Hanson faces DUI, reckless driving, hit and run charges
Former council member reportedly said he was being chased
Former Ridgefield city council member Scott L. Hanson appeared Jan. 29 in Clark County District Court on driving under the influence, reckless driving and hit and run charges.
The charges, filed by Clark County deputy prosecutor Grant Hansen, stem from Hanson’s alleged involvement in a Dec. 7 collision on northbound I-5, south of the Ridgefield exit, near the Carty Rd. overpass.
According to a Washington State Patrol report, Hanson was northbound at about 5:47 p.m. in a blue Chevrolet pickup truck and collided with a van and another pickup truck when he tried to drive between them.
Witnesses reportedly said Hanson failed to stop, even after striking a guard rail and losing the right front wheel assembly from his truck. No injuries were reported.
A witness reportedly saw sparks from the pavement as Hanson continued north at 60 to 80 miles per hour to Exit 14, the Ridgefield exit. Hanson allegedly pulled from I-5 and stopped in a Circle K convenience store parking lot. A witness reportedly saw Hanson enter the store and return with what looked like a six-pack of beer which he placed in the bed of his truck.
The State Patrol report said Hanson attempted to leave the parking lot, but was blocked by the arrival of a Ridgefield police vehicle.
A trooper’s statement said Hanson emitted a strong odor of intoxicants, had bloodshot eyes, “very quick and slurred” speech, and “quick and exaggerated movements consistent with influence of a central nervous system stimulant.”
Hanson reportedly said that he was going to a city council meeting when the accident occurred. The State Patrol report said Hanson claimed that he didn’t stop because “Hall” was chasing him. Hanson reportedly said that he had gotten “Hall and all his buddies fired...” and that “Hall” had shot at him at his home.
The reference to “Hall” was not clarified in the State Patrol report. Bruce Hall is a former Ridgefield chief of police who resigned early last year and is chief of police in Kalama.
Contacted on Jan. 31, Hall said he hasn’t seen Hanson since May 2005 and denied that he ever chased or tried to harm him. Hall said he always had a good relationship with Hanson and was surprised by the former council member’s comments.
The State Patrol report said Hanson told a trooper that he had “really f----- up tonight.” Hanson reportedly declined a field sobriety test and was placed under arrest for driving while intoxicated, hit and run and reckless driving.
A trooper searched Hanson and reportedly found three lighters and a silver metal pipe in his coat pockets. The pipe was described as being about 5-inches long and one-quarter inch in diameter, with burned residue and brass wool filtering material at the ends. A trooper said the pipe was similar to pipes used for crack and/or methamphetamine. Hanson reportedly told troopers that he had never seen the pipe before and said, “That f------ Hall is trying to set me up.”
Hanson was transported to Southwest Washington Medical Center where he consented to a blood test. The test indicated a blood-alcohol level of .12 percent, over the legal limit of .08.
At the hospital, Hanson reportedly told a trooper that an open wound caused by a spider bite on his left leg could have affected his nervous system and caused him to collide with the other vehicles. He reportedly asked a trooper if he “could cut him a break.”
At the city council meeting that evening, interim city manger Justin Clary announced that Hanson was absent because he had been involved in an accident and was uninjured. At the next council meeting, on Dec. 14, Ridgefield mayor Glady Doriot announced that Hanson had resigned his council post.
Hanson’s arraignment was set for Feb. 9 in District Court at 8:30 a.m.

Brissler, Kassab honored at banquet
Real estate agent Bev Brissler was honored Feb. 3 as Battle Ground Citizen of the Year for 2006, an award given in recognition for volunteer service to the community.
Brissler accepted the honor from Rich and Trish Rubin, Citizens of the year for 2005. The latest award marked the 34th time the award has been presented.
Brissler has been active in the Chamber of Commerce for seven years, three as secretary. She has chaired and co-chaired Chamber committees, including the Harvest Days committee. She took over leadership of Harvest Days in 2006 following the departure of the former Chamber executive director.
Brissler is on the board of the Rock Solid Community Teen Center and was honored as its Citizen of the Year in 2005. She is a member of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs-Battle Ground where she helps collect cell phones and toiletries for women’s shelters and works on the Lady Bug Bazaar. She helps sort books for book sales conducted by the Friends of the Battle Ground Community Library. She also assists with the annual Walk and Knock food drive.
Brissler is an associate broker with Century 21 Americana Properties.
In accepting the award, Brissler said she would continue to provide volunteer service to the Battle Ground community, “side-by-side” with many others in the Heathman Lodge banquet room. She acknowledged the volunteer work of many people listed in the evening’s program.
