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Columbian Newspaper
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Putin announces plans to visit China in May
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday he plans to visit China in May, in what could become the first foreign trip for the Russian leader after he extended his rule by six more years in an election that offered voters little real choice. |
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Terry Carter, actor known for original ‘Battlestar Galactica’ series and ‘McCloud,’ dies at 95
Actor Terry Carter, who starred in TV’s original “Battlestar Galactica” and “McCloud,” and the film “Foxy Brown,” has died. |
Camas Post Record
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Washougal School District superintendent to depart
Washougal School District Superintendent Mary Templeton has accepted a job leading the Lake Stevens School District in Lake Stevens, Washington. The Washougal schools head will transition into her new job as of July 1. “It’s going to be hard to leave because people have been good to me here,” Templeton said. “They have supported me. They’ve valued me. They’ve been honest with me. And they’ve shown up for me as a superintendent. I appreciate that greatly, and it’s going to be hard to leave. There’s no stopping this district. It is indeed rising, and the bright futures of the children of this community are in good hands.” The Lake Stevens school board considered three finalists — including Templeton, Edmonds School District Assistant Superintendent Helen Joung and Chehalis School District Superintendent Christine Moloney — before naming Templeton as their next superintendent April 19. In a news release, officials from the Lake Stevens School District said Templeton “brings a wealth of experience in educational leadership, having dedicated the past 30 years enhancing student achievement in both large and small school districts.” Templeton, who grew up in the Portland area and attended the University of Oregon, began her position as the Washougal School District’s superintendent in 2018, and was immediately tasked with bringing an end to a teachers’ strike that delayed the start of the 2018-19 school year by several days. She led Washougal schools through the COVID-19 pandemic and faced community members who were adamantly against the public health measures the state of Washington and its school districts adopted to help keep COVID at bay during the height of the pandemic. This year, Templeton has been working to shepherd the district through a $3 million budget shortfall. “It’s been a very challenging sequence of events, but I am grateful for the opportunity to lead this district through them,” said Templeton. “Through that, all of us, myself included, got the opportunity to grow in our capacity and model grit, humility, determination, compassion and innovation for the future. Those are the qualities that came out of some of the crises we’ve been through. We’ve gained something that we didn’t have before because we went through something very challenging together.” There were a few bright spots, too, of course, including a national award for Templeton, who was honored by the National Schools Public Relations Association in 2018 as a “Superintendent to Watch.” Templeton announced in 2022, that she was seeking a new position closer to the Seattle area and told The Post-Record she had applied for positions with the Kent and Issaquah school districts to be closer to her three adult children — Tyler, Nick and Brenna — after husband Terry passed away in 2021. “The arc of my personal and professional lives clearly has put me on this new direction, and I’m super excited about that,” Templeton said. “The Seattle area does have a lot of allure for me.” Templeton traveled to Lake Stevens April 18 for an in-person interview, during which she visited North Lake Middle School and answered questions at a community forum. “I’m so privileged to be standing here,” Templeton told community members during the forum. “I’m excited to spend the day with all of you, and to get to know you, and to talk about what matters to you. I feel like I connected. I’d love to be your ‘people.’ I’d love to live in this community.” Lake Stevens is located in Snohomish County, about six miles west of Everett, and has a population of roughly 35,000 people. Templeton will oversee the daily operations of the school district, including the management of a $176 million budget, more than 9,400 students, 1,200 employees, 11 schools and numerous special programs and partnerships. She will replace outgoing Lake Stevens superintendent Ken Collins, who served the district in a variety of capacities for the past 34 years before announcing his retirement earlier this year. Prior to accepting the superintendent position in Washougal in 2018, Templeton taught German, English and drama, served as dean of students and assistant principal, and led the human resources department in Spokane Public Schools. Mari Taylor, president of the Lake Stevens school board, said Templeton’s “proven track record of fostering academic excellence, and her commitment to harnessing student voice, and deepening engagement” align with the Lake Stevens School District’s vision for the future and strategic goals. “Among a pool of highly qualified candidates, (Templeton) truly stood out,” Taylor said. “Her visionary leadership, unwavering passion for education, and exceptional skill in building relationships set her apart.” Washougal School Board members stated in a news release