Vancouver Lake Regional Park remains open,
but lake is off limits to all but boating and fishing

Clark County Public Health and Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation are advising the public to avoid direct contact with water in Vancouver Lake due to elevated levels of blue-green algae.

Because blue-green algae produces toxins that can be harmful to people and deadly to small animals that drink the water, public health officials are recommending the following:

No swimming or wading.

No wind surfing or sail boarding.

No water contact for animals.

Precautions against contact with water while boating or fishing.

Vancouver Lake Regional Park remains open, however. Health officials say that water in restrooms and shelters is unaffected by the lake water and remains safe to drink.

Bradden Jensen named director of laboratory and
pathology at Southwest Washington Medical Center

             Dr. Bradden Jensen

Bradden Jensen has been appointed physician director of laboratory and pathology at Southwest Washington Medical Center.

Jensen has been with the medical center's pathology department for the past 15 years and since 2006 had been interim director of the department.

Clark County jobs declining

There are other ways of counting the number of jobs in counties in Washington that show different outcomes, but in terms of seasonally unadjusted employment, as measured by the state Employment Security Department, Clark County lost 1,700 jobs in June.

Unadjusted employment is the measure of every job, including part-time jobs and sole proprietor businesses.

According to that measure, there were 195,900 jobs at the end of May and 194,200 jobs at the end of June. However, Clark County gained a total of 3,600 jobs between June 2006 and June 2007.

The June Employment Security report showed Clark County with 1,000 more unemployed people than in May. The June total number of unemployed stood at 11,200.

When seasonally adjusted unemployment is measured at the county level, it could show a slight reduction in unemployment, similar to the statewide seasonally adjusted numbers, which showed state unemployment at 4.5 percent for June, down from 4.6 percent in May.

Learn about Vancouver Food Co-op
at Thursday potluck dinner meeting

The Vancouver Food Co-op, which is launching a capital campaign to open a cooperative grocery store in downtown Vancouver, is holding a potluck dinner from 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday, July 19, to explain how one can become a Vancouver Food Co-op owner and to discuss volunteer opportunities associated with the cooperative venture, reports Sunrise O’Mahoney, interim president of the co-op.

Shares in the cooperative venture are $180 each, according to O’Mahoney. Shares are limited to 20 per person and may be paid for over a three-year period. O’Mahoney says that each shareholder is entitled to one vote, regardless of the number of shares held.

The potluck dinner will be in the National Park Service Interpretive Center, 1501 E Evergreen Boulevard, near the southeast corner of Officers Row. For further information, call 694-3663, or go to www.vancouverfood.org.

St. Joseph School 4th graders raise
$600 for new Catholic high school

Madeline Hunter and Courtney Newell, both 9 and fourth graders at St. Joseph Catholic School, yesterday opened a fund-raising account at the Bank of Clark County, after raising over $600 in support of what will be

Clark County’s first Catholic high school in Ridgefield. The girls set up lemonade stands and knocked on doors to raise the money. The $10 million St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic High School will be built on 38 acres adjacent to St. Mary Guadalupe Church, Ridgefield.

Beg your pardon, mayors

Maintaining its fairly regular series of gaffes, the Insider yesterday put Washougal Mayor Stacee Sellers in the mayor’s office in Woodland. In truth, the Woodland mayor is Douglas A. Monge, who is running for re-election this year. Sellers, in addition to being mayor of Washougal, is one of the stars in the Pearson Air Museum’s Dancing with the Local Stars contest Friday, July 27, in the museum.

Calendar

The City of Battle Ground and the Clark County Public Health Advisory Council are holding a joint public meeting at 6 p.m. this evening in suite 148 in Battle Ground City Hall to discuss residential and community park health standards. <> Port of Vancouver commissioners are holding a mid-year workshop that opens at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 18, in the Heathman Lodge, 7801 NE Greenwood Drive. Commissioners will adjourn into an executive session at noon, but will resume the public portion of the workshop at 1 p.m. <> Clark County commissioners meet in an informal session at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 18, in conference room B in the Public Service Center.

Headlines Tuesday, July 17

Dave Olson's 37-year Columbian photographic career ends, but magic of the camera still there--Columbian, Mike Bailey

Doesn't seem like new $2 to $6 billion Interstate bridge will occupy much different space--Columbian, Jeffrey Mize

Local housing prices declining--Columbian, Cami Joner

Students at Shahala Middle School in pictures--Columbian, Howard Buck

Weak sales sink Nautilus profits--Columbian, Jonathan Nelson

Hot iPhone has Clark County connections--Columbian, Julia Anderson

Get in line for gridlock at Ikea--Oregonian, Anna Griffin

U.S. customs splits family at PDX; German father (a practicing Muslim) sent away, U.S. wife allowed to stay--Oregonian

Bellevue mulling regulations for billionaire's megahouses--Seattle Times, Ashley Bach

Dow briefly crosses 14,000--Washington Post, Howard Schneider and Tomoeh Murakami Tse

Report cites continued Al Qaeda threat--New York Times, David Stout

Iraq Coalition Casualties