heather.acheson@camaspostrecord.com
December 5, 2010
Police arrest suspect in Camas gas station robbery
The suspect in the recent armed robbery of the Camas Safeway gas station, as well as several other crimes, was arrested on Friday, Dec. 3.
The suspect in the recent armed robbery of the Camas Safeway gas station, as well as several other crimes, was arrested on Friday, Dec. 3.
Some of us will thankfully never know what it's like to wonder where our next meal is coming from, or whether we'll be able to afford to properly nourish our children. The truth, however, is that this is the reality for many of our neighbors who struggle every day to make ends meet.
The impacts of Camas' $800,000 budget shortfall are being felt deeply in every municipal department -- but the impacts don't stop there. Two local non-profit organizations that typically receive funding from the city are also feeling the pain. The Camas Downtown Association and the Camas Farmers Market have been stricken from the proposed 2011 budget, which is expected to be voted on by City Council next month. The CDA has received financial support from the city since 2002 when it was known as the Downtown Vision Coalition. Working hand-in-hand with the city, the DVC was officially formed that year to oversee the implementation of several specific goals and projects intended to improve the downtown business district.
What should make a candidate qualified for appointment to a position on a local government body? This question will be up for discussion during Monday night's Washougal City Council meeting. The topic is a result of councilman Jon Russell's opposition to the recommendation by a panel that Mike Briggs be appointed to the city's Planning Commission. That panel included a current planning commissioner, city councilman and city department head.
For nearly 80 years, the Washougal volunteer firefighters have been making sure an annual hometown tradition remains in-tact. That tradition continues once again this weekend, as local residents and their families will gather at the Washougal Fire Department on A Street to take part in the Turkey Carnival. There are few things that illustrate the unique aspects of small town more than these kinds of long-standing community events that bring people together, with the added benefit that it also supports a variety of efforts that helps friends and neighbors in need.
Monty Scott, Amie Beld, and Hailey Vail huddle at one end of the circular table, hovering over the small, makeshift catapult constructed with a few pieces of wood and a plastic spoon that holds the tiny, chewy, sweet smelling gummy bear. The Lacamas Heights Elementary School fourth- and fifth-graders talk quickly, bouncing around ideas for how to launch the tiny treat so that it hits just the right spot on the target. They may not always agree, but that's what science is all about: trial and error, until the desired result is accomplished. One after another, they launch and measure. Launch and measure. On one of their first practice attempts, the spoon breaks. Back to the drawing board. The trio was among nearly 300 young scientists from schools around Clark County who gathered on Saturday morning at Clark College for the annual Elementary Science Olympiad.
Camas property owners will not see an increase in the city's tax levy rate this year. Last night the Camas City Council unanimously passed the city's 2011 general fund levy. The rate will be $3.60 per $1,000 of assessed value -- the same as 2010. Also passed were the 2011 emergency rescue fund levy and library bond levy, both of which are part of packages approved by voters in recent years to fund EMS services, and the construction and renovation of the Camas Public Library (completed in 2003), respectively.
It's a place where old computer parts come to die. At Empower Up in Vancouver, wires, mother boards, hard disks and CPUs are stripped from their plastic containers and, along with items including monitors, and dumped into one of the receptacles that neatly line the wall of the warehouse style building -- like coffins that hold the bits and pieces of what once was. But at the home of this non-profit entity, these previously unwanted parts are not forwarded on to a landfill somewhere. Instead, they are brought back to life through the organization's re-use and recycling efforts.
The person who will soon become the new Third Congressional District Representative in Congress is a Camas resident. Republican Jaime Herrera was elected to the position by 53 percent of voters on Nov. 2. She defeated Denny Heck, a business owner and former state legislator for the 17th District. Heck conceded the race the evening of the election. "The most powerful words of a democracy are 'the people have spoken,'" Herrera said in a statement. "Tonight the people of Southwest Washington have spoken and said that they want me to represent them, their families and communities in the Congress of the United States."
The first of five new firefighters who will be hired by East County Fire and Rescue during the next seven months will arrive for his first day of work next week. Wes Long, a former ECFR fire captain, will return to his position on Nov. 15. In addition, coming on board in early December will be firefighter/IV technicians Brad Delano and Dane Hammond. The men both currently work for the Camas Fire Department, but their positions will no longer be funded as of Dec. 3. The firefighter/IV technicians were originally hired by Camas as part of an agreement with East County Fire and Rescue. This contract approved in December 2008 stipulated that with levy lid lift funds approved by voters in February 2008, ECFR would pay for Camas to hire five firefighters. Those individuals would respond from two ECFR stations -- Orchard Hills on 39th Street in Washougal city limits and Fern Prairie on Northeast 267th Avenue near Grove Field Airport in unincorporated Camas.
