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Life

October 5, 2010
The Riverside Adventist Christian School is celebrating 20 years of the Apple Festival this Sunday. The popular community event includes a sweets booth, apple pies, dumplings, games, activities and of course, apples. Pictured, left to right, are Dixie Knoll, Emily Turcic, Ben Stephenson, Anthony Ferzacca and Austin Lauser.

Celebrating 20 years of apples

Every second Sunday in October, Riverside Adventist Christian School is transformed into a paradise of all things apple: There are boxes and boxes of Hood River apples, apple pies and apple dumplings. In addition, there is a "sweets" booth, activities, a big slide, games, a country store, rummage sale and vendor booths. It is a big fund raiser for the school, and provides items such as overhead projectors, computers and basic supplies.

October 5, 2010

Organizers share Apple Festival recipes

For the first time, the Apple Festival will feature a cookbook for sale, which features 299 pages of recipes and different ways to use apples in everyday living. Below are a few of the recipes. The cookbook will be on sale at the festival for $15.

September 28, 2010
Olga Mikhalets, owner of Svitoch European Bakery, helps young customers Wednesday at the Camas Farmer's Market select a pastry. The sweet offerings are very popular at the market, which runs through this Wednesday.

Fresh and local

For nine years in Washougal and three in Camas, local residents have been able to enjoy a variety of farm fresh produce, treats, music and handcrafted items at the local farmers' markets. With the markets wrapping up yet another season, the Post-Record is going to feature some highlights from each. Washougal's last day was Saturday, Sept. 25, while the final day for the Camas Farmer's Market is Wednesday.

September 21, 2010
Psychic Seth Michael McKay visits with Washougal resident Alison Meyer at The Wild Hair salon in Camas last week. Meyer came in wanting to know more about a close friend who had recently passed away.

Using his intuition

When most people hear the word "psychic," they picture a palm-reading, tarot card-holding shadowy figure. But Seth Michael McKay, who prefers the term "spiritual advisor," said that image isn't reality for him. "This is a wonderful gift to have," he said. "I don't even like to charge people for what I do, but my guides have helped me realize that I also need to be able to eat and sleep in order to be functional."

September 14, 2010
Chandler Audette enjoyed her internship at Dolphin Encounters in the Bahamas and hopes to return as a trainer someday before heading out on another life adventure.

Encounters with dolphins

When most of us remember internships, we picture days spent doing someone's "busy work," usually in an indoor environment. But that's all changed in the past several years. Recently, the Post-Record profiled several Camas students who spent the summer in internships ranging from new inventions to architecture.

September 7, 2010
Shannon Nickelsen has dedicated countless hours during the past six months to revitalizing the Fern Prairie Grange. "It's a place for Americans to gather together and unite," she said.

Saving the Grange

Shannon Nickelsen has fond memories of visiting the local grange as a young child. Her grandmother, Orale Reude, was the junior grange leader in the Cape Horn area, just outside Washougal. "It was a part of our life," she said. "We used to put on flag ceremonies and candlelight ceremonies. On Sundays, we would have ham dinners at the grange. Grandma taught us how to set and wait tables, and we would get tips. It was so rewarding."

August 31, 2010
Carolyn Foster conducts a scientific research project at CID Bio-Science, Inc., in Camas. She was one of several students who interned at area businesses as a part of the CHS math, science and technology magnet program.

Partnering for success

While many of their peers spent a carefree summer before the start of senior year, several Camas High School students were getting a taste of the "real world." The students, from the CHS math, science and technology magnet program, worked at internships ranging from studying on-site wind energy production, to unraveling the mysteries of Parkinson's Disease to helping design a new Camas elementary school. The internship program was coordinated by teacher Ron Wright. He made contacts with several area businesses and helped students find the best fit. The students took it from there, and worked with the individual businesses all summer.

August 24, 2010
Eleven students and three chaperones from Skyridge and Liberty middle schools recently returned from a trip to Poland. Pictured here are (back row, left to right), Zach Pfeifer, Elijah Wolfe and Liam Bradley. In the front row are (left to right) Liberty principal Marilyn Boerke, Danielle Przedwojewski, Rachel Rakoski, Lacy Harness, Emily Brusseau and Juli Bradley. Not pictured are Marcus Roberts, Bennett Lehner, Ella Dewars and Calla Mavros, and chaperone Carolee Dewars.

Broadening their horizons

It's difficult for anyone to be "out of their element," in a new culture with new customs, language and food. But try being only 12 or 13 and doing it. However, it's just what several local middle school students experienced this summer when they spent 14 days in Poland as a part of an exchange program with the city of Zabierzow. For years, Camas High School has sent students to Poland for an English language camp, but it's the first time a group of middle schoolers has gone. The trip came about after Camas Superintendent Mike Nerland recommended to Liberty Middle School Principal Marilyn Boerke that she set up a partnership with Zabierzow.

August 17, 2010
Geert Aerts checks the HVAC equipment at Washougal High School. He is helping the school district with an energy conservation project that includes retro-commissioning the heating and cooling systems.

Construction, energy savings projects abound

While students and parents may just now be thinking about school, both local districts have been busy this summer with a variety of projects. In Camas, construction on the Doc Harris Stadium, Camas High School and Dorothy Fox additions, as well as the completion of Hayes Freedom High School have been on the forefront. In Washougal, a variety of energy efficiency improvements, including retro-commissioning the heating and cooling systems at the high school, installing programmable thermostats in portable classrooms, and programming and monitoring heating/cooling control software so that unused spaces are not heated or air-conditioned unnecessarily.

August 10, 2010
Greg Laird poses in Key West, Fla., the starting point to the Hoka Key Challenge. The 9,000 mile race, in extreme conditions, took 12 days for him to complete.

Pushing the limits

There is a quote that comes to mind when thinking about people who do any kind of extreme racing activity. "Even in the most crowded races, the point is reached when fatigue drives us back into ourselves, into those secluded parts of our souls that we discover only under times of such duress and from which we emerge with a clearer perspective of the people we truly are." Camas resident Greg Laird understands this quote all too well after finishing the Hoka Key Challenge, a 9,000 mile trek with people described as "some of the world's most fearless riders."