OPAS reschedules annual ‘Photo Night’
Olympic Peninsula Audubon Society (OPAS) welcomes community members to “Photo Night,” an evening of “visual delights and good humor,” from 7-8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24, in Rainshadow Hall at the Dungeness River Nature Center, 1943 W. Hendrickson Road.
Photographers will present and discuss their best photos that capture unique views of birds and their behaviors.
The photo presentation will follow a brief OPAS business meeting.
“If you love birds, and you love good photography, this program is for you,” OPAS representatives said.
Editor’s note: The program was originally scheduled for Jan. 17 but organizers postponed the event because of inclement weather. — MD
Free legal aid clinic set
Clallam-Jefferson County Pro Bono Lawyers will present a virtual legal aid clinic, a free program offering legal advice for members of the public, from 10 a.m.-noon on Saturday, Feb. 3.
Consultations will be offered via telephone or Zoom.
Legal aid clinics are geared to help those who are financially unable to otherwise access a lawyer. Attorney volunteers will be available to answer legal questions pertaining to civil matters, direct people to local services that might be able to assist them, and to explain the legal process to them.
Clients must pre-register for this event by calling 360-504-2422 or by emailing to probonomary2@gmail.com. Attendees are asked to register no later than Friday, Jan. 26.
Once registered, additional directions for the event will be provided. Attendees are also encouraged to have relevant legal documents with them during consultation(s).
For more information, contact Shauna Rogers McClain at 360-504-2422 or probonolawyers@gmail.com, or Mary Margolis at 360-504-2422 or probonoMary2@gmail.com.
Explore ocean’s depths at Studium Generale
Community members are invited to take a journey into the Pacific Ocean with Dr. Deborah Kelley, marine biologist and professor in the University of Washington’s School of Oceanography, at the next Studium Generale event.
Kelley offers “Wiring an Active Underwater Volcano: Eruptions, Hot Springs and Novel Life Forms” at 12:35 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25, in the Little Theater on the main Peninsula College campus, 1502 E. Lauridsen Blvd., Port Angeles, and via livestream at pencol.edu.
The presentation, organizers note, is a video-illustrated tour of deep-sea habitats off the coast of Oregon, home to the most dynamic and extreme environments on Earth. Kelley will lead attendees on a tour of the Regional Cabled Array, an underwater laboratory that streams live data from more than 150 instruments to shore daily.
Using high-definition video from deep-diving remotely operated vehicles, we will visit the Cascadia Margin where methane-rich fluids rise from biological-rich seeps on the seafloor.
The presentation will feature rare fish found nearly 10,000 feet beneath the ocean’s surface, as well as Axial Seamount, the largest volcano off the Oregon coast.
Kelley joined the faculty at the University of Washington in 1995 and has been a co-chief and chief scientist on numerous oceanographic excursions, participating in more than 40 blue water research expeditions. She has been on more than 50 dives in the submersible Alvin and is co-author of the book “Discovering the Deep, A Photographic Atlas of the Seafloor and Oceanic Crust,” published by Cambridge University Press in 2015.
For more information about this event, contact Studium Generale coordinator Kate Reavey at kreavey@pencol.edu.
Free TAX-AIDE service available
IRS-certified AARP TAX-AIDE volunteers will be available at the Shipley Center (921 E. Hammond St.)in Sequim, the Port Angeles Senior Center (328 E. Seventh St.) and Port Angeles Library (2210S. Peabody St.) during the 2024 tax season.
There will be no service in Forks this year; contact the Port Angeles sites to make arrangements.
Appointments are required.
For information and appointments at the Shipley Center, call 360-207-4845.
For appointments at the Port Angeles Senior Center, call 360-457-7004. At the Port Angeles Library, call 360-207-4130.
PC’s Hattendorf selected VP for Instruction
Peninsula College president Suzy Ames last week announced the appointment of Dr. Bruce Hattendorf as vice president for Instruction at the school.
Hattendorf has served as interim VP for Instruction since October 2023, when the position became vacant.
Hattendorf became a professor of English at Peninsula College in 1999 and received tenure in 2008. He began his administrative career in 2011 when he was promoted to associate dean for Arts and Sciences Instruction, and dean of Arts and Sciences in 2015. He then served as executive director of the Center for Teaching and Learning in July 2019 and as the dean for the Center for Equity, Teaching, and Learning in 2021, where he supervised the Library Media Center and Learning Center.
In an email letter to staff, Ames cited Hattendorf’s communication skills and responsiveness and his knowledge of Peninsula College’s history as part of her decision to make the appointment permanent.
After seeking feedback from faculty and staff, Ames shared that she enormous support for Hattendorf across PC’s campuses.
“I was pleased at the overwhelming responses I received,” Ames said. “The feedback confirmed Dr. Hattendorf is a respected instructional leader who is well deserving of this leadership role at Peninsula College.”
ONE sets open houses
Olympic Nature Experience (ONE) has released open house dates for interested families. Open houses are provided for prospective families of students ages 3-10 and older that are new to the program.
Together with ONE staff, families explore Owl’s Hollow Nature School to see how learning takes place outdoors, how the classroom environment is set up, and the flow of the daily routine, school representatives said. Parents will learn program philosophy from staff and have an opportunity to ask questions.
The open houses, held rain or shine, are set for: 10 a.m.-noon Friday, March 15, at the Dungeness Recreation Area; 5-6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, also at the Dungeness Recreation Area, and 5:30-6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 28, online.
Participants for the first two open houses should be prepared to be outside and hike a short distance on and off the trail and up and down hills.
Olympic Nature Experience, a registered nonprofit, provides early learning and elementary aged enrichment programs during the school year and camps during the summer. All programs are conducted entirely outside.
To learn more about the organization, timelines for registration and to sign up for an open house, visit olympicnatureexperience.org/how-to-sign-up.
