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Opinion

September 10, 2013

Start to fall sports season packs a punch

Two big wins on the football field are great ways to start the fall sports season, and teams from both Camas and Washougal put on quite a show under the Friday night lights. Perhaps the biggest win of the evening came from the Papermakers, who toppled Portland's Jesuit High School with relative ease in a game that pitted the number-one ranked teams in Oregon and Washington against one another. In the end, as the 47-14 score suggests, it was really no contest and more than 5,000 fans got to see their hometown team shine at Doc Harris Stadium.

September 10, 2013

BG officials offer perspectives on government changes

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times" wrote Charles Dickens in his "Tale of Two Cities;" a magnificent author and book which still provides relevance to contemporary generations. What does this have to do with our community here in Battle Ground? As city leaders within Battle Ground, we would like to offer some personal perspectives on the significant seismic governance changes occurring within the communities of Battle Ground and Washougal.

September 10, 2013

Letter to the Editor for Sept. 10, 2013

Honor for Jimmie Rodgers is deserved I would like to thank Sharon Ballard and Marquita Call for asking the Camas City Council to name a street in honor of Jimmie Rodgers, that well known singer from the late 1950s and 1960s. The City Council's resulting action in giving that part of Northwest 10th Street where Jimmie Rodgers lived during his early childhood and school years the honorary name of Jimmie Rodgers Avenue was a most fitting and proper move to show and pay respect to Mr. Rodgers.

September 3, 2013

She never gave up

"You should never, ever give up." These were the first words of Diana Nyad yesterday when, on her fifth try, she became the first woman to swim from Cuba to Florida without the help of a shark cage. After jumping into the waters of Havana, it took her 53 hours to complete the 110-mile swim. And even more amazing, is the fact that this woman recently celebrated her 64th birthday.

September 3, 2013

A review of the state operating budget

Now that we've had time to review and digest the state's new 2013-15 budget, how did lawmakers do? As with all budgets there are good and bad items included, though the biggest policy success was that lawmakers allowed the 2010 "temporary" tax increases to remain temporary and to expire as promised on July 1. The enacted budget also includes revenue and spending projections that balance in compliance with the state's new four-year balanced budget requirement.

August 27, 2013

Summer’s end stirs mixed emotions

With warm summer weather still basking our area and school age children enjoying summer activities, it's hard to grasp the fact that the first day of school is less than a week away. But that's exactly where we are on the calendar as summer begins to wind down. The first day of school in Camas and Washougal is next Tuesday, Sept. 3. For students, parents, teachers and school staff, the thoughts and emotions that come to mind this time of year likely range from sadness to eager enthusiasm for the new school year. Most students, for example, would probably be glad to take another month of vacation, in exchange for returning to the classroom with the September sun still shining bright.

August 27, 2013

Letters to the Editor for Aug. 27, 2013

Leave the bees alone There is a honeybee hive in the cedar tree next to the pond at Lacamas Shores. It is on the Lacamas Heritage Trail, which my family frequently hikes. The bees mind their own bee business and are a joy to watch for us seniors and our grandchildren. Today, I found that again someone is trying to kill them by stuffing up the hive entrance with foaming plastic insulation.

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

Letters to the Editor for Aug. 20, 2013

EIS will look at bigger picture This is a letter about the EIS for the proposed coal export terminal in Bellingham. Recently there has been a debate about shipping coal through the Pacific Northwest. The coal would travel from Wyoming through the Columbia River Gorge and up the coast to the proposed Cherry Point Terminal in Bellingham. This terminal would be the largest in North America and require about 18 trainloads of coal a day to travel through here.

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.