Vail Horton is Clark College’s
2009 commencement speaker

Vail Horton, founder and CEO of Portland-based Keen Mobility Company, will be the keynote speaker for the 75th Clark College’s commencement ceremony, Thursday, June 18.

Born without legs and with improper bone growth in his arms, Horton has adopted as his life’s aim “to change the world for the better, focusing on the elderly and disabled,” according to Clark College president Bob Knight.

Horton graduated from the University of Portland and received the university’s Contemporary Alumni Award in 2007. He was named one of 2007’s Ten Outstanding Young Americans by the United States Junior Chamber. He also serves on the American Healthcare Association Quality Improvement Committee and is a board member for the Oregon Healthcare Association.

Horton’s company produces wheelchairs, crutches, walkers and other medical products for the disabled, elderly and injured.

Horton is also founder and chairman of the Incight Foundation, which has raised over $1,500,000 in private, corporate, state and federal donations in support of scholarships, mentoring and internships for disabled students.

First Tuesday presentation
addresses energy efficiency

Clark Public Utilities officials are providing information to the public pertaining to energy efficiency and sustainability at 4 p.m. today, April 7, at Vancouver City Hall, 210 E 13th Street. The Vancouver Planning Commission is sponsoring the presentation.

Patrick McGary, director of energy resources, and Larry Blaufus, senior manager of energy technologies & services, will discuss the following: how Clark Public Utilities plans to meet energy demand as our region grows; how land use patterns and sustainable building techniques can affect energy demand; and what programs the utility offers to encourage energy efficiency for its customers.

Call Terry Lenhart at (360) 487-7955 to register.

Workshops on commercial
property ownership being offered

Two Thursday workshop series, April 23 and on May 14, one instructing small business owners on how to stop leasing and own commercial property, and the other presenting investors with tools to acquire multifamily opportunities. Both workshop series meet in Clark College’s Corporate Education Center.

Presenters are Tammy Haas, vice president and business banking officer with Anchor Bank, Ron Frederiksen, RSV Construction Services, Lori Milton, Evergreen Business Capital, and Jim West, Coldwell Banker Commercial.

Space is limited. For more information, call 450-0928 or, to register, visit www.sevenreasonswhy.com.

Free jazz concert Thursday
night at Prairie High School

Vocal jazz groups from Eastern Washington University and Edmonds Community College will join two Prairie High School jazz ensembles for a free two-hour jazz concert in the school auditorium from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Thursday, April 9.

The medley of musical talent is being presented in connection with a 6:30-to-8:30 p.m. open house for eighth-grade students and their families in the high school at 11500 NE 11th Street. Battle Ground High School, 300 W Main Street, Battle Ground is also holding an open house for prospective high school students from 6 to 8 p.m., but without a concert. 

WSUV lecture at Spring
Research Colloquium

The Center for Social and Environmental Justice at Washington State University Vancouver presents its third annual Spring Research Colloquium tomorrow, April 8.

Presenters will include faculty and students, as well as YWCA Clark County staff and members of the Cowlitz Tribal Council. For instance, Brian Tissot, associate professor of marine ecology, will present his paper, “Deep Impacts: Effects of Fishing on Pacific Continental Shelf Ecosystems.”

All of the presentations are free and open to the public, at 1:15 p.m. in the Multimedia Classroom building, room 6.

For more information on the CSEJ, visit http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/programs
/csejustice/.

Calendar

Clark County commissioners will meet in regular session at 7 p.m. this evening in the Public Service Center. <> A community forum about creating successful food garden programs, sponsored by the Clark County Food System Council, is being offered from 3 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, in the First Presbyterian Church, 4300 Main Street. Call Kathy LaFon, 397-8000, extension 7211, for reservations. <> Clark County commissioners meet in an informal session at 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 8, in conference room B in the Public Service Center. <> The community is invited to join Vancouver’s free celebration of Arbor Day tomorrow, April 8, at 800 Officers Row. Festivities, including Mayor Royce Pollard’s acceptance of an award for Vancouver’s urban trees, are from 11 a.m. to noon. This year’s theme is “Vancouver: A Healthy Community Rooted in Trees.”

Community Calendar Links

• Southwest Washington Center for the Arts

• Greater Vancouver Chamber Community 

• City of Vancouver Calendar