Community

Target grant to help Ridgefield kids learn about rocks

Ridgefield -- Second-graders at Union Ridge Elementary School will take a trip to the Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals this spring thanks to a grant from Target.

Gas mask turns heads at controlled burn in Battle Ground

Battle Ground -- Brandon Aalberg, a junior at Battle Ground High School, looked ready to roll in the face of any airborne toxins or other nasty stuff that might have been released during the controlled burning of the old Central School on Jan. 21.

Volunteers plant trees at Ridgefield wildlife refuge

Ridgefield -- Thanks to the hard work of 85 volunteers, the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge has 436 more trees than it did before Jan. 16, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Paradise Point State Park to get new disc-golf course

Paradise Point State Park -- A $5,000 donation to the Parks Foundation from a La Center family will pay for the installation of a new nine-hole disc-golf course at Paradise Point State Park, just east of Interstate 5 near La Center.

2nd Rotary Interact club sprouts up in Battle Ground

Battle Ground -- A second Rotary Interact Club has recently formed in the Battle Ground School District.

Skyview mathematicians score in time trials

North Salmon Creek -- Mathematicians from Skyview High School excelled in the 2011 Ciphering Time Trials, a national contest administered by National Assessment & Testing.

Jacksons’ Andresen store raises most in chain to combat domestic violence

Green Meadows -- The Jacksons Food Store at Northeast Andresen Road and 85th Avenue has again assisted in the fight against domestic violence.

Resolutions in motion for Julia’s Garden stormwater woes

Brush Prairie -- Remember our September 2011 story about Julia’s Garden, the development overrun by thistle growing in the stormwater drainage facility -- and no one but an 87-year-old widow, who didn’t even live in the development, stepping up to take control?

Childhood cancer survivor raises money for toys

Northeast Hazel Dell -- Matthew Bacon was diagnosed with advanced Hodgkins’ Lymphoma at age 10. Now, he’s 13 and doing fine -- but he still recalls how donated toys from the charity Candlelighters for Children with Cancer kept a smile on his face during treatments.

Evergreen Inn residents check off 2nd item on bucket list

Esther Short -- Garrett Ruedi had never been on a boat before, so when The Evergreen Inn asked residents to make a wish list, he said he would like to go on a cruise.

Former Vancouver resident to offer lessons on civil rights in Walla Walla

Shumway -- Olivia Mitchell, a 2008 graduate of the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, is participating in Whitman Teaches the Movement -- a partner project between Whitman College in Walla Walla, Walla Walla Public Schools and the Southern Poverty Law Center.