It’s starting to feel like fall. What will this week’s weather bring? Check our local weather coverage.
In case you missed them, here are some of the top stories from the weekend:
In a meeting book-ended by cheering, more than 1,000 Evergreen Public Schools teachers voted overwhelmingly to approve a contract that includes double-digit salary increases.
Teachers on Sunday ratified a two-year collective bargaining agreement by a vote of 1,455 to 4 — 99.5 percent approval (three cast blank ballots). Teachers will on average see raises of 11.5 percent, with salaries for new teachers starting at $51,619 and pay for the most experienced teachers with advanced degrees topping out at $98,279. The second year, that will increase to $53,474 to $100,618.
The tentative agreement came after a bargaining session that started at about 10:30 a.m. Saturday and lasted until 2:57 a.m. Sunday.
“It’s a life-changing amount of money,” Evergreen Education Association President Bill Beville said following the afternoon vote at Evergreen High School. The agreement, according to both the union and district, keeps Evergreen teachers the highest paid in Clark County.
Clark County’s largest district, which covers much of suburban east Vancouver and has about 26,000 students, will be back in session today. The vote ends a week-and-a-half of striking in the district.
More: Striking teachers, supporters rally in show of solidarity
RIDGEFIELD – The Ridgefield Raptors have taken flight.
Southwest Washington’s newest sports team was unveiled Saturday as part of a larger community event at the Ridgefield Outdoor Recreation Complex.
That’s where the Raptors will begin playing next summer as part of the West Coast League, a collegiate wood bat baseball league.
The WCL, which now has 12 teams in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, announced in June it would expand to Ridgefield.
Last month, team officials launched a “name the team” contest on its website. General Manager Gus Farah said more than 500 ideas were submitted.
Many related to two of Ridgefield’s most popular features, the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge and the high school’s unique mascot, the Spudders.
An 18-year-old woman accused of shoving her 16-year-old friend off the Moulton Falls bridge in August was arraigned on a criminal charge of reckless endangerment this morning in Clark County District Court.
Tay’Lor Smith entered a not-guilty plea to the charge, a gross misdemeanor, which carries a maximum penalty of up to a year in jail and/or a $5,000 fine. The information listing the charge says she engaged “in conduct which did create a substantial risk of death or serious physical injury to another person.”
Smith is accused of pushing Jordan Holgerson of Kalama off the bridge at Moulton Falls Regional Park after the girl planned to voluntarily jump off but hesitated.
Holgerson was standing on the edge of the bridge when she was pushed and fell more than 50 feet into the East Fork of the Lewis River. She belly-flopped into the water and broke as many as six ribs and punctured both of her lungs in the fall.
PORTLAND — Twin brothers Kyle and Derek Sullivan grew up in a dark, mysterious forest rich with magical beings. You probably haven’t heard of this place, but here’s a clue for the curious: It’s quite close to that sprawling suburban neighborhood just north of the city of Vancouver — you know, the one bisected by Interstate 5 and Highway 99.
Hazy Dell is the mythical overlay where the Sullivan brothers, who attended Hazel Dell Elementary and Jason Lee Middle School, still go hunting for magic and meaning. They’ve had plenty of success capturing those mysterious targets and hauling them into the light of day — in a series of board books for children, where weird creatures stand revealed as not all that scary. In fact, the stars of the Hazy Dell Monster Series are cuddly and comedic. They’re the strange beings that children, and all of us, can relate to sometimes.
Bert would like your attention. He’d also like it if you picked him up and carried him from room to room, maybe offered him a snack or two.
It’s worth mentioning that Bert is a puppy, one of 20 or so currently available at the new Mostly Mutts Animal Rescue in Camas.
The rescue is the brainchild of Bert’s human caretaker, Amy Reed, who’s spent the last 25 years operating a dog shelter out of her home. Reed has teamed up with her mother, Linda Strobeck, to expand the shelter and construct a new on-site building.
