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PeninsulaNorthwest
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2013 — (J)
PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
Planes: Flights
last into early morning hours
KEITH THORPE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
STORIES
TO KEEP SHOPPERS WARM
Port Angeles Farmers Market board member Sharah Truett, right, reads “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” to Carter Talmadge, 4; Freda Talmadge and Jack Clemens, 8, during a storytelling session at the market on Saturday. In addition to holiday stories, market shoppers were treated to free hot cider.
Budding scribes developing student paper at PA school BY ARWYN RICE PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
PORT ANGELES — A broken leg and two curious students resulted in the creation of a student newspaper at Dry Creek Elementary School. When fifth-grade teacher Patricia Schromen broke her leg at the beginning of the school year, students began asking questions. “Everyone wanted to know what was happening,” said Maizie Tucker, co-editor of The Fifth Grade Blurb. Tucker and co-editor Talia Anderson, both students in Schromen’s class, decided that someone needed to find the answers — and that they were the ones to do it. Schromen wasn’t returning this school year, they learned, and they would get a long-term substitute. But simply telling their classmates what they learned wasn’t enough.
Print needs The pair decided that it needed to be in print, so they set out to create the classroom newspaper. They settled down to figure out what needed to be in their newspaper, beyond the original concept of informing their classmates about their teacher’s injury. October’s first issue of The Fifth Grade Blurb featured hand-drawn graphics, classroom news and a selection of activities, including
CONTINUED FROM A1 thing about the ferry, the Navy has been really good Last week, the Navy about corresponding with notified residents that it us,” Sandoval said. On the other hand, when will resume flying at that time but would limit the an EIS for the relocation of flights from the Coupeville the ferry docks was under strip to about 6,000 a year. development, there were Residents there told The separate programs for Port Seattle Times that training Townsend and Coupeville. Sandoval said she felt flights over Coupeville houses continue from 10 the programs should have a.m. to 1 a.m. at least five been combined. “This affects all the comdays a week. The Navy says that munities, so it would be night trainings critical to good if we could bring them pilot training, especially for all together,” she said. “If you have separate landings in darkness on airprograms, one community craft carriers. Several tests reportedly doesn’t know what the took place this summer other is doing.” Same holds true for the over Port Townsend and Port Angeles, prompting additional squadrons of both cities to ask the Navy Navy Growlers, she said. Sandoval said she would for more proactive notices of like the comment period the tests. extended past Jan. 3 to give Port Townsend residents a No meet on Peninsula chance to weigh in on the Meetings to take testi- matter. mony in the preparation of “As the tests have gotten the environmental impact louder, they have become statement, or EIS, took more difficult to ignore,” she place in Oak Harbor, Coupe- said. “People wish they could ville and Anacortes earlier this month, but no meeting get a heads-up when this is was scheduled on the North happening.” Both Sandoval and King Olympic Peninsula or at said they will push for an any other location. The public can comment extension of the comment online at www.whidbeyeis. period. Navy spokeswoman com by accessing a comment form under the “com- Liane Nakahara said she wasn’t familiar with the ments” menu. The lack of weaving Port specifics of the EIS preparaTownsend into the EIS tion but said “in some cases, notice process particularly they will extend the comsurprised City Council ment period if enough peomember Michelle Sandoval, ple ask.” who as mayor fielded sev________ eral noise complaints in Jefferson County Editor Charlie 2012. Bermant can be reached at 360“Whenever there has 385-2335 or cbermant@peninsula been a Navy issue or some- dailynews.com.
Dogs: Still mum ARWYN RICE/PENINSULA DAILY NEWS
Maizie Tucker, right, and Talia Anderson, fifth-grade students at Dry Creek Elementary School, review the electronic edition of their student newspaper, The Fifth Grade Blurb. a word search. “The Blurb is a snippet of what’s going on this week,” Tucker said. A second October issue was created when teacher Margaret Freter, who took over the class while Schromen was on medical leave, decided that there should be more news. Both girls were academically strong and sometimes got ahead in their schoolwork, so they could use their free time to create the paper, Freter said. Freter introduced
Tucker and Anderson to the use of clip art and the computer writing program Microsoft Word. Now she plans on transitioning the two girls to Microsoft Publisher. “It was weird to see our first one,” Tucker said, noting the improvements they have made in the past three months. Now the young journalists want to expand their classroom paper to the whole fifth grade — and possibly someday to the whole school.
