In your neighborhood

Lake Shore: The pool at Lake Shore Athletic Club went to the dogs Sept. 27.

Landover-Sharmel: More than 400 people waited in line for the Free-4-All garage sale to start at Faith Community Church on Sept. 27.

Central Park: Janet Reiter, April Duvic, Hooja Kim and Richard Inouye, left to right, along with Clark College students at a concert at Dan-Kook University in South Korea this past summer.

Hazel Dell, Felida and Salmon Creek

Lake Shore: The Lake Shore Athletic Club outdoor pools were full of four-legged friends on Sept. 27 when the club held its second annual Doggie Dive. For the second year in a row the club opened its pools to pooches just before closing the pools for the season. It was $10 suggested donation to the Humane Society for Southwest Washington per dog. The pools were outfitted with doggie ramps, tennis balls and toys. Meanwhile, the club finished up a remodel of the indoor pool.

Klineline Pond: Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation hosted its first Late Summer Madness Triathlon on Sept. 20. Forty people signed up for a 3.1-mile run, 12-mile bike ride and 800-yard swim in Klineline Pond. Ken Ethridge from Vancouver took first place with an overall time of 1:07:57 and the fastest female was Brooke Jackson from Portland, whose time was 1:23:51. The Hudson’s Bay High School girls swim team was among the volunteers who helped out at the event.

Hazel Dell: A group of Clark College students helped out at the Hazel Dell Community Garden on Sept. 19 as part of the first Penguin in the Community service activity sponsored by the Service & Leadership in the Community program. The group worked alongside WSU Extension and 4-H volunteers to plant bird houses and pull weeds in preparation for the Hazel Dell Elementary School open house. The SLIC initiative is a three-part program with the goals of increasing students’ positive citizen participation, leadership, and knowledge of community resources.

Salmon Creek: Washington State University Vancouver has added three faculty members. Cory Bolkan, assistant professor of gerontology in the Department of Human Development, researches psychosocial aspects of late life depression. Cynthia Cooper, assistant professor of molecular genetics, researches cell biology and genetics of zebrafish pigment cell development and function. And Lorrie Dawson, assistant professor in nursing, Dawson’s research interests are the use of symptom interpretation in practice and in the changes in symptom severity over time in community-acquired pneumonia patients. Dawson was previously the assistant dean and regional academic director of Nursing Programs for the Tri-Cities and Walla Walla WSU campuses.

North Clark County and Woodland

La Center: The city took a page out of the sustainability handbook when it decided to deconstruct a dilapidated house on city property rather than demolish it. The city contracted with DeConstruction Services, a part of the nonprofit organization The Rebuilding Center in Portland, to take the house apart and in the process keep 6,000 square feet of reusable building materials out of the landfill. All of the reusable materials will be given to The Rebuilding Center, which then makes the materials available to the public at a reduced cost.

Ridgefield and Fairgrounds

Ridgefield: Cedar Tree Classical Christian School celebrated the completion of its new campus on Northeast 29th Avenue with a dedication ceremony on Oct. 4. The 15-acre facility features four new classroom buildings and an administration/staff center, as well as a nature/cross-country running trail, plans for an athletic field, and the beginnings of a garden that will be enhanced by a recent science grant received from the Fred Meyer Fund. Cedar Tree serves 108 students in grades K-12. Classes started at the new school on Sept. 15.

Ridgefield: Sam Richard, a family physician from Ridgefield, spent the first five days of October fasting in Washington, D.C., with former Trail Blazer star Kermit Washington. The event was part of Fasting for the Hungry, to raise awareness of Washington’s Project Contact Africa (www.projectcontactafrica.com) and its efforts to alleviate hunger in Kenya. Dr. Richard has worked with Project Contact for 13 years and has been to Nairobi six times.

Battle Ground, Meadow Glade and Hockinson

Battle Ground: Mayor Mike Ciraulo has been given a Community Partner Award from Loaves & Fishes Centers, The Meals-On-Wheels People. Ciraulo serves on the steering committee for the Battle Ground Loaves & Fishes Center, and helped during the negotiations about the new community center with the city of Battle Ground. Loaves & Fishes Centers outfitted the kitchen in the new building, which is scheduled to open Oct. 20. The Battle Ground Loaves & Fishes Center will be housed in the community center and will begin serving meals to seniors five days a week at 912 East Main St. The award was presented at the agency’s annual meeting Sept. 25.

Orchards, Sifton and Brush Prairie

Heritage: Debbie Everts was recently recognized by the national Office of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps, or MRC, for her work as a volunteer with the Region IV MRC of Southwest Washington. The national MRC recognizes an individual volunteer each quarter from a pool of 169,000 volunteers nationwide. Everts’ MRC volunteer efforts range from organizing equipment and supply kits for emergency medication centers to conducting community outreach. As part of the volunteer leadership work group, she is helping to transition management of the Region IV MRC to the volunteers. Everts also serves as an AmeriCorps Vista volunteer with Volunteer Connections. She is the coordinator of the Volunteer Mobilization Center for Clark County.

Heritage: The varsity and junior varsity cheerleading teams from Heritage High School participated in the Relay For Life event in August at Battle Ground High School to help raise money for cancer research. The girls raised $1,335.64 and also received the Most Spirited Team award from the relay organizers.

