I THINK IT was the radiant smiles, or it could have been the dazzling display of baked goods — probably, it was both — that helped the Neon Rider 4-H bake sale achieve their fundraising goal for the day. If you ask them, they’ll tell you it was thanks to all the community support they received from Grocery Outlet shoppers.

“One of the many things that 4-H does is fundraise for things the clubs need. For instance, in the horse clubs, it helps put on shows to practice for fair, and to participate in fair,” Neon Rider’s 4-H member Grace Karjalainen said.

Another thing the clubs fundraise for is to pay for uniforms, the 4-H counsel (which can help high school students needing assistance being accepted into college) and to provide aid with enrollment fees when joining a club. Above all, the work involved with creating and holding fundraisers helps to forge deeper friendships among club members.

Catastrophe

Guess what? A small change occurred in the leadership of the Clallam County Animal Disaster Planning small animal (dogs and cats) sub-committee, and I’m now its leader. At first, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the task, considering I spent the majority of February and early March sleeping due to my multiple sclerosis-laden central nervous system reacting to the month’s snow, cold and overcast days. Alas, spring’s warmer weather, with sunnier skies, leads to renewed energy for all living things, great and small, don’t you agree? Plus, I have the help of our leader, Emergency Management Program Coordinator Justine Chorley, my co-chair Debi Pavlich-Boaz, and, last week especially, Mel Marshall from Sequim’s Welfare for Animals Guild (WAG), along with the rest of the committee.

BCH Buckhorn Range Chapter President Judy Sarles is still leading the large animal planning group.

Key takeaways from our first small group meeting this week include:

• Having the large and small animal draft plans completed by a June meeting in which both groups will merge to complete the plan and then submit it to the county assessor by, or prior to, October. Our plan will be an addition to the county’s approved 2020 SEMP plan (Plans | Clallam County, WA).

• Possibly setting up the Clallam County Animal Response Team as its own 501(c)(3) nonprofit that is a resource for the county, and will be able to receive grant funding (if available).

• Compile a list of possible emergency shelter locations in which humans can also stay, camp in their cars with their animals in a safe place that will also shelter other dogs and cats.

• Keep a copy of your animals’ vaccination records, especially rabies, on your phone, in your to-go bag and in your automobile glove box, along with a photo of you and your animals. Without proof, chances are your animals will be denied access to emergency shelters.

• Working to compile list of veterinarians and retired veterinarians in the area, willing help with disaster response. The county coordinates disaster responses in the courthouse Emergency Operating Center (EOC). EOC is the disaster command center for Clallam County. A small table will be set up for animal response.

• After a disaster, it’s the EOC that directs evacuations and routes, location of needed shelters; dependent on type and location of threat. Is it a wildfire nearing Blyn, Sequim, Port Angeles or Forks? A wildfire likely won’t affect the entire North Olympic Peninsula at once, whereas a major earthquake probably will.

• The EOC sends out announcements via its alert system (providing its infrastructure is still intact), radio and TV broadcasts, Ham and amateur radio groups, with the hope individuals and groups will share the exact same message person-to-person, apps like Nextdoor and Facebook, other social media.

In response to a member asking if FEMA would still exist to help with disaster response since the current administration has said it’s cutting FEMA Justine said, the county doesn’t rely on rumors. “Where I’m getting all my information is from the state, and the state gets it from FEMA.”

If FEMA is cut, or funding greatly reduced, look for the official announcement from FEMA and on the county’s Website under Emergency Management.

Trail ride

BCH Peninsula Chapter member Donna Hollatz shared the group’s annual “Rides of March” was another fun riding day for the group. Held March 29, at the Dungeness TrailsCounty Park along the Dungeness River, where the future water storage reservoir has been proposed, the event has traditionally kicked off the chapter’s monthly group rides, usually held from March through October,

I say usually, because the group held a well-attended ride on New Year’s Day at Miller Peninsula.

The 10-15 mile non-motorized, multi-trail system was built by the Olympic Peninsula Bicycle Alliance (OPBA). Vehicle parking for walkers and cyclists are along River Road near the Happy Valley Road junction. Horse trailers park at the wide pull-out area, built by Peninsula Chapter volunteers in 2020, on Happy Valley Road. Note: As the nine horse trailers arrived, members Rick King and Jim Hollatz helped guide them in.

From there, the group took a trail leading to the River Road crossing. They the rode trails on the west side of River Road, and further down to trails near the Dungeness River. A “Cowboy Café” (managed by Linda Morin, Theresa Percy, Kim Merrick, Donna Hollatz, and new members, Travis Meyers and Stephanie Robinson) was set up near the ecology blocks at the south end of the trail system. There, riders were treated to bean soup, cornbread muffins, fruit, and homemade cookies. The horse-treat selection, for the 13 beautiful horses and a handsome mule on the trail, included apples, carrots, and horse cookies. The six volunteers hosting the “café” also helped hold horses, so the riders, could dismount and eat peacefully. Several of the riders were new members. “It was nice to meet several new members and their equine partners there,” said Donna. “It was also wonderful to see Valerie Jackson back in the saddle after a bad accident last summer.”

I’m hopeful the group can see many new members and friendships formed this year, not only at their group rides, but at their meetings, trail work and social activities as well. For more information visit the web site www.pbchw.org.

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Karen Griffiths’ column, Peninsula Horseplay, appears the second and fourth Saturday of each month.

If you have a horse event, clinic or seminar you would like listed, please email Griffiths at kbg@olympus.net at least two weeks in advance. You can also call her at 360-460-6299.

A happy site for horse trailer parking at the corner of Happy Valley and River Roads —a site built by the Peninsula Chapter.

Back Country Horsemen Café gave riders a wonderful pick-me-up during the Peninsula Chapter’s annual Rides of March at Dungeness Trails County Park on March 29. (Photo by Donna Hollatz)

New Peninsula Chapter Stephanie Robinson and Travis Meyers, on a break with Joan Wildman and her palomino. (Photo by Donna Hollatz)

New Peninsula Chapter Stephanie Robinson and Travis Meyers, on a break with Joan Wildman and her palomino. (Photo by Donna Hollatz)