Volume One Hundred-Twenty, Number Forty-One, Wednesday, October 9, 2013 Single Copy 50 Cents Publication No. 497720 Stevenson, Washington

NewsClips

Inside:• Stevenson sponsors hiking promotion, p. 5• Homecoming photos, p. 6 • Missionary discusses Central America, p. 7• Bulldogs come up one point shy, p. 12

WeatherSubmitted by

Brian Baynes, CarsonChoctoberfest is 1-3 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Hegewald Rock Creek Center.

The Skamania County Pioneer took home two awards at the Washington Newspaper Publishers’ As-sociation on Friday, Oct. 4, in Olympia. Editor/reporter Philip Watness earned a third-place award in Best General Feature Story - Long for “Women’s football team shows power” and a second-place award in News of the Weird for “Truckers courted by Bonneville Hot Springs.” Newspapers were divided into four circulation groups with The Pioneer being in the below 2,750 subscriptions range. However, the awards for News of the Weird com-bined two circulation groups, so The Pioneer was up against newspapers with cir-culation up to 5,000.

Two other papers owned by DeVaul Publishing Inc. of Chehalis also earned awards. The East County Journal of Morton and Editor Rose-mary Browning, competing in Group II (2,751-5,000 cir-culation), earned fi rst place for Most Effective Use of Small Space Advertisement, third place for Color Sports Photo and third place for Best Health or Medical Story.

The Tenino Independent and Editor Dan Fisher earned a first place for Best News Story, short, first place for Compre-hensive Coverage of a Single Issue and third place for Best Government Reporting.

Pioneer earns two newspaper awards

Date Precip. Temp.Sep 30 0.99 H 51 L 48 Oct 01 0.79 H 61 L 47Oct 02 0.04 H 66 L 42Oct 03 0.00 H 63 L 44Oct 04 0.00 H 69 L 37Oct 05 0.00 H 70 L 42Oct 06 0.08 H 72 L 41

Search called off for missing hiker

The search for Kristopher Zitzewitz, 31, of Portland, was suspended Saturday, Oct. 5, after a weeklong search in the Big Lava Beds, about 10 miles north of Cook.

Skamania County Under-sheriff Dave Cox said more than 100 people searched Saturday but were unable to determine the man’s where-abouts.

Searchers in Yakima County located Alejandra Wilson, 23, of Portland, on Saturday, Cox said. She had walked out on her own. Her father had reported her over-due to White Pass on Mon-day, Sept. 30. She had been hiking the Pacifi c Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada.

“I’ve got spirit. How about you?” was the shout out at all of the Stevenson High School assemblies held during Homecoming Week. Students dressed up in blue and burgundy to show the school spirit, put on lip-syncs and classes competed against each other to see who loved their school more. At the Friday night foot-ball game, Queen Faith Udall and King Carlos Lehrke were crowned.The week culminated on Saturday with the traditional Homecoming Dance.

BOG nighttimeclosures delayed

The Bridge of the Gods will remain open as crews begin making repairs this month. A report from the Port of Cascade Locks had indi-cated that night time closures would begin mid-month, but that won’t be instituted until mid-November.

Night time closures will be instituted either Nov. 15 or Nov. 21 as repairs move into a second phase. For more information, log on to www.portofcascadelocks.org or call the port offi ce at (541) 374-8619.

Robin Cope, left, regional catalyst manager for with the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, and Gorge Innoventure board members Gary Rains and Avery Picard, president, pose at the offi ce at the Port of Hood River where the organization offers various services to innovative entrepreneurs.

Fledgling businesses learn the ropes at Gorge InnoventureBy The Pioneer

Take a butcher, baker and candlestick maker. Knaves, all three, according to the children’s nursery rhyme.

They could learn a thing or two at the Accelerator Boot Camp offered by Gorge Innoventure, a Hood River nonprofi t affi liated with the Oregon Entrepreneurs Net-work (OEN) of Portland.

Take a carpenter, nutri-tionist and sausage maker and add in a manufacturer, a health care provider and a travel consultant – all of whom are certainly not knaves because they are learning the ins and outs of business techniques and

practices over the eight-week Boot Camp, now in its fi fth week.

They are working with “a team of mentors and coach-es, to learn how to effectively structure, plan, develop and manage their businesses, and prepare to effectively pres-ent their business for funding opportunities,” states a press release by Innoventure.

The Gorge-based com-panies are expected to come out of the Boot Camp with the skills and tools to build their businesses, successful-ly secure investors and move from start-up to build-up.

Robin Cope, regional catalyst manager with OEN,

said Innoventure grew out of a local effort to support entrepreneurs begun about seven years ago. Gary Rains, Rains Marketing (now doing economic development work with the Port of Cascade Locks), Bill Fashing with the Hood River Economic Development Council, Mary Merrill of the Small Business Development Center at Co-lumbia Gorge Community College partnered with Linda Weston, executive director of the Oregon Entrepreneurs Network to launch the fi rst PubTalk networking effort in 2007.

“They asked, ‘What do Continued on p. 3

North Bonneville considers selling potBy The Pioneer

As other governments head for cover regarding the legalization of marijuana, the City of North Bonneville is looking into operating its own retail marijuana store.

City Council member Charles Pace last month fl oated a trial balloon regard-ing the idea with his fellow council members. They di-rected City Administrator Steve Hasson to continue researching the matter. For-mer City Administrator John Spencer, who now works as a consultant on budget issues with the city, planned to meet Wednesday, Oct. 2, with of-fi cials with the Washington State Liquor Control Board to get more details about the implementation of Initiative 502 which legalized pot and provided a framework for li-censing growers, packagers and retailers of the psycho-active drug.

The retail outlet would not be operated by the city, but by a Public Development Authority (PDA), which un-der Washington State law is a quasi-governmental corpo-ration. According to a 1992 paper by B. Gerald Johnson, an attorney, governments of-

ten form a PDA for a “com-plex, unique or special pur-pose project or enterprise” or for “An enterprise, while ap-propriately public, is either essentially entrepreneurial in nature or represents a busi-ness risk the municipal(ity) is unwilling to assume.”

According to the Munici-pal Research and Services Center of Washington, PDAs have been formed to con-struct and operate conven-tion centers, develop prop-erties in partnership with private landowners, rede-velop former industrial sites (such as Port Angeles’ efforts to purchase and redevelop the former Rayonier Mill site) and construct a correc-tional facility.

An issue paper by attor-ney Jay Reich which is cited on the MRSC website, lays out the functions of a PDA:

“The powers of a PDA are provided in chapter 35.21 RCW. PDAs may: Own and sell real and personal proper-ty; contract with a city, town or county to conduct com-munity renewal activities; contract with individuals, associations, corporations, the State of Washington and Continued on p. 5

Feds begin program to eradicate barred owlsBy Buddy RoseThe East County Journal

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) offi cials have announced they are proceeding with their plans to kill about 3,600 barred owls in Washington, Oregon and California during the next four years in an experi-ment to see if that will help save spotted owls from ex-tinction.

USFWS offi cials reported in its Record of Decision to use the preferred alternative in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the “Experimental Removal of Barred Owls to Benefi t Threatened Northern Spot-ted Owls.” That alternative will remove barred owls from parts of four study ar-eas in the northern spotted owls range using lethal and

non-lethal methods of re-moval, and then monitor the effect of such removal on northern spotted owl popula-tion trends. The service plans to begin some barred owl re-moval this fall.

“We chose this alternative because it would provide for a strong, scientifi cally cred-ible experiment with a high power to detect the effect of the barred owl removal on spotted owl populations,” said Paul Henson, state su-pervisor of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Offi ce. “These test areas will provide results applicable across the range of the northern spotted owl in a timely manner.”

USWFS offi cials will at-tempt to implement the en-tire experiment on all four study areas, but may not if Continued on p. 3

State reps promote liberty agendaBy The Pioneer

The clarion call to turn back the clock and do away with the so-called Obam-acare federal health insur-ance law received enthusias-tic support at the Principals of Liberty forum Thursday, Sept. 26, featuring Washing-ton State Reps. David Taylor (14th District) and Matt Shea (4th District).

The conservative state legislators plan to submit a bill in the next session call-ing for Washington State to opt out of the law, which went into full effect Oct. 1 at the same time as the Repub-

lican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives forced the federal government to shut down due to the absence of a budget bill.

Discarding Obamacare is just one of a number of te-nets of the Freedom Agenda Washington of which Taylor and Shea are leading orga-nizers. Their point of view is that the U.S. economy can-not be sustained when the federal government is spend-ing far more money than it takes in.

They recommend every individual get out of debt themselves, though, to dem-

onstrate the concern with defi cit spending.

“The U.S. Treasury prints $85 billion a month,” Shea said. “We can’t possibly sus-tain that. No county in his-tory has ever been able to do that. We have $61 trillion in unfunded liabilities. What’s worse is in this state, we have $41 billion in unfunded liabilities.”

Shea proposed eight guidelines which the Free-dom Agenda supports. Point No. 3 is: “Owe no one any-thing.”

“We need to get out of Continued on p. 3

Wednesday, October 9, 2013 Skamania County Pioneer Page Five

Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church725 Sw Rock Creek Dr.; Stevenson -509-427-8478Rev. Fr. Matthew Oakland - Parish Priest Deacon Bill Townsend - www.ourladys-tarofthesea.orgSunday Mass...9 a.m.Friday, Mass...8:30 a.m. Sacrement of Reconcillia-tion precedes all MassesEucharistic Adoration: Tuesday..6:30 p.m.; First Fri-day...9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church161 Lutheran Church Rd. E.end of Stevenson just off Hi-way 14. Phone 509-427-5972 email: shepherdofthehills@gorge.net; www.shepherdsoft-hehills.infoSunday Schedule: 10:30 a.m. Worship plus Children’s Church!All are welcome & invited! Wheelchair Accessible Interim Pastor Joe Aalbue

Seventh-Day Adventist Church41 NW 2nd St., Stevenson, 509-427-8890Pastor: Merrill Caviness - 360-953-1372Worship Service...11 a.m. Saturday Sabbath School...9:30 a.m. Tuesday Prayer Meeeting...7-8 p.m.

Carson Bible Church Pastor Dave West; Phone 427-8373Morning Worship...8:30 & 11 a.m. Sunday School...9:45 a.m. Bible Study, Wednesday...7 p.m. Women’s Bible Study, Thursdays 10 a.m.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsMaple Way & Loop Rd., Stevenson Bishop Dan Davenport, Ph. 427-8716Visitors WelcomeSacrament Service ...10 a.m Sunday School & Primary...11:20 a.m. - Priesthood, RS, YW & Primary...12:10 YM & YW - Wednesdays - 7 -8:30 p.m.

First Baptist Church252 Roosevelt St., StevensonPastor Dr. Glenn Damon - Phone 427-8342Sunday School...9:30 a.m. Morning Service...10:45 a.m. Fellowship time...9-9:30 a.m. Wednesday AWANA...6:30 p.m. at Stevenson Elemen-tary School; Friday, Men’s Discipleship...6:30 a.m. ; “The Spectacle” comtemporary service the 2nd and 4th Sat-urday each month at 7 p.m. Home Bible Studies Available www.stevensonbaptist.net

Carson Church of the NazareneP.O. Box 929, Dalen Street, Carson ; 509-427-8398Pastor Todd FutterSunday School..... (all ages)...9:45 a.m. Worship Service...11 a.m. Wednesday - “Joyful Noise” Kids Group; 1:30 p.m. - Study and Prayer at 6:30 p.m. Nursery available Sunday AM servicesFor further information see: www.carsonnaz.org

Stevenson United Methodist Church Corner of Jefferson & School Sts.Pastor Karen Ashley, Phone 427-5354Adult Sunday School...9 a.m. - Sunday Worship...10:30 a.m. UMW meets third Wednes-day monthly; potluck and presentation...6 p.m.

Unitarian Universalist 4262 Barrett Drive; Hood River541-387-4011 or 493-4819Room for Different Beliefs, Yours10 a.m. Sunday Service and Children’s Program - We are a Welcoming Congregation

Little Church in the Valley41 Trout Creek Road in StablerPator: Joel WilcoxChurch: 427-8344; Contact: 427-4372Sunday Service...9:30 a.m. Worship Service...10:45 a.m.

