Ridgefield couple dead in
apparent murder-suicide
Officials of the Clark County sheriff’s office believe Stanley V. Upton, 49, of Ridgefield, shot and killed his wife and then turned the gun on himself sometime July 5.
Stanley Upton and his wife, Kathleen Upton, 43, were found dead July 6 during a welfare check conducted by Kathleen’s sister and brother-in-law.
The couple had lived at the Big Fir Campground, 5515 NE 259th St., Ridgefield since January 2007.
Big Fir owner Glenn Branfield said the couple had paid for a full week once or twice, but mostly paid for 3-5 days at a time. He did not consider them to be permanent residents of the campground.
According to Sgt. Dennis Pritchard of the sheriff’s office, family members had gone to check on Kathleen after not hearing from her on July 5. Family members were concerned for Kathleen’s safety, said Pritchard, because she and Stanley had been having marital problems.
Investigators learned that Stanley had threatened Kathleen in the past, said Pritchard.
A rifle was located near the deceased and was recovered. Autopsies by the medical examiner confirmed that both died from gunshot wounds, said Pritchard.
The Uptons had been married for more than 20 years. They had two sons, ages 15 and 18, who were reportedly staying with an aunt during the Fourth of July period. Relatives say Stanley Upton had worked as a logger. Kathleen was a graduate of Columbia River High School in Vancouver and was employed at a minit-mart at Dollars Corner.
Branfield said the Uptons had one car and a pull trailer of about 28-feet in length. Family members had removed the trailer by July 12.
Branfield said the Uptons kept to themselves and were not frequently seen in the campground. He said he never observed them arguing.
Kathleen’s brother, David S. Parker, a resident of Montana, said the murder-suicide was “very unexpected.”
Parker said the couple had planned to split up and Stanley had moved most of his possessions out of the trailer. Parker thought Stanley had planned to move out any day.
A memorial service was held July 16 at the Mt. Valley Grange in Amboy.

Drink up at Clark County Fair
The Clark County commissioners have apparently given up--for this year--trying to stop the Clark County Fair Association from serving alcohol at the upcoming 2007 county fair.
But, according to one Clark County commissioner, the practice of serving alcohol will end after this year’s Aug. 3-12 fair.
Tom Musser, executive director of the Fair Association, said the fair board discussed the matter July 9, hearing a report from board president Scott Horenstein on a meeting he had with the commissioners, sheriff’s office personnel and county risk management staff.
Musser said Horenstein’s report met with little discussion from board members and no further action was taken. Clark County commissioner Marc Boldt attended the fair board meeting but did not speak on the topic.
Musser said the Fair Association is going ahead with plans for a beer and wine venue at the fair despite opposition from the county commissioners.
“My hope is that it’s (the debate about alcohol) over,” said Musser.
Boldt said later that he was “pretty disappointed” that there was no discussion of the issue at the Fair Board meeting July 9.
Boldt said the commissioners plan to “demand that there’s more law enforcement” at the fair this year due to the presence of alcohol.
Next year, said Boldt, the commissioners won’t approve the renewal of the liquor license that allows for the sale of alcohol on the fairgrounds, including at the Clark County Amphitheater. He said a way will be found to allow the sale of alcohol at the Amphitheater but not at the fair itself. He said the other two commissioners agree with the plan to halt the sale of alcohol at the fair after this year’s event.
The issue arose in April when the fair board decided to sell alcohol at the fair, primarily for financial reasons. Musser said the public has requested that alcohol be available at the fair.
At first, Steve Stuart, who chairs the county commissioners, did not object to the sale of alcohol at the fair. But in a May 17 letter, the commissioners urged the fair board to reconsider the matter, to delay implementation of the plan to serve alcohol, and to gather public comments on the proposal.
The fair board resisted. Horenstein wrote back to the commissioners, saying the executive committee of the fair board had voted unanimously to continue with plans to serve alcohol.
Boldt said in May that the fair is on county property and therefore the county has authority to regulate the sale of alcohol. County administrator Bill Barron said the contract between the county and the Fair Association is silent on the issue of alcohol and gives the Fair Association wide latitude as to how it operates the event.
Musser said the wine and beer garden will be located east of the grandstand and west of the carnival. It will be visible from the grandstand but not in a central area, he said. “People will have to go to it,” said Musser. Fairgoers will not routinely walk past the location.

