Good news for residents on the west end of the county. State Highway 112 has finally been reopened to two-way traffic between Sappho and Neah Bay after being closed for more than three months by a massive landslide November 15th. 

While state transportation crews reopened the roadway at 6pm Monday near Clallam Bay additional monitoring will still be required. Even after completion of paving last week, the highway settled an additional six inches in the eastbound lane.  That section has been rebuilt with gravel. The graveled portion of the roadway will remain in place while geologists monitor the hillside.  Eagle Crest Way, a service road being used as a detour around the slide has been returned to its private property owners and is closed to travel to the public.  Another second of the highway is still in need of repair further east near Jim Creek.  Construction at that site is expected to begin later this month and will reopen to travelers in late spring.

Emergency slide repairs are beginning today on State Route 112 near Jim Creek on the west end of Clallam County 15 miles east from where the highway was finally reopened near Clallam Bay a week ago.  The highway dropped four feet at Jim Creek following last November’s storms and heavy rain. Work will include removing guardrail, clearing fallen vegetation, excavating the roadway 20 feet below grade level, installing drainage and rebuilding the roadway The State Transportation department says repairs are expected to take eight weeks to complete. Travelers will continue to detour around the slide location using US Highway 101 and State Highway 113.

November 10th is the official birthday of the U.S. Marine Corps. The Marine Corps traces its roots back to the Second Continental Congress in 1775, which established a resolution stating that "two Battalions of Marines be raised" as forces to land with the fleet. 

The Marines' first land battle on foreign soil was in Libya in 1805, where 600 Marines stormed the city of Derna to rescue the crew of the USS Philadelphia from pirates.

The Marine Corps has been a component of the U.S. Department of the Navy since 1834 working closely with naval forces for training, transportation, and logistics. The USMC operates posts on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world, and several of the Marines' tactical aviation squadrons, primarily Marine Fighter Attack squadrons, are also embedded in Navy carrier air wings and operate from the Navy's aircraft carriers.  The Marines have over 1300 manned aircraft. 

Today, our country is defended by almost 220,000 Marines, including the reserves.

Latin for "Always Faithful," Semper Fidelis became the Marine Corps motto in 1883.  According to the Corps, Semper Fidelis is a permanent reminder that "a Marine will forever live by the ethics and values of the Corps."

Beginning March 1st the Blue Mountain recycling and waste transfer station will be temporarily closed for approximately six weeks and all glass recycling is being discontinued.  The City of Port Angeles says supply chain issues have delayed delivery of necessary equipment to operate the facility requiring the closure. Port Angeles is taking over collection of recycling and yard waste from Waste Connections, Inc.  An announcement from the city says commercial cardboard bins are also slightly delayed, but overly large service disruptions are not anticipated. After investigating the glass recycling market, the City discovered there is only one recycling facility in the entire state of Washington, and they are no longer accepting glass at this time. The city says it will continue to monitor potential glass recycling market changes over the coming months in hopes that an option to utilize a reuse stream becomes available. Until then, glass is to be disposed of through regular solid waste means.

Efforts to make schools safer in earthquake and tsunami prone areas  took a big step forward Wednesday. State senators voted unanimously to support a bill that would authorize up to $500 million dollars in bonds to finance a school safety grant program to retrofit buildings in danger. During Wednesday’s floor debate Democratic State Senator David Frockt of Seattle said school seismic safety could range anywhere from a brace for a building to relocating a building entirely.

FROCKT:  “This is not a theoretical problem Madam President. You may remember there was a volcanic eruption in Tonga I believe about a week ago and we had tsunami warnings on the coast and nothing really happened. But what would happen if there had been a more serious one.  I would note the bill provides for evacuation tsunami towers as an option as well, so these elevated platforms could be built under this legislation.”

Republican Senator Mark Schoesler from the eastern Washington community of Ritzville was a co-sponsor of the bill.

“Some of us have tragic fires. Some of us have floods. Some are in a position that it’s not a matter of if there is an earthquake disaster but when, or a tsunami. I think what we have here is a very much needed improvement to how we do this. It is a statewide issue that requires a statewide solution.”

The grant program would pay two-thirds of the cost of replacing or retrofitting eligible schools in earthquake or tsunami prone areas. The measure now heads to the House for consideration.

