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Started with a Dream … and a Cocoa Bean

By Seth Sjostrom

Choffy.

Jason Vanderhoven awoke one morning following a vivid dream. He wasn’t being chased by a serial killer, he hadn’t inserted himself into a spy thriller, he wasn’t even waking in a start from that horrible falling kind of dream. Nope. He dreamt of cocoa beans. Roasted cocoa beans. At the time, he wasn’t entirely sure why.

Perhaps his subconscious had worked its way through the complex networks of his REM state brain. As an athlete training for the Olympics (Jason was highly competitive in the luge), he and his compatriots were well-versed and disciplined in nutrition. Yet, he was taken aback by how many of his fellow athletes downed caffeine-laden drinks before an event. This flew in the face what they had been taught of performance nutrition.

Coffey

 

As he mused about his dream, Jason couldn’t help but wonder if the concoction would actually work. His initial attempts, sheet pans of cocoa beans roasted in his oven, produced less than ideal results. Handing a cup of his brew to his father-in-law, he waited eagerly for a response. After a few sips, a glance across a mug was followed with, “Hmmm. You’ve made a bad cup of coffee.” Undaunted, Jason forged ahead with tweaks and trials. Three years later, he arrived at the selection, roast and grind of a delicious cup of Choffy. While the Aztecs and Samoans have Jason beat by a millennia, Choffy is certainly a ground-breaking invention as the modern roasted coffee bean drink.

What does Choffy taste like? When you have your first sip, you need to exorcise any pre-conceptions of what you think it might taste like in your head. It is not hot cocoa, it is not coffee. It is a slightly bitter, slightly creamy, genuinely satisfying flavor that hits upon a unique combination of taste buds. It satisfies the bit of sweet-tooth as well as the warm, invigorating yearn for coffee.

Why Choffy at all? First, the cocoa bean (correctly cacoa) has tremendous potential health benefits with very few of coffee’s detriments. Let’s start with what it does have. The cocoa bean has been revered for its high antioxidant content. In fact, a serving of Choffy has nearly the antioxidant power of two cups of superfood blueberries. Cocoa is packed with theobromine (similar, yet different than chemical cousin caffeine), a mild stimulant that increases heartbeat while acting as a vasodilator, actually reducing blood pressure. This buys you a boost without the crash.

Almost as important as what cocoa beans have in them is what they don’t. A cup of Choffy has less caffeine than a cup of decaf coffee. Courtesy of its other properties, you get the lift without the addiction and jitters of coffee. Choffy comes with only 20 calories and 3 carbs, with the reduced need for creamer (if you are so inclined), your diet is going to mind less too. In fact, Choffy is safe for children to drink, pregnant women and diabetics alike.

I love a cup of coffee, but I have been perplexed with the split reports on the praises and evils of my beloved cup of joe. For every positive article, I read a negative. With Choffy, there aren’t the confounding  reservations. Choffy is 100% premium cocoa bean. That’s it. Have yours straight up or with a splash of vanilla creamer (a little goes along way here, not like your old latte!)

How do you make this yummy (is it a stretch to call it health food) drink? The folks at Choffy recommend French press style. This simple process extracts the perfect amount of cacoa goodness in your drink. No press in your cabinet, no worries. You can use a regular drip coffee maker too. Serve it cold or hot, on its own or with a splash of cream.

Choffy is based right here in Vancouver. Inventer Jason Vanderhoven called up longtime friend Jason Sherwood to help develop and market Choffy, while Jason S’s wife, Andi, implemented the distribution strategy. A direct selling guru, Andi has enlisted a small army of Choffy lovers to not only distribute Choffy to consumers and independent businesses, but to create a viable business for their families. As Jason S. says, “Choffy’s purpose is to champion healthy living – beyond the product, but to impact life overall for families.” Utilizing independent distributors allows them to nurture a Choffy family that likes to share “Try this great tasting, healthy drink” to the world.

