SUSPECTED CAR THIEF CAUGHT IN NEWSPAPER LOT

Heidi Wallenborn, news director

    For a split second, Mike Schultz, an employee at The Reflector in Battle Ground, thought an older pickup truck with a canopy was going to plunge into him Sept. 30 as he sat at his desk.

    Schultz saw the truck careen into the south parking lot, nearly hit his car, and bump into the curb just feet outside his office window.

    Scott D. Vestesen, 28, formerly of Battle Ground but now a transient, jumped out of the driver's side of the truck.

    Before that, Battle Ground police officer Chris Crouch was behind Vestesen as the man traveled north on NW 20th Ave., pushing the truck from behind.

    Crouch recognized the truck's description as one that had been stolen out of Vancouver that morning, said Sgt. Steve Urban. The front end was smoldering and steaming, apparently because the driver had just crashed into something.

    Playing it cool, Crouch asked Vestesen if he needed help and would he like a tow truck, Urban said.

    But Vestesen was able to jumpstart the vehicle and sped into the newspaper lot.

    After speaking with Vestesen, Crouch patted him down and as he reached to put one hand in handcuffs, Vestesen reportedly started to run.

    The two scuffled to the ground, and as backup officers arrived, Crouch subdued the man and handcuffed him while Vestesen was on his stomach.

    Vestesen was booked at the Clark County jail on charges of felony second degree stolen property, resisting arrest, and first degree driving while suspended.

    "Crouch is an outstanding officer," Urban said. "He'll go far in this department."

BG CITY/SCHOOLS TO HOLD JOINT HEARING

    Battle Ground city council members and school board members will host a joint public hearing Tues., Oct. 11, 6 p.m., at city hall, 109 SW 1st St.

    The meeting is to talk about the proposed property exchange of 20 acres of Remy Park for a school, and the old home economics building, former district administration building and three portable buildings on W Main St. for city use. The total is about 4 acres.

    For more information, contact Lynn Hicks, assistant superintendent, 885-5305 or Eric Holmes, city manager, 342-5008.

GRILL WILL OPEN WITHOUT ALCOHOL

Heidi Wallenborn, news director

  Despite heated, often emotional objections about his restaurant serving alcohol, Lloyd Taylor still plans to open Lloyd's Grill at the Gardner Center in Battle Ground.

  The day after Battle Ground school board members unanimously denied his request for a liquor license, Taylor withdrew his application from the state liquor control board.

  Taylor intends to reapply after the business is open and citizens are better educated about the Grill, he said.

  "I think most who objected were misinformed," Taylor said. "People kept yelling 'bar!', 'bar!', and that's not what it is. I think people had a dirty, smoky tavern in their mind."

  The furor unfolded when district patrons learned that the restaurant would serve alcohol within 500 feet of Maple Grove middle and primary schools.

  State law says that government officials must be notified if a business applies for a liquor license within 500 feet of a school, church, or other public building. If they object, the server doesn't get a license from the state.

  In this case, it fell to school board members to deny recommending the application to the state liquor control board, or take no action and allow it to be approved.

  On Sept. 28, all five school board members unanimously said "no" after fielding two weeks of phone calls, e-mails, and letters, and hosting two public hearings.

  At about 6 p.m., nearly 200 people filled the middle school commons area.

  Pros and cons went neck and neck for the three and one-half hour meeting which included public testimony and one-on-one round-table discussions with board members.

  Kelly Keister, District communications consultant, said it was the most divisive issue since the strike in 2001.

  Some patrons said they feared that drunk drivers would plow into children walking or riding on bicycles, or school buses, or through the 8-foot concrete wall and into the playground.

  Other fears were that students would scale the wall to the other side, or see the restaurant from athletic fields behind the school, and of increased traffic on narrow roads.  Some said children need a safe and nurturing environment.

  Pro-license residents pointed out that there are several places directly across the street from Battle Ground High School that serve alcohol.

  In fact, Lisa Walters, mother of two teenagers and a city council member, told board members that they have double standards.

  "High school kids take P.E. bowling at Tiger Bowl across the street," she said. "There's not only a lounge in there, but people can smoke and drink while they bowl right next to the children. Why is it okay for my children to be exposed, but not okay for other children? You've got a double set of values."

New property in Amboy is close to tavern

  Later, Walters said she wonders why the District would purchase property for a high school in Amboy within "earshot" of Nick's tavern, which has several signs advertising alcohol and heavy biker traffic.

  The planned school property is located 368 feet from Nick's Tavern, according to measurements taken by a district employee.

  When Walters learned the distance is closer than 500 feet, she called the board hypocrites.

  "What about drunk drivers, signs, and the atmosphere that they are concerned about?" she said. "This board is saying Amboy kids are second class citizens. How can they build on that property now that they've told Lloyd 'no?'"

  Board member Sam Kim said the high school would be farther away and out of sight of the tavern. It's also not surrounded by neighborhoods, he said, and that it makes a difference that the students are older children.

  "Drunk driving is still a concern, but it doesn't weigh as much as it does in Battle Ground," he said.

  Board chair Fred Striker said the atmosphere is different in Amboy.

