The popular Twilight film saga that turned Forks, Port Angeles and the North Olympic Peninsula into a popular tourist destination 17 years ago returned to the big screen this week.  The 2008 film is playing for a limited run in theaters across the nation through November 6, according to the film’s distributor Fathom Events.

The movie — starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson — follows a teenager who moves to Forks and falls in love with a mysterious classmate who turns out to be a vampire.

The story helped turn Forks and Port Angeles and the surrounding forest areas that inspired the film’s moody, rain-soaked atmosphere into major tourist destinations for fans of the series.

Fathom Events says the re-release is part of its special-event lineup, bringing popular and classic films back to theaters for limited runs.

It’ll be interesting to see if the film’s re-release could spur any kind of growth as a tourist destination once again for Forks and the Olympic Peninsula.\

IMAGE:AI generated

A Boil Water Advisory for a portion of the Evergreen Water System for residents on the southwest side of Bell Hill has been lifted.  Clallam PUD Communications Director Nichole Hartman says the advisory was cancelled Thursday morning October 30 after the Clallam County Water Lab reported tests came back satisfactorily.  

The PUD notified customers Wednesday of the advisory through automated phone calls.  She says the advisory was issued out of an abundance of caution after an extensive water-main break Tuesday night, causing the system in some areas to de-pressurize.  Because of that a cautionary boil water advisory was issued for customers in the affected after until lab test results could confirm the water was safe to drink again.

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.