Cheers: To Kara Winger. The four-time Olympian was presented this week with the key to the city of Vancouver. It is a fitting tribute to a Skyview High School graduate who has spent more than a decade representing Clark County — and the nation — on a global stage.
Winger is the former American record holder in women’s javelin and an eight-time national champion, but the highlight of her career came this summer at the Tokyo Olympics. There, she was selected by teammates to carry the American flag at the Closing Ceremonies. “I’ll never top it in my life, and that’s completely OK with me,” she said during a ceremony at City Hall. “It was a really cool culmination of everything I’ve ever experienced at the Olympics.” Winger attended Purdue University in Indiana and now lives in Colorado, but Vancouver will always claim her as one of its own.
Jeers: To Vancouver police. Recent reports indicate the Vancouver Police Department had spent weeks tracking a Vancouver man before he was shot to death in a confrontation with Clark County sheriff’s deputies.
The issue is not that police were following Kfin Karuo or that he was fatally shot; we will wait until all the facts are in before rendering judgment. The problem is that Vancouver police are leading the investigation into the shooting. Different officers are conducting the investigation, but if the Vancouver Police Department already was involved, the need for transparency dictates that it not be involved in the investigation. Questions have been raised about the use of force by law enforcement, and the department’s role in the investigation further undermines the public’s confidence.
Cheers: To Clark County Council. Council members have adopted the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy and Resiliency program, which could provide financial assistance for making buildings more energy efficient. Clark County is the third in the state to adopt the program, which is designed to facilitate compliance with the state’s Clean Buildings law.
Improving the energy efficiency of buildings is crucial to reducing carbon emissions and confronting climate change. Council members are wise to take an active approach in helping developers meet the challenges of our times.
Jeers: To Lego thieves. Seattle police say they have disassembled a Lego trafficking operation brick by brick — pun intended. A store owner has been arrested and police have seized more than 170 Lego sets believed to have been stolen from another store.
This follows the May arrest of a man accused of stealing more than $7,000 worth of Legos in the Portland area, and it follows other reports of thefts throughout the United States and Europe. There’s no telling if the thieves are planning a block party (sorry).
Cheers: To winter hospitality. With November arriving on Monday, the region’s Winter Hospitality Overflow program is gearing up. WHO operates two emergency overnight shelters for homeless people from November through March — at St. Andrew in east Vancouver and St. Paul Lutheran Church downtown. Guests are pre-screened through the Council for the Homeless Housing Hotline, 360-695-9677, and the shelters are staffed by volunteers from multiple community organizations. An additional shelter is available if the others are at capacity.
Ideally, our community will devise solutions that render the shelters unnecessary. But for now, the effort is needed for people who otherwise would have no way to escape winter’s harsh weather.
