STUART, MIELKE TO DEBATE THE ISSUES

Clark County commissioner Steve Stuart (D-Vancouver), and challenger Tom Mielke (R-Vancouver) will debate the issues Thurs., Oct. 13, 7:30 p.m., at Foster Auditorium, Clark College, Vancouver.

The debate will be the only chance this fall for voters to see the two candidates side-by-side in a exchange of views on issues.

The debate is sponsored by The Reflector in Battle Ground and will be moderated by Marvin Case, publisher of The Reflector.

"I expect these two candidates will speak their minds on the issues," said Case. "I intend to ask them questions about growth planning, the gas tax, transportation, railroad contract, casino, parks and more," said Case.

Under the planned format, candidates will alternately respond to questions and rebut the answers of their opponent. The candidates will also be able to pose a question to each other. Questions from the audience will be taken in writing and asked by the moderator.

Public is cordially invited.

Information, Marvin Case, 687-5151

LIQUOR REQUEST IGNITES CITIZENS

Heidi Wallenborn, news director

A last-minute furor by citizens over a liquor license request by a restaurant located near two schools caused Battle Ground School board members to delay a decision until Wed., Sept. 28.

The board had called a special meeting on Sept. 22 to announce a decision whether to allow liquor to be sold at Lloyd's Grill, situated 319 feet from Maple Grove Elementary and Middle schools. After five minutes, they told media and others in a packed board room to come back in seven days.

The reason, they said, is to give the community more time to respond. Several comments heard at a meeting the night before were complaints that citizens had heard only at the last minute about their chance to give input, and that others likely still didn't know.

Lloyd's Grill is in the Gardner Center on property west of the school complex. An 8-foot, concrete wall, paid for by the school district, separates the two, as does a new road the developer built.

State law dictates that a school board must decide to okay a license request if the establishment is within 500 feet of school property.

At the public meeting on Sept. 21, citizens gave testimony and sat at round tables to speak one-on-one with each school board member while someone from the school district took notes.

Although most speakers favored approval of the request, naysayers mostly kept their comments for board members' ears only.

Gregory Robinson, whose children attended Maple Grove schools, said Battle Ground has needed a fine dining restaurant "for very many years." He believes a quality establishment will not succeed if it can't offer wine or other alcohol with meals.

Citizen Jacqueline Harris said alcohol should not be served 319 feet from 1,400 students.

"I feel very strongly about that," Harris said. "I love the Center, but the school was here first. Children are my first concern."

Brenda Reynolds believes a restaurant that serves alcohol doesn't provide a nurturing environment, and leads people to drink irresponsibly.

Cheryl Richards remarked that the Gardner Center isn't Bourbon Street in New Orleans.

"There won't be people hustling drinks in front of the school," she said.

Richards also commented that people say they are concerned about the children, but are not being specific about what those concerns really are.

"What would change if Lloyd's was located 190 feet farther away?" she asked.

A few people believe serving alcohol nearby correlates to drug trafficking at school.

Some expressed concerns about drunk drivers plowing into school children and causing accidents, and increased traffic in an area already congested before and after school.

One comment written on a board said "this type of establishment doesn't mix with parents and strollers and a neighborhood feeling."

The Art Morse family sent a letter that was read aloud with this question related to influence on children's morals: "R rated movies are played at the cinema [next to Lloyd's], does that mean movie theaters shouldn't be located next to schools?"

Lloyd Taylor, the owner of Lloyd's and five-star Bacchus Restaurant in Vancouver, said his employees are trained to be responsible with serving alcohol.

"No one leaves," he said. "We'll designate a driver."

Taylor's intention, he said, is to bring a long-needed, fine dining, family-style restaurant to the city. The establishment will not have a "bar," he said. It will feature a separate lounge with a sports theme similar to Applebee's and Red Robin.

"It's a family-type setting that happens to have a lounge," Taylor said.

Irritated at yet another delay in a decision, Taylor wondered if there would be this type of uproar if he wanted to bring in an Applebee's or Red Robin.

Battle Ground mayor John Idsinga said he will support any decision the board makes, because they are concerned about their patrons.

However, as mayor, he is concerned about economic development and the precedent that may be set for the future by pushing away a fine dining restaurant.

"As always, we will continue working together for the good of the whole community," Idsinga said.

The next meeting

The week before the next meeting, children took home surveys for their parents to fill out and bring back to school.

"We need more testimony from the community," said Fred Striker, board chair.

Member Sam Kim said he doesn't want to hear the same thing from the same people, however.

"I'm hoping to hear from different people with different information," he said. "If I hear the same thing, it's of no value to me."

"We know who you are," Striker said, "and we won't accept further testimony from the same people."

"A greater good is served by allowing more testimony," said member Mark Pelletier. "I don't want to make a decision that isn't well thought out."

The Sept. 28 meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m., at Maple Grove Middle School, in the commons area.

To provide verbal input, call District communications consultant Kelly Keister-O'Brien, 904-1233. To submit input by e-mail: bgschoolboard@yahoo.com

VOTERS OK FUNDING OF SCHOOL LAND

Bill Myers, staff reporter

A required super majority of Woodland area voters approved a funding measure to buy land for a new high school.

About 61 percent of voters authorized school officials to acquire $3.75 in bond financing to acquire 40 acres of Chumbley property west of I-5 and north of Dike Rd.