that they are “proud of Templeton’s tenure in Washougal and her dedication to seeing the district rise during the six years she has served as superintendent.” “Through the last six years, Mary has consistently focused on increasing student achievement and opportunities,” said Washougal School Board President Angela Hancock. “Her determination to see our students and our district rise to our full potential has led to the highest graduation rate on record. The board deeply appreciates her steady leadership throughout some of the most difficult years we have seen in public education.” The news release highlighted Templeton’s efforts to develop the WSD’s 2025 strategic plan; invest in teacher training and reboot the district’s Professional Learning Community “collaboration time” periods; champion its career and technical education program; elevate student voice; strengthen relationships with community organizations; and implement a scratch-made meal program. “Her passion for serving the whole child led to a focus on engaging students in artistic, creative, vocational, and athletic pursuits that help students develop skills needed to be successful in the workplace,” according to the news release. “She has helped the Washougal community navigate a number of unprecedented challenges. Through her steady leadership, our district has emerged from the pandemic with strong community support, committed staff, and a vision for a bright future for every student.” Templeton said she achieved all of the major benchmarks that the Washougal School Board set out for her when she was hired — being visible in the community, developing productive relationships with the district’s labor partners and staff members, aspiring to a high level of achievement, and leading the district’s rise to become a top performer in the state of Washington, among them. “I came into this district with a vision, and I believe that vision has been realized,” Templeton said. “I feel like we, as a collective ‘we,’ under my leadership, accomplished the things that the board hired me to do and that the community asked the board to be looking for. I believe that over the last six years, I hit the mark on those requests from this community via the board that hired me six years ago, and I’m very proud of that work.” |
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Washougal mayor to vie for 17th District seat
Washougal Mayor David Stuebe is hoping his next “epic” adventure will take him straight to the Washington State Capitol in Olympia. Late last week, Stuebe, Washougal’s mayor since September 2022, announced his candidacy for the Washington state House of Representatives 17th Legislative District, Position 2, seat currently held by Rep. Paul Harris (R-Vancouver). Harris recently announced he intends to run for the 17th District senate seat held by Republican Sen. Lynda Wilson. Wilson, who was reelected in November 2020, announced in March that she would not run for reelection this fall and would be stepping away from politics to spend more time with her family. Stuebe said it was actually Harris and Wilson who urged him to run for Harris’ 17th District seat as a Republican. “They were like, ‘Hey, you got to go for Paul’s spot.’ I was like, ‘Yeah … no. I love being the mayor,’” Stuebe told The Post-Record. If elected to the 17th District — which represents constituents in east Vancouver, Camas, Washougal and spans from Interstate 205 east to Underwood, Washington, in the Columbia River Gorge, and north to Mount St. Helens, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and the western edge of the Mt. Adams Recreational Area — Stuebe intends to retain his position as Washougal’s mayor. Stuebe said he checked with Washougal City Manager Dave Scott to see if retaining both positions at the same time would be legal. When Scott told Stuebe he could be Washougal’s mayor and a state representative, Stuebe decided to go for it. “Why not?,” he said. “I’ve got the energy, I’ve got the motivation, and I really have the desire.” Stuebe said the past five years — with his successful runs for the Washougal City Council and then the city’s mayoral position — have been “epic.” “All these mandated projects that are unfunded,” Stube said, “How can (the state) ask us to do these things when we have to come up with the money?” Stuebe said his campaign will focus on public safety, affordable housing and the development of stronger communities in Southwest Washington. “I would say, two years ago, I was in awe walking around Olympia, walking around Washington, D.C. But now I’m friends with these guys,” he said. “I’m friends with (U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete) Buttigieg. How many mayors could say that? I’ve got this momentum going. It’s funny. My wife said, ‘You’re going to be disappointed being mayor because you can’t fix everything.’ I was like, ‘Well, sure I can,’” Stuebe said. “I’ve realized that you can’t make everybody happy, but I can bring people together and bring people across the table. I think I could bring common sense to what’s going on. Everybody complains about how messed up the government is, all the problems, not being represented. … I want to give it a shot. I have that self-confidence, that I can go in there and make a difference and really make something important happen.” Stuebe graduated from the University of Redlands in California with a degree in political science and served in the U.S. Marine Corps for 30 years, retiring as a colonel. Stuebe, who has lived in Washougal since 2007, also worked in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries for more than 20 years. His local public service career began in March 2021, when he was appointed to the Washougal City Council. In November 2021, voters elected Stuebe to his Council position and his fellow officials named him mayor pro tem. When Washougal Mayor Rochelle Ramos moved away from Washougal in September 2022, the Council selected Stuebe as her temporary replacement. Voters made it formal in November 2023, and the newly elected mayor said he has since worked to prioritize public safety initiatives, promote community policing efforts and enhance emergency response capabilities. “I’m going to all these different things, learning about everybody’s issues. My biggest thing is I’m trying to remove hurdles so all these great people can serve and do the great things that they do, not only for Washougal, but for Clark County and everywhere else,” Stuebe said. “I just think I can have a bigger impact. I can make a difference. That’s why I’m excited about doing this.” The filing deadline for the 2024 Washington state House of Representatives elections is May 10. The primary election will take place Aug. 6, and the general election is set for Nov. 5. |
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Washougal’s Hamllik Park gets a makeover
Washougal’s Hamllik Park is getting a makeover this year. The city of Washougal held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the park’s new playground April 18, and plans to break ground on the construction of a basketball court at the Addy Street park later in 2024. Later this month, on Sunday, April 28, community members will begin painting a mural designed by the East County Citizens Alliance and Washougal residents on the park’s restroom. “There’s lots of good work here at this park,” Washougal Public Works Director Trevor Evers said during the ribbon-cutting ceremony. “This is the first phase of what we hope is many phases. We’re really trying to bring life back into this specific park.” The City received a $50,000 Community Development Block Grant in 2022 to fund the purchase and installation of a new playground and the removal of the old one, which was more than 20 years old, according to the City’s public works business administrator, Michelle Wright. “It was way past its life span,” Wright said of the playground. “When you start trying to buy replacement parts after things start breaking, it’s really time to replace the whole thing. We reached out to our friends at CDBG and started applying for grants.” The playground, which was installed in late 2022 by the Yacolt-based Western Union Civil Group, features a treehouse play structure, slide, bridge, climbing structures, a swing set and two spinners Wright called “mini merry-go-rounds.” “The really great thing about when you build stuff like this is that they provide Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility to some of the playing elements. That was really important for the design. We wanted to make sure it can be used by all,” Wright said. “We chose the treehouse because the park is so beautiful and open, and has trees and everything, so we wanted to make it look natural, but give all ages different play structures,” Wright said, adding that there are elements of the new playground that cater to a variety of children’s ages and skill levels. “That’s really important in the diversity of a playground, too, being able to accommodate all different levels and all different skill sets,” she said. “That’s really what we were looking for.” The City is also working on a multi-component project that will install a basketball court at Hamllik Park, repair several sections of the walking path that encircles the park, add an ADA-compliant parking stall in the southwest corner of the parking lot, and possibly construct new dugout structures for the baseball-softball field, depending on fund availability. The project also will provide stormwater drainage to account for the increased impervious surface of the basketball court, according to Jason VanAalsburg, the City’s public works management analyst. “We’re trying to give the neighbors in this area what they want as far as features go, and we’re looking for activities that can impact 12 (year olds) to 20 year olds and give them some things to do,” Wright said. “All this was happening during COVID. The disc golf (course at Hartwood Park) was created based on that thought process, too — get people active and moving.” The City will pay for the $168,000 project using CDBG funding and park impact fees, according to VanAalsburg, who said the City hopes to break ground on the project soon. “We have wrapped up the design and received tentative engineering approval from our planning and engineering departments,” VanAalsburg said. “We have design and bid documents submitted to CDBG for approval, and once we have approval from CDBG, we will be putting this project out to bid. I am hopeful that this will happen in the next month or so. Construction would then begin early summer and be completed by the end of summer.” The full-sized basketball court will be located north of the bathroom building and west of the picnic shelter. Residents bring mural vision to life The East County Citizens Alliance received $2,000 from the city of Washougal’s Arts Commission in November 2023, to install a community created mural on the bathroom building at Hamllik Park. Later that month, the Washougal-based nonprofit held a brainstorming session, during which community members were invited to provide input and feedback on possible mural