PORTLAND, OR — Aaron “Jay” Danielson, aka Jay Bishop, a Patriot Prayer supporter, was fatally shot Saturday night in Portland following a pro-Trump caravan.
Bishop attended Friday’s dueling Camas pro-police and #BLM rallies and was seen riding around and talking with supporters and protestors on both sides.
Patriot Prayer founder Joey Gibson, a controversial local public figure, who arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting, issued the following statement today:
“1st- We love Jay and he had such a huge heart. God bless him and the life he lived.
“2nd-I am going to wait to make any public statements until after the family can.
“3rd- If you planned on going to the boat cruise, please go! I know that Jay would love to look down from heaven and see tons of American flags on the Columbia river today. I will not be attending but I hope all of you enjoy yourselves out there. Fly them high for Jay.
“God Bless all of you.”
Matt Robins, a protest medic near the shooting scene, said he heard two pops.
“We thought someone had lit fireworks off or something, and when we looked, we saw a guy run for like two seconds and then plop on the ground,” Robins said.
Robbins said he and his partner help treat people injured at protests.
“There’s a guy standing over top of him saying this is my friend, help him please,” Robbins said.
Robbins said once Portland police arrived he and his partner were told to leave.
“We were forcibly pushed down,” Robbins said. “My partner, a field medic, tried to get her gear, because like I said, they rushed us so fast that some of our gear had fallen down.”
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said the shooting is under investigation, however, and a 48-year-old man who was accused of carrying a loaded gun at an earlier Portland protest is under investigation in the fatal shooting of Bishop.
Michael Forest Reinoehl refers to himself as an anti-fascist and has posted videos and photos of demonstrations he attended since late June, accompanied by the hashtags #blacklivesmatter, #anewnation and #breonnataylor.
More than 300 Camas Rally For The Blue supporters, and approximately 150 Black Lives Matters (BLM) squared off Friday night mostly at 3rd Avenue and Dallas Street to express their beliefs.
The BLM rally started off at Camas Public Library at 4 pm and within about 20 minutes the group migrated to the ARCO station where they stayed for the duration — until just past 10 pm. The pro-police rally was scheduled as a stand-alone event, but Tuesday night local students organized a counter BLM protest.
The Camas Rally For The Blue began a little before 5 pm at two locations — between Camas Safeway and Dairy Queen — but eventually migrated to occupy three of the four corners at 3rd and Dallas.
”We just want to stand up and say Black Lives Matter,” said Cindy Graham, a Camas resident who rallied with the BLM team. “Middle class white people care about black lives and I don’t want to say anything negative about the police because I know a lot of Camas cops are good friends of mine and they are great guys. But that doesn’t negate the fact that we need to stand up and do something to help African Americans. In my opinion the BLM movement doesn’t stand for socialism like some of these people are saying, it just stands for black people have been oppressed and we often don’t understand how oppressed they are so we need to make more of an effort. All lives matter, but black lives matter needs to be said when this is happening in our country.”
She said this is a vote for Black Lives Matter.
“We need more white middle class people to stop screaming at their televisions and get out here and stand peacefully on the corner and say that,” Graham added. “Actually all classes of white people need to do this.”
The interview was interrupted by a BLM supporter in blue hair who told this reporter to “get out of my face.”
BLM supporters at ARCO station.
”I just wanted a rally to support our police,” said Blue Rally organizer, Helen Sudbeck. “It’s a fabulous town and we have a great police department. They need to know how much we care about them and appreciate them. It’s been a rough couple months for police across the country and I think there are a lot of people in Camas who really care about our police. That’s it. We are just here to support the police. I realize there’s a counter demonstration and that’s fine. It’s a group of kids and that’s their First Amendment right, and that’s fine. They chose to have the rally at the exact same location, and that is their right, as well.”
Was it a bad idea to have this Blue rally today given the historic anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr’s “I Have a Dream Speech”?
“I just picked a Friday night after work hours to show the police we care. I didn’t have any grand plan. We know police morale is low these days. Most cops are good people who have families,” she said. “We know reforms need to take place, and I encourage people to learn more about Project 21.”
It was a lively night, tensions were high, and it wasn’t entirely peaceful.
Blue Rally supporters filled trucks and cars chanting “Blue Lives Matter” while circling city streets for hours. BLM supporters chanted “All cops are bastards,” “I see racists,” and “Black Lives Matter.”
Police supporters.
Here are some of the things this reporter witnessed:
One man was carrying an assault rifle, which was intimidating to many. Police stayed close to him throughout the evening.
