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Port Townsend’s Margo Karler uses her cell phone to photograph wave action at North Beach in Port Townsend on Thursday. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
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Waves rolling in

Port Townsend’s Margo Karler uses her cell phone to photograph wave action at North Beach in Port Townsend on Thursday.… Continue reading

Port Townsend’s Margo Karler uses her cell phone to photograph wave action at North Beach in Port Townsend on Thursday. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Clallam County Road Department maintenance worker Jeremy Reeves loads a set of tire chains onto a county sand truck on Wednesday at the county shop in Port Angeles in preparation for potential snow on the North Olympic Peninsula. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

Olympic Peninsula to shiver in snow

Details unclear on Wednesday

Clallam County Road Department maintenance worker Jeremy Reeves loads a set of tire chains onto a county sand truck on Wednesday at the county shop in Port Angeles in preparation for potential snow on the North Olympic Peninsula. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
A car picks its way through a field of rocks and other debris pushed by wind-driven waves and high tides over Ediz Hook Road in Port Angeles on Tuesday. The city Public Works Department has closed the road. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

Winter storm blows its way onto Peninsula

Gusts cause outages, close Ediz Hook, but snow predicted for Hurricane Ridge

A car picks its way through a field of rocks and other debris pushed by wind-driven waves and high tides over Ediz Hook Road in Port Angeles on Tuesday. The city Public Works Department has closed the road. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
A kiteboarder uses the wind on Saturday at Cline Spit near Sequim. More windy conditions are expected today with gusts up to 50 mph expected across the Peninsula, followed by very cold temperatures forecast through the weekend. (Steve Jones)
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Sailing away

A kiteboarder uses the wind on Saturday at Cline Spit near Sequim. More windy conditions are expected today with gusts up to 50 mph expected… Continue reading

A kiteboarder uses the wind on Saturday at Cline Spit near Sequim. More windy conditions are expected today with gusts up to 50 mph expected across the Peninsula, followed by very cold temperatures forecast through the weekend. (Steve Jones)
KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS Port Angeles' Anthony McMahan, top, tries to overturn Sequim's Jayms Vilona in the 144-lb. class on Saturday at Port Angeles High School.

PREP WRESTLING: Area grapplers go to the mat at the annual Battle of the Axe

Forks goes 4-1 on the day to finish fifth

KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS Port Angeles' Anthony McMahan, top, tries to overturn Sequim's Jayms Vilona in the 144-lb. class on Saturday at Port Angeles High School.
An excavator pulls a piece of aging stormwater drain pipe leading to the Peabody Creek Estuary under the parking lot at Port Angeles City Pier on Thursday. The operation was part of a project to replace a failed stormwater line, fortify the shoreline from erosion and replace damaged sidewalks around the parking area. In addition to the repairs, pedestrian ramps within the City Pier parking lot will be replaced and made ADA compliant. Nordland Construction, Inc. is the contractor for the city project. The parking lot, located at North Lincoln Street and East Railroad Avenue, is expected to remain closed through the project, which is expected to be completed in March. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
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Stormwater project

An excavator pulls a piece of aging stormwater drain pipe leading to the Peabody Creek Estuary under the parking lot at Port Angeles City Pier… Continue reading

An excavator pulls a piece of aging stormwater drain pipe leading to the Peabody Creek Estuary under the parking lot at Port Angeles City Pier on Thursday. The operation was part of a project to replace a failed stormwater line, fortify the shoreline from erosion and replace damaged sidewalks around the parking area. In addition to the repairs, pedestrian ramps within the City Pier parking lot will be replaced and made ADA compliant. Nordland Construction, Inc. is the contractor for the city project. The parking lot, located at North Lincoln Street and East Railroad Avenue, is expected to remain closed through the project, which is expected to be completed in March. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS Port Angeles' Izzy Felton, left, rolls around Bainbridge's Stella Berry on Tuesday night in Port Angeles.

PREP BASKETBALL: Port Angeles girls battle to the last seconds

For the second straight game, the Port Angeles girls battled back from a deficit to give themselves a chance for a tie… Continue reading

KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS Port Angeles' Izzy Felton, left, rolls around Bainbridge's Stella Berry on Tuesday night in Port Angeles.
Port Angeles Parks and Recreation Department worker Lukas Cox tosses a limb from the downtown Port Angeles Christmas tree into a truck for eventual recycling as the tree is dismantled on Tuesday. The tree, donated by the Port of Port Angeles, illuminated downtown at the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain since it was lit on Thanksgiving weekend. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
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Tree recycling

Port Angeles Parks and Recreation Department worker Lukas Cox tosses a limb from the downtown Port Angeles Christmas tree into a truck for eventual recycling… Continue reading

Port Angeles Parks and Recreation Department worker Lukas Cox tosses a limb from the downtown Port Angeles Christmas tree into a truck for eventual recycling as the tree is dismantled on Tuesday. The tree, donated by the Port of Port Angeles, illuminated downtown at the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain since it was lit on Thanksgiving weekend. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Participants in the New Year’s Day polar bear dip in Port Angeles run in and out of the chilly water of Port Angeles Harbor at Hollywood Beach as onlookers watch from the shore on Monday. More than 100 dippers took part in the annual ritual, which served as a fundraiser for Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
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Taking the plunge

