Brandy Slagle
Staff reporter
According to his mother, Bryce Howard had all the rebellion a parent could expect from a teenage son, which was plenty.
He moved out when he was 18 years old to live with friends. He married at 19 years old.
Annette Howard’s voice is tired and soft on the end of the phone.
“God, we miss him,” she said.
She and husband Dean Howard had returned from their son’s funeral and are grappling with loss.
The 24-year-old Army sergeant died along with two others when a suicide bomb exploded Aug. 28 in Jaji, near the Afghanistan and Pakistan border.
Bryce was a 2001 graduate of Battle Ground High School. Not long after tossing his cap into the air, he enlisted in the Army along with his two roommates.
“He enlisted before 9/11,” she said. “There was no war or conflict at the time, so we weren’t too worried for him.”
By the time Bryce completed basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, in early 2002 and served for a year at Camp Henry, Korea, the political climate had drastically changed.
Bryce reported to Fort Lewis on Aug. 19, 2003. He was then sent to Afghanistan with the 555th Engineer Brigade of the 864th Engineer Battalion. The battalion is based in Fort Lewis. They were deployed to Afghanistan in March.
Bryce was assigned to the battalion’s Headquarters Support Company where he was a technical engineer and performed surveys on roads and bridges.
This was his second tour in Afganistan. The extended trips oversees had kept him away from home, said Annette.
Before entering the service, Bryce worked at Safeway as a box boy, she said, where he was a favorite among the female customers. He played basketball with the Community Education Program and loved riding motorcycles.
Steve Brooks was one of Bryce’s oldest friends. The two became close in sixth grade. Before Bryce met his future wife, Amber, he said, the two would play paintball in the woods around his home and ride “four wheelers” on the coast.
They both married at 19 years old.
“He was confident at that age that he wanted to be with that one person,” he said. “He knew he was in love and he knew she was the one for him.”
Brooks said he was a very devoted and caring father to his two sons, Caleb, 7, and Ryen, 3.
Brooks’s mother, Suzie Gurisch, said she remembers Bryce frequently spending time at her home.
“He was like a son to me and was always so respectful when he was over,” she said. “My step-daughter had a crush on him and he knew, but was still very sweet to her.”
Bryce’s smile could be both charming and mischievous, said Annette. Even though he seemed reserved at first, people soon discovered his sharp sense of humor.
Annette said a fellow servicemen gave a speech at his funeral that recalled a moment when Bryce was training new troops how to record information into the computer.
“The officer said ‘You must be really smart to be able to do that,’” she said. “And Bryce just looked at him, raised an eyebrow, and said ‘No sir, you just have to be smarter than you.’”
Bryce also leaves behind a brother, James, 23, and sister Casey, 21.
Bryce’s awards and decorations include the two Army Commendation Medals, the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon and NATO Medal.
Bryce was posthumously promoted to sergeant from the rank of corporal.
Also killed with Bryce were Sgt. 1st Class Rocky H. Herrera, 43, of Salt Lake City, UT, and Sgt. Cory L. Clark, 25, of Plant City, FL. Six others were injured.

Feds propose lesser mitigation plan
Officials of the federal Corps of Engineers have suggested that they could acquire less property in Woodland and more from a site in Oregon in their plan to mitigate damage done to wetlands during the dredging of the Columbia River.
In a Sept. 5 meeting with members of the Colf family, Col. Tom O’Donovan of the Corps of Engineers in Portland said the Corps could purchase less of Martin Island than previously proposed, and less of the Colf’s property in the Woodland Bottoms.
The Corps had planned to acquire all of the Colf’s 447-acre Martin Island which sits adjacent to the Woodland Bottoms farm land. The latest Corps proposal would allow the Colfs to retain about 230 acres of that island.
The Corps had planned to acquire 105 acres of the Colf’s property in the Woodland Bottoms. O’Donovan said the latest Corps proposal would allow the Colfs to retain about 20 acres of that property.
Officials of the Corps of Engineers say they need the Woodland property to mitigate damage done to wetlands during the dredging process. About 68 percent of all lands needed for mitigation on the entire Columbia River deepening project are presently owned by the Colf family--Bob Colf, Dick Colf, Nancy Colf, and Margaret Colf Hepola.
