This Friday, visit Downtown Camas businesses for chocolate delights and wine tastings (at select locations) and a chance to win the Valentine gift basket.

The City of Camas has also just given consent to closing one block downtown for S’More roasting in front of Navidi’s.

The events begin at 5 pm and last until 8 pm.

Special First Friday Features include:

  • Navidi’s hosting S’More roasting in the street in front of their shop at 322 NE Cedar St. We are hoping for a special visit from a Camas Fire Truck for kids to climb on.
  • Caffe Piccolo, 309 NE Birch, is hosting Truly Scrumptious treats and selling Choffey, which is distinctively flavorful ground cocoa beans prepared in a French Press. Stop in to try some! You can pick up a complete February First participation list here at Caffe Piccolo. 
  • Camas Antiques is having a Vintage Fastion show at 7pm.
  • Enjoy “Have a Heart” mini concert by special guest GraceLyricMusic, sidewalk music by a songbird to benefit the awareness of child abuse.

Some locations will also have a container of candy for you to guess the amount to win the candy! Guesses will also be entered for a Valentine themed basket. (Need not be present to win.) Begin your stroll at Caffe Piccolo, 309 NE Birch St, to pick up a participation list.

Downtown businesses will also be selling wonderful chocolate delights and other romantic gifts so you can take care of your Valentine’s Day shopping early.

First Friday Camas
 
 

 

PROPSTRA AQUATIC CENTER, VANCOUVER – Young Camas swimmers Ben Teames and Shicon Wen made waves Wednesday at Sub-Districts by earning qualifying times for next week’s District Championship meet.

The Sub-Districts provide lesser-experienced or new swimmers a final opportunity to earn qualifying times in events for which they compete. In addition to Teames and Wen (1:30.09 for 100 Backstroke), several Hockinson swimmers also met District cuts. Hockinson practices with Camas, and those swimmers include: Nathan Carrsow (2:15.90 for 200 Free); Bryce Croucher (29.19 for 50 Free); Davis Escola (27.83 for 50 Free); Tommy Harshaw (27.90 for 50 Free); Kennan Aho (1:21.75 for 100 Backstroke) and Landen Gullberg (1:04.92 for 100 Free).

 

Ben Teames
Camas freshman, Ben Teames, finishes the 100 Free at Wednesday’s
Sub-Districts. He surprised himself by moving onto Districts.

 

Shicon Wen
Shicon Wen, on the starting block, also moves onto Districts after
getting a better-then-expected time at Sub-Districts.

Teames surprised himself by winning his heat in the 100 Free with a time of 1:11.92. Moments earlier he competed in the 200 IM and didn’t make the cut.

After the 100 Free he wasn’t sure his time was good enough to qualify so he cleaned up, got dressed and was later notified of his achievement.

“I didn’t think it could be done,” said Teames, who just started swimming competitively this season. “It’s a great feeling! I feel much better and I’m so much stronger than I was just a couple of months ago. I’m happy I stuck with it.”

It was a major change in attitude for the 15-year-old freshman.

In November, at one of the team practices, he lamented he even signed up for the swim team, as he watched more experienced and seasoned swimmers fly past him.

“It’s so hard,” he said back then. “It’s so much harder than it looks, and I’m so slow.”

Teames signed up for swimming to condition for track, but didn’t realize what he got himself into. The team practices twice daily through the winter months.

Leslie Dahlen, the team’s assistant coach, was there Wednesday to see Teames’ victory.

“It was the most enlightening event,” she said. “The kids really came through, and Ben really was the surprise of the night. He’s worked really hard and it all came together tonight.”

Leslie is really proud of Tommy Harshaw, as well, who dropped five seconds off his 100 Free time – down to 1:05.71.

As for Teames, he’s pleased he entered the world of swimming.

“It’s made me stronger, more competitive and I’m better conditioned,” he said. “I’m glad I did this.”

Teames and his teammates compete next Thursday at the District Championship. Several of the CHS swimmers have already qualified to compete at State the following week.

 

Hopkinson
Tommy Harshow, of Hockinson (team practices with Camas), center,
shaved five seconds off his 100 Free time.
Swim meet
Landen Gullberg, of Hockinson, moves onto
Districts after qualifying in the 100 Free. At right
is TJ Meade, of Mark Morris.

