Morning Press: Benton job and foe, CRC, fatal wreck, co-op

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This week’s top stories and news you may have missed:

Environmental services director job description altered

The job description for Clark County environmental services director — the position state Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, was hired to May 1 — was altered on Clark County’s website in September, and county officials are currently working to figure out why that occurred.

The changed job description came to the attention of Democratic Commissioner Steve Stuart last week when a county resident queried the county on why the changes had been made.

Stuart said he’s looked into the matter and said former County Administrator Bill Barron requested the changes be made in his final weeks before his Sept. 10 retirement.

The letter states Benton is considering legal action against Barnes for continually speaking negatively to county commissioners about their hiring of Benton to his county role.

After about an hour of public comment on the matter, mostly from folks in support of Barnes and wearing name tags that stated “I am Ed Barnes,” the real Ed Barnes stood up and took the microphone.

“This isn’t about Ed Barnes,” he told the commissioners. “This is about freedom of speech in this community.”

Read the full story here.

Oregon action on CRC unlikely this year

It’s been almost a month since Oregon leaders formed a special legislative committee on the Columbia River Crossing, at which time a top state official declared immediate action was necessary to keep the project on track.

Yet here’s how state Sen. Chuck Thomsen, a member of that committee, responds when asked about the latest on the CRC.

“I haven’t heard a word,” said Thomsen, a Republican from Hood River. “I have people ask me this all the time.”

The committee hasn’t scheduled a single hearing. As lawmakers return to Salem for informal meetings today, legislative action on the revised Interstate 5 Bridge replacement appears increasingly unlikely this year. If it happens at all, many believe it will wait until the next regular legislative session in February.

The delay means the CRC’s schedule may be out the window, again. An Oregon Department of Transportation spokesman acknowledged Tuesday that planners are now looking at a 2015 construction date, pushed back from 2014.

Read the full story here.

Vancouver Food Co-op votes to continue operations

The membership of the Vancouver Food Cooperative, invigorated by a flood of new volunteers and sales at the nonprofit downtown grocery store, has voted to keep at it.

At a housekeeping meeting on Tuesday night, 48 votes were cast against dissolution of the member-driven corporation. There were two abstentions and no votes in favor of dissolution, according to co-op board president Kirk Wright, who spoke to The Columbian on Wednesday. The meeting was held at the YWCA Clark County on Main Street.

“We’re on a good path,” Wright said. “I think everyone had a chance to be heard.” There were questions about financial details and plans, he said, but in the end the feeling was “really positive.”

The co-op’s store at 1002 Main St. has struggled this year to stay afloat in the face of insufficient sales and volunteerism, Wright has said. Earlier this year, a split board of directors endorsed a plan to dissolve the corporation and shut the store’s doors — but publicity about the crisis has resulted in a welcome flood of new energy and sales.

Read the full story here.