Arts Equity Theater opens
season with one-man musical

Herringbone, a one-man musical, opens the Artists Equity Theater season with a special preview at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, July 20, in Arts Equity Theatre’s air-conditioned Main Street Theatre, 606 Main Street.

Directed by Llewellyn J. Rhoe, the spooky show, book by Tom Cone, music by Skip Kennon, lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh, first produced in 1982, re-written for Joel Grey in 1996, and not produced since, stars local actor Taylor Askman, who plays ten characters, three women, six men and an 8-year-old boy.

The grand opening, with champagne, is at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 22. The show continues on weekends through September 1. Sunday matinees at 2 p.m.

Tickets for Thursday night are $10 each. Tickets for other performances range from $8 to $24. Wine tastings are extra. For ticket information, call 695-3770, or go to www.artsequity.org.

Employers add jobs in June,
unemployment holds steady

Washington employers added 3,800 non-farm jobs in June, and the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.1 percent, the state Employment Security Department announced today.

Annual non-farm job growth in the state was 3.3 percent, compared to a national rate of 1.4 percent over the year.

In Clark County, however, the number of jobs declined from 188,300 in May to 186,700 in June—a total loss of 1,600 for the month,—according to the Employment Security Department. To see the monthly changes in employment by county, go to http://www.workforceexplorer.com/admin/uploadedPublications/1885_laus_current.xls.

Some 91,700 net new jobs were created in Washington from June 2005 to June 2006. The construction industry continued to lead growth over the year with 19,300 net new jobs, but has slowed recently, adding 100 jobs in June. The aerospace industry has added jobs every month since the Boeing strike in September 2005, adding 500 jobs in June.

By contrast, retail (minus 300), leisure and hospitality (minus 200) and information (minus 100) all reported job losses over the month.

"Job growth has slowed to a more sustainable pace over the last couple of months, but that's to be expected after the near-record growth we saw throughout 2005 and early this year," said Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee.

Janice Everson promoted to
VP at Bank of Clark County

Janice Everson has been promoted to vice president and manager of the data processing division at the Bank of Clark County. Everson, who joined the bank in 2000, has over 42 years of banking experience and most recently was the bank’s, data processing manager.

Vancouver loses good Russian friend

                        By Jess Frost

   Valery P. Chkalov Cultural Exchange Committee

Vancouver lost a great friend, Igor Valerievich Chkalov, the bigger-than-life son of the world famous pilot Valery Chkalov, who died July 10 of lung cancer at the age of 78.

Mr. Chkalov was nine when his father, Georgy Baidukov, and Alexander Belykov landed the single engine ANT-25 in Vancouver on June 20, 1937, after an arduous 63-hour non-stop fight over the North Pole from Moscow, Russia—and put Vancouver in the world’s spotlight for several days.

Mr. Chkalov was expansive, gregarious, hot tempered at times, and a dreamer, who couldn’t imagine the world, especially Vancouver, forgetting his father.

Known for his passionate vodka toasts and crushing Russian bear hugs, Mr. Chkalov insisted on quoting his father’s speech, given from the balcony of General Marshall’s house in 1937: “There are two rivers, the Columbia and Volga, which are found on different continents, have different dispositions and characters, and whose shores are enclosed by dissimilar mountains and forests. They flow on one and the same planet, however, not troubling one another; and, in the final analysis, turn out to be elements of the same world ocean.

“And so must the peoples of Russia and the U.S. live on the same globe peacefully, and with cooperative effort decorate this ocean of human life….”

Mr. Chkalov gave the last 31 years of his life to promoting that goal, in great part by using his considerable influence in high Russian political and social circles to attract national Russian attention to Vancouver citizen efforts to honor his father and the flight.

It was largely due to Mr. Chkalov that Vancouver has been honored with visits from such dignitaries as Russian mayors, governors, generals, and cosmonauts. Vancouver citizens have experienced official receptions at the Moscow Mayor’s office, the Russian Duma, and by the Governor of the State of Nizhni Novgoro. Vancouver delegations have repeatedly been shown on Russian national television.

