February 4, 2014
Caring for the Camas Cemetery
Three months after the Camas Cemetery was vandalized, the final step in the effort to make a wrong, right again was put into place.
Three months after the Camas Cemetery was vandalized, the final step in the effort to make a wrong, right again was put into place.
Chamber supports school levies The Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce is in support of the two Washougal School District replacement levies that will be up for vote on Feb. 11. These are not new taxes. These levies will replace the funding of the maintenance and operations levy and technology levy expiring in 2014. The state covers about 80 percent of funding needed for schools and these levies will bridge the gap to cover the other 20 percent.
Washougal voters will be asked to approve two school replacement levies on Feb. 11. A three-year maintenance and operations (M&O) levy totaling approximately $19.6 million over three years, 2015 to 2017, will replace the current levy expiring in 2014. Local levy dollars make up more than 20 percent of the school district budget providing money for programs not fully funded by the state. Student health and safety, sports programs, extracurricular learning,
I am proud of the quality education that my two children received from Washougal public schools. Without hesitation I will support the M&O and technology levies. These dollars will be directly used to support campus security, student health, performing arts, sports teams, technology, facility maintenance and community education.
We moved from Bemidji, Minn., in 1986 and chose Camas for a number of reasons. But upon looking around, I wondered where the tourist sites were. Where are the statues? What I didn't realize at the time was the same beauty that attracted us is in fact the tourist area of the entire Pacific Northwest.
Support Washougal school levies
At the close of the marijuana license application submission period on Dec. 20, paperwork for more than 60 retail, producing and processing licenses had been submitted from Camas-Washougal area based businesses to the Washington State Liquor Control Board. The backgrounds of the applicants seem to vary as much as the names they chose for their potential endeavors. But at their core, all for one reason or another have a desire to get into the marijuana business. And as the applications are being processed and scrutinized by the state agency, local cities are heavily involved in their own work to establish a framework for rules, regulations and zonings that will eventually guide how these businesses will fit into the community.
When it comes to downtown revitalization, there is a common thread among the documented success stories: Make the experience unique for shoppers, diners, strollers, movie-goers, and other visitors and they'll continue to come back for more -- and they'll bring their friends and family. With this idea in mind, during the past dozen years downtown Camas has slowly evolved to become an emerging success story, with the potential for much more on the horizon. What makes downtown Camas unique? An illustration of that answer can be found illuminated above the front door of the Camas Gallery on Northeast Fourth Avenue.
Consumer confidence, the stock market, world events, the housing market and local political events are the significant factors impacting the entrepreneurial spirit. As I look ahead, the future seems bright for small business and anything our policy makers can do to encourage this trend will be a key to job strength and stronger sales tax revenues moving forward. Small business owners do expect better sales in 2014 and overall have a strong degree of confidence in their sales and hiring plans for 2014. The Wall Street Journal and Vistage International just completed a survey showing an uptick in 2013 small business sales results with an expectation that 2014 will be even better.
Coal, oil train hazards are not worth the risk The explosion Dec. 30 in North Dakota of an oil train was the third major oil train accident in the last 6 months.
