Cheers: To a warm welcome. The first day of classes at Washington State University Vancouver this week brought about the latest episode of an endearing tradition. As fall semester began, alumni, faculty and friends stood on street corners waving flags and signs to greet new and returning students.
WSUV was established in 1989 and moved into its Salmon Creek campus in 1996. As Southwest Washington’s only four-year college, it now serves about 3,500 students and helps to provide an educated workforce for employers near and far. As they embark on a new school year, we offer best wishes to students and staff at the university.
Jeers: To sharp objects. Well, at least to sharp objects that people try to bring into the Clark County Courthouse. An article this week in The Columbian detailed the contraband that gets confiscated by courthouse security. So far this year, that includes 346 knives and 243 box cutters, often absentmindedly carried by somebody who uses the tool for their job.
The list includes some interesting items. We can understand a knitting aficionado forgetting about the knitting needles in their handbag or maybe planning on completing a purl or two while waiting in a courtroom; yet needles also are forbidden. But we have trouble comprehending the 51 instances where drug paraphernalia has been seized. The bottom line: Check your pockets before trying to enter the Clark County Courthouse.
Cheers: Celebrating parks. In honor of the National Park System’s 103rd birthday, entry to the parks and facilities in the Washington State Parks system is free on Sunday. Typically, a Discover Pass is required for parking at a state park, costing $30 a year or $10 a day. Parking at a national park can be $30 for a seven-day pass.
Clark County has three state parks: Battle Ground Lake, Paradise Point and Reed Island. For the more adventurous, Mount Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic are the state’s national parks. Public lands long have been one of Americans’ best gifts to themselves. Waiving the fees for a day will make Washington’s rich bounty of parks even more accessible.
Jeers: To fraudsters. Jeers also go to inattentive employees, as Portland Public Schools were nearly bilked out of $2.9 million. Scam artists posing as one of the district’s contractors convinced employees to transfer the money into their bank account.
The fraud was discovered while the money was still in the unscrupulous account and will be recovered by the district. Two employees have been placed on leave, and additional training has been planned for the district’s money managers. But the incident should be a lesson to all school districts and other government employees. It also should make anybody who has been scammed out of a couple bucks feel a little better; at least we weren’t taken for $2.9 million.
Cheers: To Alan Schurman. The Ridgefield man died in February at the age of 76, but his legacy of collecting farm implements and machinery will live on. An online auction is selling off the remarkable collection he amassed at Iron Ranch.
Nearly 3,000 auction lots are up for bid, including dozens of tractors along with other farm equipment. There’s even a 600-horsepower steam engine available, in case you are looking for an unusual conversation piece to keep in your backyard. For years, the Rural Heritage Fair drew visitors to the property Schurman maintained with his wife, Marcella. Now the items he carefully collected and restored are looking for loving homes.
