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Camas Youth Group Preparing for Upcoming Candidate Forum

Camas, WA — Camas High School and members of the Camas Youth Advisory Council (CYAC) are preparing their 16th annual Candidate Forum, which will take place on Monday, October 22 at 7 pm in the Camas High School Theatre. The public is invited and your participation is encouraged.

CYAC is a Camas High School organization dedicated to educating students and others about the politics taking place in Camas and throughout our community.

“We are sure that you are aware that the national, state, and local elections will soon be upon us, and we encourage you to become involved with CYAC’s sixteenth annual Candidate Forum held at the Camas High School auditorium,” said CYAC in a statement. “The Candidate Forum is a great way for members of the community to hear the opinions and ideas of their political representatives. In past years, we have had many influential candidates attend the forum, which has been significantly beneficial to aiding voters in the decision-making process.”

This year, the forum is bringing together candidates running for the following seats: U.S. Representative for Washington’s 3r​d​ District; Washington State Representatives from the 18th​ District, positions 1 2; and County Commissioner for District 3.

The council is expecting to have the participation of Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, her opponent, Carolyn Long; State Representative Brandon Vick, his opponent, Chris Tobaben (running for 18th LD, position 1); Larry Hoff and Kathy Gillespie (running for 18th LD, position 2, a seat which is currently being held the retiring, Liz Pike; as well as Eric Holt and Eileen Quiring (running for Clark County Commissioner).

 

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Washougal: Kindness Matters, Students Honor Parkland Shooting Victims

Vancouver, WA — At their annual ESD 112 Principals’ Meeting, a group of Washougal students presented the results of their April Kindness campaign, which was done to honor victims of February’s Parkland shooting massacre, and to remind people to treat each other with respect.

The five students, who attend Washougal High School, representing the Unite! Washougal Youth Community Coalition, reported on the origins of the campaign, its activities, and its statistical results.

ShaylaRae Tyner explained the campaign’s origins, which are rooted in this writer’s relationship with Ryan Petty, whose daughter, Alaina, was killed in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

“The editor [at Lacamas Magazine] had a personal connection with the Parkland incident, and he wrote an article, which later led our mayor [Molly Coston] make April the month of kindness, which brought kindness into our community and into our schools.”

Kindness

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Leaders of the Unite! Washougal Youth Community Coalition reacted to the mayor’s proclamation and created a special kindness campaign that had significant local impact.

”We created a project called Kindness Week for our school and community to promote thoughtfulness and care,” said Amara Farah. “We created three major goals with this opportunity and we wanted to promote positive action and give people a reason to smile. We wanted to create some source of community after the Parkland impact, and our Mayor declared April Kindness month and we wanted to include the entire community by providing fun activities and random acts of kindness.”

Over the course of a few weeks, the group created a series of fun lunchtime activities designed to get people connected and to put kindness at the forefront of their daily lives.

”From the first day to the last we only saw an increase in participation,” said Rachel Lyall. “With our school principal saying in a time in our society when the norm is to criticize and blame, kindness week modeled the complete opposite.”

Chloe Connors said the activities included a compliment battle, and at Friday’s meeting the students showed the principals a brief skit on how the compliment battle worked, where students tried to out do compliments with each other. The also reported on their kindness boards where people wrote good thoughts. The team created hula hoop competitions that became quite popular. Students filled out smile grams to lift each other up — which increased over the campaign.

Kindness

The team honored the students and teachers who were killed and injured in the February Parkland, FL shooting.

There was great enthusiasm from fellow students about continuing these types of activities throughout the year. WHS does plan to continue these kindness campaigns, and Kurtis Villareal said they witnessed groups of kids who never spoke to one another start to open up and communicate.

Villareal reported on the statistical findings before and after the campaign.

”We sent out a survey at the beginning of our kindness week, and at the end because we wanted to know if our students at WHS thought we had a positive culture,” said Villareal. “When we sent this out most people didn’t think that we were so positive, but with the all the activities we saw a big increase in the school culture being positive, which is really awesome.”

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City of Camas Accepting Applications for New Mayor — Thru Oct. 26

Camas, WA — The City of Camas is now accepting applications from Camas residents to fill the position of mayor. The deadline to apply is Oct. 26, 2018, 5 pm.

The City Council will hold a special meeting on Nov. 14, 2018, at 4:30 pm, in Camas City Hall, 616 N.E. Fourth Ave., for conducting candidate interviews. Special meetings are open to the public, but public comment may not be submitted. An executive session and council vote will follow. The appointee will take the oath of office at the next regular meeting of the City Council, scheduled for Nov. 19, 2018.

