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Clark County Elections Office Admits 2,120 Camas Ballots Have Major Errors

Vancouver, WA — Clark County Elections Auditor Greg Kimsey admitted today that 2,120 Camas ballots were sent out over the weekend that had major errors. 

The issue was bought up by Camas voter Heather Deringer, who lives on Livingston Mountain. Others in that area also have noted erroneous ballots.

“When I went to open my ballot, I was surprised to see my Camas School Board candidates were not on the ballot, and instead I had Evergreen School candidates on the ballot,” said Deringer. “I emailed them last night about the issue and they called me back this morning.”

Upon hearing of this error, Lacamas Magazine contacted Kimsey who began an internal investigation. He confirmed that Deringer and several others are indeed Camas School District voters who received ballots with Evergreen School Board candidates on them.

After his initial probe, Kimsey reported today that 2,120 ballots were mailed in error, most of which were mailed to Camas School District voters.

“Correct ballots will be mailed out this week,” said Kimsey. “Two thousand new ballots have to be reprinted, inserted into envelopes, and mailed out. This will happen tomorrow morning, and these voters will also receive a letter explaining the situation.”

The incorrect ballots mostly affect Camas School Board candidate races.

So what happened?

Kimsey said it was human error. 

“Proofreading that should have happened didn’t happen,” Kimsey said. “We had to adjust precinct boundaries to align with the correct jurisdictions and portions. This allows us to get the correct ballot to the correct voter.”

Kimsey said 13 incorrect ballots have already been returned. He said those incorrect ballots will be held apart from the general ballots, so they won’t be recorded.

“Correct ballots are essential to our democracy,” said Kimsey. “We are fixing this error, and voters will have their new ballots by Thursday.”

Perman
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Jennifer McDaniel: Former Washougal City Council Member Seeks Camas Seat

Camas, WA — Jennifer McDaniel, who is running for Camas City Council, Ward 3, Position 2, recently answered several Lacamas Magazine questions about her candidacy.

McDaniel served on the Washougal City Council for nine years until 2017 when she and her family moved to Camas. She has served on various boards and committees for several years, and is a strong advocate of public service.

“These are your neighbors and friends who are doing the best they can in these public positions,” said McDaniel. “They’re doing this to better their community. Families have really struggled to educate their children and maintain their incomes. There’s a lot of anger around that. We’re all concerned.”

What are the Top 3 reasons McDaniel is running:

Reason 1: “A lot been happening in Camas over the past few years, and I’m concerned about it, and as a former Washougal City Council person I’d like to see our community heal. There will be a lot of change with three new city council members, a new mayor and a new city administrator. What does Camas need to heal from? We need to heal from mistrust from the pool bond, the write-in candidate who didn’t finish his term. People need confidence in their city leaders again. That’s restored through communication. Involve everyone in the communication process. Everything had to shut down and people got information but it was virtual. It’s not the same as talking in person to someone in charge, which is always the best way to communicate. Be honest and collaborative. Engage Camas is the online website that talks about all the projects for people to volunteer for committees. We need to support all of our events downtown because that brings people together. People crave seeing each other.”

Reason 2: “Parks, trails, open spaces. It’s a high priority for me. It’s good for our health, it’s good for our soul. We need to keep improving them and develop the more recent ones we’ve acquired, especially north of the lake. I want to make sure we have enough to maintain those facilities. We need to keep things clean. We need permanent restrooms, and I know there’s a park plan to develop that.

Reason 3: “Downtown Camas is our gem. I know there are many infrastructure issues that need to be addressed. They need to be a higher priority. DCA has issues with lack of electrical outlets to get power to vendors for major events. We need proper ADA access to sidewalks. I’d also like to see parking problems solved. There’s always a parking issue. A solution is to work with the milll’s parking area and see if we can purchase the parking lot across the street from Grains of Wrath. This is something in the future but we need to have those discussions. Parking is getting worse.”

Leadership 

“I served on Washougal City Council for nine years. It was wonderful. I got elected before their downtown revitalization. I was involved in getting that off the ground. I made sure we had sidewalk improvements. Our relationship for economic development was an important partnership. We worked with the Port of Camas-Washougal and the City of Camas to attract businesses to our community. Any businesses brought in through the port have helped our economic development.” 

