Cowlitz chairman says tribe
will honor everything in MOU

Cowlitz Indian Tribe chairman John Barnett says, “We will keep our word.”

Barnett, speaking this morning before an invited group of about 200 supporters of the proposed Cowlitz Casino Resort on Interstate near La Center, said that the tribe will honor every agreement in the memorandum of understanding between the tribe and Clark County, even though the MOU has been invalidated by the state’s Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board.

The three-year-old MOU stipulated in lieu-of-tax agreements, payments for I-5 interchange improvements and a host of other matters that would mitigate the impact of a tribal casino in Clark County, including police and fire protection.

Opponents of the casino project argue that the environmental impact statement in the tribe’s petition before the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to take the land into trust so that the tribe could build and operate a casino, is flawed because it is based largely on the now invalid memorandum of understanding.

Barnett thanked supporters, who include organized labor in southern Washington, for their efforts in what has been “a long journey.” “We will succeed,” Barnett said. At stake for the Cowlitz is a nearly half-billion-dollar casino-resort, tribal headquarters and tribal cultural center on 152 acres just west of La Center. The project would also include restaurants, retail shops and a 250-room hotel.

Tribal councilmember Phil Harju, also speaking before the invited group meeting for breakfast at the Red Lion Hotel at the Quay, announced that the tribe will build and operate its own waste water treatment system.

Talks between the tribe and La Center offering tribal financial support for a new waste water system for the City of La Center broke off when the La Center city council voted against working with the tribe. Also lost to the city was $3 million a year for ten years, which  the tribe had offered to pay La Center to help mitigate an anticipated decline in city tax revenues from four card rooms licensed in the city.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs is determining whether the property near La Center can be taken into trust for the tribe. According to Harju, the final environmental impact statement in that process could be completed this fall and final approval from the BIA could come sometime next year.

Columbia River Crossing Task Force
calls first meeting since March

Meeting for the first time since March, the Columbia River Crossing Task Force convenes at 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 26, in the Oregon Department of Transportation Region One Headquarters, 123 NW Flanders Street.

The task force is analyzing two bridge options and two transit options being packaged into five alternatives for inclusion in a draft Environmental Impact Statement.

The 39-member task force, which includes leaders from Washington and Oregon community, business, civic, neighborhood, freight, commuter, and environmental groups and agencies. It is charged with reducing congestion on a five-mile stretch of Interstate Highway 5 between Washington State Highway 500 and Columbia Boulevard in Oregon. For further information, call Danielle Cogan, 816-8857.

People

Steven R. Wall has been promoted to public works director at the City of Ridgefield, reports city manager Justin Clary. Wall succeeds Clary, who was appointed city manager last month. Wall is a graduate of the University of Idaho and is licensed as a professional engineer in Washington and Oregon.

News brief

Riverview Bancorp this week declared an 11-cent per share dividend. Including the 2-for-1 stock spit issued in August 2006, the cash payout to shareholders is up 16 percent from a year ago, reports Pat Schaeffer, chairman and CEO. Schaeffer said: “This is our 39th consecutive quarterly cash dividend and represents a 3.2 percent yield based on the recent price.” The 84-year-old bank has 18 branches and assets of $820 million.

Calendar

Walking tours along Officer’s Row in Vancouver Barracks are continuing each Friday through August 31. The hour-long walks start at 6:30 p.m. from the O.O. Howard House, 750 Anderson Street. Admission is $10 for adults;  children 11 through 16, $5; children 10 and younger, free. <> Steve Martin’s Picasso at the Lapin Agile, directed by Llewellyn Rhoe, is being presented at 8 p.m. this evening through Sunday, June 24, in the Main Street Theatre, 606 Main Street. Tickets are $10 to $24. Theater packages, which include a three-course dinner at the Restaurant in the Historic Reserve, are available for $55 each. For further information, call 695-3770. <> Rachel Crothers’ He and She, revised and directed by Mike Heywood, is being presented by the Slocum House Theatre Company at 8 p.m. this evening, Saturday, June 23, and 2 p.m. Sunday, June 24, in the Slocum House Theatre, 605 Esther Street. Admission is $10; $8 for seniors. Call 696-2427 for further information. <> Commencement exercises for the School of Piano Technology for the Blind are at 5 p.m. today in Sherman Auditorium in the Washington State School for the Blind. A reception follows in the school commons. <> The Junior Symphony of Vancouver presents flutist Erin Lowry in a concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 23, in the Vancouver First Church of God, 3300 NE 78th Street. Admission is $10; $8 for seniors and students. For further information, call 696-4084, extension 5. <> Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital’s second annual Healthy Kids’ Fair is 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 23, on the hospital campus at 2211 NE 139th Street. Exhibits and demonstrations are scheduled. Fitted bicycle and skateboard helmets will be offered for $5 each, and digital thermometers will be exchanged for mercury thermometers. <> The annual YWCA Clark County Home and Garden Tour is in Salmon Creek from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, June 23. Tickets may be acquired at the ticket exchange booth on the corner of NW 141st Street just off NW McCann Road. For further information, call 696-0167.

Headlines Friday, June 22

Lifesaving efforts honored--Columbian, John Branton

At WSU Vancouver computer classwork is a game--Columbian, Isolde Raferty

Reserve visitors center supported in Congress--Columbian, Tom Vogt

Parr Lumber opens in Ridgefield--Columbian, Cami Joner

Staph infection linked to baby's death at St. Vincent Medical Center--Oregonian, AP, Thanh Tan

Federal Way women registers her dog to vote to prove a point--Seattle Times, Keith Ervin

Baghdad push revives criticism of force size--Washington Post, Thomas E. Ricks

Dow falls 185.58 on hedge funds worries--USA TODAY, AP

Iraq Coalition Casualties