Jon Yamashita elected chairman
of Leadership Clark County

Jon Yamashita, MacKay & Sposito, has been elected chairman of Leadership Clark County.  Serving with Yamashita are Scott Firstenburg, vice chairman, Troy Van Dinter, treasurer, and Amber Curtin, secretary.

The 2008 Leadership Clark County class has been selected and are as follows: Michelle Allan, Port of Vancouver; Douglas Anderson, Underwriters Lab; Jason Beatty, Techjet Imaging; Deborah Bennett, RSV Construction Services; Deena Bisig, Clark College; Ryan Bishman, Chris Kesting and Kathleen O’Neill, Hewlett Packard; Cheryl Bledsoe, CRESA; Alexis Bond, LSW Architects; David Cusack, Clark County; Kate Cusack, Conklin, Fiscum & McCormick; Kelly Dixon and Dominique Merriweather, Bank of Clark County; DuWayne Dunham and Mike McClean, Clark Public Utilities; Katie Foehl, Clark County Skills Center Foundation; Ernie Guerrero, ESD 112 Northwest Service Academy; Phil Haberthur, Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt; Nelson Holmberg, Port of Vancouver; Amy Holmes, Camas School District; Jason Joner, Miller Nash; Kelly Kamhoot and Gayle Smith, TwinStar Credit Union; Lihua Lennox, West Coast Bank; Anne McEnerny-Ogle, retired educator; Kelly Ann Nolen, Vancouver attorney; Christy Osborne, MacKay & Sposito; Stacee Sellers, City of Washougal; Stephanie Taylor, Evergreen Public Schools; Diane Toland, Lakeshore Athletic Club; Stephen Vance, Vancouver School District; Nathan Webster, Dream Big Community Center; and Fred Wilson, Entek Corporation.

Local GOP likes Fred Thompson for president

Fred Thompson, former lobbyist, film and television actor and U.S. Senator from Tennessee, was by far the first choice of Clark County Republicans who voted in a straw poll in June.

Thompson received a 39.2 percent plurality—20 of 51 votes cast. The vote was taken during a Republican precinct committee meeting.

Thompson’s 20 votes was double that of his nearest rival, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani, according to Clark County GOP vice chairman Ryan Hart.

Former Massachusetts governor, and current financial manager Mitt Romney came in third in the straw balloting, with 9 votes, just one vote shy of Giuliani. Votes were scattered for nine other possible GOP presidential contenders.

Russian delegation being recognized
during Fourth of July week

A Chkalov Cultural Exchange delegation from Nizhny Novgorod is returning a Vancouver delegation visit to Russia last month as part of joint ceremonies commemorating the 70th anniversary of the landing of a Russian monoplane in Vancouver after it had made the first flight over the North Pole, landing at Pearson Field in 1937.

At 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 4, the Russian delegation, along with Vancouver counterparts from the Chkalov Cultural Exchange Committee, will commemorate that record-breaking non-stop flight, at the Chkalov Monument at Pearson Field, just south of the Vancouver Barracks parade grounds on E 5th Street.

The Russian delegation of officials from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia’s third largest city, includes a Russian film crew that will be filming Vancouver’s Fourth of July events.

During the rest of the week the two groups will meet with Vancouver, Clark County, Portland and federal officials. The visit concludes with a rip along the Columbia River Gorge, according to Jess Frost, chairman of the Valery P. Chkalov Cultural Exchange Committee. All events are public. For further information, call 921-5855.

Vancouver Food Co-op selling shares,
plans pot-luck information sharing event

Shares in the nonprofit Vancouver Food Co-op are being sold for $180 each, reports Sunrise O’Mahoney, interim president of the co-op board.

The goal of the organization, formed in 2003, is to establish a downtown Vancouver healthy food grocery store south of 39th Street and west of I-5, according to O’Mahoney.

O’Mahoney says that buyers may purchase up to 20 shares each, but will receive only one vote in the co-op, regardless of the number of shares purchased.

The informational pot-luck is from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 19, in the National Park Service Interpretive Center, 1501 E Evergreen Boulevard, southeast of Officers Row.

For further information, call O’Mahoney at 694-3663, or go to www.vancouverfood.org.

Calendar

The Vancouver City Council meets in a workshop session at 4 p.m. and convenes a regular meeting at 7 p.m. today. <> U.S. Rep. Brian Baird will meet with members of the Vancouver Lake Watershed Partnership, a coalition working toward cleaning up the lake from 8:45 to 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 3, at the Vancouver Lake Sailing Club, 7110 NW 25th Avenue. <> Clark County commissioners continue public hearings on the county’s comprehensive growth plan update at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 3.

Headlines Monday, July 2

President Bush commutes Libby's jail sentence--Washington Post, Amy Goldstein

Minnesota cow owner cited because of cow's excessive mooing, faces $1,000 fine--KATU (video)

Small spill of sulfuric acid about 2 p.m. today closes 1st Street near WaferTech in Camas--Columbian, Courtney Sherwood

Craig Pridemore selected as interim director of Columbia River Mental Health Services--Columbian, Kathie Durbin

Good Samaritan foils theft of life-saving gear from Vancouver fire truck--Columbian, Kelly Adams

Bomber Bro (Dom Rinck) brightens up kids 4th of July with penny sale last Sunday--Columbian, Jeffrey Mize

Vancouver man wins big in poker in Las Vegas--Columbian, Mike Bailey

Bush, Putin discuss missile defense plan--Washington Post, Peter Baker

Dow closes up 126 points--New York Times

Iraq Coalition Casualties