NEWS BRIEFS: Strait Mac Users Group meeting set today in Sequim . . . and other items

SEQUIM — The Strait Mac Users Group will host Jim Karr, who will demonstrate features in Apple’s program Keynote, at its meeting today.

The meeting will be at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 525 N. Fifth Ave., at 7 p.m.

Karr will show how he uses Keynote to create and deliver professional lectures around the world.

Refreshments will be served.

For more information, contact Craig Gottschalk at 360-775-1250 or smugprez@icloud.com.

Septic workshop

SEQUIM — A free septic workshop will be offered at Dungeness River Audubon Center at Railroad Bridge Park, 2151 W. Hendrickson Road, from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

This free Septics 101 class provides homeowners with an overview of the what, why and how of septic system maintenance.

For more information, email aperham@co.clallam.wa.us or phone 360-417-2506.

Watch meeting

PORT ANGELES — A Deer Park/O’Brien Road Neighborhood Watch Meeting will take place at Fairview Bible Church, 385 O’Brien Road, at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

This meeting is open to the public.

Clallam County Sheriff Bill Benedict, Prosecutor Mark Nichols, Sgt. Randy Pieper, Neighborhood Watch volunteer Al Camin and administrative coordinator Lorraine Shore will present information on crime prevention, how to target-harden a home and property and communication tools for effectively communicating with law enforcement and each other.

For more information, contact Shore at lshore@co.clallam.wa.us, phone 360-417-2262 or visit http://www.clallam.net/sheriff.

Men’s chorus

SEQUIM — The Olympic Peninsula Men’s Chorus is looking for new members.

The chorus is a Sequim-based, a cappella, barbershop-style men’s group that has been performing on the Peninsula for more than 30 years.

The group is open to anyone who has an interest in learning to sing four-part harmony regardless of age or prior singing experience.

Rehearsals are held at the Olympic Theatre Arts building, 414 N. Sequim Ave., Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m.

Currently the group is working on music for concerts to be held in June.

The group is teaming up with the Sequim Food Bank to help support the Backpack Program for Sequim school kids.

A portion of the revenue from the concerts will be donated to the Sequim Food Bank and designated for the Backpack Program.

For additional information, phone 360-681-7761.

Call before you dig

OLYMPIA — To protect personal safety and underground utility infrastructure, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission wants to remind residents to follow the law and call 8-1-1 before they dig this spring.

Gov. Jay Inslee has issued a proclamation announcing April as Washington Safe Digging Month.

The proclamation reminds the state’s residents to call 8-1-1 before they dig to prevent injury, property damage and inconvenient outages.

By calling 8-1-1 at least two business days before they start any digging projects, homeowners can obtain an underground utility locate and know what may lie below, according to a news release.

Failure to “Call Before You Dig” could result in damage to underground utility lines or pipes, which happens more than 273,000 times in the U.S. annually.

As residents begin various garden, home improvement and construction projects this spring, they must follow the law and call 8-1-1 before digging.

Whether planting a tree, installing a mailbox or building a fence, homeowners and contractors need to know where buried utility lines are located.

In 2015, 3,200 incidents were reported regarding damage to underground utilities in Washington.

Forty percent of those incidents were caused by individuals digging without first getting an underground utility locate.

These potentially dangerous accidents can be prevented by planning ahead and calling 8-1-1.

The Utility Notification Center receives calls made to 8-1-1 and dispatches professional locators to physically mark utilities that exist beneath the excavation area.

Once the locate is complete, dig carefully around the marked areas with a hand tool because buried electrical lines or natural gas pipes can be dangerously close to the surface.

Accidental contact with a shovel or backhoe could be risky and potentially fatal.

By having the underground utilities marked, people can reduce the risk of striking a line, causing a service outage, damaging buried utility facilities and even injuring themselves.

The UTC urges citizens who experience trouble with a utility locate — if the locate is late, incomplete or inaccurate — to phone the UTC Consumer Help Line at 1-888-333-WUTC (9882).

New Angus association members

PORT ANGELES — Tim and Cheryl Morgenroth of Port Angeles are new members of the American Angus Association, reports Allen Moczygemba, CEO of the national breed organization headquartered in Saint Joseph, Mo.

The American Angus Association, with more than 25,000 active adult and junior members, is the largest beef breed association in the world.

Its computerized records include detailed information on more than 18 million registered Angus.

The association records ancestral information and keeps production records and genomic data on individual animals to develop industry-leading selection tools for its members.

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