Florence Wager named Clark
County’s 2009 First Citizen

Florence Wager has been selected as Clark County’s First Citizen for 2009, the Community Foundation for Southwest Washington announced yesterday.

The annual First Citizen Award recognizes a Clark County resident who has exemplified citizenship through her or his actions and service to the community. Recipients of the award, presented since 1939, are selected by a volunteer committee of community leaders and past award recipients.

The honor will be bestowed on Wednesday, June 10, 2009, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. at an event to be held at the Hilton Vancouver Washington.

Wager, a 1946 graduate of Vancouver High School, and later Washington State University, who went on to become a major force in San Francisco arts and music, and was executive director of the San Francisco Symphony Foundation before retiring and returning to Vancouver.

Since then Wager has had tremendous influence on the landscape of Clark County and the City of Vancouver. Her successful advocacy for new parks, community centers, trails, health and fitness over the past 20 years has resulted in a remarkable number of community assets and programs.

A sampling of her accomplishments include:

Co-chaired the Community Design Committee that planned the renovation of Esther Short Park; was a leading adcovate for an aggressive construction timeline called the Parks Legacy Program that resulted in 22 new community and neighborhood parks in east Vancouver; co-chaired the Metropolitan Parks District measures with Scott Horenstein; worked with former State Rep. Bill Fromhold to successfully lobby for expanded funding ($60 million/biennium to $100 million/biennium) for state parks; chaired the task force that created a master plan for 250 miles of regional bikeways and trails within the next 15 to 20 years; helped secure $2 million in state funding to plan and construct the first phase of the rail-trail from Battle Ground’s downtown to Battle Ground State Park; and co-chaired with Alex Veliko the citizen committee that created the Firstenburg Community Center; served twice as co-chair of the Parks Commission.

Wager also co-chaired the local STEPS to a Healthier Clark County team and was one of seven nationwide awarded the designation of “Community Hero.” by the CDC.

“Florence is driven by an unprecedented level of personal volunteerism, citizenship and stewardship which she has diligently provided as a gift to our community over two decades in the community in which she was born and raised,” David Judd, former Parks Director, has stated. “The facilities and programs she championed are having huge, positive impact on our community; but perhaps her greatest legacy is the inspiration she provides to others around her.”

U.S. Rep. Brian Baird has said, “I have the highest regard for Florence as a positive and effective community leader. It is to this community’s great benefit that she came home to retire 20 years ago. Florence has energized many programs and projects that help create a healthy and vibrant community.”

“Florence has provided the citizen leadership and advocacy to produce an amazing array of programs and assets for our community, and during this time, she has not received a dime for the thousands of hours she has dedicated to our community,” says State Sen. Craig Pridemore.

Tickets are $35 per person and can be reserved by calling the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce at 694-2588.

May is a good month to pay traffic fines

Throughout May, from the merry 1st through the merry 31st, Clark County District Court is waiving interest for people with outstanding traffic tickets and fines. Indeed, courts throughout Washington State are doing the same, and their collection agencies are waiving a significant portion of collection costs as well.

That makes May a prime time to pay your traffic debts and, if it has come to that, get back your driver’s license. 

“In these difficult economic times, we hope this program allows individuals to remedy their fines and ultimately regain their driving privileges,” says District Court Administrator Ela Selga.

Those with outstanding tickets or fines that have been sent to collections should contact the court where the fines originated. A listing of all Washington State Courts can be found online at www.courts.wa.gov.

Once tickets are paid in full and reported to the court, adjudication slips must be delivered to the Washington State Department of Licensing to clear a driving record and obtain a valid driver’s license. If the individual qualifies under DOL rules, the license will be reinstated.

Columbia Credit Union elects officers

Three board members and two supervisory committee members were elected last night at Columbia Credit Union’s 57th Annual meeting. Paul Montague III, Patricia Stryker, and incumbent Judith Chipman were elected to the board, and Robin Hayden and incumbent John Bucholtz were elected to the supervisory committee.

People

Ten Clark College faculty members have been granted tenure by the college’s Board of Trustees. Karl Bailey (chemistry), Susan K. Brookhart (chemistry), Carlos Castro (sociology), Geneva Chao (English), Jill Darley-Vanis (English), M. Gail Fujimoto (nursing), Zachary M. Grant (library), Tani McBeth (human development), S. Layne Russell (paralegal) and Brenda Walstead (dental hygiene) were honored at a reception at the college last Monday. The reception was sponsored by the Clark College Board of Trustees and the college’s Office of Instruction. Tenure is awarded to faculty members who have exhibited professional excellence and outstanding abilities in their disciplines. The granting of tenure is based on the recommendations of tenure review committees to the vice president of instruction which are then forwarded to the president, who presents a final recommendation to the Board of Trustees. Recommendations are based on self-evaluations, tenure review committee evaluations, student evaluations, supervisory evaluations, and peer evaluations. The final decision to award or withhold tenure rests with the Board of Trustees. “These outstanding faculty members reflect our commitment to excellence and to supporting student success,” said Clark College President Bob Knight.

Police recruitment continues

Although the City of Vancouver is facing some budget deficits, the Vancouver Police Department is actively recruiting and testing to fill a number of current police officer vacancies. Training sessions are being held from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, May 1, and 2 to 4 p.m., Saturday, May 2, in the community room in the Luepke Center, 1009 E. McLoughlin Boulevard. The salary range is $4,418 to $5,921 a month.

Community Calendar Links

• Southwest Washington Center for the Arts

• Greater Vancouver Chamber Community 

• City of Vancouver Calendar