Others nominated for the Citizen of the Year award were Tracie Gorbet, John Idsinga, Pat LaCroix, Dorothy Person and Don and Jane Higgins.
Kassab is Business Person of the year
Eli Kassab, who developed the Gardner Center in Battle Ground and operates Battle Ground Cinena, was selected as Business Person of the Year.
The Gardner Center, located at SR-503 and NE 199th St., includes an 8-screen cinema, family restaurant, and various other businesses, including a new Clark County planning department office. The Battle Ground Cinema sold over 200,000 tickets in 2006.
The Gardner Center development includes an extension of Scotton Way to SR-503, and a new right-in, right-out highway connection.
Kassab supports family day at the Clark County Fair, the Rock Solid Teen Center, and two women’s care facility fundraisers. The Cinema put on the American Cancer Society’s Battle Ground Relay for Life Movie Memorabilia Auction in 2006.
Kassab also constructed a city monument at the corner of the two highways, and installed various pieces of original sculpture on the Gardner Center property.
Others nominated for Citizen of the Year were Tom Opdahl, Beverly Brissler, Dan Mueller, Annette Hunt and Tani Zarelli.
Denton Harlan of Layne’s Funeral Home provided his customary light-hearted introductions of all award finalists.
New officers installed
During the evening’s ceremonies, Denis Marsh of Nies Insurance was installed as chairman of the board of the Chamber of Commerce for 2007, along with Tyler McMahon as chair-elect and Linda Thomas as vice chair. Outgoing chairman Cheryl Yarwood described 2006 as the “worst year for the Chamber,” and the organization as a “Chamber in crisis.”
During 2006, the Chamber terminated its former executive director and went months before a new director was appointed. Yarwood credited volunteers with “pulling together” to run the organization, conduct the Harvest Days celebration, and add an additional event. Despite the crisis, Yarwood said the Chamber operations continued. “It was beyond what we even imagined,” said Yarwood.
Yarwood said the Chamber has spent six months repairing its relationships with businesses.
Marsh urged members to become involved in the Chamber. The whole is only as strong as the sum of its parts,” said Marsh in urging participation.
Marsh recognized Sandye Talbert for her volunteer work with the Chamber.
Diane Rivera was introduced as the new executive director of the Chamber.
Past Citizens of the Year
The Battle Ground Citizen of the Year award has been given since 1973 when Larry Gaylor was honored. Bob Brown, who won the award in 1974, and his wife, Ruthie Brown who won in 1990, attended the Feb. 3 gathering, as did Louise Tucker who won in 1976, Elaine Hertz who won in 1991, and Alex Reinhold who won in 2004.
Other past winners were Jeanneane Dietel, Florence Robison, Olivia and John Dodge, Roy Staley, Bob and Thelma Bertsch, Everett Eaton, Greg Barcus, Denise Fairweather, Gladis McKinnis, Bonnie Walden, Harold Wulff, Sharon and Jim Brown, Ron Lahmann, Merle Locke, Frank and Leona Everett, Sue Tegthof, Ronnie Johnson, Bill Tucker, Ron Johnson, Rose Fankhauser, John Idsinga, Cleon McConnell, Jerry Kolke, Terry Reddish, Bill Crego, Bob Hamel, Nils and Pat Wiwel, and Barb Evans.
Past Business Persons of the Year
Roger and Ruth Anne Lance were the first Business Persons of the Year, honored in 1988. Since then the award has gone to Jerry Kolke, Marvin Case, Chuck Moran, Art Morse Sr., Jill Kurtz, Doug Hemphill, George Delvo, Rod and Cindy Meyer, Debbie McDowell, Randy Norris, Linda Comley, Joan Mayberg, Donna Bergeron, Brooke Nielsen, Vi Lehner, Kevin Morse, Skip Ogden and Scott Collard.

Transformer crawls way to Swift
A transformer weighing about 177,000 pounds was moved from Kalama to a Swift Reservoir powerhouse on the North Fork of the Lewis River last week, traveling mostly at night and at speeds of five to 12 miles per hour.
The transformer reached its destination Feb. 2 and will be used by PacifiCorp to handle electricity generated at the Swift I facility east of Cougar.
Omega-Morgan Transport Services of Tacoma handled the move.
Omega crew member Josh Sohler said the company uses a specially-designed trailer to move transformers.
The trailer measures 20-feet, 2-inches wide which covered both lanes of Lewis River Road east of Woodland, fog-line to fog-line. About every five miles, the equipment pulled to the side of the road to allow traffic to pass. Police escorts were used to assure traffic safety.
