In the Camas City Council race for Ward 1, Position 2, it is incumbent Melissa Smith who during the past nine years has earned Camas residents' vote. Smith, 54, is a third-generation Camasonian and has lived and worked in the Camas community for many years. In March 2004, she was appointed to the Camas City Council, and was then subsequently elected to the seat by voters twice in uncontested races.
In the Camas City Council Position 2, Ward 2 race, incumbent Steve Hogan is being challenged by former Camas city employee Ken Kakuk. Hogan, 61, has served on the council for the past eight years. He has a long history of volunteering for a number of roles within the community, including the Camas Educational Foundation, Downtown Camas Association, Camas-Washougal Rotary Club, Camas-Washougal Economic Development Association board of directors and Journey Community Church, to name a few.
Under the direction of Mayor Sean Guard, Washougal has slowly been building a stronger foundation that was left cracked and broken more than four years ago by mismanagement and poor leadership. Guard is up for re-election as part of the Nov. 5 General Election, and he should be allowed to continue to build on that growth and be elected to a second term in office.
Amid an economy that has been in a recession for several years and is finally beginning to get back on track, now just isn't the right time to ask East County Fire and Rescue voters to approve a capital improvement bond. The $1.275 million, 20-year capital projects proposition would fund two new fire engines, one brush truck, new fire fighting and medical equipment, an emergency generator at Mount Norway Station 94, parking lot repair at Sunnyside Station 93 and a water well at Livingston Mountain Station 92. It is estimated that the bond would cost taxpayers 9 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation. This means the owner of a $300,000 home would pay an additional $27 per year, the owner of a $250,000 home would pay $22.50 per year, and the owner of a $200,000 home would pay $18 per year.
Washougal voters have an important decision to make when their ballots arrive in the mail for the Nov. 5 General Election. It may, in fact, be one of the most important issues to appear on local ballots in recent history. If approved, Proposition 1 would transition Washougal from its current mayor-council form of government to the vastly different council-manager system. Currently, Washougal citizens have the right to elect a strong mayor, who is the chief executive officer of the city, along with seven city council members who form its legislative body. Washougal's city administrator, appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council, carries out the day-to-day operations of the city.
Two big wins on the football field are great ways to start the fall sports season, and teams from both Camas and Washougal put on quite a show under the Friday night lights. Perhaps the biggest win of the evening came from the Papermakers, who toppled Portland's Jesuit High School with relative ease in a game that pitted the number-one ranked teams in Oregon and Washington against one another. In the end, as the 47-14 score suggests, it was really no contest and more than 5,000 fans got to see their hometown team shine at Doc Harris Stadium.
"You should never, ever give up." These were the first words of Diana Nyad yesterday when, on her fifth try, she became the first woman to swim from Cuba to Florida without the help of a shark cage. After jumping into the waters of Havana, it took her 53 hours to complete the 110-mile swim. And even more amazing, is the fact that this woman recently celebrated her 64th birthday.
With warm summer weather still basking our area and school age children enjoying summer activities, it's hard to grasp the fact that the first day of school is less than a week away. But that's exactly where we are on the calendar as summer begins to wind down. The first day of school in Camas and Washougal is next Tuesday, Sept. 3. For students, parents, teachers and school staff, the thoughts and emotions that come to mind this time of year likely range from sadness to eager enthusiasm for the new school year. Most students, for example, would probably be glad to take another month of vacation, in exchange for returning to the classroom with the September sun still shining bright.
During the past three months, Clark County elected officials who are part of the C-Tran Board Composition Review Committee have met a handful of times to discuss the possibility of changing the C-Tran Board's power structure. In a nutshell, several of the smaller cities represented on the Board -- including Camas and Battle Ground -- have expressed strong interest in having their own seats. Currently, smaller cities are grouped together in twos, with Camas-Washougal, La Center/Ridgefield, and Battle Ground/Yacolt each sharing a seat. Vancouver and Clark County each have three seats.
Now that the Primary Election has come to a close, local political watchers have begun to eye the upcoming General Election. And based on the number of candidates and issues that will be on the ballot, it's going to be a busy election season.
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