Community Church North BonnevilleWacomac and Pioneer DriveGary Clelland, PastorPhone 427-8142Sunday School...9 a.m.; Morn-ing Worship...10 a.m. * Nursery Available Website: wordpressbonnevillechurch

The Bridge Community Church @ Stevenson Elementary School - Pastor Chad Leeson www.thebridge-Stevenson.com 363 NW Jefferson; 427-5378Sunday Service 10:45 a.m. Nursery & Childrens church available Junior & Senior High youth groups meet on Wednesday night. Call for Location

City of GraceComing Soon - Sept 15th 2013 Wind River Middle School/ Library441 Hot Springs Ave.Carson, WA 98610509-637-3615www.cityofgracebc.org

Living FaithOpen Bible Church 12 NE Vancouver Ave., Steven-son - Pastor Brett Johnson Phone: 427-5451Sunday Service...8:30 a.m.Sunday Service...10:30 a.m. Nursery Available for all ser-vices. For more information visit: www.livingfaith.us

Skamania Community Church 33391 SR 14; Skamania, WA 98648Located 1/4 mile east of Ska-mania Fire Station * Pastor Bill Akers: 360-513-5737 * Pastor Matt Califf: 360-772-1068 * Pastor Dutch Lewis: 360-281-9238

Carson Church of ChristWind River Highway - CarsonMinister Obie971-404-4889Sunday ServicesBible Study - 10 a.m. Worship Services - 11 a.m.

Church Directory

The Lena Pierce Senior Center in North Bonneville at C-33 Cascade Drive is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday, except holidays.

Nutritious lunches are served at noon. The sug-gested meal donation is $4 for members and $5 for non-members. All new members will be welcome. Member-ship is $5 per year. Dues for 2013 are payable now. Make reservations by calling 427-5234 by 9 a.m. leave mes-sage if center is closed. Ska-mania County residents who

are 50 or older may join. Visitors welcome. Call (509) 427-5234.

Please note: If you are not a regular at the mealsite - You must make your reservation by 9 a.m. so the cooks will know how many meals to pre-pare. Special menu items are available, when necessary, for diabetics. If you have special needs, please mention them when you make your reserva-tions.

Cards, games and pool are available at 10 a.m. at the North Bonneville Center. The directors meet on the second

Tuesday of the month. Crib-bage is available for anyone who wants to play.

If you are interested in en-tertaining the seniors at the birthday lunches, if you have a musical talent contact the Senior Center at (509) 427-5234.

Activities:Fourth Thursday: Show

and Tell

Menu:Thursday, Oct. 10: Spa-

ghettiTuesday, Oct. 15: Chick-

en Fried Steak

North Bonneville Senior Center Lena Pierce Building

Senior Luncheons are at Rock Creek Center on Mon-day, Wednesday and Friday. Please join us to watch a movie, play cards and eat a homemade meal. The new hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Skamania Co. Transpor-tation program will be start-ing a once a month trip to the Food Bank for persons who have no other transpor-tation. Call 24 hours in ad-vance. On request will stop at the grocery store and the post office.

Senior Services offers hot and cold home deliv-ered meals to housebound seniors. If you are unable to shop or cook for yourself and would benefit from home de-livered frozen meals, call Senior Services and see if we can help, call 509-427-3990; collect calls accepted.

Suggested mealsite dona-tions for seniors over 60 is $3 and those guests under 60 is $5. If you are not a regular (only occasionally attend), please call and let

us know you are coming. Senior Support Club is ac-

cepting donations of clean, re-usable clothing and household items. No electronics please.

New Exercise Program: Staying Alive & Independent for Life (SAIL) started the middle of July. The class is evi-dence based and includes aero-bics, balance exercises, strength training and stretching.

Arts & Crafts: Drawing, painting, glass etching and ce-ramics offered on Meal Site Days T R A N S P O R T A T I O N OPEN TO THE PUBLIC:

If you need transportation to medical or dental appoint-ments, call Senior Services at 427-3990; 2-3 days in ad-vance. Last minute trips are not always possible.

If you are a client on Pro-vider One, please call Medic-aid Transportation at 1-800-752-9422 for your medical/dental appointments.

Dial a Ride fares for adults are $2 within Skama-nia County and $4 for trip traveling outside Skamania Count. Donations are accept-

ed for those over 60. Fare as-sistance may be available for low-income persons to age 50. The transit bus runs two times per day, between Carson and Vancouver, Monday through Friday and also makes a mid-day trip on Friday.

General Public transpor-tation call 1-509-427-3990. Transportation is available for all ages.

Skamania County Senior Services is trying to start a Caregiver Support Group. Caring for a loved one at home, looking for support. Call 509-427-3990.

UPCOMING EVENTS:Oct. 10 Hood River Shopping

TripOct. 14Art & Crafts-Color Art

of Mandalas 10 a.m. MENU:

Wednesday, Oct. 9, Swedish MeatballsFriday, Oct. 11, Chicken EnchiladasMonday, Oct. 14, Hawaiian Chicken

Of Interest to Senior Citizens Skamania County Senior Services

B u s i n e s s C a r d s & R u b b e r

S t a m p s

5 0 9 - 4 2 7 - 8 4 4 4

the United States; and loan and borrow funds and issue bonds and other instruments evidencing indebtedness.

Pace said his experience as a consultant to American Indi-an tribes served as his model when considering proposing that North Bonneville get into the pot-selling business. He said the tribes he worked with would consider a poten-tial issue and develop positive strategies to address the issue. That’s what he considers this notion for a PDA addresses.

The council supported hav-ing administration do more research, but have not made a decision whether to form a PDA. Forming a PDA, how-ever, doesn’t appear to be a very complex process, though it does require creation of a charter and board of directors as well as the appointment of a chief executive officer.

North Bonneville faces a time crunch, nevertheless, due to the fact that the Washington State Liquor Control Board plans to begin accepting applications for licenses to grow, process or sell marijuana on Monday, Nov. 18. The board has determined that Skamania County can have two retail outlets.

The Skamania County commissioners voted unani-mously Tuesday, Oct. 1, to im-pose a six-month moratorium on the production, processing and selling of marijuana (ex-cluding medical marijuana). The reason for the delay is to provide time for the Com-munity Development Depart-ment to develop zoning guide-lines and other administrative rules. A public hearing on the emergency moratorium will be conducted at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 22, in the com-missioners’ meeting room.

The Stevenson City coun-cil is expected to consider a similar moratorium, likely at its next meeting, Thursday, Oct. 17.

“We might not make mon-ey on this but we can exercise control over it,” Pace said at

the Sept. 24 council meeting. “If we don’t act, then we’ve not taken advantage of the op-portunity.”

He laid out the various impediments to anyone op-erating a marijuana business, however, including federal banking regulations as well as the fact marijuana continues to be illegal under federal law. While a 25 percent tax will be imposed at each level of the marijuana business – produc-tion, processing and selling – that doesn’t mean North Bonneville would receive much tax revenue from a retail store, though the PDA could realize a profit. However, cit-ies would receive their portion of the sales tax as well as rev-enue from local business and occupation taxes.

“I think there’s some rev-enue potential but as for it being lucrative for the city, that’s probably not going to happen,” Pace said.

Hasson told the councilors that North Bonneville voters had approved legalizing mari-juana by a 54-46 margin last November.

“This has legitimacy from your body politic,” Hasson told the council.

The fact that the City of Vancouver has also instituted a moratorium on approving marijuana retailers, having a store in North Bonneville may attract people there who want to buy it legally, Spencer said.

The council by consensus directed Hasson to continue researching the idea. Coun-cilor Bob Bianchi indicated he would not support the ef-fort, but as it wasn’t a formal vote, Hasson and Spencer will bring back information to the council for its consideration.

The City of Stevenson, the Skamania County Chamber of Commerce and the Ska-mania County Economic De-velopment Council have each fielded inquiries from people interested in either growing or selling marijuana.

Few properties in Steven-

son would comply with the proposed rules that no mari-juana facility could be within 1,000 feet of public parks, schools and other facilities. While the same limit applies to North Bonneville, there may be one or two properties that could house a retail out-let.

Casey Roeder, executive director for the chamber, said an Oregon woman inquired about available properties in Skamania County where she could grow marijuana. Roed-er told the woman that Carson may have suitable properties available for production, giv-en that there are fewer schools and youth recreation facilities there. However, the county’s moratorium would put a ki-bosh on that effort.

Ben Shumaker, planner for the City of Stevenson, said he has fielded three inquiries regarding development of a retail marijuana store. He said providing answers has been difficult due to the many un-knowns about the implemen-tation of Initiative 502.

“It’s frustrating for me be-cause I don’t hold the answers to many of the questions they have,” he said. “My typical response is ‘I’m not sure’.”

He said the buffer zone wouldn’t apply to Teo Park on the waterfront because that’s owned by the Port of Skama-nia County, but Shumaker said he hasn’t received firm defini-tions regarding other publicly owned facilities. For instance, would the courthouse lawn be considered a public park?

Meanwhile, North Bonn-eville hopes to get some an-swers from the liquor control board as it contemplates form-ing a PDA to operate a mari-juana retail store.

Voters in Skamania County approved the marijuana le-galization by a 53-47 margin, making it the only county in southwest Washington to ap-prove the measure. Voters statewide approved the initia-tive 56-44 percent.

North Bonneville considers...continued from p. 1

Stevenson sponsors fall hike weekendBy Danny PetteySasquatch Agency

Operating under the belief that everyone needs to visit the Columbia River Gorge in the autumn to witness the area’s fall foliage, the City of Stevenson offers near-city-wide deals for anyone that can prove that they hiked in the Gorge on the weekend of Oct. 18-20.

A majority of businesses in t Stevenson are offering a 10 percent discount to those who mention “Fall Hike the Gorge Weekend” and provide proof of their hike, such as a photo on a digital camera or smart phone.

The businesses who will honor the 10 percent discount on Fall Hike the Gorge Week-end are: Walking Man Brew-ery, Big River Grill, El Rio

Texicantina, Skamania Lodge, Big T’s Diner, The Cabin Drive-Thru, Vibe Café, A&J Select Market Deli, Lesley’s Books and Beer, Columbia Hardware, Bloomsbury and Out on a Limb.

Convenient hikes of vary-ing difficulty level are abun-dant in the immediate area around Stevenson, and hikers can take advantage of a guided hike being offered by Friends of the Columbia Gorge on Fri-day, Oct. 18, with a full moon night hike at the Beacon Rock trail.

Other hikes where one can witness the beautiful fall foli-age, and take advantage of the deals in Stevenson Oct. 18-20, are: Dog Mountain, Falls Creek Falls, Beacon Rock, Hamilton Mountain, Cape Horn Loop, Whistle Punk, Ta-

ble Mountain and Skamania Lodge trails.

For more information on the Fall Hike the Gorge Week-end, visit httpwww.cityofste-venson.com/fall_hike_promo.html. Use the hashtag #fall-gorgehikes to post fall hiking photos on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow Ste-venson on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Steven-sonWA.

Volume One Hundred-Twenty, Number Forty-Three, Wednesday, October 23, 2013 Single Copy 50 Cents Publication No. 497720 Stevenson, Washington

NewsClips

Inside:• Gorge Skies: Appreciate the clear skies, p. 5• Underwood picnic was great success, p. 6 • Meetings set on oil terminal proposal, p. 10• Bulldogs lose fi nal home game, p. 12

WeatherSubmitted by

Brian Baynes, CarsonTurn in unwanted

prescription drugs to the Sheriff‛s Offi ce

this Saturday.

The North Bonneville City Council was expected to consider postponing pay-ments on interfund loans when it met Tuesday, Oct. 22.

Resolution 464 would extend several interfund loans and create new repay-ment schedules. The one-year extension would help improve the city’s fi nancial position. North Bonneville owes $35,273 to the Lodg-ing Tax Fund, $27,711 to the Tourist Facility Reserve Fund and $55,374 to the Capital Improvement Fund, payable from the General Fund.

The city’s Water Fund owes two loans to the General Fund, $48,958 and $21,263. Repayment of one additional loan from the Water Reserve Fund to the Sewer Fund would also be postponed. The amount owed is $23,424.

NB could delay loan payments

Date Precip. Temp.Oct 14 0.00 H 67 L 39 Oct 15 0.00 H 69 L 40Oct 16 0.00 H 68 L 37Oct 17 0.00 H 68 L 39Oct 18 0.00 H 68 L 37Oct 19 0.00 H 67 L 38Oct 20 0.00 H 71 L 40

Watershed group to hear from state

An effort to jumpstart the watershed planning process has led to the Washington State Department of Ecology offering to provide a primer on the issue.

A state offi cial plans to present general information at 1 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 23, on the implementation steps for the Water Resource Inven-tory Area 29A which includes the Wind River watershed. The session will be at Ska-mania County Public Util-ity District, 1492 Wind River Highway, Carson.

Finalizing the planning is important to the develop-ment of the Wind River Busi-ness Park as well as for future growth in water service by the PUD.

