Battle Ground on tenterhooks

Battle Ground is waiting for transparency.

The Columbian-March 8, 2010: The Battle Ground City Council met behind closed doors for nearly three hours Monday night to discuss the findings from an investigation into who is leaking privileged information from executive sessions.

The council reconvened in open session just before 10 p.m. and took no action. Acting City Manager John Williams will issue a news release today regarding the investigation. The two-page report will be a summary of the findings and will not include all details, Mayor Michael Ciraulo said after the meeting.

Ciraulo would not comment on whether the investigation identified someone who was leaking information.

“We all agreed that we were going to say, ‘No comment,’ and let the report speak for itself,” he said.

Battle Ground Mayor Mike Ciraulo

Ciraulo called the executive session Monday evening, citing state statutes permitting closed-door sessions to review complaints or charges brought against a public officer and potential litigation. At the time, the council had not yet seen the report and did not know the findings from the investigation.

Ciraulo initially said earlier Monday that the discussion would take place during a public session, but the city’s legal counsel advised the city council against doing so.

Ciraulo, Deputy Mayor Phil Haberthur and council members Bill Ganley, Chris Regan, Alex Reinhold, Lisa Walters and Paul Zandamela all attended the meeting. City Attorney Brian Wolfe, Williams, Patrick Brock, the city’s special attorney obtained for the investigation, and the two investigators also took part in the closed-door meeting that began at 7 p.m.

The investigation was conducted last month by Jon Walters and William Curtright of Public Safety Testing Inc. of Lynnwood. The investigators interviewed all participants in Battle Ground City Council executive sessions from January 1, 2009, to the present, as well as anyone else who was identified as the recipient of confidential information.

Last month, the city council approved spending up to $23,000 for the investigation. The council also approved paying no more than $5,250 (30 hours at $175 per hour) to obtain Brock as outside legal counsel. The final cost for the probe was unclear Monday night.

The council unanimously approved launching the investigation at a meeting Dec. 21 after Reinhold raised concerns about e-mails he received from people in the community.

The e-mails included privileged information from closed executive sessions.

Marissa Harshman: 360-735-4546 or marissa.harshman@columbian.com.

Slow return to the American Dream?

Photo: Tracy Doriot, President of BIA, Clark County

There is a lot going on in the construction and home builder’s  industry in Clark County. According to the Columbian, permits for home building have tripled, up 208% from this time last year. Last month alone 40 home-building permits were issued. Builders are  encouraged by the proposed changes for deferring impact fee payments. These fees usually add considerably to the upfront costs of home construction.

Plus, some economists believe that the jobless rate is peaking and jobs may be on the verge of returning.

According to Tracy Doroit, of Doriot Construction and President of the Building Industry Association of Clark County, until just recently potential buyers have been postponing the purchase of a new home.

But as the stock market is up and home buyers stand to receive anywhere from $6,500 to $8000.00 in tax credit, now may be the time to begin to research the possibility of a home purchase.

To encourage this possibility,  Washington State Housing Finance Commission is working to help home buyers learn about how to purchase and maintain a home.

At the last meeting of the BIA, held at the Heathman Lodge, guest speaker, Scott Bergford, of  Scott Homes, Inc – the Green Builder of the Year- gave an interesting talk about the growing demand for energy efficient homes all over the United States. What distinguishes his company is that it has been building homes to national energy efficient standards for 26 years. In 2009 Scott Homes received the “Builder of the Year” Energy Housing Award by Energy Star Northwest.

A short list of home builders can be found on Battle Ground Website. There are many more listed on Google.

Does this plan stink?

Will effluent biosolids  fertilize farms?

The Reflector, March 3, 2010, reported that Ridgefield residents have until March 15, 2010 to respond to proposals to spread biosolids on agricultural lands.

The request to spread biosolids has been made by Onolaska based Fire Mountain Farms Inc. The  owner is listed as Robert J. Thode of Lewis County,  a bulk fertilizer distributer.

Fire Mountain is hoping to accept biosolids from the city of Battle Ground for application on a new site of 200 acres of farming land near 27201 NE 19th Ave. in Ridgefield.

Anyone wanting to appeal this decision must do so in writing by Monday, March 15, 2010, no later that 5 pm. Those who want to present views or want a public hearing must also write to the Department of Ecology by March 15.  Contact for Kyle Dorsey is kdor461@ecy.wa.gov.

Kyle Dorsey- Regional Biosolids Coordinator
Washington State Department of Ecology
PO Box 47775
Olympia, WA 98504-7775
360-407-6393

What are biosolids — The soil-like residue of materials removed from sewage during the treatment process. During treatment, bacteria and other tiny organisms break sewage down into simpler, harmless organic matter. The organic matter combined with bacterial cell masses, settles out to form biosolids.

