The Quillayute Valley School District Class of 2010 scholarship auction is scheduled to run the weekend of Saturday, March 20 and Sunday, March 21.
The event is held at the Bank of America’s community room in Forks.

Check out handcrafted wood items being donated for the auction by the Olympic Corrections Center located south of Forks. Click here.

Hundreds of valuable and interesting items are donated by members of the West End community. Wooden scaled-down automobiles and wood carved items made in the Olympic Corrections Center work shop are popular items.
Students are now soliciting for donations for the two-day auction  including Kylea Jo Allen at 640-1310, Jordan Grahn at 640-2595 and Kendra Zellar at 640-8096.

The auction starts on Saturday, March 20 at 9 a.m. and ends at 9 p.m. On Sunday, March 22 the hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Donations are being accepted through the days of the auction.
Guest auctioneers include students, volunteers and community leaders.
The auction raised $61,677 in 2009. The auction dates back to the 1960s.
All funds raised go towards scholarships for qualified applicants. Student recipients may apply twice for a scholarship, with a chance of funding for their third and fourth year possible on a case-by-case basis.

Donations of items to sell can be dropped off at the Forks Chamber of Commerce’s Visitor Center, with senior class members and at the Bank of America.

Fundraising food sales by Class of 2010 parents are also featured. Funds raised go towards the Senior Safe Night party set for graduation night in June.
The event is broadcast live on Forks radio.

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Special industrial stormwater general permit workshop planned

A free industrial stormwater general permit workshop is to be held in the Council Chambers, City Hall, 500 East Division on Tuesday, March 23 from 1-3 p.m.
 
The state Department of Ecology will be doing a presentation on the permit processes associated with the State's Industrial Stormwater General Permit.

This permit is one that many businesses may need to have and the purpose of the workshop is to help businesses understand who is required to have the permit and what is needed to comply with the permit. 

Department of Ecology staff will also be able to answer questions that current permit holders might have regarding changes to the new permit and its compliance requirements.
 
The workshop is free and all are welcome to attend.

By Chris Cook - Forks Forum Editor

Construction of a $16 million-plus 86,500-square-foot addition to Forks High School is moving into its final permitting stages.

The Forks Planning Commission is scheduling a public hearing on a conditional use permit for the school expansion on Thursday, April 15 at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.

The design for the high school wing has been carefully developed over the past two years by a community design team working with the Quillayute Valley School District and BLRB Architects of Tacoma, the lead design firm for the project.

Highlights of the project, which will connect seamlessly to the 2000 addition to Forks High School include:
Six new classrooms, a new administrative office, a new school library and science classroom, a“team room” for athletes to work out in without having to open the doors of the main Spartan Gym and a stand-alone vocational and technology education building.

However, the most discussed facet of the school construction plan is likely to be the demoliton of existing and shuttered buildings on the school campus.
In particular, historic preservation advocates are concerned about the 33,000 square-foot brick-walled circa 1925 Quillayute Union High School building.
The design team hopes to preserve features of the facade of the historic building, which is likely the oldest public building still standing in Forks.

Using portions of the building front to create an entrance arch to the new addition is being considered.

Following demolition it will be determined if that section of the project can be afforded within the construction budget.

Factors in figuring the cost will include the possible presence of lead and asbestos in the walls and brick mortar of the building.

Also slated for demolition prior to construction start-up is the 11,720 square-foot 1956 building now used for home economics classes, and the 3,350 square-foot metal shop building, which will be replaced with a modern building.

Work on a woody biomass-fueled furnace/boiler building is now underway adjacent to the auditorium in the historic brick building. The existing 1,100 square foot boiler room located nearby is to be demolished under a separate conditional use permit already granted.

Look for a legal notice announcing the planning commission hearing in this issue of the Forks Forum. The legal notice provides more details on issues to be addressed at the hearing.

JH Kelly workers began ground work for the woody biomass building to be constructed at Forks High School. On Monday, March 8 a covered walkway was torn down and pavement was scraped up to make way for the building which will house a Messerschmit furance.

Wood scraps will be burned in the furnace to generate heat for sections of the high school and Forks Middle School. A chain link safety fence (below) was erected last week to keep students and school visitors out of the way of construction. The school bus stop at the high school has also been moved back towards Spartan Stadium and parents have been advised to pick up students at locations away from the construction. Work on the project is the first phase of construction of a new classroom addition to the high school.

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Burning wood chips and wood scraps to generate heat and electricity is the heart of a growing industry on the North Olympic Peninsula.

A possible major problem for the “woody biomass” industry is accessing from local sources a large enough supply of the chips generated in mills and woody debris left behind by logging and thinning of forests.

The Legislature addressed this issue this session with passage last weekend of a bill known as the Forest Biomass Supply Agreement.

