City of Camas crews will be completing chip seal repairs on local roadways this week, causing street closures. Division Street from Northwest Sixth Avenue to Northwest 12th Avenue will be closed from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday and Friday.
The official opening of the Washougal pedestrian tunnel will occur Saturday, along with several other activities and events. A ribbon cutting is planned for 11 a.m., at the tunnel, located next to the Pendleton Woolen Mills parking lot, at Two Pendleton Way.
Construction began this month on a project that will improve safety for bicyclists traveling along portions of upper Lake Road. The new one-half mile bike lane will complete the only missing 1,100-foot section of the westbound bicycle lane on Northwest Lake Road, from state Route 500 to Southeast 192nd Avenue. Improvements include widening the road on a hillside, installing storm catch basins, storm mains and laterals, manholes, and street resurfacing. Nine LED illumination street lamps will also be installed. "It's really going to improve safety going up that road for bicyclists," said City Engineer Jim Hodges. "That is the main thrust of the project, and the intent."
It was a demonstration of true Panther Pride. Reunion organizers for the Washougal High School class of 1960 wanted to do something special to mark its 50-year milestone. They began with the idea of collecting a couple thousand dollars for student scholarships at the high school. From there, reunion organizers including Ethel Boggs and Janet Smith were put into contact with representatives from the Washougal Schools Foundation, which provides grants for teachers throughout the district. "It was exactly what we were looking for," said Boggs, who still lives in Washougal and has three grown children who are also WHS graduates. Alum Louis Munch, a retired teacher now living in Port Townsend, Wash., hopped on board to lead the charge with great enthusiasm.
The Washougal City Council could decide to sell a camera lens on eBay.
A local woman who works while attending college was among the individuals who saw at least part of the Washington State Democratic Convention. The statewide gathering, which attracted more than 1,000 people including 740 delegates, was held Friday in the Vancouver Convention Center and Saturday in the Clark County Events Center, in Ridgefield. Jeanne Evans, of Washougal, volunteered on the hospitality committee. That meant she served as a hostess and part of the cleanup crew in a hospitality suite.
As soon as she saw Scarlett O'Hara reach out and grab the emerald green velvet drapes from the parlor window, and have them transformed into a stunning gown with gold trim, Kerianne Christie was hooked. "That opened up the whole world for me," she said of the classic scene from "Gone with the Wind." "Ever since then, if it's fabric, it's fair game." That initial spark of interest traveled a winding path that ended up on display last weekend at the Recycled Arts Festival in Vancouver. Christie, a Washougal resident, is the owner of Titania Blossoms, an online "upcycled" clothing business. She offers an array of stylish dresses, shirts, skirts and pouches -- all made by hand from materials that range from second-hand pillowcases and fabric samples to old shower curtains, drapes and tablecloths. Material from several different sources is often combined to create one "new" clothing item.
The Washougal Farmers Market will be held every Saturday, through Sept. 25, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., in Reflection Plaza, at the 1700 block of Main Street, in downtown Washougal.
Beginning Thursday, Camas police officers will institute a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to ticketing drivers they see violating the new state cell phone and texting laws. On March 26, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed Washington Senate Bill 6345, which makes text messaging and cell phone use without a hands-free device while driving a primary offense. The law takes effect on Thursday. Violators will receive a $124 fine. "Come the 10th, we're not going to cut any slack, basically," said Camas Sgt. Doug Norcross. "It's not something drivers need time to get used to. If you do it, you're going to get a ticket." Another stipulation of the new law states that individuals with an instruction permit or intermediate license (typically drivers ages 16 to 18) may not use a cell phone anytime while driving, even if they have a hands-free device. Washington has had a ban on text messaging while driving and a law against talking on a cell phone while driving without a hands-free device since January 2008, but up until now both were considered a "secondary enforcement law." This means that a driver would only receive a ticket unless he or she had been pulled over for another driving violation.
The Clark County Medical Examiner's Office reported Monday that the recent death of a Camas teen was caused by accidental drowning. The body of David William Charles Gilmore was pulled from the waters of Lacamas Creek in Camas on Monday, May 31, after being discovered by two people who were hiking in Lacamas Park. Due to rough water and steep terrain, the challenging recovery operation took more than six hours. Participating agencies included the Camas Fire Department, Vancouver Fire Department and Clark County Fire District 6.
