Sept. 3, 2010, is the day football fever infected Washougal. On that fateful evening at Kiggins Bowl in downtown Vancouver, Sam O'Hara snagged a game-winning touchdown pass from Colton Sullivan in the final seconds of the game to lead the Panthers to a 10-7 victory over the hometown favored Hudson's Bay Eagles.
John Russell loves telling fishing stories. "I'm an albacore fisherman," he said. "I could tell you I caught 22 of them in one day, but you probably wouldn't believe me." Russell said he hooked a 115-pound halibut at the tender age of 88. He also caught two, 100-pound tunas during a fishing trip to Hawaii. "Anybody can fish. My favorite part is catching them," Russell said. "Whether that's paying attention to what's going on, pushing the other guy out of the way or cutting the other guy's fishing line."
America's Vancouver will never be the same. Hundreds of hockey fans from both sides of the Columbia River, including Camas and Washougal, ventured to the Mountain View Ice Arena Wednesday to hug and kiss the Stanley Cup. The line to see the trophy started forming at 12:30 p.m. In just a few short hours, it stretched from the viewing area above the ice rink, down the stairs, out of the door, and wrapped around the back of the building. "This is quite an opportunity we know not a lot people get to have," said Mountain View Ice Arena General Manager Bob Knoerl. "You don't say 'no' to the Stanley Cup. It's one of the most well-travelled and respected trophies in the world of professional sports."
Two Camas youth leaders have been named the coaches of the Clark College softball program. Head coach Ty Singleton and associate head coach Ted Buck are excited to share their passion for athletics and education with Penguins in 2012 and beyond.
The fifth Tom Wallenborn Golf Classic returns to Camas Meadows Saturday, Sept. 17, with a shotgun start at 9 a.m.
New Clark College Athletic Director Charles Guthrie is on the opposite side of the country from his hometown of Albany, N.Y., but he said living in Camas feels strangely like being back home. "I love how kind and genuine people are here. They are really passionate about this institution and this community. It's a nice change of pace after working in bigger metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles and San Diego, where people don't have that same sense of community," Guthrie said. "This area is more similar to where I grew up, where everybody knows your name. I feel like I have come full circle."
If Nancy Russell was still alive today, looking out at Columbia River Gorge from her new viewpoint at Cape Horn would have given her chills. More than 300 guests felt her presence during a dedication in her honor Saturday. The morning mist hitting their faces felt like tears of joy. And as each guest shared their story about Nancy, the fog lifted and everybody could see east for miles.
Thirty-four club members from Lacamas Swim & Sport had no idea what they were getting themselves into when they signed up to do a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-mile run in one day. That is a total of 140.6 miles. Most people would call that pure torture, but this tight group of Camas, Washougal, Vancouver and Brush Prairie residents have caught the rush. After nearly a year of training, these Headhunters are aiming to cross the finish line at the 2011 Ironman Canada Aug. 28, in Penticton, B.C. "You have to have some sort of internal craziness to try something like this," said Lisa Wourms of Camas. "I think we all have a touch of that."
Eight seconds. It doesn't seem like much, but that is the amount of time when a bull rider must hold on for dear life, or risk being injured or killed. Eight seconds of joy, bliss, anticipation, dread and triumph. "It's really hard to describe," said Cody Hudson, a 15-year-old bull riding champion. "There's this excitement, anticipation, adrenaline rush and thrill that goes with it. As a bull rider, you have to accept that at all times you may be injured or die. So you accept it, and you move on."
Some 2-year-olds play in a sandbox. Tommy Beale jumped into a swimming pool. "I thought I better put him in swimming lessons so I wouldn't have to jump in and save him," said his mother, Linda. "He was able to swim across the pool by the time he was 3, and he joined the swim team when he was 4." On July 15 to 17, the 8-year-old from Camas captured four gold medals for the Columbia River Swim Team at the Oregon Swimming 10-and-younger Long Course Championships, in Bend, Ore. Beale snatched first place in the 50-meter breaststroke, with a time of 47.97 seconds. He also finished first in the 50 butterfly in 44.99. the 50 backstroke in 45.51 and the 100 freestyle in 1:24.51.