While a local phenomenon, Choffy has found success nationwide, being highlighted on the Dr. Oz show and in several food and health publications. Haven’t tried Choffy yet? It is worth finding. I am nearly a coffee to Choffy convert myself. Love it already? Become a distributor and make an extra few bucks a month for your family.

Choffy is located in Hazel Dell. You can get more information at www.drinkchoffy.com

About the contributor: Seth Sjostrom is  local resident and author of the thriller Blood in the Snow and holiday title Finding Christmas. Seth is also co-producer of children’s magazine Kids Ink NW. For more information on Seth or his books, visit www.wolfprintpublishing.com.
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Local Republicans Elect New Leadership

Lynda Wilson is the newly-elected Clark County
GOP Chairwoman. She has been a local business
owner for many years.

VANCOUVER — The Clark County Republican Party made major changes at their organizational meeting held on December 13 at the Heathman Lodge.

A record-setting 161 Precinct Officers attended the party’s organizational meeting, and were present to cast their ballots and consider proposed bylaw’s changes.

The party activists elected a new chairman, vice chairman, secretary, treasurer, state committee people, and five legislative directors.

The elected officers are: Chairman, Lynda Wilson; Vice Chairman, Steven Nelson; Secretary, Vicki Caldwell Kraft; Treasurer, Bryan Johnson; State Committeeman, James Randall; and State Committeewoman, Laney Maxwell.

Legislative Chairman/Directors are: 14th District, Douglas Kobilan; 17th District, Eric Heredia; 18th District, Kenny Smith; 20th District, Ron Fitch; and 49th District, Kathy Metzger.

Several activists viewed the election as struggle between mainstream Republicans and Ron Paul supporters, and several said several votes were extremely close. The party upheaval was orchestrated by the PCO Liberty Alliance, a grass-roots group of Tea Party advocates, libertarian Republicans, and values voters who primarily supported Ron Paul during the Republican presidential primaries.

“I feel like there was plenty of funny business going on,” said Susie Huckvale, a newly-elected Precinct Committee Officer, from Camas. “I think the way they handled Mary Graham’s (former 18 District Legislative Director) balloting was atrocious. It looked like something odd was happening. And the way it turned out a lot of Ron Paul people took over, and I feel like my party’s been hijacked by people who want to destroy it.”

Outgoing chairman, Stephanie McClintock, sees the change as a major upheaval. “Basically, the Liberty Alliance took over the Clark County Republican Party last night,” she said.

She added that she hadn’t anticipated a fight with her fellow Republicans.

Others feel that newly-elected Chairman, Lynda Wilson, has the capacity to bridge the ideological fractures that exist within the newly elected party leadership.

Long-time GOP activist, Brent Boger, said he feels hyper-partisanship is affecting the party at large – and that it’s not good.

“There is a gap between the regular Republicans and the Ron Paul people,” said Boger. “And some of those in between the gap got elected. Lynda Wilson is one of them. She formed an alliance with the Ron Paul people and those people won the day.”

In addition to electing new officers, the Precinct Officers adopted a new set of bylaws. One of the main attributes of the new bylaws is the enhanced authority of the PCO’s by emphasizing more grassroots involvement, making the Board more accountable to the Central Committee.

The Clark County Republican Party is an all-volunteer organization, and their next major event is the Lincoln Day Dinner.

“As a new board, our philosopy is that we work for the Precinct Officers,” said Wilson. “The Precinct Officers were elected by the citizens of Clark County. Also, a primary principle initiative is that of upgrading to new technologies, increase communication capabilities and continue with a new volunteer structure that supports our elected officials. We would like to extend our gratitude for the hard work and dedication of those that have served before us. Their commitment to our Party will always be appreciated.”

