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Arch Miller leading effort to help Portland get major league
team; Vancouver a farm team
Arch Miller today said
Southwest Washington Friends of Baseball, of which he is
president, has 132 members and is growing rapidly.
“We support Portland’s
effort to get a major league baseball team,” Miller says, “and
we want Vancouver to come out of it with a minor league team.”
The new nonprofit
corporation has three main goals, Miller says:
1. Bring
major league baseball to Portland.
2. Bring
to Vancouver a short-season Class A team, similar to the former
Portland Rockies, who preceded the current Portland Beavers.
3. Support
youth baseball in Clark County.
Miller says the idea of
bringing professional baseball to Vancouver came as a result of
his joining the Portland effort a couple of years ago. “If we
can help Portland, then we should get something out of it,”
Miller says.
A short-season Class A
team is an entry-level team for players out of high school and
colleges. Teams in the league play approximately 60 games a
year, beginning in June.
No location has been
selected for a baseball field for a professional team. Although
Propstra Field at Hudson’s Bay High School is large enough and
could accommodate professional ball with additional lighting and
more seating, obtaining that site would entail considerable
effort because of its public ownership.
Miller says there are
plenty of other locations that could be developed into a
suitable field in the county, some on public property.
Miller is joined on the
board of directors of SWFB by Ed
Franks, DeEtte Kapustka,
Steve Porter and
Carol Schindler.
According to Miller, SWFB
has bought 2,000 tickets to the June 4 Portland Beavers, Fresno
Grizzlies game at PGE Park., and is distributing them to
baseball and softball players and honor students in the
Vancouver and Evergreen School Districts.
Miller says he’s hoping
to generate more serious interest locally with this effort.
Several levels of
membership are available in SWFB, starting with youth membership
at $10, adult membership at $15, family membership at $40 and
business membership at $100. Individual, company and corporate
sponsorships are available, ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.
Becoming a member of SWFB
is very easy. Click on
www.swwbaseball.org and fill out the form, or call Miller at
992-4324.
Ray Hickey Hospice
House opens today, public tours are from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
The Ray Hickey Hospice
House, southern Washington’s first inpatient hospice center
opens today with public tours from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The $3
million, 20-private room, end-of-life care center is at 2112
Mill Plain Boulevard, It was financed entirely by donated funds.
Former owner and president of Tidewater Barge,
Ray Hickey, was the major
donor, but other donors through the Southwest Washington Medical
Center Foundation included medical center employees and a broad
spectrum of the Vancouver community.
Columbia Credit Union
promotes Nancy Stickel to assistant VP of marketing
Nancy Stickel has been
promoted to assistant vice president of marketing at Columbia
Credit Union.
Stickel, who has been
marketing department manager with Columbia since 2002, is a
five-time winner of the New York State Credit Union League
Marketing Award. She also has earned awards for direct mail,
card design and annual reports.
Columbia Credit Union
which unsuccessfully attempted to become a bank earlier this
year, is nonetheless the largest credit union in southern
Washington, with assets of nearly $620 million.
News brief
Tony Bump’s version of
Shakespeare’s Taming of the
Shrew is being presented by the Clark College Theatre I
the Decker Theater at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Friday, May 21, and
Saturday, May 22. Admission is $7. .
Amphitheater begins second season--Columbian, Brtett
Oppegaard and Erin Middlwood
Port of Vancouver talking new rail overpass to industrial
area--Columbian, Erik Robinson
Experts expect more trade for Washington ports--Oregonian,
Bill Stewart
Hilton picks JJ Wills to market downtown hotel--Columbian,
Julia Anderson and Jonathan Nelson
Battle Ground, Camas and Woodland school measures still don't
get enough votes; officials reassessing--Oregonian, Jason
Begay
County
commissioners hear Battle Ground outline needs for more arterial
streets--Oregonian, Bill Stewart
Portland leaders maintain city still in running to land Expos
baseball franchise--KGW-TV, Abe Estimada
NPR 5-minute hourly news updates (Audio)
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