<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

Morning Press: County manager, new sheriff, Wal-Mart, Christmas history

The Columbian
Published:

Check out the weekend forecast.

McCauley named county manager

Clark County Administrator Mark McCauley accepted an offer Tuesday from county commissioners to become acting county manager.

His title will include “acting” until he’s confirmed by a five-member board of county councilors, which won’t be seated until January 2016.

The position of county manager and the expanded board of councilors were key components of a voter-approved county charter, which takes effect Jan. 1.

Commissioners Tom Mielke, David Madore and Jeanne Stewart spent approximately 90 minutes in executive session, without McCauley, before meeting in open session to offer him the job.

He was their unanimous choice for what Madore said will be a “challenging” role, as the county adjusts to a new form of government.

As acting county manager, McCauley will be paid $163,100 a year, up from the $145,000 he has been earning as county administrator.

Learn more about McCauley’s new job.

Atkins sworn in as Clark County sheriff

Chuck Atkins was sworn in as Clark County sheriff in a standing-room-only ceremony Monday afternoon at the Public Service Center. Atkins’ family alone took up three rows of chairs, while county officials and law enforcement crowded into the back of the sixth floor hearing room.

“I think this is largest swearing-in in the history of Clark County,” said District Court Judge Darvin Zimmerman.

Atkins twiddled his thumbs while sitting in the front, waiting to be called forward and sworn in. It was only 10 seconds of nervousness, he said, adding that the large turnout was humbling and gratifying.

“It highlights the importance of what we’re getting ready to do,” he said. He’s the first new sheriff in 24 years, succeeding retiring Sheriff Garry Lucas, whose last day will be Dec. 31.

Atkins, 60, is a former Clark County sheriff’s administrator who came out of retirement to seek the elected office.

Zimmerman asked Atkins to swear under oath that he will “truly, faithfully, diligently and impartially” perform the duties of the county sheriff, and uphold the law.

Reade more about Atkins’ swearing in.

Wal-Mart breaks ground in Orchards

Construction is about to begin on a long-planned Wal-Mart Supercenter in Orchards, on the south side of Northeast Fourth Plain Boulevard, east of 147th Avenue.

The 155,000-square-foot store is the first development in the Birtcher Business Center, which encompasses about 200 acres generally south of the Wal-Mart site. The overall Birtcher Business Center site includes three commercial properties that are under separate ownership from the larger project, including the 20-acre Wal-Mart property the retailer purchased a decade ago.

The project had been stalled for years due to the economic downturn and a bankruptcy of the larger property. A sign placed on the property in 2006 said a Wal-Mart is “coming soon.” The company this week confirmed construction is underway, and a spokesman said the store should be completed by next fall.

The new store is a further expansion for the world’s largest retail chain in Clark County, where it has made steady inroads in recent years. Wal-Mart this year opened a Supercenter in Battle Ground and two of its smaller neighborhood market stores in Vancouver.

Learn more about the county’s newest Wal-Mart.

Deal secures 3,000 acres of forest near Mount St. Helens

Columbia Land Trust on Monday announced the conservation of more than 3,000 acres of forestland near Mount St. Helens, the latest phase in an ongoing effort by the organization to prevent development in the area.

The Vancouver-based nonprofit purchased development rights on the land, which will remain under the ownership of timber company Pope Resources. It will also remain in active forestry and produce tax-generating timber harvests, according to the land trust.

“This landmark project shows what can be achieved when a timber company, a conservation group and public leaders put their heads together to find lasting conservation solutions that benefit both people and nature,” Columbia Land Trust Executive Director Glenn Lamb said in a released statement.

Read more about the land deal.

Christmas week in Clark County in 1914

International stories of the bitter fighting in World War I peppered the news on a daily basis 100 years ago this week, but things were calmer closer to home.

It was a different world, yet somehow familiar in 1914. Issues of prohibition, minimum wage and growing university enrollment filled the headlines — topics that are still often discussed, even if the modern prohibition under debate is marijuana rather than alcohol.

Christmas charity, the giving of food and gifts to those less fortunate, reigned throughout the week, as is still common today. Santa appeared at the State School for the Deaf by popping out of a barrel to surprise the children, and the Salvation Army handed out baskets laden with “chickens, bread, butter, coffee, pies, fruit, potatoes and all necessary fixings for a Christmas dinner” to poor families.

Vancouver residents got a rare three day weekend for Christmas in a time when the work week typically spanned six days. At Vancouver Barracks, though, soldiers’ holidays were tinged with sadness — after a band of thieves made off with 150 pounds of bacon stored in the garrison.

Take a look back at old news stories.

Loading...