THURSDAY
MAY 14, 2015 Opinion ��������������Page 4 Community News ���Page 5
FHS Drama Club presents CSI:Wonderland
FJHS April students of the month
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Sports ���������������Page 7 Classifieds ���������� Page 16 Volume 83 No. 36
SERVING THE WEST END SINCE 1931
• WWW.FORKSFORUM.COM •
Kilmer launches Olympic Peninsula Collaborative By Christi Baron
LAPUSH
The Forks Old Fashioned Fourth of July float hit the road this past weekend for an appearance at the Sequim Irrigation Festival. Taking the place of honor on the float was 90-year-old Alvin Ackerman. Ackerman is a U.S. Army veteran, World War II 1943-1945, seeing action on the European Front and Battle of the Bulge, he received a Purple Heart when wounded while near the Siegfried Line. The Siegfried Line was a defense system stretching more than 390 miles with more than 18,000 bunkers, tunnels and tank traps. During his service, Ackerman was with
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the 216th Quarter Master Salvage Repair Unit. It was his job to repair helmets, canteens, tents, shoes, coats, clothing from wounded and dead soldiers, typewriters, stoves, etc., just about anything and everything. He is a lifetime member of the Quilcene VFW Post 3213, Jefferson County. The Forks Float won First Place — Most Patriotic! Saturday is the Rhododendron Festival in Port Townsend where the Home Town Hero will be a Mr. Fisk, a World War II Navy veteran. Photo Michael Dashiell
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PRSRT STD US Postage Paid Permit No. 6 Forks, WA
FORKS
It’s parade season
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U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer presided at the official launch, last Friday, of an effort to put environmental and logging interests on a single, mutually beneficial path while harvesting for profit — and preserving for future generations — Olympic National Forest. The two sectors, often on opposite sides of the debate over forest practices and preservation, have joined together in the Olympic Peninsula Collaborative spearheaded by Kilmer. In forming the Olympic Peninsula Collaborative, both sides of the debate he described have agreed, “We can responsibly increase harvest levels in a way that would benefit our forests as well as build consensus around specific projects and outcomes,” Kilmer said. “I’m hoping today marks a turning point for this region and one we can take advantage of.” In a phone interview with Kilmer on Friday, he told the Forum that growing up in Port Angeles he is familiar with friends’ parents losing jobs in the timber industry. He said he is ready to identify goals and get timber harvests back up again. Kilmer also was asked if he was aware of a recent change to Tricare for Life Express Scripts (contract pharmacy provider for Tricare) that has without explanation dropped Chinook Pharmacy from its provider list. This means those that use this service will have to make their way to Port Angeles to have a prescription filled, or if you choose to continue with Chinook, the cost of prescriptions will greatly increase. He said he was not aware of this change but would check into it. For those impacted by this change, call Kilmer’s office at 360-373-9725. Kilmer also was asked about how many area residents have concerns over possible increased jet noise from the proposed Electronic Warfare Range activities. He told the Forum he had been looking in to this and on Monday, Kilmer called for a new study of military jet noise over Olympic National Park. Kilmer urged the National Park Service to collect new noise samples and data for the Federal Interagency Committee on Aviation Noise (FICAN). He also asked FICAN to review the NPS findings along with previous studies from other agencies like the Department of Defense. The new review would come as the Navy has proposed expanding training missions on the Olympic Peninsula. The Navy is interested in using areas to run electronic warfare range testing for personnel and this training would lead to an increased number of jets flying over Olympic National Park. Kilmer is making his push to ensure that the latest science is being used to understand the impacts of additional flights.