What is Public Service?

“It’s basically doing what you can for your community, getting involved in non-profits and wards and communities. It’s about putting your community first, always. It should always be Camas first in everything we’re doing and always will be. Serving the public is a civic duty to me. I started when my children were small. I decided to get involved in Meals On Wheels. I was the liaison to the school district from the city. I served as the Washougal Schools Foundation president.”

Misconceptions About City Council

“They don’t see all the work that’s involved in working on council. We serve on multiple boards. They don’t see all the research that goes into studying these issues. A lot of times we meet with staff on off hours. We work hard to get the information we need to be able to make informed decisions. The effort put into the knowledge of the issues is huge.” 

McDaniel said she would reach out to other small cities to see how they manage things. 

“We learn from each other. It’s important to maintain those relationships with community leaders all over Clark County.”

To learn more about her candidacy, visit https://mcdanielforcamas.com

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Washougal Mayoral Candidate Derik Ford Arrested For Domestic Violence

Camas, WA — The Camas Police Department reported today the arrest of Washougal mayoral candidate Derik Ford for one count of Assault IV-Domestic Violence during a Wednesday incident.

Initially, the Washougal Police were dispatched to the Ford residence following the report of an assault. Upon arrival, they learned the suspect was Derik Ford, owner of 2 Rivers Bar and Grill in Washougal, who had already left the scene. The report says the responding officers recognized Ford as a mayoral candidate and requested assistance from the Camas Police to eliminate any conflict of interest.

Camas officers interviewed Ford’s wife, and they reported a physical altercation had occurred and that she had been assaulted by Ford. Officers noticed red marks and scratches on his wife that corroborated her report. His wife declined medical treatment at the time of the report.

Camas officers contacted Ford at a different location and interviewed him. The report said he told officers there had been a “heated” argument but denied any physical confrontation. Officers noted marks on his wife that indicated otherwise. 

Following his arrest, Ford told officers that his wife had struck him but he didn’t want her to get into any trouble. 

Based on his wife’s statements, apparent injuries, and Ford’s inconsistent statements, officers determined there was probable cause to arrest Ford for Assault IV-DV. He was arrested and booked into the Clark County Jail for one count of Assault IV-Domestic Violence.

As of this morning, he was at Clark County Jail.

Ford has a history of domestic legal troubles. His former wife filed a temporary restraining order against him in May 2015 in Washington County, Oregon to prevent domestic abuse. Court documents show that Ford admitted to one count, and agreed to a two-year bench probation. 

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Washougal School District Welcomes New Transportation Supervisor

Washougal WA — Washougal School District welcomed new Transportation Supervisor David Tsao on August 30, 2021.  Tsao had worked at Bainbridge Island School District since 2013 as a bus driver and, for the past four years, a driver trainer. In that role he provided administrative support as part of the Bainbridge Island Transportation Leadership Team.

Through his experience in transportation, Tsao is well versed in the challenges school bus drivers face.  

“It takes a special type of person with skills to drive a big vehicle and multitask,” Tsao explained.  “Drivers need to be constantly aware of what is going on around them in and outside of the bus and prioritize their focus.”

The physical task of driving the bus becomes a smaller concern once a driver earns their license, according to Tsao.  

“The biggest issue is the 40-50 children they are responsible for,” he said. “They are precious cargo!  And the best drivers have compassion for kids.  They can connect and relate to each of them even with the variety of family environments kids come from.  Once they leave their home, our bus drivers are the first adult they see before school and the last one after.”

Prior to working with the Bainbridge School District, Tsao had extensive experience in business and financial management during his first career in construction and facilities/property management and real estate development. He established long standing relationships with national retailers, local commercial clients, and local government agencies.

Tsao was responsible for all financial and operational aspects of a construction management business, establishing operational overhead budgets and revenue goals with senior management staff. He was responsible for overseeing payroll for nearly 200 employees and actively involved in recruiting, hiring and supervising staff as well as involved in continuing education, personal accountability, and staff development with outside consulting firms.

