More than 35 candidates from local small cities file for office
A former police chief, a formal-attire company owner and a man who says he was unfairly fired from his city job are among an eclectic batch of small-city candidates looking to unseat incumbents during this year's election.
Washougal Humane Society volunteers upset by firing
Board criticized for terminating executive director
WASHOUGAL — The West Columbia Gorge Humane Society is at a crossroad.
New owners take a gamble on Oak Tree Restaurant
Main focus will be on food; cardroom will re-open later
WOODLAND — The new owners of the Oak Tree Restaurant are anteing up in an attempt to revive the once-thriving Woodland institution.
Yacolt sues state auditor, alleging defamation
Town seeks monetary damages, retraction of audit
The town of Yacolt has filed a lawsuit in Clark County Superior Court against the Washington State Auditor's Office and others, alleging town officials were defamed by a 2011 performance audit.
Clark County's small cities off to good start in 2013
First-quarter revenues up, but officials don't know if trend will last
There will be more money for Clark County's small communities, if their first-quarter projections hold steady.
County officials delay decision on fees
Testimony focuses on effect to budget
After listening to more than three hours of testimony, the Clark County Board of Commissioners Tuesday approved tabling a resolution that would extend a slate of incentives intended to spur business development, including waiving impact and traffic fees.
Local weather spotters first line of defense
Weather service says volunteers crucial to agency
A veil of clouds stretched across the sky in the far sightline last April, as Ron Baldie glanced out his Vancouver dining room window. In the distance, a swirling speck caught his eye.
Railroad school sours on Yacolt, chooses
Modoc couldn't resolve problems locally
As a new freight railroad operations training program in Vancouver prepares to start this summer, Clark County's smallest incorporated community has learned that a similar program it tried to woo a year ago has moved across the country.
Hockinson School District plans to keep music program
Disbandment fears arose as teacher's retirement nears
Following weeks of disharmony, the Hockinson School District has told parents that it has no plan to disband its K-2 music program.
Washougal mayor announces he'll run for re-election
Guard believes city will benefit from stability in office
Washougal Mayor Sean Guard wants to buck the trend.
Sex trafficking video premieres in La Center
High school students hear story of Brianna, one of their own
LA CENTER -- In a detached tone, Brianna, a fresh-faced and youthful-looking student, sketched a scene of lost innocence.
La Center sports facility levy fails
Green Mountain voters OK money for portable building
The La Center School District's capital projects levy appears to have failed, according to the unofficial returns Tuesday night.
Voters deciding school measures in Battle Ground, La Center, Green Mountain
First returns expected shortly after 8 p.m. tonight
Voters today are deciding school funding measures in the Battle Ground, La Center and Green Mountain school districts.
Camas seeks revenue in forest
Plan to harvest timber it owns near two watersheds also has safety benefits
CAMAS — Ten miles outside of Camas, nestled within two watersheds that provide the city with part of its drinking water, stands of Douglas fir trees rise to the heavens.
Ballots for school levy votes due Tuesday
Turnout expected to be around 50%; could aid B.G. effort
With time ticking away, April's special election is shaping up to have turnout that's higher than expected.
Pickets turn out for West Columbia Gorge Humane Society
Dispute continues between animal organization, neighbor
Several dozen supporters of the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society turned out this afternoon to show their displeasure at an ongoing dispute with a neighboring business.
Hockinson proposes consolidating schools
Hockinson school board members Monday will consider the possibility of combining the school district's primary and intermediate schools for the next school year.
Yacolt to sue over 2011 audit by state
Tort claim alleges report defamed the town beyond measure
YACOLT — Contending that a two-year-old accountability audit defamed the town "beyond measure," Yacolt plans to file a notice of its intent to sue the Washington State Auditor's Office in Clark County Superior Court.
Battle Ground divided over school levy
Backers say failure will devastate district, city; foes decry tax increase
BATTLE GROUND — Print shop owner Mike Harden recognizes administrators at Battle Ground Public Schools are in a difficult position.
Woodland police begin building
Groundbreaking for station a triumph after years of effort
WOODLAND -- Emotions tugged at Janice Graham as she and her family watched city officials clasp their golden-bladed groundbreaking shovels Saturday at the site where the city's new police station will take shape.
Delight on display at Tulip Festival
'The colors are beautiful' at bulb farm's annual festival and farmers market in Woodland
With more than 140 varieties of tulips in its designer garden, and the introduction of a "you pick" field where people can pluck their own bouquets, the 11th annual Woodland Tulip Festival is shaping up to be a success, said Benno Dobbe, owner of Holland America Bulb Farms.
Stonier: Tax change prompted her 'no' vote on budget
Legislator was only House Democrat to oppose the plan
The sole Democrat in the Washington House to vote against a budget that assumes $1.3 billion in new revenue said she's listening to business interests.
Police identify victim of fatal Vancouver crash
Vancouver police have identified the man killed in a three-car wreck Thursday evening at the intersection of East 33rd Street and P Street.
Donation of land alters district's levy plans
Green Mountain official says language on ballot is no longer accurate
A recent donation of land to the Green Mountain School District has moved a planned, levy-funded expansion of the district's campus forward — even if that's not included in the levy proposition's language.
Washougal council votes to oppose CRC
Resolution calls project too costly, call for more cost-effective option
WASHOUGAL — In a move intended to stake a position on the Columbia River Crossing, the Washougal City Council approved a resolution Monday opposing it.
