Former cop back from Iraq
Bill Myers
staff reporter
Ridgefield resident James Joyce, a 36-year veteran of Oregon and Washington law enforcement, returned recently from a year of training police officers in Iraq.
Last March, Joyce was recruited for a law enforcement training assignment by a private security company that does contract work for the U.S. State Department.
After a physical examination that included running and moving through an obstacle course, Joyce attended a specialized training program during May 2006 in Virginia with more than 100 other recruits, all current or former law enforcement officers.
Joyce and his classmates, known as International Police Liaison Officers, landed in Iraq during June. They were assigned to work with U.S. military units at forward operational bases throughout the country. Joyce said he was assigned to work with U.S. Army and/or U.S. National Guard units in missions related to training and overseeing Iraqi police operations.
While on the mission, Joyce said he coached Iraqi police on tasks such as conducting suspect interviews, vehicle inspections, administrative functions, investigative techniques including treatment of evidence and gathering fingerprints, patrol tactics, arrest procedures and setting up perimeter defenses.
The weather took some getting used to, said Joyce. He said a special agony is in store for those who must move around in 120-degree heat while wearing 60-pounds of body armor.
“We weren’t there long before we heard that the bad guys offered a $40,000 bounty on us,” Joyce said. He said two classmates were killed during the one-year assignment, one by a sniper in Kirkuk and another by an improvised explosive device (IED) in Sadr City.
Joyce said he and members of a U.S. Army team narrowly escaped the explosion of an IED soon after leaving a police station in Kirkuk.
Training and oversight teams were under orders to occasionally visit police stations unannounced to check on police operations, including the treatment of prisoners. Joyce said that while conditions in Kirkuk are improving, it is possible that one of the policemen fingered them for a hot reception as they left town. He said corruption continues to be a challenge in Iraq.
Terrorists often employ a technique known as “shoot and scoot,” said Joyce. He described “shoot and scoot” as when bad guys cut loose with a rocket launcher or mortar and then quickly run away to avoid counter fire.
Joyce said populations in some areas of Iraq embrace democracy and are making great progress. “Kurdish people in Kurdish areas are doing fine,” he said. At the other end of the scale, Baghdad is a very dangerous places where people want to kill each other, he said. For the sake of their futures and their families, Iraqi citizens need to stop such sectarian violence, said Joyce. He described one effort to build a 14-feet high concrete wall to separate Shia and Sunni populations.
Asked what it will take to stop the violence, Joyce shook his head. “It’s really up to them, the Iraqi citizens,” he said. “We can help, but only they can make peace happen.”

Officials set boundaries for new BG schools
The Battle Ground School Board has selected service boundaries for the new Daybreak Primary and Middle School due to open this fall, as well as boundaries for another pair of schools slated to be ready by fall 2008.
The new Daybreak schools, located at the corner of NW 20th Ave. and NE 239th St. in the northwest corner of the city of Battle Ground, will open with an estimated enrollment of 1,000 students. Those students would have attended Lewisville Middle School, Chief Umtuch Primary School or Captain Strong Elementary School had the new Daybreak campus not been constructed.
The Daybreak schools will serve about 15 square miles of territory, bordered on the north by NE 299th St., on the east by SR-503, on the south by NE 219th St., and on the west by the school district boundary which varies from NE 72nd Ave. to nearly NE 29th Ave.
School District public information officer Kelly O’Brien said the School District’s policy is that students who live within a mile of school and have sidewalks between their homes and school will walk to school. Bus transportation will be provided for students who live more than a mile from school or where sidewalks are not available.
O’Brien said that about 80 percent of students who will attend the Daybreak schools will walk to school or arrive some way other than a school bus, such as on bicycles or being dropped off by parents. Opening enrollment is estimated at 550 at the Daybreak Primary School and 450 at the Daybreak Middle School.
By comparison, nearly 70 percent of students at Maple Grove primary and middle schools are eligible for bus transportation.
As the new Daybreak schools become ready for students, the existing Chief Umtuch school in Battle Ground will be torn down. Ten classrooms have been added to Captain Strong Primary School which will now serve grades K-4. Students formerly attending Chief Umtuch will be divided between Daybreak and Captain Strong schools.