“My philosophy when working with one employee or a group of employees, is we need to work as a team to get the job done,” he explained.  “We may have different roles, with some in a union and others in management, but we need to keep in mind that we are all working toward the same goal and to find a common solution.”

Tsao received his Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Washington. He is a Washington State Certified Bus Driver and Trainer and a Washington State Department of License Class B CDL Trainer. He is also fluent in Mandarin Chinese and hopes that he will be able to support our students and families if an opportunity arises.

Tsao was drawn to the area due to its proximity to the Columbia River Gorge and Portland. “I am excited to be in Washougal,” he said. “I wanted to find a place to work that could use my expertise and experience.  Bainbridge is actually a larger district, but Washougal has a larger Transportation Department.  I am looking forward to taking on that challenge.”

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Lacamas Lake Drawdown Scheduled to Begin September 13

CAMAS, WA — Officials with the City of Camas Public Works department have announced that the annual drawdown of Lacamas Lake is scheduled to begin Sept. 13.

Beginning at 8 a.m., Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, the City will reduce the total level of Lacamas Lake by approximately six-feet, in order to achieve the level needed to facilitate dam inspections and repairs.  

The drawdown should take a few days, with the minimum level being reached by the approximate date of Friday, Sept. 27, 2021.

Once inspections and repairs have taken place, the process to refill the lake to normal levels is scheduled to begin Oct. 25.  Officials expect this process to take several weeks, depending on rainfall volumes.

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Yshai Boussi Apologizes For Condemning Republicans At CHS Freshman Orientation

Camas, WA — The Camas High School administration team issued a statement this week regarding Monday’s freshman orientation that featured Yshai Boussi, LPC, a mental health professional, who said all students will eventually smoke pot and that “you can either be a good person or you can be a Republican.”

The CHS statement said: “It was brought to our attention this morning that a guest speaker at Monday’s freshman orientation made a characterization that was inappropriate and divisive. The remark made by this speaker does not align with our values and our mission to see and serve each student, and we apologize to the students and families who were upset or felt uncomfortable by the characterization. 

“At Camas High School and throughout our entire district, we work to ensure all students feel safe and included at all times. We will continue to work with guest speakers to ensure our student experiences are beneficial and inclusive. If you have questions, please let us know.”

In today’s CHS update they said “There were many very important takeaways from the presentation. We hope that many of the points resonated with students. Unfortunately, one comment during the presentation was hurtful for some students, and for that, we sincerely apologize. Our guest speaker from Monday, Yshai Boussi, has created a video that he would like to send to the CHS community.”

VIDEO LINK

Here’s the video: https://youtu.be/KNmv5Nxv-40

“It’s important for us as a community to offer students opportunities to restore any harm created by this experience,” CHS said. “Yshai suggested the chance to meet with students next week at CHS who were negatively impacted by what they heard. At least two CHS administrators will help facilitate this discussion. It’s important that we have conversations when messages are received that hurt people. We appreciate Yshai’s willingness to model accountability and listening to understand.”

What are your thoughts?

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Politics 2021: Leslie Lewallen Running for Camas City Council, Ward 3, Pos. 2

Camas, WA — Leslie Lewallen is running for Camas City Council, Ward 3, Position 2, which is an open seat. Her opponent is Jennifer McDaniel, a former Washougal City Council member. Here are several answers Lewallen provides to Lacamas Magazine questions.

Question: Why are you running for Camas City Council?

Answer: I am running for City Council because Camas deserves better.  Camasonians deserve to be meaningfully heard and participate with transparent accountability and effective city leadership. I am ready to protect our schools, our public safety, our local business community, and our parks and environment– things we value as members of this special community all the while holding myself and our city leadership accountable to the citizens of Camas. From $78 million pool bonds to drug detox facilities being located to elementary schools and tens of millions of dollars spent on private land acquisitions citizens have been kept in the dark for too long.

Question: Why are you qualified to fill this seat?

Answer: I am a native 5th generation Washingtonian.  I graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in political science and Seattle University School of Law with a Juris Doctorate. After law school I practiced as a judicial law clerk for Chief Justice Gerry Alexander at the Washington State Supreme Court. I then went on to work as a deputy prosecuting attorney prior to joining private practice where I focused primarily on school law, and land use property rights issues. I have worked on zoning issues, land use issues, environmental issues and issues related to Washington’s Growth Management Act.  All areas of law that are specifically related to many of the City Council’s duties.

