Cheers: To football season. This has been a memorable fall for football fans in Clark County. The Camas Papermakers won their first state football championship last week, defeating Richland 24-14 for the Class 4A crown. That was the highlight of a playoff season that also saw runs to the state semifinals by Skyview in the 4A classification and La Center at the 1A level, and congratulations go to all the players and families involved.
But the excitement doesn’t end there. The Washington Huskies are one of four teams to qualify for the College Football Playoff, and the Washington State Cougars will complete a successful season with a trip to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. Finally, the Seattle Seahawks are in first place in their division and have fans dreaming of another trip to the Super Bowl. In the end, football is just fun and games — but it’s a lot more fun when your team is winning.
Jeers: To an unknown killer. Somebody, at this point unidentified, killed three goats that JR Robertson kept on his property in Vancouver’s Truman neighborhood. The goats had been shot in the head.
The random cruelty of the act is disturbing for local residents. Robertson said the goats had been a neighborhood favorite, and he even had a bench set up outside the property where people could stop and watch or interact with the goats. Harming animals often is a sign of violence that eventually extends to the harming of people, and the hope here is that law enforcement is able to identify and apprehend the assailant or assailants before their cruelty escalates.
Cheers: To Walk & Knock. The event benefiting the Clark County Food Bank undertook its annual collection drive last week, and the preliminary count was 115 tons of donated food. For 32 years, the food bank has provided grocery bags for local residents to fill with nonperishables and leave on their porch, and then enlisted an army of volunteers to collect those bags on a Saturday morning.
The sense of community generated by the event — both for volunteers and those who donate — reflects the neighborly strength of Clark County. The collected donations go to assist those in need throughout the year. It all adds up to make Walk & Knock an important event throughout the area.
Jeers: To elongated lawsuits. This year, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Randy Dorn filed a lawsuit against seven school districts (including Evergreen) for their use of local levies to pay for basic education. The school districts were not the real target; instead, Dorn was trying to force the hand of the Legislature and compel lawmakers to fulfill their constitutional duty regarding school funding.
For raising attention, it was a worthy ploy; but it has run its course. The (Everett) Herald reports that the state has spent $77,000 on outside attorneys related to the suit, which a judge has put on hold until April 30. In addition, parents from four districts have obtained standing as intervening plaintiffs. Dorn has made his point and should withdraw his office from the suit rather than spend more on it.
Cheers: To Pearl Harbor commemorations. Wednesday was the 75th anniversary of Japan’s attack on the U.S. fleet in Hawaii, and several local events marked the occasion. Two local survivors of the attack — Ralph Laedtke and Paul Johnson — took part in a Hazel Dell ceremony, reflecting on that day.
The Pearl Harbor anniversary always reminds us of the shared commitment this nation forged during World War II, along with its capacity for greatness. It is important to remember the events of that day and the role they played in altering the course of history.
