Hundreds take C-TRAN to see Willie
C-TRAN and the Clark County Amphitheater have teamed up to offer public transportation service during the 2007 concert season.
Officials described the first partnership event--the Willie Nelson concert on June 30--as a “big hit” with C-TRAN riders.
C-TRAN provides service from the Salmon Creek Park & Ride directly to the Amphitheater.
Service begins two hours before each concert. Buses run every 15 minutes until the concert starts. C-TRAN buses are given priority access to the east entrance of the Amphitheater facility.
Return service to the Salmon Creek Park & Ride begins immediately following each show. C-TRAN buses are given priority out of the Amphitheater’s parking lot.
No service is offered during the show and no connecting bus service is available from the Park & Ride lot following the concert.
The round-trip fare is $1 per person or $3 for groups of up to six riders. Children age six and under will ride for free. All C-TRAN tickets and passes will be accepted.
For the June 30 concert by Willie Nelson, C-TRAN transported 526 people from the Park & Ride lot to the Amphitheater, and returned them to the lot by 11:20 p.m., within 30 minutes after the end of the show.
About 4,200 people attended the Willie Nelson concert, with about 12.5 percent getting there by C-TRAN bus.
Jeff Hamm, executive director of C-TRAN, said the C-TRAN service saved some 236 cars from traveling to the Amphitheater. That figure was based on a count of cars at the Park & Ride, said Hamm.
“Our first event at the Amphitheater demonstrates how C-TRAN and public transportation can make a positive difference in not only alleviating traffic congestion but also providing riders with a convenient and reliable option to driving and fighting the inevitable congestion,” said Hamm.
C-TRAN spokesman Scott Patterson said eight buses were used before the concert, each making multiple trips between the Park & Ride and the Amphitheater. Patterson said 14 buses were used after the concert, each making the 10-minute trip once.
C-TRAN service to the Amphitheater will be provided only on concert days.
“We anticipate that this will be a very popular service,” said Hamm. “We are excited to be able to provide public transportation this year and hope that the ridership will demonstrate support for bus service to concerts at the Amphitheater.”
C-TRAN provides public transportation for portions of Clark County, with bus service to incorporated cities and within the Vancouver urban growth boundary.
More information is available by calling Scott Patterson at C-TRAN, 408-0891, or C-TRAN passenger service, 695-0123, and at the Amphitheater’s Web site: www.amphitheateratclarkcounty.com

BG police make arrests in fireworks burglary
Battle Ground police arrested five people July 3 in connection with the theft of fireworks at a fireworks tent at 2108 W Main St., Battle Ground.
Sergey Bezhan, 19, was one of those arrested, along with two females, ages 16 and 17, and two males, both age 15.
Police responded to a burglary in progress about 1:17 a.m. July 3, and established a perimeter in the area. They were joined by a K9 from Vancouver police department. Three subjects were located hiding in the area and the K9 led officer’s to the residence of another suspect who was not there.
At about 5 a.m., officers observed two suspects walking in the area. The suspects, both age 15, ran from an officer. One was located hiding in the area of the reported crime and the other was located in the area some time later.
The five suspects have been charged with second degree burglary and first degree theft. Police recovered about $1,438 worth of stolen fireworks, mostly from a suspect’s vehicle.
The thefts occurred at a fireworks booth operated by volunteers with the Battle Ground, Yacolt, and Chelatchie Prairie Railroad (BYCX).
Bill Young, president of the BYCX, said volunteers patrol the booth all night. He theorized that the burglars waited until the person guarding the booth had moved to the other side, then entered the booth and moved fireworks to a waiting vehicle.
One item, said Young, was stashed in some bushes across the street from the booth. That item was a box of fireworks measuring about 2-feet by 3-feet in size.
Young said one of the burglars left a cell phone inside the fireworks sale tent.
Young said police returned the stolen fireworks to the BYCS group later in the day July 3.
Battle Ground police were assisted by the Clark County sheriff’s office, Vancouver police and Washington State Patrol.
The BYCX group, along with the Lions Club, Rose Float and Ladies of Elks, donated fireworks to Fire District 11 for shows at care facilities in Battle Ground. Fire District 11 used the donations, along with a donation from Fire District 11 commissioner Penny Dollar, for fireworks shows at Colonial House, Parkway North Care Center, and Mallard Landing Assisted Living, all in Battle Ground.