Fourth of July weekend a sunny one for West End
Chris Cook photo
Young surfers from LaPush, Forks and out of town took to the surf at LaPush Friday morning and afternoon, July 3, under sunny skies at the annual Surfing & Traditions event. About three dozen kids ranging in age from 8 to 18 got a surfing lesson from volunteers. The Coast Guard provided beach and ocean safety support, and flew a rescue helicopter out for a demonstration of an ocean rescue just off the north end of First Beach at LaPush. Note the misty fog hugging James Island just offshore. RV parks and visitor accommodations at LaPush are full for the Fourth. A Surfing & Traditions "expression session" and beach clean-up is scheduled for Sunday.
Grounded fishing boat refloated at LaPush
Chris Cook photo
The fishing boat Miss Clarissa (large blue and white vessel) was refloated Friday, July 3 at the Quileute Marina in LaPush. A containment boom was place around the boat on Thursday to contain any diesel fuel or hydraulic fluid leaking from the boat. Coast Guard officials estimated about 10 gallons of fluids leaked from the vessel prior to the containment effort. Over 100 gallons of diesel fuel was estimated to be on board. A Coast Guard crew from the nearby Coast Guard Station Quillayute River towed the Miss Clarissa away from a pier to avoid blocking the channel out to the Quillayute River and the Pacific Ocean so commercial and recreational vessels could enter and exit. The Quileute Tribe coordinated the salvage of the boat.
Contributed photo
The fishing vessel Miss Clarissa at the Quileute Marina on Thursday, July 2 at LaPush surrounded by oil containment gear.
Red Flag forest fire warning posted
Clallam County Emergency Management Office
Very warm and dry weather conditions combined with unseasonably dry wild land fuels have elevated fire danger conditions across Western Washington. Area residents and visitors should be extremely cautious with fireworks and any fire sources such as campfires over the Fourth of July weekend. The Clallam County Emergency Management Office is advising use of vehicle ashtrays. Any spark in the current dry grasses, shrubs and forest fuels could become an out of control fire very quickly.
The National Weather Service in Seattle has issued a red flag warning for very warm, dry and unstable weather conditions in fire weather zones from noon, Friday, July 3 until midnight, Sunday, July 5. The area includes north and central sections of the Washington state coast, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the west portion of the Olympic Mountains.
Moonlight Madness Twilight look-a-like contest
The Salmonberry gallery on South Forks Ave. is holding a Twilight look-a-like contest during Moonlight Madness shopping from 7-10 p.m. on Friday, July 3 in front of the gallery. Awards are scheduled to be given by 9 p.m. Gallery members are reporting that contestants are coming to Forks from Seattle, Battleground and other areas of Washington state.
Coast Guard responds to dockside sinking
at Neah Bay
The Coast Guard responded to a report of a spill at the Mackinaw Marina in Neah Bay on Wednesday night.
Coast Guard Station Neah Bay received a report at approximately 9:25 p.m. from the owner of the fishing vessel Neptune that his boat had sunk dockside at the Mackinaw Marina.
A crew aboard a 25-foot small response boat was launched at Station Neah Bay to investigate. There were no reports of pollution at that time.
At approximately 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 2 personnel from Station Neah Bay reported evidence of a sheen and began containing the sheen with a boom. The amount and type of substance creating the sheen was unknown at that time.
Members of the Incident Management Division from Coast Guard Sector Seattle are working with the state Department of Ecology and local officials to investigate the spill.
Rayonier executive to speak at WEBPA breakfast
Eric Fanelli, the director of Pacific Forest Resources for Rayonier, Inc., is scheduled to speak at the Wednesday, July 9 breakfast meeting of the West End Business and Professional Association (WEBPA). Fanelli is based in Hoquiam. Lee Moore of Pettit Oil in Forks and WEBPA vice-president, said Fanelli will discuss the state of the timber industry and other subjects related to the industry. The meeting begins at 7 a.m. at the In Place Restaurant on South Forks Ave. in Forks. The public is invited to attend the meeting.
"...when you pull into town, you see a quaint Disneyland for Twilighters." "...the line between fiction and fact continued to blur."
Twilight visitor arrivals zooming
Chris Cook photo
Forks Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center Manager Mike Gurling (right) completes a "Twilight" orientation with visitors from Ireland. The group hails from Wexford, Ireland and visited Forks on July 1. They are (from left) Garrett Browne, Diana Cardiff (from Seattle), Zoe Browne and Elizabeth Rose.
The Forks Chamber of Commerce is reporting that the number of visitors to the Forks Visitor Center for June was 8,312. Visitor Center Manager Mike Gurling said the count exceeds the total number of visitors in all of 2002, 2003, 2004,2005 and 2006.
