County campaign collects items for veterans

Central Park — As part of the county’s Year of Giving campaign, county employees and community members donated essential items for the annual Stand Down event. The county collected items during July, and brought in 41 tarps, 30 pairs of jeans, six packages of underwear, personal first aid kits, batteries, backpacks, flash lights, water bottles and lots of canned food, bottled water and snacks. The 2017 Veterans Expo and Stand Down event, open to all veterans and their families, is scheduled to run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept. 30 in the gym in the Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System, 1601 N.E. Fourth Plain Blvd., Vancouver.