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Clark College President Addresses CW Rotary; Club Recognizes Camas Student

Washougal, WA — Robert Knight, President of Clark College, addressed the Camas-Washougal Rotary Club Thursday morning on the benefits of community colleges, as well as plans for the school’s future. Rotarians also recognized Camas High School sophomore, Yozen Fang, for his academic achievements.

In his speech, Knight said he’s pleased with the strength of Clark College, which was established in 1933.

“The way we teach is changing,” said Knight. “And, our teachers are some of the best out there — I know our students are getting a quality education.”

He said two-year colleges like Clark address a demographic of youth that aren’t ready for the size of four-year universities.

“We get them ready, and with our small class sizes, around 20 students per class, teachers get to know the students by name,” said Knight. “And, as parents we’re saving you a lot of money. They’re getting the same quality education as they would at a large university for these first two years. They’re the same classes. Then you can go on to become a Duck, a Beaver, a Huskie, or a Cougar.”

He also discussed the growing demand for vocational education, and wants to change the attitude toward trades.

“Parents need to know there’s a growing demand for these kinds of jobs, and they need to know they’re paid high wages,” said Knight. “So we’re working on changing those perceptions. We also need to think about going to school year-round, instead of taking summers off. That’s a old way of thinking.”

Additional points:

  • Clark College owns several acres of land to build a northern campus in Ridgefield, of I-5 exit 14. The school bought the land several years ago, and is getting the funding to build there.
  • Clark College Columbia Tech Center Campus is a big success, and helps students in Camas, Washougal and East Vancouver get to Running Start classes quickly.
  • The Running Start program has 2,400 students.

Yozen Fang

Rotarians also honored Yozen Fang, a soft-spoken Camas High School sophomore, as their club’s Student of the Month, for his academic achievements.

“Students are always given praise by staff,” said Rotarian, Ron Carlson. “According to your teachers, Yozen, they say you’re an inspiration to the work ethic of CHS. Your ability to experience defeat and never give up is amazing. You are very successful, and … you are slowly … shedding some of your shyness in the school. Another teacher said ‘underneath that quiet exterior is a sharp and witty mind. He diligently works on his work and is faithful to every teammate he works on in his research projects. While he is quiet, his math work is excellent. He is very talented, very bright.’”

Fang writes in Japanese using highly skilled terms.

Fang said he loves to go on long walks, and read.

Rotary

Camas High School sophomore, Yozen Fang, was recognized as the Camas-Washougal Rotary Club’s Student of the Month at the group’s weekly meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Local Firefighters Continue to Press Camas for More Personnel

Camas, WA — During Monday’s Camas City Council meeting, local firefighters continued to press city leadership for additional staff to meet state requirements.

At issue is a state minimum requirement to staff each fire engine with three firefighters.

Adam Brice, president of East Clark Professional Fire Fighters, addressed initial findings from a recent Washington Department of Labor and Industry investigation that said the City of Camas and its fire department violated multiple workplace safety laws during a February 14 Prune Hill residence fire.

”The L&I investigation said laws were broken,” said Brice. “Our firefighters and citizens deserve a solution.”

Earl Shimogawa,president of the Parker Estates Home Owner’s Association (HOA) said he’s concerned about not having three firefighters per engine.

”I’m concerned about our Fouth of July fireworks and I request that the mayor and city council do what they can to put three firefighters per engine,” said Shimogawa.

”I feel like it’s sub-standard,” said firefighter, Josh Proctor. “We deserve a higher quality of life.”

 

Council

Camas City Councilor, Don Chaney, left, presents Gary Knopp, with the Mayor’s Volunteer Spirit Award.

City councilor and Mayor Pro-Tem, Don Chaney, presented Gary Knopp with the Mayor’s Volunteer Spirit Award.

