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Photo of Lyndsey Hewitt

Stories by Lyndsey Hewitt

Columbian Staff writer, news assistant

George Brereton started Gifts of the Planet Farm in 2007 after retiring from a career as a ship captain in Alaska. At 2 acres, his farm is small but produces about 10,000 pounds of fruit a year, he said. However, he concedes he doesn’t turn a profit. “I’ve only made a profit one year and that’s when I took a couple trees off the top of my hill up there and sold them,” he said.

Working in Clark County: George Brereton, farmer, owner of Gifts of the Planet Farm

George Brereton started Gifts of the Planet Farm in 2007 after retiring from a career as a ship captain in Alaska. At 2 acres, his farm is small but produces about 10,000 pounds of fruit a year, he said. However, he concedes he doesn’t turn a profit. “I’ve only made a profit one year and that’s when I took a couple trees off the top of my hill up there and sold them,” he said.

May 13, 2019, 6:02am Business

Only mid-May, and Woodland farmer George Brereton is already worried about his berries. Read story

Gail Horn moves bars of soap from a curing rack while preparing to cut them into their final size. Horn makes around 112 bars of soap a day. They have to cure for four weeks before being sold. The process includes melting oils, such as avocado oil, and mixing lye and water. “What’s happening is saponification. The chemical reaction for lye and water and oils becomes soap. You blend it until it’s thick like pudding, and pour it into a mold,” she said.

Working in Clark County: Gail Horn, soap-maker and owner of The Soap Chest

Gail Horn moves bars of soap from a curing rack while preparing to cut them into their final size. Horn makes around 112 bars of soap a day. They have to cure for four weeks before being sold. The process includes melting oils, such as avocado oil, and mixing lye and water. “What’s happening is saponification. The chemical reaction for lye and water and oils becomes soap. You blend it until it’s thick like pudding, and pour it into a mold,” she said.

May 6, 2019, 6:02am Business

Hand-crafted soap. Kind of like do-it-yourself beer brewing and kombucha, homemade soap is everywhere these days. Read story

Yvonne Payne performs for an afternoon happy hour at Glenwood Place Senior Living in Vancouver. Residents gathered to drink wine and listen to Payne play in the background. The 73-year-old has been a working pianist since she was in her teens. “I think it’s just a matter of persistence,” she said of her career.

Working in Clark County: Yvonne Payne, pianist, owner of Ebony Notesvideo icon

Yvonne Payne performs for an afternoon happy hour at Glenwood Place Senior Living in Vancouver. Residents gathered to drink wine and listen to Payne play in the background. The 73-year-old has been a working pianist since she was in her teens. “I think it’s just a matter of persistence,” she said of her career.

April 29, 2019, 6:00am Business

The exact details of when Yvonne Payne, 73, started playing piano are a little hazy to her now. Read story

Fishmonger Mace Bollens loads a rack of Alaskan salmon fillets before moving them to the smoker at the Pacific Northwest Best Fish Co. Bollens, 57, grew up in Redwood City, Calif., and worked in the San Francisco Bay area for 20 years before moving to Washington in 1996. He started working at the Ridgefield fish market in 2002.

Working in Clark County: Mace Bollens, fishmonger at Pacific Northwest Best Fish Co.

Fishmonger Mace Bollens loads a rack of Alaskan salmon fillets before moving them to the smoker at the Pacific Northwest Best Fish Co. Bollens, 57, grew up in Redwood City, Calif., and worked in the San Francisco Bay area for 20 years before moving to Washington in 1996. He started working at the Ridgefield fish market in 2002.

April 22, 2019, 6:00am Business

Just over 20 years ago, Mace Bollens was using his burly hands to weld, shape and form bronze and stainless steel metals for an architecture firm in San Francisco. Read story

Class of 1965 alumni Pat Emrich, from left, Luci DeZort, Katy Hudert, Mary Parmantier and Connie Grenz reminisce about their school days outside the Providence Academy. It opened in 1857, and the last year that students graduated from the academy was 1966.

Together Again: Providence Academy hosts reunion on Mother Joseph Day

Class of 1965 alumni Pat Emrich, from left, Luci DeZort, Katy Hudert, Mary Parmantier and Connie Grenz reminisce about their school days outside the Providence Academy. It opened in 1857, and the last year that students graduated from the academy was 1966.

April 16, 2019, 9:02pm Churches & Religion

Reunion at Providence Academy amid renewal connects dots past and present for alumni Read story

Scenes from the Couve Couture Spring Fashion Show 2014 held at the Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay.