He said the number of visitors for 2007 was 10,295, and for 2008 it was 18,736. So far in 2009 the total visitors to the visitor center (those that actually sign the register) is 25,809.
Liverpool visitor tells of John Lennon connection to Twilight phenom
Sequim Gazette reporter Brian Gawley ran into a woman at the Bella Italia restaurant in Port Angeles last week whom he said understands the Twilight frenzy perfectly. Her name was Eileen Lennon, and she is in her late 60s. "While she was growing up in Liverpool with her father, John, they were the only Lennons listed in the phonebook," Brian said she recalled. "They finally had to have an operator intercept and screen all their calls, which came at all hours of the day and night from Canada, Australia, the United States, etc."
County wins first round on fight for
local control of growth
Clallam County Prosecutor's Office press release - Monday, June 29, 2009
Clallam County Presiding Superior Court Judge Ken Williams on Friday, June 26 reversed the decisions of the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board (Growth Board). On an appeal initiated by the county, the court overturned the Growth Board’s rulings under the Growth Management Act which rejected the county’s planning policies relating to the Carlsborg, non-municipal Urban Growth Area and to the county’s rural lands zoning (including lands in the West End of Clallam County).
County Prosecuting Attorney Deb Kelly issued the following statement on the
Ruling: “My Office successfully argued to the court that that the Growth Board was wrong in allowing the Seattle special interest group Futurewise to wait until 2007 to challenge the Carlsborg UGA, and that the Growth Board was wrong in attempting to force its vision of rural land zoning upon our County. This was more than just a war of words. This was a fight for local control over the County’s future under GMA.”
At issue was whether the Carlsborg UGA needed to be serviced by municipal sewers and a treatment facility in the near-term, or whether such a utility could be planned and financed at some point in the future. Also at issue was whether the county’s rural R2 and RW2 zones, which allow development on two-plus acres in select areas, were appropriate within the ‘variety of rural densities’ allowed under Growth Management.
Williams ruled that the county was correct when it argued that Futurewise’s challenge of the Carlsborg UGA was years late, and the Growth Board had no jurisdiction to order the county to plan and finance a sewer system for Carlsborg. The court also ruled that the county was correct in arguing that the Growth Board’s “one size fits all” approach to rural zoning failed to acknowledge local circumstances and the county’s discretion in defining and preserving its rural character.
Kelly congratulated the work of the prosecuting attorney’s land use attorney and the assistance of the Department of Community Development in arguing successfully before the superior court. Although the case may be headed for further appeals by the opponents, Kelly was optimistic that local control over GMA planning will ultimately prevail.
Twilight Symposium underway in Forks
Chris Cook photo
Twilight impersonators from the Las Vegas-based "The Hillywood Show" pay a visit to downtown Forks on Saturday, June 27. The actors portray leading Twilight characters (from left) Jasper and Alice Cullen, and Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. The troupe is in Forks to perform at the Twilight Symposium - Summer School in Forks Twilight fan event.
Chris Cook photo
Ann-Laurel Nickel (far right) from California-based Literature-Inspired Fandom Events is setting up the first-ever Twilight Symposium inside Forks High School. The event is expected to draw up to 250 fans from across the nation to Forks for a literary study of author Stephenie Meyer's Forks- and LaPush-set "Twilight" book series. Joining Ann-Laural at noontime on Thursday, June 25 are the ladies behind the popular TwilightLexicon.com Web site. Standing next to Nickel is Kaleb Nation of "
Bitten by Twilight" fame. The event kicks off at 3 p.m. on Thursday with the opening of a Twilight-related fair with tables full of Twilight items. Forks booths are set up by Leppell's Flowers & Gifts, by Traci Kettel and Janeen Howell's Pacific Sea Glass jewelry business and others.
Forks Police Chief Mike Powell is providing a presentation on Thursday night on what it's like to double at ficitious Forks Police Chief Charlie Swan of Twilight fame.
On Friday, talks on a wide variety of literary aspects of the Twilight novels is scheduled all day. A volleyball tournament is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. in the Spartan Gym. In the evening conference attendees are heading down to First Beach at LaPush for a bonfire and to listen to Quileute storytellers.
The highlight of the four-day event comes Saturday night beginning at 8 p.m.
with a "Twilight Prom" in Forks High School Performing Arts Center located in the vintage brick wing of Forks High School. The popular Twilight-related Mitch Hansen Band is performing at the prom.
Watch for updates throughout the weekend.
On the Web:
www.litfanevents.org/summerinforks/
Forks Vehicle Licensing office closing down
West End residents wishing to transfer car titles are facing a drive to Port Angeles or Sequim after Friday, July 10.
The Forks Vehicle Licensing located in the Forks City Hall is closing down as of Monday, July 13.
West End residents needing to buy license tabs will now have to do so by going online to www.dol.wa.gov, or drive to Port Angeles to the Auditor’s Office in the Clallam County Courthouse.
