The Washougal School Board is remaining firm in its stance that the district's policy regarding registered sex offenders on campus will not be changed, unless state law someday requires it to do so. During a meeting on Feb. 22 the board heard comments from Washougal resident and parent Bill Stephens, who requested that it reconsider a Dec. 14 decision to not pursue implementing a new more restrictive policy.
According to Camas Police Department Sgt. Rob Skeens, the threat was called in directly to the library at approximately 1:30 p.m.
The bright green light pole banners advertising the Mother's Day Plant and Garden Fair will be missing from downtown Camas this year. Instead of being held along Northeast Fourth Avenue and its side streets, as the event has for more than a decade, the 14th annual festival on May 7 is being moved several miles away to the Camas High School campus.
Molly Coston returns to the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council as the Camas-Washougal appointee, following votes by the City Councils last night.
After calling downtown Camas its home for more than a decade, the annual Mother's Day Plant and Garden Fair will be held at a new location. The new site for the Saturday, May 7, event -- organized by the Columbia Gorge Women's Association -- will be the grounds of Camas High School. According to Joyce Lindsay, vice president of the CGWA, the venue change was made because as representatives from the women's association began making plans for this year's 14th annual fair, there appeared to be a possibility that fees could be assessed by the city and prepaid for costs associated with items such as overtime for city personnel and equipment delivery and pickup. "It's an awful lot of work to put that event on," said Lindsay, adding that about $3,800 was raised from the 2010 event that drew 10,000 to 12,000 people and benefits scholarships for disenfranchised homemakers. "We aren't doing it to pay the city, we are doing it to help women."
A recent purchase by the Port of Camas Washougal is expected to make buying launch ramp tickets easier and more convenient for boaters. The solar-powered machine was installed at the marina in Washougal in part in response to requests from launch ramp users. Benefits will include reducing the potential for attempts at tampering or vandalizing to steal cash accepted at the former ticket machine, and decreasing the staff time required for sorting, accounting and depositing cash.
New traffic cameras installed on state Route 14 will help keep drivers and Washington State Department of Transportation crews up-to-date about what is going on along the well-traveled roadway. Cameras have been placed at Blanford Drive, Shorewood Drive, Cascade Park Drive and Southeast 164th Avenue. The cameras' first day online was Thursday.
If all goes as planned, Fallen Leaf Park will soon be the newest addition to the city's public open space system. The Camas City Council last night authorized Camas Mayor Paul Dennis to sign a purchase and sale agreement for the 55 acre property.
Ballasting operations were completed Thursday night on the SS Davy Crockett, the derelict ship moored on the north shore of the Columbia River near Camas. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, during the operation crews lowered the stern 17-feet to allow four remotely operated pumps to flood cargo hold compartments with approximately 600,000 gallons of water. The goal is to determine the location of pollutants that remain on the vessel. "Long-term salvage plans or time line estimates would be speculative until more is known about pollutants contained within the compartments of the Davy Crockett," said Coast Guard Capt. Daniel LeBlanc, federal on-scene coordinator. "Parallel to the recovery and salvage operation, an investigation is being conducted into the events leading up to the spill of oil."
A photo taken by a Camas woman that shows sunlight illuminating a canyon wall at Navajo Tribal Park in Arizona recently won the top prize in a Portland-based photography contest. Lois Settlemeyer won the "Photo of the Year" competition, which is a benefit for the Multnomah Education Service District Outdoor School environmental education program of Portland. Another of Settlemeyer's photos was an overall finalist, and a third photo placed as the top picture in the weather category.
heather.acheson@camaspostrecord.com