The appointee’s term is anticipated to run from Nov. 19, 2018, through Dec. 2, 2019, the remainder of former mayor Scott Higgins’ term. On June 11, 2018, Higgins announced his resignation, effective Sept. 30, 2018, to spend more time with family. Higgins served Camas for 17 years, first as a City Councilor. Council Member Don Chaney is currently serving as mayor pro tempore.

Candidates must reside in the City of Camas, have been a resident of the City of Camas for at least one year prior to the mayor appointment, and a be registered voter of the City of Camas.

For details and an application, see https://www.cityofcamas.us/images/ADMIN/CamasMayorApplicationInstructionsInfo2018.pdf

Hoff

www.MyHeavensBest.com

 

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Election 2018: Washougal Seeks to Significantly Change Form of Government

Washougal, WA — Proposition 8 is a City of Washougal ballot measure for the November 6, 2018 elections, which gives voters the opportunity to decide whether to change Washougal’s form of government from Mayor-Council to Council-Manager.

It’s a change incumbent city council members requested early in Mayor Molly Coston’s first term, and one that she’s neutral on.

“I support it,” said Washougal City Councilor, Brent Boger. “Checks and balances is not really an ideal system for a city the size of Washougal. I’ve worked in City Manager systems and in strong Mayor systems.”

The issue is also something that the City of Camas is mulling.

Why is the Proposal on the Ballot?

In March 2018, Coston appointed the Citizens Government Advisory Committee and charged them with the task of determining whether it was the right time to transition to a Council-Manager form of government. The Citizens Government Advisory Committee recommended that the City Council place on the November 2018 ballot a measure to adopt the Council-Manager form of government for the City of Washougal. On May 29th, 2018 the Council adopted a resolution placing this issue on the November 2018 ballot.

What is the Council-Manager form of government? (PROPOSED FORM)

In a Council-Manager form of government, power is shared by an elected legislature consisting of a seven-member Council, which is responsible for policymaking and adopting the budget, and a professional city manager, appointed by the Council, who is responsible for administration of the City. Each City Council member serves a four-year term. The Mayor serves as a Council member and community representative, presides over Council meetings, but has no executive power. In this form of government, the Council selects one member of the Council as Mayor, or voters can choose to have the Mayor be directly elected.

A professional city manager is hired by the Council and is responsible for administration of the City. This includes the daily operations of city government, handling personnel functions (including appointment and removal of employees), and preparation of the budget for submission to the City Council for their review and approval. The city manager is directly accountable to and can be removed by a majority vote of the City Council at any time. Under the Council-Manager statutes, the City Council is prohibited from interfering with the manager’s administration.

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What is the Mayor-Council form of government? (CURRENT FORM)

In the Mayor-Council form of government, the Mayor is elected at-large and serves as the City’s Chief Administrative Officer and the seven-member City Council is elected to serve as the legislative body of the City. The Council has the authority to formulate and adopt city policies and the budget and the Mayor is responsible for carrying them out. The Mayor attends and presides over Council meetings, but does not vote, except in the case of a tie. The Mayor has veto power over the legislation passed by the City Council, but the veto can be overridden by a majority plus one of the entire Council membership.

A professional city administrator can be hired to serve under the Mayor and assist with administrative and policy-related duties. The City of Washougal currently has a city administrator.

If Proposition 8 passes, how will Washougal transition to a Council-Manager city?

The current Mayor would become an eighth Council member and the Council would continue with eight members until the expiration of the current Mayor’s term of office (December of 2021). The City Administrator would become an Interim City Manager until the city hires a new City Manager or appoints the Interim City Manager on a permanent basis. The eight member Council would designate one of its members to hold the position of Mayor. When the current Mayor’s term expires, the Council would then revert to seven members. After the transition, the Council could decide to place another ballot measure on a future ballot to ask voters if they want to directly elect the Mayor instead of the Mayor being appointed by the Council. In the resolution placing the change in form of government ballot measure on the November ballot, the Council expressed its intention to place a ballot measure to directly elect the Mayor on a future ballot if the change in form of government passes.

To learn more, visit www.cityofwashougal.us

Washougal

Washougal Mayor, Molly Coston, takes the oath of office from Judge John Hagensen.

