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In case you missed it, here are some of the top stories of the week:
Community members, well-wishers and peers on two legs and four came out en masse Tuesday evening to pay their final respects to Ike, a Vancouver Police Department dog killed in the line of duty earlier this month.
By all accounts, Ike was a good dog.
His sergeant praised his skill at plunging into briars or crawl spaces after suspects; his chief, his enthusiasm for the job; and his handler, his constancy as a partner and friend.
Vancouver Officer Jack Anderson, Ike’s handler, said until losing Ike, he didn’t realize how much people appreciate the efforts of police officers.
“I think we in law enforcement sometimes lose our perspective,” he said. “I want to say thank you, to all of you, for helping bring back my perspective.”
About 250 to 300 people showed up at to the Hilton Vancouver Washington on Tuesday, where volunteers holding flags — and roughly 50 police K-9 teams from Washington, Oregon and Canada — lined the sidewalk around the hotel to welcome them.
Read more about the memorial for slain K-9 Ike.
A former Evergreen High School drama teacher who pleaded guilty in July to having sex with a 15-year-old male student was sentenced Wednesday afternoon to five years in prison.
The sentence was handed down after attorneys clashed over whether Stephanie McCrea should serve more than the standard 60 months, or whether she should be allowed to enroll in a special sentencing alternative for sex offenders, which would have provided a lighter sentence in return for completing mental health treatment.
Clark County Superior Court Judge David Gregerson said he felt the special sex offender sentencing alternative requested by the defense would be inappropriate in McCrea’s case. Likewise, he said he didn’t see the need for an exceptionally long sentence. With an exceptional sentence, McCrea could have faced up to 76 months in prison.
Gregerson said McCrea’s actions were not only a betrayal of trust but an abuse of trust. He said he made his decision in part by considering the community’s potential reaction if the situation had involved a male teacher and female student.
Before the sentence was handed down, McCrea, 36, tearfully read a letter of apology.
Learn more about Stephanie McCrea’s sentencing.
The presence of recreational marijuana stores in Vancouver and Battle Ground is finally paying off for the two cities, which received their first cut of marijuana excise tax revenue from the state this week.
Vancouver will receive a total $790,500 for the state’s 2016 year fiscal year, which runs July 1, 2015, through June 30, 2016. That’s the highest amount of any city in Washington, according to statistics from the Association of Washington Cities.
Vancouver, which has six retail marijuana shops, received its first quarterly payment of $197,600 Wednesday. Battle Ground, which will get $35,600 total for 2016, received its first quarterly installment of $8,900. It has one retail marijuana shop.
Two of Vancouver’s pot shops — Main Street Marijuana and New Vansterdam — consistently post the highest sales figures in all of Washington.
Read more about what the city will do with the revenue.
Sunlight Supply, a Vancouver manufacturer and distributor of specialty gardening supplies, is raising its profile, and Amphitheater Northwest — formerly known as the Sleep Country Amphitheater — is getting a new name: Sunlight Supply Amphitheater.
The two parties announced the new arrangement Thursday but did not disclose terms of the business deal. They said it’s an arrangement that suits them both well and that showcases efforts to support local nonprofits.
Attendees of events at the 18,000-seat, $40 million amphitheater in Ridgefield will be able to learn about a variety of nonprofit charitable organizations that will be housed in a structure with Sunlight Supply’s logo, said Kathy Russo, director of sales for Amphitheater Northwest.
Read more about the naming deal.
On a day that felt like a round of speed dating, Terry Stotts tried to break the ice.
As Portland Trail Blazers media day began with President of Basketball Operations Neil Olshey behind the mic, the head coach hurled out the first question.
“Why didn’t you re-sign LaMarcus?” Stotts asked.
It was a well-timed moment of levity, considering the Blazers and their fans are coming off one of the most painful breakups in franchise history.
Blazers fans had fallen hard for a scrappy upstart group that won on the court and was likeable off it.
But when LaMarcus Aldridge chose not to re-sign with Portland, it set off a cascade of roster moves. When the season begins next month, it’s possible that four of five starters could be playing their first season in a Blazers uniform.
Learn more about the new Blazers line up.
There’s no shortage of flavor in the fast-developing heart of historic downtown Camas.
Along that small, quaint stretch of Fourth Avenue, you’ll find restaurants inspired by cuisine from all over the world: China, Thailand, Mexico, even an American-Russian cafe. But to local restaurateur Tim McKusker – who owns two restaurants in downtown and has had a hand in building some 80 restaurants throughout his culinary career — something big was missing from the mix.
“Camas is really, really growing. The food trend is really happening,” McKusker said. “I just kept thinking, ‘What were we missing?’ There’s nothing Southern, no spice, no heat.”
This month, McKusker is adding a dash of that Southern spice to downtown Camas, shutting down his American comfort food restaurant, Harvest, and re-inventing the place with a new name, décor and a completely revamped menu of Southern dishes.
The new place, called Miss Nola’s Café, is set to open today. The name, of course, is a throwback to New Orleans, but it’s also a tribute to the family’s St. Bernard, Nola. McKusker plans to keep the restaurant open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday.
Read more about downtown Camas’ newest restaurant.
