Scouts offer tree removal service
Local BSA Scout troops 1498 and 7498 are hosting a Christmas Tree Recycling Fundraiser and will pick up trees and recycle them.
Trees are picked up all day on Saturday, Jan. 7, and recycled to local animal/rescue farms.
Cost is a suggested donation of $25; funds will be used for troop members to attend scout camps.
To schedule a pick-up, call or text Marilyn at 360-775-1213.
Scouts are not able to accept flocked trees.
Annual Polar Bear Dip set
Olympic Peninsula residents are invited to the annual Port Angeles Polar Bear Dip and Ice Bucket Challenge, slated for 10 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 1, at Hollywood Beach in Port Angeles.
Attendees will be encouraged to submerge themselves in the waters of Port Angeles Harbor or douse themselves in a bucket of ice water to benefit Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County (VHOCC). Participants typically raise funds by collecting donations from relatives, employers/employees, friends, etc., if they take the dip; the “challenged” can also offer up a dollar amount to avoid dunking themselves in the harbor waters.
The event has been going on for 35 years, and 2023’s iteration will be the 11th year it serves as a fundraiser for VHOCC.
Participants can donate online at volunteerhospice.org or at the event, where VHOCC will have a booth providing warm beverages, courtesy of Red Lion Hotel and pastries. T-shirts will also be available to purchase.
For more information, call volunteer Dan Welden at 360-477-2586.
East Strait opens to shellfish harvesting
The East Strait of Juan de Fuca — from Lyre River/Low Point to the Jefferson County Line, including Dungeness Bay — is open for recreational harvest of all species of shellfish, Clallam County health officials announced last week.
The west Strait of Juan de Fuca, from Cape Flattery to Lyre River/Low Point, is also open to shellfish harvesting.
Other local waterways — Sequim Bay, Discovery Bay and the seasonal closure of Pacific Ocean beaches — remain closed to shellfish harvesting, however.
Closed to all species means clams (including geoduck), oysters, mussels and other invertebrates such as the moon snail. All areas are closed for the sport harvest of scallops. These closures do not apply to shrimp.
For more information about the closure, call the Marine Biotoxin Hotline at 800-562-5632, or visit the Department of Health’s Marine Biotoxin Website at doh.wa.gov/shellfishsafety.htm. Or, call Audrey Coyne with the Washington State Department of Health’s Office of Shellfish and Water Protection at 360-236-3354.
Singles group to meet at Shipley Center
The group formerly known as the Sequim Senior Singles will be now known at the Shipley Center Singles and meet at the Shipley Center, 921 E. Hammond St., group members noted last week.
The group meets at 4:30 p.m. on the second Wednesday of each month in the center’s front room.
Call Mary Wochaski at 619-948-1978 for more information.
Community celebration set in PA
The community is invited to join a queer, family and interfaith-friendly celebration of the holiday season from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 24, in the Event Hall on the Port Angeles First United Methodist Church grounds, 110 E. Seventh St., Port Angeles.
Event-goers can enjoy festive refreshments, crafts, games, cookie decorating, holiday sing-alongs, Charlie Brown’s Christmas, free gifts and a cheery pathway through the “Hall of Holidays,” where one can explore some of the many holiday celebrations and traditions found all over the world.
The party will feature a Christmas Queen played by Port Angeles-born artist Blake McCabe, as well as Kristyn Quigley-Brye on the piano, longtime local piano instructor and performer. Among these special guests will be some familiar friends visiting from the North Pole.
This is the third community event being put on by “Social Norm’s,” a community arts, recreation and culture organization. The program, founded in August 2022, has its home in the western wing of the First United Methodist Church, off of Laurel Street. Visit facebook.com/socialnormans.
Local office open to help disabled veterans
The Disabled American Veterans (DAV) office at 583 W. Washington St. is open 10 a.m.-3 p.m. each Wednesday, to serve veterans who are needing help with claims or other information.
Services are free and veterans do not have to be members of DAV to receive assistance.
The office is by walk-in; no appointment is necessary. Masks are required upon entrance.
For more information, call 360-504-2843.
PC cybersecurity students get financial aid
Beginning winter quarter 2023, newly enrolled Peninsula College cybersecurity students will receive $500 in student aid, college officials announced last week.
The move comes following receipt of a Cyber Security Program Funding Grant and the growing need for individuals with cybersecurity training in the workforce.
In June 2022, the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges received 20 cybersecurity applications from 12 community colleges proposing to generate 581 full time student enrollments in cybersecurity programs around the state by fall 2022.
Established in 2012, Peninsula College’s Information Technology-Cybersecurity and Computer Forensics program is the only program of its kind offered in Washington state that allows students to attend online, on-campus or both. Students can start the program any quarter of the academic year.
Mia Boster, PC’s dean for Workforce Education, said the college plans to increase cybersecurity enrollments and capacity by 10 full-time students per year over the next three years.
For more information, contact Eric Waterkotte at ewaterkotte@pencol.edu.
Students invited to compete in chess tourney
Clallam County students in graded 6-12 are invited to compete in the Southwest Washington High School and Middle School Chess Championships.
The chess tournament, a Regional State Qualifier, will be held Saturday, Feb. 4, at Centralia College in Centralia. Entry is free, and chess players of all abilities are welcome.
For more information, visit whsca.org.