Biosolids in their liquid form look like muddy water and contains 1-10% solids. Biosolids may be dewatered in a second step of the treatment process, which turns it into a “cake” with the texture of a wet sponge. In this stage it contains 11-40% solids. Biosolids Life Cycle

Department of Ecology in Washington State

The Chronical-Don’t assume…

Frequently asked questions

The butcher of Battle Ground

March 1st  marked the opening day for The Butcher Shop. Located at 915 East Main Street, the shop is an addition to the popular Battle Ground Produce Co. which already offers fresh fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs and local wines. Now along with produce, the Butcher Shop will make available various cuts of meat, chicken and a variety of sausages.

All of the meat at The Butcher Shop – and there is a wide selection – come from Painted Hills Natural Beef Inc., located in the heart of the Pacific Northwest.  Predominantly Angus or Angus-Cross are used for a continual consistency of flavor and quality. This is cattle that has been raised on a 100% vegetarian diet with no added hormones or antibiotics.

According to Will Homer, operations manager at Painted Hills, Fossil, Oregon,  consistency and quality are the primary goals of the ranches. All cattle from Painted Hills are treated humanely and then are processed through Tyson food plants where the well-being of each animals is considered a high priority.

Although change is slow, Tyson, according to Homer, is attempting to incorporate the more humane slaughter practices that have been introduced by Temple Grandin, the subject of a recent movie -The story of Temple Grandin.

All of this care adds up to flavorful, tender cuts of meat. Look out Ruth’s Chris!

Owner Lorne Alacano, Battle Ground Produce, can be reached at 360-687-1718

In the above photo: Walter Coen who has worked for over 40 years as a butcher.

Talented young artists to perform

FINALISTS PERFORM IN 16TH ANNUAL VANCOUVER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

The 16th Annual Young Artists Competition will be held on Sunday, March 7 at the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics’ Royal Durst Theatre.  The concert begins at 1 pm and is free and open to the public.

The Vancouver School of Arts and Academics is located at 3101 Main Street in Vancouver and is the school of choice for students who want to immerse the study of art along with the study of  academics.

How it works: Following the judging of recorded performances from the forty-four entries, each finalist was notified and will perform “concert style” before a panel of judges comprised of  five professional musicians in front a live audience.

What happens: Students will compete for the following scholarship amounts: First place $1,000; Second place $750; Third place $250.   The three category winners will then perform in concert with The VSO at Skyview High School Concert Hall in Vancouver on April 17 & 18.

Who can compete: The competition was open to students 18 years or younger in three categories:  strings, brass/woodwinds/percussion and piano.  Contestants all currently study with music teachers and reside within a fifty-mile radius of Vancouver.

Master of Ceremonies for the concert will be Rich Brase

For more information, go to www.vancouversymphony.org or call the symphony office at (360) 735-7278.

Contact:  Rich Brase (360) 735-7278

rbrase@vancouversymphony.org

Shiver me timbers and rattle me bones

“Shiver me timbers” is an old nautical slang that refers to the shaking of the wooden support frames of a ship during rough seas.  Scared sailors would say that these shivering timbers would “rattle me bones.”

Mother Nature’s most awesome event, an earthquake, can also rattle our bones while  shivering our timbers. And like the sailor’s at sea, we can do our best to be prepared.

And we do need to be prepared. According to the Columbian, the recent quake in Chili should be a reminder of our own vulnerability in the Pacific North West.

So, are you prepared? (CRESA)

Disasters can happen without warning as we have seen in Haiti and Chili. Often, in large, wide spread emergencies, firefighters, law enforcement, and other first responders will not be immediately available. For the most part, citizens will be on their own for the first 72 hours of a disaster. There are several things that every person can do to be prepared for this possibility:

Read the rest of this entry »

Reminders and review from Battle Ground

News reminder and review

Battle Ground Mayor Mike Ciraulo will host the annual State of the City address on March 10.
Social hour starts at 5:30 pm
State of the City begins at 6:45.
Battle Ground Community Center, 912 East Main Street, Battle Ground, WA.   Please RSVP Claire.Linder@ci.battle-ground.wa.us or 360-342-5008

Dennis Osborn, Battle Ground city manager, removed his belongings from his office at City Hall on Tuesday, February 23. Columbian

“After months of angry protests, closed door negotiations and speculation, Battle Ground City Councilors announced Feb. 19 that they will fire city manager Dennis Osborn.” The Reflector

Osborn was highly criticized by city residents and union representatives from the police department and city staff after terminating former police chief James McDaniel Dec. 17. Columbian

Former Battle Ground Police Chief James McDaniel is in the running for the top position at the Dallas,Texas, Police Department. Columbian

A Battle Ground man was indicted in federal court in Seattle on Thursday for allegedly selling counterfeit Microsoft software on the Internet over a period of 10 years, collecting $1.75 million in one three-year period.