Title transfers and other transactions requiring signatures will need to be done in person at either the Clallam County Courthouse or at the Sequim Vehicle/Vessel licensing at 1001 E. Washington St, Suite 5, in Sequim.
The last day of work for Sandy Williams, licensing subagent serving Forks, is on Friday, July 10, Clallam County Auditor Patty Rosand said Monday, June 22.
Williams has accepted a full-time position with District Court II in Forks, Rosand said. Through the Forks office an average of 7,500 transactions are completed annually, a report from Rosand's office states.
Rosand said the state Department of Licensing is evaluating the need for, and the feasibility of, replacing Williams’ services in Forks. The process could take several months, she said.
The licensing agent is an independent contractor. Williams worked out of a space she rented from the District Court in Forks.
Rosand said if a decision is made to find a new subagent in Forks the office could be relocated to a private business space.
The Forks drivers licensing office is a separate operation and remains open at 41 Bogachiel Way in Forks.
Forks Community Center goes to
four-day schedule
The Forks Community Center hours are slated to be cut to four days a week beginning next week, according to an OlyCAP press release.
As of Wednesday, July 1 the center will be open from 8:00 a.m to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday. OlyCAP will continue to maintain all of the programs run from the center, but on a four-day-a-week schedule.
Rita Houston, OlyCAP’s Director responsible for overseeing management of the center said, “we support the center staff through a combination of programs and the recent state budget cuts have hit us hard.
"For the past several years, the Job Lift Program has been managed from the center and contributed to staff support," she said. "That program was cut by 40 percent, slashing available funds. We looked at all our options and reducing hours was the only way to retain program services.”
Fourth of July help needed
Food booth volunteers are being sought by the Forks Old Fashioned Fourth of July committee. Volunteers are needed to work in the food booth at the Demolition Derby on the Fourth of July. There are two time shifts - from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., and a second from 3:30 to closing. The proceeds from ticket and food sales at the Demolition Derby provide a major fundraiser for the Forks Fourth of July parade and other Fourth of July events in Forks.
To volunteer call Forks Old Fashioned Fourth of July committee member Pat Soderlind at 640-8211.
Quileute Days to feature
'Twilight' actor Solomon Trimble
Contributed photo
Native American actor Solomon Trimble who portrayed fictional Quileute Tribe member Sam Uley in the film version of Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling book "Twilight" is scheduled to be a special guest of in LaPush during the annual Quileute Days celebration set for July 17-19.
Twilight fans are being encouraged to attend Quileute Days and enjoy a photo op with Trimble at First Beach, which is a key setting in the Twilight book series.
The announcement was made Tuesday by Quileute Nation publicist Jackie Jacobs who is spending the summer visitor season at LaPush helping the Quileute with publicity regarding the tribe's role in the Twilight books and films. She is also helping to publicized the Oceanside Resort and other visitor facilities at LaPush to visitors.
Trimble is of Mescalero Apache and Lakota heritage and has danced as a traditional Native American Grass Dancer since the age of three.
He made his film debut in Summit Entertainment's Twilight movie.
was his cinematic debut.
Trimble has served as a cultural consultant for films produced by Oregon Public Broadcasting in association with PBS.
Jacobs quotes author Meyer on Trimble:
"It was pretty amazing. I looked up and did a double take. 'Aren't you?Sam?' I asked. Solomon laughed and agreed that he was. He had a couple of technical werewolf questions for me (ex. 'Can werewolves phase underwater?' Answer: 'Yes') and I tried to control my enthusing. Solomon was super friendly and interesting, and though he looks awesome on film, he's even more incredible in person. His features are just so stunning!"
The Quileute Tribe extends a cordial welcome to all to join them during the Quileute Days celebration, which features aspects of the tribe's cultural heritage and modern lifestyle. Featured are a traditional salmon bake, Quileute arts and crafts, dancing and songs, adult and youth softball tournaments, parade and a fireworks display.
On the Web:
www.quileutenation.org.
Lunsford's gets slimed!
Contributed photo
Lunsford's got slimed by pink slugs from the St. Anne's Relay for Life team on Wednesday, June 17. Here Carrol Lunsford gets out his big salt shaker to battle back. The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life fundraiser is coming up in early August at Spartan Stadium.
School's out for summer...
Contributed photo throw the 2008-2009 school year a wave goodbye on Monday morning June 15 - the last day of school for this school year. Bill Decker of the Clallam County PUD went up in his truck's bucket to take the photo. The concept was suggested by Jerry Leppell of Jerry's Rentals in Forks. Leppell said it would work better to ask the PUD for help rather than use one of his lifts. Forks Elementary School Bill Miller led the organizing effort on the school's side and Forks Forum Editor Chris Cook helped direct the group photo.