If the Colf family agrees to either of these options, federal officials would not need to acquire another 55 acres of Woodland Bottoms property owned by Dave Zylstra.
Roy Heikkala, who represents the Colf family, said Col. O’Donovan had two alternative suggestions on Sept. 5. Alternative one was as described above, and alternative two was to take all 105 acres of the Woodland Bottoms property, not leaving the 20 acres. In the latter case, the Corps would not need as much land elsewhere in the Woodland Bottoms and could resell some of the previously-acquired Chumbley property.
Heikkala said the family found no value in retaining just 20 acres. The site is presently used for grazing and 20 acres would be insufficient for that purpose, he said.
“We suggested a trade,” said Heikkala. The Corps did not want to talk about a trade, said Heikkala, because some of the Chumbley property was acquired at a value higher than agriculture and land exchanges must be done on the basis of appraised value.
Heikkala said the family would respond to the Corps in writing. Heikkala was clear that the Corps discussion was not an “offer” but rather a discussion of options.
“There was no big revelation to us,” said Heikkala. “It’s not worth it to us.”
Heikkala said the family’s Woodland Bottoms property is very productive crop land.
Members of the Colf family have insisted that they do not want to sell their properties at any price.
State Rep. Richard Curtis (R-La Center) was successful in gaining state legislature passage of a provision that would have halted the taking of agricultural lands for wetlands mitigation purposes. Gov. Christine Gregoire vetoed that measure.
O’Donovan said Gov. Gregoire asked him to reduce the impact of mitigation on agricultural lands.
O’Donovan said he has worked with state and federal agencies to “put together a good package of changes to the mitigation plan,” and presented that package to the Colf family.
O’Donovan said he knows Dick Colf from work his company has done for the Corps on other projects.
O’Donovan said he expects a response from the Colf family within a week.
In addition to changes in the amount of Woodland property needed for mitigation, O’Donovan said the Corps planned to change how the mitigation work will take place.
Corps may not need Zylstra land
The Corps had planned to acquire some 55 acres of property in the Woodland Bottoms owned by Dave Zylstra who had said he did not want to sell his land.
O’Donovan said the Corps would meet again with Zylstra in an attempt to resolve the issue.
Zylstra said he has now been told his 55 acres will not be needed and that he will receive a letter rescinding past offers.
“I am clapping and jumping for joy,” said Zylstra. “But my question is: what affect is their system going to have on neighboring properties? Will the government guarantee that it won’t change the land?”
“I’m happy for myself,” said Zylstra. “But I won’t feel good about it until my neighbors can keep their properties as well.”
“We want something in writing that (the Corps’ system) will not affect our property. What are they going to do?”
Issue dates to 1999
The problem has festered since 1999 when the Colf family first learned that the Corps of Engineers planned to acquire about 550 acres of Colf family property for habitat mitigation purposes. Members of the Colf family said they informed the Corps then that they do not want to sell their lands, but rather want to continue farming activities on the desirable Woodland Bottoms land and other locations.
The federal government has funded the plan to dredge a shipping channel in the Columbia River to a depth of 43 feet over about a 100-mile length from Portland to Astoria.
Plans call for the disposal of sand and other dredge materials on public and private lands, including lands owned by port districts. Disposal of dredge materials could have adverse impacts on habitat properties, requiring the acquisition of other lands which would be improved for habitat purposes.
Of the 805 acres of habitat mitigation lands selected for habitat mitigation, 68.6 percent presently belong to the Colf family.
About 90 percent of the mitigation lands are in Washington, with less than 10 percent on the Oregon side of the river.
In a 2001 letter to the Corps, the Colf family objected to a plan that would take so much land from one family. “This places an overwhelming burden of mitigation on the Colf family,” the letter stated. “We believe this is an unfair burden for one family.”
In 2001, the Colf family offered to give the Corps free use of about 150 acres on Martin Island if they would not take other portions of the family property. The Corps declined that offer and affirmed plans to acquire the Colf family lands.
The Colfs have also questioned the need to mitigate wetland damage at a 12-1 ratio.

BG man studies fate of friend Fossett
Richard Ionata of Battle Ground received a chatty, personal email message from Steve Fossett in late August, less than two weeks before the record-setting pilot was reported missing in a flight over Nevada.