Wayne Chih-Wei Shu, 44, is charged with six counts of mail fraud, trafficking in counterfeit goods and trafficking in illicit labels, according to a bulletin from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Seattle. The FBI and IRS investigated the case. Columbian

Funeral services were held Feb. 20 for the 23-year-old Battle Ground native who died at Mt. Hood Meadows Feb. 13 in a snowboarding accident.  Kyle Cryblskey was more likely to welcome a new friend with a warm embrace than a handshake. The Reflector

Arc- a luminous rainbow

Arc is an organization that helps families navigate through services available from cradle to grave. Kay Parks – Chair of Arc Clark County

“This group was one of the first organizations in the nation to focus on the welfare of persons with developmental disabilities and played a major role in the creation of the national Arc in 1950.” History of Arc

Kay Parks has  been on Arc Clark County board of directors for 15 years, the last two years as President. Her son, Cody has recently been featured in a video that can be sourced on Youtube – Mr. Downs Goes to Washington.

Mr. Downs Goes to Washington is one in a  series of  Arc produced  “You know me” videos.

From birth through adulthood, the Arc today stands ready to help.

“Cody attended the Pride School which is housed under the Arc umbrella.  This program was created 34 years ago  by a group of us moms helping Judy Marick bring it to reality.  Cody along with her son Jason were the first two students in the class.  Since then, Pride has helped hundreds of families in the Portland/Vancouver area.  We often refer to the original group  as “the homegrowns” because the expectation was that they would be raised and educated at home, and that has been Cody’s reality.  Needless to say, having support from family and the community he lives in have been integral to him living the same dream that everyone else lives.” Kay Parks

The Arc of Clark County
9415 NE Fourth Plain Rd
Vancouver WA 98662PO Box 2608

Vancouver WA 98668
PH – (360) 254-1562
FX – (360) 896-7382Hours – 8:30am – 5:00pm
Monday – Friday

PRIDE lunch tours are available on the last Friday of each month at the Family Center. Kay Martin, the development director, does a wonderful job of showing what PRIDE does for developmentally disabled children ages birth to seven.

Interesting link:
Adrian Cortes - Civic Activist

Facebook makes money… how?

OK, so I admit, I am addicted. I’m not popping pills but I am hooked non-the-less.

I love the boredom alleviating, mesmerizing, brain numbing, time wasting preoccupation that I have with Facebook. And the gamers who invade my focus on the inanities of social networking annoy me.

But I am slowly coming to grips with the reality of this relatively new phenomena called interactive online gaming. It  is not going to go away anytime soon.  Why? Because its a money maker.

Online competition is rapidly gaining popularity and its making big bucks for social networks, like Facebook,  in the process.

A company named Zynga develops games primarily for Facebook, other social networks, and the iPhone. Among the more popular interactive games are Farmville, Mafia Wars, and Word Challenge. They have probably irritated the heck outta you during your online social time.

Well, put two and two together. Facebook is free so how does it make money?  Think ads and gaming.

Zynga recently reached a huge milestone, surpassing 10 million daily active users. Having that many simultaneous players every day is  impressive, and this is just one application company. Watch out Nintendo! Social Gaming is on the rise.

So what does all this have to do with Clark County directly? Nothing. I’m just sayin’.

What is the American Dream?

What is the American Dream?

That is the question  Holly Forrest, instructor,  asked to open up discussion in her community education class at Clark College.

Many answers were offered, among them… “the opportunity to own a home.”

An animated discussion led to a focus on Horacio Alger Jr., who was a  prolific 19th-century American author.  His  “rags to riches myth” endures to this day.   Wikepedia

Interestingly enough, his message, is not so much about “rags to riches” as it is about the importance of  mentoring.  A mentor is defined as a wise and trusted counselor or teacher.

The Community Housing Resource Center of Clark County  provides mentors of sorts to those who require access to community resources for help with financial security and housing stability. This non- profit organization mentors those in  need of financial assistance and credit repair, those who need help with  home buying and mortgage assistance, and those who need mortgage default counseling.

CHRC is located at 2700 NE Andresen Road, Vancouver, WA, 98661.
Phone number is 360-694-4496