The appointment of a new Washougal Planning Commissioner was anything but routine during a recent City Council meeting. Council member Jon Russell made a motion on Nov. 15 that the appointment of Mike Briggs be tabled. Russell said Briggs had made "disparaging remarks" toward the mayor, City Council and developers in local blogs and media.
After enduring almost a year of uncertainty, supporters of the Larch Corrections Center are welcoming the news that the minimum-security facility will remain open. The State Department of Corrections announced Friday it would close McNeil Island Corrections Center by April 1 as a result of budget cuts. The agency had originally planned to close Larch, but determined that doing so would not save enough money. The DOC said it will save $6.3 million each year by closing McNeil, a prison located on an island in south Puget Sound. It would have saved $2 million by closing Larch. The agency must reduce spending by nearly $53 million as a result of across-the-board cuts due to declining tax revenue.
The salaries of future mayors and City Council members could be the latest numbers to be reduced in Washougal. The city's Salary Commission has recommended the mayor's salary be reduced from $2,000 a month to $1,800. The recommendation for council members is a reduction from $500 a month to $450. Salary Commission Chairman Chuck Carpenter said the commission looked at data - such as budget, assessed valuation and size of staff - from Washington cities of a similar size, in order to determine salary levels in Washougal.
A local man with experience in construction and ministry is using both sets of skills in his new position. Dave Gray, of Washougal, is the faith relations coordinator for Evergreen Habitat for Humanity. "I talk to area churches and let them know about Habitat," he said. "I see if there is a way to partner with them, to empower their groups - men, women and children - to help the community."
Monty Scott, Amie Beld, and Hailey Vail huddle at one end of the circular table, hovering over the small, makeshift catapult constructed with a few pieces of wood and a plastic spoon that holds the tiny, chewy, sweet smelling gummy bear. The Lacamas Heights Elementary School fourth- and fifth-graders talk quickly, bouncing around ideas for how to launch the tiny treat so that it hits just the right spot on the target. They may not always agree, but that's what science is all about: trial and error, until the desired result is accomplished. One after another, they launch and measure. Launch and measure. On one of their first practice attempts, the spoon breaks. Back to the drawing board. The trio was among nearly 300 young scientists from schools around Clark County who gathered on Saturday morning at Clark College for the annual Elementary Science Olympiad.
A Washougal City Council vote on the 2011 budget is not expected to occur anytime before Monday, Dec. 6. That is also when a public hearing regarding the budget will be continued. Several supporters of the West Columbia Gorge Humane Society spoke out during last night's council meeting regarding the potential budget decrease from $25,000 this year to $4,000 in 2011.
Camas property owners will not see an increase in the city's tax levy rate this year. Last night the Camas City Council unanimously passed the city's 2011 general fund levy. The rate will be $3.60 per $1,000 of assessed value -- the same as 2010. Also passed were the 2011 emergency rescue fund levy and library bond levy, both of which are part of packages approved by voters in recent years to fund EMS services, and the construction and renovation of the Camas Public Library (completed in 2003), respectively.
Diana Alcomendas remembers participating in a children's TV show at the age of 5, in the Philippines. She and her sister Lea, 7, performed ballet along with other children. Alcomendas, 29, still recalls seeing the "stage mothers," who attempted to convince the youngsters to smile and perform in a particular way. Then and now, Alcomendas prefers that children be allowed to enjoy their performances. As the dance director for the Virtuosity Performing Arts Studio, she can do just that.
It's a place where old computer parts come to die. At Empower Up in Vancouver, wires, mother boards, hard disks and CPUs are stripped from their plastic containers and, along with items including monitors, and dumped into one of the receptacles that neatly line the wall of the warehouse style building -- like coffins that hold the bits and pieces of what once was. But at the home of this non-profit entity, these previously unwanted parts are not forwarded on to a landfill somewhere. Instead, they are brought back to life through the organization's re-use and recycling efforts.
It looks like City of Washougal officials will not need to use $184,680 in cash reserves in order to fund expenditures in the 2011 budget. Changes to the preliminary budget - as presented to City Council last night - include the elimination of a vacant police position. According to Assistant Finance Director RJ Stevenson, the position had been included in the 2010 budget but remained vacant. A budget for next year had included $90,000 to hire a police officer who would focus primarily on traffic enforcement.
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