Cheers: To Nick Swinhart, chief of the Camas-Washougal Fire Department and now also the part-time leader of East County Fire & Rescue. It wasn’t that long ago that administrative relationships among the three emergency services agencies were too heated to prevent money-saving cooperation. But Swinhart knows how to use his talents to put out not only structure fires, but administrative fires.
He arrived in Camas in 2011, taking the fire chief’s job the same month that a consultant recommended a merger between the Camas and Washougal fire departments. Swinhart deserves much of the credit for following through on the administrative details and making that merger happen. Now he’s working with the rural fire district that serves the area immediately outside the city limits. East County has been in turmoil for two years, lacking a permanent fire chief and frequently embroiled in strife between firefighters, administrators and fire district commissioners. It seems likely that better times are ahead for the agency and for all east county residents.
Jeers: To an excessive number of pedestrian fatalities in Vancouver and Clark County. Even one fatality would be too many, of course, but Vancouver had the second most in the state in 2010-2014, trailing only Seattle. In fact, Vancouver had 78 percent more fatalities in that time period than Tacoma, the state’s second-largest city. There is some good news, however. On Monday, the Target Zero pedestrian safety task force is due to announce a new $60,000 grant that will be used to patrol pedestrian safety zones, primarily along arterial roadways with high traffic volumes (think Northeast Highway 99 or East Mill Plain Boulevard.) More details will come out with the announcement, but in general the money will be used for extra police patrols and an education component for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.
Cheers: To the more than 900 Clark County residents who handed over their outdated or unneeded prescription drugs. Last Saturday’s drug take-back event resulted in more than 1,600 pounds of medications being collected to be disposed of properly. Cleaning out the medicine cabinet reduces the opportunity for drug abuse or accident. As a reminder, surplus prescription drugs should never be thrown away or flushed down the toilet. If you missed Saturday’s event and have some drugs to deal with, take them to any of several collection sites that operate year-round in Clark County. A list can be found by going online at www.recyclinga-z.com and searching “medications.”