The bill awaits the signature of Gov. Chris Gregoire after being passed by both the state Senate and state House, with only one vote tallied against the bill.
The bill allows the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to sign long-term agreements to be the source of supply for woody biomass. This would come from thinning of forests and collection of post-harvest wood slash.
“To date, a major obstacle to realizing the benefits of the biomass energy has been securing reliable and predictably priced biomass feedstock,” a DNR press release states.

The bill, initiated by Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark, is aimed at raising additional revenue from the DNR’s public lands. Funds from “trust” lands income gained from auctioning logging rights to stands of forest and other sources helps pay for running public schools, for hospitals and other areas of public services.

“If this new legislation provides DNR the authority to enter into long term contracts so that a purchaser has access to forest debris over a specific geographic area, it can provide opportunities if operational and economic conditions are favorable,” John Calhoun, director of the University of Washington’s Olympic Natural Resources Center, told the Forks Forum. “Ideally, economic conditions would allow a purchaser of forest debris to accomplish value adding work on DNR forest lands in exchange for the right to remove the forest debris created by the work, such as thinning or fuel abatement. Just how DNR utilizes this new authority will be interesting to watch.”

In a budget-tight year the bill was cited as having no cost to the state’s strapped general fund.

“I appreciate the Legislature’s support for our Forest Biomass Initiative,” Goldmark said. “It will not only help achieve a greener economy and create rural jobs, but can earn some added revenue for schools and other state trusts.”

Some $1 million in funding has been provided by the Legislature for the biomass furnace plant now under construction at Forks High School. The plant is a pilot project with hopes other rural cities and towns in the state will benefit from recycling wood waste in similar plants. Such a system provides forest jobs; uses a clean, local renewable energy source; and helps prevent forest fires.

Local corrections centers are hoping to install biomass-burning plants to heat and provide electricity.

At a recent meeting held at the University of Washington’s Olympic Natural Resources Center in Forks discussion was held on the use of work crews from the Olympic Corrections Center to thin and gather wood waste for such a system.

The effects of state and national government budgeting crunches are beginning to appear on the West End.

Clallam Transit has announced talks on cutting bus service during four holidays when service is now provided. A public hearing is possible in Forks in May.

Libraries across the West End are being shuttered from Monday, March 29 through Saturday, April 3, North Olympic Library System Library Director Paula Barnes announced earlier this week, to help the library system stay within budget.

Library employees will be considered on furlough during the week, and receive no pay.

In addition, the NOLS Web site will be shut down, return boxes locked, community meeting rooms closed, and buildings will go unlit.

Barnes estimates a savings of about $35,000 for the week without a library. She is scheduled to speak on Wednesday, March 24 before the Forks Chamber of Commerce on a proposed county-wide boost to the library system levy and other plans for the libraries in Forks, Clallam Bay, Port Angeles and Sequim.

A second library closure is being scheduled for late summer, Barnes said in a press release.

Barnes is forecasting an NOLS budget deficit of about $163,000 for 2010.
Reports in the national news have the U.S. Postal Service considering cutting out Saturday mail delivery due to a multi-billion dollar budget shortfall. A significant decline in the volume of mail being delivered due to the increase of Internet-based electronic bill paying and e-mail correspondence is also being reported.

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Fans consider Twilight DVDs and books bought in Forks to hold special value. Local merchants provide stickers and stamps to fans show they can prove back home that they were actually in Forks.

Hecklesville Media’s “Twilight In Forks – Saga of the Real Town” documentary directed by Jason Brown is also being released on DVD by Summit on March 20.

A promotional blurb for the film states: “Since the Twilight movies weren’t filmed in the real Forks, this is your opportunity to see the town that Stephenie Meyer based her epic teen romance books on.

The Hecklesville crew filmed in Forks mostly in the summer of 2009, and attended the Twilight literary seminar staged at Forks High School in late June.
Local residents are featured in the documentary film, and include Forks High School teacher John Hunter, Charlene Cross of Leppell’s Flowers and Gifts, Dr. Kenneth Romney, Forks High School Vice-Principal Kevin Rupprecht and other local residents. A voice over page recorded at Forks Outfitters asks “Bella Swan please come to the sporting goods department,” and may feature the voice of Kevin Hinchen, who runs the sporting goods department at the store, or Dan Trickey, manager of the bakery and deli department.
The documentary DVD is also ranking high in the Amazon.com pre-sale charts. A trailer for “Twilight in Forks” with scenes filmed locally can be viewed at www.twilightinforks.com.

Forks is the setting for a new graphic novel version of the mega-selling book "Twilight." A 10-page excerpt from the book is being published Friday, Jan. 22 in the weekly issue of Entertainment Weekly.

"I can’t say that I am done with Twilight forever. I’m not working on anything new Twilight-related now, and probably not for a while. But there’s still a possibility that I’ll go back and close some of the open doors."

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The Quillayute Valley School District Class of 2010 scholarship auction is scheduled to run the weekend of Saturday, March 20 and Sunday, March 21.
The event is held at the Bank of America’s community room in Forks.
Students are now soliciting for donations for the two-day auction.