One Blue Rally supporter went over to speak with BLM supporters to simply express admiration they were being vocal in their beliefs. He knew the teens there and while addressing them, a professional BLM organizer got in his face with a camera demanding he wear a face mask. Another BLM supporter challenged him, as well. The video will be posted on Saturday.
A Trump supporter threw coffee at an elderly lady while driving by. It stained her jeans.
Joey Gibson, of Patriot Prayer, had a very nice conversation with a BLM supporter about religion and removing hate from our lives. There was a lot of good dialogue between the two individuals. But, his presence also intimidated protestors.
Several BLM supporters didn’t want this reporter to conduct interviews and chanted “racist” to my face multiple times.
Police broke up a couple altercations before they escalated.
Confederate flags were brought in, which disturbed a lot of people.
Some of the BLM teens felt intimidated by Blue Rally supporters.
Camas Police asked everyone to break up the events shortly after 9 pm. The Blue Rally crowd quickly dispersed, while the BLM group lingered past 10 pm with about 30 people.
The evening ended with a very positive conversation between a BLM/Joe Biden supporter, who is a teacher in the Evergreen School District, and a Blue Rally/Donald Trump supporter, who had a 7-minute conversation about how to make things better. They found common ground. Initially, both sides agreed to be recorded, but after it ended, the teacher withdrew her permission for us to post it.
“I just want our cops to know we do appreciate them, but we also need to help our black people right now,” she said. “They need a voice to know that we don’t want them to be oppressed.”
The Trump supporter agreed, and then the night ended.
https://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/28232413/AF619BCB-8E2D-4408-9A3C-19998C2DCDF8.jpeg6711280Ernest Geigenmillerhttps://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/07074147/lacamas_white_2-300x300.pngErnest Geigenmiller2020-08-28 23:32:212020-08-29 23:57:41Camas Rally For The Blue Supporters Square Off With Black Lives Matter
Camas author, Seth Sjostrom, releases his latest thriller this September. Dark Chase, an FBI paranormal thriller uses rural America as the setting for the novel.
Why are the residents of a quaint farm town inexplicably dropping dead?
An FBI team has been called to investigate why the population of the seemingly sweet town of Hope, ND appears to be being literally scared to death.
Professor Ryder Chase and his team of paranormal researchers have been assigned to assist with the investigation, much to the bane of no-nonsense FBI Special Agent Devon Jeffers. The oppositional mix of Professor Chase, Agent Jeffers and their respective teams struggle to manage their stark, at times comical, differences.
Faced with unexplainable events, weathering brutal storms and wild chases through cornfields, the team takes the case deadly serious as one of their own go down.
Can they pull together in time to solve the mystery before more people die?
A fascination with finding scientific facts to explain the seemingly unexplainable inspired Sjostrom to write Dark Chase. A lifetime of family trips to Hope, North Dakota to visit his grandfather and extended family inspired him to make Hope the setting for his latest thriller. “I always love visiting Hope. There is such charm and the epitome of Americana. The kindest people you would ever meet, overwhelming sense of peace, just a wonderful town in the middle of our country. I wanted share it with my readers and pay homage to my family,” Sjostrom shares.
“I’ll admit, I was a bit nervous making Hope one of the stars of the book. After all, it is a thriller with unpleasant things happening there and a brash FBI agent with no qualms turning his nose up at the simple, hardworking community…I wanted to make sure that the town and the people of Hope were represented as the way I see them. Kind, generous and welcoming,” Sjostrom added.
Wednesday afternoons in Camas are special during the warmer summer months because of our Camas Farmer’s Market. It’s a weekly event booked on my iPhone calendar as I look forward to greeting local farmers, florists, and vendors because everyone is so friendly, the fresh produce and products are treated with care, and its organizers work so hard to make it all happen.
The farmer’s market is a non-profit that has grown over the years to a successful seasonal enterprise that is typically filled with live music, food vendors, farmers, and other merchants who are dedicated to serving fresh food and a fun time. For years, typically, the market has fun events to entertain kids and tables to sit and relax. For years, it’s typically been a well-attended activity.
Then the virus hit.
At first, the City of Camas was reluctant to issue a permit for the market to event start in 2020 given the corona virus. But, after much lobbying and demonstrating they could do this safely, farmer’s market organizers made it work, and they opened in June, about a month later than planned.
Does the market resemble what it typically looks like? Kinda.
The booths are physically spaced, the traffic is re-routed to maintain personal space. Face masks are required, and there are just 15 vendors.
The hard-working farmers, bee keepers, florists, picante sauce makers, and sweet treat specialists are there each week ready to serve you quality food. And, even though attendance is lower, the market organizers say the vendors are making more money this year than in years past.