As vice chair of the Contest and Records Board of the National Aeronautic Association, Ionata certified several flight records that Fossett set in recent years. He became friends with Fossett in the process.
Fossett took off in a Citabria plane from Minden, Nevada about 8:45 a.m. Sept. 3, in search of a dry creek bed where he could attempt to set a land speed record. He failed to return and was reported missing later that day. As of Sept. 10, search planes, including a specially-equipped C-130 with infrared capability, had not found Fossett or his plane in a search that stretched over 17,000 square miles.
Ionata said Fossett’s plane was equipped with an Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT) that would send out signals in the event of a crash. No such signals have been noted, said Ionata, meaning that either that the ELT was defective, was damaged on landing, or was in a deep crevasse or canyon that prevent the ELT beacon from being picked up except directly overhead.
Ionata said Fossett wore a watch which was also an emergency locator device. The watch was not automatic, said Ionata, and Fossett would have needed to activate it. “He might be unconscious,” said Ionata, which would explain why the watch was not activated. Ionata said that Fossett is generally well prepared for eventualities.
Ionata said Fossett’s plane has a narrow cockpit and a top speed of about 125 miles per hour. It weighs about 1,350 pounds with fuel but without a pilot, which, said Ionata, is about a third of the weight of a standard-size sedan.
Ionata said Fossett was not carrying a parachute and was likely traveling only a few hundred feet off the ground as he looked over the terrain.
Ionata said treacherous winds in the Nevada area were likely calm at 8:45 a.m. Still, “turbulence can be severe at low elevations,” said Ionata.
Fossett took off from an airstrip at the ranch of Barron Hilton where he was a guest. The Hilton ranch is about 70 miles south of Reno. The plane carried enough fuel for a trip of 500-600 miles, said Ionata.
Ionata theorized that searchers expanded the search area from 600 square miles to 17,000 square miles, thinking that Fossett may have planned to refuel at some other airport. Ionata said Fossett had Nevada maps with him.
Ionata said Fossett tried to fly a hot-air balloon around the world six times, landing in the ocean once and in Brazil on another try. “He could have died then trying to land,” said Ionata.
“My concern now is that he was out looking for a dry lake bed with no survival gear,” said Ionata. “He probably had water and maybe a power bar or two.”
“After having successfully attained over 100 world records on the cutting edge,” said Ionata, “it would be terribly ironic if he met his greatest challenge on a short pleasure flight.”
Ionata was involved in certifying seven world records that Fossett set, including a record set last year for the longest distance flight without landing. Ionata was in Florida when Fossett took off on that flight, and in England when Fossett landed. When Fossett took off, his plane weighted about 22,023 pounds of which 18,263 pounds was fuel. To reduce weight and save fuel, some 80 percent of the tread on the plane’s tires was shaved off. Both main tires went flat on landing.
Fossett, 63, set several flight records in 2005 and 2006, including the first solo flight around the world. He holds some 150 world records, including sail boat records. He set a record traveling around the world in a sail boat. He once swam the English Channel.
Since retiring 11 years ago as a pilot with United Airlines, Ionata has certified 123 flight records for the National Aeronautic Association.
In February 2006, Fossett autographed a Battle Ground Community Food Bank t-shirt which was sold at a fundraising auction later that year.

Giant cuddly pet offers comfort to patients
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
His name, Odard, was originally the name of one of William the Conqueror’s cousins, but Odard is no conqueror; he’s a huge, cuddly old English sheep dog who loves people.
“He’s an old English sheep dog. He should have an old English name,” said Greg Dutton, Odard’s owner.
Six-year-old Odard is the sixth old English sheep dog owned by Dutton and his family. The family’s first dog did not have an old English name–he was named Panda.
As Dutton tells the story, the first day that he and his wife Barbara received Panda, they were in southern Louisiana. They were walking, when somebody asked, “Where did you get that?”
“We got him at the flea market,” Dutton replied.
“Isn’t that illegal?” the person asked.
“No,” answered Dutton.
“Isn’t that a panda?” the person asked.
The name stuck, Dutton said.
Standing nearly 3-feet tall and weighing 125 pounds, Odard is a gentle giant who brings happiness to elderly people living in nursing homes and to people of any age who have been hospitalized. Children love to touch him, Dutton said.