  "Children have been exposed to the alcohol environment in Amboy since what, 1951 when the [tavern's] license was first issued," he said. "Most children there are bused to school, and there are very few walkers. In my mind, it's not an issue.

"A moral issue"

  With the audience dwindling on Sept. 28 to about 20 people, Kim said the issue is strictly about a liquor license near the school. He preferred to not think of it as "good versus evil, but good versus good."

  "Our paramount duty is to children, not to businesses," Kim said. "Children are not a trade-off for something else."

  Member Dave Sonntag said his decision is based on moral issues.

  "Unfortunately, I think everything you do in life is a moral issue," he said. "I won't pretend it isn't a moral issue for me."

    Member Karen Lehman said a lot of what she'd heard made sense to her, but she reminded the audience that the board had coined the phrase "Servants of the Children" six years ago, and she'd base her vote on that.

  Member Mark Pelletier said his concern is for children, not based on his personal preference, faith, financial gain or friends.

  "I find sympathies with both sides," he said, "but my concern is for the kids."

  Sonntag moved to deny the license and each board member agreed.

  Later, when asked what his personal concern is and what he considers "unsafe" about the restaurant nearby, Pelletier said intoxicated drivers.

  "Intoxicated drivers are unsafe," he said. "But I'm not saying Lloyd's would produce intoxicated drivers."

  "If nothing else, it's high risk," he added. "We can speculate on things not likely to happen, but there is enough concern and anxiety in the community and with parents that makes it sufficient to ask that Lloyd's not serve alcohol."

  "In my personal case, my motive was risk management," Pelletier said. "My job is to minimize risk. If the families felt it was high risk and I allowed this, then I wouldn't be doing my job."

  Striker said his biggest concern is drunk drivers that may slam through the wall or hit a child.

  Kim said he never heard testimony that allowing a license would increase safety or be good for students.

  "All the data I've seen indicates that having alcohol so close to this is bad," he said.

  Kim said he would look into the P.E. classes at Tiger Bowl.

Moving forward

  After the meeting, Taylor said he was "done" and didn't feel wanted in Battle Ground at all.

  But he changed his mind because he believes that as the community grows, people will be more open to his establishment serving alcohol, he said.

  "I have too much invested in it to walk away," he said. "We'll see how it goes."

  Plans are to open after the first of November.

  "My emphasis is to bring to the community something they want to embrace and be proud of and enjoy," Taylor said.

  Tammie Ferguson, senior vice president of Prestige Development, said the Gardner Center will move forward as scheduled.   

  "We'll work with the public and do our very best to inform them about the facts, and work with attorneys if necessary to make sure public process is followed," she said, adding the developer will also continue to work with District officials on homework incentive programs.

  Mayor John Idsinga said he was surprised at the board's decision.

  "I don't see what difference 319 feet or 501 feet makes," he said. "Schools, youngsters and restaurants can co-exist."

  Idsinga is pleased Lloyd chose to stay.

  "Onward and upward from here," he said.

ACCIDENT VICTIM FACES LONG RECOVERY

Alice Perry Linker, staff reporter

    A head-on collision in early September left a Battle Ground woman with 11 serious injuries. But despite it all, she said she feels "blessed."

    Kathleen Caseday, 47, was driving to work along SR 503 about 7 a.m. Sept. 3, when a car driven by Kevin M. Luke, 29, reportedly swerved across the center lines and struck Caseday's van head on.

    Luke died at the scene, according to the Washington State Patrol.

    Caseday was taken to Legacy Emanuel Hospital in Portland where she began a long and painful recovery, undergoing three surgeries to repair broken ankles and a broken right arm.

    She also suffered broken ribs, clavicle, sternum, chin, cheek, the base plate of her nose and the orbit sockets around her eyes.

    Caseday, who was sent for therapy Sept. 22 at Fort Vancouver Convalescent Home, said she remembers little of the accident.

    The mother of six had dropped her two daughters off at Battle Ground High School for soccer practice before heading for work in Vancouver.

    "I remember seeing a car in my lane," she said. "I tried to turn away from the car, but every time I turned, he turned. I tried to turn to the left so he could hit the left side."

    After that, Caseday said she knows only what others have told her.

    A relief mail carrier, Caseday works out of the U.S. Post Office at 136th Street and Mill Plain Road. She said she has no idea when she'll be able to return to work.

    "They've been really good," she said. "They have to hold my job open for one year."

    Caseday is a long way from returning to her mail route. Doctors have told her that she cannot put any weight on her feet and ankles until December. She can't use her right arm, and her left arm is somewhat disabled because of the clavicle break, she said.

    She's learning to use a tool to pick up things from the floor, and a special board allows her to move from bed to wheelchair. She can't roll the wheelchair because of her injured arm.

    Her sense of humor survives.

    "I have to scoot on my rear end everywhere I go," she said. "At least I won't have a saggy bottom for a while."

    Caseday's friends have created a benevolent account in her name at Washington Mutual Bank.

    "There are an untold amount of things she's going to need," said Renee LaCombe, a friend. "Her whole life has changed."

