Arctic winds gusting upwards of 50 mph hit Clark County today, knocking out power for tens of thousands of electricity customers by this evening.
The Veterans Day storm brought below-freezing temperatures to the region, and today’s forecast calls for freezing rain and the possibility of snow.
The windstorm brought trees and tree limbs onto houses, roadways and power lines and is likely to continue into Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service. The wind even uprooted a “do not enter” sign, which struck a woman walking near the state Highway 500 exit ramp to Andresen Road, said Washington State Patrol Trooper Will Finn. The woman, who had a cut on her face and bruised ribs, was sent to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center.
With schools and government offices closed today, many hunkered down at home waiting for the windy weather to pass.
The day started with a large outage in Camas around 6:50 a.m. that was mostly repaired by 9 a.m. By 6 p.m., a total of 39,119 customers had experienced outages throughout the day, said Clark Public Utilities spokeswoman Erica Erland. Some areas saw power restored, only to lose power again.
Carol Miller spotted a troubling situation Wednesday as she drove over Interstate 5 on East Evergreen Boulevard in Vancouver.
“There was this gal, she was almost halfway over the railing” of the I-5 overpass, Miller said. “She was kind of lying on the railing, trying to roll herself over. She was trying hard.”
It was nearly noon and Miller, 68, was on her way to visit a friend in a convalescent home. Instead, Miller slammed on her brakes, pushed open her truck’s door and ran toward the woman.
Leaving her truck in the roadway, she called out to a man walking by, asking him to help. Miller and the man pulled the woman back from the edge of what would have been a 40-foot fall into freeway traffic.
Miller said the only thought that went through her head was: “I just had to go get her.”
A bicyclist called 911, and Miller held the woman while police and medical personnel responded to the scene.
“I had her on the ground. I was holding her really tight and telling her everything’s going to be OK,” Miller said. “I said, ‘Why did you want to do this?’ She said, ‘I want my mom.'”
After helping people mark weddings, births and deaths for 105 years, Luepke Florist is preparing for its own demise.
Owners Alan and Maria Adler said Thursday that their business will be closing its doors by the end of the year.
The Adlers, who bought the business in 2004 from the third generation of the founding family, said they made the decision last week.
It’s tough for a small business to operate when the percent of profit “is in single digits,” Alan Adler said.
While the husband-and-wife team has owned the business for about 10 years, Maria Adler has worked at Luepke Florist for more than 40 years. She obviously found a niche.
“Flowers are beautiful to work with,” she said.
And “I love working with people,” Maria Adler continued. “It’s always exciting to participate in the big events in their lives. We deal with emotions every day.”
Alishia Topper knows what it’s like to be a hungry student with no place to call home.
It makes her a good fit for her new job with Vancouver Public Schools, forging partnerships and finding resources to help students and families who need a hand.
“Homelessness, hunger, domestic violence, drug abuse,” said Topper, who is also a Vancouver city councilor. “Every barrier a kid might have, I have experienced. It makes me more empathetic.”
Topper’s new title is the Family-Community Resource Center director of strategic partnerships. The district has resource centers in 13 schools. Each center serves as a clearinghouse for families in the district’s highest-poverty and highest-mobility schools. They’ve helped thousands of students and their families, resulting in better lives and improved academic performance.
Since early summer, Chris “Salty” Reed and his wife, Cindy Reed, have worked to bring new life to a charming downtown storefront that for years had been vacant and overlooked.
Then on a Thursday evening in late October, the couple quietly opened the restaurant and bar with the memorable, Southern-influenced name of Grocery Cocktail & Social. Word spread quickly, mostly through social media contacts. It didn’t take long to draw a crowd to the formerly forlorn corner of West Seventh and Washington streets.
“That weekend we were really busy,” says Salty Reed, who is known in foodie circles for his past work as a chef in several popular Portland restaurants, most recently the Screen Door.
The Grocery, as it is already known, is slowly building up its menu and tweaking its hours to find its sweet spot in the downtown eating and entertainment scene. It’s unusual name comes from the fact that Salty Reed’s Southern relatives often referred to all food as groceries.
Soon after the opening, the Reeds pulled out of the lunch hour, choosing instead a 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. schedule aimed at happy hour and evening diners and an evening crowd of social drinkers and diners. The restaurant, with seating for 49 people on two levels, also is available for private events.
