sawyer training.

After the park reopens, trail restoration will continue throughout the summer of 2023, concluding with a volunteer tree planting in late October 2023, county officials said.

For more information, call 360-417-2291 or email to web_parks@clallamcountywa.gov.

Clallam appoints Stanley to Family Court Commissioner role

Elizabeth Stanley was appointed the new full-time Family Court Commissioner in Clallam County Superior Court, county officials noted on Jan. 31. It is expected that her first day on the bench will be Feb. 27, they said.

Stanley will handle child-welfare cases, pre-trial domestic relations matters, truancy and at-risk youth hearings, as well as restraining orders, settlement conferences, and preside at the therapeutic courts that serve families.

Prior to her current position as chief civil deputy in the Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Stanley was the prosecutor and attorney for the Quileute Tribal Court. For many years she was a team lead as an Assistant Attorney General with the State of Arizona.

Elizabeth graduated cum laude with her law degree from American University in Washington, D.C.

Volunteer opportunities for Sunshine fest

The organizing committee for the Sequim Sunshine Festival is seeking volunteers to assist with festival events. There are a variety of opportunities and time frames available. Volunteers receive a volunteer T-shirt.

To volunteer for the Sun Fun Color Run, visit runsignup.com/Race/Volunteer/WA/Sequim/SunFunColorRun.

To volunteer for all other events, visit volunteersignup.org/73Y4F.

Learn more about the Sequim Sunshine Festival at visitsunnysequim.com/263/Sequim-Sunshine-Festival. Or, contact Patsene Dashiell, City of Sequim Marketing Coordinator, at pdashiell@sequimwa.gov or 360-681-3421.

‘Casserole Carnival’ on tap for Feb. 17

Come in from the cold to the “Casserole Carnival” at the Sequim Guild of Seattle Children’s hospital’s February Bunco Party, set for noon-3 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 525 N. Fifth Ave. Doors open at 11:30 a.m.

The fun-filled afternoon of playing Bunco with great prizes gets a special “winter warm-up” menu with a choice of four casseroles, plus salads and desserts, all homemade by guild members.

Then, battle those winter blues at the silent auction with 23 unique items to bid on.

Admission is $15 at the door, and all proceeds go to Seattle Children’s Hospital for uncompensated care and research.

For more information, contact Pam Herd 360-683-3089 or sequimguild@gmail.com.

Stream Stewards Course schedule

The Stream Stewards Program offers an opportunity for residents of Clallam and Jefferson and counties to “turn environmental knowledge into action” with a Stream Stewards Course.

This multi-day training set for 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Thursdays, March 9-April 6, in both Sequim and Port Hadlock, includes in-class lectures and field trips across the North Olympic Peninsula that focus on the rivers and streams flowing into the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the environments that impact them.

Participants will also receive supplemented education through pre-recorded online presentations by regional experts that can be watched on one’s own schedule. Cost is $25.

Learn more at jefferson.wsu.edu.

Photo by George Platt Lynes Maria Tallchief’s stunning performance in the ballet Orpheus led to the founding of the NY City Ballet in 1948.

Photo by George Platt Lynes Maria Tallchief’s stunning performance in the ballet Orpheus led to the founding of the NY City Ballet in 1948.