About Chairman Lynda Wilson: Lynda is a 40-year resident of Clark County. She and her husband, Tracy, are partners in a local family-run business established over 50 years ago and employing more than 100 people. Lynda has been politically active over the past four years as a PCO, and recently a member of the CCRP Board. She has been a delegate to County and State Conventions, Chairman of the We the People, Governmental Affairs Director at their manufacturing company and Governmental Affairs committee of the AWB (Association of Washington Business, also serving on AWB’s Health Care Committee. Lynda was recently appointed to the C-TRAN Citizens Action Committee (CCAC). She regularly attends Clark County Commissioner meetings and has participated in over 100 hours of Constitution classes, most notably the Thomas Jefferson Center for Constitutional Studies and the Freedom Foundation.

 

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Statement from Camas School Superintendent Regarding Today’s Tragic Events at Connecticut School

Ferland
Camas Superintendent Mike Nerland
Dear Camas parents and guardians,

It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter. The elementary school shooting in Connecticut earlier today is one of the most horrific scenarios I can imagine. When I heard of this morning’s tragic events my first thoughts, like I’m sure all of you, were of my own children. In light of the events in Connecticut this morning, I want to assure our families that the Camas School District has strong security and supervision policies in place at all of our schools. Please know that we have a very specific set of security drills and protocols that we conduct at our schools on a regular basis to be as prepared as possible in the event of an emergency. Our staff and students know what to do in an emergency, and we practice regularly to reinforce concepts and routines. Additionally, all schools have emergency plans which are developed in cooperation with the Camas Police and Fire departments as well as Washington State Patrol. It is very important that we have accurate emergency contact information in Skyward, our student data system. Parents, if you have secondary students, you have access to Skyward Family Access where you can log in and click on Student Information to view your emergency contact data. For elementary parents, you can contact your school office to verify the emergency contact information.

 

Nobody knows your child better than you do, so how you address this with him or her can certainly be tailored to your family’s needs. I do want to share some general guidelines below. It will be very important for our students here in Camas to be reassured that our schools are safe and the adults in their lives, at home and at school, care about them and look out for them. The following are tips from the National Association of School Psychologists for parents to help their children cope with tragic news and events.

 

  • Focus on your children over the week following the tragedy. Tell them you love them and everything will be okay. Try to help them understand what has happened, keeping in mind their developmental level.
  • Make time to talk with your children. Remember if you do not talk to your children about this incident someone else will. Take some time and determine what you wish to say.
  • Stay close to your children. Your physical presence will reassure them and give you the opportunity to monitor their reaction. Many children will want actual physical contact. Give plenty of hugs. Let them sit close to you, and make sure to take extra time at bedtime to cuddle and to reassure them that they are loved and safe.
  • Limit your child’s television viewing of these events. If they must watch, watch with them for a brief time; then turn the set off. Don’t sit mesmerized re-watching the same events over and over again.
  • Maintain a “normal” routine. To the extent possible stick to your family’s normal routine for dinner, homework, chores, bedtime, etc., but don’t be inflexible. Children may have a hard time concentrating on schoolwork or falling asleep at night.
  • Spend extra time reading or playing quiet games with your children before bed. These activities are calming, foster a sense of closeness and security, and reinforce a sense of normalcy. Spend more time tucking them in. Let them sleep with a light on if they ask for it.
  • Safeguard your children’s physical health. Stress can take a physical toll on children as well as adults. Make sure your children get appropriate sleep, exercise, and nutrition.
  • Think hopeful thoughts for the victims and their families. It may be a good time to take your children to your place of worship, write a poem, or draw a picture to help your child express their feelings and feel that they are somehow supporting the victims and their families.

As an educator and a parent, I am horrified by the event which took place in Connecticut today. Give your loved ones an extra hug tonight and as we head into the Holiday break let’s be sure our thoughts are with all those families in Newton.

Mike Nerland

Superintendent
Camas School District

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Evergreen Storm Competes at Jr. Nationals Competition

Albuquerque, NM –Two divisions (Midget and Youth) of the Evergreen Storm Premier Running Team competed Saturday at the USA Track & Field (USATF) Jr. National Champions Saturday, and ran way with some impressive results.

