Hall Mediation Services recently announced the addition of Peter Barbara to its staff. Barbara fills the role of teen mediator and will partner with an adult mediator to provide communication training and mediation services for parents and teenagers. Barbara, 17, is currently enrolled in the Clark College Running Start program as a high school junior. He is the youngest to complete mediation training through Clark County Mediation Services where he also worked as a summer intern. For more information about Hall Mediation, visit www.hall-mediation.com.

Dennis Rugg. Photo courtesy American Red Cross.

Dennis Rugg has been named executive director of the American Red Cross Southwest Washington Chapter. He will oversee day-to-day chapter business, volunteer engagement, community partnerships and fundraising in Pacific, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark, Skamania and Klickitat counties.

As a member of the board of directors for the Southwest Washington Chapter for nine years, Rugg participated in many aspects of the organization’s service delivery including disaster response, volunteer support, sponsor cultivation and donor stewardship. During fiscal year 2013-2014, he served as board chair and actively led the group through the chapter’s Real Heroes Breakfast signature fundraising event.

In addition to his active engagement with the American Red Cross, Rugg has current or prior involvement with other community partners including Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital Foundation, the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, Evergreen High School and Washington State University Alumni Association. For more information about the Red Cross, visit www.redcross.org or join its blog at http://blog.redcross.org.

Silver Buckle Ranch will host its six annual Fall Festival from 1 to 4 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 4. The festival is a fun event for the whole family. Admission and parking are free. The ranch is located at 152nd Ave. and 119th St. in Brush Prairie.

For $5 children can get a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch (while supplies last), ride a horse and get a wagon ride. A variety of other family-friendly activities are planned, including a potato slingshot, apple cider press, and hay scramble.

Silver Buckle Ranch focuses on serving youth in Clark County through ranch and equine-related activities. All programs foster interaction with horses and instructors teaches young people vital life skills. A core program is Ranch Hands, which is a structured, progressive course where they learn to care for and ride horses. In the process, they learn respect for selves and others, self-confidence, the value of achieving personal goals, and responsibility–all while having fun in a safe ranch setting. For additional information on the festival, find the event on Facebook here.

Click here to register!

Clark County Food Bank’s annual fundraising event Taste & See will be held on Friday, Oct. 3, at 6502 NE 47th Ave. in Vancouver. Tickets are $125 and table sponsorships are still available for $1500. A reception begins at 6:30 p.m. and the event runs from 7 to 9 p.m. Registration closes tomorrow, Wednesday, Oct. 1.

The food bank welcomes the public into its warehouse and distribution center to provide an intimate look at the innovative ways they are working to alleviate hunger and its root causes in our community. Community members are invited to come enjoy Pacific Northwest foods, wines and craft beer.

As a grower, gleaner and supplier of foods to 29 local hunger relief organizations, Clark County Food Bank is the critical link between food and people in need. In 2012, CCFB distributed 5 million pounds of food, a 29% increase over 2011. Partner organizations distribute 10,000 food boxes per month to more than 25,000 homes in Clark County, with children and teenagers making up 40% of those that are fed. For further details and to register, click here.