Central Vancouver, Minnehaha and The Heights
Van Mall: Red Cross staff held a “Football Fusion Frenzy” blood drive at the Clark County Donor Center on Oct. 25. Donors were invited to catch Monday Night Football and entered to win two tickets to the Seattle Seahawks game against the Atlanta Falcons on Dec. 19. A football gift basket, including a Seahawks Snuggie, a Seahawks football and more was also raffled. Free pizza and non-alcoholic beverages were provided, and football and other sports were shown during the blood drive. “This event was definitely a ‘touchdown’ for blood donation,” Nate Warren, Red Cross spokesman, said in an e-mail.
Forest Ridge: Paul Singer was a bit surprised to find a wild mushroom in his yard that measured about 9.5 inches across. “It just came up in the middle of the lawn,” he said. Usually he can find a few that fall in the six or seven inch range, but he’s never seen one this big.
West Minnehaha: More than 250 volunteers gathered in Leverich Park for Make a Difference Day on Oct. 23. They planted more than 10,000 native shrubs and trees along Burnt Bridge Creek and helped build two community gardens in the Rose Village Neighborhood. Nutter Corp. provided a pancake breakfast at the start of the day.
Van Mall: Katie Harman Ebner, Miss America 2002 and Miss Oregon 2001, spoke to more than 275 women at a benefit tea at the Heathman Lodge on Oct. 16. Proceeds from the event benefitted Pacific Crest Academy and Evergreen Habitat for Humanity’s Women Build Program.
North Clark County and Woodland
Woodland: More than 400 children and adults participated in trick-or-treat activities in downtown Woodland on Oct. 29, according to Noel Johnson of lewisriver.com. “Employees of the Woodland Insurance Co. all decked out in their Halloween costumes,” he said in an e-mail.
La Center: The La Center Garden Club, La Center High School students and a few volunteers from the Post Office braved the rain on Oct. 30 to clean up the La Center Post Office. The group filled a pickup bed with bagged weeds and clippings at the end of the day.
Battle Ground, Meadow Glade and Hockinson
Hockinson: Ron Arp of Amplify Group was honored by the Portland Metro Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America for his volunteer leadership role in “Portland-Vancouver USA, Land Here, Live Here,” a marketing campaign launched this year by regional advocates to attract businesses to the region. Arp, a local public relations professional, guided the efforts of more than 200 participants in creating the campaign over an 18-month-long period.
Ridgefield and Fairgrounds
Ridgefield Junction: Hazel Dell’s Messiah Lutheran Church has opened a storefront-style satellite location near the intersection of Pioneer Street and Interstate 5. More than 100 worshippers turned up one Sunday in September for the inaugural service at Messiah Lutheran Church’s North County Campus. It’s located in the Hergon Gate industrial building at 2 South 56th Place, Suite 203. Already offered are numerous ministries for adults and children, women and men — including a Tuesday prayer breakfast at the nearby Country Cafe. Upcoming programs include stress and the holidays, parenting classes and financial peace. Visit www.messiahvancouver.org to learn more.
Hazel Dell, Felida and Salmon Creek
North Salmon Creek: Ruth and Eric Werts were the top fundraisers in Vancouver for the Walk to Defeat ALS on Sept. 25. The family has collected more than $12,000 for the ALS Association in the last two years. Meagan Lancaster, events coordinator for the association, said this year’s event was a success. “This was by far our largest and most successful year, blowing our $430,000 fundraising goal out of the water, and raising more than $520,000. For a disease that doesn’t get a lot of recognition, this is an enormous response,” she said in an e-mail.
West Hazel Dell: Kevin Cotter was named one of the 2010 Wendy’s High School Heisman Award winners. Cotter, a senior at Columbia River, was among 20 winners out of 55,000 applicants. Finalists are selected based on their achievement in athletics, academics and community leadership.
East Vancouver, Cascade Park, Fisher’s Landing and Evergreen
First Place: The First Place Neighborhood Association has a few new board members, according to the latest newsletter. The following residents were nominated and approved by a majority vote at a meeting in October: Lynda Harriman, chairman; Sharen Graven, vice-chair; Susan Stephens, secretary; and Frank Hill, treasurer.
Cascade Highlands: The Cascade Highlands executive board voted to use some neighborhood funds to replace a “tired” sign at Homestead Park, according to the latest neighborhood newsletter. The new sign is not “tired-looking,” and it meets current park-sign standards. The city paid for the installation and the replacement frame.
Cascade Highlands: Brewed Awakenings, 6318 S.E. 12th St., recently held a grand reopening celebration. The location was sold in 2009 by Sandra and Todd Gunderson. The couple reacquired the location a few weeks ago. During the celebration, customers were given free drinks. Donations and employee tips were given to the Kearney Breast Center at Southwest Washington Medical Center.
East Vancouver: Sorelle Spa Salon, 19215 S.E. 34th St., held a fundraiser to send several moms of children who are fighting cancer to a weekend retreat at the beach. Ten percent of daily sales were donated directly to the event. Spa spokeswoman Lisa Scholin reports the event raised enough to send 10 moms to the getaway, which was planned by Sharla Vellek, whose son was diagnosed with retinoblastoma in October 2009.
Evergreen: Allison Duff, a student at Cascade Middle School, raised $1,000 for Katie’s Kause. The charity benefits Duff’s classmate, Katie Sullivan, who has had Cystic Fibrosis since she was 8 months old.
Landover-Sharmel: The School Nurse Association of Washington recently named Endeavour Elementary School Nurse Donna Bur the Washington State School Nurse of the Year.
East Clark County: Camas and Washougal
Camas: Cascadia School’s seventh and eighth grade classes returned to the Lacamas Lake Park lily fields Oct. 25. This is the second year school students have removed more than three tons of invasive Scotch broom plants. Students who participated last year were excited to see the patch they removed was still gone, according to Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Teresa Fernandez.
Camas: Camas Parks and Recreation is getting a little more social. The organization is now on Facebook thanks to the help of three Camas High School summer interns. Sara Slayton created the Facebook page, logo and tagline. Anyone who wants to “like” the group can follow the link on the upper right at http://www.ci.camas.wa.us/parks/.
Camas-Washougal: Members of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs Camas-Washougal chapter and the Washougal Odd Fellows created two “move out kits” in support of victims of domestic violence on Make a Difference Day on Oct. 23. Folks purchased personal care items including shampoo, conditioner, bath gel, combs, brushes, soap, nail care items, toothbrushes and toothpaste. The items were put into two 18-gallon tubs to be used when women leave the shelter and settle in a new home. The group also collected blankets, pajamas and items for Halloween bags.
Orchards, Sifton and Brush Prairie
Sunnyside: Sunset Elementary School was honored for the second year in a row for its use of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Network. The program focuses on discipline referrals, increased pro-social behavior of students and improvement in school social culture, according to a newsletter from Evergreen Public Schools.
Sifton: Leta Meyer, athletic coordinator at Heritage High School, joined the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Executive Board.