Some students who previously attended Lewisville Middle School will now attend Daybreak Middle School.
The existing names of Lewisville Middle School and Captain Strong Elementary may be changed, said O’Brien. A committee is presently studying the naming matter, she said, and will make recommendations to the school board this month.
The addition of the two Daybreak schools will not affect service boundaries of Amboy, Yacolt, Maple Grove, Glenwood, Laurin or Pleasant Valley schools.
O’Brien said the Daybreak schools will be primarily walking schools. Because of the student population in the Daybreak service area, only one round of buses will be needed, with students of all ages K-8 riding together. Students will not walk to the Daybreak schools from north of NE 239th St., said O’Brien.
O’Brien said the rationale for a “walking school” is not only to save on the cost of busing, but also to foster a “sense of community.”
Parents walking with their children will meet other parents, said O’Brien, hopefully resulting in more involvement in schools. Walking families may also use the school grounds more, said O’Brien, and the school may become more of a community center. “Parents who meet other parents are more apt to look out for one-anothers’ children,” said O’Brien, “and they might trade the job of walking children to school. Research shows that more parent involvement in schools leads to higher test scores, lower discipline and more community and school spirit.”
O’Brien said strong community interest in having a walking school has been expressed at public forums.
Second pair of schools on way
School District officials broke ground in early June on a second pair of new schools, located on 59 acres between NE 167th and NE 176th avenues, and south of NE 209th St., about three miles southeast of the city of Battle Ground.
The school board has adopted school service boundaries that will take affect with the opening of these two, as-yet unnamed schools, in fall 2008.
O’Brien said the new school boundaries were considered by a committee that met three times. Two community forums were held in March, she said, and one in April.
Officials estimate the opening enrollment of the “Second” primary school at 480 students, and the “Second” middle school at 350 student. The “Second K-8” schools will have a service area of about 50 square miles.
O’Brien said the service area for the “Second K-8” schools will be taken from the Maple Grove campuses, as well as Captain Strong and Lewisville. No other schools in the district will be affected.
O’Brien estimated that at least 200 students at the new “Second” primary school will come from the Maple Grove Primary school.
Maple Grove Primary School, said O’Brien, is presently the largest primary school in the state with a 2006-2007 enrollment of about 924 students.
The “Second K-8” service area will be bounded on the south by the School District boundary.
The naming committee will deliberate later this year on what the “Second K-8” schools will be called. O’Brien said the public will have more opportunities for input along the way.
O’Brien said officials have not made changes in the service boundaries of the District’s two main high schools. Students attending Daybreak schools as well as the “Second K-8” campus will attend Battle Ground High School.
O’Brien said the District might review all school boundaries, including high school boundaries, at some point in the future.

Four want to lead Woodland
Woodland mayor Doug Monge will face three challengers in the Aug. 21 primary election, with the two top vote-getters moving on to the general election in November.
Former city council member Chuck Blum, current council member John Burke, retired business owner Walt Hummel, and Monge all want to lead the city over the next four years.
Woodland native Chuck Blum, who spent 10 years on the city council, said his years of public service include serving as mayor pro tem for two years and serving on the comprehensive plan board and Woodland Park Board give him the qualifications needed to be the mayor. He said he has also served on the Cowlitz-Wahkiakum Council of Governments board.
“I’ve been involved 17 years,” he said. “I have municipal government experience.”
Blum said he has been concerned about city issues, and “some of my friends asked if I would run. I knew what I was getting into.”
Blum said that he believes transportation and growth are the two major issues facing the city.
“I don’t see the city as proactive in solving the transportation issue,” he said. “A recent accident at Scott Avenue and SR 503 backed up traffic nearly all morning. It’s the only corridor that serves both sides.”
The city has not adequately controlled growth, he said.
“I’m not against growth,” he said. “It should be controlled by the city. In 1995, the comprehensive plan protected the existing streets and businesses and allowed controlled growth.”
Blum is opposed to building a swimming pool in Horseshoe Lake Park, but he said the city has a binding agreement with the Woodland Swimming Pool and Recreation District.
“I’d love to see a swimming pool built, but there are issues with the park,” he said.
“In an agreement signed by the city in 2002, the city dedicated 1.4 acres to the pool and Dobbe (Benno Dobbe) deeded one acre,” he said. “Any elected mayor must abide by this agreement. As mayor, I would bring all parties to the table to discuss alternatives.”
A lack of park space concerns Blum, he said.
“There is not enough open space,” he said. “Developers should dedicate land or open space–not money.”
A frequent participant in city council meetings, Blum said he believes people should have more opportunity to comment on issues before the council.
“If you ask a question or have input at city council meetings, you never get an answer,” he said, referring to the citizen comment portion of the public meetings. “If you e-mail council members or the mayor, you don’t get an answer.”
“People should have an opportunity to speak at the beginning of each action item,” he said.
Blum, 69, is retired. At one time he owned a wholesale dairy products company in Woodland, and he was an advertising representative for the Longview Daily News.
“I’m third generation Woodland,” he said. “My great-grandparents homesteaded here.”
Blum and his wife Sharon have three grown children and five grandchildren.
Burke serves on city council
John J. Burke is half way through his second term on the Woodland City Council.
Burke, 55, has been twice elected mayor pro tem by the city council.
“A lot needs to be changed, I feel,” Burke said about city operations.
Woodland residents have complained about the attitudes of city employees, he said.
“I don’t like the way city employees treat the citizens,” Burke said. “You need to work with people to make them feel like respected citizens.”
He said he does not have plans to remove employees should he be elected.
“I believe in giving people a second chance,” he said.
The owner of JJ’s Computer Repair in Woodland, Burke said that he would be available to residents during the week.
“We need somebody in town who can answer calls,” he said. “We need a full-time mayor, but we can’t afford that.”
As a council member, Burke said he visits the City Annex where city offices are located “three or four times a day.”
“I’m a good candidate because I’m involved with the community, and I don’t have an agenda,” he said. “I don’t know everything, but I know where to go for advice. There are plenty of resources out there.”
Burke said he is opposed to building a swimming pool in Horseshoe Lake Park. He said he is also concerned about the cost of managing a swimming pool.
“A pool costs so much to run. We would need a levy,” he said. “What happens if levies don’t pass? If it’s not on city land, we can sell it to another entity.”
Burke said he would like to see a pool built on property owned by the swimming pool committee on Glenwood Road near the industrial area.
Woodland residents tell Burke that they would like to see Wal-Mart or another economically-priced store locate in the city.
“As long as Wal-Mart wants to come in, we won’t be stuck with the entire bill for traffic improvements,” he said. “People, especially seniors, want a place to buy things. They don’t want to go to Vancouver.”
Although he has been opposed to a transportation impact fee, Burke said he is waiting until the transportation study is complete.
“I’d like to see what comes out; how it will help us,” he said. “I want to wait and see what we need.”
A native of New Bedford, MA, Burke moved to Woodland in 1992 when he retired after 22 years with the Coast Guard. He and his wife Shirley have two daughters, Diane Suome of Woodland and Linda Dahiquist of Vancouver, and three grandchildren.
He completed the electronics technician courses at Clark College.
Burke has been the president of Planters Days for five years and is secretary of the Woodland Museum board. He is a member of the Woodland Chamber of Commerce and Woodland Grange.
A retired businessman, Walt Hummel says that he can bring his years of experience to Woodland if he is elected mayor.
“I’m retired, and I live five minutes from city hall,” he said. “I can devote the time to the job.”
Hummel is seeking his first elective office.
The former owner of Larry’s Sports Center in Woodland, Hummel said the most serious issues facing Woodland involve the city’s ability to manage the expected growth.
“Woodland is going to grow, and upriver is also growing,” he said. “Traffic from the growth up the Lewis River Road and the road on the Clark County side (of the river) is going to funnel into Woodland. That has to be addressed.”
Some of the current issues being debated by the mayor and the city council are minor issues, he said.
“We can’t worry about Wal-Mart; we can’t worry about the volunteer fire department. All those are plusses,” he said. “We’ve got to look at the infrastructure, at traffic changes.”
Seeking his first elective office, Hummel, 78, says he’s “not a politician.”
