The City of Sequim has a new Public Works Director, and he’s coming from Alaska with more than a decade of transportation leadership under his belt.

Christopher Goins, a former regional director for the Alaska Department of Transportation, started June 8 and was introduced to the City Council that evening. Goins told councilors he made a “major life decision” to move to Sequim, saying his family fell in love with the area during a visit last summer.

Goins wasn’t actively job?hunting, but when Sequim’s opening appeared, he said he wondered whether “the stars [were] aligning.”

He replaces Paul Bucich, who retired June 12 after two years with the city. Bucich spent his final week helping Goins get up to speed.

City Manager Matt Huish says Goins rose to the top of a pool of more than 40 applicants and was the unanimous choice of staff interview committees.

In a statement, Huish praised Goins’ experience and his “strong culture of staff development, individual ownership, and team accountability.”

Goins spent 11 years with Alaska DOT, most recently overseeing highways, airports, and ferry terminals as Southcoast Region Director. He’s also held engineering and construction leadership roles and has been quoted in Alaska media on high?profile issues, including the delayed Cascade Point ferry terminal project and regional flood response.

He told councilors his former job had become “exceptionally political” and made being a “family guy” difficult — another reason Sequim appealed to him. What stood out most, he said, was how people here “take care of one another.”

In a city press release, Goins said his goal is to build trust by listening first and working alongside employees, residents, tribes, businesses, and community partners “to help Sequim thrive.”

Before his Alaska tenure, Goins worked as an engineer for the City of Albany, Oregon. He holds a civil engineering degree from Oregon State University and has completed national executive?leadership programs focused on transportation agencies.

PHOTO: City of Sequim

KSQM is pleased to welcome veteran broadcaster Al Brady to the all-volunteer staff of our radio station.  With 45 years of professional radio experience, Brady has agreed to accept the position of Program Director to lead programming for Sequim’s community radio station.

Brady’s extensive experience brings a background in programming, on-air performance, and community engagement. He recently relocated to Sequim after nearly a decade serving as Assistant Manager and Program Director at WVLG in The Villages, Florida.

Brady says joining KSQM is both a thrill and an honor.

He calls local radio a vital link to the community — a way to be there when listeners need it most — while sharing the timeless music people remember and love.

Often described as a walking encyclopedia of the rock ’n’ roll era, Brady has worked alongside legendary artists and broadcasters. In the mid-1980s, he served as a DJ and master of ceremonies at Little Darlin’s Rock ’n’ Roll Palace near Walt Disney World, where he co-hosted a nationally televised show with Hall of Fame broadcaster Wolfman Jack.

George Dooley, President of Sequim Community Broadcasting, says Brady brings passion, knowledge, and a genuine love of radio. Dooley says Brady’s leadership will strengthen the station’s mission and enrich the listening experience across the community.

KSQM first signed on the air December 7th, 2008. Broadcasting at 91-point-5 FM, the station is licensed to Sequim Community Broadcasting, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Operated entirely by volunteers, KSQM provides commercial-free programming throughout the greater Olympic Peninsula and Victoria, B.C., featuring local news, emergency information, timeless music, and community-driven programs and shows.

Brady will stepping in to fill the shoes of Tama Bankston who has been serving as interim Program Director for the past year.

The Sequim Food Bank has named its new executive director. She’s Jen Colmore who has been serving as the food bank's community engagement coordinator. The announcement comes after a nationwide search led by the board of directors and outgoing executive director Andra Smith.

Board president Deon Kapitan says Colmore stood out for her vision, compassion and practical leadership, noting her deep understanding of the organization and her long record of service to the community. In her role as community engagement coordinator she has strengthened donor relationships, expanded partnerships and helped shape organizational strategy.

She first joined the food bank as a volunteer and later led its first annual fundraiser “Everyone at the Table” which brought in more than $70,000.

Beyond her local work Colmore brings decades of non-profit leadership. Since 2005 she has served as Executive Director of Living Compassion. That’s a development initiative in Zambia supporting more than a thousand children and families.

Outgoing Executive Director Andra Smith says the organization is in excellent hands, praising Colmore’s clarity, steadiness and respect for the people the food bank serves.