Local designer showcase Couve Couture returns

Scenes from the Couve Couture Spring Fashion Show 2014 held at the Red Lion Hotel Vancouver at the Quay.

April 11, 2019, 6:05am Clark County Life

Paris, London, Milan, New York … the Couve? Read story

Patt Doyle, owner of Pampurred Pet Care, sits with the cat Posha during a house visit. She’s been watching the cat for a few years, Doyle said. She doesn’t agree with people who believe that cats are independent and don’t need much tending to. ‘A lot of people say that but cats are predators and they tend to hide their illnesses. And, they are pets, they are used to us being around,’ she said.

Working in Clark County: Patt Doyle, owner of Pampurred Pet Care

Patt Doyle, owner of Pampurred Pet Care, sits with the cat Posha during a house visit. She’s been watching the cat for a few years, Doyle said. She doesn’t agree with people who believe that cats are independent and don’t need much tending to. ‘A lot of people say that but cats are predators and they tend to hide their illnesses. And, they are pets, they are used to us being around,’ she said.

April 8, 2019, 6:00am Business

Patt Doyle is a bonafide cat lady if there ever was one. Read story

Junior Alex Reif, 17, from left, joins aviation technology instructor Robert Reinebach and Kevin Gamble, 17, also a junior, as they take to the sky in a flight simulator during class at Cascadia Tech Academy. Boeing’s Pilot Outlook for 2018 to 2037 estimates a large shortage of pilots -- 790,000 worldwide, so Reinebach hopes to prepare students for a robust future in the field. ‘All the major airlines are hiring like 500 pilots a year to 1,000 pilots a year,’ he said.

Working in Clark County: Robert V. Reinebach, aviation technology instructor at Cascadia Tech Academy

Junior Alex Reif, 17, from left, joins aviation technology instructor Robert Reinebach and Kevin Gamble, 17, also a junior, as they take to the sky in a flight simulator during class at Cascadia Tech Academy. Boeing’s Pilot Outlook for 2018 to 2037 estimates a large shortage of pilots -- 790,000 worldwide, so Reinebach hopes to prepare students for a robust future in the field. ‘All the major airlines are hiring like 500 pilots a year to 1,000 pilots a year,’ he said.

April 1, 2019, 6:04am Business

Despite threats of automation, the world will need 790,000 pilots worldwide between now and 2037, according to Boeing’s Pilot Outlook report. Read story

Kristen Starr moves Cenoura, a 5-month-old kitten, to a holding cage before a medical checkup. Animals, including dogs, cats and rabbits, are surrendered to the Humane Society for Southwest Washington for many reasons and can be an emotional job. ‘You never know what’s going to come in the doors, and you absolutely have to be neutral in every single case,’ Starr said.

Working in Clark County: Kristen Starr, customer care counselor at Humane Society for Southwest Washington

Kristen Starr moves Cenoura, a 5-month-old kitten, to a holding cage before a medical checkup. Animals, including dogs, cats and rabbits, are surrendered to the Humane Society for Southwest Washington for many reasons and can be an emotional job. ‘You never know what’s going to come in the doors, and you absolutely have to be neutral in every single case,’ Starr said.

March 25, 2019, 6:01am Business

An emotionally distraught woman walked through the doors of the Humane Society for Southwest Washington on a Wednesday, carrying a cardboard box formed into a cage that held a cat that she had adopted the previous Friday. Read story

Phlebotomist Sotheary Chet, center, works with platelet donor John Reinhardt of Battle Ground at the American Red Cross Blood Donor Center in Vancouver. Reinhardt, a regular platelet donor, decided to watch “Crazy Rich Asians” over the two-hour donation process. Platelets, which have a shelf life of five days, are mainly used for trauma injuries.

Working in Clark County: Sotheary Chet, phlebotomist with the American Red Cross

Phlebotomist Sotheary Chet, center, works with platelet donor John Reinhardt of Battle Ground at the American Red Cross Blood Donor Center in Vancouver. Reinhardt, a regular platelet donor, decided to watch “Crazy Rich Asians” over the two-hour donation process. Platelets, which have a shelf life of five days, are mainly used for trauma injuries.

March 18, 2019, 6:02am Business

When longtime Red Cross phlebotomist Sotheary Chet, 61, was first exposed to the historic nonprofit organization, it wasn’t because she was applying for a job. Read story