Participants in the New Year’s Day polar bear dip in Port Angeles run in and out of the chilly water of Port Angeles Harbor at… Continue reading

Participants in the New Year’s Day polar bear dip in Port Angeles run in and out of the chilly water of Port Angeles Harbor at Hollywood Beach as onlookers watch from the shore on Monday. More than 100 dippers took part in the annual ritual, which served as a fundraiser for Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Clallam County Fire District 2 firefighter/EMT Anaka Hughes makes her way up the stairs behind the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain in Port Angeles on Saturday to gather donations and pledges supporting the upcoming Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Firefighter Stairclimb on March 10 at the Columbia Center in Seattle. The North Olympic Firefighters Team consisting of firefighters from Fire District 2 and the Port Angeles Fire Department will join about 2,000 firefighters from across the region in the event, ascending 69 floors with 1,356 steps of Seattle’s tallest skyscraper benefiting blood cancer research and patient services. The North Olympic team plans another fundraising event with stairclimb machines on March 10 at Bourbon West, 125 W. Front St. in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
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Stairclimb donations

Clallam County Fire District 2 firefighter/EMT Anaka Hughes makes her way up the stairs behind the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain in Port Angeles on Saturday… Continue reading

Clallam County Fire District 2 firefighter/EMT Anaka Hughes makes her way up the stairs behind the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain in Port Angeles on Saturday to gather donations and pledges supporting the upcoming Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Firefighter Stairclimb on March 10 at the Columbia Center in Seattle. The North Olympic Firefighters Team consisting of firefighters from Fire District 2 and the Port Angeles Fire Department will join about 2,000 firefighters from across the region in the event, ascending 69 floors with 1,356 steps of Seattle’s tallest skyscraper benefiting blood cancer research and patient services. The North Olympic team plans another fundraising event with stairclimb machines on March 10 at Bourbon West, 125 W. Front St. in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Santa Claus, portrayed by Stephen Rosales, greets Paisley Schroeder, 2, and Deb Bemm at a Christmas lunch in Sequim on Monday at the Carroll C. Kendall Unit of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula. The annual lunch is hosted by the Khela family of Sequim which began hosting a community meal on Christmas 10 years ago as a way of giving back to the community. This year 20 turkeys and 10 hams were cooked to feed what’s estimated to be about 400 people. Children were able to choose up to four gifts, donated to the event by community members and the local branch of Toys for Tots. (Peter Segall/Peninsula Daily News)
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Holiday greetings

Santa Claus, portrayed by Stephen Rosales, greets Paisley Schroeder, 2, and Deb Bemm at a Christmas lunch in Sequim on Monday at the Carroll C.… Continue reading

Santa Claus, portrayed by Stephen Rosales, greets Paisley Schroeder, 2, and Deb Bemm at a Christmas lunch in Sequim on Monday at the Carroll C. Kendall Unit of the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula. The annual lunch is hosted by the Khela family of Sequim which began hosting a community meal on Christmas 10 years ago as a way of giving back to the community. This year 20 turkeys and 10 hams were cooked to feed what’s estimated to be about 400 people. Children were able to choose up to four gifts, donated to the event by community members and the local branch of Toys for Tots. (Peter Segall/Peninsula Daily News)
A Christmas ornament hangs from the downtown Port Angeles Christmas tree as a pedestrian walks past the plaza at the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain. The tree, towering above the intersection at First and Laurel streets, will remain illuminated through the holiday season. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
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Merry Christmas

A Christmas ornament hangs from the downtown Port Angeles Christmas tree as a pedestrian walks past the plaza at the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain. The… Continue reading

A Christmas ornament hangs from the downtown Port Angeles Christmas tree as a pedestrian walks past the plaza at the Conrad Dyar Memorial Fountain. The tree, towering above the intersection at First and Laurel streets, will remain illuminated through the holiday season. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
An excavator operated by Jad Groves of the Port Angeles Public Works Department removes the charred remains of the treehouse structure at the Dream Playground at Erickson Playfield on Thursday after much of the playground was destroyed by fire early Wednesday morning. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

Volunteers, donations pour in for Dream Playground rebuild

Businesses also pledge their help through proceeds

An excavator operated by Jad Groves of the Port Angeles Public Works Department removes the charred remains of the treehouse structure at the Dream Playground at Erickson Playfield on Thursday after much of the playground was destroyed by fire early Wednesday morning. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Assistant Fire Chief Mike Sanders walks past the burnt remains of a play structure at the Dream Playground on Wednesday morning. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)