”Gary is someone I know, and I have high respect for him,” said Chaney. “Gary has a history of making monthly blood and platelet donations to the Red Cross. Each platelet donation takes three hours.  Plus, he does volunteer work for the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) and many other groups. And he doesn’t do it for the publicity. Thank you, Gary, from the citizens of Cams for your tireless and selfless commitment to our community. You’re a great citizen and a patriot.”

To learn more, visit www.cityofcamas.us

Council

Firefighter’s union leader, Adam Brice, addresses the Camas City Council.

 

Council

Mr. McGowan, president of the Parker Estates HOA, addresses the Camas City Council.

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Roadway Rule: Walk to Chicago, Then Change Communities From Within

Camas, WA —  Dale Rule doesn’t just walk. He walks with a purpose. As he prepares to embark on a 60-day walk to Chicago on June 17, he’s doing so to put a spotlight on obesity — and to change communities from within.

”Years ago, I weighed 335 pounds, and I dropped 102 pounds in six months by changing how I eat, and by walking,” said Rule. “So I just keep on walking.”

Two summers ago, Rule, a football coach and high school security guard, walked to San Diego, which is a major accomplishment, and this year he’s been training for another incredible trek. His strategy is to walk 2,150 miles from Portland to Chicago, averaging 35.5 miles per day, with his family accompanying him in an RV. That’s approximately 4.2 million steps!

His goal is to initially raise $20,000 for this journey: https://www.gofundme.com/dales-pdx-2-chi-walk

He’s also encouraging people to purchase T-shirts through his non-profit website, www.everyonewalk.com

But, that’s really just the beginning, he says.

“I want a million people to pledge $1.50 per month to build community parks, and I want the first one to be built right here in Camas,” he said. “We are dominated by obesity, and the health problems this epidemic brings with it. We see obesity, but we don’t see how others feel about themselves. It’s a symptom of a personal worth problem in America. I see every day how people try to live up to what other people think they should be. You see kids dress or act in a rebellious nature. They want to know they’re loved and want to be belong to a family or group. So, these kids do what they can to get attention.”

Rule believes that when families break down, the community needs to help repair the damage by working together. His vision is to build community parks, on 40-acre parcels, that have all the necessary athletic amenities necessary to help reduce obesity — and build communities without spending a single taxpayer dime. Each park would have athletic fields, tennis courts, basketball courts, walking trails, etc. Each park would be funded by $1.50 per month pledges.

He ultimately envisions 20 percent of Americans pledging $1.50 per month to build and maintain these parks. That’s $97 million a month to accomplish his goal.

”I believe we can re-build communities from the inside out,” said Rule. “We’d need people to run these parks and facilities, and those would be the people in these neighborhoods. We have to teach people how to love themselves again. We have to give people a door so they have an option to change. When I was fat, I had zero discipline. I turned it all to food. And, that’s one of the problems we face today. There is generational poverty, generational obesity — that’s all some people know.”

Rule himself comes from a rough childhood with little security, and the absence of a father.

“Foootball probably saved my life,” he said. “Because before that I was a hotheaded, angry, smart mouth kid. I was very short tempered. The only consistent thing I had was Dale.”

As June 17 gets closer, Rule knows the trek is going to be incredibly hard. He knows he’ll get sick to his stomach. He knows his body will ache. He knows there will be moments he feels like dying.

“I know there will be moments when I ask myself ‘Can you do this, Dale? Do you have it in you?’ We’ll get it done.”

Rule

The Rule RV during the 60-day walking trek.

 

 

 

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3D Printing Brilliance: Washougal Student Earns Youth Achievement Award

Washougal, WA — High school education is often multidimensional.  For Washougal High School senior, Ulysses Ramel, his interest and skill in 3-dimensional printing helped him to broaden his expertise while he developed opportunities for other students to learn how to create 3D projects.

Ramel made positive and negative 3D mold examples for use in a new unit of instruction in the WHS Baking and Pastry class.  He also wrote step-by-step instructions for students to create a positive mold using class software.  This work, and the passion he exhibited to help others learn, earned him recognition in the 2018 Clark County Youth Commission’s Youth Achievement Award for education.

