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In case you missed them, here are some of the top stories of the weekend:
It’s been a long, long time since U.S. Navy Musician Second Class Francis E. “Ham” Dick was last home.
The Woodland High School graduate was just 19 years old when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy in Portland. He was 20 years old when he arrived aboard the battleship USS Oklahoma. And he was just shy of 21 when the Japanese military attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, launching the United States into World War II.
Dick was among the 429 people who died aboard the Oklahoma that day. For decades his unidentified remains lay in one of 46 mixed caskets in Hawaii before being transported to a lab in Nebraska as part of an identification program through the Defense PIO/MIA Military Accounting Agency.
Nearly 78 years later, that program was able to identify Dick’s remains, put them on a plane and send them home for a memorial and formal burial.
Read the full story: DNA, dedication bring WWII casualty home
The Evergreen Public Schools Board of Directors appears poised to put Superintendent John Steach on administrative leave, according to a school board notice released Friday afternoon.
At 5:01 p.m., the district issued a school board notice for 8 a.m. Monday, listing only an executive session to review the performance of a public employee — a closed meeting expected to last 15 minutes — followed by possible placement of the superintendent on administrative leave and appointment of an interim replacement. On Saturday, the district published a notice that the board may also be accepting Steach’s resignation.
The apparent suddenness of the decision and the reasons for it, however, were unclear. No additional documentation was listed on the school board’s website.
All four school board members were mum, either not returning phone calls or declining to comment. Union representatives reached for comment were surprised by the news and had no additional information. District spokeswoman Gail Spolar said no information would be available until Monday.
Read the full story: Evergreen superintendent faces administrative leave
John Combs has cerebral palsy and travels in a wheelchair. But he’s still able to work as a Walmart Supercenter greeter at Southeast 192nd Avenue, a job he loves and has held for more than two years.
The 42-year-old Combs, however, was told this week that he will be laid off because of a new company policy that is affecting disabled Walmart greeters nationwide.
The policy requires people in his role to be able to stand for an eight-hour shift and be able to lift up to 25 pounds. The company’s policy change has shocked and infuriated Combs’ family and supporters who thus far have been unsuccessful in obtaining details from the retailing giant about the change.
A manager in the store told Combs on Monday his job had been reclassified and that he would be laid off April 25, said his sister, Rachel Wasser of Vancouver. The news upset her brother.
“He’s devastated,” Wasser said. “Pretty tearful. He’s asking me, ‘What am I going to do? Will I just sit at home every day?’ He’s devastated.”
Read the full story: Vancouver Walmart greeter with cerebral palsy laid off due to policy change
More than 50 people gathered at Esther Short Park on Saturday evening for a candlelight vigil to honor Clayton Joseph, the 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed by a Vancouver police officer on Tuesday.
Joseph was shot when the officer responded to a report of a disturbance outside of an apartment complex on Southeast Ellsworth Road. Vancouver police say the teen brandished a knife before he was shot.
Members of Joseph’s family were not present at the vigil. Multiple attendees described it as an impromptu gathering that arose from discussions among Vancouver residents, and word of the event spread through friends and on social media.
Read the full story: Community holds candlelight vigil for Clayton Joseph
