THURSDAY
DEC. 25, 2014
Cottage Hotel
RAC Tour
Opinion ..............Page 4
Community News ...Page 5 Page 3
Page 10
Sports ............. Page 11 Classifieds .......... Page 14 Volume 83 No. 17
SERVING THE WEST END SINCE 1931
• WWW.FORKSFORUM.COM •
Heavy rain, wind and waves threaten Hoh Beach
Hoh Beach in Front of the ancient village site Friday morning.
Hoh Beach in Front of the ancient village site Tuesday morning. Submitted photos
Three storms came and went the week of Dec 7. The first two storms dropped four to nine inches of rain in the Hoh River basin and each weather event added up to drive the river up to 30,000 cfs. On Tuesday, Dec. 9, Olympic Corrections crews placed sandbags around buildings in the lower Hoh village between storms one and two. The river eventually rose to within one
foot of overflowing its banks, behind the local ballfield, but no flooding resulted. The third storm brought strong winds but thankfully not as much rain. The beach in front of the ancient village was threatened early in the week and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers sent an advance team Tuesday morning to assess the situation. The Corps then responded by
Olympic National Park looking at entrance fee increases
not raising the annual pass or making the price increases over several years. Those in attendance expressed concerns over lowincome families and their ability to visit the national parks. Maynes also brought up that the senior pass that is $10 would not be changed, available to U.S. citizens 62 or over, and the park also offers several times a year that park fees are waived.
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CLALLAM BAY
SEKIU
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PRSRT STD US Postage Paid Permit No. 6 Forks, WA
are considering fee hikes to fund maintenance projects — not dayto-day operations — and are collecting comments on the proposal. She said, “Regional and national offices are looking at what people have to say about the proposed increase.” Comments on the pro-
posal can be submitted through Dec. 31 at www.parkplanning. nps.gov/OLYMfees. “If input says this is a bad thing, it won’t happen, it is not mandated.” she added. “But, there is a huge potential for benefits to the parks if extra funds are raised,” as it would help with a deferred maintenance backlog. The park also is looking at different options as well, like perhaps
• BIA, Emergency Management • Olympic Corrections Crews • Randy Parker Logging • Bruch and Bruch Construction • Jefferson County Road Crew • Clallam County PUD • National Weather Service, Seattle Office • Seton Construction • Jefferson County Emergency Management
ECRWSS - BOXHOLDER
Barb Maynes, Olympic National Park spokesman, addressed a full house at the Forks Chamber of Commerce meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at JTs Sweet Stuffs in Forks. Maynes told the group that the nation’s 131 national parks that charge entrance fees
placing 400 tons of riprap Tuesday night. When the heaviest wind and waves struck Thursday evening, Dec. 11, some debris was hurled over the new riprap wall but no land was lost to the storm. The Hoh Tribe wishes to express its appreciation to the agencies who provided assistance during these events: • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers