Washougal, WA — Washougal High School’s new Panther of the Month Program celebrates the individual achievements of students by sustaining a culture of learning that not only values academic success but elevates awareness of student contributions to the Washougal community at large.
“We have so many amazing students to celebrate in our district,” said Michelle Massar, WHS Associate Principal. “We are excited to launch this program to recognize them and to help share their contributions with our community.”
Student nominations and selections are based on the WHS Pillars of P.R.I.D.E. Those are perseverance, respect, integrity, diversity and empathy.
“Staff members nominate students to be considered for the award,” said Massar. “The WHS Climate and Culture committee selects one nominated senior, junior, sophomore and freshman to receive the award each month.”
Wyatt Sims, Class of 2021 – “Wyatt has made my job as a teacher enjoyable. He participates in class and documents his labs. I enjoy reading about his lab work and learning more about him through these experiences. He is a fine young man, and I am impressed with his work ethic and core values.”
Jacob Streuli, Class of 2022 – “Jacob is always engaged in Zoom and the quality of his assignments is outstanding. If he needs help, he seeks it out. But what I appreciate even more is his positive attitude and leadership abilities!”
Alyssa Harness, Class of 2023 – “Alyssa is working hard during both synchronous and asynchronous times and earning amazing grades. She is a great kid and is putting in the hard work.”
Amanda Acevedo, Class of 2024 – “Amanda is a student who constantly tries to engage her classmates in our classroom. She tries to get everyone into the conversation and even if she does not succeed, she still tries again the next day. Her presence in the Zoom classroom makes our classroom better.”
“Students are being recognized with a yard sign placed within the first five days of the month, their names on the WHS reader board, social media announcements, photos displayed in the school’s front lobby, and more,” said Massar. “We are really proud of these first four honorees.”
https://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/22195803/7E1C84F6-0D71-44A0-8555-44ACBB9FDDAE.jpeg415629Ernest Geigenmillerhttps://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/07074147/lacamas_white_2-300x300.pngErnest Geigenmiller2021-01-22 20:03:322021-01-22 20:03:39Washougal High School Launches New Panther of the Month Program
Washington, D.C. — Joseph Biden was sworn in Wednesday as the 46th president of the United States, rising to the top of a career in public service that began 50 years ago as he faces a deeply divided nation dealing with the effects of a nearly yearlong pandemic.
With his hand on his family Bible, Biden recited the oath of office promising to “faithfully execute the office of president of the United States,” and, with the help of God, “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
Moments before, Kamala D. Harris took her oath of office, making her the country’s first female vice president, and also the first Black American and first with Indian heritage to hold the second highest office in the land. She placed her hand on twin Bibles, one from a family friend and the second belonging to Thurgood Marshall, the first African American justice of the Supreme Court.
President Biden, after taking the oath of office, talked about the importance of unifying the country, saying “my whole soul is in this.”
The President called on Americans to come together to overcome the extraordinary challenges that face the nation – an idea that he often mentioned on the campaign trail
“To overcome these challenges, to restore the soul and secure the future of America requires so much more than words and requires the most elusive of all things in a democracy, unity,” Biden said.
“Uniting to fight the foes we face. Anger, resentment and hatred, extremism, lawlessness, violence, disease, joblessness and hopelessness. With unity we can do great things, important things,” he added.
Biden said America would provide a positive example to the world under his leadership as president.
“I will be the president of all Americans,” he said …. “We must end this uncivil war .. We’ll lead not merely by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.”
Acknowledging the challenging times ahead for the country as it continues to battle coronavirus, Biden said, “Folks, this is a time of testing.”
The president added, “We will be judged, you and I, by how we resolve these cascading crises of our era. Will we rise to the occasion? Will we master this rare and difficult hour?”
The Camas-Washougal Community Chest is pleased to announce the early award of emergency grants to two local non-profit organizations delivering essential services to homeless families in Camas and Washougal.
ReFuel Washougal operates a severe weather shelter in the Washougal Senior Center whenever the local overnight temperature drops below 30 degrees Fahrenheit. They provide a dinner, overnight sleeping cots and breakfast. They also offer free meals on Friday to the homeless and low income households. Because of COVID-19 restrictions they have not been allowed to use the senior center’s kitchen. The grant will allow them to buy a microwave, ice machine, food processer, serving supplies and food for their meals and emergency food pantry.
St Anne’s Episcopal Church at 2350 Main Street in Washougal offers an overnight Safe Stay Program in their parking lot to homeless families sleeping in their vehicle. In 2017 the Community Chest helped St Anne’s install a shower for the use by the homeless using their Safe Stay Program. This grant will allow St. Anne’s to install a washer and dryer for use by the families to wash and dry clothes and bedding.
The CWCC is a registered 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization for federal charitable tax deduction purposes. CWCC raises money and awards grants to help local non-profits thrive. CWCC is evaluating another 29 grants and will be issuing more grants in early March 2021. More information and donation forms can be found on the CWCC’s website at www.CamasWashougalCommunityChest.org. Please donate if you can, to help those in need in these challenging times.
Olympia, WA — Governor Jay Inslee announced today that Washington state will expand access to available COVID-19 vaccines to include 65-year-olds as the state advances to Phase 1b of its vaccine distribution plan.
He also said those who are 50 years and older living in multi-generational households will also be eligible. State health officials planned on limiting distribution to 70-year-olds.
As of last week, Washington ranked 26th in the nation for vaccine distribution, which is slightly above the national average.
Inslee said there will soon be 45,000 vaccinations available every day, as soon as possible, which is higher than the current federal allocation. The state is vaccinating 13,000 to 15,000 people a day.
Inslee announced that providers must use 95% of the doses allocated within the first week of arrival. He said doses received before this week must be used by January 24.
During today’s press conference Inslee said mass vaccination sites will be coming soon statewide. The Clark County Fairgrounds will be one of the sites.
Olympia, WA — Clark County and the Southwest Region will remain in Phase 1 under Gov. Inslee’s Healthy Washington – Roadmap to Recovery reopening plan.
The state health department released updated data today for the state’s eight regions. No region is meeting the metrics necessary for advancing to Phase 2.
The Southwest Region includes Clark, Cowlitz, Klickitat, Skamania and Wahkiakum counties. Our region is only meeting one of the four metrics needed to move to the next phase:
❌Decreasing trend in COVID-19 case rate ❌Decreasing trend in COVID hospital admissions ✅ICU occupancy ❌Percentage of COVID tests coming back positive
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https://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/07072944/8508C89C-55ED-40CF-8779-479BB93A07F1.jpeg11731920Ernest Geigenmillerhttps://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/07074147/lacamas_white_2-300x300.pngErnest Geigenmiller2021-01-15 21:08:432021-01-15 21:08:50COVID-19: Southwest Region Remains in Phase 1 of ‘Healthy Washington’ Plan
Vancouver, WA — Clark County Public Health provided an update today about COVID-19 vaccine distribution and issued this statement:
“We continue to work with local health care facilities to vaccinate people who are eligible for COVID-19 vaccine. Clark County and Washington state are currently in Phase 1a of the state’s vaccine plan.
“Health care facilities have already vaccinated thousands of health care workers and first responders, and pharmacies are vaccinating staff and residents at long-term care facilities through a partnership with the federal government.
“People who are eligible to be vaccinated in Phase 1a and need help accessing COVID-19 vaccine can submit a request form on our website and we will connect them with a facility that has vaccine.
“In the last week and a half, we’ve received about 3,000 individual requests; we continue to receive several hundred requests a day. We are working as quickly as possible to get people who are eligible connected to a facility that has vaccine. However, the number of requests from people in 1a exceeds the capacity of our local health care facilities.
“Clark County will not begin vaccinating people eligible in 1b until the number of requests from 1a begins to decrease. We will make an announcement and update our webpage when we begin accepting requests for 1b.
“We are also working with partners in Southwest Washington to explore opportunities for opening community vaccination sites in order to more quickly vaccinate people. We hope to have more info to share in the coming weeks.”
You may learn more at their COVID-19 vaccine webpage: https://clark.wa.gov/public-health/covid-19-vaccine
https://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/15190607/981E822A-A6A0-462D-8E88-164A97D8206F.jpeg13211872Ernest Geigenmillerhttps://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/07074147/lacamas_white_2-300x300.pngErnest Geigenmiller2021-01-15 19:15:032021-01-15 19:15:11Clark County Public Health Provides Update On Vaccine Distribution
Camas, WA — The January 12th fundraiser for Camas resident Mariah Corbin, who is fighting a rare form of brain cancer, brought in $1,040, which represented 20 percent of Champ Pizza’s Tuesday’s sales.
Tyson Cook, Champ Pizza’s managing partner, presented the check, along with some pizza and breadsticks, Thursday night to Mariah’s father, Derrill.
“We just received another bill today and so these funds already have a place to go! THANK YOU,” Derrill said. “Mariah is in a reprieve right now, not in a lot of pain, but she is having some vision issues. We were able to have an enjoyable Christmas.”
Mariah’s health issues surfaced last summer and in September she was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer that’s only affected 35 people in the United States. Derrill said 34 of those 35 people have died.
“The community has been amazing,” Derrill said. “We are so grateful for the love and support you’ve shown us.”
Derrill said each day is challenging as new issues arise, and as bills mount. He said one of the latest treatment options has a $5,000 copay.
Cook saw the previous fundraisers by Grains of Wrath and Natalia’s and decided to step in.
“We are happy to help,” Cook said. “And, we want the community to know we can do other fundraisers when the need arises.”
Vancouver, WA — Clark County Republican Women have sent the following correspondence to Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler regarding her public announcement to impeach President Trump:
“In the strongest of terms Clark County Republican Women (CCRW) condemn your plans to vote to impeach our sitting Republican President. We urge you to do the right thing by reversing this course.
“If you cast this vote to impeach, you will demonstrate a complete disregard to the citizens who elected you in the Third Congressional District of Washington. If you cast this vote to impeach, you will never receive our support or votes again at any time in the future. Additionally, we will do everything in our power as the largest Republican Women’s organization in Washington State to recruit and elect a conservative candidate who will represent our values.
“On behalf of our entire membership, the CCRW Executive Board is unified in condemning your actions to betray a sitting Republican President. And this vote will never be forgotten, as your action is a personal affront to the 70 million plus Americans who voted for our President.”
Liz Pike, of CCRW adds: “Congress takes six months to pass a Covid relief bill to help everyday Americans, but they can pass another hoax impeachment in 72 hours or less. With its current makeup, why would anyone ever take this Congress serious ever again? They are a joke! Fire them all!
“Politicians are the only ones who create problems for the American people, then they blame everyone else for the results while campaigning for even more stupid ideas to fix their mess.”
Clark County Republican Women was founded 71 years ago.
“Our mission is to promote an informed electorate through political education, to increase the effectiveness of women in the causes of good government through effective political participation and to facilitate cooperation among Republican Women’s Clubs. CCRW fosters loyalty to the Republican Party and strives to promote its ideals, and to support the objectives and policies of the Republican National Committee, the Republican State Central Committee and to work for the election of the Republican Party’s nominees,” CCRW said in statement.
Washougal, WA — The roles of Washougal School District School Counselors have been altered during the pandemic, in the sense that the journey has changed, but not the destination. Their goal remains to build relationships with all students and families and provide children an outlet to be seen and heard.
“During a typical school year, I am able to see my students at any point throughout a school day, which makes it much easier to have quick check-ins, help problem solve in the moment, and to help students de-escalate and be in a state where they are ready to learn and engage with others,” explained Alysia Noriega, Hathaway Elementary School Counselor. “During remote learning, this is obviously much more difficult to do. While I am still able to connect with my students through many different means such as whole classroom lessons, small groups, and one-on-one, it takes much more coordination between myself, the student, and their families to make it happen.”
“Weekly lessons in social emotional learning are important at any time,” said Catherine Post, Gause Elementary School Counselor. “Right now, they are especially important because of the situation we are in. The lessons provide tools for students to utilize when they are struggling with our current schooling situation. These skills will also be of value when we are able to continue with in person learning again.”
It is important that every Washougal student has someone they feel comfortable with and can turn to in times of need.
“By having these weekly lessons, I am guaranteed time with all my students,” said Noriega. “I can focus on continuing to build on the relationships I have already established with them, as well as develop relationships with our new Hathaway kiddos.”
Additionally, it is important for students to spend time building social/emotional skills and language. Having a designated time each week to come together as a whole grade level and learn more about themselves and each other provides an enriching opportunity.
“Because the students don’t have recess and other outlets for interacting with their peers, my lessons are a combination of check-in time to hear what everyone is doing and excited about, lessons from the district approved social emotional curriculum of Second Steps, and extra videos and games that apply to those lessons,” said Post. “The 30-minute sessions with each grade are very organic in feel. Each grade may need something different on any given day, so I remain flexible to let them have more or less of any of the lesson parts depending on how things go.”
