Community Announcements

Childbirth Education Classes

Forks Community Hospital will offer Childbirth Classes beginning April 18 and ending May 23 at the Caring Place, 481 W. E St. To register, go to forks hospital.org or call 360-374-6271 ext. 533 or by email to lacijo@forkshospital.org or at the Forks Community Hospital admitting desk.

Kindergarten Registration

Kindergarten registration for the 2017-2018 school year begins March 31. Children must be 5 years old prior to Sept. 1 to be eligible for enrollment. Parents or guardians are asked to provide the child’s birth certificate and most current immunization record during registration.

Register at QVSD District Office at 411 S. Spartan Ave., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, March 31-June 30. Registration will re-open Aug. 22 and continues through the opening of the 2017-2018 school year. Contact QVSD District Office at 360-374-6262 if you need more information.

Aging in Place Panel Discussion

On April 5 at 1:30 p.m., after the senior luncheon (12:30 p.m.), the Forks Elks Lodge, 941 Merchant Road, will host a question-and-answer panel to discuss Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, in-home care/COPES, eldercare fraud, long-term care, hospitalization, Family Caregiver Support Program, durable powers of attorney and healthcare directives, housing, food insecurity, home health and Lifeline and more. Representatives will be available to answer your questions.

PUD Announces Residential Customer Survey

Clallam PUD will commence a survey of residential customers within the next two weeks. The survey will take about 10 days to complete by contacting a random sample of residential customers.

SDS Research, a full service marketing research firm, will survey approximately 400 customers via telephone. Calls will come from the SDS Research general phone number at 208)-438-6100. The survey questions will last approximately 10 minutes.

Clallam PUD plans to conduct surveys of its customers approximately every other year. The last customer survey was in 2014. The results of the survey will be presented to the PUD by the end of April and will be shared with the public. For more information about Clallam County PUD, visit www.clallampud.net.

Forks Library tohost Hour of Code

The Forks Library will host an Hour of Code from 1-2 p.m. Wednesday, April 5. Hour of Code is an introduction to computer science designed to demystify code and show that anybody can learn programming basics. Each participant will use a laptop to access a variety of fun, self-guided tutorials provided by Code.org.

More About Coding

Computer coding is a valuable skill because it is a universal language. People who know how to code will be able to communicate across countries and cultures, and solve problems more efficiently in the future. Learning programming at a young age helps children solve everyday problems and set up for a lifetime of opportunities. Hour of Code is the first step for anyone to learn that computer science is fun and accessible at all ages!

This event is recommended for ages 4 and up; even pre-readers can participate! All learning levels are welcome. Laptops will be provided and registration is required. To register, visit www.nols.org, select “Events” and “Forks.”

Better Balance Classes

Tai Ji Quan: Moving for better balance classes are coming soon to Forks Community Hospital. Come improve your balance through participating in a fun, evidence-based, adapted Tai Ji Quan program, that improves muscle strength, balance, flexibility, mobility and reduce the risk of falls.

Classes start April 24, every Monday and Friday; call Char Weston now at 374-6271 ext. 119 to sign up. No prior experience necessary, participants should be able to walk without physical assistance.

Children’s Easter Celebration

The First Baptist Church will host a Children’s Easter Celebration at 2 p.m. April 15. Children are invited to take part in a fun-filled celebration of the true meaning of Easter.

The event will have a presentation of the Easter story, craft and cookie time, and a spectacular 2,000-plus Easter egg hunt containing candy and prizes. Each child also will receive an Easter book!

Children in fifth grade and below may participate in the Easter egg hunt. There will be a separate Easter egg hunt for preschool age and under. Rain or shine!

PUD rate increase

Clallam County PUD No. 1 (PUD) reminds customers that the new electric rates are effective on all bills rendered on or after April 1. As announced earlier, commissioners approved the rate increase at their Dec. 12, 2016, public meeting.

The new retail electric rates include 3.8 percent average increase. This equates to about $4.48 per month for the average PUD residential customer, using 1,200 kWh per month. The actual retail electric rate increase will be applied as an increase of 10 percent per month on the customer’s base charge and approximately 2 percent on kilowatt hours used, which all totaled is approximately 3.8 percent overall for the average residential electric bill.

Example of an average electric bill: Current $114.29; with the rate increase it would be $118.77

Electric Rate Pressures

In October 2015, the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) increased rates by approximately 6 percent. This represents the largest cost center for the PUD at about 43 percent of the total budget. For this increase, staff and commissioners decided to divide this rate impact over the course of two years instead of just one, which keeps with the philosophy of providing stable rates. In part, the 2017 PUD rate increase is attributable to both the 2015 and 2017 BPA wholesale increases.

Leilani Wood to be speaker for the next Bogachiel Garden Club Meeting

The Bogachiel Garden Club will host professional horticulturist Leilani Wood as a guest speaker at its April 19 meeting starting at 1 p.m. at the community center. Her presentation is titled “Inspiration for Garden Color.” She offers expert advice on the how, who, what, when, where and why to creating beautiful summer color in our containers, gardens and yards. As a grower for Sunny Farms, she stated that “We grow from scratch, with a strategy for a beautiful crop for our region.” She will bring a selection of annuals and perennials for purchase including pansies, violas and sweet peas. Payment is accepted with cash and checks only.

The community always is invited to participate in the monthly garden club meetings held at the Forks Community Center, 91 Maple Ave.

Please call Kris Ayers, co-president, at 963-2550 if you have any questions.

FCH to offer CNA Class

Forks Community Hospital is now accepting applications for the summer CNA class. The class begins June 19. Please e-mail Annie Crippen at anniec@forkshospital.org for more information.

Ocean Salmon Fisheries Meeting

There will be a meeting to discuss ocean fishing options north of Falcon at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 30, at Pacific Pizza. New bottom fish regulations also will be discussed. For more information or questions, contact Gary Grahn at 360-640-4820. Be there if you care.

Shred Event

Just in time to get rid of all those old tax records!

A shred event will be from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, April 15, in the Forks Forum parking lot, 490 S. Forks Ave., to benefit the Forks Community Food Bank. Bring your shred and donate to the food bank. Food and/orcash donations accepted!

Hope to see you there!