Officials urge all to be prepared
In the wake of the Dec. 14 windstorm that toppled trees onto homes and cars and cut electricity to thousands of residents, officials stress the importance of three-day emergency preparedness kits.
Marilyn Westlake of the Vancouver Fire Department said that families should prepare in advance to be self-sufficient in the event of natural or man-made disasters.
Westlake said an emergency kit should contain tools and supplies, first aid and sanitation supplies, food and water. Operating flashlights and battery-operated radios are necessary during power outages, said Westlake. Candles present a serious fire hazard and are not recommended in emergencies, she said.
Westlake said families should develop and practice their disaster plan, including establishing emergency, out-of-area communication procedures.
“It is imperative that everyone take action to prepare for an emergency,” said Don Bivins, chief of the Vancouver Fire Department. “If they haven’t done so already, residents should act now to build a disaster kit that includes enough supplies for each family member for a minimum of three days.”
The traditional three-day kit is a good start, but some experts suggest that a week or more of supplies is a wise investment.
Bivins said that earthquakes, floods and other disasters could knock out power, water, roads and communications for several days or weeks. In such a case, he said, 911 calls would go unanswered.
On the heels of the recent wind storm, Bivins calls for a fresh focus on family emergency planning.
Information about a three-day emergency preparedness kit is available on the internet at www.cityofvancouver.us/prepare
Bivins can be reached at 759-4411.

Teachers express opinons on levy
Heidi Wallenborn-Cramer
news director
“We want this on record. It’s our gripe. But we want the levy to pass.”
Battle Ground Educators’ Association president Kym Alexander presented a letter to school board members Dec. 20 expressing disenchantment with the board’s proposed levy amount.
If approved in a Feb. 6, 2007 special election, the three-year levy would raise $11.8 million in 2008, $12.8 million in 2009, and $13.7 million in 2010.
The three-year levy set to expire at the end of this year was for about $8 million.
The proposed, new three-year levy would cost property owners an estimated $1.77 per $1,000 of assessed valuation in the first year of its three-year duration. It is about 11 percent less than the defeated levy attempt in May this year.
If it had passed this year, proposition one of the four-year levy would have raised $12.1 million in its first year and added nine annual TRI-days (Time Responsibility and Incentive) to teachers’ pay.
The new, proposed three-year levy would add one TRI-day each year, culminating in 10 TRI-days in its third year.
According to district officials, TRI-days provide for teacher compensation for work done outside the contracted teaching day. Time is self-documented, and teachers to not have to be present at school. An example is grading papers at home.
Currently, teachers have seven TRI-days for the school year under their current contract.
Alexander told board members that the loss of the six TRI-days is a part of why the teachers are unhappy, but the biggest reason is that the levy doesn’t ask for enough money for teachers to be able to do their jobs.
In an earlier interview, Alexander said the teachers are “having a horrible year” trying to smile and be upbeat for students.
“It’s hard when there’s not enough money,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean we don’t love what we’re doing.”
The Association is a teachers’ union. About 200 out of more than 650 members signed the letter.
Copies of the grievance letter were sent to schools from those in the union’s leadership group and placed where teachers could sign.
Alexander said about a third of the teachers signed the letter.
“Not everyone signed,” Alexander said. “I know we had more that would have liked to sign, but there’s fear, they want the levy to pass so they didn’t sign. We felt this is a pretty strong statement.”
The letter doesn’t ask board members to change the levy amount. It’s simply a statement that teachers believe the board never asks for what they need and are “always playing catch-up,” Alexander said. Teachers just wanted an acknowledgement from the board that they know teachers are unhappy.
In part, the letter reads, “We are unhappy that this levy doesn’t provide much support. The levy is just barely above a bare bones budget...The previous package (which failed to pass by only 300+ votes) was an adequate levy, one that started a road to support quality. It was a stepping stone to improvement. This levy doesn’t move our district forward, it just leaves us at getting by...it would be irresponsible on our part to say it is enough. It isn’t.”