Although the Camas High School swim team lost their final meet of the regular season to Skyview on Saturday there was one big silver lining –- and that would be CHS swimmer, Kasey Calwell, who made three state qualifying times at the same meet.
Camas went into their last meet undefeated so the loss was stinging, but the team was beset by illness and had less than half their numbers.

Kasey Calwell
Kasey Calwell completes a race at a recent meet.

Calwell, a tall sophomore, who also swims for Columbia River Swim Team, was ecstatic about his performance. He earned state cuts in three events: the 500m free, 100m free and the 100m breaststroke. For the 500m free he clocked in at 4:57.60; his time for the 100m free, which was his portion of a relay, was 49.98; and for the 100m breaststroke, he timed in at 1:03.27.  Pretty amazing.

Kasey Calwell swims the breastroke.

“I felt really good about the times,” said Calwell. “I’ve never earned three state cuts in one meet. I felt strong and ready to go.”

The times earn him spots at the State meet in February. Calwell will be competing in the 200 IM, the 100 breastroke, and two relays. He’s pretty excited. And Calwell is also pleased with the CHS swim team overall.

“A lot of people have improved on the team,” he said. “I attribute that to experience and hard work.”

Calwell will next compete at District Championships, held on February 6, at Propstra Pool.

 

Camas High School Wrestling hosted Union in a tough match Wednesday night as Camas seniors were recognized for their achievements.
Varsity fell 59-12, but two seniors, Andrew Duffy and Vincente Huber, finished their home dual career with pins against Union. Junior Varsity won their match 30-28, and the girls team shut Union out 12-0.
Heach Coach Glen Hartman honored six CHS seniors for their high school achievements in the sport of wrestling. The seniors are: Andrew Duffy, Anthony Grable, Vincente Huber, Taryn Lommasson, Austin Miller, and Dakota Safford.

Talon Edmiston
Camas Sophomore Talon Edmiston, left, in period 2 of his match.

 

Camas Wrestling seniors were recognized for their achievements.
Each senior was announced separately and appeared alongside their parents.
Although Varsity had a tough night, the competition was intense.
Junior Varsity began the night at 5:30 and Varsity started at 7 pm.
The Varsity competitors were: Max Grimes (106 weight class), Skyler Munds (120 weight class), Tye Lommasson (126 weight class), Austin Miller (132 wt.), Andrew Duffy (138 wt.), Noah Shannon (145 wt.), Vicente Huber (182 wt.), Talon Edmiston (195 wt.) and Wes Gilge (285 wt.)
Wrestling
Wednesday was an intense competition.

Camas High School, CAMAS, WA — A verbal altercation, which led to a vulgar Facebook posting after Tuesday night’s Boys Varsity basketball game between Camas and Skyview High Schools has led to a police investigation, and made Wednesday an extremely taxing day for school administrators.

Camas High School (CHS) Athletic Director Josh Gibson said a Skyview parent became unruly post-game and said some “vulgar things” to several Camas fans. No players were involved.

“As I was helping wrap up the game I heard somebody yell out ‘Josh’ so that got my attention,” Gibson said. “I really don’t know exactly what was said, but the parent flipped off kids, and said some vulgar things about the fans. There was a mob of kids, and some of them grabbed me.”

Gibson said his first instinct was to protect the kids.

“We need them to be safe,” he said. “I had to get through the crowd to discover what happened, and eventually we went outside.”

Gibson said emotions were high and several people kept trying to get his attention, and that’s when a parent showed him the Skyview parent’s Facebook posting on their iPhone.

The post read: “Camas fans!!!!!! Worst in the league!!!! I hope someone shoots up their school really soon!!!!!!!”

 

Steve Marshall and Josh Gibson
Camas High School principal, Steve Marshall, left, and Athletic Director,
Josh Gibson, discuss Tuesday’s incident inside the CHS Gym.

 

Vulgar Facebook Post
This is the Facebook post that led to a police investigation.

Gibson said it was hard to believe someone would say something that stupid; that awful.

And it was serious enough that school officials were obligated to notify the police.

CHS Principal Steve Marshall said he and Gibson notified the police via email and phone because of the severity of the situation.

