Cheers: To voting. More than 280,000 ballots were mailed throughout Clark County beginning this week in preparation for the Nov. 6 general election. If a ballot is not received by Thursday, registered voters are encouraged to contact the Clark County Elections office at 360-397-2345. Eligible voters who have not registered may do so through Oct. 29 at the elections office, 1408 Franklin St. in Vancouver.
Of course, simply registering to vote is not enough to make our representative democracy work with peak efficiency. People must fill out their ballots and return them in order to have a voice in how our community functions. During the most recent midterm election, in 2014, 51 percent of registered voters in Clark County turned in ballots. We encourage voters to become familiar with the candidates and issues on the ballot and then exercise their right to vote.
Sad: The death of Paul Allen. The Microsoft co-founder, who helped usher in the digital age, died this week at the age of 65. Allen reaped billions of dollars from his innovations and his partnership with Bill Gates, helping to make Seattle an international technology hub. He later used his fortune for countless philanthropic and creative endeavors, in addition to becoming the longtime owner of both the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers.
Allen’s indelible impact on the Northwest even touched Vancouver. As a teenager, he worked with Gates on a computing project for the Bonneville Power Administration, a temporary job he writes about in his memoir, “Idea Man.” He describes the city of the time as “a land of strip malls, car washes, and a vintage A&W Root Beer drive-in where we’d become regulars.” Vancouver and, indeed, the world have undergone changes in the past 45 years, much of it due to Allen’s work.
Cheers: To earthquake alerts. A new system providing earthquake warnings for Washington, Oregon and California is ready for use. The system is not yet complete, but its importance is clear. As The Associated Press reports, a quick warning can automatically slow trains, stop industrial processes, start backup generators, or pause a surgery.
How effective will the system be if a major earthquake hits Washington? We hope we never find out, but a fully working system could help save countless lives.
Jeers: To an unsecured load. Dozens of steel balls, weighing about 2 pounds each, spilled from a truck and cascaded down a street in West Seattle. The result was a temporary street closure, several damaged cars, and what one headline deemed a “brief roll of terror.” It also made for an interesting visual.
A Seattle police spokesman said the balls appeared to be “really big ball bearings,” and it had not been determined what caused the spill. Fortunately, no injuries were reported, but we’re guessing that local residents for many years will tell the story about the time steel balls terrorized their street.
Cheers: To draining Goodwill Lake. The Washington Department of Transportation is wrapping up a project to prevent standing water that frequently accumulates along state Highway 503 on the way from Vancouver to Battle Ground. Colloquially known as “Goodwill Lake” because of its proximity to a Goodwill Outlet Store, the “lake” is created whenever heavy rains hit the area.
The WSDOT project has replaced the drainage system at a cost of about $700,000, and state project engineer Devin Reck told The Columbian, “Clearly it was something that needed to be addressed.” Drivers who frequent the area during the rainy season certainly will agree, as the water has been a longtime hazard along one of the region’s heavily traveled roads.
