NEWS BRIEFS: Monday ribbon-cutting to fete Carrie Blake Park access road … and other items

SEQUIM — A ribbon-cutting ceremony will celebrate the opening of a new access road to Carrie Blake Park at noon Monday.

The road to the park at 202 N. Blake Ave. opened to the public earlier this month.

The $504,000 entrance and access road is on Blake Avenue just north of Trinity United Methodist Church.

It provides vehicular access to parking areas serving the Guy Cole Convention Center, the off-leash dog park, the baseball fields, playground areas and skate park facilities.

For more information, contact Barbara Hanna, city communications and marketing director, at 360-681-3422 or bhanna@sequimwa.gov.

Bridge inspection

PORT ANGELES — A regularly scheduled inspection of the Elwha River bridge will mean that drivers will experience one-way alternating traffic across the bridge on U.S. Highway 101 west of Port Angeles on Monday.

Alternating traffic will be needed during morning hours and possibly early afternoon hours because of the size of the equipment needed for the inspection, said Claudia Bingham Baker, communications manager for the state Department of Transportation.

Last year, officials discovered the two bridge piers sat atop gravel and not bedrock; the now-wild river was eating away at the riverbed under the bridge. The effort to replace the 90-year-old bridge began in October 2016.

In the meantime, engineers are monitoring the bridge. The last inspection in August revealed that the bridge was remaining stable, Baker said.

Landing practice

COUPEVILLE — There will be field carrier landing practice operations for aircraft stationed at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island at the outlying field from early afternoon to evening Monday and Tuesday.

Comments, including noise complaints, can be directed to the station’s comment line at 360-257-6665 or via comments.NASWI@navy.mil.

All other questions can be directed to the public affairs office at 360-257-2286.

Demolition range

ESQUIMALT, B.C. — The land-based demolition range at Bentinck Island will be in use Monday through Friday, Nov. 24, the Royal Canadian Navy announced.

The range will be in use from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily during that time.

Bentinck Island is located near Race Rocks in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and is used as a terrestrial demolition range by the Canadian Armed Forces.

Local residents will likely be unaware of the activities except on days when environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity and wind direction affect how far the sound will travel.

Studies conducted on the potential environmental effects of Bentinck Island demolitions have found that blast noise in the marine environment during land-based demolitions is almost undetectable by acoustic equipment above that of other underwater background sounds such as waves and marine life, the Royal Canadian Navy said in a news release.

Book signing

SEQUIM —Pat Neal will signing copies of his new book, “Wildlife Volume Three, Fisherman’s Holidays,” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday.

Neal, a Hoh River fishing guide and self-proclaimed “wilderness gossip columnist,” will sign copies at Brian’s Sporting Goods & More, 609 W. Washington St.

This is Neal’s fourth collection of stories gleaned from the opinion page of the Peninsula Daily News in which he asks the question, “Why can’t the Skunk Cabbage Festival last all year?,” according to a news release.

A new collection of Pat Neal Christmas cards will also be available.

Grant received

PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Philanthropic Educational Organization chapter HG bestowed a $2,300 Continuing Education Grant upon Jill Huestis.

The grant is awarded to women who return to college and are within two years of completing their degree, according to a news release.

Huestis, a Peninsula College student, is enrolled in the college’s nursing program and is slated to complete her degree in June .

For more information, visit www.peointernational.org.

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