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News / Clark County News

Morning Press: Filing Week, Parade of Bands, drought

The Columbian
Published: May 17, 2015, 5:00pm

While you were out enjoying the nice weather this weekend, here are a few stories that you might have missed

Filing Week: Stewart announces bid for top council seat

Filing week came to a dramatic close Friday as several last-minute candidates entered the 2015 elections.

The Clark County council chair race will see yet another familiar face, as current Councilor Jeanne Stewart announced her candidacy. Mike Dalesandro, a Battle Ground city councilor who’s new to county-level politics, also announced his candidacy.

Mary Benton, the wife of Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, filed for the District 2 race.

Two newcomers also announced for seats on the Vancouver City Council. Justin Forsman will run against incumbent Bart Hansen for Position No. 4. Kathleen Metzger announced her candidacy for Position No. 5, which will be vacated by Councilor Larry Smith.

See who else is running for positions across the county.

Inslee declares statewide drought

Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday declared a statewide drought emergency, citing a deepening crisis that threatens to touch all corners of the state.

The announcement comes as a dismally low snowpack across Washington continues to dwindle. About 70 percent of the state’s monitoring stations are showing record-low snowpack, Inslee said. Many already have no snow at all.

“We’re seeing things happen at this time of year that we have just never seen before,” Inslee said in remarks that were broadcast by TVW, the statewide government access channel.

Friday’s declaration doesn’t change the drought status for Clark County, which was already included in an earlier, more limited emergency declaration. Now all areas of the state can qualify for relief funds that can be used for various water supply measures if they experience hardship due to the worsening drought.

Find out what the drought declaration will mean in Clark County.

Parade of Bands fills Hazel Dell with music, fun, families

Families lined the streets of Hazel Dell on Saturday to partake in an annual tradition: the Hazel Dell Parade of Bands. This year’s theme, the “Wild, Wild West,” was rendered with hay bales, cowboy hats and cowboy boots galore.

Garry Lucas, retired Clark County sheriff, rode in a red Cadillac Eldorado with pearl-handled pistol door handles and cattle horns mounted on the enormous grille.

Clark County Mounted Search and Rescue wore white cowboy hats.

Miss Vancouver Rodeo Felicia Harrison, 19, rode Bingo, her 20-year-old quarter horse.

Wearing tan cowboy hats, the Hazel Dell Parade Alumni Band played the parade perennial, “Louie, Louie.”

The Discovery Middle School band played “Rawhide” as it marched.

See photos and winners at the Parade of Bands.

Adoptee from Ethiopia at home on Ridgefield track

For Silas Griffith, family plays a big role.

Big in importance.

Big in size.

The Ridgefield High School sophomore is one of seven children adopted by Julia Griffith.

Silas and his two older siblings arrived from Ethiopia in 2008. They joined a Griffith family that already included four children adopted from Haiti.

As one of seven adoptees ranging from age 11 to 21, Griffith is comfortable among large groups.

That helps explain why he feels so at home on the Ridgefield track and field team.

“We’re this group of people who are just working out together,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a star or not. It’s awesome because we’re just watching everybody improving and cheering them on.”

Read more about Silas Griffith and Ridgefield High School track.

DiscoverOrg at home in downtown Vancouver

It’s 4:30 p.m. on a Friday, and I’m conducting my last interview of the day, with an Intel employee interested in being a server engineer for our fast-growing technology company. We start talking about why he’s interested in the position, what the job would entail and what he currently does at Intel. The job applicant pauses as he begins answering, glancing out the window. “Sorry”, he says, realizing that he’s just lost his focus. “This view it’s just, it’s really distracting”.

On a clear day on the 9th floor of DiscoverOrg’s new headquarters in the 805 Broadway Building, our open floor plan gives me views in every direction. The Columbia River glistens, Mt. Hood is majestic in the distance while Mt. Adams and Mount St. Helens punctuate the skyline to the north.

Read more of why DiscoverOrg founder Henry Scheck chose Vancouver.

Market Fresh Finds: Colorful kale offers many health benefits

This week’s vegetable, kale, is also called borecole, which means “farmers cabbage” in Dutch. Kale is a leafy vegetable belonging to the same family as cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.

Kale is recognized for its numerous health benefits. They include many antioxidants that protect against heart disease and cancers. It also contains a lot of fiber, which helps control blood sugar levels and maintain a healthy intestinal tract.

Kale is easy to grow in cooler climates and is found from late winter through spring months. There are three varieties of kale: curly, dinosaur and ornamental.

Curly kale is the most popular variety and is easily found in markets. It has ruffled, deep-green leaves and fibrous stalk. Its flavor is pungent and peppery.

Learn more about why kale should be on your farmers market shopping list.

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