Fire severely damages home
A fire reportedly caused by the spontaneous combustion of oily rags severely damaged a home July 10 at 16215 NE 94th Ave., Battle Ground.
Clark County deputy fire marshal Richard Martin said oily cotton rags used to refinish a deck a week earlier and stored in a plastic garbage can outside the home combusted and caught the home on fire.
Fire District 11 responded to the 4 p.m. blaze, with the first crews arriving about six minutes after the call. Division chief Dean Lange called in a second alarm after observing flames 30-40 feet in the air and a sagging roof line.
Jim Flaherty, public information officer with Vancouver Fire, said 36 firefighters from districts 3 and 11 and the Vancouver Fire Department responded to the blaze with 11 pieces of equipment.
Two people were home at the time of the fire and both got out safely, along with three dogs. No firefighters were injured.
The home, owned by Brad and Mary Reckord, suffered an estimated $280,000 damage, plus about $80,000 damage to contents. Dining room, family room, kitchen and garage were destroyed, said Flaherty.
Crews used salvage covers to protect some personal property from further damage, said Flaherty. A Subaru was destroyed and an Audi damaged, said Flaherty.
Flaherty credited Lange’s call of a second alarm as saving the remainder of the home from being destroyed in the fire. “The second alarm had a profound result in saving the rest of the house,” said Flaherty.
Lange said he issued the second alarm call because the roof was sagging, the home was secluded by several large trees, and there were no hydrants.
In addition, said Lange, the site had hazards including propane tanks and a swimming pool. The high temperatures that day meant that firefighters could not work long before needing relief, he said, adding to the need for a second alarm.
Lange said part of the home was saved because of the aggressive work of firefighters inside the home.
Martin said he examines 3-4 fires a year in which the cause is spontaneously combustion of oily rags. He said the 101 degree temperature at the time of the fire may have aggravated the combustion of the rags, but such combustion can occur at lower temperatures, he said.
Martin gave examples of other fires in which oily rags were stored inside buildings and still caused fires via spontaneous combustion.

Roxsan Gregg is Miss Teen La Center
Roxsan Gregg, daughter of Shawn and Sandra Robertson of Woodland and a 2006 graduate of La Center High School, was named Miss Teen La Center during a pageant held July 14 at La Center High School.
Five judges selected Gregg from a field of five contestants. The other four entrants will make up the 2007 court and represent La Center in various parades and other events.
Linda Tracy of The Crowning Touch organized the annual event, now in its fifth year.
Michaela Adams, Miss Teen La Center 2006, passed her crown to Gregg as the evening concluded.
The contestants were interviewed by judges prior to the pageant. They then modeled outfits they had made, and competed in optional talent and photogenic events. They also competed in evening gowns and answered on-stage questions.
Judges were Miss Clark County Kelly Backous, Miss Teen Washington Genay Tucker, Miss Teen La Center 2995 Katie Dunnick, Sue Carse of the New Phoenix and Last Frontier casinos, and Daniel Adams, father of Miss Teen La Center 2006 Michaela Adams.
Theme of the pageant was “50s Rock ‘n Roll.” Entertainment was provided by Lance Lipinsky, a resident of Las Vegas, NV who performs as Jerry Lee Lewis and sings other 1950s-era music.
Other pageant contestants who are now members of the court are Carlee Marxmiller, daughter of Trisha and Jerrod Marxmiller of La Center and a student at La Center Middle School, Anne Parsons, daughter of John and Joan Parsons of La Center and a 2007 graduate of La Center High School, Adria Biasi, daughter of Don and Dulce Biasi of La Center and a 2007 graduate of La Center High School, and Mary Carroll, daughter of Bob and Cheryl Carroll and a 2007 graduate of La Center High School.
The new court will appear in the Harvest Days parade in Battle Ground on Sat., July 21.
Sponsors of the pageant were the La Center Casinos Charitable Fund, The Bank of Clark County, La Center North Clark County Chamber of Commerce, and The Crowning Touch.

Street improvements costly
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Improving Woodland’s streets and providing another east-west crossing for residents will be expensive, a representative from the Cowlitkz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments (COG) told the Woodland Chamber of Commerce July 10.
Jerry Sorrell, assistant project manager for the COG, said that adding a way to connect the two sides that are separated by I-5 could be costly, as an overpass across the interstate would be needed and private property acquired.
The COG is coordinating an 18-month transportation study of the problems faced by the growing city. Parametrix engineering firm of Portland has been hired to do the study. The cost has been estimated by the COG at about $350,000. The Washington Legislature allocated $250,000 to the COG, and the city has received a direct federal grant of $255,000.
The COG will sponsor a public information open house Thurs., Aug. 16, 6 p.m., at the Woodland Middle School Commons. Additional meetings are scheduled for January and May.
Eliminating flooding from Dike Road at the I-5 interchange will also be costly, Sorrell said.
“It will not be easy to address,” he said. “We have to consider how to regulate the water flow and that will require a hydraulic study.”
The safety of SR-503 through Woodland is the primary issue that the study will address, and Sorrell said funds to begin SR-503 improvements are available, and the SR-503 portion of the study should be completed first, he said.
“503 now has 15,000 vehicles a day,” he said. “Woodland has a $1 million grant to improve the corridor, and that study needs to come out of the gate.”
At least one additional traffic signal and left-turn lanes must be added to the state highway through town, as residential development increases on the east side of Woodland. Sorrell said the cost of one signal system is about $300,000, and the cost of adding lanes ranges from $250,000 to $300,000.
“We may have to acquire right-of-way,” he said. “There may not be enough money to do it all,”
The city is responsible for improving Woodland streets and sidewalks, including the portion of SR-503 inside the city limits, he said. State and federal transportation departments are responsible for the interstate as well as the on and off ramps.
“With careful shopping, patience and help with grant-writing, there’s money to be had,” Sorrell said. “It would be worth it to bring in somebody with grant-writing experience.”
Sorrell said funds from the Department of Transportation’s railroad division could be used to improve crossings.
The study began recently with Parametrix interviewing Woodland business owners and residents about their ideas and wishes for improved transportation. Sorrell stressed the importance of cooperation and collaboration by all entities involved.
“When the study is done, we hope everybody involved will say, ‘This is the study,’” he said. “It’s important to work with the legislators, and if the city and state and the port (of Woodland) agree that this is the big picture, the ability to get funding goes better. If there are tug-of-war–problems, dissent–they tend to back off.”
The study includes the east side of I-5 from North Goerig Street to McCracken Road. Areas outside the city limits are covered by Cowlitz or Clark counties, he said. The state Department of Transportation and the Port of Woodland are also involved.
“We’re providing the study to set a course of action,” Sorrell said. “We’re planning for future generations.”