Pool proposals still being sought

The Stevenson Carson School District has extend-ed the deadline to Dec. 31 for proposals to operate the swimming pool because no proposals were received by the Aug. 31 deadline.

The district decided to discontinue operating the pool in the fall of 2011 after Skamania County withdrew its fi nancial support for the pool. The facility has been in mothballs since.

Several discussions have taken place between the dis-trict, the Skamania County Economic Development Council and others regard-ing reopening the pool.

A rainbow graces the sky above a stand of trees in Skamania County, a symbol perhaps of how loggers felt about being able to cut timber on federal lands.

High Cascade feels some pinch from federal shutdownBy The Pioneer

The partial federal gov-ernment shutdown began on Oct. 1, but it took the U.S. Forest Service a while before it notifi ed logging companies that they would have to quit falling trees.

When word came down that logging on federal lands had to be wrapped up within a week, WKO/High Cascade Inc. joined the American Forest Resource Council and several other wood products fi rms seeking an injunction from the U.S. District Court for Oregon to allow contin-ued logging.

Ron Schneider, vice president of High Cascade Inc., said the government instructed loggers to quit cutting trees but allowed the companies to yard off what was already on the ground. The order included a dead-line that the yarding would have to be completed within seven days.

With 17 timber harvests

occurring in Oregon and Washington, that promised to be a big headache for Sch-neider, who said his work-load increased threefold as a result of the government shutdown. All but three of the projects had plenty of wood already felled, but log-gers on those projects found themselves idled.

Another challenge was to meet the seven-day order to wrap up logging operations. That proved virtually impos-sible on one sale in the Gif-ford Pinchot National Forest using helicopters to yard off the wood.

“We had 200 loads on ground, and there was no way they would get done in seven days,” Schneider said. “I told them we’d be fi nished Oct. 25.”

High Cascade decided to join the lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Manage-ment along with the Murphy Co. of Eugene, South Bay

Timber LLC of California and the American Forest Re-source Council.

When the federal gov-ernment came back online Thursday, Oct. 17, attorneys for USFS and BLM sought to have the motion for re-lief dismissed, U.S. District Judge Owen M. Panner in-stead issued a temporary restraining order against the federal government. He or-dered the federal agencies to stop enforcing the suspen-sion or stop-work orders as of 10:30 a.m. that day.

Michael E. Haglund stated in the initial com-plaint fi led on behalf of the timber products fi rms that “the October through mid-November timeframe is cru-cial to the stockpiling of logs in winter log decks that will sustain sawmills, plywood plants and other wood prod-ucts manufacturing facilities through the winter months.” Any delay could have had Continued on p. 3

PUD public records matter lands in Superior CourtBy The Pioneer

A public records request to the Skamania County Public Utility District by Sherry Esch has morphed into a lawsuit against the utility company and one of its commissioners, Clyde Leach.

The complaint Esch fi led in early August against the PUD and Leach asserts that they have violated the Washington State Public Records Act by failing to provide emails regarding PUD matters from Leach’s personal email account.

Esch, through her attorney Brad Andersen, continues to press for copies of any emails Leach wrote on his personal email account. The most re-cent response by the PUD dated April 30 of this year states “the PUD does not pos-sess nor is it aware of any pub-lic records responsive to your request, in accordance with RCW 42.56.”

But a previous commu-nication to Esch from PUD Auditor Jasen McEathron dated Aug. 10, 2012, states “The PUD requested access to Commissioner Leach’s embarqmail account but were unable to obtain the access necessary to perform the re-quested search.”

Andersen said that’s why Leach should continue to be a named defendant, he argued before Skamania County Su-perior Court Judge Pro Tem Ron Reynier during a hearing Thursday, Oct. 17. PUD Attor-ney Ken Woodrich sought to have Leach removed as a co-defendant. Woodrich also rep-resents Leach in his personal legal matters. He argued that including Leach in the lawsuit was unnecessary at this point in the dispute because public records requests are aimed at agencies, not individuals.

But Andersen countered that Leach holds the key to resolving the issue by allow-ing the PUD to examine his personal emails to look for documents related to PUD business.

“We believe he (Leach) is the wrongdoer,” Andersen said in court. “The PUD should’ve said to Leach that those are public documents and they need to be turned over.”

Esch made her request to the PUD on April 30, 2012. Her public records request asked for all emails for the previous 36 months in which Leach discussed issues re-garding 10 individuals, four government agencies and The Pioneer.

Sherry Esch is married to Commissioner Curt Esch.

Two matters regarding the PUD commission have been public knowledge for the past few years.

The fi rst is that former PUD Manager Robert Wit-tenberg and the Esches had a strained relationship going back to Commissioner Esch’s reelection to the utility’s board in the fall of 2010. He main-tains that Wittenberg actively worked against his campaign, which he claimed was a vio-lation of RCW 54.16.100. In March and April 2011, Wit-

tenberg fi led two whistle-blower complaints, both of which were thrown out of the U.S. District Court in Tacoma on summary judgment.

The second is that Leach objected to the manner in which Wittenberg was fi red. Leach was not in town the night of May 24, 2011 when Commissioners Esch and Dennis Gale held an emer-gency meeting at which they decided to put Wittenberg on administrative leave until the next meeting on June 6. Esch and Gale voted to dismiss Wit-tenberg at that meeting, while Leach voted no.

Wittenberg’s most recent effort to seek relief in U.S. District Court from the per-ceived harm of being fi red by the PUD ended July 25 when Judge Ronald B. Leighton dis-missed his suit with prejudice.

It is in this environment of confl ict that Sherry Esch de-cided to fi le her public records request nigh on 18 months ago. The PUD responded in a timely manner four days later on May 4, 2012. The PUD told Esch they expected to “provide the requested records on or before June 15, 2012.” However, the PUD on June 18 requested that Esch withdraw her records request, according to her lawsuit against Leach and the PUD.

Esch and Andersen assert that the PUD warned Esch and her husband that they could face personal liability as a result of Wittenberg’s then-pending lawsuit in U.S. Dis-trict Court.

Reynier told Woodrich and Andersen that he was initially inclined to agree with the PUD that Leach shouldn’t be part of the lawsuit, but Ander-sen’s arguments convinced him otherwise.

One direct result of Reyni-er’s ruling is that Leach will need to fi nd himself a differ-ent lawyer because Woodrich cannot by law represent both the PUD and Leach in a law-suit against one or the other.

Esch said she wants to see the communications by Leach to others regarding PUD mat-ters to get a complete picture of the commissioner’s role in the Wittenberg matter as well as other issues that have come up with the PUD.

“When I fi led this public records request, I knew Com-missioner Leach had been sending out notifi cations from his Embarq email address,” she said. “Those constitute a pub-lic record, so I said, ‘Let’s see the balance of the communica-tions’.”

State case law appears to support Esch’s position. Just this past June, a judge or-dered the City of Shoreline to pay $538,555 in legal fees and penalties to settle a pub-lic records complaint fi led seven years previous regard-ing a city councilor’s private email communications. The Washington State Supreme Court decided metadata – data stored on computers regarding the source of emails and other information – is subject to the Public Records Act.

Retail marijuana store could be operated by North BonnevilleBy The Pioneer

The North Bonneville City Council on Tuesday, Oct. 22, was set to discuss a proposal for the city to get into the legal marijuana retail business, but the result of the vote was far from certain on Monday.

Two council members are opposed to the idea of the city creating a Public Devel-opment Authority (PDA) to operate a retail pot store. Two councilors are leaning to-ward approving the measure, though with reservations. A fi fth councilor couldn’t be reached for comment.

If one council member is absent Tuesday, a tie vote could be broken by Mayor Don Stevens.

A municipality can create a PDA for the purpose of do-ing economic development projects. City Councilor Charlie Pace suggested the city consider forming a PDA to operate a retail marijuana store. The Washington State Liquor Control Board (WSL-CB) has allocated two retail

stores in Skamania County, but the county commission-ers have decided to enact a moratorium on permitting facilities which grow, pro-cess or sell legal marijuana. A similar moratorium may be enacted by the Steven-son City Council, though that body hasn’t taken up the matter as of yet.

If the North Bonnev-ille council decides against forming a PDA, private busi-ness owners could apply for a permit there once local planning rules are in place. While the Skamania County Chamber of Commerce and the Skamania County Eco-nomic Development Council have fi elded inquiries regard-ing legal marijuana stores, nothing fi rm has developed. Chamber Executive Director Casey Roeder said she has had inquiries from potential businesses to operate a retail store in the county but she has not had inquiries regard-ing grow operations.

City of North Bonneville City Administrator Steve Has-

son said he hopes the council will resolve the question dur-ing the Oct. 22 meeting.

“I’m asking the council to vote to give staff instructions on whether to proceed with the idea,” he said. “There’s no sense in pursuing a PDA without that direction.”

Pace said he isn’t sure how he’ll vote on the propos-al, given so many unknowns about the matter. The city had asked the WSLCB to adopt rules which favored cities operating retail stores, but the proposed rules issued Wednesday, Oct. 16, had no such provision. That matters because the rules propose doing a lottery when more applications for licenses are received than the allotted number of stores. Given that uncertainty, Pace wondered whether it would be worth-while for the city to submit an application.

“I don’t know that I was ever a supporter (of forming a PDA),” Pace said. “I want-ed us to look at it. I believe Continued on p. 3

CL port talks about toll options

The Port of Cascade Locks Commission planned to hold a work session at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 22, to discuss possible toll increases for multi-axle vehicles on the Bridge of the Gods. The port plans to conduct several town hall meetings to get input from the public.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013 Skamania County Pioneer Page Three

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Artists of the MonthColleen Kelly Ginter

Stevenson artist Colleen Kelly Ginter earned the fi rst prize at the Artists of the Gorge exhibit at the Stevenson Community Library for her “Double O Seven,” a depiction of Sean Connery in pastels on wrinkled brown paper.

The piece is impres-sive for its detail but also for its size, mea-suring about six-by-eight feet.

Ginter said she has been an artist for about 30 years, working pri-marily in the fi ber arts medium, though also charcoals. The fi rst prize is the fi rst one Ginter has earned over her career, though she is quite well known in religious circles for her creations of vestments for priests, rabbis and ministers.

“My passion is fi ber and what I do the most of is liturgical garments,” she said. “I’ve done commissions for churches and synagogues all over the world.”

Her piece, “Servant of God,” is included in the library exhibit and demonstrates the tech-niques, fabrics and creativity Ginter infuses in her liturgical garments. She also produces art quilts which she has exhibited at shows throughout the Northwest.

Ginter said her belief in God enriches her artwork and she loves seeing her vestments being worn by a person of faith.

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serious economic impact on companies like High Cascade Inc.

The complaint also stated: “While plaintiffs will be able to pursue damages claims against the Forest Service and BLM for breach of con-tract, those damages provide no remedy for the lost wages during worker layoffs, the loss of customers or the nega-tive impacts on plaintiffs and the U.S. economy from lost competition.”

Schneider said he re-sponded to the shutdown or-der by each individual timber contract – 17 in all.

“We only have July to No-vember to run sales, and it’s the busiest time trying to get log decks to run us through

High Cascade...continued from p. 1

until spring until we can get back in the woods. That’s the dangerous part – not having enough on hand through the winter,” he said.

The unusually clear days and nights have worked in fa-vor of the timber companies, but they will still need to wrap up activities by early next month.

No disruptions of mill op-erations occurred, Schneider said, but had the shutdown continued much longer, WKO might’ve run out of raw mate-rial. As for fi nancial impacts, Schneider said the cost of go-ing to court is the most easily quantifi able one.

“I would say it caused a whole of time and effort,” he said. “The fi nancial impact is more on the loggers who will bear the brunt of that. Those guys typically end up with the fi nancial impact and it fl ows through to sawmill.

“I hope I don’t have to go through it again.”

it’s the very best way to ad-dress the issues.”

Other cities have expressed interest in the idea, notably White Salmon, whose mayor, Dave Poucher, said he plans to bring the matter to that city’s council.

“To me, this is such a good idea,” he said. “I don’t know why other people aren’t think-ing about this. All our general accounts are hurting. What an opportunity to go ahead and put some money into our po-lice department and mental health efforts.”

White Salmon would face the same issue regarding the lot-tery selection process, though.

But other issues have per-colated, Pace said, includ-ing the effort by the WSLCB to enhance legal marijuana sales by limiting the amount of marijuana that can be pur-chased by holders of medical

marijuana cards.“I’ve read about some con-

cerns by the medical marijuana folks about what was going on in terms of the relationship be-tween recreational and medical marijuana,” Pace said.

A panel of employees from the WSLCB, the departments of Health and Revenue, and the Governor’s Offi ce have been meeting to discuss meth-ods of convincing marijuana users to buy legal pot. If con-sumers can get marijuana through a medical marijuana dispensary or on the black market for cheaper than they can buy legal marijuana, that provides very little incentive for them to buy legally.

“What they’re trying to do is cut out the medical mari-juana market,” Pace said. “There’s arguably a lot of abuse there. It comes down to

economics. If you have a very limited recreational marijuana market with high prices, to me, that suggests we’ll see a thriving illegal market.”

Councilor Bob Bianchi said he is opposed to creating a PDA to sell pot.

“It may be a money-maker for the city, but in my opinion, it’s more trouble than it’s worth,” he said. “I’ll keep an open mind but I may vote ‘No’.”

Councilor Craig Forster said he hasn’t committed ei-ther way, but thinks the idea has merits.

“I originally thought not in my back yard, but I’ve read that crime is not up in some of the ar-eas where they (medical marijua-na dispensaries) have opened,” he said. “We haven’t really heard from residents, though, and I’d like to hear more.”

Councilor Mike Hamilton

Retail marijuana...continued from p. 1

said he opposes government competing with private busi-ness, no matter what the busi-ness. He favors an approach

where the city holds the retail marijuana license but con-tracts with a private company to operate the store.

“I absolutely support the idea of the city getting a per-mit. I am adamantly against the city operating a retail marijuana business,” Hamil-ton said.

The Pioneer was unable to talk with Councilor Mike Baker despite his several ef-forts to respond to the news-paper’s inquiry.

The North Bonneville idea to operate a PDA came as a complete surprise to offi cials with the WSLCB, accord-ing to Hasson. No other mu-nicipality has discussed the notion, either, with the Mu-nicipal Research and Services Center, according to Senior Legal Consultant Pat Mason.

Other governments have decided to enact moratoriums on permitting grow, process-ing and retail operations. They include Kelso, Vancouver and Clark County.

Volume One Hundred-Twenty, Number Forty-Five Wednesday, November 6, 2013 Single Copy 50 Cents Publication No. 497720 Stevenson, Washington

NewsClips

Inside:• Prevention group seeks survey answers, p. 4• Local veterans honored, pp. 6-7 • Veterans get free admission at dam, p. 11• Poet and musicians at the library, p. 11

WeatherSubmitted by

Brian Baynes, CarsonThe annual Small Business Showcase

takes place at 5 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Hegewald Center.

The agreement be-tween Canada and the United States concerning the Columbia River is set for renewal 50 years af-ter the original treaty was signed in 1964.

Local communities and agencies along the 1,243-mile river have an op-portunity to comment on what they would like to see in the updated treaty.

The Columbia River Gorge Commission wrote to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Bonn-eville Power Administra-tion on Oct. 25, asking that those agencies solicit community input on vari-ous issues, including river fl ow rates.

The commission re-quests policymakers to provide funding for plan-ning in the National Sce-nic Area, including the cost of updating its man-agement plan. Executive Director Darren Nichols wrote that stable funding needs to be provided for local, state and regional coordination efforts up and down the river.

The commission’s next meeting will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 12 at the Skamania Lodge, 1131 SW SW Skamania Lodge Way, Stevenson.

Gorge Commission: Treaty needs money

Date Precip. Temp.Oct 28 0.00 H 59 L 47 Oct 29 0.00 H 57 L 33Oct 30 0.00 H 59 L 32Oct 31 0.00 H 58 L 49Nov 01 0.85 H 66 L 42Nov 02 0.95 H 53 L 50Nov 03 0.08 H 52 L 38

SHS students get anti-bullying tips

Stevenson High and Wind River Middle School students got a lesson in lis-tening during the “Walk-a-Mile” program presented Friday, Nov. 1, by Mike Donahue of R5 Produc-tions of Omaha, Neb.

The program is in-tended to help youth think about issues from anoth-er’s perspective, according to Principal Sarah Marino.

“The goal is to give students skills to work through social-emotional issues without resorting to hurting one another,” Ma-rino wrote in an email to The Pioneer.

Donahue has been working with youth for more than 25 years and has presented this message around the world.

Donahue gave separate presentations to the high school and middle school, then worked with a group of diverse student leaders from each school to help build a positive school culture. Donahue talked about how peer groups can have a much stronger in-fl uence over the culture of a school.

For more information about the “Walk-a-Mile” program, check out the website at http://r5online.com/home.htm.

The Stevenson High School football team and the fall cheerleaders shout out the victory cry ater defeating the Columbia High School (White Salmon) Bruins. Photo courtesy of Salina Limones.

SHS Bulldogs defeat favored White Salmon Bruins By The Pioneer

The Stevenson High School football team was supposed to lose its last game.

Not.The Bulldogs held the

Bruins (5-3, 4-3) to one fi eld goal and one touchdown in their 18-9 win Friday at White Salmon.

Stevenson (2-6, 2-5) en-tered the game as underdogs, according to the Vancouver

Columbian, which predict-ed a 27-19 Columbia High School win that was not to be.

While all the bragging rights go to the Bulldogs, White Salmon had already secured a berth in the district playoffs. The team plays at Tenino Friday in the open-ing bracket of the 1A District playoffs.

Stevenson’s Chan Park put the Bulldogs on the score-

board midway through the fi rst quarter with a 30-yard fi eld goal. White Salmon answered in the fi nal minute of the quarter with a 40-yard run by John Stephens and widened its lead to 9-3 with three minutes remaining in the half on a 35-yard fi eld goal by Gabe Guzman.

The second half settled into a tug-of-war between the teams until Brandon Van Pelt threw a 55-yard pass to

Brandon Campbell with just 35 seconds remaining in the third quarter for a 10-9 lead.

Ty O’Neill put the icing on the cake in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run for the 18-9 victory. O’Neill also scored the point after conversion. The score capped a 70-yard drive.

O’Neil gained 74 yards on 15 carries. Brandon Van Pelt connected on nine of 21

passes for 151 yards. He con-nected with Brian Griffi th on two passes for 17 yards; with Josh Miller twice for 17; and with Colton Van Pelt, again twice for 25 yards.

Stevenson’s Walker Sa-chon and Evan Weibe each had 10 tackles for Stevenson. Sacon leads the team in tack-les for the season with 46, followed by Tyler Miler with 42, Weibe with 36, and Josh Anderson with 35.

Skamania County Auditor Tim Todd, left, discusses the 2014 preliminary bud-get with the county commissioners on Tuesday, Oct. 29. Pam Johnson, clerk of the board, commissioners Chris Brong, Bob Anderson and Doug McKenzie consider his points.

County budget requests are $1.1 million more than projected revenuesBy The Pioneer

Skamania County depart-ments have requested $1.1 million more than the county will receive in Current Ex-pense revenues in 2014.

“It’s a gut wrencher for all of us,” said Commissioner Chris Brong. “I think there’s a little worse to come.”

The current expense por-tion of the county budget amounts to one-quarter of the county’s overall budget and includes receipts from the Secure Rural Schools Act. And while the act has been extended for an addi-tional year, the amount the

county will receive is likely to be $200,000 less than in 2013. (The budget is posted on the county’s website, www.skamaniacounty.org.)

“We’re talking (the loss of) four employees,” Brong said, explaining the aver-age of wages and benefi ts is around $50,000 per full-time position.

The $1.1 million fi gure, though, came as an unwel-come shock when the com-missioners received the pre-liminary budget on Tuesday, Oct. 29. The county depart-ments and the commission-ers have been meeting over

the past month to discuss department requests. While the message was always to further ratchet down their re-quests, the compiled budget revealed the large imbalance.

The commissioners plan to discuss further cuts to the preliminary budget at its Wednesday, Nov. 13 meeting (delayed from Tuesday due to Veterans Day). They plan to conduct a public hearing on the preliminary current expense budget at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 26. They have until Dec. 31 to approve a balanced budget, but hope Continued on p. 5

NB forges ahead with plan to sell marijuanaBy The Pioneer

City offi cials are facing tight timelines for creating a Public Development Author-ity (PDA) to operate a retail recreational marijuana store in North Bonneville.

But they’re moving ahead with formation of a stand-alone quasi-municipal cor-poration as they try to meet the window to apply for a retail license with the Wash-ington State Liquor Control Board.

City Administrator Steve Hasson said the formation of a PDA could be done before the state board closes the ap-plication window Dec. 19. Establishing a PDA and ap-pointing its board of direc-tors could be done by early December, but then the new board would have to draft its bylaws.

The city has already identifi ed one piece of prop-erty where a retail marijuana store might be allowed under a Conditional Use Permit. City offi cials are identifying other sites, too, in case the fi rst property proves unten-able or too expensive for the PDA to purchase.

Two public hearings this month address both aspects of the process to operate a retail store. The Planning Commission plans to consid-er a Conditional Use Permit for a property at 484 Ever-green Dr. at its 6 p.m. meet-ing, Tuesday, Nov. 19.

That effort could be moot, however, if the city council

decides to not establish a PDA at its Tuesday, Nov. 12 regular meeting (7 p.m. at City Hall).

The proposal likely has enough votes with Charles Pace, Mike Baker and Craig Forster in favor. Councilors Bob Bianchi and Mike Ham-ilton have expressed opposi-tion to the proposal.

The liquor control board has allocated two retail rec-reational marijuana stores for Skamania County, based on population. Any Wash-ington state resident can ap-ply to operate a store, grow operation or processing facil-ity, though some restrictions apply, such as one’s crimi-nal background. If more ap-plications than licenses are submitted and approved, the state board plans to select re-cipients through a lottery.

The establishment of a PDA in North Bonneville is a precursor to submitting a license with the state to op-erate a retail marijuana store. The PDA would operate in-dependently from the city government, developing its own business plan, raising capital and establishing its own policies and procedures.

“The creation (of a PDA) wouldn’t occur before the fi rst or second of Decem-ber,” Hasson said. “You have to get this brand new organi-zation formed. They would have to approve a charter and bylaws and approve an act-ing chairperson before they Continued on p. 3

Wednesday, November 6, 2013 Skamania County Pioneer Page Three

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Athlete of the WeekSHS senior Brandon Van Pelt

Stevenson High School Se-nior Brandon Van Pelt missed the fi rst three football games of the season after breaking his ankle in a preseason practice, but returned to lead the Bull-dogs as quarterback for the fi -nal four games, including a win Friday over Columbia High School of White Salmon.

The 17-year-old letterman earned the Prep Athlete of the Week Award from the Vancou-ver Columbian last month for his efforts on the fi eld.

Van Pelt has lettered in foot-ball and basketball since his sophomore year and in baseball since his freshman year. He has been the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs since his sopho-more year. He has also played baseball for the Camas Washougal Babe Ruth under-18 team.

He has plans to attend the University of Portland on a $64,000 Arthur Schulte Scholarship awarded for his academic achievements. He has participated in Running Start for the past two years while carrying a 3.5 grade point average for his high school studies.

He plans to study sports medicine or physical therapy at the U. of Portland. Regarding receiving Athlete of the Week by the Columbian, Van Pelt said, “It was quite an

honor to be in a group of athletes from 3A and 4A schools. I credit our receivers in the line for that. I also thank my parents for their support.”

Van Pelt said he expects to fully recover from his broken ankle, though he has it braced to protect against further injury.

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could take any action. That’s cutting it real close.”

Hasson said even if the city decides against forming a PDA, misses the state license deadline or fails to secure a license even after jumping through those hoops, the ef-fort may still benefi t North Bonneville for the notoriety the proposal has stirred.

“With somewhere between 200 and 300 other cities and towns (in Washington state), we’re in competition for people’s attention and inter-est,” he said. “To the extent they know about us, they will come and do business. We’re always asking what we can do to call attention to ourselves, hopefully, in a positive way so they will come and invest or stay here. This is an economic development strategy.”

The marijuana proposal has generated interest in me-dia outlets from Portland to Seattle and perhaps beyond. Hasson said a reporter with the Seattle Times recently in-terviewed him for one and a half hours regarding the retail store effort.

“It looks like we’d be the only one to apply (for a mari-juana license) as a city,” he said. “Everybody is real in-

terested but nobody is neces-sarily following suit. Most are saying, ‘Gee, we don’t under-stand it. It’s best to kick the can down the road’.”

Cities and counties throughout the state have implemented moratoriums on the establishing of marijuana-related facilities to give them time to develop policies and procedures for permitting recreational marijuana stores, grow operations and process-ing facilities. The Skamania County commissioners en-acted an emergency morato-rium on Oct. 1 and conducted the required public hearing on Tuesday, Oct. 22. Only two people commented on the moratorium, including Sheriff Dave Brown, who expressed support for the ordinance.

