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February 5, 2013
Candace Miller, program director at Virtuosity Performing Arts Studio, in Camas, teaches young dancers. The petite performance team class includes tap and jazz instruction. "The most important thing is to have fun," Miller said.

Candace Miller enjoys directing programs at Virtuosity Performing Arts Studio

A local dance instructor is following in her mother's footsteps. Candace Miller, program director for Virtuosity Performing Arts Studio, in Camas, teaches preschool ballet, tap and creative movement, as well as elementary classical ballet, tap and jazz and adult tap. Her mother, Carol Opyt, owned Miss Carol's Studio of Dance, in Dyer, Ind. Miller, 46, has been dancing since she was 2. She grew up dancing in her mother's studio. For more information, call 834-7424, email [email protected] or visit www.vegagym.com.

February 5, 2013

Financial deficits are forecast for Washougal

The City of Washougal is expected to face economic challenges, based on recent projections. During the City Council's annual planning conference Jan. 25 and 26, Finance Director Jennifer Forsberg and City Administrator David Scott talked about the long term financial status of the city's general fund. With the city's requirement that the annual budget include a minimum reserve equal to 16 percent of one year's operating expenses, options to make sure the general fund is balanced include slowing the rate of the growth of expenditures and/or increasing the rate of growth of revenues.

February 5, 2013
Through its Jones Creek and Boulder Creek watershed management plan, the city of Camas has designated approximately 1,142 acres for timber harvesting during the next 50 years. The area had been broken down into 39 units, the first of which will be logged this year.

City of Camas prepares for its first timber harvest

As early as this summer, the city of Camas could be embarking on its first of many forest harvesting efforts. It is one element of a management plan that has been developed for the city's expansive watershed. Located 10 miles northeast of Camas, near the southwest corner of the Gifford Pinchot National Forest, the Jones Creek and Boulder Creek watershed consists of nearly 1,700 acres of mature forest land, of which approximately 1,300 acres has been identified as suitable for harvesting, The property, originally purchased by the city between 1923 and 1950, is currently used to collect water for municipal purposes via intake facilities on Boulder Creek and Jones Creek.

February 5, 2013

Bi-Mart building, surrounding land is purchased

A limited liability corporation, East Village Investors, has purchased 15.97 acres of land in Washougal for $7.08 million. The sale, from DM Stevenson Ranch to East Village, includes the building occupied by Bi-Mart, at 3003 Addy St. and some of the surrounding land. Greg Goforth, a commercial real estate broker with Coldwell Banker Commercial, Jenkins & Associates, represented the seller in the transaction. In documents filed with the Secretary of State's Office, Lone Wolf Investment LLC is listed as the governing member of East Village Investors LLC.

January 29, 2013

Parent won’t face charges after Facebook post

When an angry fan vented his frustration on Facebook during a high school basketball game, the perceived threat he made caused several Camas students and parents to fear for their lives. With just a keypad, a dangerous choice of words and the press of a button, 39-year-old Jeffery Berni of Vancouver set off a fire storm. His statement, "Camas fans! Worst in the league! I hope somebody shoots up their school really soon," still smolders a week after it was posted.

January 29, 2013
Champion fingerstyle guitarist and former Washougal resident John Standefer has been playing guitar for nearly 50 years. He and fellow musician Brooks Robertson recently formed a duo, referring to themselves as "Brooks & John."

Synergy between generations

In age they are separated by nearly 40 years, but nationally renowned fingerstyle guitarists John Standefer and Brooks Robertson call themselves "two peas in a pod." "There is a synergy there," Standefer said. Both had been annually attending and performing at the Chet Atkins Appreciation Society Conference in Nashville for years, but they never spoke much until this past summer. Realizing they only lived minutes apart, Standefer in Orchards and Robertson in Portland, they vowed to get together after returning home.

January 29, 2013

Nerland, Tarzian discuss ‘state of the schools’

The mission of local school districts is "success for all," whether it is students, staff or administrators. That was the message of the annual State of the Schools address at the Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Thursday. Camas Superintendent Mike Nerland and Washougal Superintendent Dawn Tarzian spoke about their respective districts after some good-natured ribbing.

January 29, 2013
Karen Ferguson works on a jacket in her sewing room, at her Fern Prairie home. Ferguson, a seamstress, provides alterations and custom tailoring and sewing services. She also makes cushions, curtains and pillows. "People bring projects to me," Ferguson said. Her clients include local businesses and churches.

Fern Prairie woman enjoys career as a seamstress

Karen Ferguson remembers learning to sew from her mother and grandmother. At age 5, she sewed by hand. Two years later, Ferguson was using a non-electric sewing machine. "I took to it, like a duck to water," she said. Now 70, Ferguson works on a variety of projects from her home in Fern Prairie. Her two-car garage has become a sewing room, with a cutting table. Patterns fill file cabinets. Ferguson designed the rack that holds thread, and she built shelves to hold fabric with materials from Washougal Lumber Co. She provides alterations, hemming, resizing and zipper repair.

January 28, 2013

CPD achieves state accreditation

For the fourth time since 2001, the Camas Police Department has been recommended for accreditation by the Washington Association of Sheriffs & Police Chiefs.

January 28, 2013
David Albright, of Washougal, will be presented with the Bronze Star Medal With Valor during a ceremony on Wednesday. He earned the recognition as a result of heroism demonstrated during a combat mission in Afghanistan in June 2012.

A hero among us

A Washougal man who said he initially joined the Air Force to simply "have something to do right out of high school," 10 years later is being honored for his acts of heroism during combat.