Richard J. “Dick” Waltke has opened a new Edward Jones Investments office in the One Town Center Professional Building in east Vancouver, at 16508 S.E. 24th St. in Fisher’s Landing.

A ribbon cutting Grand Opening Celebration presented by the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce is set for Thursday, March 3, from 2 to 6:30 p.m.

Matt Schoolfield being timely.

Tracy Reilly-Kelly being a Clark College cheerleader.

Jaynie Roberts celebrating weekend birthday.

Carole Gamoy celebrating rainy Monday birthday.

Art on the Boulevard, a fine art gallery in the Vancouver Marketplace, will open “Oleg Ulitskiy – New Works” on First Friday, March 4, showing through March 26.

Included is a collection of Oleg Ulitskiy‘s latest works from his recent painting trip to his hometown of Odessa, Ukraine, and paintings from around the Pacific Northwest. The First Friday reception is from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, March 4. It is open to the public and includes complimentary light refreshments, live music and a chance to meet Ulitskiy.

Tickets are now on sale for the fifth annual Clark County Historical Museum Women’s Tea and Luncheon, celebrating Women’s History Month and featuring the alter ego of artist Anne-Louise Sterry, Aunt Lena.

This year’s event will be held at the museum on Monday, March 21, with doors opening at 11 a.m. Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. and the program will end by 2 p.m.

Seating is limited and reservations are required. Tickets are $35 a person, or $30 for members of the Historical Society. To purchase tickets, call the museum at 360-993-5679, or stop by the museum, 1511 Main St., Vancouver.

Sam Liebelt

First Independent Bank recently announced the promotions of two employees.

Sam Liebelt has been named vice president and senior strategy and analysis manager. He joined First Independent in 2006 and has supported the bank’s strategic planning activities.

Liebelt earned a BS in business administration with an emphasis in finance from Portland State University. Raised in Milwaukie, Oregon, the Vancouver resident is active in community organizations. He has managed personnel and operations for an annual children’s basketball camp since 1997.

Erin Cates

Erin Cates has been appointed to manage the Heights branch. Cates joined First Independent in 2000.  She most recently was a service team leader at the Cascade Park Branch. Active in the community, she has been involved with First Independent’s book club, Bella Voce, and with Junior Achievement, where she taught a six-week class on economics to a sixth-grade class.

Headquartered in Vancouver, First Independent is a full service community bank with assets of nearly $1 billion. The bank celebrated its 100th anniversary last year.

Port of Woodland Commission President Paul Cline and Executive Director Nelson Holmberg will deliver the State of the Port at noon Tuesday, March 1, at the Woodland Chamber of Commerce lunch at the Oak Tree Restaurant, 1020 Atlantic Ave., Woodland. The meeting is free (though attendees will pay for lunches they order), and open to the public.

The Port of Woodland celebrated its 50th year in 2010. The port owns more than 300 acres of property for light industrial and recreational opportunities in south Cowlitz County along the Columbia and Lewis rivers.

Striking Divas

Members of the “Striking Divas” will be among the teams bowling in their nightwear during the Pajama Bowl, a fundraiser sponsored by Sleep Country USA.

The event will benefit Bridge The Gap, a Clark County nonprofit organization that provides resources for children in the foster care system.

The bowl-a-thon is Sunday, March 13, at Big Al’s, 16615 S.E. 18th St., in East Vancouver.

To support the Divas, sponsor an individual bowler, or start your own team, visit www.pajamabowl.com and search for “Peggy Hays.” Vancouver is listed among the Oregon organizations.

The Port of Camas-Washougal meets in executive session at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, then reconvenes into regular session at 5 p.m. at port headquarters, 24 South A St. Washougal.

Rick Melching lunching at Main Event.

Courtney Sherwood celebrating birthday.

104th Division cherry blossoms defying snow.

Art on the Boulevard, a fine art gallery in the Vancouver Marketplace, will open “Oleg Ulitskiy – New Works” on First Friday, March 4, showing through March 26.

Included is a collection of Oleg Ulitskiy‘s latest works from his recent painting trip to his hometown of Odessa, Ukraine, and paintings from around the Pacific Northwest. The First Friday reception is from 5 to 9 p.m. on Friday, March 4. It is open to the public and includes complimentary light refreshments, live music and a chance to meet Ulitskiy.

For more information, please contact the gallery at 360-750-4499.

iQ Credit Union has awarded $3,500 in book grants to 42 recipients in 36 public and private elementary, middle and high schools in Southwest Washington as part of its “Read With Me” grant program. The schools use the grants to provide more than 3,000 free books to students who participate in a school-based reading program.

In a partnership with local businesses, “Read With Me” takes applications from teachers and administrators looking for contributions to their reading programs. Established in 1997, the program has provided $86,850 in funds for 58,362 books over the past 14 years.