“I have been able to do a variety of different lessons and activities with my students, and the focus of these lessons vary from week to week, and from grade level to grade level,” she explained. “Topics we have covered this year include coping strategies, problem solving, emotion regulation skills, growth mindset, friendship building, and bullying prevention.” To keep students engaged, Noriega keeps things as interactive and fun as possible, and often incorporates videos, games, drawing activities, read-alouds, and activities that allow them to move.
“This year has brought on a host of different challenges that we didn’t know we would have to endure,” admits Noriega. “I believe one of students’ greatest challenges during this time is not having access to a learning environment that is consistent and structured. As a parent myself, I know how difficult it can be to balance my own work while also helping my kids with their schooling.”
For students to fully engage with their work and get the most out of their school days, it is helpful for them to have a consistent routine, be in a place that is free of distractions, and to be spending an adequate amount of time each day working on academic-related activities. However, it can be difficult for some families to create this kind of environment at home, which can create challenges for our students’ success.
Amongst all the obstacles that this year has brought, Post and Noriega have been able to do their job in a meaningful, successful way. “One main area of success is that I have been able to build strong, positive, and unique relationships with all of my Hathaway students,” said Noriega. “I have been able to do this not only through my weekly SEL zoom lessons, but also by hosting small lunch groups, working with students 1:1, doing home visits, and delivering personalized notes to students.”
“This year I have seen success in getting students with barriers to connect with their teachers,” added Post. “I have seen kindergarteners learn how to be students. I have also worked with staff and talked with them about tools to help with their emotional health because we cannot help our students if we do not take care of ourselves. Our Gause students know we care about them, and that is the best feeling of success.”
https://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/13194714/9715BC45-8B88-4194-8A47-9AFD7054C871.jpeg8161184Ernest Geigenmillerhttps://cdn.lacamasmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/07074147/lacamas_white_2-300x300.pngErnest Geigenmiller2021-01-13 19:58:252021-01-13 20:00:23Washougal School District Counselors Find New Ways to Help Students
WASHINGTON, D.C. – A week before leaving office, President Donald Trump became the first American president impeached by the House twice. The U.S. House of Representatives charged the nation’s 45th president with high crimes and misdemeanors for inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week.
The chamber charged Trump in a 232-197 vote, as all Democrats and 10 Republicans backed the measure, including Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, who represents Washington’s 3rd District.
“I rise today to stand against our enemy. And to clarify, our enemy isn’t the president, or the president-elect. Fear is our enemy. It tells us what we want to hear, it incites anger and violence and fire, but it also haunts us into silence and inaction. What are you afraid of?” she asked.
“The President of the United States incited a riot aiming to halt the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next. That riot led to five deaths. People everywhere watched in disbelief as the center of American democracy was assaulted. The violent mob bludgeoned to death a Capitol police officer as they defaced symbols of our freedom. These terrorists roamed the Capitol, hunting the Vice President and Speaker of the House,” Herrera Beutler said.
“Hours went by before the President did anything meaningful to stop the attack. Instead, he and his lawyer were busy making calls to senators who were still in lockdown, seeking their support to further delay the Electoral College certification.”
“My vote to impeach our sitting president is not a fear-based decision. I am not choosing a side, I’m choosing truth. It’s the only way to defeat fear,” Herrera Beutler concluded.
Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (WA-03) released the following statement Tuesday regarding the Article of Impeachment vote against President Donald Trump:
“Hours went by before the President did anything meaningful to stop the attack. Instead, he and his lawyer were busy making calls to senators who were still in lockdown, seeking their support to further delay the Electoral College certification. House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy describes pleading with the President to go on television and call for an end to the mayhem, to no avail. The President attacked Vice President Mike Pence on Twitter while Pence was in a secure room having fled from the mob that had breached the Senate floor threatening to hang him. Finally, the President released a pathetic denouncement of the violence that also served as a wink and a nod to those who perpetrated it: “I love you,” he said to them, “you are special.” More hours of destruction and violence ensued before law enforcement officials were finally able to clear the Capitol.
“The President’s offenses, in my reading of the Constitution, were impeachable based on the indisputable evidence we already have. I understand the argument that the best course is not to further inflame the country or alienate Republican voters. But I am also a Republican voter. I believe in our Constitution, individual liberty, free markets, charity, life, justice, peace and this exceptional country. I see that my own party will be best served when those among us choose truth.
“I believe President Trump acted against his oath of office, so I will vote to impeach him.”
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