Shades of D.B. Cooper

While exploring off the main trail near the top of Multhomah Falls Sunday, hikers found the remains of a human skull, according to the Multhomah County sheriff’s office.

The skull is intact and in good condition but has been at the location for an extended period of time, at least decades, reports sheriff’s office information officer Jason Gates.

Gates says that the remains may be archaeological, but it is impossible to tell until forensic examinations have been conducted.

Speculation that the skull could have belonged to infamous northwest skyjacker D. B. Cooper is entirely that of the Insider and not Multhomah County law officials.

In 1971, Cooper skyjacked a Northwest Orient Airlines passenger plane and extorted $200,000 from the airline company. Cooper parachuted out of the airplane somewhere over the Columbia River between Washington and Oregon with the money in $20 bills.

Years later, some $6,000 in bills thought to have been part of Cooper’s loot were found by a young boy near the Columbia, but no trace of Cooper has ever been found.

Casino opponents ask Baird
to intervene; new EIS sought

Saying that the public deserves either an entirely new Environmental Impact Statement or at the very least a 60-day period to examine and comment on the Cowlitz Tribe’s business plan and unmet needs report, Ed Lynch, chairman of Citizens Against Reservation Shopping, yesterday asked U.S. Rep. Brian Baird (D-3rd) to intervene with the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

According to Lynch, the information on the business plan and unmet needs were revealed in March, but should have been part of preliminary Environmental Impact Statement process. Lynch says the information provided by the Cowlitz Tribe is “exaggerated.”

The Cowlitz Tribe was officially recognized by the federal government in January 2002. The tribe currently is working to establish its initial reservation near the La Center I-5 interchange in Clark County and has proposed to build a half-billion-dollar casino and resort there.

If the initial reservation is approved by the BIA, the tribe would have to negotiate a gaming compact with the state and gain approval from the BIA to build the casino and resort, according to Phil Harju, a member of the Cowlitz Tribal Council.

State unemployment rate continues decline

Washington’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate has declined for the third consecutive month, the state Department of Employment Security announced today. But in Clark County, where employment rate is an unadjusted measurement, the total number of employed persons declined in April.

Statewide the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for April stood at 4.4 percent, the lowest since comparable record keeping began in 1976. Increased employment in professional and business service areas helped account for the decline in unemployment.

Clark County data show that the total number of employed persons declined from 198,800 in March to 196,500 in April, a loss of 2,300 jobs. But the total number of seasonally unadjusted jobs in Clark County in April was up 3,900 from that of April 2006.

Forum at the Library explores
infant mental health

The Forum at the Library will explore infant mental health at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 17. The free forum is in  Library Hall in the Vancouver Community Library, 1007 E Mill Plain Boulevard.

Under discussion will be the kinds of local help that is available for parents who suspect something is “just not right.”

Presenters are Donna Weston, assistant professor of Family and Child Nursing at the Center on Human Development and Disability at the University of Washington, and Jenny Huseman, director of family and children’s programs at Columbia River Mental Health Services. Nancy Parker, certified child mental health therapist, is moderator.

Hazel Dell Parade of Bands offering
at least 76 trombones and 22 bands

Twenty-two student bands have been signed up for the 43rd annual Hazel Dell Parade of Bands, which gets underway at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, May 19, at Hazel Dell Avenue and Highway 99, reports Michelle Freeman, manager of the Salmon Creek branch of West Coast Bank, parade sponsor.

The parade is preceded at 7 a.m. with the annual Lion’s Club breakfast in Fire District 6, station 1 at 8800 NE Hazel Dell Avenue.

Calendar

Free workshop sponsored by Clark County auditor’s office on conducting a successful political campaign is 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. this evening in the Clark County elections office, 1408 Franklin Street. Clark County commissioners meet in an informal session at 2 p.m. Wednesday, May 16. The final two informational forums presented by Clark College providing dialogue between interim president Bob Knight and audiences conclude with two sessions Wednesday, May 16, in Gaiser Hall on the college campus. The first is at 8:30 p.m. the second at 6 p.m.

Tuesday, May 15 Headlines