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September 7, 2010
The $1.8 million renovation of Bethea Park Estates, renamed Gateway Garden Apartments, in Washougal, is among the "Top Projects," named by the Vancouver Business Journal. Other honored local developments include Hayes Freedom High School, Doc Harris stadium, Immelman Hangars at Grove Field, phase one of Northwest Leadbetter Drive improvements, 192nd Avenue Plaza and the addition and remodel of Dorothy Fox Elementary School.

Capturing shooting stars

While last-minute filers were submitting tax returns online or at the post office, William Lee of Camas, was taking photos in tulip fields in Woodburn, Ore. One of the results of his April 15 late evening photo session has led to recognition in the Energizer Ultimate Photo Contest with National Geographic magazine. Lee's photograph of star trails above the fields at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm is one of two finalists in the travel category. Overall, there are 12 finalists in categories such as animals/wildlife, nature, people/cultures, weather and action/energy.

August 31, 2010
Don Barron (right), owner of Lacamas Canoe & Kayak, helps lead an excursion on Lacamas Lake on Monday. Barron opened the rental, class and excursion facility at Heritage Park in Camas in June 2009. He also owns RiverTrails in Troutdale, Ore.

‘A great paddle’

When viewed from its shoreline, Lacamas Lake is a beautiful site. But it is only while sitting in the snug confines of a kayak as it glides swiftly across the water that one can truly see this local treasure come to life. For beginners and those who aren't lucky enough to own their own watercraft, one of the best ways to experience this is by renting from Lacamas Canoe & Kayak. Owned by Vancouver resident Don Barron, since last summer the facility at Heritage Park has offered hourly and daily rentals of about two dozen recreational kayaks and canoes.

August 31, 2010

‘E’ Street bids come in lower than expected

The lowest bid for the "E" Street project is $1.5 million less than expected by city of Washougal officials. According to Braidy Richins, with Wallis Engineering, Westech Construction, Inc., of Portland, submitted the lowest responsive bid of $4.54 million.

August 31, 2010

Washougal plans to hire transportation consultant

The Washougal Planning Commission's consideration of citywide rezone, comprehensive plan and miscellaneous code amendments will have to wait a while. A public hearing has been postponed from Aug. 24 to a date not yet determined, in order to get some answers related to transportation questions. The Port of Camas-Washougal has requested Parker's Landing Park and Marina Park be rezoned from "highway commercial" to "institutional public."

August 31, 2010
Michael Gonzalez, of Camas, has flown several planes at Grove Field Airport in Fern Prairie. The 2005 Camas High School graduate is a flight instructor in Ellensburg, Wash. Gonzalez received some financial assistance from the Camas-Washougal Aviation Association to pay for textbooks at Central Washington University, where he studied flight technology.

CHS grad pursues a high flying future

Michael Gonzalez remembers when he first became interested in airplanes. He was 8 years old when he met an F16 fighter pilot in Arizona. Years later as a junior at Camas High School, Gonzalez applied for a Camas-Washougal Aviation Association scholarship and flew with pilot Doug Anderson in a Piper J3Cub. "Ever since then, my mind was made up - this was something I wanted to do," he said.

August 24, 2010

Firefighters mop up at Hilltop Fire north of Camas

After dealing with gusty, erratic winds and high humidity for most of last week, fire crews battling the Hilltop Fire north of Camas welcomed more cooperative weather over the weekend. "Cooler temperatures and higher humidity's throughout the night have greatly helped our mop up efforts," said Kent Stanford, operations chief. "Long range weather forecasts seem to be going our way." Helicopter flights equipped with an infared camera flew over the fire on Wednesday night and found that there were still multiple hot spots around the west interior of the burn. Fire crews worked on those spots using burnout techniques on Thursday.

August 24, 2010
Carly Shears and Charlie Dawson are among the female firefighters in the Camas-Washougal area. Shears recently joined the Washougal Fire Department as a volunteer, while Dawson -- a volunteer battalion chief -- has served with the WFD for 20 years.

Female fire fighting force

The room nicknamed the 'man cave' - with recliners and a TV - inside the Washougal fire station could be in need of a new description - as the fire department has welcomed its second volunteer female firefighter.

August 24, 2010

EMS levy passes

The Washougal emergency medical services levy has been approved by 74 percent of the participating voters - above and beyond the 60 percent super majority needed in order for it to be passed, while the approval is much more narrow for the Fort Vancouver Regional Library District levy. As of press deadlines, the six-year replacement EMS levy has received 1,951 "yes" votes and 687 "no" votes. "That's the highest percentage of support we've had for this levy in recent history," Camas Fire Capt. Kevin Bergstrom said yesterday. "It's nice to see folks are prioritizing public safety. It's an essential service."

August 24, 2010

Camas explores road maintenance options

In an effort to create a stable source of funding to help support street maintenance, the Camas City Council is currently looking at a few different options. The city has about 105 miles of paved roadways, ranging from major arterials to side streets. For about the past three years road maintenance funding, approximately $300,000 in 2010, has been taken from the city's Real Estate Excise Taxes. In previous years, the city has also contributed some of its general fund dollars to various road projects, and obtained grant funding.