NEWS BRIEFS: Pumpkin party is set for Saturday . . . and other items

SEQUIM — The Sequim Prairie Grange will hold its annual Pumpkin Party and Country Fair on Saturday.

The Pumpkin Party starts at 4 p.m. in the Glenda Clark Memorial Outdoor Kitchen at the grange, 290 Macleay Road, with participants able to pick out and carve a pumpkin of their choice.

The grange also has arranged for the Clallam County Smoke Trailer to be on the grounds for children to learn what to do during a structure fire.

At 5 p.m., the Country Fair begins in the main hall.

Food will be available to purchase in the kitchen, and tickets can be purchased for the cake walk and games.

There also will be guessing games and face painting.

Make a Difference

GARDINER — Project Linus’ local chapter will host its annual Make a Difference Day at the Gardiner Community Center, 980 Old Gardiner Road, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

Project Linus is a nationwide organization that makes blankets for ill or traumatized children.

Pat Gracz, coordinator of the chapter, welcomes anyone who would like to donate quilting material, batting, yarn or a hand-made blanket to attend the meeting.

Blankets should be made with materials that are machine-washable and -dryable.

Gracz’s chapter has been a part of Project Linus for 18 years and has collected and delivered more than 18,000 blankets.

For more information, phone Gracz at 360-797-7311.

Tribal elder speaks

SEQUIM — Tribal elder Elaine Grinnell will speak at the Sequim-Dungeness Hospital Guild’s meeting at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Free and open to the public, the meeting will be held in the community hall of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 525 N. Fifth Ave.

Grinnell is a Jamestown S’Klallam elder, renowned storyteller and basket weaver.

She will share tales of her tribe’s culture, legends and myths.

Grinnell interweaves tribal drums, artifacts and her hand-woven baskets into her storytelling presentation.

A business meeting of the guild will follow Grinnell’s presentation.

For more information, phone 360-683-7044.

Volunteers needed

OLYMPIA — The state Recreation and Conservation Office is seeking volunteers to evaluate grant proposals that will help decide which parks and trails should be funded and what farmland and wildlife habitat should be conserved in the state.

RCO is looking to fill vacancies on nine advisory committees that will evaluate and rank grant proposals in the spring and summer of 2016 for all types of recreation around the state.

Volunteers with expertise in project design or management, landscape architecture, planning, engineering, permitting or property acquisition especially are encouraged to apply.

Volunteers serve four years.

Applications are due Oct. 30.

For more information, phone Lorinda Anderson at 360-902-3009 or 360-902-1996.

Conference set

PORT ANGELES — The ninth annual “Building Your Caregiver Tool Box” conference, presented by the Caregiver Coalition, will take place Saturday, Nov. 14.

From 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Port Angeles Senior & Community Center, 328 E. Seventh St., family and professional caregivers can learn for free from several professionals from the North Olympic Peninsula.

The keynote speaker is state Rep. Steve Tharinger.

The mistress of ceremonies is Renee Worthey.

Special afternoon presentations include topics such as Alzheimer’s disease/dementia and veterans administration.

A question-and-answer panel includes moderator Jane Meyer, Mark Mullins on elder law, Roberta Hiday on end-of-life/spiritual knowledge, Dr. Paul Cunningham on geriatric medicine and Mark Harvey, who also writes a column for the Peninsula Daily News, on home care.

Various vendors are available until 1 p.m., and the public is welcome to browse information.

Complimentary lunches, with registration, are provided by Park View Villas.

Registration is required by Friday, Oct. 30, via 360-417-8553.

The conference is sponsored by the Olympic Area Agency on Aging and the Port Angeles Senior & Community Center.

WSU graduates

PULLMAN — The following Washington State University students have earned undergraduate degrees for the summer 2015 semester.

Honors earned by students are listed as follows: summa cum laude for a cumulative grade-point average of 3.90 or better; magna cum laude for a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.70 but less than 3.90; and cum laude for a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.50 but less than 3.70.

■ Forks: Stephanie Marie Bechtold, Bachelor of Science in nursing, summa cum laude.

■ Port Angeles: Maria Cristine Thacker, Bachelor of Science in nursing, magna cum laude

■ Sequim: Ashley Alexandria Fuentes, Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice and criminology.

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