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Camas Mayor Pro Tem Issues Disability Employment Proclamation

Camas, WA — In his first proclamation as current Camas Mayor Pro Tem, Don Chaney issued the following proclamation at Monday evening’s City Council meeting:

WHEREAS, Americans with disabilities are entitled to the same rights and freedoms as any other citizen including the right to dignity and respect in the workplace; and

WHEREAS, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Act provides anti-discrimination protection for our nation’s 49 million Americans with disabilities and recognizes their right to be integral, contributing, productive and valued citizens of our country, state, and city; and

WHEREAS, workplaces welcoming of the talents of all people, including people with disabilities, are a critical part of our efforts to build an inclusive community and strong economy; and

WHEREAS, the City of Camas actively supports the goals of equality, opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency for all people with disabilities; and in this spirit, we recognize National Disability Employment Awareness Month to recognize the many ways individuals with disabilities strengthen our workforce and contribute to our community; and

WHEREAS, the theme of this year’s Awareness Month is “America’s Workforce: Empowering All” in order to raise awareness of disability employment issues and honor the contributions of America’s workers with disabilities;

NOW THEREFORE, I, Don Chaney, Mayor Pro Tem of the City of Camas, do hereby proclaim October, 2018, as: “‘National Disability Employment Awareness Month” in the City of Camas, and urge all citizens in Camas to embrace the talents and skills that individuals with disabilities bring to our community.

In witness whereof, I have set my hand and caused the seal of the City of Camas to be affixed this first day of October, 2018.

Don Chaney, Mayor Pro Tem
Office of the Mayor

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Disability

At his final City Council meeting, Mayor Pro Team presents outgoing Mayor Scott Higgins with an appreciation plaque.

 

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EveryoneWalk: Coach Dale Rule Walks 50+ Miles in 24 Hours

Camas, WA — To raise awareness in his fight against obesity, and create unique parks across the country, Camas Football coach Dale Rule walked for 24 hours this past weekend at Doc Harris Stadium.

During that time, he logged 50+ miles, or 100,866 steps in loops around the football field, and got to speak with many members of the community.

“Some may think I’m an idiot for doing this,” said Rule. “I am, but this is what I’m supposed to be doing, and the doctor gave me clearance to do this just a few days ago. I was so happy to make it to the finish line, it was brutal, but I made it!”

Rule, who along with his wife, Lya, have been championing the fight against obesity for several years. At one point, Dale weighed more than 400 pounds, and decided to exercise more and significantly change his eating habits. He was set to walk from Portland to Chicago this past summer, but suffered from a burst colon just days prior to his journey.

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“If it would have happened during my walk, I’m sure I would have died,” said Dale.

Dale spent weeks in the hospital, and it took months to be in shape to even walk for an hour.

Along this weekend’s walk, he spent time with community members talking about his vision to raise funds to build special parks throughout the nation, starting here in Camas.

“I just ask for people to contribute $1.50 a month,” he said. “Building these parks will create jobs, help kids stay in shape, and stay out of trouble. I know this all sounds crazy, but I believe this is why I’m here. We will make this happen.”

During his walk, he spoke with friends and acquaintances about how best to promote what he’s doing.

“There are negative ways to do it that will generate more buzz, but we’re a group of positive, optimistic people, so we’ll just stay on that route — Everyone Walk!” he said.

To learn more, visit www.everyonewalk.com

Gallery

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More than 100 Volunteer Time, Support at Saturday’s Lacamas Lake Cleanup

Camas, WA — More than 100 volunteers gathered at Lacamas Lake Saturday for their annual cleanup, which was organized and supported by local businesses and organizations.

The cleanup is scheduled each year to coincide with the lake’s draw-down, which allows Georgia-Pacific to inspect lake dams and perform maintenance. During the draw-down, water levels are reduced by approximately 6 feet.

WaferTech, IQ Credit Union, and Journey Community Church were on hand to provide food and resources for volunteers.

”We found a lot of things today,” said Lamont Warren, who was there with his wife, Sherry, and four of his five grandchildren. “We found cans, bottles, cigarette butts.”

Sherry said they found a grill, an old rusty chair, and a lot of debris along the Lacamas Lake Lodge deck. Local Boy Scout Troop 565 was there to help out.

The Lacamas Lake Cleanup began two decades ago by the Lacamas Shores Homeowners Association. Boaters and trail walkers would pick up litter around the lake, but it wasn’t an official event.

Over the years, the effort has grown to become a community wide event. Volunteers typically collect garbage ranging from bottles and cans to items like rusty chairs and aquatic recreational toys.

