Reading’s for the birds
Clallam County Literacy Council sponsors Family Literacy Day from 1-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, at the Port Angeles Library, 2210 S. Peabody St., Port Angeles, and the Boys & Girls Club, 400 W. Fir St., Sequim. Join in learning about birds through guest speakers and literature. Families of all ages welcome. There will be a free book for every child.
Sequim Christmas concert
tickets available Nov. 1
The 70-voice Sequim Christmas Chorus will perform its 24th annual concerts in December and donate a portion of the proceeds to Sequim Community Aid. The program, directed by Gary McRoberts, will feature guest performances by the Sequim Middle School chorus at the concerts on Friday, Dec. 5, and Sunday, Dec. 7. Dungeness Transfer (Olympic Peninsula Men’s Chorus) will sing at the Saturday, Dec. 6, concert. The Sequim High School brass quintet will play before each concert. All performances will be at Sequim Bible Church, 847 N. Sequim Ave. Performance times are 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 5, and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $5; no charge for children under 12. Tickets are at Frick Drugs, Bauer Interior Design, the chamber of commerce, Dungeness Bay Wine and Cheese, Sequim Cleaners and Curves. Tickets also will be on sale at the concerts.
Missing some money?
The Internal Revenue Service is looking for Washington state taxpayers who are missing more than 6,600 economic stimulus checks totaling more than $3.8 million and more than 2,600 regular refund checks totaling more than $2.4 million that were returned by the U.S. Postal Service due to mailing address errors. All a taxpayer has to do is update his or her address once. The IRS then will send all checks due.
It is crucial that taxpayers who may be due a stimulus check update their addresses with the IRS by Nov. 28, 2008. By law, economic stimulus checks must be sent out by Dec. 31 of this year. The undeliverable economic stimulus checks for Washington state taxpayers average $581.
The "Where’s My Stimulus Payment?" tool on IRS.gov is the quickest and easiest way for a taxpayer to check the status of a stimulus check and receive instructions on how to update his or her address. Taxpayers without Internet access should call 866-234-2942.
The regular refund checks for Washington state taxpayers that were returned to the IRS average $937.These checks are re-sent as soon as taxpayers update their address. Taxpayers can update their addresses with the "Where’s My Refund?" tool on IRS.gov.
TAX-AIDE volunteers needed
AARP TAX-AIDE is looking for a few good men and women to prepare federal income tax returns for the 2008-2009-tax season. The program, sponsored by AARP and the IRS, provides free tax return preparation for low-to moderate-income taxpayers in Jefferson and Clallam counties. Free training is provided by TAX-AIDE in December and January to enable volunteers to prepare tax returns for electronic filing. Volunteers must pass an IRS test and are expected to work at least four hours per week from February through the middle of April. Certified volunteers are reimbursed on a limited basis for qualified program-related expenses. All volunteers work with at least one experienced co-worker at convenient locations such as libraries and community centers. AARP membership is not required to join the TAX-AIDE program. To volunteer in Sequim, call Kathy Holmstrom at 681-7605. To volunteer in Port Angeles or Forks, call Hearst Coen at 452-6541.
OTA celebrates good news
Olympic Theatre Arts will host a Fall Bash from 6-9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, at SunLand Golf & Country Club. The bash is a celebration of the progress made on OTA’s new main stage. There will be a no-host bar and light hors d’oeuvres as well as live music by an all-star big band. Olympic Theatre Arts recently was awarded a Department of Housing and Urban Development grant in the amount of $98,000, which will be used for fire sprinkling and alarm systems. Contracts are being negotiated and work will begin soon on these public safety improvements. The Fall Bash is open to the public and tickets are $25 in advance. Proceeds will go to the building fund. Call the theater at 683-7326 for tickets.
Celebrate reconstruction
of Hurricane Ridge Road
A short ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate successful completion of the $12 million reconstruction and repair project of Hurricane Ridge Road will take place at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 7, at the Heart O’ the Hills entrance gate, approximately five miles south of Port Angeles on Hurricane Ridge Road.
Speakers from the project’s partners include division engineer Clara Conner, of the Federal Lands Highway Program; project manager George Peabody, from Lakeside Industries’ Port Angeles
Division; and Olympic National Park superintendent Karen Gustin.
Traffic will be held below the gate for up to 30 minutes to accommodate the short ceremony.
After the ribbon cutting, the public is invited to enjoy a scenic drive along the new road, followed by refreshments at the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center, 12 miles beyond Heart O’ the Hills. Entrance fees at Hurricane Ridge will not be charged on Nov. 7 as a way to encourage people to experience the new roadway.
PTMSC hosts annual
end-of-season gift shop sale
Port Townsend Marine Science Center hosts its annual end-of-season gift shop sale from noon-4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31, through Sunday, Nov. 2, at the Natural History Exhibit. Discounts will be offered on all regularly priced items including books, field guides, clothing, games and toys. A public feeding program will be at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the Marine Exhibit, when children can feed the marine animals, and a program on gray whales will be at 2:30 p.m. Sunday in the Natural History Exhibit.
Soroptimist awards
applications available
Applications for the Women’s Opportunity Award and the Violet Richardson Award, programs of Soroptimist International of the Americas, are now available.
The Violet Richardson Award is for young women between the ages of 14-17 who volunteer in their communities and/or schools. The deadline for submitting the application is Dec. 1. Applications are available in the guidance offices of Port Angeles High School, Crescent High School, Forks High School, Peninsula College-Forks, Sequim High School, Port Townsend High School, Quilcene High School and Chimacum High School. The monetary award is $500.
The Women’s Opportunity Award is for women with primary financial responsibility for supporting their family who attend or have been accepted to a vocational/skills training program or an undergraduate degree program. The deadline for submitting the application is Dec. 15.
Application forms are available at Peninsula College’s Financial Aid Office, Peninsula College-Forks and Peninsula College-Port Townsend. The cash award may be used to offset any costs associated with efforts to attain higher education, including books, child care and transportation. This monetary award ranges from $500 to $1,000.
Call one of the following Soroptimist members in your local community for information or applications: Kathy Johnson, 360-374-9382 in Forks; Wendy Shea, 452-4045 or Jill Oakes, 417-3012 in Port Angeles; Betty Osborn, 683-7649 in Sequim; and Susan Zoya, 360-344-4311 in Port Townsend.
Coins for Change program
challenges youths to give back
The United Way of Clallam County’s annual fund drive campaign will have a new twist in 2008. In addition to its annual request for donations, United Way is challenging families and community members of Clallam County to support neighbors and friends with its Coins for Change event. The Coins for Change goal is to collect 1 million coins.
Between Nov. 1 and Dec. 5, coins will be collected by community members, families and any businesses that would like to participate.
United Way will supply Coins for Change signage to each participating venue. How the coins are collected will be up to the individual institution.
First Federal has coin machines in its downtown Port Angeles branch, at both Sequim branches, and in Forks. Coins can be deposited directly to a United Way account and the machines even tally the number of coins.
If you or your organization are interested in participating in Coins for Change, contact United Way at 457-3011.
