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Southwest Washington's Community News Service

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

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Pridemore withdraws from congressional race

Craig Pridemore

State Senator Craig Pridemore, (D-Vancouver), today announced he is ending his campaign for the open seat representing Washington’s third Congressional District to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Brian Baird, (D-Washington).

Pridemore, a two-term legislator who chairs the State Revenue Forecast Council and sits on the budget writing Ways and Means Committee, cited the intense, prolonged session as setting him too far behind the fundraising pace of Olympia businessman Denny Heck.

Pridemore, who in recent weeks won the coveted endorsements of the Sierra Club and the Washington State Labor Council, issued the following statement:

"I want to first of all thank all of the individuals and organizations who supported my campaign. I am so grateful to have earned your trust, and look forward to continued service in the State Senate. I am especially humbled by the endorsements of organizations and friends who have rallied in recent weeks, knowing that we left the session with a steep hill to climb. Thank you. I regret the need to exit this race, but it is clear to me that the long session placed our campaign at a clear disadvantage. While I wish I had been able to focus on my campaign earlier, I am proud that my focus this winter was where it needed to be: addressing the real issues facing the working families and small businesses of Southwest Washington. I entered politics to excel at public service, not the other way around.

"I also want to congratulate and offer my immediate and full endorsement to Denny Heck, who is now in the best position—and is the best candidate—to win the seat in November. Denny is a bright, hard working and authentic SW Washington leader, and we need his broad experience working for us in Congress. I encourage my supporters to help him and Senator Patty Murray in their elections this November."

Vancouver Astronaut to appear at OMSI

Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) will welcome Vancouver astronaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, June 19, as part of OMSI’s 60th anniversary celebration of the Kendall Planetarium.

The events are free, but space is limited and reservations are required. To reserve space, email rsvp@omsi.edu or call 503-797-4677 with your name, contact info, and number of people.

Metcalf-Lindenburger was part of a recent resupply mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Metcalf-Lindenburger was a mission specialist and spent more than 362 hours in space. Prior to joining NASA, Metcalf-Lindenburger was an earth science and astronomy teacher at Hudson's Bay High School.

Founded in 1944, the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is one of the nation's leading science museums. OMSI is located at 1945 SE Water Avenue, Portland, OR 97214. For general information, visit www.omsi.edu.

2010 Letter Carriers Food Drive sets record

The 2010 Letter Carriers Food Drive set a new record, collecting 1,711,519 pounds of food throughout Oregon and Clark County, Wash., in just one day, the Oregon Food Bank announced Tuesday. That's a 6.6 percent increase over the number of pounds (1,605,693) collected in 2009. In addition, the drive raised $98,561 in cash.

More than 4,000 urban and rural letter carriers throughout Oregon and Clark County, Wash., collected food donations from hundreds of thousands of postal customers during the National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive, May 8. The NALC food drive takes place annually on the second Saturday in May.

"What our letter carriers do on this one day is simply amazing," said Rachel Bristol, CEO, Oregon Food Bank. "This is truly a community effort involving thousands of volunteers who unload trucks at every post office, box the food and load it onto donated semis for delivery to the regional food banks and food pantries."

Oregon Food Bank distributes donated food throughout a statewide network of more than 935 nonprofit, partner agencies serving Oregon and Clark County, Wash., and works to eliminate the root causes of hunger through education and advocacy. To donate to OFB, visit www.oregonfoodbank.org. Wells Fargo customers can donate to OFB at any Wells Fargo ATM in Oregon and southwest Washington.

First Friday Artwalk reception hosted by the Arc of Clark County

The first Friday Artwalk will kick off at 5 p.m. on Friday, June 4, with a reception at the Vancouver Marketplace Courtyard, 210 W. Evergreen Blvd. in downtown Vancouver.

The reception is hosted by the Arc of Clark County. The nonprofit organization will be accepting donations of used clothing and household goods. The participating galleries will be open until 9 p.m.

Those planning to attend are asked to RSVP to Kristy Weaver by Thursday, June 3, by calling 360-735-3703 or by emailing firstfriday.artwalk@yahoo.com

Free parking is available in the Vancouver Marketplace Parking Lot at the corner of Evergreen Blvd and Columbia Blvd.

Dozer Day raises $100,000

On May 15 and 16 the Dozer Day community event attracted 20,000 attendees with approximately $100,000 from ticket sales and sponsorships raised for many local children’s charities.