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The Long Push to Build a New Washougal Public Library — Presentation to Rotary

Washougal, WA — In their ongoing campaign to build a new Washougal Library, branch manager, Rachael Ries, addressed Camas-Washougal Rotary members Thursday morning about their goals and objectives.

The existing 2,400 square foot library, which was built in 1981, is cramped quarters and isn’t adequately serving the local community as Washougal has simply outgrown it. The Washougal Library is part of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library (FVRL) District, which stretches all the way to Goldendale.

“We are getting the word out that we need a new library,” said Ries. “To help us with the constraint, communities members like Alex Yost are putting up pop-up libraries around town.”

New Library Study

Ries reported that a recent study indicated they need a 10,000-12,000 square foot facility, with a projected cost of $4.5 million to build from the ground up. $1.1 million has been set aside by Fort Vancouver Regional Library for the new Washougal building; $157,000 has been raised by private donors; and they raised a little over $30,000 at the 2018 Dinner in White on the Columbia.

A new library would do the following:

  • Provide ample and more comfortable seating.
  • Provide greater community access to technology.
  • Expand book collections for all age groups.
  • Provide good community meeting spaces.

Library

Location

The Washougal Library wants to have a space in downtown, and either wants to build from the ground up, or find a lease to own space in a multi-use partnership.

As part of their fundraising efforts, the Friends of the Washougal Community Library is hosting a book sale on September 28-29, which will be on Main Street at the corner retail space across from the post office. Hours are 9-5 on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, from 4-5 pm, there will be a bag sale. It’s $3 for the bag.

Why are they scrambling to find money?

“In our district, we also have three other building projects — Woodland, Ridgefield, Washougal, plus the library system will have to relocate their headquarters, so there is a lot going on,” said Ries. “The headquarters is being encouraged to move out faster than our lease stipulates. And, we are trying to do this without asking for a bond. We have limited options of where to build it.”

Bucking national trend?

A lot of libraries around the country are closing. Is there a risk of local libraries closing down?

“The answer is no, here locally,” said Ries. “There is more use of e-books, but people will take what’s most readily available. The trend toward ebooks is with an older population. They would also like to have writer’s groups meet at the new facility. Kids are reading many books.”

Ries said they haven’t set an actual goal of when to have monies raised or when they’d like to build it, but they are working hard to get to the estimated $4.5 million cost.

“Every year the cost goes up,” Ries said. “That is from ground to completion — on our own. If we could use an existing shell, the cost would be less.”

To learn more, visit www.fvrl.org/imaginewashougal

 

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Hancock Sworn in as New Washougal School Board Director

Washougal, WA — Angela Hancock was sworn in as the new Washougal School Board Director for District #2 at the Tuesday, September 25 board meeting. She replaces Elaine Pfeifer, who resigned in July after nearly 14 years of service.

“I look forward to representing District #2 community members,” Hancock said. “My main priorities as their board director are transparent communications, fair representation, being accessible and continuing to be a vested member of the community.”

District #2 covers areas to the north of Washougal River Road and in Skamania County.

“The Board of Directors and myself are pleased to welcome Angela to her new position,” said Dr. Mary Templeton, WSD Superintendent. “We are excited about her energy and passion for our school district and are eager to have her join the other four board members in the work of guiding the direction of the Washougal School District.”

Hancock

www.McKeanSmithLaw.com

Hancock, a mother of two current Washougal students, has been very active in many areas of the district. She is a past employee at Gause Elementary, Cape Horn-Skye Elementary and Canyon Creek Middle School as well as a long-time volunteer at CH-S. She was a valuable member of the successful Vote Yes for Safe Schools Bond and is a current CCMS Booster secretary. Additional volunteer work in the schools and community have included past CH-S Booster Vice President, Washougal Schools Foundation 2018-19 Stride Volunteer Coordinator, Girl Scouts of America Assistant Troop Leader, Camas Community Education Soccer Coach, West Columbia Gorge Humane Society volunteer, Harold W Busch Alzheimer’s Committee Member and much more.

Hancock said she is excited to work with a group that she respects on what she feels are some of the most important goals in our community. “Being a school board member has been in the back of my mind since attending my second board meeting years ago,” she recalls. “I felt that this was somewhere that I belong and could make a difference when the time was right. Washougal is at a turning point in many ways and I am very excited to become a part of the process.”