The typical food vendors aren’t there out of respect to the existing downtown Camas restaurants who hav
It’s an event I enjoy. I love greeting farmers and buying up strawberries, blueberries, zucchini, cauliflower, beets, carrots, applies, and peaches. It’s a weekly bounty for which I am very grateful.
The Camas Farmer’s Market is open each Wednesday from 3-7 pm on 4th Avenue in front of the Camas Public Library. Pay them a visit, buy some fresh produce, flowers or treats, and tell them THANK YOU.
https://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/25200150/CDD95C67-C1DF-491E-B068-84375B250BDE.jpeg6541280Ernest Geigenmillerhttps://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/07074147/lacamas_white_2-300x300.pngErnest Geigenmiller2020-08-25 20:49:252020-08-25 20:49:35An Op-Ed — Camas Farmer’s Market In a Pandemic: Less Is More
Vancouver, WA — The Clark Regional Emergency Operations Center (CREOC) issued their latest COVID-19 update. Here’s the report by the numbers, as of August 24, 2020:
Clark County
Number of Positive Tests: 2,435 (cumulative since March 2020)
Current COVID-19 Cases Hospitalized: 17
Number of Deaths: 47
Rate of new cases per 100,000 population: 74.7 (goal is to get to a rate of 25 new cases per 100,000).
COVID-19 persons under investigation (PUI) hospitalized: 11
Percent licensed hospital beds occupied: 67.5%
Percent licensed hospital beds occupied by COVID-19 patients and PUIs: 4.5%
Washington State
Number of Positive Tests: 71,012 (cumulative since March 2020)
Number of Hospitalized: 6,530 (cumulative since March 2020)
A team of state agencies hosts a monthly webinar series with experts who discuss information specific to Washington small businesses. A panel of state and federal partners respond to live Q&A regarding unemployment insurance, returning employees to the workplace, small business relief funding, workplace safety measures, and other topics important to employers. The next webinar will be held on September 9 at 1:30 p.m. There is also a Spanish-language webinar on August 27 at 4 pm. Click here to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/small-business-requirements-and-resources-sbrr-covid-19-impact-webinar-tickets-105298340170?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch%5C
Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) are available to help rural areas struggling with the costs of the pandemic. Washington State Department of Commerce is now accepting applications from CDBG non-entitlement (rural) city and county governments for the first round of these CDBG-Coronavirus (CDBG-CV1) funds. Visit Commerce’s CDBG-CV website for details on eligible activities and how to apply. Applications are due by September 3, 2020. Here’s the link: https://www.commerce.wa.gov/serving-communities/community-development-block-grants/cares-act-community-development-block-grant/
The Washington State Department of Commerce is distributing approximately $100 million in state Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding through its existing network of homeless services grantees and organizations serving homeless youth to operate a new rent assistance program launched Aug. 1. The program will focus on preventing evictions by paying up to three months of past due, current and future rent to landlords for eligible participants. Here’s the link to the site: https://www.commerce.wa.gov/news-releases/community-grants/100-million-rental-assistance-headed-to-washington-communities/
To address student learning gaps happening during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to sharpen minds during summer vacation, several local teens have created a non-profit learning and tutoring organization called Youth Hand in Hand, which offers free online classes and tutorials on a wide range of topics.
The organization, which is comprised of talented student teachers, hosts weekly 40-minute ZOOM class sessions, teaching topics that include Coding (Scratch and Python), SAT tutoring, Chemistry, Biology, Math, National History Day, Creative Writing and Cartooning.
“A lot of these classes are things we are passionate about,” said Ares Zhang, a Camas High School senior, and one of the group’s student teachers. “We know a lot of people who have missed out on opportunities over the summer. This all started out as friends trying to help each other, but it’s turned into something bigger. There’s no cost! All of it’s free. All you have to do is sign up.”
As a non-profit, Youth Hand in Hand is able to procure funding to purchase full ZOOM subscriptions for all teachers, and they are accepting old routers to help students to have better WiFi access.
“Technically, we started in April during the pandemic, and my sister wanted to learn scratch coding, and several neighbors were interested,” said Spencer Chang, a junior at Mountain View High School, and the organization’s founder. “I asked if anyone would also want to do it, and other four kids helped us.”
After initial setup, Youth Hand in Hand now has 18 student teachers and offers 15 classes. Most classes have two teachers and typically 15 kids are in each session.
“Last month, we had 250 people sign up,” said Chang. “It’s a month-to-month program. Most classes are 4 weeks long. We provide resources to help kids get through online learning.”
Zhang said they are adapting the curriculum to help kids through the school season, and they will shift toward tutoring.
