C-TRAN, Lamar Transit Advertising, the Arts of Clark County and local Poet Laureate Christopher Luna are launching the second phase of Poetry Moves during the Farmer’s Market at 10 a.m. on Sunday, July 3, in the Music Pavilion at Esther Short Park. The event will showcase the work of local student poets from third through 12th grade.

Luna applied and received a grant from the Arts of Clark County for his Poets in the Schools program, which provided supplies and a small honorarium for four poets to work with at least one Clark County school. The program expanded, and the poets actually worked with six schools and over 250 students. The poet team then selected 10 student-written poems that they thought best-represented poetic structure, content, rhythm and verse.

All selected students will publicly read their work during Sunday’s event. The poems will then be printed on large cards and placed inside buses where advertising is usually placed. In phase one of Poetry Moves, the entire fleet of C-Tran buses had two poems posted per bus to share art and culture with the masses. For more information about the program, visit www.artsofclarkcounty.org.

Representative Lynda Wilson and Representative Paul Harris, both R-Vancouver, will host a telephone town hall on Tuesday, June 28 from 6 to 7 p.m. They invite all 17th Legislative District residents to join them for an hour-long community conversation on state legislative issues.

To participate, residents can call 360-588-5068. If listeners have questions during the call, they can press the star (*) key on their telephone keypads.

Residents unable to participate, or who have questions before the event, can contact Wilson by calling her Olympia office at 360-786-7994, or Harris at his Olympia office by calling 360-786-7976. For more information about Wilson or Harris, visit: http://representativelyndawilson.com or www.representativepaulharris.com.

The Fort Vancouver National Trust has announced the full lineup of performers for Independence Day at Fort Vancouver presented by Bank of America. Entertainment begins at noon on the Vancouver Toyota Main Stage with the Sing Fourth Teen Vocal Competition, where ten talented pre-selected high-school students will compete for a $1,000 scholarship prize. Entertainment continues throughout the day:

Toyota Main Stage schedule:
1:30 p.m. — Ken DeRouche Band
2:30 p.m. — My Happy Pill
3:30 p.m. — Tom Grant Band
5:00 p.m. — Calico
6:00 p.m. — Rock Steady 234th Army Band
7:30 p.m. — Andy Stokes Band
8:45 p.m. — The Nu Wavers with Lovey James

Alaska Airlines Prime Viewing Stage schedule:
5:00 p.m. — Justin Sheehy
6:00 p.m. — Alice Wallace
7:00 p.m. — Tom Grant with Shelly Rudolph
8:00 p.m. — Cadillacs for Everyone

Parking is available at the Vancouver Mall with free C-Tran shuttle to the site. For a full list of activities, to purchase tickets, or to volunteer visit www.fortvan.org/fourth, email events@fortvan.org or call 360-992-1808.

Two huge African spurred tortoises, named Dozer and Shelly, are settling into their new home at the Oregon Zoo. African spurred tortoises, also known as sulcata tortoises and listed as a “vulnerable” species, are the largest mainland tortoise species in the world and have been known to top 200 pounds. Only the island tortoises of Galápagos and Aldabra are bigger.

Dozer, and Shelly tip the scales at around 170 and 90 pounds, respectively. They are believed to be around 25 to 30 years old, and came to Portland from New York’s Seneca Park Zoo.

Visitors can see them most days in the Oregon Zoo’s Africa Savanna section. The zoo is open from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily and is located at 4001 SW Canyon Rd., just off Highway 26. Those who travel to the zoo via MAX light rail receive $1.50 off admission. Call TriMet Customer Service, 503-238-RIDE (7433), or visit trimet.org for fare and route information.