    For the short term, Caseday's mother, Joye Richards, has traveled from her Bend, OR home to care for her daughter, but Richards must go back home Oct. 17.

    Caseday does not know exactly when she will return to her Battle Ground home, but she expects to remain for at least another week at the convalescent center where she receives daily physical and occupational therapy.

    "They have to feel comfortable that I can take care of myself," Caseday said.

    Of her six children, four still live at home, but two, Jarred, 18, and Jordan, 16, a junior at Battle Ground High School, have jobs. Kindra, 14, is on the soccer team with after-school practice.

    Twelve-year-old Kellie, a seventh grader at Lewisville Middle School, comes home about 2 p.m.

    Caseday said she expects to have occasional in-home care and physical therapy, but she said she has no details.

    Once Caseday's sick leave expires, she'll have no income, and she said she doesn't know whether she'll qualify for unemployment compensation.

    Despite the hurdles and the injuries, Caseday is not bitter or angry.

    "Actually I feel very blessed," she said. "This is all God's design. He's helped with my healing and I know it's because of Him that I'm here."

HEALTH OFFICIALS URGE FLU SHOTS

Clinics, pharmacies open now for higher risk groups

Bill Myers, staff reporter

 Shortages of flu vaccine experienced last year won't be repeated in 2005, say health officials.

 Clark County health officer Justin Denny said officials with the national Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) consider vaccine supplies "adequate" to meet demands of the 2005-06 flu season.

 Following a CDC recommendation to first immunize "high risk" or "priority" persons, immunizations through October 23 will be available to such persons at clinics, participating pharmacies and from health care practitioners.

 "High risk" or "priority" groups include:

** People age 65 years and older

** Residents of long-term care facilities

** People with chronic health conditions

** Children ages 6-23 months

** Pregnant women

** Health care workers who provide direct patient care, and

** Household contacts and out-of-home caregivers of children six months or younger.

 Vaccination with FluMist, a nasal-spray flu vaccine, is an option for non-pregnant, healthy persons ages 5-49.

 Denny said the best way to avoid getting or spreading flu is to get a flu shot.

 Following standard rules of etiquette, such as washing hands often and covering the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, will also help, said Denny.

 "Stay at home if you are sick," said Denny. He said immunizations are especially important for anyone who could develop complications from influenza.

 People in high priority categories can get shots for $18 at the Clark County Health Department, 2000 Fort Vancouver Way, Vancouver, Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., except on Oct. 4 and on the morning of Oct. 12. Vaccination quantities of FluMist are available to healthy people ages 5-49 for $23 each.

 Pharmacies, markets or care centers with vaccination schedules include:

** Safeway, 11696 NE 76th St., Vancouver, Oct. 8, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 944-2667.

** Walgreens, 9812 NE Hwy. 99, Vancouver, Oct. 12, 1-4 p.m., 576-7753.

** Longs, 14300 NE 20th Ave., Vancouver, Oct. 12, 3-7 p.m., Nov. 5 and 12, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., 571-2380.

** Safeway, 1725 Pacific Ave., Woodland, Oct. 13, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., (360) 225-4375.

** Safeway, 904 W Main St., Battle Ground, Oct. 14, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 666-2230.

** Mallard Landing & Assisted Living Community, 813 SE Clark Ave., Battle Ground, Oct. 26, 7-8 p.m., 687-0123.

** Albertsons Food Center, 9915 NE Hazel Dell Ave., Vancouver, Nov. 2, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Nov. 13, noon-4 p.m., and Dec. 8, 4-8 p.m., 574-6105.

** Colonial House, 208 SW 20th Ave., Battle Ground, Nov. 3, 1-2 p.m., 666-8588.

** Walgreens, 808 W Main St., Battle Ground, Nov. 3, 1-4 p.m., 687-5133.

** Albertsons Pharmacy, 2108 W Main St., Battle Ground, Nov. 3, 4-8 p.m., Nov. 14, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., and Dec. 10, noon-4 p.m., 687-4130.

 Appointments for high priority groups, except children 6-23 months, may be made until Oct. 23 at area Fred Meyer stores. Citizens not in high priority categories may make appointments starting Oct. 24. The Battle Ground store is at 401 NW 12th Ave., 666-5133; the Orchards store is at 7411 NE 117th Ave., Vancouver, 896-3533; the Hazel Dell store is at 7700 NE Hwy. 99, Vancouver, 699-8133.

 Facilities charge fees, typically $25-$30, to cover vaccine and administration costs.

DEVELOPER TO BUILD WELCOME MONUMENT IN BG

Heidi Wallenborn, news director

 "One hand by itself can't clap," developer Elie Kassab told Battle Ground council members at a Sept. 19 meeting. "This is our way of saying 'thank you.'"

 Kassab is saying thanks as a "proud member of this community" by offering to erect a Welcome to Battle Ground monument on the corner of NE 199th St. and SR-503, next to the Gardner Center, which he developed.

 Costs to install proposed flag poles and lighting would come from city coffers, but Kassab would provide all the electrical work, power, and irrigation for the planting box.

 Because the monument is not technically a sign, permits are not needed.