In the nomination submitted by WHS Librarian Hillary Marshall, she said his expertise helped her to teach and reach more WHS students.  “Ulysses demonstrated perseverance as Chef Hitchins and I were creating a brand-new unit of study and he created multiple molds as examples. His attention to detail was exceptional as he explained why designs worked or failed and helped me to understand the software, so I could deliver clearer instruction.”

“I was happy and surprised to receive this award,” Ramel said.  “I like sharing my knowledge about 3D printing and helping other students to have the fun of creating something new.  It is a nice feeling to make something for people to see.”

“Ulysses is helpful and wants to share his knowledge of 3D printing,” said Marshall.  “He is kind and approachable so working with him is encouraging.  He helped me giggle my way through learning a software tool that was uncomfortable and foreign to me, so that I could gain confidence under his guidance and deliver a clear, concise lesson to the Baking and Pastry class.”

Ramel is a student at the Cascadia Tech Academy Pre-Engineering program where he refined his knowledge of 3D printing.  His skills were put to the test when he was asked to help assemble the school’s 3D printer.  “By assembling it, I now understand the concepts of how it works so I can see how to work around mistakes and improve the product,” he explained. “Once you know how something works, you know more about how to fix an error.”

Beyond his Cascadia projects, Ramel has also created 3D key chains and drink coasters for the WHS Unified Sports to help the team promote itself.

Ramel is Filipino and arrived in Washougal during his freshman year from the Philippines.  At that time, he could understand some English language but was not able to speak it well. Now he plans to join the Air Force and go on to college for a degree in mechanical engineering.

“I am pleased Ulysses is receiving this Youth Achievement Award,” Marshall said.  “I wanted to recognize his talents and encourage his efforts and help him reach his dream of a career in engineering.  Ulysses is humble about his talents, but they need to be highlighted.”

“I did not expect to get an award for this,” Ramel said with a smile. “It makes me proud.”

 

Ramel

Ulysses Ramel received the Youth Achievement Award in Education for his work in 3D printing.

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Washougal HS Cake Decorating Contest Connects With Library

Washougal WA – Start with the Washougal High School (WHS) Library and add a dash of WHS Advanced Baking class and you get a fun and creative project for students as a part of National Library Week in April.   Students used book titles to inspire and practice their cake decorating skills learned in class.

“To say these creations are amazing is an understatement,” said Fran McCarty, WHS Library Assistant.  “The students had a lot of fun choosing the book to illustrate with their cake. There was a lot of buzzing around the shelves.  If was fun.”

The WSH student body voted for their favorite.   All the cakes are currently on display in the library. The winning cake was an Alice in Wonderland theme created by Rose Elsensohn. Jennifer Whitmeyer, Hannah Moen, Rebecca McDonald.  “We chose Alice in Wonderland because it was so colorful,” said Elsensohn. “And there were so many different characters to create around the story.”

According to the winning team. the most challenging part was building the castle tower.  They tried to roll fondant but ended up using Rice Krispy treats.  They felt their attention to detail and ability to work as a team were the keys to earning them first place in the student vote.

The idea for the cake decorating project came to McCarty when she considered that culinary students create gingerbread houses during the holidays, so why not cakes?

“And by partnering this way we are getting some students into the library that normally may not come in very much,” she said. “The students all did a fabulous job!”

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Fireworks Hearing: Camas City Council Listens to 30 Citizens Monday Evening

Camas, WA — Thirty Camas residents spoke in a filled City Council chamber Monday night to express their opinions about fireworks usage within city limits.

The city is seeking public input about whether to make changes to the existing fireworks ordinance, and is considering four options:

  1. Keep the ordinance intact, as is.
  2. Limit fireworks usage to only the 4th of July, and New Year’s Eve.
  3. Create a “safe and sane” ordinance, which limits which fireworks can be lit.
  4. Ban private Camas fireworks all together.

Mayor Scott Higgins opened the hearing and emphasized that citizens had a three-minute time limit.

“I urge you to be respectful and honor each other,” said Higgins. “Please don’t treat people negatively.”

Of the 30 who spoke publicly, 11 are in favor of a ban, while 21 are in favor of keeping the fireworks ordinance as is, or limit usage to only one day during the 4th of July holiday, and New Year’s Eve.

The first five citizens spoke in favor of banning Camas fireworks all together, and gave impassioned testimony supporting their positions.

”I only see one viable option,” said Gary Fields. “A total ban of fireworks. Do the right thing and outlaw them.”

Scott Culbertson said: “I think we need to consider a ban. We have a change in climate, and summers are getting hotter and drier. There’s too much noise, and I have to leave Camas and then worry that things will catch on fire.”

Mandy Stonewahld referred to Prune Hill as “Prune Hill Baghdad” while addressing the council.

“The fireworks continue for hours on end, from 8 pm to 2 am, and they last for days,” she said. “We are concerned about our elderly, we’re concerned about those with special needs and the undo stress it places on them. Camas military vets suffer from PTSD, and we watch our neighbors try to one up each other by spending more money. Maybe we can push for a compromise and limit them to one day?”

Gabriel Kern spoke in favor of keeping the fireworks ordinance as is.

“I’m an Eagle Scout,” said Kern. “I represent the young families of Camas, and we want our fireworks. We love our 4th of July celebrations. Some of my favorite memories are coming together on this holiday.”

Kern’s father, a retired military colonel, said: “Prune Hill is not Baghdad. I bring my family together for fireworks, and I love seeing neighbors getting together. We just need to manage it better.”

”I’m married to an ex-military guy,” said Julie Brown. “We teach our children to use them responsibly. This is a holiday that brings us together, and we need to teach our kids respect.”

The City of Camas will continue to gather public input in the coming weeks before presenting all information to the City Council. Council member, Steve Hogan, said the council expects to vote on this issue in June, and noted that any change won’t be effective until 2019.

The City of Camas welcomes your comments. Please email Bernie Bacon at bbacon@cityofcamas.us or call 360.817.1591.

To learn more, visit www.cityofcamas.us

 

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City of Camas Holds Public Hearing on Fireworks Use Tonight

Camas, WA — The public is invited to attend the City of Camas Public Hearing on the use of fireworks in Camas, which is happening Monday, May 14 at 7 pm in the Council Chambers at Camas City Hall.

Options to be discussed at this meeting are:

  • Keep current city code – discharge on July 3rd & 4th and December 31st
  • Modify code to allow discharge on July 4th and New Year’s
  • Only allow discharge of safe and sane fireworks – nothing that projects into the air
  • Ban all fireworks

If you have an opinion or idea to share, the city wants to hear from you. According to city administrators, posts to social media cannot be accepted as official comment.

You can have your voice be heard using the following mediums:

  • EMAIL your written testimony to Deputy City Clerk Bernie Bacon: bbacon@cityofcamas.us
  • SUBMIT written testimony to the Clerk’s Office, located at 616 NE 4th Avenue
  • Hand-delivery or mail.
  • CALL the Clerk’s Office at 360.817.1591 to leave a message or provide testimony by phone. All options may be carried until the hearing’s completion.

Need more info on the budget or the public hearing? Contact Deputy City Clerk Bernie Bacon at 360.817.1591 or bbacon@cityofcamas.us

Fireworks usage has been up for debate the past several years as other nearby cities have banned or limited their use.

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“Say Hello” to Smalltown Poets With Their New Album Release

Camas, WA — The Grammy-nominated band, Smalltown Poets, is back and better than ever with today’s release of their eighth album, “Say Hello.”