In addition to money raised, the Nutter Foundation, along with Frontier Landscaping, Hanson Pipe and Campbell Crane, collaborated to build a big-pipe playground and park, which was the hub of the Dozer Day site. This year, the recipient of the playground and park is the Vancouver Housing Authority’s Fruit Valley Apartment complex.

Every year Dozer Day gives children the opportunity get behind the driver seat of construction equipment including excavators, bulldozers, and dump trucks.

More than 60 sponsor companies hosted other games like a toy and diamond dig, pipe and monster tire crawls.

The event was made possible by the efforts of more than 700 volunteers. The Nutter Foundation is accepting grant applications from organizations that serve children. For more information, visit www.nutterfoundation.org.

Campaign Events

The Clark County Auditor’s Office is sponsoring a campaign workshop, "Winning Ways to Run for Office—A Candidate/Campaign Worker Workshop." The free workshop takes place on Wednesday, June 2, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Clark County Elections Office, 1408 Franklin, Vancouver, WA. An informal reception will follow the program.

Rep. Tim Probst (D-Vancouver) will kick off his reelection campaign on Monday, June 7, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Speaker of the House Frank Chopp will be the special guest. For more information, contact Zach Neuhaus at 360-989-7817 or zach@electtimprobst.com.

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News Briefs

CRC: An independent panel of transportation experts is meeting today, Tuesday, June 1, and Wednesday, June 2, to discuss planning and environmental aspects of the I-5 Columbia River Crossing project. On June 1 the panel will meet from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Discovery Room of the Hilton Vancouver Washington, 301 W. 6th Street, Vancouver. The meeting includes an overview of the planning and environmental review process. A community comment opportunity will begin at 7 p.m. at the same location. On June 2, the panel will meet from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Jantzen Beach Red Lion, 909 N. Hayden Island Drive, Portland. The agenda includes a discussion of CRC project management. More information is available at http://www.crcreview.org .
YMCA: All About Nutrition will be having a fundraiser for The Clark County Family YMCA on Sunday, June 6, from 1 to 3 p.m. at 1304 NE 78th St in Hazel Dell. Free protein shakes will be served, 50 percent of any sales will be donated to the YMCA. For more information, please contact Andrea Kelm at 360-258-3837.
Knowledge Bowl: Two Knowledge Bowl teams from Camas High School are headed for national competition and are collecting donations for the trip. The students will travel to Washington, D.C., the first week of June. The Camas Educational Foundation has set up an online donation page, https://cefcamas.ejoinme.org/MyPages/CopyofDonationPage/tabid/213971/Default.aspx.

Calendar

June 2: Clark College's annual Alumni-Student Dinner, presented by the Associated Students of Clark College and the Clark College Alumni Association, with support from Riverview Community Bank, is at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 2. The dinner will be held at 6 p.m. in the Gaiser Student Center on Clark’s main campus. Clark College is located at 1933 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver. Driving directions and parking maps are available at www.clark.edu/maps. Registration information is available at www.clarkcollegefoundation.org. Individual tickets cost $25 each. The event supports scholarships and student success at Clark College.
June 3: The First Citizen 2010 award ceremony honoring Royce Pollard is from 4 to 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 3, at the Hilton Vancouver Washington. For more information, visit www.cfssw.org.
June 5: An all-you-can-eat breakfast, scheduled from 7 a.m. to noon on Saturday, June 5, at Fire Station 31 in Hockinson, will benefit the family of 9-year-old Luke Jensen. Jensen, the grandson of Chaplain Mike White, died of cancer on May 6. Individual tickets are $5 or $15 for a family.
June 8: The Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with Riverview Community Bank, has named Brian Eggleston the Washougal 2010 Teacher of the Year and Sherry Busby the Camas 2010 Teacher of the Year. On Tuesday, June 8, the two will be honored along with the Business of the Year, Nies Insurance and the Citizen of the Year, Dr. Ed McAninch at the Annual Award Banquet at Camas Meadows Golf Club. Social hour begins at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 pm. The cost is $35 to attend. Tickets are available at the CW Chamber office, 360- 834-2472. For more information, visit www.cwchamber.com
June 14: The Fort Vancouver Library District board of trustees will meet beginning at 4 p.m. on Monday, June 14, at the Goldendale Community Library, 131 West Burgen, Goldendale. The board will hold an executive session at 4 p.m. and then have a regular meeting at 6 p.m.