New Year fireworks in Clark County

The Daily Insider wishes all the best to its readers for 2012!  Because of you, we have enjoyed a fantastic year, full of growth and changes.  Many thanks to our supporters and this wonderful community.  To celebrate the season, we will not publish Friday, Dec. 30 or  Monday, Jan. 2. From all us at the Insider, Happy New Year!

Margie Coursey sends cheer overseas.

Polly McCarter explains her accent.

Melissa Layman knows a good roast.

Bad Agent

Magenta Theater’s Bad Agent will be playing at the Rosemary Café, 1001 Main St., Vancouver, Friday Jan. 13, and Saturday, Jan. 14.

Enjoy a homemade style menu followed by an explosive evening of classic rock, blues, country, and pop. Dinner starts at 6:30, followed by music at 7:30.

General seating for the show is $10. Dinner and drinks are paid for at the end of the show, and cost between $5 and $20. For more information and tickets, click here.

The public is invited to the Coaster Poetry Contest Reading at Niche Wine and Art Bar, 1013 Main St., Vancouver, Wednesday, Jan. 18, from 7 to 10 p.m.

Leah Jackson and Christopher Luna are proud to announce the winners of Niche Wine and Art Bar’s Coaster Poetry contest. The winners will gather for a special reading of their work, and each of the winning poems will be published on a set of limited edition coasters to be used in the bar and for sale to the public.

Jackson is a visual artist and the proprietor of both Angst Gallery and Niche Wine and Art Bar. In late 2010, Jackson named Luna poet laureate for Niche and Angst. For more information, email Luna at christopherluna@gmail.com, or click here.

With more than 185,000 visitors pouring through its gates so far this month, the Oregon Zoo reached a milestone yesterday by welcoming its 50 millionth visitor since 1959, the year it moved to its current Washington Park location. To mark the occasion, those attending the Zoolights, the zoo’s holiday light show,  could enter a drawing to win a prize package that includes a one-year family membership to the zoo, an assortment of gift items from the zoo store and the opportunity to help deliver Packy the elephant’s 50th birthday cake this spring.

The traditional light show has delighted visitors for more than two decades with its dazzling life-size animal silhouettes, moving sculptures, forests of lighted trees and light-bedecked steam train. In keeping with the zoo’s commitment to sustainability, most of the lights displayed are LEDs, which use only a fraction of the power of standard holiday lights.

ZooLights, presented by Fred Meyer with support from The Boeing Company, runs through Jan. 1. For more information about Zoolights or the zoo, visit www.oregonzoo.org or call 503-226-1561.

The public is invited to a free health and wellness fair at the Firstenburg Community Center, 700 N.E. 136th Ave., Vancouver, on Saturday, Jan. 14, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. In addition to vendor booths, there will be aerobics classes in the gym and a drawing for prizes from the vendors. The Southwest Washington Blood Program will also be on site during the health fair to take blood donations. For more information or to register as a vendor, contact Jen Thomas at 360-487-7019 or jen.thomas@cityofvancouver.us.

The Clark County Event Center, 17402 N.E. Delfel Rd., Ridgefield, invites Southwest Washington networking groups and business professionals to attend the second annual “networking extravaganza” on Wednesday, Jan. 11, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. For a fee, networking groups can use skirted tables to display information, and each group is allotted one minute to educate attendees about the benefits of membership. Door prizes, contributed by the networking groups, will be awarded to visitors. For more information or to register for a table, visit www.clarkcoeventcenter.com.

The Port of Vancouver board of commissioners will meet in executive session to discuss real estate matters and personnel on Wednesday, Jan. 4, at 2 p.m. at the Port of Vancouver USA Administrative Offices, 3103 Lower River Road, Vancouver.  No action will be taken during executive session.

The next Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council board of directors meeting will be held Tuesday, Jan. 3, at 4 p.m., on the 6th floor training room of the Clark County Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St., Vancouver. For more information, e-mail meetings@rtc.wa.gov.

The MLK Breakfast Committee invites the public to its second annual Dr. Martin Luther King Breakfast honoring Dr. King and his legacy. The event takes place from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012 at the Red Lion at the Quay in Vancouver. Speakers include Sarah Mensah, chief operating officer for the Portland Trailblazers, and  Dr. James Mason, diversity manager for Providence Health Systems. There will be vocal performances by Deborah Kimbrough and the Unity Choir. Tickets can be purchased online at  http://www.mosaicblueprint.com/Events.html.

Clark County Regional Emergency Services Agency, (CRESA) is passing along a “special weather statement” from the National Weather Service which says that there is a strong jet stream bringing a series of wet & windy storms ”in rapid succession” to the Pacific Northwest. Coastal areas can expect 3-5 inches of rain, and we’ll likely see more than 2 inches of rain in the valley areas.  Widespread flooding is not expected, but rivers and creeks could rise quickly.  For Friday and Saturday, snow levels will drop below the passes if you are traveling in the higher elevation areas. As you are out and about this week, plan for some rather wild weather.