The White Salmon City Council considered follow-ing North Bonneville’s lead at its Monday, Oct. 28 session, but the matter died on a 2-2 vote. Mayor David Poucher had proposed the idea because the operation of marijuana re-tail store could help bring in needed revenue.

“There’s a downside to kicking the can down the road,” Hasson said. “You don’t get a lot of dividends

from doing that and the issue isn’t going away. The state is going to dispense licenses. The liability issues are still clear and present with us. Any way you slice it, you can have liability, but you can minimize the liability by having this other agency (a PDA) operate the store on your behalf.

PDAs are common throughout Washington state and were fi rst allowed by law in1974. They include the Pike Place Market Preservation and Development Authority in Seattle, the Bellevue Conven-tion Center Authority to oper-ate the Meydenbauer Center, and East Lewis County Pub-lic Development Authority, which promotes business and industry through operation of the Packwood Business Park.

NB forges...continued from p. 1

Riverview Community Bank Manager Kathy McKenzie, left, hands out pencils and temporary tattoos to kindergartners from Stevenson Elementary School on Fri-day, Nov. 1. Children in K-2 grades who had completed more than 80 percent of their homework received the privilege to visit one of the banks, Riverview, Lac-amas Credit Union or Sterling Bank.

S H O P

L O C A L

C l a s s i f i e d D e a d l i n eF r i d a y , 4 p . m .

Volume One Hundred-Twenty, Number Forty-Seven Wednesday, November 20, 2013 Single Copy 50 Cents Publication No. 497720 Stevenson, Washington

NewsClips

Inside:• Glimpses of the Gorge: Unwelcome guests, p. 4• Thanksgiving meals provided, p. 7• American Legion honors fundraising pair, p. 11 • Gun safety courses scheduled, p. 12

WeatherSubmitted by

Brian Baynes, CarsonRock Cove Assisted Living‛s annual wine-

tasting fundraiser is set for 5-9 p.m., Friday, Nov. 22 at the facility

in Stevenson.

The Bridge of the Gods will be closed from 9 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. from now through Dec. 31 as construction crews make repairs.

Emergency vehicles will be able to cross the bridge during the night-time closures, but delays of as much as 30 minutes are anticipated for work crews to clear the bridge.

The stringer work is expected to be completed by Dec. 31 and the bridge is expected to return to its 80,000 pound rating. The clip work will continue through January with nighttime closures in ef-fect during that work.

The Port of Cascade Locks commission plans to meet at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 21, in a work session to discuss potential toll increases at the bridge. At 6 p.m., the commission will hold a public hearing on the port’s proposed Strategic Business Plan.

Nighttime closures in effect at BOG

Date Precip. Temp.Nov 11 0.04 H 56 L 43 Nov 12 0.08 H 52 L 47Nov 13 0.00 H 55 L 39Nov 14 0.00 H 55 L 39Nov 15 0.71 H 47 L 43Nov 16 0.20 H 48 L 40Nov 17 0.16 H 53 L 42

Washougal man charged in assault

David L. Simmons of Washougal, suspected of fi rst-degree assault for attacking his caregiver Tuesday, Nov. 12, made his fi rst court appearance Thursday, Nov. 14.

Simmons allegedly caused a standoff with the Skamania County Sheriff’s Offi ce which called in the Clark Coun-ty SWAT team to extract him from his house at 122 Thorp Lane, Washougal.

He is alleged to have assaulted his live-in care-taker with a knife.

Simmons, 73, refused to come out when Ska-mania County deputies arrived at about 1:30 a.m. The Clark County SWAT team was requested and was able to safely remove Simmons from the house.

Nestlé matter on hold for now

An Oregon adminis-trative law judge now has heard the arguments and received supporting doc-uments regarding the wa-ter rights of the Oxbow Springs Fish Hatchery.

Proponents of the Nestlé water bottling plant in Cascade Locks don’t expect to have a rul-ing until early next year.

The judge has to de-termine whether the Or-egon Department of Fish and Wildlife abandoned its water rights because it never had a permit as argued by representatives for Food and Water Watch and BARK, groups op-posed to the plan.

Wind River Search and Rescue members and the Washington National Guard troops participated in a joint air operations training program at the Hood River Airport on Saturday, Nov. 16.

County departments to sustain deeper cutsBy The Pioneer

Crime doesn’t take a holiday, so proposed cuts to the Skamania County Sher-iff’s Offi ce could have real impacts on public safety, according to Sheriff Dave Brown.

The Skamania County commissioners have pro-posed cutting another $266,000 from his depart-ment, a portion of the $1 million they need to cut from the preliminary budget pro-posals they received from county departments.

The commissioners de-cided to include $500,000 in additional revenues from the Washington State Forest Board than originally esti-mated, but that still left quite a lot to cut. The commission-ers held a budget workshop Wednesday, Nov. 13, to re-vise the revenue estimates and for each commissioner to propose further cuts by department.

General Services and Community Development would also pare back their budgets by $100,000 each while smaller cuts would come out of other depart-ments, the commissioners decided.

They are using the most conservative estimates of revenues and expenses. For instance, Community Devel-opment expects to receive $105,000 less in 2014 than it expects this year.

The commissioners hold a budget hearing at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Dec. 23, to adopt the fi nal budget, but

they plan a budget workshop and fi nancial management meeting later this month. The Financial Management Committee meets at 11 a.m., Tuesday, Nov. 26, at the He-gewald Rock Creek Center. A budget workshop may be scheduled for that afternoon for the commissioners to fi rm up their budget posi-tions.

Brown hopes the rev-enue numbers will increase somewhat to offset the cuts he’s been asked to make. He points out that the criminal justice (law enforcement, in-carceration and courts) seg-ment of county government has received half of the cur-rent expense revenues which he believes is necessary.

“It’s critical that we re-main at or around 50 per-cent because, regardless of whether the budget improves or we lose more money, peo-ple are entitled to a criminal justice system that’s func-tional.”

He said his staff “was much more conservative in revenue projections than in the past.” He said their deci-sion to forego an estimated $106,000 in payments from the Sheriff’s Offi ce to the Equipment Rental and Re-placement will help ease the pain, that will eventually need to be restored because the offi ce will need new pa-trol cars at some point.

“We can only push the cars so far,” he said.

He is also concerned that the cuts will translate in loss Conitinued on p. 3

Entrepreneurs contribute to the economy in Skamania CountyBy The Pioneer

An entrepreneur in com-mon parlance is a person who takes the necessary risks to start a business, though in-novative ideas applied to ex-isting businesses also quali-fi es as entrepreneurial.

The sages of Silicon Val-ley come to mind, but en-trepreneurs are as varied as microbrewers, boutique wine-makers and widget manufacturers.

But for the Waters fami-lies of Stevenson and Car-son, owners of the Carson General Store, Backwoods Brewing and Maple Leaf Events Center, being an en-trepreneur means making a living from their efforts.

Debbie and Jim Waters started out running a bed-and-breakfast at their prop-erty on Maple Way in Ste-venson. When life brought them the challenge of caring for a relative’s children, they closed the hostelry to house the children they eventu-ally adopted. But that didn’t dampen their entrepreneurial spirit, only delayed some of their efforts.

They opened the Carson Ridge Cabins as their second effort and later sold the facil-ity, raising the capital needed to reopen the Carson General Store, and then to develop the Backwoods Brewing Co.

Jim Waters said anyone considering starting a busi-

ness should confer with oth-ers who have been successful in their own right. He also recommended people contact the Skamania County Eco-nomic Development Council for assistance in developing the idea, formulating a busi-ness plan and implementing the idea.

Chief Operating Offi cer Bryan Trullinger of Slingshot Sports of North Bonneville said his company sought out other manufacturers to assist it in designing its production line. The company adopted a management model known as the “continuous improve-ment process,” following the lead of companies such as Conitinued on p. 6

NB council takes fi rst step toward selling marijuanaBy The Pioneer

The North Bonneville City Council approved form-ing a standalone corpora-tion to potentially operate a recreational marijuana store during its Tuesday, Nov. 12, regular meeting.

The Public Development Authority would apply for a retail marijuana license through the Washington State Liquor Control Board during the application win-dow, which opened Monday and continues through Dec.

19. The fi ve members of the

board, though, will fi rst have to be appointed, then have to roll up their sleeves to wade through the murky waters of Washington’s legal mari-juana maze. Even if the they could cross all the T’s and dot all the I’s, the new corpora-tion would compete with pri-vate enterprise for the license should the state receive mul-tiple applications for retail licenses. And there’s a ques-tion whether the city could

hold a license because it has the authority to approve or deny applicants for building permits.

The liquor agency would conduct a lottery to select the winning applicant should it receive multiple applica-tions. With just two retail stores allocated for Skama-nia County, and emergency moratoriums in place in unincorporated Skamania County, Vancouver and other southwest Washington cities Conitinued on p. 5

North Bonneville City Administrator Steve Hasson, left, records the 3-1 vote tak-en Tuesday, Nov. 12 by the city council to form a Public Development Authority for the sole purpose of operating a recreational marijuana retail store. Council-ors are, from left, Craig Forster, Mayor Don Stevens, Mike Baker, Charles Pace and Mike Hamilton.

Odell fruit company may build in Cascade LocksBy The Pioneer

Food manufacturers have developed puffed air prod-ucts like Cheetos, vegetable crisps and other items. So why not a fruit puff snack?

That’s the concept behind an effort by Jacqueline Alex-ander of Odell, owner of the Morale Orchards, to expand her fruit business. The “Puff Factory” would produce freeze-dried fruit snacks through a process being de-veloped by the Oregon State University Food Innovation Center of Portland.

Alexander is contemplat-ing a 26,000-square-foot fac-tory which would employ between 30 and 40 people. She hopes to raise the neces-sary capital and begin con-struction in order to open in 2015. She said she prefers working with the Port of Cascade Locks because it would provide the support a private land transaction would not.

Alexander said she couldn’t fi nd adequate land in Hood River, so she turned to the port where Economic Development Director Gary Rains made an enticing pitch.

“He actually talked me into coming to Cascade Locks,” she said. “I’m happy

to be here.”The orchard owner said

she plans to produce samples of the product by the end of the year. Dr. Quinyue Ling of the OSU food center said that agency has been looking for “a champion” for the In-dividual Quick Frozen (IQF) process. He said the center had been working to develop the freeze-dried fruit product over the past fi ve years, re-fi ning the effort to produce a snack that looks like a fruit but contains no water.

“Fresh fruit has a lim-ited shelf life,” he said. “The freeze-dried product lasts much longer. The fresh fruit is frozen as quickly as pos-sible to keep all the nutrients. The fruit stays the same and can go fi ve to 10 years with-out losing the nutrients.”

He estimated a pear that sells for $1.50 a pound could produce far more value, per-haps 30 times greater.

“Think about it – how much value has been added,” he said. “This is huge for the area, especially the pear in-dustry.”

Alexander said she would simply be “ramping up” fruit production to convert into the freeze-dried product.

“We will source local food,” Conitinued on p. 3

Wednesday, November 20, 2013 Skamania County Pioneer Page Five

Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church725 Sw Rock Creek Dr.; Stevenson -509-427-8478Rev. Fr. Matthew Oakland - Parish Priest Deacon Bill Townsend - www.ourladys-tarofthesea.orgSunday Mass...9 a.m.Friday, Mass...8:30 a.m. Sacrement of Reconcillia-tion precedes all MassesEucharistic Adoration: Tuesday..6:30 p.m.; First Fri-day...9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church161 Lutheran Church Rd. E.end of Stevenson just off Hi-way 14. Phone 509-427-5972 email: shepherdofthehills@gorge.net; www.shepherdsoft-hehills.infoSunday Schedule: 10:30 a.m. Worship plus Children’s Church!All are welcome & invited! Wheelchair Accessible Interim Pastor Joe Aalbue

Seventh-Day Adventist Church41 NW 2nd St., Stevenson, 509-427-8890Pastor: Merrill Caviness - 360-953-1372Worship Service...11 a.m. Saturday Sabbath School...9:30 a.m. Tuesday Prayer Meeeting...7-8 p.m.

Carson Bible Church Pastor Dave West; Phone 427-8373Morning Worship...8:30 & 11 a.m. Sunday School...9:45 a.m. Bible Study, Wednesday...7 p.m. Women’s Bible Study, Thursdays 10 a.m.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsMaple Way & Loop Rd., Stevenson Bishop Dan Davenport, Ph. 427-8716Visitors WelcomeSacrament Service ...10 a.m Sunday School & Primary...11:20 a.m. - Priesthood, RS, YW & Primary...12:10 YM & YW - Wednesdays - 7 -8:30 p.m.

