Interstate Bridge replacement options
expected to be selected Tuesday

The 39-member Columbia River Crossing Task Force is expected to name the options for replacing the Interstate-5 bridges in Vancouver at a 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27 public meeting in the Oregon Department of Transportation Portland office, 123 NW Flanders Street.

The task force so far has confined its study to replacing the two bridges on I-5 with a mega bridge. No other bridge crossings are currently under consideration. The task force is preparing to call for an environmental impact study on alternatives in the I-5 corridor.

David Cole speaks at WSU Vancouver
Diversity Council lecture Tuesday

David Cole, Georgetown Law Center professor, legal correspondent for The Nation, contributor to the New York Review of Books and NPR’s All Things Considered, is the speaker at the free Washington State University Vancouver Diversity Council lecture at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, in the Administration Building, Lecture Hall 110.

Cole’s subject matter is: “Enemy Aliens and Constitutional Freedoms: How Double Standards Have Undermined Our Liberty, Our Character and Our Security in the ‘War on Terror’”

Seating is limited to 200 persons, and advance registration online is required. Call Sheri Byrd, 546-9602, for further information, or go to www.wsuvancouver.edu.

Reception for Marion Beals, who donated
artwork to YWCA Clark County is Tuesday

A reception for local artist Marion Beals, who has donated nearly her entire art collection to the YWCA Clark County, is from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, in the YWCA, 3609 Main Street.

There is no charge for attending the reception. Several pieces of Beals’s work will be available for sale during the reception.

Vancouver National Historic Reserve
Alamo and Plymouth Rock status

The Vancouver National Historic Reserve has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, reports Greg Shine, chief ranger and historian for the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site and the Vancouver National Historic Reserve.

This new designation places the Historic Reserve on an equal status with other National Register sites, such as Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello in Virginia, the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, Plymouth Rock in Massachusetts, the Alamo in Texas, and Sutter’s Fort in California.

The newly designated historic district encompasses approximately 252 acres of the 366-acre Historic Reserve, created by Congress 1996 and includes several nationally significant sites that contribute to its National Register status, including the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, the Officers Row National Historic District, including the Grant House, the O.O. Howard House, and the Marshall House, Vancouver Barracks National Historic District, Pearson Air Museum, the Jack Murdock Aviation Center, Pearson Airfield, Old Apple Tree Park, and Waterfront Park.

Outside of the Historic District boundary, the Historic Reserve also contains the Water Resources Education Center, Waterfront Park and the Kaiser Shipyards Tower Overlook.

The Historic Reserve is managed by the National Park Service, the City of Vancouver, the U.S. Army Reserve, and the State of Washington, in cooperation with the Vancouver National Historic Reserve Trust.

In addition, the Historic Reserve is considered the premier historic archaeological site in the Pacific Northwest, with no less than nine recorded archaeological sites, many of which are also on the National Register.

Five earn tourism awards

Five organizations and individuals earned Tourism Awards presented by Clark County commissioners last week. Tourist activities resulted in over $330 million in expenditures in Clark County in 2005, according to county spokesperson Kelly Sills.

Maili Morrison, Heathman Lodge, earned the Outstanding Young Tourism Leader Award for her work in cultivating new tourism business.

Friends of the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge were presented the Outstanding Ecotourism Award for their support of U.S Fish and Wildlife Service programs, including Cathlapotle Plankhouse tours, kayak tours, the annual BirdFest and a blue grass music festival.

The Fort Vancouver National Historic Site was awarded the Outstanding Cultural Tourism Award, which last year attracted more than 800,000 visitors.

The 2006 Outstanding Event Award winner was the Vancouver Discovery Walk Festival. The annual event, sanctioned by the American Volkssport Association and the International Marching League Walking Association, drew thousands of walkers last year from throughout the world.

The Heathman Lodge was awarded the Outstanding Tourism Service Award for being “a relaxing rustic getaway and mountain-like retreat.”

Calendar

The Vancouver City Council, meeting in workshop session at 4 p.m. today, will discuss the City Center Visioning Plan. n The Clark County High-Capacity Transit System Study group is meeting at 6 p.m. today in the county Elections Building, 1408 Franklin Street. This is the first public meeting of the group organized to study high-capacity transit options within county borders. Public comments are encouraged. n The Vancouver City Council meets in regular session at 7 p.m. this evening. On the agenda are a number of small annexation proposals. n Clark Public Utilities’ commissioners meet in regular session at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27. n Port of Vancouver Commissioners meet in regular session at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27. n Clark County commissioners meet in regular session at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27. n The state Department of Transportation is holding an open house at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, to discuss the 39th Street rail bypass bridge. The meeting will be in the conference room of the DOT office at 4100 Main Street.

Monday, Feb. 26 headlines

Angela Svendsen remembered by her legacy--Columbian, Don Hamilton

Elie Kassab planning theater-shopping complex for Ridgefield, Columbian, Cami Joner

Fort Vancouver's hidden past being pieced together--Columbian, Dean Baker

Possible Kyocera site pollution slows VHA acquisition on Fourth Plain--Columbian, Erik Robinson

Columbia River Crossing Task Force, I-5 bridge project must span political, logistical divides--Columbian, Don Hamilton

Robust county job growth conjectured--Columbian,   Michael Andersen

Innovative Services NW reached half-way point in $6.7 million capital campaign, Kelly Adams

First-class stamp to cost 41 cents--USA TODAY, AP

Greenspan says recession possible by end of the year--USA TODAY, AP

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