The Battle Ground Chamber of Commerce and the City of Battle Ground present the 33rd annual Halloween Fun Fest today, Friday, Oct. 31. The evening kicks off with Battle Ground businesses vying for the Spirit Award & Best Scarecrow in Downtown Battle Ground Award judged by Mallard Landing Residents. Families can enjoy a costume contest, trick-or-treating, coloring contests and more. Additionally, Battle Ground Parks & Recreation will present, “Fright Night,” from 4 to 6 p.m. at the Battle Ground Community Center with games, prizes, treasures, tricks and treats. All proceeds benefit the North County Community Food Bank.

Clam diggers can return to coastal beaches starting Tuesday, Nov. 4, to dig razor clams during the first of two planned openings in November. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) approved the latest round of evening digs after marine toxin test results showed the clams are safe to eat. Digging is not allowed on any beach before noon. Dan Ayres, WDFW coastal shellfish manager, said the best digging typically occurs one to two hours before low tide. Lanterns or headlamps are recommended. Comprehensive information about razor clams – from updates on tentative digs to how-to advice on digging and cooking – is available at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/shellfish/razorclams/.

ReTails Thrift Stores, operated by the Humane Society for Southwest Washington (HSSW) in Vancouver, will open a temporary holiday store – A Christmas Tail – from Saturday, Nov. 1 through Saturday, Nov. 8 in the boutique area of the new ReTails thrift superstore, located 4000 E. Fourth Plain Blvd (across from Golden Skate). It will be open seven days from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

With four storage units filled with holiday decorating items, A Christmas Tail store will be entirely built and staffed by volunteers. Additional discounts on holiday items at A Christmas Tail will be available on ReTails Facebook page at www.facebook.com/retailsthriftstores.

Any holiday items that remain unsold after A Christmas Tail closes on November 8 will be moved into the regular inventory of ReTails. Proceeds from ReTails Thrift Stores supports the work of HSSW’s mission of pet adoptions, proper medical care for the community’s animals and other companion animal programs.

Fort Vancouver Regional Library District’s board of trustees has received a final report on a pre-design study for future improved library facilities for Ridgefield, Washougal and Woodland. The study was completed by consulting firm FFA Architecture and Interiors Inc. of Portland and included input gathered from a series of public meetings and focus groups in each community.

The three communities under study were identified in an earlier report – a strategic facilities planning study conducted by consultants BergerABAM in 2013 – as being most in need of bigger and better libraries among the district’s 13 libraries in four counties. For all three future libraries, FFA has recommended a single-story structure for cost effectiveness and staffing efficiencies. The lot size guideline for each facility is roughly double the building square footage to accommodate adequate parking and desirable exterior landscaping and features.

Next steps in the facility development process include further refinement of site options for each community, and development of potential funding options in collaboration with local Friends of the Library groups, Fort Vancouver Regional Library Foundation and community leaders. To view the full, 251-page report, visit http://mylibrary2.fvrl.org/about/docs/FFA-FinalReport_with_Appendix.pdf.