The auction starts on Saturday, March 20 at 9 a.m. and ends at 9 p.m. On Sunday, March 22 the hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Donations are being accepted through the days of the auction.

Guest auctioneers include students, volunteers and community leaders.
The auction raised $61,677 in 2009. The auction dates back to the 1960s.
All funds raised go towards scholarships for qualified applicants. Student recipients may apply twice for a scholarship, with a chance of funding for their third and fourth year possible on a case-by-case basis.

Donations of items to sell can be dropped off at the Forks Chamber of Commerce’s Visitor Center, with senior class members and at the Bank of America.

Fundraising food sales by Class of 2010 parents are also featured. Funds raised go towards the Senior Safe Night party set for graduation night in June.
The event is broadcast live on Forks radio stations KBDB and KLLM.

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2009 Twilight count nears 70,000

By Chris Cook - Forks Forum Editor

The visitor arrival count is up almost 500 percent year-to-year at the Forks Chamber of Commerce’s Visitor Center.

Chamber director Marcia Bingham said Tuesday that by today the total number of visitors signing the guest book at the center could top 70,000 for 2009.

“We’re going to beat this year,” Bingham predicted, looking ahead at 2010. She said visitor arrivals began picking up the day after Christmas, with about 200-250 Twilight fans arriving most days since.

Visitor Center manager Mike Gurling said moving the City of Forks welcome sign has added another popular attraction to the visitor center- Forks Timber Museum complex located just south of Forks. The Forks Revitalization Committee with the help of the City of Forks recently moved the sign from an isolated, marshy field further south along Highway 101. The group used community development funds provided by First Federal.

Santa Monica, Ca.-based television producer Zig Gauthier invites potential Twilight in Forks reality television series participants to a casting call held at the Twilight Lounge in Forks on Tuesday, Dec. 22. Young Forks men Sergei Holmquist, Cory Maldonado and David Cook stand behind Gauthier awaiting their chance at the casting call.


Dazzled by Twilight owner Annette Root poses with Zig Gauthier in the Twilight Lounge on Tuesday, Dec. 22 during casting for a potential reality television series based on local residents life in Twilight's hometown. Root is remodeling the former Vagabond restaurant-bar on N. Forks Ave. and plans to reopen the restaurant in the first quarter of 2010.


Forks High School students (from left) Heather Nelson and Taylor Pearson are joined by Spartan graduate Lauren Henry at the Forks casting call. The trio is pictured filling out a questionnaire that will be used to determine who might be selected for the reality television show.

Updated Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2009
By Chris Cook - Editor Forks Forum

Los Angeles-based television producer Zig Gauthier held a casting call at the Twilight Lounge (former Vagabond restaurant/bar) in Forks on Tuesday, Dec. 22, and was scheduled for a second round on Wednesday, Dec. 23.

Gauthier is proposing to film a reality show in Forks that would star local residents. The concept for the show would be presented to television networks who would decide whether to commit to backing the project.

On Tuesday the casting call started at noon and was to end by 4 p.m. On Wednesday, prospective participants were to be interviewed from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Gauthier said in a call from Santa Monica that he is working with Annette Root, owner of Dazzled by Twilight, on the logistics of the casting call. He said Root has been very helpful in arranging for the Forks interviews.

A typical casting call consists of filling out information about yourself including contact numbers and then standing in front of a back drop to have a digital photo taken. The producer then goes over the photos and information and may, or may not, call back those they are interested in appearing in the show.

In a press release the Los Angeles producer said he will be considering both individuals and groups when casting.

The press release asks:
“Do you have a dynamic, outgoing personality?”
“Are you TV friendly?’
“Do you permanently live in Forks?”

On the Web: www.redvarden.com

The SHOWTIME crew visited Forks High School to have students tell what it is like to be a "real" Spartan student, as compared to Bella Swan, Edward Cullen and other fictional Forks High students dreamed up by author Stephenie Meyer. Pictured in the Forks High School library on Friday afternoon, Dec. 11 are students (left to right)  Roberto Rodriguez, Taylor Pearson, Devin Chastain, Tanner Brower, and Taylor Morris.

The City of Forks Welcomes You sign located south of town was moved to a new location on Wednesday, Dec. 9. City and state road workers placed new poles in place and relocated the sign, working Tuesday and Wednesday. The sign, as well as similar sign located near the Calawah bridge along Highway 101 on the north side of town are popular backdrops for snapshots taken by visting Twilight fans. Bill Sperry told Forks Chamber of Commerce members on Wednesday that lights are being installed to highlight the signs at night. He said the Forks Revitalization Committee and the City of Forks are working together on the project.

The south side sign was formerly located in a marshy area which lacked safe parking for fans to pull over. The new location of the sign is located adjacent to the Forks Timber Museum and near the Forks Chamber of Commerce's Visitor Center. Both locations provide paved, off-road parking for visitors.

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