NEWS BRIEFS: Benson Road neighborhood watch meeting set today in Port Angeles … and other items

News items for the North Olympic Peninsula.

PORT ANGELES — The Benson Road Neighborhood Watch will meet from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. today.

The group will meet in the basement of the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., in the Emergency Operations Center meeting room.

The topic will be “Community Oriented Policing (COP) & Neighborhood Empowerment.”

PA exhibit set

PORT ANGELES — The Olympic Peninsula Art Association will present the “New Golden Lecture: Mixed Media” by Barbara De Pirro in the downstairs atrium at The Landing mall, 115 E. Railroad Ave., from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday.

The presentation will cover a wide variety of techniques for use in a wide range of media.

Beginners and experienced artists alike can learn new techniques and be inspired by innovative applications, according to a news release.

Attendees will receive information packets and free samples.

The program is free, but registration is required.

For more information or to register, contact Maryann Proctor at 360-681-5320 or mproctor@olypen.com.

Mystery play

SEQUIM — Olympic Theatre Arts, 414 N. Sequim Ave., will present “Something’s Afoot,” a murder mystery comedy directed by Ron Graham and musical direction by Mark Lorentzen, starting with a free preview for OTA members at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

The musical takes a satirical poke at the Agatha Christie mysteries and musical styles of the English music halls of the 1930s.

Ten people are stranded in an isolated English country house during a raging thunderstorm.

One by one, they are picked off by cleverly fiendish devices.

As the bodies pile up in the library, the survivors frantically race to uncover the identity of the cunning culprit.

For more information regarding the performance schedule, phone 360-683-7326.

Tickets are available at www.olympictheatrearts.org.

Talk on disability

PORT ANGELES — Priya Jayadev, director of Clallam Mosaic; Ursula Schletter; Carr Brackett; and Randy Brackett will present “Developmental Disability – One Part of the Diversity Spectrum” in Peninsula College’s Little Theater at 12:35 p.m. Thursday.

The presentation will provide a general overview of developmental disability, focusing on historical perspectives, attitudinal barriers/perceptions, language, personal experiences and disability etiquette.

The event, part of the college’s Studium Generale, is free and open to the public.

For more information, email college professor Kate Reavey at kreavey@pencol.edu.

Friday readings

SEQUIM — Writers on the Spit will host Fourth Friday Readings at The Lodge, 660 Evergreen Farm Way, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday.

Two area authors will appear as the evening’s featured writers.

A graduate of the University of Iowa, Sequim resident Dianne Knox has traveled the world, including living a stint in Singapore, and has published in Tidepools literary magazine. She will present an interactive poem that Friday.

Jane Evans, a graduate of Penn State and the University of Pittsburg, has taught English, worked as a college librarian and edited research papers.

The event is free.

An hour of five-minute open mic readings will follow the two speakers.

For guidelines and more information, phone Linda Myers at 360-457-4090 or email lindabmyers@yahoo.com.

Addiction talk

PORT TOWNSEND — Craig Reinarman, professor of sociology and legal studies at University of California, Santa Cruz, will address cultures of drug use and abuse, drug law and public policy at Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship on Friday, Oct. 28.

The discussion, “Appetites of the Soul: Addiction in the Post-Prohibition Era” at the fellowship at 2333 San Juan Ave. will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Reinarman was a postdoctoral fellow in public health at the Alcohol Research Group at UC Berkeley and has been a visiting professor at the University of Utrecht and the University of Amsterdam, as well as a visiting scholar at the Center for Drug Research at the University of Amsterdam.

He has also served as a consultant to the World Health Organization’s Programme on Substance Abuse and as principal investigator on research grants from the National Institute of Drug Abuse and the National Institute of Justice.

Reinarman is author of “American States of Mind” (Yale University Press, 1987) and co-author of “Cocaine Changes” (Temple University Press, 1991) and “Crack in America: Demon Drugs and Social Justice” (University of California Press, 1997).

His most recent book is an edited anthology of critical addiction studies called “Expanding Addiction” (Routledge 2015).

The event, part of the fall Adult Learning Programs, is free.

For more information, email Rod Mitchell at rodm90@cablespeed.com.

Kenya project

SEQUIM — Agnes Kioko, the Kenya coordinator for Women’s Enterprises International, will be available at a meet-and-greet fundraiser at 6:30 p.m. Monday.

The benefit will be at the home of Mary Jane Apple, 234 Osprey Glen, Sequim.

All funds raised will go toward the purchase of a cistern.

Since its inception in 1999, WEI has organized 17 work trips to Kenya, bringing over 200 water storage tanks for poor rural households and directly impacting over 8,000 lives.

In addition, Sequim Rotarians Apple and Andrea Gilles recently returned from a two-week trip to the Makueni region, southeast of Nairobi, Kenya.

The U.S. team helped Kenyan women construct 15 concrete water tank bases at their homesteads and gifted some of them with water storage tanks.

To donate to the cause, contributions made payable to WEI can be sent to Andrea Gilles, Professional Real Estate, 329 S. Sequim Ave., Sequim, WA 98382.

For further information, phone Apple at 360-460-5297 or Gilles at 360-808-3306.

Citizen of the Year

MARROWSTONE ISLAND — Nominations are currently being accepted for the 2016 Marrowstone Citizen of the Year.

Nomination forms are at the Nordland General Store, 7180 Flagler Road, in the back by the stove.

Forms are due Dec. 31.

The person(s) nominated must be a current Marrowstone resident(s) and have made important volunteer contributions to life on Marrowstone Island and/or Jefferson County.

A committee of all former Citizens of the Year will meet in January to make the selection from the nominations.

Port Angeles students attend Tacoma conference

PORT ANGELES — Port Angeles High School Future Business Leaders of America members recently attended the Puget Sound Fall Leadership Conference, held at Tacoma Community College.

“Our chapter members attended two sessions of their choice before collaborating to establish individual and chapter goals for the school year,” adviser Pam Helpenstell said.

“Our students set goals for participation in events, fundraising for charity and community involvement.”

For more information, phone Bernie Brabant or Pam Helpenstell at 360-452-7602.

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