Clark County crews will make two temporary traffic changes next week to shorten construction on the county’s portion of the Salmon Creek Interchange Project.

The traffic changes will allow Rotschy Inc., the county’s general contractor, to finish road paving, sidewalks and traffic signals by Nov. 1.

The following changes will be implemented west of I-5 on Wednesday, Aug. 31: a short section of Northeast 139th Street will be temporarily closed, from just west of the north entrance/exit for the retail center anchored by Fred Meyer west to Northeast Tenney Road. Northeast 139th Street, from the closure east to NE 10th Avenue, will remain open to two-way traffic to provide access to and egress from the shopping center,  Northeast Tenney Road and Northeast 139th Street will be temporarily reduced to a single lane westbound, from approximately the shopping center entrance/exit near Riverview Community Bank west to Northeast Third Court. Two eastbound lanes will remain open.

The two temporary revisions are expected to last six to eight weeks.

A one-page flier, with an aerial photograph depicting the temporary traffic changes and other information on the joint county-state project, can be downloaded from the project’s web page, www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5/ne134thi205.

Clark County and the Washington State Department of Transportation are jointly building the $133 million project.

Performances of The Shape of Things, a play by Neil LaBute described as a modern day retelling of the fall of man, start at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 2, at the Slocum House Theatre, 605 Esther St.

Shows continue at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and at 2 p.m. on Sundays until Sunday, Sept. 25. Tickets are $13 general admission, $11 for seniors and children. To purchase tickets, visit www.slocumhouse.com.

A Clark County barn at Heisen Farm, one of the projects during the last funding cycle.

The Clark County Historical Society is hosting a free workshop from 6 to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 8, at the Clark County Historical Museum, 1511 Main St.,  for barn owners wishing to learn more about the Heritage Barn Preservation Initiative.

Chris Moore, field director with the Washington Trust for Historic Preservation, will be on hand to answer questions and discuss the process for completing program documents. The next deadline for nominating a barn to the Heritage Barn Register is Friday, Oct. 7, with the deadline to submit applications requesting barn rehabilitation grant funds set for Monday, Oct. 17.

For more information about the workshop or the Heritage Barn Preservation Initiative, call Chris Moore at 206-624-9449 or visit www.preservewa.org.  Complete information about the Heritage Barn Program, including nomination and application forms, can be found at www.dahp.wa.gov.

Inside the CRC has new content.

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler’s staff signs up.

Richard Kubiniec modeling.

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Washington) will host a jobs fair from 1 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at the Red Lion Hotel at the Quay in Vancouver. The jobs fair is free and open to all residents of Southwest Washington who are looking for employment opportunities.

Earlier this month Herrera Beutler held a Job Creator Forum at her district office in Vancouver. At the forum, employers with job openings expressed some difficulty in finding qualified applicants.  The goal of the September jobs fair will be to help connect area employers with potential new hires.

Employers interested in participating should contact Pam Peiper at 360-695-6292.

During the Labor Day weekend, the Red Lion at the Quay and Hilton Vancouver Washington will host Kumoricon, a convention of anime fans. Kumoricon was last held in Vancouver in 2007 at the Hilton. Because convention organizers are anticipating more than 4,000 attendees this year, approximately 1,000 more than attended in 2007, the event has grown to occupy two host hotels. Attendees dressed up as characters ranging from animated icons to science-fiction mainstays will be in attendance.

Vancouver USA Regional Tourism Office (formerly Southwest Washington Convention & Visitors Bureau) is an economic development organization responsible for competitively marketing Vancouver and the surrounding area as a destination for meetings, conventions, and group and leisure travelers. For more information, call 877-224-4214, or log on to www.VisitVancouverUSA.com.

Photo Credit: Steve Towell

The Vancouver Housing Authority is holding a grand opening celebration and ribbon-cutting for the newly completed Camas Ridge Apartment Homes at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 31, at 1420 N.W. 28th Ave on Prune Hill. Speakers include Camas Mayor Scott Higgins and Vanessa Gaston, director of Clark County Community Services.

Camas Ridge Apartment Homes consists of 51 apartments, including 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom, and 3-bedroom units.  Thirty-six of the units will rent at market rate; eight of the units will be available for families with Section 8 vouchers; seven units will be available to families earning less than 50 percent of area median income.

The $7.7 million Camas Ridge development is bond-financed, with additional funds coming from the State of Washington Housing Trust Fund, Clark County Community Development Block Grant funds, Vancouver Housing Authority funds, and Clark County HB2060 funds.  HB2060 funds are from document recording fees.

A campaign event for Vancouver City Councilman Larry Smith focused on veterans’ issues is planned from 5 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 8, at the Fort Vancouver Artillery Barracks, 600 E. Hatheway Rd., Vancouver.

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Washington

Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Washington, will host a jobs fair from 1 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept.28, at the Red Lion Hotel at the Quay in Vancouver. The jobs fair is free and open to all residents of Southwest Washington who are looking for employment opportunities.

Earlier this month Herrera Beutler held a Job Creator Forum at her district office in Vancouver. At the forum, employers with job openings expressed some difficulty in finding qualified applicants.  The goal of the September jobs fair will be to help connect area employers with potential new hires.

Employers interested in participating should contact Pam Peiper at 360-695-6292.

Even in tough economic times, business leaders came together to raise money for scholarships to WSU Vancouver and Clark College.

The East Vancouver Business Association’s (EVBA’s) 10th annual Scholarship Golf Tournament on Friday, Aug. 5, raised $7,500, bringing the 10-year total raised by the group to more than $75,000 for education scholarships.

The event’s title sponsor was Riverview Community Bank.