The letter also states, “The amount for TRI-days and other staff salary adjustments is not competitive with nearby school districts. We have already lost many highly qualified staff, and this year found it difficult to fill some positions with appropriately endorsed staff....we can bargain for more TRI-days out of other budget areas--budgets that are adequate but have little extra and it would pit us against other groups to make any gains.”
Alexander said that currently, teachers’ out-of-pocket expenses include school supplies, training, and membership in professional organizations.
For some classes, such as science and physical education, teachers rely on parents to help with fundraising efforts which includes collecting box-tops and Campbell’s Soup labels.
Alexander also said the proposed levy provides only enough to replace and repair technology items, not bring the District up to speed with other Districts.
The proposed levy would also bring staffing back to what it was before the last levy attempt failed, but even then, schools were understaffed, Alexander said.
“There’s frustration,” she said. “The rooms aren’t clean enough because the custodians don’t have time. The secretaries don’t have time to deal with us and the public. We have a more than normal `make do’ this year.”
“We’re looking for quality education,” Alexander said. “Our kids pass tests pretty well considering we’re underfunded. Staff always pushes quality.”
But the proposed levy does have some good points, Alexander said.
For example, the levy would provide supplemental funding for some programs, pay for support staff for state and federal unfunded mandates, and help fund English as Second Language, special education, choir and art, she said.
“There is some increase in benefits,” she said. “But it’s not enough to get us beyond the goal. This is not the kind of levy for quality education.”
Alexander didn’t mince words at the end of the letter.
On behalf of teachers, she wrote, “Do we need this levy? Yes! Does the school board honor its employees in this levy package? No! At some point Battle Ground School District needs to challenge the voters to support a quality education system and support quality staff. This levy shows the community that we can get by with less, and we can’t!”
Alexander said that the teachers will support and do all they can to get the levy passed, although she acknowledged that the letter may send a different message.
“Citizens for Better Schools is nervous about the negative comments and it being our third attempt [to pass a levy],” she said. “We’re nervous too, but we want [our concerns] on record with the board and we want them to acknowledge them. But we want the levy to pass. And we feel like we need to be honest with the public.”
In the meeting, board member Cecil Schlecht said, “I totally disagree. We honor employees. We show more disrespect if we present a package that will not pass. You don’t go from the bottom to the top overnight. I am confident that the board supports our teachers.”
Board member Richard Kent said he is concerned that negativity may affect the public’s opinion about the levy.
“Our intent is not to have this be a negative,” Alexander said. “Our concern is that we have to pass this levy. It sounds harsh to you, but we have high standards for our kids.”
“We know this is a tough community to push a levy through,” Alexander added. “It’s not the parents, it’s the rest of the community that needs to support it.”
“We just want this on record,” she added. “Now we’re here to show our support.”

Comments invited on transit plan
The public is invited to comment on proposed changes in C-TRAN routes and services during a public hearing set for Tues., Jan. 9, 5:30 p.m., at the Fisher’s Landing Transit Center, located at 164th Ave. and SR-14 in east Vancouver.
C-TRAN is the Clark County bus transit system that serves the incorporated cities and locations within the Vancouver urban growth boundary.
C-TRAN officials have been devising route changes for about four months, with the objective of maximizing ridership and meeting the needs of its Clark County riders.
Under the plan, the hours of service on C-TRAN’s busiest routes would be extended from about 9:30 p.m. until midnight. Those routes are on Fourth Plain and Mill Plain boulevards in Vancouver, and on Highway 99 in Hazel Dell. In addition, the popular Fourth Plain route, which attracted 1.5 million riders last year, would continue on to the Delta Park light rail station in Portland every 15 minutes, according to C-TRAN spokesman Scott Patterson.
The establishment of C-TRAN service to Delta Park would bring an end to Tri-Met service that has connected downtown Vancouver to Portland for several years. C-TRAN has paid Tri-Met to provide that service.
