Friends,

I hope your New Year came in with some fun and good health. Pat and I really went quiet as the kids and grand kids did their own things far from our place in Tacoma and, of course, Clearwater. It was wet-no surprise-but we had work to do. A huge tree had fallen in the front yard the week before New Year’s Eve and needed immediate attention. Luckily, one of my neighbors took pity on me and cut aside the part that had fallen across the road. Of course, there was the power outage that followed and the wait for the PUD to get the “live” wire back where it belonged high above the road and lawn. I’ll get lots of firewood from all this but, believe me, I’ll earn it.

This past year was not a particularly stormy one which I measure in number of power outages and no one was staying in the place when they happened. Lots of Kudos for the PUD crews that drive north to help us get back on the grid!

This year was a busy one until about mid October when fishing was closed on the Queets and Clearwater Rivers. Why these closures took place puzzles us as tribal fisheries continued below the Queets Bridge both for a net and sport fishery, even on the smaller Salmon River within the Olympic Nation Park boundary…

Now, let’s talk about something fun! There are still about 350 days left on the website calendar, so if you’re planning on coming to Clearwater again this year it might be time for you to get out that calendar you got for Christmas and find some dates that work with your busy schedule. I know. You’ve already circled the pickle ball championship and your yearly haircut but there remain some choice dates that don’t interfere with anything else important.

I’ll be watching the website for your name and dates. Please let me know by phone or email if you have any questions and thanks again for visiting Clearwater.

Very truly yours,

Joe

253-759-8738