First Baptist Church252 Roosevelt St., StevensonPastor Dr. Glenn Damon - Phone 427-8342Sunday School...9:30 a.m. Morning Service...10:45 a.m. Fellowship time...9-9:30 a.m. Wednesday AWANA...6:30 p.m. at Stevenson Elemen-tary School; Friday, Men’s Discipleship...6:30 a.m. ; “The Spectacle” comtemporary service the 2nd and 4th Sat-urday each month at 7 p.m. Home Bible Studies Available www.stevensonbaptist.net

Carson Church of the NazareneP.O. Box 929, Dalen Street, Carson ; 509-427-8398Pastor Todd FutterSunday School..... (all ages)...9:45 a.m. Worship Service...11 a.m. Wednesday - “Joyful Noise” Kids Group; 1:30 p.m. - Study and Prayer at 6:30 p.m. Nursery available Sunday AM servicesFor further information see: www.carsonnaz.org

Stevenson United Methodist Church Corner of Jefferson & School Sts.Pastor Karen Ashley, Phone 427-5354Adult Sunday School...9 a.m. - Sunday Worship...10:30 a.m. UMW meets third Wednes-day monthly; potluck and presentation...6 p.m.

Unitarian Universalist 4262 Barrett Drive; Hood River541-387-4011 or 493-4819Room for Different Beliefs, Yours10 a.m. Sunday Service and Children’s Program - We are a Welcoming Congregation

Little Church in the Valley41 Trout Creek Road in StablerPator: Joel WilcoxChurch: 427-8344; Contact: 427-4372Sunday Service...9:30 a.m. Worship Service...10:45 a.m.

Community Church North BonnevilleWacomac and Pioneer DriveGary Clelland, PastorPhone 427-8142Sunday School...9 a.m.; Morn-ing Worship...10 a.m. * Nursery Available Website: wordpressbonnevillechurch

The Bridge Community Church @ Stevenson Elementary School - Pastor Chad Leeson www.thebridge-Stevenson.com 363 NW Jefferson; 427-5378Sunday Service 10:45 a.m. Nursery & Childrens church available Junior & Senior High youth groups meet on Wednesday night. Call for Location

City of GraceComing Soon - Sept 15th 2013 Wind River Middle School/ Library441 Hot Springs Ave.Carson, WA 98610509-637-3615www.cityofgracebc.org

Living FaithOpen Bible Church 12 NE Vancouver Ave., Steven-son - Pastor Brett Johnson Phone: 427-5451Sunday Service...8:30 a.m.Sunday Service...10:30 a.m. Nursery Available for all ser-vices. For more information visit: www.livingfaith.us

Skamania Community Church 33391 SR 14; Skamania, WA 98648Located 1/4 mile east of Ska-mania Fire Station * Pastor Bill Akers: 360-513-5737 * Pastor Matt Califf: 360-772-1068 * Pastor Dutch Lewis: 360-281-9238

Carson Church of ChristWind River Highway - CarsonMinister Obie971-404-4889Sunday ServicesBible Study - 10 a.m. Worship Services - 11 a.m.

Church Directory

The Lena Pierce Senior Center in North Bonneville at C-33 Cascade Drive is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Tuesday and Thursday, except holidays.

Nutritious lunches are served at noon. The sug-gested meal donation is $4 for members and $5 for non-members. All new members will be welcome. Member-ship is $5 per year. Dues for 2013 are payable now. Make reservations by calling 427-5234 by 9 a.m. leave mes-sage if center is closed. Ska-mania County residents who

are 50 or older may join. Visitors welcome. Call (509) 427-5234.

Please note: If you are not a regular at the mealsite - You must make your reservation by 9 a.m. so the cooks will know how many meals to pre-pare. Special menu items are available, when necessary, for diabetics. If you have special needs, please mention them when you make your reserva-tions.

Cards, games and pool are available at 10 a.m. at the North Bonneville Center. The directors meet on the second

Tuesday of the month. Crib-bage is available for anyone who wants to play.

If you are interested in en-tertaining the seniors at the birthday lunches, if you have a musical talent contact the Senior Center at (509) 427-5234.

Activities:Fourth Thursday: Show

and Tell

Menu:Thursday, Nov. 21: Clam

Chowder Tuesday, Nov. 26: Spa-

ghetti w/meat sauce

North Bonneville Senior Center Lena Pierce Building

Senior Luncheons are at Rock Creek Center on Mon-day, Wednesday and Friday. Please join us to watch a movie, play cards and eat a homemade meal. The new hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Skamania Co. Transporta-tion program will be starting a once a month trip to the Food Bank for persons who have no other transportation. Call 24 hours in advance. On request will stop at the gro-cery store and the post offi ce.

Senior Services offers hot and cold home deliv-ered meals to housebound seniors. If you are unable to shop or cook for yourself and would benefi t from home de-livered frozen meals, call Senior Services and see if we can help, call 509-427-3990; collect calls accepted.

Suggested mealsite dona-tions for seniors over 60 is $3 and those guests under 60 is $5. If you are not a regular (only occasionally attend), please call and let us know you are coming.

Senior Support Club is ac-cepting donations of clean, re-usable clothing and household items. No electronics please.

New Exercise Program: Staying Alive & Independent for Life (SAIL) started the middle of July. The class is evi-dence based and includes aero-bics, balance exercises, strength training and stretching.

Arts & Crafts: Drawing, painting, glass etching and ce-ramics offered on Meal Site Days

TRANSPORTATION OPEN TO THE PUBLIC:

If you need transportation to medical or dental appoint-ments, call Senior Services at 427-3990; 2-3 days in ad-vance. Last minute trips are not always possible.

If you are a client on Pro-vider One, please call Medic-aid Transportation at 1-800-752-9422 for your medical/dental appointments.

Dial a Ride fares for adults are $2 within Skama-nia County and $4 for trip traveling outside Skamania Count. Donations are accept-

ed for those over 60. Fare as-sistance may be available for low-income persons to age 50. The transit bus runs two times per day, between Carson and Vancouver, Monday through Friday and also makes a mid-day trip on Friday.

General Public transpor-tation call 1-509-427-3990. Transportation is available for all ages.

Caregiver Support Group meets the last Monday of the month from 1-3 p.m.Call 509-427-3990.

UPCOMING EVENTS:Nov. 22, * Thanksgiving Day

Lunch * N.A.M.I. Presenta-

tion at 11:15* SHIBA counselors

from 10 to 12.

MENU:Wednesday, Nov. 20, Beef Lo MeinFriday, Nov. 22, Thanksgiving Day Lunch Monday, Nov. 25, Three Bean Chili

Of Interest to Senior Citizens Skamania County Senior Services

SHOP LOCAL

The Stevenson Business Association 

 salutes our local entrepreneurs 

 in celebration of Global Entrepreneurship 

Week  November 18‐24 

 

www.cityofstevenson.com 

and counties, the competition could be stiff. Or nonexistent should the new PDA be the only applicant.

It’s those vagaries which cause concern for North Bonneville councilors and staff.

“I feel like I’m Charles Lindberg on his fl ight across the Atlantic to France,” said City Administrator Steve Has-son. “My wings are beginning to ice up and I don’t know whether I’m headed in the right direction, but it’s too late to turn around now.”

Even the liquor agency has apparently indicated it could change the process and rules as it wades through the same maze that sprouted up as a result of the statewide 56-44 percent vote to legalize mari-juana (Skamania County was the only county in Southwest Washington to vote in favor of the legalization, 53-47 per-cent). According to Hasson, the agency hadn’t contemplat-ed a city applying for a license to sell pot.

City Councilor Charles Pace suggested the idea to form a PDA to operate a mari-juana store, but expressed numerous concerns with the effort despite voting with the 3-1 majority to form the cor-poration. One very signifi cant issue is whether the city would exert control over the PDA to an extent that the state would deny the application because it would create a confl ict of interest, or the city would be liable for actions taken by the PDA.

City Attorney Ken Wo-odrich assured Pace that the draft PDA bylaws would pro-vide the necessary buffer to protect North Bonneville from fi nancial liabilities incurred by the PDA.

North Bonneville would provide the startup funding needed for the PDA to pur-chase property, build or reno-

vate a storefront, and hire em-ployees to sell the marijuana.

Mayor Don Stevens is tasked with appointing people to the PDA board, though the council would need to ap-prove his choices. He said he has already had seven people express interest in serving on the fi ve-member board. The city council planned to meet Tuesday, Nov. 19, to review Stevens’ recommendations and approve or reject them.

North Bonneville resident Dan Smith said he is inter-ested in serving on the board.

“I would want the control a PDA gives me … rather than leave it to potentially unscru-pulous business people who could set up in our town,” Smith said.

But the prospect of the city operating a retail marijuana store doesn’t sit well with Suzie Strom of Carson, who is the cochair of the One Pre-vention Alliance of Skamania County, which works to ad-dress drug and alcohol addic-tions.

“The members of One Prevention Alliance are very much opposed to the creation of a PDA, though we under-stand marijuana will be legal,” Strom said. “We feel that al-lowing the sale of marijuana only increases the amount of marijuana that’s out there.”

The possession and use of marijuana became legal 30 days following the November 2012 vote. The initiative pro-vided a one-year window for the liquor agency to craft and implement rules for licensing growers, processors and re-tailers. An individual can pos-sess up to one ounce of mari-juana, though driving while under its infl uence or using it in public are both illegal.

Strom urged the city coun-cil to slow down its move toward establishing a PDA: “Put the brakes on and look at other communities. Look

at the impact on law enforce-ment, the children, communi-ties and families instead of be-ing hasty.”

But Steven Grimsrud of Skamania supported the council’s decision to form the standalone corporation.

“I’ve been a consumer and proponent of legalizing mari-juana for 35 years,” Grimsrud told the council. “These peo-ple here (the council) are fear-less and they know it would be benefi cial to the community.”

He said those opposed to the PDA concept are mistaken when they state that marijuana is a gateway drug to harder substances or that use of the drug would increase as a re-sult of legalization.

“Don’t use fear to try to change people’s minds,” he said. “Eliminate the hysteria. We have a product – just like Nascar or a football game – which brings revenue to the city.”

While the profi tability of a marijuana store is very likely, the city would not benefi t directly from its operation. Taxes collected by the state wouldn’t come to the city di-rectly, though the city would benefi t from its portion of the sales taxes on marijuana sales. However, the PDA as ap-proved would allocate profi ts for law enforcement, chemi-cal dependency treatment and other services to mitigate the impact of marijuana on North Bonneville.

North Bonneville plans to loan the PDA the start-up money it will need to pur-chase or lease property, hire employees, renovate or build a retail shop and other expens-es. The council at the Nov. 12 meeting approved a contract amendment to pay former City Administrator John Spencer for consulting work regarding formation and operation of the PDA. Spencer operates Pulse Consulting.

NB council...continued from p. 1

Volume One Hundred-Twenty, Number Forty-Eight Wednesday, November 27, 2013 Single Copy 50 Cents Publication No. 497720 Stevenson, Washington

NewsClips

Inside:• Stevenson Library hosts local artist, p. 3• Holiday events include sing-a-long, p. 5• Shop local holiday advertisements, p. 6-7 • SHS teams honor individual players, p. 12

WeatherSubmitted by

Brian Baynes, CarsonThe Pioneer will be

closed over Thanksgiving weekend so deadlines for classifi ed and legal

ads will be at noon Monday.

The Skamania County Sheriff’s Offi ce is inves-tigating a break-in at the Wind River Storage facili-ty, 2431 Wind River High-way, Carson.

A $1,000 reward is be-ing offered for informa-tion leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible for the bur-glary of unspecifi ed goods from four storage units. The crime was reported at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23. People are asked to call 427-5906 or the Sheriff’s Offi ce, 427-9490.

Undersheriff Dave Cox said the incident of this type of theft is uncommon in Skamania County.

Storage Manager Vikki Bartlett has been check-ing with unit renters to determine what items may have been taken. She said one customer reported nu-merous items missing and some of those items were found scattered along the Wind River Highway.

Storage units broken into

Date Precip. Temp.Nov 18 0.83 H 54 L 46 Nov 19 0.28 H 53 L 48Nov 20 0.00 H 45 L 29Nov 21 0.00 H 43 L 23Nov 22 0.00 H 41 L 30Nov 23 0.00 H 45 L 32Nov 24 0.00 H 47 L 27

NB pot agency meets Wednesday

North Bonneville Mayor Don Stephens has appointed fi ve members to serve on the North Bonneville Public Devel-opment Authority (NB-PDA), which is tasked with applying for a retail marijuana license with the Washington State Liquor Control Board.