“It’s totally unfortunate,” said Marshall. “One parent loses control and we all have to spend time dealing with it. This situation absorbed my entire day, Josh’s entire day, and involved the Skyview principal, school district administrators, and the police.”

Marshall said CHS administrators had to discuss the situation and coordinate their understanding with their counterparts at Skyview and liaisons at both school districts.

“We had to make sure our response was coordinated and that we all understood each other,” Marshall said. “It took us all day. This took time away from working with students and faculty. It took time away from our regular jobs. It’s just so unfortunate.”

Marshall said it is incidents like these where “we analyze our response and look at how we can improve things.”

Marshall also said he spent a lot of time talking to parents who were worried for their children’s safety.

“In light of the Sandy Hook school shooting, people are nervous, and understandably so,” said Marshall. “You look at what this man has caused, and I’m sure he’s regretting his actions. A few words have a lasting impact.”

Gibson said “the whole day has been awful – we’re all exhausted.”

Local police officials said the Skyview parent and his son, a Skyview basketball player, both gave statements and are cooperating with authorities, said Clark County sheriff’s Sgt. Fred Neiman.

It’s not known if the parent will face any charges.

“We in law enforcement cannot afford to ignore them,” Neiman said, in reference to recent shootings.

Camas administrators said they are waiting for police to conclude their investigation.

“It’s been a long day,” said Gibson. “What happened was awful.”

Washington, DC –Jaime Herrera Beutler released the following statement today after voting against a proposal to raise the nation’s borrowing limit to accommodate its growing $16 trillion debt:

“I’m done kicking the can down the road. Congress and the President have radically overspent the nation’s credit card. We are borrowing 30 cents on every dollar to cover today’s spending. I believe that continuing this course risks destroying the economic security for virtually every American. I will only vote to raise the debt limit to allow more borrowing when, at the same time, I can also vote for the plan to reverse the current course.

“The President argues that I must vote to extend the debt limit because it is needed to fund obligations already incurred. My answer is this: would anyone consider loaning money to another person who had dramatically overspent on their credit card without also requiring a plan to stop the behavior in the future?”

 

 

Hererra
Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-3rd District)
speaks to a constituent at the Hilton Convention Center in Vancouver.

 

The Camas High School Boys Swim Team won their final home meet of the season Wednesday night outpacing Mountain View, as well as Hockinson, Evergreen, Heritage and Woodland Schools. The team finished the dual meet season undefeated beating Union 203-80, Mountain View 188-87, Evergreen 221-35, and Heritage 229-16. Camas now has qualified for all three relays for State plus inviduals Kasey Calwell, Lucas Ulmer and John Utas.

The CHS Papermakers got the night off to a good start with a win in the 200m Medley Relay. The four-man team consisted of Kasey Calwell, Lucas Ulmer, Jake Yraceburu and Xiaguang Yan, and earned a time of 1:55.99. They were followed by Hockinson and the other Camas relay team of Jeffery Lee, Trent Harimoto, Joey Wunderlich and Nick Langer.

Lucas
Camas Sophomore Lucas Ulmer had a good meet Wednesday.

 

Seth Albert won the 200m Freestyle with a time of 2:09. Camas swimmer Max Urbanek placed second with a time of 2:12.77.

Sophomore Kasey Calwell won the 200m Individual Medley, earning a time of 2:15.94. Jon Rodewald, of Hockinson, placed second.

Camas Co-Captain and Senior, JakeYraceburu, won the 50m Freestyle with a time of 25.93. Dylan Osborne, of Hockinson, placed second.

Camas senior, Trent Harimoto, won the 100m Butterfly with a time of 1:07.97. Lucas Ulmer placed a very close second.

In the 400m Freestyle, Papermaker Max Urbanek, a sophomore, handily won the event with a time of 4:37.93. Urbanek really enjoys the longer distance races. The Papermakers won the 200m Freestyle Relay. The team consisted of Seth Albert, Xiaguang Yan, Trent Harimoto, and Jake Yraceburu.