Patterson said C-TRAN will close its downtown Vancouver Transit Center in fall 2007, coinciding with the opening of the agency’s new transit center at NE 99th St. near Hwy 99. Broadway will become C-TRAN’s major corridor in Vancouver when the transit center is closed, said Patterson.
Battle Ground service to change
The current Connector Service in Battle Ground would end under the proposed plan, with the return to the former Route 7 fixed route plan. At present, riders call C-TRAN to arrange for rides around the community.
Patterson said Route 7 would connect Vancouver Mall with Battle Ground, traveling on SR-503 to Battle Ground at W 20th Ave., then east on Main Street to the existing Park and Ride at Fairgrounds Ave., then on SE Grace Ave. to Rasmussen Blvd. and the future site of the new Battle Ground library. Route 7 service would be hourly on weekdays and weekends, and every two hours after 6 p.m. weekdays. Service on weekdays would be 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays 6:30 a.m.-7 p.m., and Sundays 9 a.m.-7 p.m.
Patterson said similar Route 7 service attracted about 1,800 passenger trips per week following a fare increase in May 2005 until it was discontinued in January 2006. Usage dropped to about 1,400 passenger trips per week in the connector service instituted in January 2006, he said.
Route 173 also serves Battle Ground Monday through Friday, traveling once in the morning from Battle Ground to the Delta Park light rail station, and once in the afternoon in the other direction.
The 173 bus stops in downtown Vancouver but riders need not change buses to reach the light rail station. Passengers could reach the Clark County office buildings via the Route 173 bus by walking one block.
The proposed service plan would have the Route 173 bus start in Yacolt at 6:05 a.m., and arrive, via Battle Ground, at the light rail station, at 7:10 a.m.
Later in the day, the Route 173 bus would return to Battle Ground at 6:11 p.m. and then Yacolt at 6:41 p.m.
The existing connector service in Yacolt would end if the new plan is adopted. Patterson said use of the Yacolt Connector has been low.
Service to continue for Ridgefield, La Center
The present connector service in Ridgefield and La Center is proposed to continue, with some changes in the schedule.
One midday trip would be added for both Ridgefield and La Center. One morning trip and one afternoon trip would be deleted in Ridgefield.
Patterson said ridership on the Ridgefield Connector is flat and less than the La Center Connector, even though it has an additional trip. He said the agency received public support for a midday trip. Total service hours for the La Center and Ridgefield Connector are to remain the same.
The connector provides service within the communities of Ridgefield and La Center on an on-call basis, and then has scheduled service to the Salmon Creek Park and Ride.
Service in the Camas area would also remain at current levels, said Patterson.
Plan long under development
The new service plan is the result of months of study, with the help of a consulting firm based in Bellevue, said Patterson. Implementation is set for September 2007, said Patterson, although some aspects, including Battle Ground service, could be phased in by spring.
Most proposed service changes would take place in coordination with the opening of the new 99th St. Transit Center, Patterson said.
Three alternative plans were studied, leading to the development of the preferred alternative which will be the subject of the Jan. 9 public hearing. Comments may also be submitted by calling C-TRAN passenger service at 695-0123, and by filling out a comment form available on the C-TRAN website, www-c-tran.com
“A new service plan was long overdue,” said Patterson. “We wanted to better serve growing areas. It’s not an expansion or reduction. It’s a reallocation of resources.”
Patterson said service routes in use today are largely unchanged from 15 years ago.
C-TRAN was formed as a countywide transit system following November 1980 vote which funded C-TRAN with three-tenths of one cent of sales tax. That money was matched with the state Motor Vehicle Excise Tax.
The state legislature ended the Motor Vehicle Excise Tax, causing C-TRAN to operate on reserves. In September 2005, voters increased the C-TRAN tax to five-tenth of a cent. Service was then reduced to incorporated cities and the Vancouver urban growth boundary.