Peninsula Health Officer Dr. Allison Berry says she and superintendents of the Peninsula’s public school districts were caught off guard yesterday when State Superintendent Chris Reykdal said he will be recommending to Governor Inslee that the statewide mask mandate for students be dropped and the decision for masking options be returned to local public health officials. 

She told the Peninsula Daily News that “A lot of us didn’t see that coming.”  She says local health jurisdictions do not agree with him.

Health officers in the state are in agreement – now is not the time to lift masking mandates in schools. She says health officials will be meeting soon to discuss the metrics for when that mandate can and should be lifted.  She noted that the largest number of positive COVID cases during the past week on the Peninsula were children 10 to 17 years of age.

GAUCHO thinks the best way to get kitties to stop climbing the Christmas tree is to NOT have a cat!

After all, "Kitties Gonna Do What Kitties Wanna Do!"

Here is a photo of Luna, Bear, and of course "Gaucho".

A lawsuit seeking to overturn the proof of vaccine mandate for patrons of restaurants and bars in Clallam County has been delayed once again.  The suit filed by six restaurant owners had been set to be heard in Kitsap County Superior Court today.  But word came late yesterday it has been delayed until next month. It’s now tentatively set for Friday, January 7th at 3:30 pm. 

The case was moved to Kitsap County after Clallam County’s three superior court judges recused themselves, saying it would be difficult to be impartial.  Kitsap County Superior Court Judge Michelle Adams will be hearing the case instead. 

The suit filed by the owners of the Oasis Bar and Grill, Blondie’s Plate and Jose’s Famous Salsa House restaurant in Sequim, Kokopelli Grill and Coyote Barbeque Pub in Port Angeles and the Blackberry Café in Joyce is alleging that the vaccine mandate unconstitutionally targets a single industry, and harms their freedom of commerce.

A swarm of at least 50 earthquakes have been recorded about 250 miles west of Newberg off the Oregon coast since around 9:30 Monday night. They’re in an area known as the “Blanco Fracture Zone.” The strongest was a magnitude 5.8.  Most have been ranging in intensity from 4.0 to 5.8 and are quite shallow, around 6 miles. The National Weather Service and Pacific Northwest Seismic Network say the activity is eye catching, but nothing to be concerned about. The seismic network says the area is one of the most seismically active in North America and the high activity is not a cause of concern.  

Because it’s not a part of the Cascadia Subduction Zone it doesn’t pose a threat for tsunamis. In any event,  swarms like these are a constant reminder of the potential danger posed by our regions close proximity to the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the Pacific Northwest coast.  Scientists have been predicting there’s about a 37 percent chance of a huge magnitude 9.2 earthquake that could be unleashed from Cascadia in the next 50 years and would likely generate a catastrophic tsunami.

Veterans Day is an annual United States holiday honoring military veterans of all wars.  It is a federal holiday that is observed every November 11th. Here’s the history:

At the beginning of the last century, the most destructive war yet known to mankind was waged with unbridled violence and destruction.  The war, known at the time as “The World War”, or “The Great War” has since been enumerated and referred to as “World War One”

Hostilities began on July 28, 1914 and lasted until November 11, 1918. It involved the Western Allies, (including Britain, France, and Russia) versus the German empire.

More than 70 million military personnel were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history.  

More than 9 million combatants were killed during the war, including over 886,000 deaths from Great Britain; 117,000 brave soldiers and sailors from the United States, and nearly 65,000 from our valiant Canadian allies.  

Armistice Day commemorates the cease fire signed amongst the belligerents.  The armistice called for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, taking effect at the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918.  Today marks the 103rd Anniversary of that event.

 “Armistice Day” was celebrated in the United States every November 11th, becoming a national holiday in 1938.  In Canada the day is known as “Remembrance Day.”

“The War to End All Wars” did not signal the end to this type of human tragedy.  World War II, The Korean War and many wars since have proven this sad fact.  In 1954, with the approval of Public Law 380, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars, and would thereafter be referred to as “VETERANS DAY”.

We, at KSQM, are very proud of our country and we wish to honor all veterans.  This solemn day will include a number of military and patriotic musical selections.  We thank you for listening.