Lindsey and Becky Weis

Becky Weis has joined the Fort Vancouver National Trust as its new Sponsorships Manager, replacing her daughter, Lindsey. Weis will be responsible for securing corporate sponsorships for Trust programs and events, including Independence Day at Fort Vancouver. Lindsey is moving to Miami, Florida to pursue a career in sports management.

Becky Weis was one of the four founding co-chairs of the inaugural 2007 Pink Power event, one of the largest fundraisers in Clark County history, to support construction of a new Breast Care Center on the campus of Southwest Washington Medical Center.

"Aunt Lena"

Tickets are now on sale for the fifth annual Clark County Historical Museum Women’s Tea and Luncheon, celebrating Women’s History Month and featuring the alter ego of artist Anne-Louise Sterry, Aunt Lena.

This year’s event will be held at the Museum on Monday, March 21, with doors opening at 11 a.m.  Lunch will be served at 11:30 a.m. and the program will end by 2 p.m.

Seating is limited and reservations are required. Tickets are $35 a person or $30 for members of the Historical Society. To purchase tickets, call the museum at 360-993-5679 or stop by the museum, 1511 Main St., Vancouver.

Sterry is an award-winning recording artist, author, song writer, and storyteller. Aunt Lena is a wise-cracking Italian immigrant who is full of unique advice, whether requested or not.

After missing Thursday’s collections because of snowy weather, Waste Connections is scheduled to pick up garbage, recycling and yard debris today, and shift collections that normally happen on Friday to Saturday.

Information about any schedule changes will be sent out to media and posted on Waste Connections’ website, www.wcnorthwest.com.

Waste Connections collects garbage in almost all of unincorporated Clark County and all of its cities, except for Camas. The company collects recycling in the county and all of its cities, including Camas.

The Vancouver Planning Commission is sponsoring a First Tuesday presentation that explores financing of construction projects, from home remodels to shopping centers. The forum is from 4 to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, March 1, in the city council chambers, 210 E. 13th St., Vancouver. Please RSVP to Tina Picchioni at 360-487-7813 or Tina.Picchioni@cityofvancouver.us.

Crews from Clark County Public Works were out by 3 a.m. Thursday to clear snow that blanketed much of the area during the night.

Roads were plowed and de-iced, and gravel was spread to improve traction. For more information on the county’s winter weather plans, visit www.clark.wa.gov/publicworks/roads/winter.html.

Regularly scheduled garbage, recycling and yard debris collections for Thursday have been canceled in Clark County and all of its cities.The snow has left many narrow side streets and outlying roads unsafe for Waste Connections’ collection trucks. Waste Connections, Clark County and the City of Vancouver are currently evaluating when to best reschedule collections for those customers who were missed today. Collections for Friday could also be affected.

Information about scheduled changes will be posted on Waste Connections’ website, www.wcnorthwest.com.

A Port of Woodland Commission Workshop to outline and discuss options for a possible boat launch project on port property has been postponed due to winter weather conditions. The workshop was scheduled for this afternoon at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 24.

The Battle Ground State of the City Address will be held as scheduled tonight, Thursday, Feb. 24, at 6 p.m. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m. at the Battle Ground Community Center, located at 912 E. Main St. in Battle Ground.

Quinn Johnson Kokstis making Facebook debut.

Port of Vancouver scrambling.

Shay Jennings advocating.

With 320+ donors and supporters in attendance, Share’s seventh annual Mardi Gras Gala & Casino Night, held Saturday, Feb. 19, raised a gross total of $485,000, which will support operational funding for Share’s programs, as well as Share’s capital campaign.

In October 2008, Share purchased the former Timber Lanes bowling alley for $2.09 million. Once remodeled, the building will house warehouse storage for the Backpack and Holiday Cheer Programs, transitional housing staff offices, Volunteer Center, Outreach Program and offices for administration.

Bill Fromhold

It will be named the Fromhold Service Center, in honor of  former State Representative Bill Fromhold, who passed away last September. Fromhold was a longtime supporter of Share and helped secure funding for the building.

Share was founded in 1979 with the goal of caring for the homeless and hungry in the greater Vancouver area. Share operates four shelters for the homeless, a transitional housing program, case management programs, a street outreach program, and hot meal program.

Cynthia Myers

Cynthia Myers has been named Clark College’s new director of nursing. A Clark College graduate herself, Myers has also been selected to participate in a new leadership development program offered by the National League for Nursing.

Called “Lead,” the year-long program is geared toward emerging leaders in nursing education, with only 30 participants chosen nationwide.

After earning an associate degree in nursing from Clark College, Myers continued her studies at Washington State University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree, graduating summa cum laude, and a master’s degree in nursing. She has previous work experience with Kaiser Permanente, where she worked as a nurse administrator.

The Community Housing Resource Center is offering the Free Assisted Self-Service Tax Preparation (FAST) program, developed by the Internal Revenue Service, beginning on Friday, Feb. 25.

Walk-ins can visit the center at 103 E. 29th St. Appointments are being scheduled for March and April.

For more information, call 360-690-4496, ext. 103, or visit www.homecen.org.