In your neighborhood

Ridgefield and Fairgrounds

Ridgefield: Bonnie and Paul Peck were the first recipients of the newly created Heritage Community Award. The two have lived in Ridgefield for more than 40 years and are frequent volunteers in the community. Allene Wodaege announced the awards Aug. 21 during the Heritage Day festival.

Fairgrounds: According to state officials, Clark County’s annual to-do did fairly well this year. After visiting the Clark County Fair on Aug. 10-11, the state fair commissioner gave a positive report. The fair topped its record score from last year (2,436) by taking in 2,636 points this year, Fair Manager John Morrison said in an e-mail, making the county the top spot in the state to get money from the Fair Fund.

Battle Ground, Meadow Glade and Hockinson

Battle Ground: Don’t fret if dentist Edward Conzatti or his staff at Gentle Dental ask you to spit in a cup. The group is collecting data on patients’ saliva for a study by the University of Washington and Oregon Health & Science University. The study aims to better understand dental disease and cavities.

East Clark County: Camas and Washougal

Camas-Washougal: The 2010 Camas-Washougal Rotary backpack program raised $2,900 to supply 150 backpacks for some lucky youngsters. All the backpacks were stuffed with district-required school supplies. The Washougal and Camas school districts each received 75 of the backpacks that teachers will distribute to designated students. Teresa Baldwin, Washougal School District superintendent, said the stylish backpack is important for students in need to get off to a good start. Rotarian Jim Curry was the coordinator of the program. The Camas-Washougal Rotary participates in many programs that benefit the local community.

Camas: The Camas School District is switching things up online. The district’s technology and public relations staff switched all the elementary school websites to WordPress. The switch to the open source content management system was free, makes modifying pages easier for staff, requires little training and plays nice with search engines. The middle schools and Hayes Freedom High School will switch to WordPress in the fall. Camas High School will be converted to Drupal, another open source content management system, in a few months.

Central Vancouver, Minnehaha and The Heights

Hudson’s Bay: Students from the International Air and Hospitality Academy raised about $3,000 for Clark County children’s programs during the “King of Rock Auction and Barbecue” on Aug. 19. The event was held at the Red Cross Building at the Fort Vancouver Historic Reserve. Elvis impersonator Mark Stevenzeta provided entertainment, executive chefs Greg Taylor, Aaron Guerra and Michael Amore provided the grub.

Fourth Plain Village: Some pets can make doggone good therapists. Donna Greene and her canine partner, Frankie, along with Randy and Sue Anderson and their yellow Lab, Charlie, recently completed training through the American Red Cross. The group still has to be cleared by the Veterans Affairs representatives in Portland. If all goes well, the pooches can soon serve as pet therapists in local hospitals to lift patients’ and families’ spirits.

East Vancouver, Cascade Park, Fisher’s Landing and Evergreen

Fisher’s Creek: John Cummings, 16, is looking for some cash. The Eagle Scout candidate needs to raise $3,000 to buy 1,500 signs to advertise this year’s Walk and Knock food drive. He’s about a third of the way there, after knocking on numerous doors and making several phone calls since he started his quest in July. He hopes to wrap up his fundraising efforts soon. Anyone interested in helping him along can make a check out to the Interservice Walk and Knock Sign Fund and mail them to: John Cummings, 3803 S.E. 182nd Court, Vancouver, WA 98683.

Bennington: Robert Johnson was changing the oil in his truck on Aug. 4 when he heard tires squealing a few blocks away from his home. Soon after, a small Volkswagen took a corner fast and smacked into a 2002 Suzuki Grand Vitara that was parked across the street. When the small Volkswagen started to back up, Johnson sprung into action. “I saw that (the driver) was trying to run and I tried to glance over and get the license plate. Things were happening so quick I couldn’t … so I jumped into my truck and chased (the driver) down.” He followed the driver, who pulled over a block or so down the road and waited for police. Nicole Davis, the owner of the crunched Suzuki, was grateful for her neighbor’s help and glad that things didn’t end worse. If the car would have gotten away, “who knows if (the people in the car) would have understood the consequences of what they did,” Davis said. Vancouver Police spokeswoman Kim Kapp said the 16-year-old female driver was referred to juvenile authorities. Davis has since settled with her insurance and is having her car fixed.

East Vancouver: Dog food was at the top of Darlene Dobbs’ birthday wish list. The now 85-year-old was glad when 41 of her friends brought three shopping carts full of kibble and treats to a lunch party on Aug. 25. All the chow was donated to the Humane Society for Southwest Washington. The group also had a barking contest during lunch at Tommy O’s East Vancouver location. Unfortunately, Dobbs’ own dogs — Rotten Ralf, a 4-year-old Yorkshire terrier and Ruby Sue, a 14-year-old dachshund — didn’t make it to the party.

Hazel Dell, Felida and Salmon Creek

Northeast Hazel Dell: More than 100 people from the local Western Washington University community took over the Steakburger Golf-o-Rama on Aug. 30 to welcome incoming students and their parents as they prepare for school in Bellingham. Western parents, students, alumni and families all gathered together for good old-fashioned fast food and a game of miniature golf. The point was not only to make connections “but to also help answer questions our new students and parents may have about the Western experience and life in Bellingham,” said alum Chris Roselli.

West Vancouver and Downtown

Fruit Valley: New Heights Church sent 60 volunteers to Frenchman’s Bar Regional Park to do a park and beach cleanup on Aug. 8. More volunteers cleaned native plant seeds at the church and then rolled them into seed balls. The seeds were collected by the Parks Department’s AmeriCorps Watershed team. The seed balls will be planted after removal of invasive plants at the lilly fields at Lacamas Lake Park. The event was part of a two-week service project at New Heights.

Orchards, Sifton and Brush Prairie

Andresen/St. Johns: Youth Efforts Against Hunger delivered 6,022 pounds of locally grown meat and poultry to the Clark County Food Bank in late August. YEAH is an outgrowth of the Junior Livestock Auction and provides high-quality meat and poultry to hungry people in Clark County. Bidders donate money or the animal they buy at the auction and YEAH provides the funds for the cutting and wrapping of the meat, which is then delivered to the Clark County Food Bank. This year, YEAH bidders donated nine hogs, 14 lambs and four goats, plus poultry and rabbits; YEAH itself purchased and donated 9.5 hogs, one beef and 20 lambs. Jim Youde, vice chairman of the Clark County Food Bank, said: “We applaud the commitment displayed by our area youth to fighting hunger in our community.”

Pleasant Valley: Years ago, a cedar log floated down Salmon Creek and got stuck near the Northeast 50th Avenue home of Les Brosius, who used a tractor to drag it out. Four years ago, he started carving it into a totem pole. “I used to fish for steelhead in my backyard 25 years ago, so that is why there is a man figure holding a fish,” Brosius said. “For five years, there used to be a pair of red-tailed hawks nesting in a big fir tree outside my shop, and they were always fighting with the crows. That is why I have a raven and hawk on the totem pole. The killer whale represents the Pacific Northwest where we live. I have a bald eagle that flies through the backyard every once in a while trying to ambush wood ducks or looking for spawned out salmon, so that’s why I have an eagle on it. The three watchmen on top of the totem pole looking for danger represent my three sons.”