This year’s event featured a Hawaiian theme, “Lei’n on the Greens,” complete with hula dancing by the Ke Kukui Foundation and a Hawaiian lunch buffet.

Founded in 1991, the EVBA works to promote and support businesses, civic and economic development in East Clark County and provides scholarships to local students attending college in Vancouver. Learn more at www.evba.net.

WSU Clark County Extension, in partnership with Clark County Environmental Services, is offering a series of free volunteer trainings focused on maintaining healthy watersheds.

Starting on Sept. 14, the trainings will be every Wednesday evening from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the 78th Street Heritage Farm, 1919 N.E. 78th St., until Nov. 16.

To apply or for more information, contact jenifer.naas@clark.wa.gov or  360-397-6060 ext. 5712, or apply online at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/fallWStraining.

After training, volunteers work on a variety of projects with the Watershed Steward Program and local environmental partners in public outreach and education, stream restoration, water-quality monitoring, classroom presentations, or community workshops.

Joe Eustaquio

Columbia Credit Union has  hired Joe Eustaquio as vice president for business lending. With 27 years of industry experience, Eustaquio’s main responsibilities will be growing and managing business loan and deposit relationships and assisting with commercial lending operations.

Eustaquio holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Guam

The Vancouver Public Schools patron tours, led by Superintendent Steve Webb, have been scheduled for Friday, Oct. 7, Wednesday, Nov. 16, Friday, Feb. 10, and Friday, April 27. Highlights will include technology and innovation pilots; visual and performing arts, language immersion, and other program choices for students; early childhood education partnerships; family-community resource centers and plans for a Science-Technology-Engineering-Math (STEM) magnet school.

Tours begin at 8:30 a.m. and conclude at 1 p.m. They feature a lunch prepared by students in the district’s award-winning culinary arts program. To register for a tour, contact Sue Knable at 360-313-4720 or susan.knable@vansd.org.

Jeanne Kojis getting the word out.

Larry Smith ramping up campaign.

Amy McFall Prince seeking balance.

State Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver

State Rep. Jim Moeller (D-Vancouver) has pledged to send three percent of his salary to Share, Inc.

Moeller said the continuing recession and “the ongoing, consequential state-budget cuts make it more important than ever that we look out for the well-being of our neighbors in need.”

Share is dedicated to helping thousands of homeless and hungry Clark County citizens.

Several years ago, Moeller refused to take a two-percent state-legislative raise granted by the salary commission and opted to send the money to a local charity.

Fort Vancouver Regional Library District (FVRL) has joined the Library Ideas network of public library websites that offers online access to songs from Sony Music’s catalog of artists. The service allows FVRL to increase the size and diversity of its collection by offering access to hundreds of thousands of songs. The district has not offered a comprehensive recorded-music collection since the early 1980s, when it eliminated its record collection due to cost-cutting.

FVRL patrons can log in with their 14-digit library card number to access Freegal. The library’s Freegal link is currently posted at http://www.fvrl.org/findabook/index.cfm.

Established in 1950, the  Fort Vancouver Regional Library District provides a serves more than 450,000 Southwest and South Central Washington citizens in Clark, Skamania and Klickitat Counties, and the city of Woodland and Yale Valley Library District in Cowlitz County.

Dr. Nicole Fetter

Foot and ankle surgeon Nicole L. Fetter, M.D., has joined Rebound Orthopedics and Neurosurgery. Fetter will begin seeing patients at Rebound’s three Southwest Washington locations in September.

Fetter joins Doctors  T. Scott Woll and Jay L. Crary to round out Rebound’s foot and ankle practice. All three offer comprehensive foot and ankle care, including STAR ankle replacement, the latest and most advanced treatment for ankle arthritis or trauma. The three surgeons are currently the only physicians in Portland and Southwest Washington performing the ankle replacement procedure.

Fetter received her medical degree from Duke University.  She completed her residency in orthopedic surgery in the Harvard Combined Orthopedic Residency program, followed by a foot and ankle fellowship at Duke University.

Rebound has offices at PeaceHealth Southwest Medicine Center, Legacy Salmon Creek, and Portland’s Rose Quarter.

Steve Horenstein donning crimson.

Jack Burkman throwing out first pitch in baseball discussion.

Stephanie Hadley promoting.

Carter Park residents getting cheery with chalk.

With the new school year approaching, the Battle Ground Police Department urges motorists to be alert to traffic safety issues.

Roads near schools are typically congested during the morning and afternoon drop-off and pick-up hours. Officials urge motorists to watch for students walking or riding bikes along the street and crossing streets. Drivers are reminded to stop at all intersections controlled by stop signs and signal lights, and that people within the crosswalk have the right of way.

It is illegal to pass a school bus that has stopped to receive or discharge students.  School bus drivers will use flashing yellow lights to alert motorists that they are going to stop. Red flashing lights and an extended stop arm indicate that the bus has stopped and that children are getting on or off. Motorists must stop their cars and wait until the red flashing lights are turned off, the stop arm is withdrawn, and the bus begins moving before they start driving again. It is also illegal to talk on a cell phone or text while driving.

The police department will be stepping up traffic enforcement around schools when school starts on Wednesday, Sept. 7.

After decades spent sharing space in churches, the area’s only reform Jewish community will break ground on the first synagogue in Clark County at 6 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 29, at the site, 7800 N.E. 119th St.

Planning for this facility has been underway since 2006. Jews in Clark County first organized as a community association in 1989 and formally adopted the Congregation Kol Ami name in 2001. The congregation joined the Union of Reform Judaism in 2004. Membership includes about 125 families.

Robert Brown Architects of Portland, designed the building. The construction contractor is Robertson and Olson of Vancouver. Initial site work is now underway.

For more information, visit the website www.jewishvancouverusa.org.