When Dutton and Odard cross Kiwanis Park in Battle Ground, the two are nearly always stopped by parents and children who want to touch and play with Odard.
Many ask, “What kind of dog is that?” Dutton said, but since that long-ago day in Louisiana, nobody has mistaken any of Dutton’s fuzzy dogs for pandas.
The Battle Ground man takes Odard to Southwest Washington Medical Center and nursing homes in Washington and Oregon every Thursday and Friday. The pair visit a hospital or home every alternate week. They are part of a growing number of dogs and dog owners who are therapy dogs that visit shut-ins.
“We usually wander around and people see us in the halls,” Dutton said.
Sometimes the hospital chaplains suggests patients who would enjoy Odard.
An elderly woman in one care home looked forward to playing “bang, you’re dead” with Odard who learned to fall over when somebody pointed a finger at him and said, “bang.”
The hospital attendants said that the only time the elderly woman smiled or showed any animation was when Odard came to visit.
Odard has also proved he’s a good listener, Dutton said. The two have visited children’s reading programs in Portland elementary schools.
“The kids sit in a quiet corner and read to the dog,” Dutton said. “He helps the kids because he listens but doesn’t correct their words.”
Dutton has been asked to take Odard to the Battle Ground Public Library for children’s programs, and he expects to set up programs in the near future.
Odard loves people, but he and other old English sheep dogs can be fierce protectors.
“They are bred as guard dogs; they’re not working dogs, so when you’re away from home, they guard,” he said.
About 21 years ago, when Dutton’s son Travis was 4 or 5, Panda gave his life to protect the little boy from an attack by two pit bull terriers.
Odard hasn’t been called on to save a family member, but the shaggy dog may save the lives of other dogs. Odard is a blood donor. He gives blood at the DoveLewis Animal Hospital in Portland every eight weeks.
A safety consultant, Dutton receives regular e-mail messages asking for Odard’s help; and he said that he, too, finds rewards in sharing his pet with others.
“I wondered at first how it would be; but it’s good, it’s exciting to see people’s reactions and how much he helps,” Dutton said. “We’d like to get more people involved in the therapy dog program.”
For information about therapy dogs, call DoveLewis Animal Assistance Therapy and Education, (503)535-3391.

City to move newly planted trees
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Maple trees planted in May in downtown Woodland will be moved to Horseshoe Lake Park.
The 14 parkway maples, planted by Jeff Leuthold in the right-of-way adjacent to his property, have been deemed unsuitable for city streets, and the Woodland City Council voted Sept. 4 to move them to Horseshoe Lake Park.
Before the council voted 3-2 to move the trees, Leuthold made a plea to keep them where they stand.
“I have said I would prune the trees,” Leuthold said, adding that a nursery assured him that the maples have been designed for city streets.
“They hide the power lines and maintain the clarity of the street,” he told the council. “I think the trees will do fine.”
Leuthold displayed a drawing showing how the maples will grow around power lines if pruned appropriately, and he said the root system should not disturb the sidewalk.
The council’s action followed a letter from the Cowlitz Public Utility District to public works director Elaine Huber. The PUD owns the power lines along Goerig Street.
“This particular species creates quite a few problems for the district as it is a very fast growing maple that would require trimming every year as opposed to the three-year trim that the district currently utilizes,” the PUD wrote.
Leuthold said that he is willing to prune the trees as often as necessary.
The public works department recommended an ornamental pear for Goerig Street. Dennis Ripp of the city’s public works department said the city is also concerned about damage to the sidewalk, and he said the maple’s root system tends to be shallower than that of the pear.
The council agreed to replace the trees with the pear trees that Huber wrote have been “found as suitable for locating under power lines and are also non-invasive for the nearby street and sidewalk.”
The cost of moving the trees to Horseshoe Lake Park and replacing them with ornamental pear trees will be about $1,550.
When Mayor Doug Monge said that the city plans to put the maple trees next to the skate park, Leuthold said, “I don’t want them next to the skate park.”
Council member John J. Burke opposed the decision to move the trees, citing the cost to the city.
“I recommend that the trees stay where they are since he’ll (Leuthold) take responsibility,” Burke said.