PHOTO: Sequim Food Bank

The Sequim City Council has elected Rachel Anderson as Mayor and Nicole Hartman as Deputy Mayor at the City Council meeting on January 12.  Both are two-year terms that expire on December 31, 2027. 

Anderson was appointed to the City Council in February 2021, elected in November 2021, and re-elected in 2025. She currently serves on the Clallam Transit System Board, the Peninsula Regional Transportation Planning Organization, the Housing Solutions Committee, the Council Finance Committee, the Clallam County Economic Development Council, Clallam County Solid Waste Advisory Board, and as the liaison to the Sister City Association and the Sequim Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce. 

Anderson earned her Advanced Certificate of Municipal Leadership from the Association of Washington Cities in 2021.

Hartman was appointed to the City Council in April 2024. She was elected to a four-year term in November 2025.  Hartman serves on the Council Finance Committee and as the Sequim Planning Commission liaison.

PHOTO: City of Sequim

The Makah Tribe’s long-awaited return to traditional whaling has been pushed back yet again — this time by more federal delays, according to a report by KNKX radio.

Despite securing a key federal waiver last year affirming their exclusive treaty right to hunt gray whales, the NOAA permit needed to begin a hunt is now unlikely for at least another 18 months.

The tribe applied for that permit in March, expecting quick approval after more than 20 years of review. But this summer’s hunting window came and went with no decision from NOAA.

Makah Chairman Timothy Greene says the tribe is determined to get back on the water, calling the hunt vital for future generations to see their culture in practice.

NOAA officials say only that the Marine Mammal Protection Act requires both a waiver and a detailed permit before any whale hunt can begin. The Makah application outlines proposed seasons in 2025 and 2027 and complies with strict federal criteria on methods, safety, and whale-management limits.

The waiver allows the tribe to take up to 25 gray whales over 10 years.
Some observers, including UW professor Joshua Reid, argue the continued delays amount to the federal government bogging down treaty rights through bureaucracy.

Archaeological evidence indicates that the Makah people have hunted whales going back at least 2,000 years.

Continuing the traditional whaling practices is at the heart of Makah citizens' identity, spiritual beliefs, subsistence practices, and ceremonies. Makah ceremonies, songs, dances, art, basketry and traditions are all connected to their whale relatives. Makah citizens are deeply spiritually and ecologically connected to the whales and the ocean — not just hunters, but stewards of the whales in a reciprocal relationship that is honored through ceremony before the whale is hunted and before it is harvested.

PHOTO: Makah Tribe website

Clallam PUD has received a 60-thousand dollar grant from the American Public Power Administration to purchase up to 50 portable batteries that can stay charged by solar power. PUD Communications Director Nicole Hartman says they will first be available to customers living in the west end of the county who are dependent on life saving medical devices that can be life-threatening without them in the event of an extended power outage.

“The west end customers are the ones who really experience prolonged outages in the case of BPA lines going down because there’s no redundant line out there.  So we applied for a grant from the American Public Power Association to purchase 50 of these battery units. They come with solar panels so that they can be recharged.  In that way people who low income dependent on a medical device – life saving medical device – can apply through our low-income assistance program to qualify and receive one of these batteries and solar panel units. And the nice thing is because they are electric, you plug them in and you charge them up to 100 percent and then you can use the solar panels to keep them charged.”

If there any units left over after the application process, she says they may try to see if the can get permission to have the remainder go to anybody else in the county who may need one.

“We did have to purchase five that were a bit larger capacity for people who maybe had a larger device that was going to draw more power than the little one could handle. So, we tried to size them to the person’s medical equipment. And this could be anything from an oxygen concentrator to if somebody needed a mini refrigerator to store medication that needed to be refrigerated.”

Interested applicants can check on line for more information and determine if they qualify at www.clallapud.net/medical-equipment-backup-program/

IMAGE:  AI generated

The Sequim Food Bank is bracing for the impact of a possible funding cutoff this weekend for the federal government’s food stamp program known as SNAP. 

SNAP — the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — could run out of funding November 1st if the government shutdown continues. The USDA says it doesn’t have the money to issue benefits, putting more than 40 million Americans — including 900,000 in Washington — at risk of losing grocery assistance.

