The Morning Press: Columbia River Treaty, Christmas tree visit

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This weekend’s top stories and news you may have missed:

Columbia River Treaty: Review of landmark deal could have big implications for county

When a major flood swelled the Columbia River and inundated parts of Vancouver in early 1996, it wasn’t just local barriers and sandbags that kept a bad situation from becoming worse.

It was also Canada.

Hundreds of miles upstream in British Columbia, Hugh Keenleyside Dam held back additional water before it could make its way down through Washington and Oregon. Canadian managers had been put on notice by their U.S. counterparts that they needed help; the two countries worked together to contain one of biggest Northwest flooding events of the last century.

Keenleyside is one of three Canadian dams, along with a fourth in northwest Montana, that were built as a result of the Columbia River Treaty — a sweeping agreement finalized in the 1960s to manage flood control and hydroelectric power generation on the river.

Read the full story here.

Parade salutes Veterans Day

George Spencer, 71, and his wife, Sharon, stood along Officers Row watching the 27th annual Veterans Parade at Fort Vancouver presented by the Lough Legacy on Saturday.

As recent arrivals in Clark County, it was the Spencers’ first time to view the parade. They were treated to dry weather and a display of more than 2,500 individuals — including veterans, Gold Star families, scout troops, Buffalo Soldiers and marching bands — at the Fort Vancouver National Site.

“I see so many young faces here,” said George Spencer, who served two tours in Vietnam and traveled the world during a 22-year stint in the Marine Corps. “That makes everything I did worthwhile.”

Read the full story here.

C-Tran eyes its piggy bank for BRT

C-Tran expects to burn two-thirds of its uncommitted capital reserves to build a bus rapid transit system in Vancouver, according to documents recently submitted to the Federal Transit Administration.

The agency must come up with about $6 million out of its own pocket to pay for the $53 million project. With the finance plan submitted to FTA, C-Tran leaders have answered how they plan to do that.

They haven’t, however, gotten the approval of the C-Tran Board of Directors — a required step before the planned system can receive federal money.

The C-Tran board endorsed the overall bus rapid transit concept in the form of a locally preferred alternative in 2012. The board has continued to advance the project this year, even as some board members have expressed reluctance or outright opposition amid lingering questions.

Read the full story here.

Former agent opens up about the day JFK died

Clint Hill had planned to become a high school history teacher.

He’s now giving history lessons that can only be told by a Secret Service agent who was with President John F. Kennedy 50 years ago.

On Nov. 22, 1963, Hill was in the car right behind the Kennedys’ convertible as the presidential motorcade drove past the Texas School Book Depository.

What happened in the next few seconds changed America, Hill said.

It certainly changed the life of the Secret Service agent, who was photographed climbing aboard the presidential car after the first shot rang out, and then using his body to shield the Kennedys.

For years, Hill tried to bury his memories.

“I hadn’t described it with friends, family or fellow agents,” Hill said.

On Friday, Hill shared some of those memories with a crowd at the Hilton Vancouver Washington. The “Symbol of Freedom” event was a fundraising lunch for CDM Long-Term Care Services, a local nonprofit.

Read the full story here.