Tim Dudley, Steven Grimsrud, Rachele Rice, Dan Smith and Chuck Green were confi rmed by the city council on Tues-day, Nov. 19. Four ad-ditional applicants will serve as alternates.

The council also ap-proved loaning the NB-PDA $15,000 from the hotel/motel receipts as well as a resolution that the city’ s general fund would make good on the loan should the PDA de-fault. The council also ap-proved having city work-ers provide support for up to $4,500 in value which the PDA would have to repay the city.

The NBPDA holds its fi rst meeting at 10:30 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 27, at City Hall, 214 CBD Mall. John Spencer of Pulse Consulting will pro-vide an overview of the role and function of this PDA and what actions are required to fi le for a recre-ational marijuana license by the Dec. 19 deadline.

They will need to elect board offi cers, approve procedural rules, accept the loan and its terms and approve an interlocal agreement with the City of North Bonneville.

Christmas in the Gorge provides fun events for whole familyBy SC Chamber

Christmas in the Gorge comes to Skamania County the weekend of Dec. 6-8. Participants can enjoy the small town atmosphere and begin the holiday fun in the heart of the Columbia River Gorge.

The celebration begins Friday, Dec. 6, in down-town Stevenson. The local businesses will host open houses throughout the day with holiday refreshments and special sales. At 6:30 p.m., caroling begins in the Courthouse Plaza and the Courthouse Christmas tree will be lit at 6:55 p.m. Bagpipers lead the proces-sion and the Starlight Pa-rade starts at 7 p.m. with as many as 20 fi re, emergency and large decorated vehicles ablaze with lights. A travel-ing trophy will be awarded to the best decorated entry. Cookies, popcorn, coffee and cider will be available on State Route 14 during the parade courtesy of Skama-nia Lodge, Subway, A & J Select Market and Big River Grill.

Nearly 100 ecumenical nativity displays gathered from across the world will be on display at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 665 NE Loop Road,

Stevenson. In addition, the church plans holiday musical performances and a hands-on Children’s Room. Visit the church noon to 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 6, noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 7, and 1-4 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 8. Admission is free.

Saturday morning’s fun begins with breakfast with Santa at Rock Cove Assisted Living Center in Stevenson. A free continental breakfast and pictures with Santa will ready people for the day’s many activities. Make gift giving easier this year by shopping at the handcrafted arts and crafts bazaar on Sat-urday, Dec. 7. The bazaar is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Exhibit Hall at the Skamania County Fairgrounds. Choose from handmade items in-cluding quilts, fl eece, pot-tery, paintings, baked goods, jewelry and much more. San-ta will visit for photos with the kids. The annual cookie faire, children’s crafts and holiday book sale also take place on Saturday. Join in an old-fashioned sing-a-long of carols at the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center Museum.

Open houses continue at the businesses in Stevenson. Skamania Lodge has a vari-ety of special events as well, including gingerbread house

making, cocktail demonstra-tions and elf story time. For a full schedule of activities at Skamania Lodge, visit www.skamania.com.

At 5:45 p.m., Saturday, gather outside Zeek’s Fam-ily Grill and Bar in Carson for caroling and Christmas music. Then at 6:30 p.m., join the crowd at Wind River Highway for lighting of one of the largest living Christ-mas trees in Washington state. The 125-foot tree com-

mands the view along the highway.

On Sunday, Dec. 8, wind down the festivities by visit-ing the nativity displays and the business open houses.

For more information and the full schedule of ac-tivities, visit www.cityofste-venson.com, www.facebook.com/ChristmasintheGorge or www.skamania.org or call (800) 989-9178.

The Starlight Parade trav-els from Vancouver Avenue

to State Route 14 (2nd Av-enue) in Stevenson. Rock Cove Assisted Living Center is at 986 NW Rock Creek Drive in Stevenson. Skama-nia County Fairgrounds Ex-hibit Hall is located at 710 NW Rock Creek Drive, Ste-venson. Skamania Lodge is at 1131 SW Skamania Lodge Way, Stevenson.

The Carson Christmas Tree and Zeek’s Family Grill and Bar are located at 1172 Wind River Highway, Carson.

Fire takes all of Home Valley couple’s possessionsBy The Pioneer

Jackie Heisinger and Da-vid Kornelussen don’t think about the brand-new laptop, cell phones, wallet, clothes and other things destroyed in a fi re on Saturday, Nov. 16 above Home Valley.

They grieve the loss of a two-month old kitten who likely didn’t survive the fast-growing modular home fi re. Though they’re grateful they and their Labrador pup, Gra-cie, were able to scramble out with literally just their shirts on their backs, the kitty’s death haunts them a week later.

Pounce, the cat, can’t be replaced, they know, though many other items have been donated to help them recover from the dramatic fi re.

Heisinger says they don’t need much more, though a good pair of work boots would be nice. They ex-press gratitude for the folks who’ve helped, particularly Rolf and Astrid Diek, own-ers of the Home Valley Store, and Jim Lee of Wind River Pharmacy, among dozens of other friends and strangers who’ve come to their aid.

“What’s emotionally damaging more than any-thing is Pounce was a big loss,” she says. “She instant-ly bonded with our dog. I’m smiling ear to ear, though, seeing the joy she brought.”

Kornelussen heard an odd sound, “like a kitty playing with a ping pong ball,” but when he looked up from his new laptop, he could see a glow in the wall.

“He opened the door and went outside and could see what was burning,” Heis-

inger says. ‘The house was on fi re above the generator.”

“I was yelling, ‘We got fi re. We got fi re.’ Jackie grabs Gracie by the col-lar and runs out the door right where the fi re was at. I looked for Pounce but the glass started shattering,” Ko-rnelussen says. “I watched the black smoke roll in and it was burning my breath. I was holding my breath to look for the cat. She’s screaming ‘Get out. Get out.’ I couldn’t hold my breath any more.”

They watched as the fi re destroyed the new hope they had just found three weeks ago when they moved to the structure to help maintain a property on Berge Road. They had moved all their belong-ings out of storage and into the cedar-sided modular house with an Alpine style roofl ine.

“Moving to the cabin was a dream come true,” Korn-

elussen says. “We were so confi ned in the trailer. To be in a permanent structure was a total luxury for us.”

They had been living in a travel trailer at the Diek’s Home Valley RV Park for the prior year, having settled there after serving years as

camp hosts in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. They met at the Goose Lake Campground where Heising-

er had been the host. Korn-elussen had previously been a campground host at the Panther Creek Campground.

Their relationship is now challenged by the tragedy, though their resilience is ap-parent.

Heisinger says she has thought about having a beer though she holds a two-year coin for doing one day at a time as a recovering alcoholic.

“Yeah, this morning (she wanted to drink). Then I thought, ‘How’s that going to help?’ ” she says. Korn-elussen’s support has been there since they got together, too. They’ve also been see-ing a counselor to grapple with their grief, particularly over the loss of Pounce.

While they’re fi rmly com-mitted to one another, the cat’s loss is the one issue that they’ve found themselves in confl ict over.

“We’ve gone head to

head,” Kornelussens says. “Jackie wants to walk away but I want absolution. But we were always a team.”

Now they’re moving back into the travel trailer and back to the RV Park and replacing lost items like driver’s licenses and other documents. Kornelussen was given a work coat and hat so he can continue working odd jobs to pay the bills.

They’re grateful the trail-er wasn’t also consumed by the fi re, though it came close. The truck they own pay-ments on got its right fl ank blistered by the heat, but that, too, escaped.

“The back of the truck is my offi ce,” Kornelussen says. “All my tools are in it. Thank goodness the tools were saved. I do everything from small engines to an en-tire house. I fi xed all types of equipment at the ranch. Continued on p. 3

Jackie Heisinger, left, and David Kornelussen pose next to their truck which shows singe marks from a fi re that destroyed the cabin they were living in.

Maintenance workers at the Skamania Lodge hoisted up the 30-foot Noble fi r on Monday, Nov. 25, in preparation for the tree-lighting at 5 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 27. Submitted photo

Volume One Hundred-Twenty, Number Fifty.-One Wednesday, December 18, 2013 Single Copy 50 Cents Publication No. 497720 Stevenson, Washington

NewsClips

Inside:• Get a fl u shot, not the fl u, p. 3• Hikers rescued from Cape Horn trail, p. 3• Nelson was original name of post offi ce, p. 5 • Shop locally for Christmas, p. 6-7

WeatherSubmitted by

Brian Baynes, Carson

Winners of the annual residential holiday decoration contest are:First place: Jim and Joyce Bai-ley, 122 Shipherd Falls Road, Carson. Second: The David Waymire family, 8632 Wind

River Highway, Stabler. Third: Claudia Holman, 11 Evans St.,

Carson. Rock Cove Assisted Living dontated the prize money.

The South Gifford Pin-chot Collaborative meets 2-4:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 19, at Rock Creek Hegewald Center in Ste-venson. There will be a presentation on the Gif-ford Pinchot National For-est and Northwest Forest Plans, decisions on the Upper Swift Pilot Roads project involvement and whether the group should join the Water Resource Inventory Area 29A Plan-ning for the Wind River and Little White River. The group will also brain-storm potential funding sources for the immediate needs of SGPC.

For more information, call (360) 334-2555.

Forest group meets Thursday

Date Precip. Temp.Dec 09 0.00 H 32 L 09 Dec 10 0.00 H 40 L 28Dec 11 0.00 H 39 L 23Dec 12 0.16 H 37 L 21Dec 13 0.12 H 50 L 30Dec 14 0.00 H 46 L 35Dec 15 0.00 H 48 L 33

States set winter sturgeon season

Fishery managers from Oregon and Washington adopted a split-season man-agement structure for the Columbia River between Bonneville and The Dalles dams in 2014.

The winter sturgeon season in this area was set for seven days a week from Jan. 1 through Jan. 19 in hopes of opening a summer sturgeon retention season in June, provided enough of the 1,100 fi sh annual guide-line remains for an addi-tional fi shery at that time.

Managers expect anglers will harvest approximately 450 to 500 white sturgeon during the January fi sh-ing period, but admit catch rates can vary widely in this fi shery. If catches are lower than expected, the winter fi shery may be extended.

Hood River-White Salmon Bridge custom-ers are advised the Port of Hood River Commission has approved the use of new transponders associ-ated with the electronic tolling system. The new transponders are not per-manently affi xed to the windshield and may be transferred between differ-ent vehicles using the same account. A revised policy effective Jan. 1 states that for new BreezeBy ac-counts, the fi rst transfer-rable transponder on the account will be issued at no cost. Additional tran-sponders will be available for $30. Existing BreezeBy customers do not need to replace transponders cur-rently in use. However, if the new transferrable tran-sponder is desired, the cus-tomer can turn in the exist-ing transponder and pay the difference of $15.

For questions, call the port offi ce at (541) 386-1645.

Hood River port alters bridge policy

Santa Claus fi nds himself in a predicament after leaning too close to examine the spinning of alpaca wool by Advertising Manager Angela Rogers at the Ska-mania County Pioneer on Friday, Dec. 13, during the monthly Girls Night Out.

Opponents step up pressure against NB marijuana storeBy The Pioneer

The North Bonneville City Council meeting Tues-day, Dec. 10, was anything but merry as about two dozen residents lobbied the coun-cil to disband the recently formed Public Development Authority.

Councilor Craig Forster stormed out of the rancorous meeting, expressing himself with several swear words; Mayor Don Stevens briefl y adjourned the meeting when resident and attorney Brad Andersen refused to stop talking after exceeding the three-minute limit on public comments; and Councilor Mike Hamilton extempo-rized on the defi nition of mo-rality, which led to Forster’s angry exit.

Hamilton and Andersen spoke against the city coun-cil’s decision to create the quasi-municipal corporation for the express purpose of applying for a recreational marijuana retail license and potentially operating a store to sell the drug, legalized by popular vote in 2012.

Quincy Anderson sub-

mitted a petition with 257 signatures from North Bonn-eville residents who object to the city-formed PDA which were collected over the pre-vious weekend.

The Washington State Liquor Control Board has allocated Skamania County two retail licenses. Two ap-plications have been submit-ted and a third has reportedly been submitted to the liquor board. The North Bonnev-ille PDA would compete with those applicants for the two licenses should the fi ve-member board meet the Dec. 20 deadline to apply. A sim-ple lottery would determine who gets the licenses.