“We’ve been talking to the other fifth-grade teacher and said, ‘This is what we’re doing,’” Tucker said. Tucker said she wants to be a journalist someday, but Anderson said she is less certain of her own path. “They’re hard workers and they are very creative,” Dry Creek Principal Mary Hebert said.
_________ Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arwyn.rice@peninsula dailynews.com.
Website: Maintenance closure CONTINUED FROM A1 went down and delayed Washington’s planned The extra work updated work, he said. and fixed about 5,000 appliThose who start their cations plagued by com- application on wahealth puter glitches that kept planfinder.org by midnight consumers from signing up Monday will have some for health insurance, extra time to complete it Marchand said. and still get health insurThose people will be ance starting Jan. 1. notified automatically that their applications are ready Deadline extended for completion. Officials at the health The Washington exchange has been closed exchange announced last for maintenance in the week they would extend the early morning hours nearly deadline to help more peoevery weekend since Octo- ple sign up. If they complete the ber, Marchand said. Monday morning’s application they began by efforts were extended Monday and pay by Jan. 15, because the federal site their insurance benefits
will cover them retroactively to Jan. 1. Washington will not be mirroring the federal exchange by giving people an extra day to start their applications, Marchand said. But staff members are reaching out by phone, email and mail to see if people need help completing applications, he said. “We’re trying to be very proactive with people who are trying to complete their applications, and who want or need that coverage to start Jan. 1,” Marchand said. As of the beginning of last week, about 32,000
on destination, groups’ names CONTINUED FROM A1 port and kennels,” he said. Several pallets of dog Most of the dogs were food have been ordered and turned over to the no-kill will be waiting, and a vetOlympic Animal Sanctuary erinarian will be at the site after they were determined when Markwell arrives. to be dangerous and have a history of attacking or bit- Individual kennels ing other animals or people. Every dog will be examEach of the organiza- ined and given a microchip tions receiving the dogs will and its own 8-foot-by-12be fully informed of the ani- foot kennel during its stay mal’s history, Misseri said. at the distribution center. “There will be a file on “These are not dogs who every dog,” he said. can be placed together,”
Which organizations?
Misseri said he didn’t yet know what organizations will be represented at the distribution center. “I hope everyone who said they would help shows up. We hope they all stand by us,” he said. Misseri said he would have preferred organizing the transferal of dogs from the warehouse in Forks rather than on the road. “It’s going to be a long journey. I wish it didn’t have to end this way,” he said. Guardians of Rescue is seeking donations for the ________ dogs’ care until they are Reporter Arwyn Rice can be ready to be distributed to reached at 360-452-2345, ext. participating rescue groups. 5070 or arwyn.rice@peninsula “We’re going to need sup- dailynews.com.
Washington residents have completed their applications for private insurance and made their first payment. An additional 61,000 had done everything but made the first payment. Thousands more were amid the process. Since Oct. 1, more than 150,000 people have entered their information in the exchange and found out they were eligible for free health insurance through Medicaid. Before health care reform went into effect, an CONTINUED FROM A1 estimated 1 million Washington residents did not “We grew in 2013 in have health insurance. terms of all the people we served but also increased our resources,” she said. “It was a good year for us.” Her 2014 wish list is already fulfilled with the planned installation of a walk-in freezer scheduled for the spring. Moss said the food bank is looking for donations of canned protein such as tuna and beans but would
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Misseri said. The organization is short on kennels and needs more to house all 124 dogs, he said. Cash donations to help pay for dog food and initial medical care can be made at the Guardians of Rescue website, www.guardiansofrescue.org. Information on how to donate kennels to Guardians of Rescue will be released as soon as arrangements are made with Lowe’s Home Improvement, from which the organization will purchase kennel materials, Misseri said.
Bank: Wishes prefer cash donations as they can be leveraged to purchase a greater amount of food. The food bank is also in need of pet food donations, she said. The food bank is located at Mountain View Commons, 1919 Blaine St.
________ Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360385-2335 or cbermant@peninsula dailynews.com.