Their style of music is comparable to Counting Crows.  It’s a jangly, guitar driven rock, with very catchy melodies — and a lot of time was spent crafting the sound of this record. They’ve had several top 10 hits in the Gospel genre.

One of the signature songs from the album, “Middle of our First Love,” has gotten significant radio time these past few weeks. And, it’s one of Kevin Breuner’s favorites. Breuner is one of the band’s guitarists — and he’s also a Camas resident.

“The story behind this is we had ten songs we recorded and arranged them in priority in what we worked on first, and this was number 10,” said Breuner. “Then it went through this dramatic re-write. It started out as slow jazzy song. There was a lot of honesty with each other, so we knew we had to fix it, and the results exceeded all expectations. That’s one of the storylines with this record. Since we have a few years under our belt there was an open, honest collaboration and it pulled out the best out of all of us.”

The new album is available at all the various music service worldwide including, iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon, Pandora and more. This website is a portal to all the places the music is available: https://smalltown-poets.lnk.to/6KpRmWE

“Say Hello” was produced by the band with Matt Goldman, who’s worked on big projects from Third Day, Under Oath, and Copeland.

“He’s well known in Atlanta, and just really brings a new level of creativity to any project he’s working on,” said Breuner. “The five of us have day jobs across the country, and it took us two years of collaboration to put it all together. We’d each write something, share files over the Internet, and hammered out ideas, which led to recording sessions. Our last album was a Christmas album, which is a whole different animal all together. It’s about timing. We took more time as we did this independently. This gave us freedom to keep doing until it’s right.”

Smalltown Poets used to be assigned to a major label out of Nashville, and sold albums in mid to late 90s, then the band went their separate ways.

Poets

Kevin Bruener on stage with Smalltown Poets.

“We’ve been collaborating across the Internet, releasing records, and pursuing regular careers and getting out on the road when we can. I’ve lived in downtown Camas for past three years, so much of this record was recorded at my house in Camas. We also recorded in Memphis, and Atlanta.”

The band is technically based out of Atlanta, where two of its five members reside, and where a lot of the album’s recording occurred.

One member lives in Charlotte, one in Tampa, and Breuner lives right here in Camas. In their early days, the band lived in Nashville. Smalltown Poets debuted in 1997.

Presently, the band is working on tour dates, with conceptual plans to do a West coast run in the fall, starting in Seattle.  Right now, the main first step is getting the music out there. They average 20-30 shows a year.

Bikes

www.Camasbikes.com

Independence

Breuner is VP of Marketing at CD Baby in Portland.

“CD Baby is a beacon in the independent music industry,” said Breuner. “I left the whole major label thing because we were always the last people to get paid. We sold 200,000 copies of our first album, and we were still scraping by. I thought there’s got to be a better way to get the music out to our fans. If I could sell directly to our fans we could sell less music and make more money.”

“I’m doing exactly what I’m passionate about. So I’ve been working at CD Baby for over 12 years. We educate artists on how to move their careers forward. The fact that I’m still an active artist and out there in the trenches, along with working in the business, I can see what artists need to do to promote their music. We support 650,000 artists. We help so many with a path to success. There’s a lot of learning. It’s been fun to see what artists are doing.”

What drives him?

“I try to give up music, and then I get pulled back,” he said. “I want to make music. Releasing music is something I enjoy. Something inside me that wants to keep creating. Music is a release that’s though to explain. It allows me to express myself. I’m not a lead singer, I’m not someone who gets on stage to sing. I love to write and record with the guitar. It helps me express what I’m feeling. I feel like when I listen back to the tracks, it’s easy to go through the emotions and capture what I’m feeling. It helps me to leave my own finger print.”

His family moved the milltown because his parents moved to the Camas-Washougal area, and they started doing Camas Days, and all the local activities.

”When we outgrew our starter home, we had two daughters, and knew the kind of house we wanted,” he said. “We checked out a house that was exactly what we were looking for. We love the neighborhood. We know most of our neighbors and we do neighborhood BBQs and do a lot of things in downtown Camas. We go to all the Camas football games.”