 

Toole
Jackson Toole, left, and Ben Teames during
a relay at Wednesday’s meet.
Ulmer also won the 100m Backstroke, clocking in at 1:03.31, and Yraceburu also won the 100m Breaststroke. The Papermaker 400m Freestyle Relay team also took first place in that event. The team consisted of Albert, Calwell, Yan and Ulmer. The boys have their last regular season meet, which is an invitational at Mark Morris, a week from Saturday. To learn more, go to camas.wednet.edu

Local members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) addressed their growing numbers on Sunday by gathering in a special session to create a new “ward” in the Camas area.

A “ward” within the LDS Church is a geographical area, and is similar to a parish or precinct. Each ward has a congregation of roughly 500-600 followers.

A week ago, local leaders said that growing numbers in the Prune Hill area necessitated the creation of a third ward out of two that currently meet at the Prune Hill building on 18th Street in Camas. Until Sunday, only two wards, Grass Valley, and Prune Hill, met at the building.

The new ward, called Forest Home, was created by carving out new boundaries from both wards, and contains the eastern portion of Prune Hill and extends to downtown Camas.

Local leader, President Brad Gillespie, who helps preside over the local stake (which now oversees 11 wards) announced the new boundary lines at a special session of both wards at the faith’s Stake Center, which is located in Vancouver, near Harmony Sports Complex.

Members were presented with the new boundaries and asked to vote, or sustain, the changes. The local members voted unanimously in support of the change.

LDS Temple
This is a photo inside one of the temples of The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint.

 

 

Gillespie said the Prune Hill Ward saw amazing growth over the last several years and that realignment was necessary.

In 2008, three local wards were realigned into five to accommodate growth. Yesterday’s changes surprised local members.

Greg Gillespie was sustained as the new Bishop of the Forest Home Ward. His counselors are Bret Clayton and Jeff Clark. All reside within the new boundaries and are not paid for their efforts, which usually require 20-30 hours of service per week.

Church members are expected to attend the ward that aligns to their residence.

The ward is not only a geographical boundary, but it is also the heart of spiritual and social activity for the LDS Church, which was restored in 1830 in New York.

The creation of the new Forest Home Ward signifies continued and sustained growth for the LDS faith within Camas. Growth comes through new move-ins and baptisms. Camas wards now include Prune Hill, Grass Valley, Fern Prairie, Parker’s Landing , Washougal River (includes some of Camas), and now Forest Home.

To learn more about the LDS faith, visit www.lds.org

 

Girls Varsity

The much-anticipated basketball games between rivals Camas High School and Union turned out heavily in the Titans’ favor last Friday, as the girls dominated the second half to earn the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League victory.

Union limited Camas to four goals in the second half, outscoring the Papermakers 38-16. Jessica Chatman finished with 18 points for the Titans (10-3, 3-0). Tuileisu Anderson had 14 points and 16 rebounds and Kendra Preuninger made four 3-pointers en route to her 14 points. Tessa Vanderpool had nine points and five assists. For Camas (6-6, 1-2), which led 15-11 after the first quarter, Rachel Rice was the top scorer with 11 points.

Paige Jackson
Paige Jackson looks to pass.
KJ
Kathryn Johnson, left, tried to get around Union.

 

KJ Ponders
Kathryn Johnson thinks about the coach’s talking points.

 

Rachel Rice
Rachel Rice passes the ball.

Boys Varsity Struggle, As Well

The Titans set an early tone against the Papermakers as their pressure defense ran past the Papermakers in a Class 4A Greater St. Helens League game. Union (9-3, 3-0) led 17-4 at the end of the first quarter and didn’t look back.
Hallead
Several members of the Camas Boys Varsity Basketball team.

Skillful Davis led a balanced Union offense with 15 points. Micah Paulson and Kyle Mercer scored 10 points apiece. Isaiah Robinson blocked four shots, and Micah Merfield and Riley Hawken each had a team-high six rebounds.

Tyler Hallead’s nine points topped the scoring for Camas (3-9, 1-2).

The Seared Prawns speciality plate is one of many exquisite meals offered at the Hearth Wood Oven Bistro in downtown Washougal. The two-year-old restaurant is one of Clark County’s restaurant treasures and is a must-stop for foodies.

Stay tuned for an upcoming video feature and article about the Hearth. It’ll be an experience.
The restaurant is located at 1700 Main Street, Washougal. 360.210.7028.

Prawns