The convoy also occupied two lanes of I-5 between Ridgefield and Woodland.
The transformer and trailer measured nearly 18-feet tall.
Sohler said the transformer was loaded onto the trailer Jan. 30 at Kalama, and traveled south to the Ridgefield Junction with I-5 to enter the freeway northbound. Other freeway accesses between Kalama and Woodland would not accommodate the big load.
The transformer was moved to a weigh station a few miles east of Woodland at Mile Post 49 on SR-503 where the crew stopped about 4 a.m. Jan. 31, and waited until evening to start out again. The crew moved the transformer about 20 miles in the first day.
Sohler said the transformer arrived at Kalama via rail, having started its journey in Mexico where is was manufactured.
A lead car judges the height of power and phone lines, said Sohler, and, as necessary, crews push lines up higher with hand-held rods.
Crews made it safely over Canal Bridge, a wooden bridge east of Swift 2 powerhouse, after engineers decided only a day prior that the bridge could accommodate the estimated 323,500 pound truck, trailer and transformer load.
Sohler said the trailer used to transport the transformer was moved to Kalama in five trucks and then assembled, a process that required about two days of work. The trailer has 64 tires on eight axles. Each axle can be turned, allowing the entire assembly to move crab-like if necessary to spread its weight out over a bridge, for example.
PacifiCorp spokesman Dave Kvamme said a transformer at a power generating facility is used to increase voltage prior to transmission. Electricity can be moved more efficiently, he said, at higher voltages.
This transformer will increase the voltage at Swift from about 13,800 volts to about 230,000 volts. The Swift I plant has three step-up transformers plus a spare, said Kvamme.
The transformer was made in Mexico by the Siemens Company.
Swift I is PacifiCorp’s largest hydroelectric facility, said Kvamme, capable of generating 240 megawatts. By comparison, the company operates the Condit facility on the Skamania-Klickitat county line which generates 13.5 megawatts, and has thermal plants that generate over 500 megawatts.

Burkman wants to improve quality of life
Brandy Slagle
Staff reporter
The more time a commuter spends sitting in traffic, the more it can detract from their quality of life.
As the new Southwest Region Planning Manager for the Washington State Department of Transportation, Jack Burkman wants to make sure that people spend less time going places and more time being places.
“An hour in the car is an hour I could have spent with my family,” he said.
Planning appears to come naturally to Burkman.
He has over 25 years of experience as a mechanical engineer, manager and executive for Hewlett Packard. He has served on the Vancouver City Council, Vancouver Planning Oversight Committee and the Clark County Planning Commission. He also served on the C-TRAN Board of Directors.
“I am in charge of planning for the entire Southwest Washington area,” he said. “It’s a great area that includes a ferry, railways, air and ground transportation.”
Burkman said he will focus on ensuring transportation needs are being met for travelers throughout Southwest Washington, such as decreasing traffic congestion and increasing road safety.
“We are growing,” he said. “I want to make sure people are safe, and make sure that this department finds the best use for people’s tax dollars.”
While working for Hewlett Packard, Burkman was in charge of taking large programs and analyzing them for long term results.
Burkman said he has plenty of experience with having to “get a business going and get it right.”
Now, he will be running models and programs that will create a comprehensive transportation plan. The models help assess what will happen to roads and other transportation pathways when proposed changes are applied.
Burkman said it is a matter of studying the “what if’s.”
He will work with governmental agencies and public feedback to guide his studies.
The biggest project in North Clark County at this time, he said, is the Battle Ground I-5 interchange at SR-502.
Burkman said the connection will improve traffic safety and provide a stronger connection between interstate commuters and Battle Ground. The connection will also serve to relieve traffic created by events at the Clark County Fairgrounds and the Clark County Amphitheater.
To learn more about what Clark County citizens think about the interchange a meeting has been scheduled for Thurs., Feb. 22, 4-7 p.m., at the Battle Ground High School auditorium, 300 W. Main St.
Burkman said it is important for his team to get public feedback while projects are still in the design phase. Sketches will be brought to the meeting so people can view conceptual images. Findings from the meeting will be presented to legislature.
He also said he will focus on the continuing improvements along SR-503 and moving forward with the design phase of the interchange at I-5 and Ridgefield.
Burkman has lived in southwest Washington for over 20 years. He began his public service career by participating in neighborhood associations.
“I felt like this was an important position,” he said. “We (southwest Washington) are growing by leaps and bounds. I want to make sure I help provide an extraordinary quality of life for the people here.”