“We can help them learn concepts since they’re not in regular school,” said Chang. “Our goal for September is to expand curriculum and get ZOOM subscriptions for all our teachers. All teachers are teens. The youngest one will be a freshman this year. We are mostly juniors and seniors.”
Youth Hand in Hand plans to do face-to-face classes and tutoring sessions when life returns to pre-pandemic normal.
“It’s mostly so people can keep on learning throughout the pandemic,” said Chang. “Some people don’t learn as well online, and we’re hoping we can make an impact, to provide people opportunities to learn.”
https://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/19141514/C67D9411-C2D5-477C-BC25-0DD0753117AE-e1597872481377.jpeg6561280Ernest Geigenmillerhttps://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/07074147/lacamas_white_2-300x300.pngErnest Geigenmiller2020-08-19 14:39:012020-08-19 14:39:11Local Teens Organize Online Learning Resource to Help Fellow Students
There’s a new card game in town, and it’s called “Cows In My Pants.”
“Based off a joke, it’s a card game,” said creator, Kathi Sjostrom, a Camas, WA resident. “It can be a quick pickup game. You should be able to pick it up easy, but there is a strategy. In 20 minutes, you can sit around the table and play it.”
It’s a game that Sjostrom says you can play with kids seven years and older. You need to understand numbers to be able to play. There’s a memory element in it that makes it more complicated. It’s designed to be a family and friendly pick-up-and-go game.
“I came up with the idea,” said Sjostrom. “I’ve always wanted to create board games, and we got to playing games regularly, and one night we had a funny, crazy game night and we decided to name our first game ‘Cows in My Pants’ and we sketched out a game.”
“Cows In My Pants” is a game about a bunch of cows that are dressed up, and you have to put them all back together.
The goal is to be the first player to create four of a kind, a flush, a run, or two pairs in your secret corral. Score points according to what you and everyone else has in their hand when “Cows in my Pants” is declared.
“From there, we played it with our friends, and we decided to make a game company called Paodle Games,” said Sjostrom. “We did this before the virus outbreak. We thought about holding off, and thought we needed laughter and friends. I have multiple games we’re planning to release this year. 2020 will all be light pick up and go games, and I have heavier games, which will be released later.”
To learn more about the game, or purchase it, visit www.paodlegames.com — go the Kickstarter link.
“We are local, we love local business, but the game world is a global platform so we’re putting it on Kickstarter, which allows us to produce it,” Sjostrom. “Our game can be pre-ordered through Kickstarter. After it’s funded, it can be purchase through the website. Once everything calms down we will also have local vendors that will have it.”
https://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/18194715/39628530-32DE-4503-BC35-2E8D34610270.jpeg7271280Ernest Geigenmillerhttps://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/07074147/lacamas_white_2-300x300.pngErnest Geigenmiller2020-08-18 19:59:022020-08-18 19:59:11Camas Resident Creates New Card Game ‘Cows In My Pants’
Washougal, WA — The Camas-Washougal Historical Society (CWHS) recently received a generous $2,500 grant from The Honorable Frank L. and Arlene J. Price Foundation. The grant is the third given to CWHS from The Price Foundation and is earmarked for the Gathering Place at Washuxwal project, a Native American-inspired longhouse pavilion located on the south side of the museum.
“We are entering the final stages of the project,” said CWHS president, Jim Cobb. “This includes Native American carvings and artwork to adorn the structure, educational signage and landscaping. We are excited to be nearing completion and are looking forward to using this area to tell important stories of the earliest inhabitants of our area.” Cobb hopes to have the final pieces installed this fall.
Kay Dalke-Sheadel, Price Foundation Executive Director, was unable to present the check in person due to COVID concerns, but in a letter expressed her gratitude for CWHS’ service to the community, stating “The Prices would be happy to know their funds are being used for such a worthy cause.”
“We are honored that The Price Foundation accepted our grant proposal and is helping to make our vision a reality,” said Cobb The Price Foundation was created to provide funding for education, health and historical preservation projects in Clark and Cowlitz Counties.
The Gathering Place which began a capital fundraising campaign in 2017. It is expected to help attract tourists, educational field trips and history lovers to the Two Rivers Heritage Museum and the community. “We are so grateful to the Price Foundation, our historical society membership and the community for their continuing support to help this project come to life,” Cobb said.
Find more information on The Gathering Place at Washuxwal visit www.2rhm.com. Donations can be made online. CWHS mission is to research, collect, preserve, and make available the rich history of Camas and Washougal, WA for the public. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. CWHS is a registered tax-exempt organization, Tax ID #91-1181503.