Quilts will add color to Lilac Gardens
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
As many as 100 quilts will swing gently in the breeze during the Quilts in the Garden show Sat., July 21, in the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens in Woodland.
The show that features Clark and Cowlitz county quilters will take place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Admission is $5.
Featured will be a group quilt created by the dozen members of the Lewis River Quilters. The appliquéed quilt will be raffled at the end of the show. Cost of raffle tickets is $1.
The show is the second sponsored by the Lewis River Quilters, said member Debbie Kennell. Last year the show took place during Woodland Harvest Days.
“It was a very cold day,” Kennell said. “The show was in City Hall. It was a small show, but we had a good turnout.”
Organizers expect about 100 quilts of all designs, sizes and age. A few antique quilts are expected to hang. Some quilters may show their concepts of the group’s challenge quilt.
“The organization buys two different fabrics (for the challenge quilt), and members can make whatever they want using those two fabrics,” Kennell said.
Kennell’s challenge quilt is a combination of piece work and appliqué.
Pieced quilts are created by sewing different geometric pieces of fabric together. An appliquéed quilt is made by cutting various shapes and sewing the shapes onto fabric, Kennell said.
“There are so many different quilting techniques,” she said.
Sometimes Kennell uses a sewing machine to piece a quilt but she usually appliqués by hand.
Member Val Pellens does most of the actual quilting by machine.
The Lewis River Quilters meet every Tuesday, 6:30 p.m., in the board room of the Woodland School District office, 800 Third St. Members come from different cities, including Vancouver, and Castle Rock, Kennell said.
“We have a nice combination of ages, all women, but men are welcome,” she said. “We have one pre-teen.”
After this year, the quilt show will be scheduled on alternate years, to avoid conflicting with the Longview quilt show, Kennell said.
“We hope to become like the Sisters show,” she said. “We won’t get that big, but we’d like to be a regional show.”
For information about the quilt show, call Kennell at 360-225-8504.

Power company dropping Swift Reservoir level
Bill Myers
staff reporter
Pacific Power, a subsidiary of PacifiCorp that operates power-generating facilities at three reservoirs on the North Fork of the Lewis River, announced July 5 that it will lower the level of Swift Reservoir to lower than normal water levels by late summer.
Company production manager Bill Fields said the lowering of water levels at Swift Reservoir is an annual event, as inflows from snow pack runoffs subside. At this time of year, lower runoffs combine with power generation and a license requirement to provide stream flow for the fishery below Merwin Dam to lower reservoir water levels, especially at Lake Merwin.
Fields said that management of water levels at Swift each year depends on runoff conditions, weather and power needs. “These are working reservoirs and, as such, can fluctuate through the summer,” he said.
“Right now, Lake Merwin is very low and the Yale and Swift reservoirs above it are relatively high,” said Fields. Releases of water from Swift, he said, will increase the water level at Merwin and gradually lower levels of Swift Reservoir and Yale Lake.
Utility officials expect the level of Swift to drop about five feet during the first part of July, and possibly by 20 feet by the end of August. A 20-foot reduction would remove water away from some docks at the upper end of Swift.
Utility officials say area homeowners and boaters have been advised to move any boats moored in affected marinas. Boaters should also be cautious of submerged hazards that may be dangerous because of lower water levels. The Swift Camp boat launch is expected to be available through Labor Day unless inflows are worse than anticipated.
Utility spokesman Tom Gauntt said the water level at Yale Reservoir is expected to drop slightly, but not enough to effect boat ramps or other recreation facilities. Boat recreation at Merwin Lake should not be effected. Gauntt said early winter conditions in 2006 contributed to the start of a good snow pack. He said a dryer than normal spring reduced the snow pack, especially at lower mountain elevations of 3-4,000 feet.
Pacific Power, a subsidiary of PacifiCorp, is headquartered in Portland and provides electric service to more than 713,000 customers in Oregon, Washington and California. PacifiCorp provides electricity to about 1.7 million customers throughout the U.S. Gaunitt can be reached at (503) 813-7291.