“We need somebody who is not a politician,” he said. “We need a manager. I’m offering managerial skills.”
Before moving to the Woodland area 14 years ago, Hummel owned an import company in the Tacoma area. He decided to move to Cowlitz County “because I liked this area.”
When he moved to the city about a year ago, Hummel said a city mistake regarding his property’s elevation in relation to the flood plain caused him to add unnecessary fill before putting in his home “at great expense to me.”
He said he is concerned this year about tall grass growing in vacant lots in the city. One lot is located behind his house, and he said the city has not required the land owner to mow the grass.
“Things like that need to be addressed,” he said. “They need a manager.”
Born in Trenton, NJ, Hummel was sent to an orphanage when he was 8 after his mother left the family. He spent his high school years living at and working for a dairy farm.
“I walked to a one-room school after the morning milking,” he said. “I had a 10-cent a week allowance and a room in the attic. The whole time I lived there, the farmer called me ‘boy.’ He never called me by my name.”
When he was 16, he left the farm and moved in with his aunt in Philadelphia where he went to work as a clerk. He joined the navy in 1945 and served for two years. He was recalled to active duty during the Korean War and later joined the Oregon National Guard, where he served for 14 years.
He moved to Portland in 1947 and worked at several jobs before becoming a sales representative for a sporting goods company. Eventually, he opened a sporting goods company in Tacoma.
He and his wife Margaret Jean have eight grown children between them. She is the president of the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens.
Monge seeks second term Woodland Mayor Doug Monge said he practiced what he preached to teenagers when he decided to seek his first term four years ago.
“I was always telling kids in trouble that if you complain, the only way to change things is to get involved,” he said. “The council made a decision on the community service center that I didn’t agree with–and the rest is history.”
Monge, a Longview police officer, said he is running for a second term to “finish what I started.”
“We’re very close on the pool issue,” he said. “I want to see it built.”
Monge, 40, has faced opposition from city council members and a group of Woodland residents on a plan to build a swimming pool in Horseshoe Lake Park. Some who oppose the pool say a pool building will reduce the park land, but the mayor insists that open space will not be lost under a plan to move the boat launch and replace it with a green belt. A new launching area would go near the new skate park. He also foresees a walking path around the park.
Growth and transportation continue to be issues that face the city, Monge said.
“We grew 5 percent last year,” he said.
The growth has created a major transportation issue, but the city is cooperating with the state Department of Transportation and the Port of Woodland to prepare a 20-year plan.
“We need to understand that Lewis River Road is a county issue, not just a Woodland issue,” he said. “We need to grow transportation toward the river, and toward the Port. The plan will set out the vision for the future.”
Monge does not rule out the need for a transportation impact fee in the future.
Except for transportation, Monge describes the city’s infrastructure as “phenomenal.”
The growth of the city will mean a change in the city council from five members to seven, and Monge said he expects that change to happen in January.
Growth has brought more responsibility to the mayor’s office, and Monge supports a change in the city government structure to add a professional administrator who would work closely with the mayor.
“I think an administrator would be beneficial. It would alleviate the pressure on the mayor,” he said. “It makes the government more efficient.”
So far, the council members have not agreed with Monge, but he said he plans to reintroduce the idea next year.
Monge’s constituents tell him they would like to see more places to buy basic household items and clothes, he said.
“We need products brought to us,” he said. “We need a place to buy socks. We’re very limited, and I’ve heard that repeatedly.”
A native of Costa Rica, Monge moved to Texas when he was 3 and has lived in Woodland for nearly 10 years. He has been a Longview police officer for 17 years. He and his wife, Sheri, have two sons, Christopher, a junior, and Joshua, a sophomore. Both attend Woodland High School.
Monge is a student at Portland State University, working toward a bachelor’s degree in administrative criminal justice, and he expects to graduate next spring.

Wall says skate park progress slow, will be finished
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Woodland’s long-awaited skate park won’t be finished by July 31, but coordinator Blayden Wall said, “It will be finished.”
“It’s hard to nail down a date,” he said. “There are things you always run into. You learn as you go.”
The complications surrounding all-volunteer labor have helped to cause the delays, as have issues of responsibility and liability, he said.
