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News

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.

August 24, 2010

Clark Public Utilities gives green light to electricity rate increase

Electric rates for Clark County residents will increase by nearly 6 percent beginning Sept. 1. On Aug. 17, the Clark Public Utilities Board of Commissioners approved the increase, which district officials say is needed because of factors including the local effects of the recession, a warm winter and higher taxes. For a typical homeowner using 1,500 kilowatt-hours a month, the average bill will increase by $6.95, from $122.75 to $129.70. Rates for commercial and industrial customers will increase by varying amounts, based on usage patterns.

August 18, 2010

Election results

The Washougal Fire Department's emergency medical services levy is currently passing by an overwhelming majority, having garnered more than 73 percent of the votes. The Fort Vancouver Regional Library District isn't having the same kind of luck. In a closer race, the levy lid lift is failing by 52 percent. For a fulll listing of Clark County election results, visit www.clark.wa.gov/elections. For statewide results, visit www.vote.wa.gov/elections.

August 17, 2010

Reward offered in Klickitat Park fire investigation

Camas police are offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individuals responsible for setting a fire at a Camas park last week. The fire broke out at Klickitat Park in Northwest Camas early Thursday morning.