Council member Erica Rainford agreed with Burke.
“Rather than pour more money into this, I recommend we keep them,” she said.
Council member Marilee McCall disagreed with Burke’s assessment.
“I appreciate your passion,” she said. “It is admirable and it should be noted. I appreciate your willingness to invest time and money.”
The responsibility for the power lines rests with the PUD, McCall said, and she said the city must consider the maintenance and cost of pruning in determining the best species for a city street.
Monge, who also praised Leuthold’s work to improve the street and his donation, suggested that Leuthold and the public works department “work closely together.”

Woodland considers resolution about casino impacts
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Woodland elected officials struggled Sept. 4 to prepare a draft resolution expressing concerns about a proposed casino near La Center.
The city council discussed drafts of two similar resolutions, and near the end of the public meeting prepared a list of issues to be addressed. City Attorney Paul Brachvogel, who was not present, will prepare the draft.
The council voted 4-1 to authorize the city attorney to prepare a resolution addressing the city’s concerns about the casino that would be owned by the Cowlitz Tribe and operated by the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut.
Most council members agreed that the city must research issues that could impact the Woodland community.
“I don’t see how we can just oppose the tribe,” said council member Darwin Rounds. “We must list how Woodland will be affected.”
Woodland Chamber of Commerce member Darlene Johnson presented a draft resolution opposing the casino to the council during an Aug. 27 work session. She charged that the Cowlitz Tribe would not pay full state taxes or obey state employment laws, and that the casino would unfairly compete with Woodland businesses. Johnson’s draft and another similar draft were presented to the council Sept. 4.
Council member Erica Rainford, who opposed the resolution, said that the two drafts, as presented “have nothing substantial” to support the arguments.
The drafts refer to adverse impacts on the business community, adverse effects on the growth management act and the “unknown factors” of casino development. As written, the drafts say the Indian Gaming Commission made a decision “without consultation or notice to the public or local governments….”
The drafts state that the Cowlitz people traditionally lived north of Clark County and the tribal center is outside the county.
Mayor Doug Monge said the city needed to identify the issues and asked to have them addressed. He said the city’s fire and police departments would be affected, because of mutual aid agreements with La Center and Clark County.
“We have limited resources here,” Monge said. “They (the tribe) said they would work with us.”
He suggested that the city might consider a memorandum of understanding with the Cowlitz Tribe.
Issues concerning the availability of housing and the impact on public schools were raised, but council members generally agreed that the city could not address school district issues.
Council member Jim Tone asked that other public municipalities, such as the school, port and diking districts, join the city in addressing possible problems that could be created by a large casino near the Woodland community.
“It could be that we would request more studies as to what the impacts could be,” said council member Marilee McCall. “We do not want them to proceed without our issues being studied.”
No date was set for the council to consider a resolution.

Woodland police accuse two of arson
Woodland police have charged Arron Lansing, 21, and Lawrence Smith, 41, with second degree arson in connection with a Sept. 4 fire at an unoccupied home at 1772 N Goerig St., Woodland.
Woodland police arrived at the scene of the fire at 11:35 p.m. to find the home fully engulfed in flames. Smith, and his adult step-son Lansing, both Woodland residents, were at the scene watching the fire burn. Police described them as highly intoxicated.
Both Smith and Lansing had previously lived at the home, according to police. Smith and Lansing denied involvement in the fire. Smith reportedly became disorderly and created a disruption at the scene that hindered both law enforcement and firefighters. Smith was arrested on charges of obstructing, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
Investigators later determined that the fire had been intentionally set using an accelerant. Lansing reportedly confessed to starting the fire. He reportedly told police that Smith felt the house belonged to him but due to circumstances, he had lost the house. Lansing reportedly said Smith wanted to burn the house down.
Lansing reportedly said that automotive parts cleaning solvent was used to start the fire on the front porch.
Charges against Smith, who had been booked into Cowlitz County Jail, were amended to include second degree arson. Bail was set at $50,000 each.
Woodland Fire Department officials estimated damage to the home at $25,000. The Clyde Schurman estate owns the building.
The Fire Department responded with two engines, two command units, an aid unit, a brush engine and two utility vehicles. Fourteen firefighters were on the scene.