As a retired attorney, business owner and mother of four, I have the leadership, knowledge, and communication skills necessary to serve.   

Although I have never held elected office before, I believe my education, knowledge and legal and business experience uniquely qualifies me to lead Camas back on track and make it the best city it can be.  

Question: What are your priorities should you be elected to Camas City Council? 

Answer: My vision of downtown Camas urban development and the Northshore over the next five to 10 years is easy. My vision is to represent the will of the electorate. I have personally canvassed over 1,500 homes in the past three months.  I have heard from citizen after citizen that they do not want the Northshore developed. Camasonians have been clear.  They want to preserve the greenspace of our community and preserve the natural beauty that makes Camas special.  It’s time our city stops paying consultants to tell us what we want or need.  It’s time our city listened to the taxpayers.  

I believe that Camas has a unique opportunity to work together with Georgia Pacific to plan and create a healthy, vibrant space that accommodates the needs of our citizens. With a clear understanding of zoning, property laws and environmental laws, I believe that I would be a valuable resource in working together to create mixed use development in the heart of Camas.  Not only would a mixed-use development preserve the environment of our Northshore, but it would satisfy an existing infrastructure, allow for various types of housing, parking, and retail—all of which keep our valuable tax dollars where they belong — in Camas.  

You can learn more about Lewallen and her candidacy at https://www.leslieforcamas.com

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Inslee Mandates Educators Receive COVID Vaccine; Issues Indoor Mask Requirement

OLYMPIA, WA — All K-12 and higher education employees statewide, as well as some childcare providers are now required to be vaccinated, Gov. Jay Inslee said today at a press conference.

Inslee also reissued a statewide indoor mask mandate to include everyone, regardless of vaccination status. The order previously applied only to unvaccinated individuals.

Inslee’s new COVID-19 mask mandate goes into effect Monday, Aug. 23.

His educator vaccine requirement applies to:

  • K-12 educators, school staff, coaches, bus drivers, school volunteers and others working in school facilities
  • Employees in higher education institutions
  • Childcare and early learning providers who serve children from multiple households

Today’s new vaccine requirement is a condition of educator employment and applies to public, private and charter schools. Tribal schools are exempt from the order. Students are not mandated to get the vaccine. Educators and staff have until October 18 to get fully vaccinated.

Inslee said today’s announcement follows a massive surge in COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide, breaking previous records set last September. 

The Department of Health recommends face mask use in crowded outdoor settings, such as concerts, sporting events, fairs and farmers markets.

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Clark County COVID-19 Cases Rise: 191 Per 100,000

Vancouver, WA — COVID-19 virus activity continues to increase rapidly in Clark County as the current rate has more than doubled in two weeks and is nearly four times the rate three weeks ago.

COVID-19 case rates are rising in all age groups, with the highest rates among young adults 20-39 years old, said Clark County Public Health.

Rates among 10-19-year-olds have been increasing over the last month, with the biggest increase occurring in the last two weeks. Rates for this age group are now nearing the highs during the peak of the pandemic, they said.

Low vaccination rates, more contagious variants, and increased group interactions are contributing to the rise in cases, which are largely occurring among residents who remain unvaccinated against COVID-19. Nearly 96 percent of cases statewide through July 31 were not fully vaccinated. In Clark County, nearly 97 percent of cases through June were not fully vaccinated.

Cases

• 964 additional cases (confirmed and probable) since last update

• 28,507 confirmed to date (+772 since last update)

• 2,007 antigen probable cases to date (+192 since last update) 

• 1,070 active cases (in isolation period)

• 12.1% of hospital beds are occupied by COVID-19 cases and persons under investigation for 

COVID-19 (awaiting test results)

• 68 COVID-19 cases and 2 people under investigation for COVID-19 hospitalized

Deaths

• 300 total deaths to date (267 confirmed, 33 suspect)

• 4 new confirmed deaths since last update: man in his 30s with underlying conditions, man 80+ years old with underlying conditions, man in his 70s with underlying conditions, woman 80+ years old with underlying conditions

Rates

• COVID-19 activity rate is 191.1 cases per 100,000 over 14 days (up from 120.8 per 100,000 last week). 