Payments of principle and interest will cost property in the Woodland School District 4 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation starting in 2006, a $6 added tax on a $150,000 home.

Woodland school superintendent Bill Hundley said he was "deeply gratified" by the support of Woodland voters.

Hundley said the measure may well be the only school bond issue that received a super majority of voter support in the entire state.

Swindell and Summers will face off

City of Woodland voters lifted Position 3 city council candidates Al Swindell and Bruce Summers Jr. to the November election stage.

If primary results are a predictor of things to come, a close race is likely.

Swindell, by a small margin, was the top vote-getter with about 37.7 percent of votes cast. Incumbent council member Summers trailed by less than 10 votes.

Candidate Jon Randall was eliminated from contention in November. He garnered about 26 percent of the votes.

YACOLT VOTERS PICK MAYOR CANDIDATES

Bill Myers, staff reporter

Primary voters in the town of Yacolt decided that city council member Joe Warren and retired citizen Pilar "Kit" Raanes should face off in November for the position of mayor.

Warren, with 69 percent of the vote, was a clear favorite of primary voters. Raanes received support from about 17.5 percent of voters.

Candidate Thom Holyk finished out of contention for the November showdown with 13.4 percent of the votes.

$1,000 NOW OFFERED FOR CEMETERY VANDALS

Heidi Wallenborn, news director

A McMinneville, OR man has added $500 to the kitty to catch whomever vandalized historic Wilson Bridge Cemetery near Salmon Creek.

Robert Rankin's wife's great-great grandfather Joseph Brantley Higdon is buried there in the family plot that was vandalized.

Higdon was buried next to his daughters, Josephine and Elizabeth, ages 18 and 1, who died of smallpox or measles shortly after arriving in Clark County in 1876, Rankin said. Their tombstones were knocked over and broken.

"I fixed Josephine's headstone about eight years ago," he said. "This really makes me mad."

In mid-September, Dennis McGee was also fed-up and is still offering $500 for information leading to the arrest of the vandals.

On Sept. 11 or 12, vandals knocked over tombstones, breaking several. Another round of headstone tipping occurred the following week.

McGee, a lifelong area resident, knows several who are buried there and often visits the grounds.

Anyone with information about the vandals is asked to call the Clark County Sheriff's Office at 397-2211 or McGee at 573-2224.

JOHN'S SHOES CELEBRATES 60 YEARS

Marcus Brotherton, staff reporter

A Battle Ground business that began as a way to scrape two dimes together has evolved into a national enterprise reaching as many as 2 million customers annually.

John's Shoes & Clothing, located at 601 E Main St., is celebrating 60 years of business in Old Town Battle Ground.

Today, the business is one of six stores owned by Battle Ground businessman Brian Haberman and his wife, Tami. John's offers authentic work and western merchandise including shoes, boots, jeans, jackets, saddles, rain gear and more.

John's Shoes has actually been around for more than 60 years, Haberman said, but it's tough to pinpoint its exact opening date or when it officially became a business.

Sixty years was chosen to mark the date the Holyk family took over the business in 1945 and changed the name to John's shortly thereafter.

"It felt time for a celebration," Haberman said. "John's is a piece of the landscape. This area has been very good to us."

War roots

Area historian Virgil Wallace, a Yacolt resident, remembered the business prior to 1945. Wallace is the son-in-law of the late Joe and Annie Haines who are the earliest known named owners.

Somebody owned the building before the Haines family did, Wallace said. But the owner either died or went out of business and sold the building to the Cresap family. Joe Haines bought it from the Cresaps for $5 down and named it Joe's Shoe Repair.

Those were World War II years, Wallace said, and mostly the building was a residence that had one room out front to take in any business that could "make a dime."

In addition to shoe and leather repair, Wallace remembers the Haines family making cabinets, fixing football helmets and working on construction projects in the area.

Wallace has always held a soft spot for the building. At the time, he worked as a hired man on a farm for $60 per week, which was considered good money back then. A neighbor suggested he head into the store to check out a pretty girl behind the counter.

Wallace complied, and though as a farmer he would probably never have need to wear them, he said, he bought a pair of the most expensive caulk shoes sold in the store--$15.

The reason? To impress the pretty girl, of course, Wallace said. The trick worked, and six years later Wallace married Susie Haines, Joe and Annie's daughter.

The Holyk years

Leona and the late John Holyk Sr. bought the store from the Haines family in 1945 and operated it for 20 years. They changed the name to John's, probably in the early 1950s.

John Holyk Sr. had worked as a shoemaker in Montana, so the transition to repairing shoes, harnesses and saddles at the store front in Battle Ground felt natural, Leona Holyk said.

The family lived behind the store for about five years, then moved when they remodeled and expanded to offer a line of merchandise in addition to repair work. Men's shoes and clothing were added first with women's and children's clothing added a few years later.

Popular Halloween and Christmas parties for children were held in the store's basement for many years, Leona said.

"It was an excellent store," Leona said. "We always took great pride in it."

The couple's three children worked in the store, Johnny, Mary and Sherry. In 1965, the couple sold the business to their son, John Holyk Jr.

After that, the senior Holyks spent winters in Arizona and operated a sunglasses business called the Barn Marche.

John Holyk Jr.

John Holyk Jr. operated the business until 1980.

He had grown up in the store, so he knew it pretty well by then, he said.