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Stories by Heather Acheson

email icon heather.acheson@camaspostrecord.com

December 17, 2013

Family Resource Center provides valuable services

Last night, the Washougal City Council made the right decision to include funding for the East County Family Resource Center in its 2014 budget, as it has done for the past several years. For the second year, the issue of whether the city of Washougal should provide funding to this non-profit social services organization became a topic of discussion and debate during budget talks. This time around, the concern primarily focused on where young women who think they may be pregnant and need a pregnancy test are referred to for additional services. The answer is Sea Mar Community Health Centers, which gives pregnant women information that lays out all options. This could include abortion, in addition to adoption and becoming a parent. According to Sea Mar officials, women are not encouraged to make a particular choice.

December 17, 2013

Committee delays decision on C-Tran Board composition

A decision about whether to change the makeup of the C-Tran Board of Directors will be delayed until a separate decision is made on a corresponding legal issue. On Thursday, after some debate, the 10-member C-Tran Board Composition Review Committee opted to approve a motion to postpone making any changes to the C-Tran Board until a Clark County Superior Court judge makes a ruling on the legalities surrounding bloc veto power held by Clark County and Vancouver. "I think it would be premature for us to change the makeup until we get clarification," said Clark County Commissioner David Madore.

December 17, 2013

Fire department consolidation is official

Action by the Camas and Washougal city councils has made permanent a formerly temporary contract that has been more than two years in the making. Last night, the Camas City Council unanimously approved an inter-local agreement with Washougal that officially establishes the consolidated Camas-Washougal Fire Department. The Washougal City Council approved the same agreement, 6-1, last week. For the past several months, an Ad Hoc Fire Consolidation Committee has guided the development of the agreement, focusing on hashing out key policy issues and creating a cost-sharing model.

December 10, 2013

Capell named next Camas city administrator

A longtime Clark County employee has accepted an offer to become the next Camas city administrator. Camas Mayor Scott Higgins announced Friday that Peter S. Capell, current Clark County public works director, has been given a conditional offer of employment, pending reference and background checks. He is expected to start Monday, Jan. 6.

December 10, 2013
Rene' Carroll, of Washougal, signed copies of her book "Legendary Locals of Camas and Washougal" on Friday night at Runyan's Jewelers in downtown Camas. The book, which profiles the individuals and groups, past and present, who have had a lasting impact on the community, was officially released yesterday by Arcadia Publishing. Carroll will hold three more book signing events before Christmas. "This is the fun part," she said, "sharing it with people."

Camas-Washougal history detective

For more than two months, Rene' Johnston Carroll was a history detective. In February, the longtime Washougal resident signed a contract with Arcadia Publishing to write "Legendary Locals of Camas and Washougal." Representatives from the company, which has published other historical books focusing on the local area in its "Images of America" series, contacted Carroll in January after discovering she is the editor of the Camas-Washougal Historical Society's newsletter and reading online an article she wrote for the Post-Record. Carroll, who is a member of one of Camas' homesteading and pioneering families, said she was excited about the prospect of writing a book about local history -- but also a little nervous.

December 6, 2013
This morning, local merchants worked to clear downtown Camas sidewalks using methods ranging from salt to snow blowers.

Camas and Washougal school districts close

Snow began to fall early this morning in Camas-Washougal, and continues as of 9:45 a.m. Forecasters are predicting a dusting of up to 1 inch of snow in the Portland-Vancouver metro area.

December 6, 2013

Capell will become the next Camas city administrator

A longtime Clark County employee will likely become the next Camas city administrator. Camas Mayor Scott Higgins said Peter S. Capell, current Clark County public works director, has been given a conditional offer of employment, pending reference and background checks.

December 3, 2013

Camas reveals city administrator finalists

Three men -- two with ties to Clark County government -- will be interviewed this week for the position of Camas city administrator. Mayor Scott Higgins said Monday that the three finalists are Peter S. Capell, current Clark County public works director; Joe Hannan, current Mukilteo city administrator; and Peter M. Mayer, former Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation director and current deputy director and chief operations officer of the Snohomish Health District in Everett. On Thursday, all three candidates will be interviewed by a panel composed of Councilwoman Melissa Smith, financial consultant Paul Lewis, Human Resources Director and Acting City Administrator Jennifer Gorsuch, former Camas Mayor Nan Henriksen, Port of Camas-Washougal Executive Director David Ripp and a representative from Sharp Microelectronics. Higgins will then interview the top two or all three of the candidates, depending on the feedback he receives from the panel.

December 3, 2013

Dream season continues

As the Camas High School football team prepares for the Washington State Championship game on Saturday, football fever is alive and well in Camas. It's an excitement that has slowly built up during what has turned out to be a dream season for the 2013 Papermakers. The past three months have produced convincing wins against all 13 opponents Camas has faced, beginning with a 47-14 win in September against Jesuit High School -- a team that is now playing for the Oregon 6A state championship against Central Catholic.