Auditor's office faults Ridgefield district
The Ridgefield School District did not comply with federal grant requirements for free and reduced breakfast and lunch programs, according to the Washington State Auditor’s Office.
Dispute over noise goes to the videotape in Washougal
Construction firm, Humane Society filming one another
WASHOUGAL — Double-up those leashes. A dogfight in a Washougal industrial park has reached the breaking point.
Contractors join La Center schools' levy push
After first effort fell just shy, firms volunteer equipment, workers
On April 23, the La Center School District will try to accomplish something it's never successfully done before — pass a levy to upgrade its inadequate sports fields, adding lights, covered bleachers and scoreboards.
Hockinson school district might hush the music
Fewer students, dwindling funding may affect school program
In the coming weeks, the Hockinson School District will face the music.
EMS district worried about losing Vancouver
Fire department seeks better response times, flexibility; CCF&R chief fears rural areas will pay more
Vancouver's plan to sever ties with a medical services district worries Dennis Mason, chief of Clark County Fire & Rescue, who says the move could cost the county's rural communities.
Phone outage reported in La Center, Woodland
Clark Regional Emergency Services is reporting that there's a land line telephone outage in La Center and Woodland, as well as the surrounding areas of Clark and Cowlitz counties.
Local service clubs forced to scale back efforts
Economy, dip in membership take their toll
RIDGEFIELD — In a storage room at the Clark County Fairgrounds, George Espinosa surveys the haphazardly jumbled collection of household sundries, then grumbles: "Meager, meager, meager."
La Center plans a larger City Hall
Former bank building to be renovated, current site to house public works
La Center City Hall is a matchbox of a municipal building, too compact to comfortably accommodate city business, officials say.
Authorities arrest suspects in porta-potty arsons
Police arrested two suspects in a series of arsons that destroyed five portable toilets in Camas.
Washougal will revisit CRC opinion later
Critical resolution tabled for two weeks
WASHOUGAL — The Washougal City Council will take another two weeks to mull a resolution opposing the Columbia River Crossing.
Ex-Woodland fire chief, wife found guilty of theft
A jury Monday found a former Woodland fire chief and his wife guilty of bilking a vulnerable acquaintance out of nearly $24,000 in a scam that involved a supposedly ill cat and a stymied run for city council.
Cities tighten legislative push
With five weeks left in the session, focus is on priorities
As lawmakers march toward the end of the legislative session, Clark County's cities have stepped up efforts to voice their priorities at the Capitol.
Mother, son escape Maplewood neighborhood fire
Vancouver firefighters investigate blaze
A mother and her son escaped a fire that destroyed a one-story duplex in Vancouver's Maplewood neighborhood after 11 a.m. this morning, prompting several 911 calls and a full response by the fire department.
Former Washougal police officer convicted
Ritchie guilty of assaulting mentally ill man
A Clark County District Court judge today convicted and sentenced a former Washougal police officer for attacking a mentally ill man restrained in the backseat of a police cruiser.
Battle Ground nixes stance on CRC
City council remains neutral on bridge project
BATTLE GROUND — The Battle Ground City Council’s official stance on the Columbia River Crossing is an anticlimactic one: It will take no position at all.
Work on Ridgefield park ready to go
Development to help link downtown with wildlife refuge should be done midsummer
If the timing works out, Ridgefield's long-awaited Overlook Park will be open just in time for the city's Fourth of July festivities.
Battling addiction a matter of faith
Two Clark County churches pool resources to provide drug addicts, loved ones aid, comfort
BRUSH PRAIRIE -- For every life heroin claims, it irreversibly affects multitudes more.
Japanese language class returns to Washougal High School after program was cut
WASHOUGAL -- Conjugating verbs is one of those dreaded routines one's forced to do in any foreign language class. But memorizing kanji -- Japanese script, with its complicated iconography -- takes the level of difficulty to head-scratching heights.
Crews begin demolishing Crestline Elementary site (with video)
3-alarm fire destroyed school in February
Demolition of Crestline Elementary began Friday, signaling a new phase for the school, destroyed February in a three-alarm fire.
Former La Center police chief to run for council
LA CENTER — La Center's former police chief says he plans to run for City Council.
Smoke leads to suspect at shuttered restaurant
Smoke seeping out of a shuttered Mexican restaurant on Northeast Fourth Plain Boulevard led authorities to a suspected metal and wiring thief.
Skaters: Battle boredom with boards
Teenage trio, insisting it would give youth something to do, help get skate park built in Yacolt
YACOLT — Clark County's newest skate park developed with the help of three teenagers who took their passion for ollies, powerslides and other skateboarding tricks to the highest level of power — all the way to the Yacolt Town Council.
New road to Camas promises new workplaces
Land zoned for commercial development lies between business clusters
CAMAS — With earth movers growling at the far end of a field, Camas Mayor Scott Higgins pointed to the heavy machinery and said their work represents progress for his city.
'Tag team'-ing vandalism in Rose Village
Armed with soap, scrubbers and power washers, a group of residents takes to the streets once a month to clean up graffiti in hopes of discouraging future tagging of buildings, signs
Walls and signs in Vancouver's Rose Village neighborhood look like they harbor alien hieroglyphics. But far from being extraterrestrial in origin, the mishmash of symbols is the work of vandals. Armed with Sharpies, spray-paint cans and their own unique language, they strike at night.
Cities allow residents to air views on CRC
Despite having little say in how the Columbia River Crossing takes shape, three of Clark County's small cities are looking to their residents for guidance on the project.
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