Well-loved amenity reduced to rubble

Port Angeles police investigating blaze as arson

Assistant Fire Chief Mike Sanders walks past the burnt remains of a play structure at the Dream Playground on Wednesday morning. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Port Townsend Library Director Melody Sky Weaver, left, and Library Manager of Youth & Outreach Services Emily Bufford marvel at the dozens of entries in the library’s Uptown Gingerbread Contest. Voting ended Monday and winners of the all-edible competition will be announced Friday. At the Jefferson County Library, 31 gingerbread houses — 18 from youth — were entered into the Home for the Holidays: Gingerbread House Making Contest. The deadline to vote in that contest is 5 p.m. today. Winners in both contests will be announced on Friday. Houses are on display at the Port Townsend Library at 1220 Lawrence St. and the Jefferson County Library at 620 Cedar Ave., Port Hadlock. (Diane Urbani de la Paz/For Peninsula Daily News)

Gingerbread housing

Port Townsend Library Director Melody Sky Weaver, left, and Library Manager of Youth & Outreach Services Emily Bufford marvel at the dozens of entries in… Continue reading

Port Townsend Library Director Melody Sky Weaver, left, and Library Manager of Youth & Outreach Services Emily Bufford marvel at the dozens of entries in the library’s Uptown Gingerbread Contest. Voting ended Monday and winners of the all-edible competition will be announced Friday. At the Jefferson County Library, 31 gingerbread houses — 18 from youth — were entered into the Home for the Holidays: Gingerbread House Making Contest. The deadline to vote in that contest is 5 p.m. today. Winners in both contests will be announced on Friday. Houses are on display at the Port Townsend Library at 1220 Lawrence St. and the Jefferson County Library at 620 Cedar Ave., Port Hadlock. (Diane Urbani de la Paz/For Peninsula Daily News)
The Port Angeles Boat Haven is all aglow with holiday lights on various boats. Temperatures on the North Olympic Peninsula are forecast to be in the mid- to upper 40s this week with overnight lows dipping into the upper 30s. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)

Holiday reflections

The Port Angeles Boat Haven is all aglow with holiday lights on various boats. Temperatures on the North Olympic Peninsula are forecast to be in… Continue reading

The Port Angeles Boat Haven is all aglow with holiday lights on various boats. Temperatures on the North Olympic Peninsula are forecast to be in the mid- to upper 40s this week with overnight lows dipping into the upper 30s. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Butch Zaharias, a captain and division chief with the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), checks in on drivers and fellow CERT members in festive garb during the Family Holiday Meal Bag distribution in Sequim’s Carrie Blake Park. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)

Sequim event hands out 1,200 holiday meals

Volunteers gather at Carrie Blake Community Park

Butch Zaharias, a captain and division chief with the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), checks in on drivers and fellow CERT members in festive garb during the Family Holiday Meal Bag distribution in Sequim’s Carrie Blake Park. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
After 28 years, Isobel Johnston’s agave plant started to bloom this summer and rose to about 22 feet. “I never ever thought it’d get that tall,” she said. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)

After 28 years, Sequim agave reaches 22 feet tall

Owner, fire district plan to start anew with seedling

After 28 years, Isobel Johnston’s agave plant started to bloom this summer and rose to about 22 feet. “I never ever thought it’d get that tall,” she said. (Matthew Nash/Olympic Peninsula News Group)
Judy Tordini, top, helps unload a bundle of six wreaths from a truck that arrived Wednesday afternoon at the Church of Latter-Day Saints parking lot on Monroe Road in Port Angeles. From left to right, Gwen Oden, Erin Rousos and Jim Bower were among a host of volunteers who helped receive 2,411 wreaths for local cemeteries. The wreaths from Maine will be distributed in Saturday ceremonies. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)

Wreaths arrive for ceremonies on Saturday

Fallen veterans to be honored at local gravesites

Judy Tordini, top, helps unload a bundle of six wreaths from a truck that arrived Wednesday afternoon at the Church of Latter-Day Saints parking lot on Monroe Road in Port Angeles. From left to right, Gwen Oden, Erin Rousos and Jim Bower were among a host of volunteers who helped receive 2,411 wreaths for local cemeteries. The wreaths from Maine will be distributed in Saturday ceremonies. (Dave Logan/for Peninsula Daily News)
Enzo Ramirez, 4, of Port Angeles clutches his dollar bill while searching for an affordable gift to purchase at a vendor table set up by Port Angeles-based Power Up Perler & Soaps during Saturday’s Holiday Market at Vern Burton Community Center in Port Angeles. The market featured dozens of gift and craft tables by local artisans, including a donation and craft table benefiting Peninsula Friends of Animals. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
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Holiday market

Enzo Ramirez, 4, of Port Angeles clutches his dollar bill while searching for an affordable gift to purchase at a vendor table set up by… Continue reading

Enzo Ramirez, 4, of Port Angeles clutches his dollar bill while searching for an affordable gift to purchase at a vendor table set up by Port Angeles-based Power Up Perler & Soaps during Saturday’s Holiday Market at Vern Burton Community Center in Port Angeles. The market featured dozens of gift and craft tables by local artisans, including a donation and craft table benefiting Peninsula Friends of Animals. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)