The nation’s young runners, from all regions, competed in this Cross Country meet to see who was the best of the best. Evergreen’s Youth team (13-14 year-olds) placed 12thoverall out of 17 teams, while the Midget team (11 and 12 year-olds) placed 10thout of 22 teams.

Individually, Emily Wilson, 12, who attends Skyridge Middle School, competed in the 3000m and placed 13thout of 263 runners, with a time of 11 minutes, 33 seconds.  She earned the distinction of being an “All-American.” Impressive. On the Youth team, Marley LeFore placed 32ndoverall out of 260 competitors.

“I felt good afterward, “ said Wilson. “I’m proud of myself for how far I’ve come. It was a good experience.”

 

NM
Emily Wilson, of Camas, earned 13th place out of 263 competitors in the 3000m
race at the USA Track & Field Jr. National Championships.

 

 
Track
Emily Wilson, 12, center, placed 13th in the nation in her age division
in the 3000m race.
 
 
Storm
Members of the Evergreen Storm Youth Team in New Mexico.

Wilson has only been running competitively for 15 months and has played soccer for years.

“It was cool to see who was the best of the best,” Wilson added.

LeFore also had a great time.

“It was an amazing experience because there were so many girls that have the same talent as me,” LeFore said. “And I got to test my talents to see how good I was. From this experience I learned that I should not underestimate myself and to worry about my race and not how others are running.”

LeFore added: “Our team ranked high because we all sacrificed and worked hard! All of the girls are like my second family!”

Evergreen Storm team member, Lauren Mahnke, said, “It was a great weekend and a great experience to run with girls from all over the country!”

The experience has inspired her to keep running. She is already sad there will be no Storm practice on Monday.

“The altitude was tough, but we ran through it,” Mahnke added.

The team practices at the Union High School track, and is coached by Mike McKinney.

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Riedell Wins for “Tulips in New York City”

Tulips did it!

Santa Cruz watercolor artist Nancy Riedell was the winner of Daniel Smith’s Artists’ Materials October Monthly Voting Gallery. Her winning entry is “Tulips in New York City”.

She is thrilled about the win and looks forward to entering her work in more competitions.

“I’m so pleased that Tulips did so well,” said Reidell. “I loved doing that painting.”

Nancy Riedell, an internationally recognized, award winning, and Open Studios artist originally from Santa Cruz County, California, now living in Portland, Oregon, graduated from San Francisco State University where she studied Fine Arts. Classes included figure drawing, color values, acrylics, oils, and art history.

Nancy’s love of art goes back to childhood as her family encouraged her to develop her art skills by giving her art materials and art books so that she could develop her technique.

Nancy’s current medium is watercolor. The bold use of colors and interesting landscapes has played a strong role in Nancy’s unique paintings. She feels that although she has been working with art since childhood, it is only within the last few years that she has felt the calling to go back into her art. Her work reflects her passion well by using strong, saturated color and theme.

Nancy likes to take advantage of every opportunity and is known to carry her digital camera with her to photograph subjects for future paintings. She has captured beautiful sunrises in Monterey County, unique beach scenes in Santa Cruz County, unusual rock formations in New Mexico, covered bridges in Pennsylvania, and incredible Oregon scenes. She’s also done recent work with painting popular Portland destinations.

Nancy is an active member of the Watercolor Society of Oregon, and a member of the Northwest Watercolor Society and the California Watercolor Society.

To see more of Nancy’s exquisite artwork, go to www.nancyriedellfinearts.com

Tulips

 

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Camas High Boys Swimming Beats Kelso at First Meet

KELSO — The Camas High School Boys Swim team won its first Dual meet of the new season — Camas 123, Kelso 54.

“This is an excellent start to the season,” said Head Coach, Mike Bemis. “There were some really good swims by our team. We had some state qualifying times by several swimmers. We’re really happy.”

The 200-medley relay team of Kasey Calwell, Jake Yraceburu, Lucas Ulmer and John Utas qualified for state with a 1:43.08 time. Calwell qualified for state in the 200 IM with a time of 2:02.84.

