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Stories by Danielle Frost

email icon danielle.frost@camaspostrecord.com

April 5, 2011

Washougal School Board selects new superintendent

The Washougal School District Board of Directors has selected Corvallis School District Superintendent Dawn Tarzian as its next superintendent. Tarzian will begin work July 1, succeeding Teresa Baldwin, who retires in June. She was one of four finalists and has served as superintendent of the Corvallis School District in Corvallis, Ore., since 2005. Prior to that, she served as assistant superintendent and director of teaching and learning for the school district. Prior to becoming an administrator in Corvallis, Tarzian served as director of student services for Linn Benton Lincoln Education Service District, principal for the Greater Albany School District in Albany, Ore., and principal in the Falls City School District in Falls City, Ore.

April 1, 2011

Oregon administrator will lead Washougal School District

The Washougal School District Board of Directors has selected Corvallis School District Superintendent Dawn Tarzian as its next superintendent. Tarzian will begin work July 1, succeeding Teresa Baldwin, who retires in June.

March 29, 2011
Team Mean Machine, which includes students from Camas, Hayes Freedom, Washougal and Hockinson high schools, dominated at a recent regional tournament in Seattle.

Robotics team dominates at regional tourneys

A local robotics team will be testing its mettle at the world championships next month. Team Mean Machine, consisting of students from Washougal, Camas, Hayes Freedom and Hockinson high schools won the regional championships in Seattle recently. They played nine matches, competing against 50 other teams from across the United States and Turkey. "We won eight of our nine matches and were never ranked less than first place," club advisor and mentor Briana Abraham said. "Team Mean Machine dominated the competition in Seattle. Then, throughout quarter, semi and finals we held strong to become regional champions."

March 29, 2011
Washougal residents Bridgette McCarthy (left) and Jessica Hatton (right) will appear in, "My Son Pinocchio," at Washburn Performing Arts Center this weekend. They participate in Metropolitan Performing Arts Academy, which is sponsoring the production. The academy offers classes in musical theater, acting, singing and dance, among other activities.

A passion for the arts

Eighteen months ago, a group of parents and educators, saddened by the lack of arts education in local schools, decided to take matters into their own hands. From this has come the Metropolitan Performing Arts Academy, a non-profit organization for Vancouver and the surrounding areas. It offers students from elementary through high school opportunities to participate in acting, singing, dance, musical theater, music and art. The academy students, who hail from Vancouver, Camas, Washougal and other outlying areas, have participated in eight different productions since last April. "My Son Pinocchio," which will show at Washburn Auditorium in Washougal, will be the ninth show.

March 15, 2011
Tiffani Pekkala of Camas was honored on March 15, 2011, by the Red Cross as a Real Hero for organizing several blood drives and recruiting student donors. Pekkala, 16, has a rare condition which requires frequent injections of immunoglobulin, a blood product.

Honoring everyday heroes

A Camas teen was one of 10 honorees from Clark and Cowlitz counties to receive a "Real Hero" award from the Red Cross last week. Tiffani Pekkala, 16, was honored for organizing blood drives and rallying fellow students at Hayes Freedom High School to join her. She and her grandmother, Bette-Jo Poser, started the annual drive in April 2009. Pekkala suffers from a very rare condition, primary immune deficiency disease, and requires daily immunoglobulin injections, a product derived from whole blood American Red Cross donors.

March 15, 2011
Maryalicia Verdecchia talks with students about her 2-year-old daughter Katie's rare brain operation. Despite having more than half of it removed in a surgery to help stop seizures, the toddler is excellent at spelling and putting together puzzles, and enjoys playing on her iPad, as seen here.

Living with half her brain, but full of hope

When Katie Verdecchia entered the world on March 31, 2008, she appeared to be a normal, healthy child. But by the time she was one month old, her parents, Maryalicia and Brian, knew something was wrong. Katie had violent seizures, some lasting as long as 10 minutes.

March 15, 2011

District postpones Fishback turf replacement

After completing repairs to the Fishback Stadium turf field and reevaluating its overall condition, the Washougal School District has decided not to replace it before the next school year. "The district intends to study the condition of the turf throughout the next year and will look at possibly replacing it during the summer of 2012," said Doug Bright, director of human resources, maintenance and operations.

March 8, 2011
WHS students prepare for the 2010 Japanese Festival. This year's event will feature many of the same performers, Japanese foods and cultural displays. Proceeds support the WHS Japanese program.

WHS Japanese festival brings cultures together

The Japanese Culture Festival will return for its sixth year to Washougal High School this Saturday. Headlining events will include traditional Kendo (swordsmanship) exhibitions, Taiko drummers, jazz and opera singing, a Minidoka swing band and cultural dance. These events will take place from 2 to 5:45 p.m.

March 8, 2011
Susan Glavin, Debbie Oliver and Angie Cherry signed copies of their new book, "Be the Gift," at Lily Atelier in Camas last Friday as a part of the Arts and Letters First Friday event. In addition to the book, the women also sell unique gift cards and a table game, pictured above this photo.

Learning how to ‘Be the Gift’

Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. That is the principle behind Be the Gift, a local company created by four women who wanted to put their mark on the world and make it better. Products include unique gift cards, a table game and book. The gift cards are reminiscent of the "chore coupons," that children typically make for Mother's Day or Father's Day, but with an adult twist. A person can buy a gift card for $9.95, and give it to someone. "Gifts" include running errands, cleaning house, a night out on the town, pampering and several others.

March 1, 2011

Phone-a-thon begins tonight in Camas

If you live in the Camas School District and have supported the Camas Educational Foundation in the past, chances are your phone will be ringing at some point the next few nights. That's because the annual CEF phone-a-thon begins tonight and runs through Thursday. Students from Skyridge and Liberty middle schools, as well as Camas High School Key Club members, will be calling between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. to help secure donations. To volunteer for the event, e-mail cefcamas@gmail.org or call 713-3880. To make donations to the phone-a-thon efforts, browse www.cefcamas.org.