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Were you busy this week? Catch up on some big stories.
A former freeholder who is leading the charge to torpedo changes to the Clark County charter is the choice to fill a new position within county government.
Commissioners have made a job offer to Peter Silliman, a one-time Republican House candidate for the 18th District, to the newly created position, referred to as a research analyst/policy assistant in an April 9 job description.
County officials have said little about the decision, which followed a series of closed-door interviews with job finalists last week. The county has extended Silliman an offer sheet outlining pay scale and benefits, but as of now the job offer remains verbal, and those details are not available. Silliman is an engineer for CenturyLink, where he’s given two weeks’ notice, he said.
As a freeholder, Silliman represented one of three votes that opposed the creation of a new charter, which will be placed on the November ballot for voter approval. The charter would significantly change county governance, stripping commissioners of some powers and cutting their pay in half.
Read the full story here.
About the only consistent thing throughout the first week of marijuana sales in Vancouver was that nothing remained consistent.
Main Street Marijuana, 2314 Main St., and New Vansterdam, 6515 E. Mill Plain Blvd., were both overwhelmed by the amount of customers wanting to purchase marijuana legally in Washington.
Main Street Marijuana temporarily sold out on July 11 after opening with a street fair and ribbon cutting on July 9. New Vansterdam completely sold out of product on Sunday night after a calmer opening on July 11.
“We never had one down second,” said Brian Budz of New Vansterdam. “From the minute we opened the door, it was nonstop. It was just beyond our expectations.”
Main Street Marijuana also had a hard time keeping product in stock, selling about 8.5 pounds of product rationed to customers over three days, said Ramsey Hamide, a manager. He declined to share revenue figures.
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After getting his leg trapped underneath a rock in a waterfall and becoming stuck in 60-degree water for more than an hour, Johnny Napierkowski said he’s learned to be more cautious while swimming.
“I thought it was safe, and it wasn’t,” he said. “It was a hard lesson learned, but it’s learned.”
Escaping the heat with four friends and his little brother, Napierkowski went swimming at Dougan Falls along the Washougal River on Monday evening. They reached the popular swimming spot about 7 p.m., when temperatures hovered in the mid 80s.
The 19-year-old from Washougal saw one of his friends slide down the rocks of the area’s lower waterfall. It looked fun, so Napierkowski went after him.
“Right when I went down it, I turned, and my right leg got stuck between a rock and the pressure of the water,” he said.
Napierkowski was dealing with hundreds, possibly thousands of pounds of water pressure trying to basically fold him in half, said Firefighter Bill Dunlap. He coordinates Fire District 6 firefighters who are part of the county’s technical rescue team, and helped with Monday’s rescue.
Standing 6 feet, 7 inches tall, Napierkowski was able to keep his head above water. He used his left leg to prop himself up and grabbed onto nearby rocks to fight the river’s strong current.
Read the full story here.
A plan for a Wal-Mart Supercenter in Orchards is moving ahead, according to a scaled-back development agreement with the city of Vancouver.
Wal-Mart plans to build a 155,000-square-foot supercenter as part of a mixed-use development on the south side of Northeast Fourth Plain Boulevard, east of Northeast 143rd Avenue. Initial plans described as a 203,810-square-foot store. In addition to the usual variety of merchandise, the store will include groceries and feature a bakery, deli and drive-thru pharmacy.
“We’re excited to be moving forward on this store that will bring affordable shopping opportunities, a fuel station and approximately 300 jobs to the Orchards area. This new store will provide local residents the opportunity to find the things that they need at our everyday low prices,” Wal-Mart spokesperson Delia Garcia said Wednesday.
The mixed-use development, originally known as Eastgate Plaza, was annexed into the city in 2003. A Wal-Mart “coming soon” sign was placed on the property in 2006. But the project stalled through the recession.
In the meantime, approximately 18 acres of the original 218-acre site were sold to the U.S. Army in 2009 for a reserve training center.
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On any given day, K-9 Ranger patrols the city of Washougal with his police handler, Officer Kyle Day. While intimidating to fleeing suspects whom he has to chase, Ranger often has the opposite effect on other people during routine calls.
“I think a lot of the time, he breaks down that barrier,” Day said. “People may have dogs, and you automatically have that connection. It’s a good way to get through a police officer showing up.”
The 3-year-old Dutch shepherd joined the Washougal Police Department in November after graduating among the top in his class, said Mark Watson, a board member with nonprofit Dog Owners Group for Park Access in Washington (DOGPAW). Ranger succeeded Dingo, a narcotics K-9 who retired in October after serving the city for seven years.
Without the support of the Washougal-Camas community, Dingo’s retirement would have marked the end of the police department’s K-9 unit. The city didn’t have the $15,000 it costs to purchase and train a replacement.
When Watson heard about the department’s predicament last year, he thought perhaps DOGPAW — an all-volunteer nonprofit serving Clark County — could help.
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Washougal opens pickleball courts
Dozens showed up to Washougal’s Hathaway Park on Monday morning to break in the city’s newest attraction: six pickleball courts that officials hope will draw visitors from throughout the region.
If you’re unfamiliar with pickleball, you can be forgiven for assuming it has something to do with pickles. The net-based sport is similar to tennis, but it’s played with a paddle and a whiffle ball on a smaller court, and pickleball enthusiasts are quick to tell you it’s actually one of the fastest-growing sports in the nation.
Last year, the Washougal City Council decided to use leftover funding in the city’s budget to redevelop the park’s dilapidated tennis courts into pickleball courts. The idea came to the city from Mike Wolfe, 68, the president of the Columbia River Pickleball Club.
“We just wanted to do something with the park that would be useful for the whole community,” said Wolfe, who’s been an avid pickleball player for the past five years. “When I started playing, there were limited places to play.”
When Wolfe brought the proposal to the city, some officials needed to search “pickleball” on the Internet to find out what it was. Nonetheless, his pitch soon found support as the councilors saw it as an opportunity to welcome more visitors to the city.
Read the full story here.