“Kasey missed the 100 free state cut by by one-tenth of a second,” said Bemis. “He’s really close to what he did at state last season, and look how early it is.”

Ulmer Cap
Lucas Ulmer was part of the 200-medly relay team that qualified
for a state time at the Kelso meet on Tuesday.

 

Camas collected 21 district qualifying times at the meet, which included Ulmer and Utas, who were within one second of their state qualifying times in the 100 free. Yraceburu missed the state qualifying time in the 100 breaststroke by .2 of a second.

Other highlights included Seth Albert in the 500 free, who dropped 30 seconds off his performance from a year ago. 
 
“Seth’s performance really highlights how well the team did,” said Bemis.
 
Max Urbanek earned best times in the 200 free and 100 fly.
 
The next meet is this Thursday at David Douglas High School in Portland.
 
Laps
 

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“Lacamas Little League” Name in its Waning Days

 

The Lacamas Little League Board voted Monday night at Forest Home Park to officially change its name to Camas Little League. The name change will be gradually phased in during the 2013 season, and will include a signage and branding overhaul.

Several members of the board have been researching the effects and cost of the change, based on input from league parents and community members, as well as confusion about the name “Lacamas” from other leagues.

Lacamas Little League Board members felt it was time to identify the league specifically with the city of Camas. Prior to the name change to Lacamas a dozen years ago, the league was formerly called Camas-Washougal Little League. During that change, most ball players living in Washougal became members of what is now called East County Little League.

The league had been preparing to make new All-Star uniform purchases for the 2013 season, and felt this was a good time to make the transition.

 

All-Star High Five
Jeff Mansur coached the Lacamas Little League
AAA All-Star team last summer.

 

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Camas Girls Varsity Basketball Beats Mountain View

 Camas Girls Varsity Basketball (1-1) thumped Mountain View (3-2) Monday night, 59-46, in Vancouver, as the visiting Papermakers kept pressure on the Thunder, and filled the night with many timely shots.

The Papermakers led by three, 26-33, at halftime and by six entering the fourth quarter, and simply pulled away in the final minutes of the game.

Papermaker Brenna Khaw scored an impressive 27 points, while Lauren Neff scored 11; Sierra Brown, 9; McKenna Jackson, 4; Rachel Rice, 4; and Kyla Sumpter, 4.

For Mountain View, Carly Holboke scored 22 and Bailey Lindsley scored 12.

 

Haw

Haw
Papermaker Brenna Khaw scored 27 points for Camas Monday night.

Boys Hoops

The Camas Boys didn’t fare as well against the Thunder, who erased a four-point half-time deficit. Mountain View outscored Camas 17-5 in the third quarter. Trevor Jasinsky made 11 points for the Papermakers.
Girls Basketball
Camas Senior Lauren Neff prepares to make a free throw.
Neff made 11 points for the Papermakers Monday night.
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Camas Boys Basketball Falls to Prairie 62-56 in OT

Arch-rivals Camas and Prairie battled it out Friday night in an intense game hosted by the Papermakers. It was a close game throughout and after four quarters the game was 48-48 forcing a 4-minute overtime. Several three pointers were made in OT but Prairie got the best of Camas and pulled ahead fairly quickly. Neither team led by more than six points during the intense game.

Prairie’s James Phillips led all scorers with 26 points.

Camas (1-1) earned 17 points from Brandon Nguyen and 14 from Trevor Jasinsky.

CAMAS — Trent Johnson 7; Tyler Hallad 5; Brandon Nguyen 17; Jordan Lenard 6; Grayson Anderson 1; Trevor Jasinsky 14, and Nick Lopes 6.

PRAIRIE — JaMariay McDonald 2; Reece Burnett 7; Mason Pack 5; James Phillips 26; Preston Brooks 12; Spencer Jordan 4; Maro Mendez 3; Ronnie McPherson 0.

Basketball
Trevor Jasinsky makes a free throw Friday night against
Prairie High School.

 

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