Postal employee discovers man's
body in garage
Heidi Wallenborn-Cramer
news director
Gertie Bokovitz thought something was amiss when one of her postal customers hadn’t picked up his mail in quite awhile.
She knew that James S. Baker lived alone and traveled sometimes, but she hadn’t seen him in a few months. His vehicles were still at his residence at 30406 NE 98th Ave., north of Battle Ground in the Charter Oak area.
On Dec. 6, Bokovitz, a Battle Ground area resident and mail carrier, went to check on Baker and tried the front door. It was locked. As she neared the garage, an odor that didn’t smell right greeted her, according to Clark County Sheriff’s Sgt. Tony Barnes.
Bokovitz telephoned her 17-year-old son at home and asked him to come and help her. He jimmied the garage door open and found a nearly mummified body, Barnes said, and then the teen called the Sheriff’s Office.
Barnes arrived on the gruesome scene and found that Baker, 44, had committed suicide by shooting himself in the head, Barnes said.
But what struck Barnes as odd is that Baker had carefully spread out cat litter on the garage floor and laid down on it before he shot himself.
Cat litter absorbs moisture, and it nearly petrified Baker’s body.
A search of Baker’s house found several notes that he’d written, not to anyone in particular, but indicating severe depression, Barnes said.
A “classic” suicide note dated Sept. 5 was also found in the house.
Baker’s family lives in Arkansas, Barnes said.

Woodland Supt. Bill Hundley to
retire in June
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Bill Hundley, who has been superintendent of Woodland schools for seven years, will retire at the end of June 2007.
Hundley announced his decision to the school board Dec. 18.
“I had been thinking about it for some time,” he said. “Until I said it out loud, it wasn’t real to me.”
Hundley praised the Woodland community for its support of schools, and said the school staff is excellent.
“Serving in Woodland has been the best professional experience of my life,” he said. “It’s the best job in the state.”
As to the staff, Hundley said, “I would stack my staff top to bottom—from the newest school bus driver to the assistant superintendent—against the staff anywhere in the state.”
In the seven years that Hundley has headed the school district, the curriculum has been rebuilt and staff training has increased.
“I’m very proud of what we’ve done,” Hundley said. “Our test scores are another source of pride. We look at all kinds of indicators.”
Woodland’s population growth has impacted the schools, and a bond to buy land for a new school was passed more than a year ago. Last year, district voters approved a four-year levy. The district will ask voters for another bond in early 2008 to build a high school.
“The community supports the schools,” Hundley said. “We’ve passed one bond issue and two levies since I’ve been here.”
The effort required to pass a bond issue was a factor in Hundley’s decision to retire next spring.
“If I had waited one year, the board would be running a bond and a superintendent search at the same time. I didn’t want the board to be faced with both,” he said.
The superintendent will begin the preparation needed to put a bond issue to the voters, but he said the current operating levy will not expire until 2010, giving his successor financial stability.
The growing enrollment has been a “challenge,” he said. Twenty-three teachers were added in September, and the district has budgeted to add a mobile classroom every year until 2010.
“Growth has allowed us to add staff, and we have made great hires,” Hundley said. “We’ve been creative in finding places to put kids. We haven’t had to put any in closets. We’ve used all the space we have.”
Hundley, who has been in education 33 years, moved to Woodland from Shelton where he was superintendent for two years. Before that he was special education director in Port Orchard for eight years and assistant special education director for 12 years in Salem, OR. He began his career as a teacher in Washington and Idaho schools.
“I’m thinking about writing a book, a humorous book about my career in education,” he said, “but who knows?”
Although he has not decided exactly what he will do after retirement, Hundley said he hopes to do some volunteering.
His wife, Kay Purcell, is principal of St. Rose Catholic School in Longview. She recently was named five-state regional distinguished principal of the year by the National Catholic Education Association.
The couple has two children, Gabe Purcell Hundley, a post-graduate student at the University of Arizona, Tuscon, and Annie Purcell Hundley, an editor at the Los Angeles Daily News.