West Vancouver and Downtown

Hough: Ray Barney is 80 years old. He’s also an employee at HDJ Design Group and the recent recipient of the Outstanding Senior Worker award for Washington state. In recognition of this award, he and his wife, Nancy Baker, met with Congressman Brian Baird on Sept. 25 in Washington, D.C., to talk to Baird about issues facing seniors and small businesses in Clark County.

Central Vancouver, Minnehaha and The Heights

Central Park: Approximately 100 music students and six faculty members from Clark College traveled to Seoul, South Korea this past summer with music ambassador Hooja Kim for three concerts at the invitation of Dan-Kook University. Members of the Concert Band, Jazz Ensemble, and Women’s Choir went on the trip along with faculty Richard Inouye, April Duvic, Janet Reiter, Don Appert and Gordon Trousdale. “It was my utmost pride and honor to be a music ambassador for such a delightful, talented and dedicated group of Clark students and faculty members,” said Kim. To continue the cultural exchange between the two schools, a group of 27 traditional dance and music students from Korea visited Clark College on Sept. 26 for a performance at Gaiser Hall.

Van Mall: The Healthy Weigh celebrated the opening of its new location and the release of a CD project on Sept. 21. The Timbers, better known as the former Vancouver Mall movie theater, houses the new clinic at 9120 N.E. Vancouver Mall Loop. Letha Brandenburg, who has owned The Healthy Weigh since 1990, produced the CD, “Change your Thinking~Change your Life” in response to her clients’ request for continued motivation. The three-CD project addresses what Brandenburg calls “the missing piece of the puzzle in the weight-loss industry.” For more information, e-mail
letha@healthyweigh.com.

Rose Village: Home gardeners participating in the Clark County Homegrown Gardens Project met at Memorial Lutheran Church on Sept. 15 to enjoy the bounty of their garden beds. A potluck dinner featuring several creative zucchini dishes, colorful fresh tomatoes, and cucumbers in a variety of forms showcased the success of many first-time gardeners. Conversation flowed and neighbors met neighbors as they enjoyed a display of pictures of each of the 30 gardens and shared their gardening tips and frustrations with each other. Clark County Homegrown Gardens is a collaborative effort between the offices of Clark County Public Health and Public Works with additional support provided by Friends of the Carpenter, WSU County Extension Master Gardeners and the Lewis and Clark High School horticulture department. The program teaches residents to raise vegetables in their own yards by providing qualifying individuals with a 32-square-foot raised garden bed, soil, plants, seeds, a gardening book and a mentor to assist along the way. Currently, there are 68 Clark County Homegrown Garden beds installed in various neighborhoods. A $90,000 Department of Ecology grant was recently approved to support 100 families with raised-bed gardens, composting education and composting bins over the next two years.

Edgewood Park: Stephen Rainey has been reappointed by Gov. Chris Gregoire to the State School for the Blind Board of Trustees. Rainey is a fish passage engineer at GEI Consultants and his term on the board will end in July 2013. The board works to develop curricula to help the students attain the skills they need to live, work and become independent citizens.

Leverich Park: Disc golf enthusiast Steve Carson reports that, after searching for a site for more than a year, the city parks department has agreed to install a disc golf course at Leverich Park. The course will have 12 “holes” — they’re really metal baskets — that are sponsored by local businesses. Look for a work party to install the course in early November.

East Vancouver, Cascade Park, Fisher’s Landing and Evergreen

Landover-Sharmel: The Free-4-All Garage Sale organized by members of Faith Community Church on Sept. 27 helped more than 400 residents. People arrived well in advance of the 11 a.m. start time and waited patiently in line for the opportunity to walk through three rooms of merchandise and fill their bags with needed items for their families. The idea was to give the stuff away to people who need it rather than sell it. A free hot dog lunch was also served. “The response was overwhelming,” said Pastor Rick Cook. “We received so many heart-felt thank-yous from families who are struggling to make ends meet.” More than 35 volunteers from the church worked for several months to organize the event, collect items, get the word out, and ensure everything went smoothly on the day of the event.

Mountain View: Seungsoo Kim, a senior at Mountain View High School, traveled to Mumbai, India this summer to participate in the International Biology Olympiad, sponsored by the Center for Excellence in Education. Kim placed 19th out of 220 students from 55 countries and came home with a gold medal.

East Clark County: Camas and Washougal

Washougal: The Port of Camas-Washougal broke ground today on a memorial to the Chinook Tribe at the historic Parker’s Landing Park on port property overlooking the Columbia River. The $46,500 memorial will feature an 11-foot-tall basalt column, a man-made pond and interpretive signs. It was designed by local architects Terry Harder and Doug Lee and paid for by a $15,000 Clark County historical grant and more than $31,500 in port funding.

Camas: The employees of Windermere/Crest Realty in Camas have received a Community Partner Award from Loaves & Fishes Centers, The Meals-On-Wheels People. The group has been volunteering for the Camas-Washougal Loaves & Fishes Center for more than a year. They regularly deliver Meals-On-Wheels for the center and recently 16 of their staff members delivered to all of the routes on one day in eastern Clark County. The award was presented at the agency’s Annual Meeting
on Sept. 25.