There is a line in the movie, "The Shawshank Redemption," where the main character, Red, finds himself at a crossroads. As he is contemplating which path to take, he utters a profound, yet simple, sentence."You can get busy living, or you can get busy dying."
Years from now, Andrew Cottrell will be able to walk along the Washougal River Greenway trail and see trees he planted towering above.Cottrell, 14, recently added a colorful variety of 12 maples to the trail, located in Camas off Second Avenue, for his Eagle Scout project.
A local group of students came home with two trophies after competing in the Oregon Robotics Tournament and Outreach Program FIRST LEGO League state tournament.The Camas Mechanickidz competed against 89 other teams, taking first-place in software programming and second-place in robot performance, coming in only one point shy in that category than the winner. The team was selected for the state competition in December, out of 20 teams at a qualifying competition in Vancouver. According to team co-coach Jeff Hendricks, the Portland region is the largest in the country with 400 teams.
Positive. Unwavering dedication. Heartfelt hope. These are just a few of the adjectives people who know her use to describe Virginia Warren. "Her personality has consistently been upbeat, vivacious, loyal, dedicated, fun-loving, and with a 'glass is half full' outlook on life," said Krista Bashaw, special events coordinator for Camas Parks and Recreation. Bashaw has known Warren since she moved to Camas in 1995 and began volunteer work with the Friends of the Camas Community Center. Warren has served on the board since 1985 and is retiring for the third time.
"I have no ambition in this world but one, and that is to be a fireman. The position may, in the eyes of some, appear to be a lowly one; but we who know the work which the fireman has to do believe that his is a noble calling. Our proudest moment is to save lives."This quote by Edward F. Croker, written long before women were also firefighters, still rings true for many in emergency services today. Washington State Volunteer Firefighter Recognition Week was recently commemorated. In the Camas and Washougal areas, many men and women serve countless unpaid hours as firefighters, responding to calls at all hours of the day and night. Since both the city of Washougal Fire Department and East County Fire and Rescue rely heavily on volunteers, the Post-Record is highlighting some of them and what they do for the community.
Camas High School will once again have strong representation at the state DECA contest in March. DECA, a business and marketing club, had 125 students compete at an area competition in Longview. Of those, 72 qualified for state by winning awards. Each student chose a particular marketing event where they competed in two event-specific role plays and one marketing based test. These scores were tallied at the end of the day where awards were distributed. Overall, CHS had 79 different students win awards, ranging from first- to sixth-place in each sub-category and 60 overall category medal recipients. Those who received medals in the overall category qualified for the State Career Development Conference and will compete Thursday through Saturday, March 8-10 in Bellevue, Wash.
With the goal of helping students thrive in a difficult job climate, Camas High School is offering a pilot program to help them become certified in different Microsoft Office products. The pilot program is offered through a partnership between Microsoft and the state of Washington. All participating schools receive testing vouchers, which normally cost $100 each. This year, CHS is offering certification to ninth-grade students as a part of the Freshman Academy, which is a transitional class to help the youngest students adjust to high school. Since it is a pilot program, this year PowerPoint is being offered, with the goal of expanding it to Excel, Word and Publisher next year, and eventually offer the program to the entire high school.
Play dates can be expensive. By the time a trip to a kid-friendly coffee joint or play area is complete, it can end up draining the wallet, not to mention the gas tank. However, for parents with small children not yet in school, play dates can also be lifelines to adult conversation and entertainment for the little ones. Thankfully, local parents have an affordable option close to home: The Camas-Washougal Indoor Play Park. For approximately $12 per month, parents can bring their children up to four days a week to play with a variety of toys, including a big play structure. Packing food and beverages from home is not only allowed, it is encouraged with small, kid friendly benches and tables. The play park is operated at Harvest Community Church in Camas, and is open from September to June from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday. For Joy Corse of Camas, it has been a fun place for her 2-year-old twins, Ellison and Camryn.
Local residents will soon hear their phones ring with eager middle school students on the other end of the line, seeking financial support for the Camas Educational Foundation. The 13th annual phone-a-thon will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. from Tuesday, Feb. 21 to Thursday, Feb. 23. This year, CEF is hoping to raise $18,000, which will go directly to mini and major grant programs at Camas schools.
The year was 1925 in the fictional town of Hillsboro, Tenn.Teacher Bert Cates is arrested for teaching Darwin's Theory of Evolution. Famous lawyer Henry Drummond defends him, while fundamentalist politician Matthew Harrison Brady prosecutes.
danielle.frost@camaspostrecord.com