Food Bank Executive Director Andra Smith says she’s scared about what may happen.

“I’m scared, first for the families who rely on SNAP to feed their families. And I’m scared because of what that could mean for us for the increasing need for Thanksgiving.”

She says over 10,000 individuals receive SNAP benefits in Clallam and Jefferson counties.

“What I know is that for every one meal that food bank provides, SNAP provides nine. So for there to be no SNAP available for any families in Clallam County, that can be devastating for a lot of families.”

She says she doesn’t know if the food bank will receive a big increase in those needing assistance. In any event, she ways they will not run out of food to help the community.

“No. You know one of the things that the Sequim Food Bank – we’ve been around for over 40 years. We’re pretty resilient. We’re pretty good and listening to our community’s needs are helping support them in the way that they can…so you may see some changes in how we do things to ensure that we have enough for food for everybody. You may see that we may provide less or may be out of certain things for a period of time until we can figure out how this is all going to work and shake out. But we are here. We want our community to know – that we are here.”

Monetary assistance to continue to help the work of the food bank is always welcome. Donations can be made online at www.sequimfoodbank.org

A GoFundMe site created by the family of a Port Angeles man who was stabbed multiple times after he provided a ride to a couple and their seven children October 20 has raised more than $46,000 toward a goal of $50 thousand.

60-year-old Marvin Swaggerty stopped to offer Nicholas Well and Rosario Lopez-Castro and their children a ride as they walked along Highway 101 near Deer Park after their vehicle had become disabled. Clallam County Sheriff’s deputies say shortly after Swaggerty, a DoorDash driver, was suddenly stabbed in the neck and head by the father , was shoved out of his car onto Carlsborg Road, and they sped away in his car.

After the attack, the couple drove to rural Kitsap County, where they were found by deputies passed out in the stolen car in the middle of the road, which had a blood-covered front seat.

Their children, ages 6 months to 9 years, were also in the vehicle, some without proper clothing or car seats.  The mother and father were arrested and the children were placed in homes by Child Protective Services.

Nicholas and Rosario are currently in the Clallam County jail. Both are facing charges of Attempted Second Degree Murder, First  Degree Robbery, and Theft of a Motor Vehicle. Bail has been set at $750,000 each.

Swaggerty’s daughter, Christina Brown, says her father was simply trying to be a good Samaritan and is going to need help getting back on his feet.

The GoFundMe site is “Aid for Christina’s Dad: Stabbed While Helping.”

https://www.gofundme.com/f/aid-for-christinas-dad-stabbed-while-helping

PHOTO: Christina Brown

More than 3,000 people turned out in Sequim Saturday to participate in nationwide No Kings” demonstrations in broad opposition to what they described as President Donald Trump’s “authoritarian” agenda. They were part of a record 7 million nationwide who participated in more than 2700 demonstrations across all 50 states. More than a thousand demonstrated in two locations in Port Angeles, and upwards of 90,000 in Seattle.

Demonstrators dressed in a variety of inflatable costumes in Sequim waved American flags and displayed homemade signs gathered in a party like atmosphere lining both sides of Washington Street stretching from the River Road roundabout east to the 9^th street roundabout.  Indivisible Sequim organizers say they counted 3,200 in Saturday’s demonstration, surpassing the June 14 No Kings rally by several hundred.  

One of them told KSQM his name was Bill:

“I’m having a ball out here expressing my first amendment rights. My chance to express my views. As you know we have a government that’s out of control and I want to preserve our democracy. This is my chance to express those views.”

Similar views were expressed up and down Washington Street:

“I’m here to defend our democracy.  I love our country and I want it back.”

“I want our country back.  It’s going in a bad direction right now."

“God Bless America.”

Kelly Mitchell was there. She says she is a federal government employee.

“Well, I actually work for the federal government and I’ve seen the demise first hand from day one. Do you still have your job? I do. I’m fortunate enough to have a job. Some of my friends are not so fortunate.”

In addition to the inflatable costumes, people were dressed as unicorns, to sharks – even a T-Rex dinosaur was seen dancing with a gorilla.

Counter-protestors were not seen, other than an occasional pickup truck driving by flying a Trump and American flag.