designs. Five Washougal artists transformed the community ideas into a conceptual design, which was later approved by the Arts Commission, according to East County Citizens Alliance volunteer and project co-manager Kathy Huntington. “Dibond and paints were purchased, then the background grass and sky and the outline of the design were transferred to the dibond, which will be mounted to three sides of the Hamllik Park bathroom building,” Huntington said. “And now we are ready for the first of two community painting days to fill in the colors and bring the mural to life.” The first “community painting day” will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Sunday, April 28. Pizza and drinks will be served. “On this day, the sections of the mural that will cover the back side of the building will be painted,” Huntington said. “In May, there will be another day for the community to paint the sections of the mural, which will be mounted on the sides of the building. The artist group will do touch-ups and add a protective coating to the mural surface. Then we’ll coordinate with the City to mount the mural and celebrate the creation of a lasting piece of art developed and produced through community input, cooperative design and shared painting.” The Washougal Art and Culture Alliance (WACA) has agreed to provide some funding for the project, which is estimated to cost $3,723, according to WACA President Molly Coston. “We hope this project becomes a model for collaboration amongst Washougal organizations and the city to bring creative, joyful, impactful projects to life — projects (that) value the input of a broad cross section of community voices, involve cross-generational collaboration and add value not only in the end product, but also in the process of bringing the vision to life.” |
Portland Business News
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Software, food and beverage big winners at Westside Pitch competition
The Westside Pitch competition is the first of three events designed to take the place of what was previously one Pitch Oregon event organized by TiE.
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Columbia Sportswear reports Q1 sales and income declines
Columbia Sportswear lowered its annual income outlook but held steady on annual sales.
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The Chronicle - Centralia
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Centralia officer who died in 1910 to be recognized at state Peace Officers Memorial
Over 110 years after his death, fallen Centralia police officer William H. Smith, who was crushed by a train while on duty in December 1910, will be officially recognized at the Washington state Peace Officers Memorial in Olympia on Friday, May 3. The memorial recognizes members of law enforcement who were killed in the line of duty or who “have distinguished themselves by exceptional meritorious conduct,” according to a news release. The ceremony begins at 4 p.m. at Evergreen Christian Community, located at 1000 Black Lake Blvd. S. in Olympia. Smith died on Dec. 23, 1910, at the age of 55, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page. He was survived by his wife and daughter. The Chehalis Bee-Nugget reported at the time that, “The accident occurred near the crossing by the Eastern Railway and Lumber Company’s office. Smith had walked down the track, and was watching two trains going south. He was standing on the crossing, and he did not notice the backing engine which struck him. Two wheels passed over him, and he was badly mangled.” Smith is the most-recent of two Centralia police officers who have died while on duty, according to the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. The other fallen officer, Marshal James C. A. Parsons, was fatally wounded in a shootout with a disorderly suspect who “made obscene remarks to several children” at a local hotel in June 1903. Parsons’ name has already been added to the state Peace Officers Memorial.
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Lewis County Animal Shelter to lower adoption fee for adult dogs for a week
Next week, the Lewis County Animal Shelter will lower the adoption fee for adult dogs to help the county’s four-legged friends find their forever homes. Beginning Tuesday, April 30, the adoption fee for adult dogs will be reduced from $210 to $50. The reduced fee will continue through Saturday, May 11. In a news release, Lewis County Animal Shelter Manager Joseph Henderson said the shelter is operating at capacity and needs additional space to accept new dogs. The adoptable dogs currently at the shelter include a Anatolian shepherd named Houdini, a pit bull mix named Connor and a bloodhound mix named Harvey, among others. “We currently have about 40 dogs on a waitlist to be turned in by their owners,” Henderson said. “We are receiving calls daily from Lewis County residents who for many reasons need to find new homes for their dogs.” The Lewis County Animal Shelter is located at 560 Centralia Alpha Road in Chehalis. It is closed on Sundays and Mondays. To view the dogs that are available for adoption, go to https://www.petfinder.com/search/dogs-for-adoption/?shelter_id%5B0%5D=WA114&sort%5B0%5D=recently_added. |
NYT Politics
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U.S. Army Begins Building Floating Aid Pier off Gaza, Pentagon Says
The structure is meant to allow humanitarian assistance to enter Gaza via the Mediterranean Sea, bypassing Israeli restrictions on land convoys.
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