Park offers ‘free’ weekend
Olympic National Park is offering back-to-back fee free days Sept. 27-28.
Both days are part of nationwide celebrations at national parks and other public lands.
National Public Lands Day will be celebrated Sept. 27, when Olympic National Park will join other National Park Service areas and other federal land management agencies in waiving entrance fees. Other park fees, including wilderness camping and campground fees, remain in effect.
On Sept. 28, entrance fees are waived for all visitors in honor and recognition of the country’s newly naturalized citizens.
Newly naturalized citizens are invited to identify themselves at entrance stations or visitors centers so they may receive a welcome packet to the national parks for new citizens of the United States.
The park’s visitor centers will be open, including the Olympic National Park Visitor Center in Port Angeles, the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center and the Hoh Visitor Center, along with the Forks, Kalaloch and Storm King information centers.
Friends of ONP to meet
The annual membership meeting of Friends of Olympic National Park will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, at the Olympic National Park Visitor’s Center in Port Angeles. The new ONP superintendent, Karen Gustin, will be introduced. The guest speaker will be Glynda Schaad, co-author of "Women to Reckon With," a biography of extraordinary white pioneer and American Indian women of the 19th century North Olympia Peninsula. Schaad will describe the interconnections of the women of the North Olympic Peninsula from Sequim, Port Angeles, Forks and La Push, including the impact of the Indian Wars. Schaad’s presentation will be illustrated with many vintage photos. The meeting is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. The ONP Visitor’s Center is located at 3002 Mount Angeles Road, Port Angeles. For more information, call 457-6153.
Clallam County 4-H
looking for new members
National 4-H week is Oct. 5-11 and the Clallam County 4-H will have a kick-off open house in the county commissioners meeting room at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 3, at the courthouse. Club leaders will be available to answer questions. Clallam County has traced its 4-H beginnings to 1929 and in the past year, has worked with more than 900 children from kindergarten through high school. Project areas are diverse and include home economics, science, leadership, citizenship, animals and much more. Call 683-4837 or 417-2398 for further information.
Harvest Celebration
farm tours scheduled
The 12th annual Clallam County Harvest Celebration farm tours are scheduled for 10 a.m.-
4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4. Farm tours, hayrides, petting pens, good food, music, games and other fun activities will be featured at participating farms. Farms on tour include Dungeness Valley Creamery, Finn Hall Farm, The Happy Sheep Farm, Lazy J Tree Farm, Nash’s Organic Produce, Nouveau Farm, and Sunshine Herb and Lavender Farm. People can visit as many farms as they want to and in any order they wish. There is a $10 admittance fee per carload that includes all farms. This event is co-sponsored by Washington State University Extension and Friends of the Fields. For more information about the farm tours or to get a map to the farms, stop by the WSU Extension Office in the Clallam County Courthouse or call 417-2279.
Celebrate National
Senior Center month
The Sequim Senior Activity Center will host an open house from 1-3:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, as part of National Senior Center month. There will be door prizes, refreshments and programs featured throughout the afternoon. The center is located at 921 E. Hammond St.
Friends of the Fields
hosts annual harvest dinner
The Friends of the Fields will host a "100 mile" harvest dinner beginning at 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5, at the Guy Cole Convention Center, Carrie Blake Park in Sequim. Tickets are $100 per person and are available online at www.friendsofthefields.org or by sending a check to Friends of the Fields, P.O. Box 1201, Carlsborg, WA 98324. Proceeds from the dinner and silent auction will benefit Friends of the Fields and be used toward farmland preservation on the North Olympic Peninsula. The group is working to preserve the Finn Hall Farm, a 50-acre historical working farm in Agnew, and is in the process of raising $500,000 to provide matching funds for a state grant to purchase the farm’s development rights.
Walk to benefit homeless pets
The Tails to Trails walk to benefit homeless pets will take place on Saturday, Sept. 27, at Carrie Blake Park with registration beginning at 10 a.m. Entertainment includes Dancing with Dogs, Doggie Decathlon and food, prizes and music. The walk is sponsored by Welfare For Animals Guild and Hurricane Ridge Kennel Club. Call 683-2226.
PUD offers solar tour
Clallam County Public Utility District will partner with the National Solar Tour and offer a self-guided tour from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 4. The starting point for the Clallam County portion of the tour is the PUD’s Idea Barn in Carlsborg, home of the Conservation and Utility Services Department and its energy-efficient demonstration solar House-on-Wheels. PUD staff will be available to provide general information on tour sites, solar energy, rebates and incentives for renewable energy, weatherization and energy-efficiency measures, and a few souvenirs for the occasion. This weekend’s event marks the American Solar Energy Society’s 13th annual National Solar Tour, the largest demonstration of installed renewable energy technologies and energy-efficient building practices in the U.S.
Where does peninsula’s water go?
The League of Women Voters of Clallam County is sponsoring a program on water issues beginning at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 25, at the Olympic Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, 73 Howe Road, off North Barr Road in Agnew. Ann Soule, a groundwater specialist with the Clallam County Environmental Health Services will give an overview of water resources in eastern Clallam County, particularly the Dungeness River Basin.
Remember to register to vote
The Clallam County auditor’s office has registered 907 new voters since July 15 and also has processed 767 address changes for voters within the county since July 15. The unusually high number of new voters is, of course, due to the upcoming interest in the presidential election on Nov. 4. There are now 44,326 registered voters in Clallam County. Ballots will be mailed on Oct. 15 and need to be postmarked or placed in a ballot drop box by Nov. 4. Any additional address changes or new registrations must be made before Oct. 4, 30 days before the election. Voters who are new to Washington state can register, in person, at the auditor’s office until Oct. 20.
League hosts voter registration drive
The League of Women Voters of Clallam County will partner with the YMCA youth legislature for a voter registration drive in Clallam County from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at Wal-Mart in Sequim and the farmers’ market at the county courthouse in Port Angeles.
