Songcraft Festival fundraiser to be held July 9 in Washougal

Clark County works to reduce mosquito population

Mosquito season has arrived early in Clark County, and residents may be facing another summer with more mosquitoes than normal.

Clark County Mosquito Control District (MCD) has been working for weeks to reduce the mosquito population and continues to treat areas with high numbers of mosquitoes across the county. As crews work to reduce the number of mosquitoes, Clark County Public Health is encouraging everyone to take steps to avoid mosquito bites and eliminate mosquito habitats on their property.

The species of mosquitoes that are currently active in Clark County, called floodwater mosquitoes, lay their eggs in the damp soil along rivers during late spring and early summer. As mountain snow melts and water levels rise, those areas become covered with water and the eggs hatch.

“We are currently seeing a lot of mosquito activity everywhere in the county, but about one month earlier than last year,” Clark County Mosquito Control District Manager Mario Boisvert stated in a news release from the MCD. “Water was released earlier from Bonneville Dam leading to higher water levels again this year. The above-normal temperatures in mid-May also contributed to earlier hatches.”

Now that mosquito eggs have hatched, MCD technicians are setting traps to identify areas with large populations of adult mosquitoes and using trucks to treat those areas. They are also working to address more than 550 requests for service submitted in the last two weeks. The MCD thanks community members for their patience as crews work as quickly as possible to respond to the requests.

In addition, MCD technicians are treating thousands of catch basins across the county to prevent the hatching of species of mosquitoes that can carry West Nile virus. Technicians also trap adult mosquitoes in these areas to test for West Nile virus. Clark County has never had a case of West Nile virus that was acquired in Clark County or a positive test result in a mosquito sample, though there have been cases of West Nile virus in other parts of the state, mostly in eastern Washington.

Clark County Public Health is urging residents to take steps to avoid mosquito bites:

• Install or repair screens on windows and doors.

• When possible, stay indoors during dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.

• When practical, wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, shoes, socks, and hats/head nets outside, especially in wooded or wetland areas.

• Place mosquito netting over infant carriers when outdoors.

• Use EPA-registered insect repellents (epa.gov/insect-repellents/find-repellent-right-you), including those with DEET, picaridin, IR3535 or oil of lemon eucalyptus. Use especially at dawn and dusk. Read the label and carefully follow the instructions for applying repellents, especially when applying on children.

Clark County residents can also do their part to help prevent mosquitoes from breeding on their property by taking these simple steps:

• Drain standing water from old tires, flowerpots, buckets, plastic tarps, and wheelbarrows.

• Change water in bird baths, ponds, wading pools, pet bowls and animal troughs at least twice a week.

• Repair leaking faucets and sprinklers; clean clogged gutters.

• Properly maintain swimming pools.

• Check for containers or trash in hard-to-see places, such as under bushes.

The Clark County Mosquito Control District will continue surveillance and treatment activities throughout the active mosquito season. To learn more about treatment activities or to submit a request for service, visit ccmcd.org.

Songcraft Festival fundraiser to be held July 9 in Washougal

Christopher and Stephanie Corbell will hold a “barbecue gala” at their Washougal residence at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 9, to raise funds for the first Washougal Songcraft Festival event, to be held from Friday, Aug. 11, to Sunday, Aug. 13, in downtown Washougal.

Gala tickets start at $25 and are available to purchase at https://bit.ly/WSFbbqGala2023.

The Corbells launched the Washougal Songcraft Festival, a nonprofit organization that strives to foster, share and celebrate the craft of songwriting and develop the performing arts and creative community of Washougal and the surrounding region through “song circle” events and an annual music festival, in 2022.

For more information about the festival and a list of performers, visit washougal-songcraft.org/wsf/2023-festival-line-up.

County Board of Health seeks applicants for Public Health Advisory Council

The Clark County Board of Health is seeking applicants for a volunteer position on the Public Health Advisory Council.

The open position is for a doctor of veterinary medicine practicing in Clark County. The selected applicant will complete an unexpired three-year term that ends Sept. 30, 2024.

The application deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, June 30.

The advisory council meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month. One meeting per quarter is in-person, from 6 to 8 p.m., at various locations across the county. The remaining meetings are 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. via Zoom.

The Public Health Advisory Council uses a health equity framework to identify community health needs, and review and recommend public health policies and priorities to address the identified needs. The council may provide community forums or establish community task forces, as assigned by the Board of Health. And the council reviews and makes recommendations to Clark County Public Health and the Board of Health for the annual budget and fees.

Clark County Public Health promotes healthy communities and environments, health equity, and disease and injury prevention. With community partners, Public Health works to promote healthier choices; ensure the safety of food and water; reduce environmental waste and contamination; and protect people from disease outbreaks through monitoring, early detection and swift response.