Another hold-up came in the wake of a controversial debate regarding building an indoor swimming pool in Horseshoe Lake Park, where the skate park is also located. A proposal to place an enclosed pool in the park has divided the community into two factions: those who support a pool in the park and those who oppose building a structure there.
“It’s a complicated issue,” Wall said. “People were somewhat leery of acting because of that issue.”
Both factions have supported the construction of a skate park, he said, and with the passage of time, the swimming pool controversy has had a decreasing effect on skate park progress.
Issues of responsibility and volunteer labor have also impacted construction, he said. The city has recently written a letter of understanding “that this is a volunteer project,” he said.
Woodland Mayor Doug Monge said that the Woodland Rotary Club has the legal responsibility of the skate park while it is being built. After the park is completed, it will be turned over to the city, he said. The city leases the land from the state Department of Natural Resources.
Steve Hertz, a Woodland builder, is volunteering his time to build the park, Wall said.
“Some of the work is very specialized,” he said. “We need people with special skills. That’s part of the reason it will take a while.”
The first phase of the park was built last summer, but because of safety issues, it has not been open to the public.
“This concept began in 2004,” Wall said. “We got a piece of it done, and we showed it could be done.”
Despite the delays and the controversies, Wall said he has no regrets about pursuing the development of a skate park.
“It’s been a struggle and a lot of work for me, but it’s for the community,” he said. “We wouldn’t get this far for at least a decade if we didn’t do something like this (build with all volunteer labor).”
Building a skate park with ramps, jumps and other amenities is complex.
“This really is a very complicated project,” Wall said. “I’m very proud of the community and the way they have participated and put their differences aside. It’s important to remember that it’s really for the kids. Every civic organization and many businesses have helped.”
The city has donated $36,200 to construction of the skate park.

Violent crimes rise; property crimes drop
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Woodland experienced six more violent crimes in 2006 than in 2005, but at the same time, the number of property crimes fell by 60.
During a presentation to the city council July 16, Police Chief Rob Stephenson said the number of police calls since January is down about 2 percent from last year. The number of violent crimes increased from 15 to 21, a 40 percent increase, and property crimes fell from 259 to 199, down 23 percent.
According to the quarterly report, the department answered 2,144 calls for service in the first six months of this year compared to 2,179 for the same period of 2006.
Stephenson said he doesn’t have any hard and fast answers as to why police calls are down. He said many factors may contribute to the decline.
“One plus may be that in Cowlitz County we now have a larger jail,” he said after the meeting. “There are more immediate consequences to behavior.”
The Cowlitz County Uniform Crime Report for 2005-06 shows all crimes down from 274 in 2005 to 220 in 2006, a 19.7 percent drop. The crime rate per 1,000 population went down by 26.5 percent during the same period. Burglaries, larcenies and motor vehicle thefts were all down for the year. The number of aggravated assaults went from eight to 16, however.
The Woodland Police Department now numbers 10 patrol officers, including Stephenson. The statewide average for cities with populations between 5,000 and 10,000 is 14 officers or 1.93 officers per 1,000 people.
According to the most recent census, Woodland’s population is 4,960.
“The current 2007 staffing indicates we are right where we should be,” Stephenson said.
“At the moment we’re doing okay,” he said after the meeting. “The guys are earning their pay.”
Woodland police have cleared more than 70 percent of outstanding crimes since January, according to the report. The department added a detective’s position in 2006,
“Our clearance rate is a little higher (than in the past),” Stephenson said. “Part of it may be having that position, but everybody’s out there working all the time and clearing things all the time. Having somebody devoted to investigation may have allowed us to solve some things that may not have been solved.”
Commenting on the police budget, Stephenson told the council that the department has spent 98 percent of its funds designated for jail expense in 2007. The cost of jailing a suspect includes housing, medical bills, interpreters and other incidentals, he said.
“It isn’t necessarily the number we’re arresting, it’s what they’re sentenced to,” Stephenson said.
Sentencing guidelines play a role in determining the city’s cost of incarcerating prisoners, he said.
The city council is expected to consider a supplemental budget to cover jail costs for the remainder of the year.