Washington School for the Blind Foundation adds board member

Mandy Lopez has joined the Washington School for the Blind Foundation's board of directors for a two-year term. Lopez is vice president and cash management officer for First Independent in Vancouver.

Lopez has volunteered with the Foundation for the past year and a half. When asked why she wanted to join the Washington School for the Blind Foundation, she responded that she enjoys volunteering with the foundation and “wanted to be part of an organization that helps people to overcome their challenges to become successful and independent.”

The Washington School for the Blind Foundation was founded in 1995 to broaden and enhance educational and employment opportunities for students who are blind and visually impaired in Washington state.

To learn more about the foundations goals, click here.

Events explore job options for engineers

Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development (WIRED), a U.S. Department of Labor-funded program, is sponsoring two employment symposia specifically for engineers at its Engineering Employment Symposia. The first symposium will be held 8 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, at Embassy Suites Washington Square, 9000 SW Washington Square Road, and the second 8 a.m. Monday, Nov. 16, in the Hilton Vancouver Washington, 301 W. 6th Street.

The symposia content is specifically tailored for engineers who have found themselves in an uncomfortable scramble for employment or needing to retool their credentials to be more marketable to emerging industries. Nanoscience, sustainable technologies, bioengineering and drug development, and alternative energy options such as wave, solar or wind are just a handful of promising fields for area engineers. How to transition to positions in these industries are among the topics slated for the symposia.

"Engineers are key to innovation, says Lisa Nisenfeld, executive director for the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council. “We want to find ways to help them stay in our region and raise their families. As the economy recovers, we know we'll need them."

Attendance is limited at the no-charge symposia; therefore, advanced registration is recommended. For more information or to register, visit www.swwdc.org or call 567-1070.

News Briefs

Applebee's will be allowing all veterans and active duty military to eat free in honor of Veterans Day, Nov. 11. Visit http://www.applebees.com/vetsday/ for more information. <> Greater Chamber of Commerce is holding a Halloween-themed business after-hours event from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27, Waterford at Fairway Village, 2911 SE Village Loop. Cost is $10 per member and $20 for non-members. RSVP at http://www.vancouverusa.com/. <> Clark County residents will have a chance to honor veterans at 11 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, at the 23rd annual Celebrate Freedom Veterans Parade along historic Officers Row. The parade is hosted by the Fort Vancouver National Trust and presented by the Frank and Joanne Lough Legacy. The reviewing officer for the parade is Major General Curt Loop, U.S.A.R. (Ret). The parade route follows Evergreen Boulevard past Officers Row west into downtown Vancouver and ends at Esther Short Park. For more information, contact Kim Hash, Fort Vancouver National Trust, at 992-1804. <> A Veterans Day Service will be hosted by Mayor Royce Pollard at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, at the Vancouver Barracks Cemetery, Fourth Plain Boulevard and L Street, to recognize local veterans. The keynote speaker will be Major General Leslie Burger U.S. Army (Ret.) of Ridgefield. For more information, contact Dan Tarbell, 40 et 8, at 258-6839. <> Loves Street Playhouse presents Robert Harling’s production of Steel Magnolias. Performance dates are at 8 p.m. Nov. 12-14, 19-21, 27 and 28. Matinee showings are at 2 p.m. on Nov. 15, 22, and 29. Advance ticket prices are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and youth under 18. To purchase tickets, visit www.lovestreetplayhouse.com or call 263-6670.

Calendar

City Council meets from 4 to 6 p.m. for workshops, followed by a consent agenda meeting at 6 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, in Council chambers, 210 East 13th Street. <> Vancouver Branch of American Association of University Women is sponsoring a bridge tournament to raise money, for WSU and Clark College scholarships for women, from 1 to 4:30 p.m Saturday, Oct. 24. Reservations are required to play, and a donation of $15 is asked to participate. The tournament will be held at the Genealogy Society Center, 717 N Grand Blvd. Call 896-8987 for more information. <> The Vancouver Children's Opera, which is a nonprofit organization primarily dedicated to providing opera to children of SW Washington, is performing Amahl and the Night Visitors, an opera by Gian-Carlo Menotti, at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Oct. 23 and 24, and 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, in Hough Elementary School auditorium, 1900 Daniels Street. Tickets are $15 per family, $7 per individual, and $5 for seniors and students, or 2 cans of food per person to support local food banks. For more information, call 695-8589. <> Vancouver Farmers Market will open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24 and Oct. 25, 8th and Esther Streets. <> Join DOGPAW from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, for Dogtoberfest celebration, a fundraising event for off-leash parks in Clark County. There will be a costume contest for dogs at 10:30, followed by Dog Olympic games. There will also be a vendor fair and a dog 'Lure' course provided by the Animal Enrichment Center. This event is at Ross Off Leash Park, NE 18th and Ross. For more information, call 909-8920. <> Celebrate Make A Difference Day, a national day of helping others, from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 24, at Arnold Park, NE 18th CT. To volunteer or for more information, visit www.ccblenderhead.com/makeadifference, or call 735-3683. <> Step back in time with a “campfire program” of the 1840s. Join the Engagés of the Hudson’s Bay Company as they share their stories of life at Fort Vancouver, at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, Fort Vancouver, 1001 East 5th Street. Cost is free. Call 816-6230 for more information. <> The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is having its first concert of its thirty-first season at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, and 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25, at Skyview Concert Hall, 1300 NW 139th Street, Vancouver. Tickets for performances are available online at www.vancouversymphony.org, by phone at 735-7278, at local music outlets and at the door. Students receive a special $9 admission price for any concert. For more information, visit the symphony’s web site at www.vancouversymphony.org. <> Women singers are invited to attend an event held by Columbia River Chorus at 7 p.m., Monday, Oct. 26. Columbia River Chorus is seeking women singers for its “Community Christmas Chorus” concerts. The event is being held in First Congregational United Church of Christ, 1220 NE 68th Street. For more information, call 887-4927. <> City Council is having a study session at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26, in the Battle Ground Community Center, 912 East Main Street. Call 342-5008 for more information. <> Port of Camas-Washougal meets for a preliminary agenda at 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26. <> Battle Ground Cares Committee, a sub-committee of the City Council, will be performing various service projects in the City of Battle Ground from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 24-25. Events include a Community Health Fair, litter pick-up, tree planting and more. Volunteers check in at the volunteer tent on East Main Street in the old Battle Ground Library parking lot. For more information about volunteering for this event, call city clerk Claire Lider at 342-5008 or at the City’s website, www.cityofbg.org.

Friday on the air

 

Business Success in the Emerging Economy: Action Plans for Pacific Northwest Companies (10-12)—6:15 p.m.      CVTV

Election 2009: North County Candidates’ Forum (10-6)—8:55 p.m. CVTV

Election 2009: Vancouver Mayoral Candidate Debate (10-7)—10 p.m. CVTV

VPD All Access: Neighborhood Police Officers

 

 

Community Calendar Links

• Southwest Washington Center for the Arts

• Greater Vancouver Chamber

• City of Vancouver Calendar

 

Friday, October 23, 2009 Headlines

 

Links to news of local & national significance

Redoing life, regifting stuff--Columbian, Scott Hewitt

Riverview Bancorp plans to sell more stock--Columbian, Libby Tucker

Studer's closes after 49 years--Columbian, Cami Joner

Leavitt, Pollard campaigns trade more accusations--Columbian, Kathie Durbin

Looking for lunch buddies--Columbian, Craig Brown

Activists to stage protests aimed at reducing carbon concentrations--Washington Post, Juliet Eilperin