Those interested in an appointment to the advisory council should submit a brief letter of interest and resume to Michelle Pfenning, County Manager’s Office, P.O. Box 5000, Vancouver 98666-5000. Applications can also be emailed to michelle.pfenning@clark.wa.gov.

Regional law enforcement academy announces first class dates

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) is excited to announce that the Criminal Justice Training Commission (CJTC) Southwest Washington Regional Basic Law Enforcement Academy (BLEA) has its first class scheduled to begin on Nov. 27.

Through the tremendous effort of regional law enforcement partners, local governments, local and state elected officials, and the CJTC, the Southwest Washington Regional Academy (SWRA) has become a reality.

CCSO stated in a news release that the creation of the regional academy is “excellent news for our region and will significantly increase Southwest Washington law enforcement agencies’ ability to recruit deputies and get officers on patrol and working in the community.”

Historically, most recruit deputies have had to attend the academy in Burien, Washington, where local agencies had to compete with agencies across the state for limited academy slots causing sometimes lengthy wait times for academy start dates. The SWRA will also be an opportunity for local law enforcement to be instructors, facilitators and mentors at the Regional Academy, which further grows capabilities in our region

BLEA is Washington’s mandated training academy for all city and county entry-level peace officers in the state. The SWRA will be able to accommodate up to 30 students per class and will run two classes per year. Each class will teach the 720-hour BLEA Curriculum over approximately 18 weeks. The BLEA training model provides a standard training curriculum to ensure all officers have the same base-level understanding of their responsibility to the communities they serve, standards to uphold, and education for effective community-oriented policing.

Council for the Homeless releases “Point in Time” data

The Council for the Homeless (CFTH) recently released data from the 2023 Point in Time count — a one-day census of persons experiencing homelessness and the programs available to assist them — held Jan. 26.

The Point in Time (PIT) count is mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“It is critical that people understand the PIT is a snapshot of one day,” Charlene Welch, CFTH development and communications director, stated in a news release. “It does not illustrate the full picture of our Homeless Crisis Response System.”

Welch said the public can learn more by attending CFTH’s webinar on June 27. To register for the webinar, visit councilforthehomeless.org/community-education.

CFTH Executive Director Sesany Fennie-Jones stated that, “even though Clark County increased emergency shelter capacity, the number of people experiencing homelessness increased” during the most recent PIT count. Some factors that likely contributed to this increase, according to the CFTH news release, included:

Due to a lack of affordable places to live, people are not as able to find a place to live and move out of emergency shelter.

People remain highly vulnerable to the lasting impacts of the pandemic. Many have deferred health needs and lack of and/or lost income.

Rent increases and market forces have led the Fair Market Rent for a one bedroom apartment in Clark County to cost $1,512 per month. The housing wage to afford this apartment paying 30% of income in rent is $29.08, according to the 2022 “Out of Reach Report” by the National Low Income Housing Alliance.

According to the CFTH news release, people in emergency shelter increased 10% due to Bertha’s Place opening to full capacity in 2023, as well as the addition of the Hope Village Safe Stay shelter community; while people in temporary housing increased 9% from 2022.

Additionally, the number of unsheltered people increased by 8% over the 2022 PIT count and chronically homeless, unsheltered individuals increased 78% from 2022. The number of unsheltered veterans increased 33% — from 24 in 2022 to 32 in 2023.

On the flipside, the number of sheltered seniors aged 62 or older increased 17% as a result of prioritizing that population for the new Bertha’s Place shelters; and the number of unsheltered families decreased slightly, going from 46 in 2022 to 43 families in 2023. The news release added that five of those families were, however, identified as chronically homeless households.

To peruse the complete data from the 2023 PIT count, visit councilfortheh omeless.org/point-in-time-count.

County seeks applicants for Development and Engineering Board

County Manager Kathleen Otto is seeking applicants to fill two vacancies on the Clark County Development and Engineering Advisory Board.

One position is for someone from the Southwest Washington Contractors Association and the other is for someone in the commercial/industrial development industry. Both openings are for three-year terms that begin July 1 and Aug. 1, respectively.

Clark County formed the Development and Engineering Advisory Board to review policy and code changes and work with the Community Development and Public Works departments on process improvements and fee issues.

The board typically meets at 2:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month in the sixth-floor training room of the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St., Vancouver.

The advisory board consists of 10 members: three private-sector planners or engineers; one public-sector planner or engineer; one construction contractor; one land developer; one Building Industry Association representative; one professional associated with commercial or industrial development; and two professionals associated with development.

Interested applicants must send a letter of application and resume to Michelle Pfenning, County Manager’s Office, P.O. Box 5000, Vancouver, WA 98666 or michelle.pfenning@clark.wa.gov.

The application deadline is 5 p.m. Friday, July 14. For more information, visit clark.wa.gov/community-development/development-and-engineering-advisory-board.