News

• County

Vancouver, WA — With temperatures expected to approach 100 degrees Fahrenheit, Public Health officials are urging residents to protect themselves during the hot spell expected this weekend.

“We are encouraging people to avoid or limit physical activity outdoors, take shelter in air-conditioned buildings, and drink plenty of fluids,” said Dr. Alan Melnick, Clark County health officer. “Elderly people and the very young are especially vulnerable during periods of intense or prolonged heat.”


• County

Vancouver, WA – Work will get under way next week to replace a 70-year-old bridge on Northeast Etna Road in north Clark County.

Stellar J. Corp., a Woodland-based contractor, will replace Cedar Creek Bridge at milepost 3.8. The bridge is about 125 feet upstream from the confluence with the North Fork Lewis River.

The work will close a short section of Northeast Etna Road at the bridge beginning Wednesday, June 8. The new bridge is expected to open by early winter.


• County

Vancouver, WA – Clark County will hold the 11th annual Recycled Arts Festival, presented this year by McCord’s Vancouver Toyota, in  Esther Short Park downtown. The popular two-day event showcases artwork made of recycled materials.

The free festival will be June 25-26. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Attendees who show their reusable mugs or water bottles at the Information Tent will be entered in a special drawing.


• Elections

Vancouver, WA - Clark County Elections will be hosting their annual political party observer training from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Wednesday, June 8, 2016, in the Elections Conference Room at 1408 Franklin Street, Vancouver. This observer training is for all persons interested in participating as a political party observer during an election cycle.

No person shall serve as an observer unless he or she has received this training.

Election observer training provides an overview of ballot processing, including the inspection process and the ballot counting equipment.


• County

Vancouver, WA – The Board of Health is seeking to fill a vacancy on the Clark County Public Health Advisory Council with a representative from a local social or human services agency.

The council advises the county councilors in their capacity as the Board of Health. The council identifies needs and makes recommendations to enhance health of the community.  Access to care, health inequalities, obesity, a sustainable food system and support for healthy children are among the council’s current priorities.


• County

Vancouver, WA – A contractor will get an early start on summer road paving with repairs and other preliminary work scheduled to begin next week.

Clark County awarded a $3.16 million contract to Lakeside Industries, based in Issaquah, to repair and pave sections of 12 county roads using a process known as an asphalt overlay.

This year’s overlay program will cover nearly 27 lane miles of county roadway and use approximately 30,000 tons of asphalt.


• County

Vancouver, WA – A reception for two Clark County artists who work with recycled metal and materials will be in the Anstine Sixth Floor Gallery of the Public Service Center during the June 3 First Friday art walk.

Works by Wendy Armstrong and Angela Ridgway are on display in the gallery through June. The show is entitled Wanderings.

The Public Service Center is at 1300 Franklin St. The building is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except holidays.


• County

Vancouver, WA – The Clark County Arts Commission has rescheduled its regular board meeting from the third Tuesday of the month to the first Tuesday of the month for the rest of 2016.

The next Arts Commission board meeting will be 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, June 7 in room 678 of the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St. The meetings are open to the public.

The 11-member arts board advises and collaborates with the Board of County Councilors and city councils and reports accomplishments to the community. Members advocate for the arts at public hearings and other public forums.


• Public Health

Vancouver, WA – Clark County’s Green Business Program will host a Morning Blend networking event 8-9 a.m. Thursday, May 19, at Boomerang Generosity Shop and Coffee House, 808 Main St.

The Morning Blend event is an opportunity to network and discuss green business efforts in a relaxed setting. Sustainable Wealth Management, a 12-year-old Vancouver firm, will start the May 19 event by explaining what sustainable, socially responsible investing is and why it is a fast growing area of the investment world.


• Community Planning

Vancouver, WA – County officials will be considering two ways to allow more homes on properties currently zoned for forestry or agriculture when public hearings begin next week on proposed changes to the local growth management plan.

The proposed plan update would reduce minimum lot sizes from 20 to 10 acres on land zoned for agriculture and from 40 to 20 acres where forest land is zoned FR-40.

At the request of the Board of County Councilors, county planners have drafted two options for how homesites could be created on those lands.