The public is invited to a free health and wellness fair at the Firstenburg Community Center, 700 N.E. 136th Ave., Vancouver, Saturday, Jan. 14, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Check out a variety of offerings from local vendors to support your healthy lifestyle. In addition to vendor booths, there will be aerobics classes in the gym and a drawing for prizes from the vendors. The Southwest Washington Blood Program will also be on site during the health fair to take blood donations.

For more information about the fair or becoming a vendor, call Jen Thomas at 360-487-7019, or email jen.thomas@cityofvancouver.us

The Portland Zoolights

With more than 185,000 visitors pouring through its gates so far this month, the Oregon Zoo reached a milestone last week by welcoming its 50 millionth visitor since 1959, the year it moved to its current Washington Park location. To mark the occasion, those attending the Zoolights, the zoo’s holiday light show,  could enter a drawing to win a prize package that includes a one-year family membership to the zoo, an assortment of gift items from the zoo store and the opportunity to help deliver Packy the elephant’s 50th birthday cake this spring.

The traditional light show has delighted visitors for more than two decades with its dazzling life-size animal silhouettes, moving sculptures, forests of lighted trees and light-bedecked steam train. In keeping with the zoo’s commitment to sustainability, most of the lights displayed are LEDs, which use only a fraction of the power of standard holiday lights.

ZooLights, presented by Fred Meyer with support from The Boeing Company, runs through Jan. 1. For more information about Zoolights or the zoo, visit www.oregonzoo.org or call 503-226-1561.

Locally based Entek Corporation has received the 2011 Super Service Award from Angie’s List. The award, which is given to companies that achieve and maintain a superior service record, and be used for marketing to attract customers.

Angie’s List is a website that allows paid, registered users to review service companies using an easy to understand report card-like format. The overall grade is an aggregate of consumer reviews and grades. Based on these reviews, only five per cent of businesses on Angie’s List are considered eligible for the Super Service Award.

Owners Matt Todd and Allan Shero were told to expect their plaque in the coming weeks. “For Entek Corporation, a locally owned and operated company, the recognition comes at a great time,” says Todd. “This award helps families to better know how to check out the company they might hire.”

Auditions will be held for The 39 Steps, Monday, Jan. 9, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., at the Magenta Theater, 606 Main St., Vancouver. No appointments are necessary, but candidates should arrive early, bring headshots and a personal calendar, and expect to perform cold readings from the script and a simple demonstration of physical comedy. The play is a high-energy physical comedy based on John Buchan’s novel and the classic 1935 Hitchcock spy thriller. For more information on roles, rehearsal and performances  schedules, visit www.magentatheater.com, or email volunteer@magentatheater.com.

The Clark County Event Center, 17402 N.E. Delfel Rd., Ridgefield, is inviting all SW Washington and Portland area networking groups and business professionals to attend the second annual “networking extravaganza” Wednesday, Jan. 11, from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Matthew Ferris, marketing manager for the Event Center and Clark County Fair, and Cindy Johnson, founder of Women in Networking NW, are hosting the event to bring dozens of networking groups together to increase business resources on a grass-roots level. “This is the largest business gathering and networking event in the region,” says Ferris. “Last year was phenomenal, and I expect this second annual event to be even bigger.

For a fee, networking groups can each use a skirted table to display information,  and they are allotted one  minute to share about their group and why membership is beneficial. Door prizes to be given away during the event are encouraged and appreciated. “This is how you increase business for yourself: you look for new opportunities, new connections, new customers, and you do it as a community,” says Johnson.

For more information or to register for a table,  visit www.clarkcoeventcenter.com

Emma Smithline admires her paperwhites scientifically.

Jamie Wunderlich can dance with a splash.

Peter and Lisa Dougherty can stuff a mean ravioli.

Love Street Playhouse, 126 Loves Ave. Woodland, WA, welcomes the public to audition for its latest thriller, Wait Until Dark, Monday, Jan. 2, 7 -9:30 p.m. Volunteer thespians, both aspiring and experienced, are asked to arrive at the theater a little before 7:00 p.m. with headshots and personal calendars, to perform “cold readings” of the script written by Fredrick Knott and directed by David Roberts. For more information about roles, rehearsal times, and performance schedules, email dnsroberts@aol.com.

The YWCA will hold an “Introduction to Volunteer Service” workshop Tuesday, Jan. 10, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. in its Community Room, 3609 Main St., Vancouver. The organization needs volunteers to advocate for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault, to represent children in the court system, and to connect women in jail with community resources. Other opportunities include helping in a preschool classroom, assisting youth who are aging out of foster care gain access to employment and housing, and supporting positive social change. The YWCA especially needs male volunteers and volunteers who are bilingual and/or bicultural. For details, contact Stephanie Barr at 360-906-9112 or sbarr@ywcaclarkcounty.org, or visit ywcaclarkcounty.org.