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Stories by Doug Flanagan

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July 1, 2021
Washougal High School basketball player McKenna Jackson (left) recovered from a serious knee injury to return to the court for the Panthers' final three games of the 2020-21 season. (Contributed photo courtesy of Britney Ervin)

The Comeback Kid

Nobody would have blamed McKenna Jackson if she decided against turning out for the Washougal High School girls basketball team this year after sustaining full tears to her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in her left knee in August 2020.

June 24, 2021
Boats fill the Port of Camas-Washougal's marina in 2018. The marina, which is at 100 percent occupancy, will see a slip rate increase of 10 percent starting in 2022. (Post-Record file photo)

Port increases airport hangar, marina slip rates

When John Spencer first saw the Port of Camas-Washougal’s latest proposed rate increase for Grove Field Airport and Parker’s Landing Marina users, he thought that he might have to reach for some antacids.

June 24, 2021
Washougal High culinary arts teacher Brenda Hitchins has been named the Educational Service District 112's  Regional Teacher of the Year and will compete for the state title. (Contributed photo courtesy of Washougal School District)

‘An amazingly dedicated, innovative educator’

Brenda Hitchins challenges her Washougal High School culinary students to succeed, but also to not fear failure. If they accidentally crack an egg and break a yoke, for example, she’ll remind them that eggs are cheap and easily accessible, and encourage them to try again.

June 17, 2021
Washougal High School seniors wear face coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and listen to a speech at their high school graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 12, 2021. (Doug Flanagan/Post-Record)

Washougal grads reflect on facing, defeating challenges

Earlier this year, Washougal High School Principal Sheree Clark asked Ethan Mills, the school’s Associated Student Body president, to deliver some “inspiring life advice” to his fellow seniors at the school’s graduation ceremony. Recognizing the challenge in front of him Mills laced his reply with a hint of good-natured sarcasm.

June 17, 2021
Fire vehicles sit outside East County Fire and Rescue Station 91, just north of Camas' city limits, in 2020.
The fire district, which serves rural areas north of Camas and Washougal, recently used proceeds from a property sale to repay a $770,000 bond and save taxpayers nearly $100,000 in interest payments. (Contributed photo courtesy of East County Fire and Rescue)

Fire district repays $770K bond

In the past two years, local residents have supported the East County Fire and Rescue district (ECFR) by approving a fire levy lid lift and a six-year emergency medical services renewal levy. Without that assistance, ECFR, a small district that generates its revenue almost exclusively through property taxes, would certainly be facing more severe economic hardships right now than it already is.

June 17, 2021
Washougal resident Barbara Gagnier stacks plastic tubes on the Washougal River Greenway trail. Gagnier and Washougal resident James Mahar removed about 3,000 of the tubes from trees along the trail in December 2020 and January 2021. ((Contributed photo courtesy Barbara Gagnier)

Washougal residents free the trees

James Mahar has had a passion for the environment for as long as he can remember. In fact, one of his earliest memories involves his 6-year-old self asking his father to not burn leaves in their yard because doing so would increase air pollution.

June 17, 2021
Camas High School soccer players Carter Gorczyca (left) and Hayden Reich will train with the Vancouver Victory, an elite adult men's soccer team, this summer. (Doug Flanagan/Post-Record)

Camas soccer players to get pro tips

When Steven Evans invited some of his Washington Timbers club soccer players to try out for the Vancouver Victory Football Club earlier this year, he was excited — but not too surprised — when Camas students Hayden Reich and Carter Gorczyca took him up on the offer.