The Two Rivers Heritage Museum is located at 1 Durgan Street in Washougal and is currently closed until further notice due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Camas Public Library is pleased to announce racial equity as its first annual ‘Read for Change’ theme. Launching next week, the community reads initiative will feature speakers, exclusive access to a local documentary, discussion groups, a book giveaway, and racial equity community lending library—all at a safe social distance.
Starting Monday, August 17th, patrons can contact the Library to request a free copy ofHow to be an Antiracist and/or Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, both by Ibram X. Kendi (the latter coauthored for young readers by Jason Reynolds). There is a limit of one of each title per household, while supplies last. Library staff will treat the items like a curbside pickup request and place the book(s) at the 4th Ave entrance at an appointed time. When the recipient is finished with the book, the Library suggests they pass it along to a neighbor or friend. All books have been purchased and donated by the Friends and Foundation of the Camas Library (FFCL).
Read for Change will feature two keynote speakers to bookend the 12-week program. Portland-based equity speaker Alexis Braly James hosts Building Bridges: Race as a Social Constructon Tuesday, August 25th at 5:30pm. At 6pm on Thursday, November 12th in partnership with Humanities Washington, the Library will host Timothy Golden for Equality on Trial: Race, Fairness, and the US Supreme Court. Both speakers will present via Zoom.
Between the two keynote speakers, the Library will offer exclusive online access to local filmmaker Melissa Lowery’s documentary Black Girl in Suburbia. In addition, community facilitators are teaming up with Library staff to host book discussion groups for both titles, and the Library is also adapting several of their regular programs to tackle racial equity. Finally, a small “take-one-leave-one” type lending library at the Library’s curbside pickup with racial equity themed books donated by the community will round out the offerings. All details can be found on the Library’s website at www.camaslibrary.org.
“We are thrilled to kick off the inaugural Read for Change program with such an important theme. We have already had incredible community support, just in the planning stages. We knew we had to adapt and make this work in a virtual environment because the timing is so crucial. Providing a place for community conversations around race is key,” said Connie Urquhart, Library Director.
https://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/12194045/84F84B24-D74C-4F19-9D36-D42E60AD8D92.jpeg6581280Ernest Geigenmillerhttps://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/07074147/lacamas_white_2-300x300.pngErnest Geigenmiller2020-08-12 19:46:562020-08-12 19:47:03Camas Public Library Selects Racial Equality as First ‘Read For Change’ Theme
Clark County Public Health reported Tuesday that another 11 people have tested positive for COVID-19. To date, 2,121 Clark County residents have tested positive. The Health Department says the current incidence of new COVID-19 cases in Clark County is 88 cases per 100,000 residents over 14 days. The target rate is less than 25 new cases per 100,000 residents.
Currently, 12 COVID-19 patients and 13 persons under investigation (awaiting test results) for COVID-19 are hospitalized.
The agency also said today “our efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 by wearing face coverings and maintaining physical distancing appear to be working!”
Data in the latest statewide situation report shows the growth of new cases in the state is likely slowing. And the data in this new report “points to vigilant masking and physical distancing as the reason for the slowed statewide transmission, rather than changes to people’s mobility.”
While case numbers are flat or decreasing statewide among people younger than 40, they are increasing among those 40 and older.
While growth in new cases may be slowing overall, aggregated data masks diverging trends in older and younger populations. In both eastern and western WA, cases are flat or decreasing in the 0 to 39-year age group while increasing in the 40-69 and 70+ age groups.
Suggests that any flattening of new cases is due to non-mobility-related changes in behavior like vigilant masking and physical distancing when out.
The slight deceleration in the growth of new cases is an improvement over the rate of increase noted in their last few reports. However, it is too early to know with certainty whether this represents a real turnaround. Further, the observation at the state level that cases continue to increase in the older age groups and particularly in those 70 and older is concerning. State health experts expect that if the increase in cases in these older age groups continues unabated this will result in an increase in hospitalization and deaths.
The report says “We cannot definitively attribute this trend to the mask mandates because mask wearing is generally accompanied by heightened awareness and physical distancing, but a preponderance of evidence indicates that widespread use of masks significantly reduces transmission.”
Strict adherence to masking and physical distancing policies and limits on social contacts remain necessary to further suppress COVID-19 transmission in Washington state and protect groups at higher risk for severe disease.
https://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/07074101/2447ED53-96CF-45CB-AD64-A98E444B89B8.jpeg455810Ernest Geigenmillerhttps://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/07074147/lacamas_white_2-300x300.pngErnest Geigenmiller2020-08-11 19:46:022020-08-11 20:03:37COVID-19: Latest State Situation Report Shows Slowing of New Cases
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