But opponents of that ef-fort hoped to convince the council to disband the PDA before it applied for the retail license. Though they were unsuccessful in that effort, Andersen once more threat-ened legal action against the city, including starting a recall effort of the three council members who voted to form the PDA – Charles Pace, Mike Baker and For-ster (Pace’s term ends Dec.

31, so he would not be sub-ject to a potential recall if he doesn’t voluntarily continue in offi ce).

But the meeting heated up the chilly night when An-dersen continued talking past the three-minute comment limit. Stevens adjourned the meeting and approached An-dersen, intent on getting him to follow council procedure.

The two men briefl y squared off and Stevens said he’d allow Andersen to talk for another two minutes.

“I’m doing all I can to protect my community,” An-dersen began his comments. “You can create a PDA for any lawful purpose. This (creating a recreation mari-juana retail store) is not law-ful.”

Andersen said he would pursue a recall effort, though asked the council to rescind the creation of the PDA to avoid that prospect.

“Please protect our city through regulations, not by opening a pot store,” he said.

Quincy Anderson (no re-lation to Andersen) said she wished the city had conduct-

ed a survey of residents be-fore forging ahead with the PDA. She said that would’ve precluded the need to seek the signatures against the PDA which she helped orga-nize.

Brian Morris and John Mobley, among others, also spoke against the PDA’s ef-forts to secure a recreational marijuana retail license.

“Let private business take the chance (of fl aunting fed-eral law) and their money,” Morris said. He encouraged the city council to instead work on zoning regulations that would discourage some-one from opening a retail marijuana store in North Bonneville.

Mobley reiterated his ob-jections to the council form-ing the PDA and approving a loan of $15,000 from the ho-tel/motel revenues (collected as a surcharge on room rent-als at local hotels and motels, not from North Bonneville residents).

“A marijuana store is for Vancouver,” he said. “You shouldn’t be involved in it. You are missing the mark.

We have trails, we have a great community – and then you want to put a marijuana store here? I think many of the people here don’t want a marijuana store.”

Chad “Chuck” Green, who was appointed by Mayor Stevens to serve on the PDA board, said he objected to the characterization by some people that marijuana users are deadbeats who don’t con-tribute to society. He said he has used marijuana through-out his life and that didn’t preclude him from serving for a number of years as a volunteer fi refi ghter in North Bonneville and Skamania County Fire District No. 5.

“I got on the PDA board so I can help decide issues here,” Green said. “Now, I’ve had personal attacks on me and now threats of RICO charges. That will only drain what little money we have in the city.”

He encouraged residents to attend meetings of the PDA to participate in the dis-cussions.

“Don’t be freaking out,” Continued on p. 3

Oregon judge turns aside environmentists’ objections regarding Nestlé exchangeBy The Pioneer

An effort to block the Or-egon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) from sell-ing spring water to Cascade Locks was dealt a setback by Oregon Administrative Law Judge Joe L. Allen in a ruling issued Wednesday, Dec. 11.

Environmental activ-ist groups Food and Water Watch and BARK of Port-land have been fi ghting a proposal by Nestlé Waters North America to bottle spring water from the Ox-bow Springs Fish Hatch-ery in Cascade Locks. The company hopes to purchase spring water from the city which the city would acquire by exchanging its ground water, gallon for gallon, for spring water from Oxbow Springs. ODFW considers the exchange a good thing for the hatchery because it would assure the facility an ample supply of water dur-ing seasons when the springs don’t produce enough water. The city favors the proposal because it would mean hav-ing an industry in the small town which would potential-ly employ 50 people, some of whom could be residents.

The environmental groups had appealed a ruling by the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) that approved ODFW’s applica-tion to amend its water rights license to allow for two ad-ditional points of diversion. The two groups argued that ODFW had forfeited its wa-ter rights through non –use, an argument thoroughly re-pudiated by Allen’s ruling.

“Proponents failed … to demonstrate that a specifi c portion of the 10 cfs (cubic feet per second) authorized

by Certifi cate 24625 (which provided for the water rights) was not benefi cially used for salmon rearing at Oxbow Hatchery,” Allen wrote.

ODFW has had water rights at Oxbow Springs since Aug. 9, 1951, but the environmental groups claimed the agency had abandoned a portion of the approved 18.81 cfs because it hadn’t used the entire al-lotment for a fi ve-year pe-riod. However, it hadn’t used the entire allotment over the years, hence, the appeal.

In ruling in favor of ODFW, Allen also proposed that the OWRD issue an or-der stating that ODFW “has not failed to benefi cially use water, under the water right at issue” and that “no portion of the water right evidenced by Certifi cate 24625 has been forfeited due to non-use during the period in issue.”

The parties to the suit have 30 days to fi le “excep-tions” with the director of OWRD before a fi nal order is issued. “Exceptions are le-gal and factual arguments il-lustrating legal or factual er-ror in the proposed order, as demonstrated by the record,” Allen’s ruling states. In other words, no new evidence can be considered.

“The proposed order is an important step closer to-ward an exchange of water between ODFW and the City of Cascade Locks,” said Dave Palais of Nestlé . “The next step will be for ODFW to formally change their wa-ter rights to include Oxbow Springs as an authorized point of diversion. This in turn will allow ODFW and the City of Cascade Locks to Continued on p. 3

Rescuers bring a patient up an em-bankment after he slipped off the Cape Horn Trail. Rescuers included the Skamania County Emergency Medical Services and volunteers from Skamania County Fire District 4, Ska-mania County Fire District 5, Wind River Search and Rescue and the Volcano Resuce Team. (Full story on page 3)Photo courtesy of Greg Hoskins

Wednesday, December 18, 2013 Skamania County Pioneer Page Three

Sponsored by Riverview Community Bank

Volunteer of the MonthMargaret Aries

Margaret Aries pro-vides low-impact chair exercises for senior citizens on Wednes-days and Fridays at the Rock Creek Hegewald Center through Ska-mania County Senior Services.

Aries utilized the SAIL (Stay Indepen-dent and Healthy for Life) exercise program which is designed to help people avoid inju-ries from falls.

Arlene Johnson of Skamania County Senior Services said of Aries: “Margaret takes time out of her physical ther-apy offi ce to volunteer her time for an exercise program for the community.”

Johnson said Aries began the class due to her interest in helping community members of all ages and her holistic approach to staying healthy through exercise.

“The class has grown each year and we can see the health benefi ts for individuals who at-tend regularly,” Johnson said. “One class member commented ‘I am one of the lucky members of Margaret’s Wednesday and Friday morning senior exercise class. I have noticed during the months I have been attending that my balance, strength and coordination have improved. With arthritis in both knees, I work hard to stay active and increase my fl exibility while minimiz-ing the pain. Margaret’s class is helping me reach my goal of staying independent as long as I can’.”

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move forward with plans for the water exchange.”

Palais said the company expects additional appeals and delays from Food and Water Watch and BARK.

“Project opponents have publically indicated that their strategy is to delay the project, and we expect they will take

advantage of procedural op-portunities to fi le exceptions or appeals,” he said. “Addi-tional litigation and appeals are expected as the water transfer and exchange pro-cesses move forward.”

The Pioneer has not had a response to an email to Julia DeGraw of Food and Water

Watch sent last week. Palais said Nestlé Wa-

ters remains committed to the proposed project and to working with the Cascade Locks community to ensure transparency and constant communication about devel-opments on the proposed sit-ing and facility.

Oregon judge...continued from p. 1

he said. “We don’t have to waste money on attorneys. Come to the meetings.”

The majority of those in the audience appeared to object to the PDA effort, though by what percentage is uncertain. Enthusiastic applause erupted following comments by An-dersen, Mobley and others, though people also applauded comments by Green and oth-ers in support of the PDA, in-cluding board members Dan Smith and Rachelle Rice.

“Whether I want a mari-juana store here or not, one would come here,” Rice said.

“I don’t really want some-one selling marijuana in my town. If it’s very likely it will come, though, I’d rather be in-volved.”

She said the PDA could use profi ts for law enforcement, drug addiction education and other efforts which would offset the potential negative effects of having a marijuana store in North Bonneville.

Smith said the PDA board intends to repay every dime loaned it by the city council.

“My understanding is it’s my responsibility as a member of the PDA to fi nd other fund-

ing sources,” he said. “We don’t want to use tax money. It’s my intention to repay the loan as soon as possible and not borrow more.”

While the city council meeting lasted nearly three hours, only about half an hour was devoted to discussion and action on several items, in-cluding approval of the 2014 budget, approval of a contract with Skamania District Court to provide municipal court services, and the re-appoint-ment of Greg Hartnell and Jake Meyer to the Planning Commission.

Opponents step up...continued from p. 1

Kaitlyn Hildenbrand of Skamania County EMS gets a hand up the steep bank after helping rescue a hiker who had fallen from the Cape Horn Trail on Dec. 11.

Portland men rescued from Cape Horn TrailBy The Pioneer and news sources

Two Portland-area men were rescued after slipping into a rocky chute when they tried to cross an icy patch of the Cape Horn Trail around 11 a.m., Wednesday, Dec. 11.

A group of 11 people with the Multnomah Athletic Club were hiking the popu-lar west end trail when James VanLente, 75, Wilsonville, slipped on the ice and fell about 25 feet. Another mem-ber of the hiking party, Mar-tin Schwartz, 68, of Portland, went to help VanLente, but slid about 150 feet down the icy chute before landing on a ledge.

VanLente was able to climb back up the icy and rocky ter-rain as emergency responders arrived on scene. However, Schwartz was unable to climb up without assistance.

More than 45 personnel participated in the four-hour rescue operation, including volunteers from Skamania County Emergency Medical Services, Skamania County Fire District No. 4, Skamania County Fire District No. 5, the

Wind River Search and Res-cue and the Volcano Rescue Team.

Claire Galton of Portland said she saw VanLente slip on the ice, though didn’t see Schwartz fall. She said the members were experienced hikers who had hiked the Cape Horn trail three times this year.

Linda Starr of Woodland, a friend of Schwartz and Van-Lente, said the two men were experienced hikers who used the trail about once a month.

VanLente, though able to walk out on his own, was transported by ambulance to PeaceHealth Southwest in Vancouver.

Rope technicians used several hundred feet of rope to reach Schwartz, who was lifted in a litter to the trail. He was also transported by am-bulance to PeaceHealth with unknown injuries.

The area where the men fell is a known hazard, ac-cording to Teresa Robbins of the Cape Horn Conservancy, which does maintenance on the trail. The area, referred to as “seeping springs,” is set

to be closed Jan. 18 as volun-teers work on a new portion of trail to circumvent the hazard-ous area.

“That area has been identi-fi ed as problematic,” Robbins said. “Come Jan. 18, we’ll be closing that portion of the trail for good. We’re having a big work party that day to reroute the trail.”

“We were very fortunate today”, said Undersheriff Dave Cox. “With the freezing temperatures, high winds, and icy conditions, the respond-ing rescue personnel did an outstanding job with this four-hour operation and everyone went home safe. We are grate-ful to the many volunteers who serve our community in such harsh conditions.”

Flu shots are the best way to prevent spread of fl u during the holidaysBy Clark County Health Department

Flu season has been mild so far, but that could change quickly. As people board planes, trains and buses to visit family and friends dur-ing the holidays, germs have ample opportunity to spread.

“If you haven’t received your fl u shot yet, please don’t wait,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County health offi cer. “By getting vaccinated now, you’ll develop fl u antibodies within two weeks, making it more likely you’ll enjoy a healthy holiday season. If you’ve ever had the fl u, you’ll agree that it’s well worth con-tacting your doctor or phar-macy for a shot.”

Infl uenza is a serious ill-

ness that kills thousands of Americans every year. Flu season usually lasts through May but peaks sometime be-tween January and March, al-though every season is differ-ent. For information about the current fl u season, see Public Health’s weekly Infl uenza Surveillance Report at http://www.clark.wa.gov/public-health/diseases/fl u.html.

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Preven-tion recommends a yearly fl u vaccination for everyone six months and older as the most important step to protect against fl u and its potentially serious complications. Vacci-nation with a live, nasal-spray fl u vaccine (FluMist) is an op-tion for people between two

and 49 who are healthy and not pregnant.

People at greatest risk of complications from fl u are especially urged to get vacci-nated. They are young children, pregnant women, people 65 and older and people with asth-ma, diabetes, heart disease and long-term health conditions.

While fl u shots are the best way to prevent fl u, people can reduce the spread of disease by covering coughs and sneezes, washing hands frequently, and staying home when sick.

National Infl uenza Vac-cination Week, Dec. 8-14, is observed annually to highlight the importance of infl uenza vaccination. For more infor-mation, visit http://www.cdc.gov/fl u/index.htm.