Homeless and low-income children will receive scholarships through YWCA Clark County’s Y’s Care Program thanks to a recent $10,000 grant from the Vancouver Rotary Foundation. It will allow for children currently supported by the Preschool Assistance for Needy Families Project to continue their education and will award scholarships to at least 12 additional children.

Y’s Care provides preschool education to children from homeless, transitioning, or low-income circumstances. Children are offered a safe environment, nutritious meals, physical fitness, and need-specific care to prepare them emotionally and intellectually for kindergarten. The Preschool Assistance for Needy Families Project is a scholarship fund to provide tuition assistance to homeless and low- income children attending Y’s Care. For more information, visit www.ywcaclarkcounty.com.

The Vancouver Rotary Foundation exists to foster, develop, promote and encourage the health, education and general welfare of the residents of Vancouver and Clark County. For more information, follow this link: http://www.clubrunner.ca/Portal/Home.aspx?cid=2802.

The Clark County Fire Marshal’s Office, in cooperation with the Washington Department of Natural Resources, will lift a countywide burning ban tomorrow, Oct. 1.

The risk of wildfires has significantly declined because of recent rainfall, increased large woody fuel moisture levels and an extended weather forecast that calls for cooler temperatures and more rain. Residents still must follow all local outdoor burning regulations and meet burning permit requirements. Recreational campfires are allowed if built in improved fire pits in designated campgrounds, such as those found in local, county and state parks and commercial campgrounds.

Additional outdoor burning rules and information are available at http://www.clark.wa.gov/development/fire/burning.html.

Sarah Reich, a policy analyst with ECONorthwest, will speak about the benefits of low-impact development on management of polluted stormwater runoff during a meeting of the Clark County Clean Water Commission on Wednesday, Oct. 5, at 6:30 p.m. in the sixth-floor training room of the Clark County Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St. The meeting is free and open to the public. Reich will discuss the costs and benefits of green infrastructure compared with conventional stormwater management techniques. She will identify incentives and barriers to adopting low-impact development standards and review examples from other Washington communities. For more details, contact Earl Rowell at 360-397-2121 ext. 4580 or Earl.Rowell@clark.wa.gov.

Architect's rendering of future Gresham branch

Riverview Community Bank yesterday announced plans to expand its Oregon presence with the opening of a new Gresham branch on N.E. Burnside Road near Gresham High School. A groundbreaking date has not been set, although construction is slated to begin soon.

The nearby Wood Village location, which was named “Best Financial Institution” for two consecutive years in a local poll conducted by the Gresham Outlook newspaper, will remain open.

With assets of $886 million, Vancouver-based Riverview Bancorp, Inc., is the parent company of both Riverview Community Bank and Riverview Asset Management Corp. This year, Riverview was named one of the Top 100 Best Companies to Work For in Oregon and Washington, and was honored as one of the top 75 Corporate Philanthropists in Washington for 2011. For more information, visit www.riverviewbank.com.