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100+ Women Who Care Clark County Raise $10,000 in 1 Hour For Senior Citizens

Camas, WA — For their second event, the newly created, and rapidly growing 100+ Women Who Care Clark County raised $10,000 in just one hour for Villages Clark County.

More than 100 women gathered at Salud! Wine Bar, in downtown Camas, and listened to how their previous donations to Children’s Home Society are being used to help kids. Following that presentation, members placed their preferred charity names into buckets, of which three were drawn: 1) Special Olympics Dolphins Swim Team; 2) Villages Clark County, and Fathers in the Field.

Representatives from each charity each spent a few minutes explaining what these charities do and answered questions. Following the presentations, the women voted for their preferred choice. The winner was Villages Clark County, which is part of a national network of “baby boomers” and senior citizens that are coming together to assist other senior citizens, and help them stay in their residences.

Helen Elder, the local chairperson for the organization, said senior needs are growing. She explained that seniors often are forced to leave their homes for the following reasons:

  • Health concerns
  • Mobility
  • Isolation
  • Finances
  • Concerns about burdening children

“One local woman felt she needed to leave her home because she could no longer mow her yard,” said Elder. “We network with local organizations, like churches, and the Boy Scouts, to offer assistance to our seniors.”

The group offers companionship, grocery shopping, housekeeping, pet care, running errands, and more.

To learn more, visit www.villagesclarkcounty.org

“I am so thrilled and humbled at the level of support the community has given our group,” said Christy Ribary, the founder of 100+ Women Who Care Clark County. They all feel empowered that they can make an immediate impact to our community. I am so inspired by all of this.”

To learn how you can join, visit www.100womenclarkcounty.com

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East County U14 Soccer Team Wins State Championship

TUKWILA, WA — After battling into double overtime at Sunday’s President’s Cup State Tournament (Division 1) at the Starfire Complex, the East County-based Washington Timbers Red 2 BO4 team defeated NSC Green in penalty kicks, winning the coveted title 5-4 in PKs.

The tournament, which actually began a week earlier in pool play, continued into semi-finals Saturday culminating in Sunday’s Championship game.  The Timbers beat Crossfire Premier in the semi-finals, 3-0, and over six games, the boys only gave up two goals.

“It’s a very athletic group,” said Head Coach, Dan Youngren. “The championship was a really good game, and the other team had a strong defense. We had 10-12 shots on goal and couldn’t get them in during regulation time. During OT both teams went back and forth, then we went to PK’s. It’s a crazy way to end it. The first four kickers from both teams scored. On the fifth kick, NSC missed. Our last kicker, Jaydon Morgan, a left kicker, buried it in the right side of the net. And, that’s what won the game, we won 5-4 in PK’s.”

Timbers goalie Ryan Doyle worked incredibly hard, and Ethan Hunt and Jeremy Mohn scored the goals against Crossfire Premier during semi-finals.

”We’ve had a solid defense all season,” said Youngren, who’s coached the sport for nine years. Mark Fortin in the team’s assistant coach. “This has been a fun experience, and it’s still sinking in what an achievement it was.”

But, the team has been here before — except in Oregon, where they won State last year.

“It’s pretty cool to be state champions in two different states,” he said.

The Timbers success gives them the opportunity to advance to Regionals, which is in Salt Lake City on June 12.  It’ll be  round robin play, quarter, semi- and finals during that weeklong tournament.

The team’s roster:

Jevon Carr

Ryan Doyle

Kade Drake

Gavin Erickson

Michael Fedoruk

Connor Fortin

Ethan Hundt

Ethan Kay

Jeremy Mohn

Jaydon Morgan

Ethan Ouchi

Jake Penn

Hayden Rouse

Derik Soto

Eli Warne

Samuel Wilson

Cody Youngren

 

 

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