Morning Press: Port of Secrecy series, stuffed tiger, Camas football coach

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Port of Secrecy series

The Columbian’s three-day series is the result of a months-long examination of more than 1,700 public documents; testimony and remarks delivered during public meetings; and interviews with open-government experts, Port of Vancouver officials, and others.

The public documents analyzed include more than 300 pages of depositions taken of port commissioners as part of an ongoing lawsuit that accuses the port of violating the state’s open public meetings law in deciding the oil terminal lease.

The initial lawsuit, filed in October 2013, cited information contained in a July 31 story by The Columbian that first revealed apparent breaches by the port of the open public meetings law. For the series, the newspaper obtained other documents through public disclosure requests. Those records include port emails, commission agenda materials and an internal report.

It turns out someone had called 911 believing the stuffed animal was a live Bengal tiger. After cracking several jokes and taking pictures, Zuvich and Scott parted ways.

Read more about the tiger uproar.

Camas football coach’s suspension reduced to three games

CHEHALIS — Camas football coach Jon Eagle saw his penalty for a recruiting violation reduced at an appeals hearing Thursday, but the school and assistant coach Dan Kielty were hit with stiffer penalties.

The executive board of the WIAA’s District 4 voted to reduce Eagle’s four-game suspension to three games at the start of the 2015 season. Kielty, the team’s defensive coordinator, saw his one-game suspension increased to three games.

Eagle and Kielty were penalized by the Class 4A Greater St. Helens League on May 6. On Thursday, Camas took advantage of its first opportunity to appeal. The Columbian has obtained Camas High School’s initial self-report letter, which provides details into the actions that led to Eagle’s suspension.

Besides the modifications to the coaches’ penalties, Camas was fined $2,000 to be used for “coaches educational purposes only,” according to the District 4 board, and the athletic program at Camas High School has been placed on probation for one year. Those were additional penalties not levied against Camas by the 4A GSHL.

Learn more about the coach’s appeal.

Baptism by fire for Mount St. Helens monument manager

AMBOY — When Tedd Huffman started his new job this month, he didn’t start slowly. He didn’t have time.

Taking over as manager of the Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument is a big undertaking in itself. Taking over in early May — right before the anniversary of the volcano’s catastrophic 1980 eruption, and the events that come with it — is something else entirely.

“It’s been both overwhelming and completely awesome,” Huffman said.

Thirty-five years ago today, a massive landslide on Mount St. Helens uncorked an eruption that forever altered the Northwest landscape. The disaster leveled miles of forest, darkened skies and claimed the lives of 57 people. The volcano had been showing signs of unrest for several weeks before May 18, 1980. But no one expected the kind of catastrophe that shattered a calm Sunday morning and changed modern volcanology.

Huffman doesn’t have any particular memories of that eruption. He was 5 years old in 1980, living in the Midwest, so the event didn’t register for him at the time. As the Mount St. Helens monument manager now, Huffman sees sharing and preserving the story of the 1980 eruption as one of his key roles, he said.

Read more about the new Mount St. Helens Monument manager.

Agency: Pike, Benton violated campaign laws

Two local lawmakers violated state law by soliciting donations for Clark County council candidates during the legislative session, a Public Disclosure Commission spokeswoman said.

Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas, and Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, have campaigned, respectively, for Julie Olson and Mary Benton. Both are Republican candidates for the District 2 seat on the Clark County council.

However, a state law freezing any solicitation of donations by legislators during the session also prohibits lawmakers from raising money on behalf of candidates for other offices, PDC spokeswoman Lori Anderson said.

On Saturday, Don Benton, who is Mary Benton’s husband, sent an email to subscribers of his political action committee newsletter encouraging people to vote for his wife and contribute to her campaign. He posted the same statement on his public Facebook page.

Read more about the violations

Vancouver keeps on (food) truckin’

Downtown Vancouver’s space for food carts just got a little roomier. Jordan Menashe, an investor with the Menashe Group, which owns Main Place, 1111 Main St., has added a food cart pod to the front courtyard of the site.

Read more about the new food cart pod.