The Olympic Region Clean Air Agency is asking people who generally burn yard waste to refrain from burning today.
Smoke pollution is a greater concern in Thurston County than other areas of ORCAA’s eight-county area — including Clallam and Jefferson counties — but all are asked to refrain from burning during cold weather when there is a greater likelihood of the smoke creating air pollution, said Dan Nelson, spokesman for the agency, on Tuesday.
“Weather conditions should allow for improved air quality, and the lifting of this voluntary curtailment, by Thursday,” ORCAA said in a news release.
Cold nights and frosty mornings also tend to prompt more use of wood stoves and fireplaces, the agency said, but “in these conditions, any smoke we put into the air around us stays in the air around us.”
It recommends that those who heat with wood stoves or fireplaces burn only clean, dry firewood.
For more on clean burning practices, visit www.burndryfirewood.com.
For more on alternative means of disposal of yard waste, such as chipping and composting, visit www.orcaa.org.
Strategic planning
PORT ANGELES — The Port of Port Angeles will kick off its strategic planning process today.
The special meeting will be at 9 a.m. in the commissioners’ meeting room at 338 W. First St.
Jeannie Beckett of the Beckett Group will make a presentation.
That will be followed by an executive session.
School transfer
PORT ANGELES — The Ballet Workshop, the dance school Sylvia Wanner founded in 1970, will celebrate its transfer of ownership with a reception and ribbon-cutting today.
Doors at the school, 117 W. First St., will open at noon for refreshments with Wanner, new owner Kate Long and her dance faculty. The ribbon-cutting will follow at 12:30 p.m.
The reception, open to the public, will continue until 2 p.m.
The Ballet Workshop offers classes for children, teens and adults, and now has about 12 students rehearsing for Northwest Ballet Theatre of Bellingham’s production of “The Nutcracker,” scheduled this Saturday and Sunday at the Port Angeles High School Performing Arts Center, 304 E. Park Ave.
For details, visit the Juan de Fuca Foundation for the Arts website, www.JFFA.org, or phone 360-457-5411.
The Ballet Workshop will produce its own “Nutcracker” in December 2015, according to Long, who finalized purchase of the school in October.
To learn more, visit www.Ballet-Workshop.com.
Bylaws mulled
PORT TOWNSEND — Jefferson Healthcare hospital commissioners will consider revised board bylaws and revised rules of governance when they meet today.
The meeting will be at 3:30 p.m. in the hospital auditorium, 834 Sheridan St.
Commissioners also plan a discussion on a bill to create a Washington health security trust, which would provide medical coverage to all state residents.
Audit exit meeting
SEQUIM — An audit exit meeting for the city and Transportation Benefit District is planned with the state Auditor’s Office on Dec. 17.
The meeting will be at 12:30 p.m. in the conference room at the Sequim Transit Center, 190 W. Cedar St.
A quorum of the City Council will attend.
UFO meeting set Thursday at PT house
PORT TOWNSEND — An Olympic UFO meetup will be held at the Quaker Meeting House, 1841 Sheridan St., from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday.
All are welcome to the free event.
The group will focus on ETs — e.g., are they extra-terrestrials, inter-dimensional or crypto-terrestrial (species of intelligent non-humans indigenous to the planet Earth)?
For more information, phone 360-344-2991 or email olympic.ufo@gmail.com.
Mac user group
SEQUIM — The Strait Macintosh User Group will meet at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 525 N. Fifth Ave., at 7 p.m. today.
The group hosts a roundtable event with four local Apple experts to show tips, tricks and practices on the full range of Apple products, as well as answer questions about the products.
The public is welcome, and refreshments will be served.
For more information, phone Craig Gottschalk at 360-775-1250 or visit www.straitmac.org.
Toys for Tots party
SEQUIM — A Toys for Tots party will be held at Sequim Valley Funeral Chapel, 108 W. Alder St., from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
With every toy or cash donation to Toys for Tots, donors will receive a free photo with Santa. Kids, pets and families are welcome.
There will be cookie decorating, hot chocolate and apple cider.
For more information, phone 360-683-5242.
Online library survey set up for patrons
PORT ANGELES — The Lower Elwha Tribal Library will be conducting an online survey to find out how patrons use the library’s computers and Internet connection and how this service has made a positive impact on their lives.
This information will help the library improve its technology services.
The Web survey can be accessed from library computers or the library website at www.elwha.org under “Announcements & News.”
The impact survey is anonymous and takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete.
The survey is the result of a research initiative from the University of Washington with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
For more information about the impact survey, inquire at the library information desk at 2851 Lower Elwha Road, phone 360-452-8471 or visit www.impactsurvey.org.
Discussion group
SEQUIM — The Sequim Great Decisions Discussion Group will meet at the Sequim Library, 630 N. Sequim Ave., from 10 a.m. to noon Friday.
The topic is “America in Decay: The Sources of Political Dysfunction.”
According to a news release: “The problems with American politics today stem from the basic design of U.S. political institutions, exacerbated by increasingly hostile polarization.
“Unfortunately, absent some sort of major external shock, the decay is likely to continue for the near future.”
The suggested background reading for the discussion is the article “America in Decay” from the September/October edition of Foreign Affairs.
New members are welcome.
For more information, phone John Pollock at 360-683-9622, email jcpollock@olypen.com or visit www.tinyurl.com/SequimGreatDecisionsDiscussion.
Rainbow Girls
SEQUIM — The Sequim Rainbow Assembly will be at the main entrance of the Sequim Walmart, 1110 W. Washington St., from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday to collect food items for the Sequim Food Bank.
At this time, the food bank is especially in need of peanut butter, canned tuna or cash.
The Rainbow Girls also will have a gift-wrapping table set up during that time.