Hancock joins board members Teresa Lees, District #1; Donna Sinclair, District #3; Cory Chase, District #4 and Board Chair; and Ron Dinius, District #5.

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Camas School Board: Bus Driver Shortage, Math Study, Budget Cuts

Camas, WA — At their latest meeting on Monday, the Camas School Board heard from administrators and teachers who discussed major issues, including a bus driver shortage, a comprehensive math study, and budget cuts.

In their Board Communications session, board member Tracey Malone, who also serves on the board of the Cascadia Tech Academy, reports that Cascadia still isn’t getting funds from the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), and that the academy leaders are very frustrated. She said certain portions of the academy need renovation. Cascadia provides technical learning experiences for students from all Clark County-area high schools.

Superintendent’s Report

Camas School District (CSD) Superintendent, Dr. Jeff Snell, said they are awaiting their first bargaining session with the local principal’s union. When those sessions are completed, CSD will be able to report a more exact annual budget, and report more details on four-year forecasting.

Snell reported that he spoke with State Rep. Paul Harris, who said he’s very concerned about the small school districts — and that they are nervous about financial sustainability past one year under the new state school funding model.

“There’s a lot of angst out there,” said Snell. “Harris said there is more legislative work to do.”

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Snell added: “We have major challenges with recruiting and maintaining bus drivers. It’s becoming a safety issue, and we need to do something about it. Our pay is lower and our bus driver contracts are tied to that. We need to align pay with Evergreen and Vancouver. It’s affecting transportation to athletic events in other districts, and we have mechanics driving now. It’s a fun place to be (as a bus driver), but these are unique hours. It’s a big complex problem that doesn’t have easy answers.”

Snell said he continues to attend staff meetings to reinforce the message about budget impacts from McCleary.

Math Track Study Update

Dr. Charlene Williams kicked off a conversation about a Math Track Study, in which she hopes will gain support and momentum.

Williams explained the purpose:“Camas School District’s Problem of Practice and Theory of Action are aimed squarely at building the conditions and capacities to ensure that each student is seen and served. Ultimately, our goal is equity, and we will know we have met that goal when the factors that predict any student’s success or opportunity are no longer correlated with any group identity.”

Board

Dr. Charlene Williams explains the study’s timeline.

Dean Strawn addressed tracking and acceleration.

“Tracking places students into different levels of the same course, with the levels identified by tags such as honors, advanced, regular, or remedial.”

Acceleration provides opportunities for students with exceptional mathematical promise, and educators want to ensure that opportunities are available to every prepared student and that no critical concepts are rushed or skipped, Stawn said.

As new common core curriculum enters secondary schools, they are launching this study in our community to address concerns from teachers, families and students about our current math tracking system — and specifically they are addressing a perpetual cycle of math anxiety.

Cycle of Math Anxiety

Lack of confidence > Math anxiety > Avoid math > Poor performance is the cycle that educators see — and it’s one they’re trying to break.

“We have seen the benefits of tracking a small percentage of students who meet or exceed the acceleration expectations,” said Stawn.

CSD teacher, Jenna Lee Harrison, said she learned a lot from math issues affecting San Francisco Unified School District.

“We learned a lot from San Francisco, and we can glean a lot of things from them,”Harrison said. “What is the current research? Marginalized groups fall into lower math tracks. We need a rich math environment for every one of our students.”

The CSD Board agreed to proceed with the study, which will last through the school year.

Monthly Enrollment/Budget Update

Jasen McEathron discussed enrollment and said a revised budget is in progress.

He said the new CSD enrollment headcount is 7,243, which is 2.3 percent higher overall than budgeted, and that the largest growth this year is in 5th and 6th grades. Kindergarten enrollment is the smallest at 458. First and tenth grades were the only grades below budget.

“We have to continue to be diligent in looking at the demographics in the community,” said McEathron. “We need to take a closer look at the number of kids who have left and those who we’ve accepted on boundary exceptions. Special ed is tracking below budget.”

Budget Outlook

  • McEathron addressed the following during his presentation:
  • CSD is expecting a budget extension will be necessary for 2018-19 to accommodate the additional cost of the CEA contract (teachers union).
  • The revenues from enrollment growth, cost avoidance measures, and fund balance will be used to cover the additional cost in 2018-19.
  • Immediate measures to curtail expenditures include 1) non-personnel cuts of 2%; 2) all new hired positions are temporary/one-year that are historically hard to fill.
  • More significant changes will be necessary for 2019-20.
Board

Math Study

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