Ginger Schmidt named Hazel Dell
manager for Riverview Community Bank

Ginger Schmidt has been appointed vice president and branch manager of the Hazel Dell office of Riverview Community Bank, reports Jim Baldovin, senior vice president of retail banking.

Schmidt, a graduate of Portland State University, has 25 years of bank management experience. She is a member of the board of directors for YW Housing, which provides affordable housing for homeless women and children.

Vancouver-headquartered Riverview Bancorp has ten branches in Clark County, three in Portland and has three lending                     Ginger Schmidt centers.

Solar panel display opening in
Water Resources Education Center

Although it will currently generate less than $200’s worth of electricity in a year, the solar generating system just installed at the Water Resources Education Center, 4600 SE Columbia Way, will demonstrate for visitors at the center yet another way of producing renewable energy in the northwest.

At 4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 5, Clark Public Utilities’ board president Nancy Barnes, Vancouver mayor Royce Pollard and Bonneville Environmental Foundation president Angus Duncan will unveil a kiosk inside the center that will show in real time how much power the solar array is producing.

Similar solar-electric systems have also just become operational at the Camas and La Center High Schools, as part of Clark Public Utilities, Operation Green Lights program, a voluntary renewable energy program in partnership with the Bonneville Environmental Foundation.

Currently there are about two dozen solar-electric systems in Clark County, 13 of which are augmenting power in private residences.

Clark Public Utilities’ spokesperson Bruce Carter says these systems are not yet cost-effective, but predicts as costs decline and power rates increase one day they will be.

These small systems, when connected to battery storage, do effectively power highway signs, traffic lights and cellular telephone stations in locations where power cannot be provided any other way, according to Carter.

Says Mayor Pollard; “Sustainability is important to all of us. Vancouver is poised to be a leader in this area. From the new solar panel and Green Lights power at the Water Center to new energy-savings LED lights in our traffic signals, Vancouver’s efforts today are preserving the health of our community for the future”

A special celebration of renewable energy will continue at the Water Center until 7 p.m.

Museum offering lecture
on historic trees Thursday

The city’s history will be traced by the trees that grow in Vancouver during the free lecture at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 5, in the Clark County Historical Museum, 1511 Main Street.

Lecturer Ryan Durocher, outreach coordinator for Vancouver Urban Forestry, will present “Heritage and Historical Trees of Vancouver.”

The museum holds Museum After Hours from 5 to 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. Featured exhibits at the museum include the following: “Vancouver Uncovered,” “Woven History: Native American Basketry,” and “John Whitehead: Vancouver’s Grandma Moses?”

Leadership Clark County
gearing up for new class

Leadership Clark County is accepting applications for the leadership class of 2008, according to organization chairman Tony Johnson.

LCC is a ten-month training and development program that prepares its graduates to become more effective community leaders. Enrollment is open to individuals from both public and private businesses and institutions. Class members are selected to represent the diversity of the community in ethnicity, gender, age and employment.

Participants attend lectures from business leaders, state legislators and community organization officials, and take part in site tours and case studies, and on interactive panels.

Applications for the course must be completed by Friday, April 27. Additional information can be obtained by calling LCC executive director Kathy Scott at 567-1085 or by going to www.leadershipclarkcounty.com.

Wednesday, April 4, Headlines

Downtown Camas prosperity has deep roots--Columbian, Courtney Sherwood

Clark County's poverty rate swells--Columbian, Susan Courtney

Three-buck gasoline is here--Columbian, Jonathan Nelson

Get off his case: Pace exercised free speech--Columbian, Tom Koenninger

Iran to release captive Britons; PM Tony Blair says Britain committed to resolving disputes with Iran peacefully--Washington Post, Howard Schneider and William Branigin

In-flight cell use formally scuttled--New York Times, AP

Obama raises $25 million; Clinton $26 million--Washington Post, Anne Kornblut