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Stories by Heather Acheson

email icon heather.acheson@camaspostrecord.com

August 27, 2013
Artist Maria Repetto and downtown Camas art gallery owners Sharon Ballard and Marquita Call (left to right) hold the photograph that is the inspiration for the first mural that will be part of the Camas-Washougal Mural Project. The image of downtown Camas was taken in 1911 or 1912 from Northwest Sixth Avenue and Division Street, according to the picture's owner Brent Erickson. The mural will be painted by Repetto and mounted on a 3 foot by 30 foot space above the entry to the Ballard & Call Fine Art Gallery. The unveiling is expected to occur this fall.

Showcasing Camas history

A renowned Camas artist will soon begin the work of creating the city's first outdoor mural in recent history. Maria Repetto will paint the 3 foot by 30 foot mural, which will be mounted on the facia above the Ballard & Call Fine Art Gallery, located at 408 N.E. Fourth Ave. The artwork will be inspired by a photograph of downtown Camas taken in the early 1900s that belongs to Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Brent Erickson, a longtime Camas resident. "When we saw it, we were so excited," said Marquita Call, who owns the gallery with Sharon Ballard.

August 20, 2013
Lois Schroeder (right) and Carol Phillips (left) recently celebrated their 80th birthdays by going on a zip line tour with three of their friends. Both admitted that they were scared at first, but those feelings quickly subsided. "But by the last zip, I didn't want it to end," Schroeder said.

Adventures of a sisterhood

They say a person is never too old to try something new, and five local women are proving that by living their twilight years to the fullest. The latest adventure taken on by these ladies in their 70s and 80s had them suspended in the air and zipping from tree to tree in the rain forest of Skamania County. In July, longtime friends Lois Schroeder and Mary Stencel, of Camas, and Oleta Platt, Helen Moore and Carol Phillips, of Washougal, took the Skamania Zip Line Tour, based at Skamania Lodge in Stevenson.

August 20, 2013

Small cities deserve their own seats at the C-Tran table

During the past three months, Clark County elected officials who are part of the C-Tran Board Composition Review Committee have met a handful of times to discuss the possibility of changing the C-Tran Board's power structure. In a nutshell, several of the smaller cities represented on the Board -- including Camas and Battle Ground -- have expressed strong interest in having their own seats. Currently, smaller cities are grouped together in twos, with Camas-Washougal, La Center/Ridgefield, and Battle Ground/Yacolt each sharing a seat. Vancouver and Clark County each have three seats.

August 20, 2013

Committee eyes vote on changes to C-Tran Board

The elected officials who make up the C-Tran Board Composition Review Committee are now testing the waters with their respective city councils, to get feedback on what, if any, changes should be made to the makeup of the C-Tran Board of Directors. Following discussions at the committee's meeting last week, three options are on the table. The first option would maintain three seats for Vancouver, and then have two for Clark County, one each for Camas, Battle Ground and Washougal, and one combined seat for the three smallest jurisdictions -- Ridgefield, La Center and Yacolt. The second option would produce two representatives each from the Clark County Commission and the Vancouver City Council, and one representative each from Camas, Washougal, Ridgefield and Battle Ground and one for La Center/Yacolt. The third option would maintain the current composition of three each from the Clark County Commission and the Vancouver City Council, and one each from paired cities and towns: La Center/Ridgefield, Washougal/Camas and Battle Ground/Yacolt.

August 20, 2013

Camas makes plans to apply for federal SAFER grant again

Camas officials are hoping funding for a federal Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response grant will be extended, so that the three people hired with the help of those monies in 2012 can continue to be employed by the Camas-Washougal Fire Department. "In August 2014, the funding for those three positions expires," Camas-Washougal Fire Chief Nick Swinhart said during last night's Camas City Council meeting. "As part of the financial forecasting for the merger efforts we are undergoing with the city of Washougal, those positions are indeed still forecasted to go away at this time." In June 2012, Swinhart announced that the fire department had earned a $490,000 SAFER grant that would pay the salaries and benefits of three new firefighter/IV technicians for two years.

August 13, 2013

Expect a busy election season

Now that the Primary Election has come to a close, local political watchers have begun to eye the upcoming General Election. And based on the number of candidates and issues that will be on the ballot, it's going to be a busy election season.

August 6, 2013
Deer wander freely around the 142 acres of grounds of Camp Melacoma, and are even hand-fed by Dodi and Andy Jensen, who formed the non-profit Camp Melacoma Association to purchase the site. Nieman Lodge (pictured above) includes a dining room for 200 people, sleeping quarters and kitchen. Due to high levels of naturally occurring arsenic found in the water, the facility has not operated as a camp since 2010. A water treatment plan is being formulated.

Taking care of Camp Melacoma

Stepping onto the grounds at Camp Melacoma is a lot like stepping back in time.The 142-acre heavily wooded site is tucked away in the hills of Skamania County, 13 miles up Washougal River Road. It has been a kids' camp since 1948, when Robert Wineberg deeded the first chunk of the property to the Camp Fire Cascade Council. Over the years, it's been a place where literally thousands of kids of all ages and backgrounds have converged to explore nature first hand, and get the quintessential summer camp experience. Dodi Jensen, a longtime Washougal resident, became the camp's on-site caretaker in 2008. Jensen was looking for a change of pace and was familiar with the property, having volunteered at the site before. "I had fallen in love with the camp long before I ever came to work here," she said.

August 6, 2013

Saving Camp Melacoma

More than 100 acres of open space, plenty of fresh air, lots of room to roam, completely natural surroundings. For many city dwellers, even small cities like Camas and Washougal, these aren't things they get to experience on a day-to-day basis. But fortunately, it's not necessary to travel too far find to find them. And thanks to the efforts of one local couple, a popular youth summer residence camp will be preserved for current and future generations to have this kind of special outdoor experience for many years to come.

August 6, 2013

Charter freeholder seats draw many candidates

The former Camas city administrator was among the first Monday morning to file for election to one of the Clark County charter freeholder positions. Lloyd Halverson, who retired from his appointed city post in March after 24 years on the job, is seeking one of 15 freeholder positions that will be on the Nov. 5 General Election ballot. He is hoping to be one of five people chosen to represent Position 2 in District 2.