When Mayor Royce Pollard presented Mr. Chkalov with a certificate making him an “Honorary Citizen of Vancouver his excitement and surprise lasted until early morning hours and many vodka toasts later.

Last Saturday, Mr. Chkalov was buried in Novodevichi Cemetery beside his mother. Some of his famous neighbors in the cemetery are Chekhov, Gogol, Bulgakov, Shostakovich, Scriabin, Khrushchev, Molotov, Gromyko, and Stalin's wife, Nadezhda.

Mr. Chkalov loved Vancouver; he will be sorely missed.

Calendar

Joe Millward and Chrissy Faith perform at the free noon concert in Esther Short Park Wednesday, July 19. Food and non-alcoholic beverage vendors are on hand. The concert is sponsored by Corwin Beverage and Spanky’s. n A free class in Internet basics is being offered at 11 a.m. Wednesday, July 19, in the Vancouver Community Library, 1007 E Mill Plain Boulevard. Call 695-1566 to register.
     

Headlines at home and from around the world: (Click on the headlines below for the rest of the story)

Tuesday on the air     Port of Vancouver and Community Prosperity (7/11)—4 p.m. CVTV    Seattle Mariners at New York (live)—4 p.m. FSN, KFXX    Portland Beavers at Tucson (live)—4:30 p.m. KKAD    Clark County Land Use Hearings (live)—6 p.m. CVTV    Leadership Clark County 2006 Graduation—11 p.m. CVTV

Town Tabloids and the weather Stephanie Anderson setting schedule. n Craig Walker not actually swearing. n Jim Moeller paying attention. n Mike Greene working up ad schedule. n Michael Kissinger getting his acts together. n Tuesday, mostly sunny, 75. Wednesday, sunny, 85. Thursday, sunny, 89.

Accounting Caley & Associates, James Caley CPA, 695-0065 Peterson & Associates, P.S., Certified Public Accountants, 574-0644 Tax Advisors, PLLC, CPAs Property Tax/Cost Segregation 750-6884 Attorneys Miller Nash LLP. Steve Horenstein, 699-4771 Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, Lisa Lowe, 694-7551 Banks Bank of Clark County, 993-2265 First Independent Bank, 699-4200 West Coast Bank, 695-3439 Beauty and Wellness Iduhair & Company Salon Retreat, Celinda Rupert, 735-1249 Charitable Gift Planning Barbara Chen CFP, Clark College Foundation, (360) 992-2659 David DiCesare, The Community Foundation, (360) 694-2550 Jim Forkner, FAHP, SWMC Foundation, (360) 514-3182 Elson Strahan, CFRE, President, Historic Reserve Trust (360) 992-1835 Cosmetic and Family Dentistry Earl C. (Duke) Simpson, DDS, PS, 993-0300 Construction Management and Development Andersen Construction Co., Inc. Bob Durgan, (503) 720-5234 RSV Construction, Ron Frederiksen, 693-8830 Credit Unions Columbia Credit Union, 891-4000 iQ Credit Union, 992-4242 Development/Investments Killian Pacific LLC, 567-0625 Prestige Development, Elie Kassab, 993-0010 Engineering, Planning and & Surveying Mackay & Sposito, Jon M. Yamashita, 695-3411 Human Resources Consultation O'Neill & Associates, Paula Johnson, 606-2961 Insurance Services Keenan Insurance Services, Brandon M. Keenan, 213-1500 Investment and Retirement Planning First Pacific Associates, Mark Martel, CFP, (360) 254-2585 Public Relations Hunt Communications Tom Hunt, 693-8180 KMac & Associates LLC, Kathy McDonald, 607-8059 Rocky/Hill & Knowlton, Krista Hildebrand, (503) 248-9468 Real Estate Coldwell Banker Commercial Wally Hornberger, 699-4494 Norris Beggs & Simpson, Roger Qualman, 699-7181 Retirement and Inheritance Planning Andy Nygard, CFP, (360) 695-6431 Signs Security Signs, Designed to inform and sell! Carol Keljo, 817-9959 Speaking and Training Kathy Condon, Career Communications, 695-4313 Window Washing Quality Window Washing, Dave Beecher, 256-7370