• COVID-19 new hospital admission rate is 6.4 per 100,000 people over 7 days (up from 3.2 per 100,000 last week)

Here are more details on the Clark County Public Health COVID-19 data webpage: https://clark.wa.gov/public-health/covid-19-data 

If you’re not yet vaccinated, the health department recommends seeking a location near you today and get vaccinated.

• Search on VaccineLocator.doh.wa.gov

• Search on VaccineFinder.org

• Call 833.VAX.HELP

• Text your zip code to 438829 (GETVAX)

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Inslee Requires Vaccinations For Most State Employees, Health Care Workers

Seattle, WA — Gov. Jay Inslee today announced a requirement for most state workers, and on-site contractors and volunteers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. State employees and workers in private health care and long-term care settings will have until October 18 to be fully vaccinated.

The requirement applies to state workers, regardless of teleworking status. This applies to executive cabinet agencies, but the governor encouraged all others such as higher education, local governments, the legislative branch, other statewide elected officials and organizations in the private sector to do the same.

“It is the mission of public servants and those providing health care to serve our fellow Washingtonians. These workers live in every community in our state, working together and with the public every day to deliver services,” Inslee said. “We have a duty to protect them from the virus, they have the right to be protected, and the communities they serve and live in deserve protection as well.”

The governor made the announcement at a press conference on Monday at Kaiser Permanente in Seattle. He was joined by Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, King County Executive Dow Constantine, Kaiser Permanente Washington President Susan Mullaney, Washington State Secretary of Health Dr. Umair Shah, and Seattle-King County Public Health Officer Dr. Jeffrey Duchin.

“State employees, health care and long-term care workers are extremely pivotal in the fight against COVID-19, and we hope these steps will further our goal of getting as many people vaccinated,” Secretary of Health Dr. Umair A. Shah, MD, MPH, said. “We should all be concerned with the increases of COVID-19 cases in our state and we know that vaccines are our best tool to end this pandemic.”

The announcement comes as Washington is experiencing a severe increase in COVID cases and hospitalizations in every county, due to the Delta variant, with the overwhelming majority of cases and hospitalizations being among unvaccinated Washingtonians.

Prior to the governor’s announcement, Kaiser Permanente WA mandated that it would be requiring all its employees to be vaccinated.

“The growing threat of the Delta variant has put our unvaccinated communities in a serious and precarious situation. We have at our disposal the key to ending this deadly surge and even the pandemic — vaccines,” said Susan Mullaney, president of Kaiser Permanente Washington. “As the largest integrated health care provider in the state of Washington, Kaiser Permanente has taken the important step of requiring that all employees and physicians be fully vaccinated. We look forward to working with the governor, the state, labor partners and our fellow health care systems to protect our state.”

King County leads the state in vaccinations, with approximately 81.5% of eligible residents 12 years of age and older having initiated their vaccination series, 12% higher than the statewide average as of August 2.

“No patient should have to worry about getting COVID-19 from their health care provider, period,” said Jeff Duchin, King County Public Health officer. “Requiring COVID-19 vaccination for health care personnel protects not only patients and health care workers, but also their families and our community — including those who cannot be vaccinated or do not respond to the vaccine due to being immunocompromised. I thank Governor Inslee for taking this important action as the threat of COVID-19 is increasing locally and nationally.”

This new requirement includes well-defined exemptions to the vaccine. Individuals with legitimate medical reasons or sincerely held religious reasons will be exempt. The exemptions do not include personal or philosophical objections.

To keep staff, families and communities safe, there will be no test-out option for employees. Past opt-out testing policies in congregate facilities for unvaccinated staff have not been efficient at preventing outbreaks that impact employees, clients and families, resulting in the loss of life of dedicated staff. Providing a test-out option would be both a financial burden for staff and taxpayers and ineffective at protecting the lives of Washingtonians.

Employees who refuse to be vaccinated will be subject to dismissal from employment for failing to meet legal job qualifications. The state will work with labor organizations on meeting collective bargaining obligations and adhering to civil service rules.

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