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Life

April 5, 2011
Washougal High School junior Ethan Crone carefully puts the "baby" into an infant carseat during a child development class. Being a self-described "motorhead," the class is a new experience for him but he's enjoyed it for the most part.

Parenting: It’s one tough job

When Washougal High School students finish Rachel Fouts-Carrico's child development class, one thing is clear. Becoming a parent is not a responsibility to be taken lightly. The class, which Fouts-Carrico has taught for four years, gives students an overview of topics including childhood developmental stages, working in early childhood education, childbirth, costs of raising a child, teen parenting, and even offers the opportunity to take home a mechanical baby for the weekend.

April 5, 2011
Seventeen-year-old Kiersta Moore had her daughter, Makaylie, last year as a junior in high school. She said it has been a long, tough road, but rewarding as well.

Life as a teen mom

When now 17-year-old Kiersta Moore found out she was pregnant, the first emotion she felt was fear. "I had no idea how I was going to be able to take care of a baby," she said. In the way of most teens, Kiersta told her mom via a text message. "I was driving and she sent me one from the back seat," her mom, Dawn Holen said. "I pulled over and told her she had three options: Abort, adopt or keep, and I'd support her either way. She said she wanted to keep the baby and I said, 'Here we go.'"

March 29, 2011
Washougal residents Bridgette McCarthy (left) and Jessica Hatton (right) will appear in, "My Son Pinocchio," at Washburn Performing Arts Center this weekend. They participate in Metropolitan Performing Arts Academy, which is sponsoring the production. The academy offers classes in musical theater, acting, singing and dance, among other activities.

A passion for the arts

Eighteen months ago, a group of parents and educators, saddened by the lack of arts education in local schools, decided to take matters into their own hands. From this has come the Metropolitan Performing Arts Academy, a non-profit organization for Vancouver and the surrounding areas. It offers students from elementary through high school opportunities to participate in acting, singing, dance, musical theater, music and art. The academy students, who hail from Vancouver, Camas, Washougal and other outlying areas, have participated in eight different productions since last April. "My Son Pinocchio," which will show at Washburn Auditorium in Washougal, will be the ninth show.

March 22, 2011
Preschool camps allow the youngest spring breakers to use their imaginations with creative play, stories, crafts and music. There are several different opportunities for children in Camas and Washougal to enjoy their time off from school, safely and supervised.

Spring break options abound

Spring break is just around the corner, and with it, the age-old question: What to do? While it sounds wonderful to just take off for a week in some sunny locale, or squeeze in some late-season skiing, it's not the reality for many families with tight budgets. In addition, many parents have to work during break. But never fear, this doesn't mean your child has to be parked in front of the television or computer all day. There are several local activities and camps available for kids at no cost or reasonable rates, as well as movies at the Camas library.

March 15, 2011
Tiffani Pekkala of Camas was honored on March 15, 2011, by the Red Cross as a Real Hero for organizing several blood drives and recruiting student donors. Pekkala, 16, has a rare condition which requires frequent injections of immunoglobulin, a blood product.

Honoring everyday heroes

A Camas teen was one of 10 honorees from Clark and Cowlitz counties to receive a "Real Hero" award from the Red Cross last week. Tiffani Pekkala, 16, was honored for organizing blood drives and rallying fellow students at Hayes Freedom High School to join her. She and her grandmother, Bette-Jo Poser, started the annual drive in April 2009. Pekkala suffers from a very rare condition, primary immune deficiency disease, and requires daily immunoglobulin injections, a product derived from whole blood American Red Cross donors.

March 8, 2011
Susan Glavin, Debbie Oliver and Angie Cherry signed copies of their new book, "Be the Gift," at Lily Atelier in Camas last Friday as a part of the Arts and Letters First Friday event. In addition to the book, the women also sell unique gift cards and a table game, pictured above this photo.

Learning how to ‘Be the Gift’

Small acts, when multiplied by millions of people, can transform the world. That is the principle behind Be the Gift, a local company created by four women who wanted to put their mark on the world and make it better. Products include unique gift cards, a table game and book. The gift cards are reminiscent of the "chore coupons," that children typically make for Mother's Day or Father's Day, but with an adult twist. A person can buy a gift card for $9.95, and give it to someone. "Gifts" include running errands, cleaning house, a night out on the town, pampering and several others.

March 1, 2011
The "Hello, Dolly!" cast sings "Put on Your Sunday Clothes," before an outing in New York City. The musical is based on Thornton Wilder's, "The Matchmaker," and features a colorful cast.

Celebrating the joy of living

The story of the joy of living will come to Camas High School during performances of "Hello, Dolly!" set to start this Friday. This Broadway musical is based on Thorton Wilder's "The Matchmaker," and is about Mrs. Dolly Levi's efforts to marry Horace Vandergelder, a well-known and well-to-do man. Dolly wants to send his money circulating among the less fortunate, just the way her late husband, Ephraim Levi, taught her. Along the way, she also succeeds in playing matchmaker and orchestrating the lives of several of the main characters in the musical.

February 25, 2011

Who’s who

Randal Houle's flash fiction has appeared in "52/250 - A Year in Flash." Three stories also appeared in the anthologies "Thirteen" and "Twentysix." He teaches short story and novel writing at Clark College.