No injuries in plane mishap
Pilot Melynda J. Zurita, 58, of Beaverton, OR, landed her Cessna 150 in a newly-plowed field in Woodland after suffering engine failure Sept. 23.
Cowlitz County sheriff’s deputies responded to the 5 p.m. call about one mile south of Woodland just off S Pekin Road.
Zurita’s passenger, a 15-year-old young man from Vancouver, was also not injured. Both Zurita and her passenger did not receive medical attention and left the scene in a private vehicle. The call for aid gave the accident address of the accident as 127 Wyman Road.
According to Charlie Rosenzweig, chief criminal deputy with the Cowlitz County sheriff’s office, the plane is owned by Aero Maintenance Flight Center at the Pearson Airfield in Vancouver. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board have been notified, Rosenzweig said.
Rosenzweig said Zurita had taken off from the Pearson Air Field in Vancouver. The cause of the engine failure is not known, said Rosenzweig.
Rosenzweig said the ground was soft and the plane tipped over. “She did a really good job,” said Rosenzweig of Zurita’s landing. “Most people would say the plane had minor damage.”

Simpson named volunteer of year
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
At times, the chairman of the Woodland Planning Commission has a thankless assignment, but at other times, patience and a good nature can bring rewards.
Such was the case of Dave Simpson who last week was named the Woodland Volunteer of the Year by his fellow volunteers and city staff.
“It was really a surprise,” Simpson said.
As to why he thinks he received the award, Simpson said, “A friend told me that you don’t get awards for being grumpy.”
“I try to make the (planning commission) meetings as productive and friendly as possible,” he said.
The city planning commission meets monthly and makes recommendations on land use issues such as zoning and annexation to the Woodland City Council.
Occasionally land use decisions lead to controversy, but Simpson said that city residents often do not participate when the commission must decide on a land use rule or annexation.
“When we have meetings that establish land uses or meetings where we set rules with planning or the city code, we have very little public comment,” he said. “That’s when we need it.”
Simpson’s five years on the planning commission have been busy, but he’s not ready to give up.
“I think longevity is a bonus to the planning commission,” he said. “You can think about what happened 10 years ago.”
The five planning commission members are appointed by the mayor and approved by the city council.
“It’s hard to recruit people for the planning commission,” Simpson said. “Members get reappointed. The staff says, ‘Oh, by the way, you’re reappointed.’”
The administrator for West Coast Training, a Woodland heavy equipment school, Simpson became involved in the planning commission after he started Burris Creek Mini-Storage. Before then, his job in the transportation industry took him away from home often.
“The position was open. I was starting my own business and had the time to give,” he said. “It’s something I have some experience in. I had done some developing and dealt with wetlands issues.
“I never call myself a developer.”
With two jobs and a family, the 13-year resident of Woodland stays busy, but he and his family take time to enjoy their horses and the stables they own in Winlock.
“We do more shoveling than anything else,” Simpson said.
Simpson and his wife Adonica have a daughter, Tia, 16, and a son, Tucker, 10.
“Woodland is the only home they’ve ever known,” he said.
City employees also voted Dennis Ripp, senior leadman for the public works department, as employee of the year.
Ripp began working for the city in 1974 when he was a high school student. Recently appointed senior leadman, he supervises seven employees who take care of the water and sewer plants, city streets and parks.

Board picks Hayes Creek name
Citing historic references and documents, the State Board on Geographic Names decided Sept. 21 that an unnamed creek in northwest Clark County will be called “Hayes Creek.”
Caleb Maki, Administrative Assistant to the State Board, said documents dating back to the 1970s and even earlier showed that the creek had been referred to as Hayes Creek even though not officially bearing that name.
Maki said some early water rights documents provided by Walter Hansen also referred to the creek as Hayes Creek. The State Board concluded, said Maki, that the name Hayes Creek was in common local usage for 70-80 years.
The State Board considered the matter for less than an hour, said Maki, including testimony by Hansen, proponent of the Hayes Creek name, Robert Zumstein who had proposed the name Heritage Creek, and others.
Hayes Creek flows from east to west and enters the North Fork of the Lewis River.
In proposing the name Heritage Creek, Zumstein said the creek and its tributaries touched “almost everyone in this valley. They are proud of the little stream or spring that originates on their piece of land to feed the creek. It is part of their heritage.”
Zumstein said the creek will be part of his family’s heritage as the property is handed down from generation to generation.
Hansen noted that the general area in which the creek flows bears the historic name “Hayes,” named after former U.S. President Rutherford Hayes. He said the area previously had the “Hayes Post Office,” “Hayes Church,” and “Hayes School.” A cemetery in the area is named Hayes Cemetery, he said.
The main stem of Hayes Creek runs through Hansen’s property. He said the creek has been referred to as Hayes Creek since 1853. The Hayes Bridge was removed more than 70 years ago and replaced with a culvert, he said.
Maki noted that the name Hayes Creek was supported by the Woodland city council and not opposed by the Clark County commissioners.
Corrections given
In a Sept. 19 story and the naming of Hayes Creek, The Reflector reported that the Clark County commissioners supported the name Heritage Creek. However, the commissioners submitted more than one letter to the State Board. In one letter, the commissioners said they supported the name Heritage Creek. In another letter, they said they had no objection to the name Hayes Creek. And county administrator Bill Barron said before last week’s State Board meeting that the commissioners had no opinion on the matter.
The Reflector also reported Sept. 19 that Norman Carlson was included on Zumstein’s application for the name Heritage Creek. However, Carlson later wrote to the state board in support of the name Hayes Creek.
Maki said any citizen can propose a new name for a geographic feature at any time, even if that feature already has a name. For example, he said, some of the tributaries to the newly-named Hayes Creek could be given names.
Maki can be reached at (360) 902-1280.

Woodland school board meetings changed
The Woodland school board will continue meeting on the second and fourth Mondays, but will meet in a different location.
The board now meets in the Woodland Middle/High School Media Center. The former meeting room, adjacent to the Administration office, is now a classroom.
The board will continue meeting at 7 p.m.
“We are out of space in the middle and high school, even with the addition of a new two-classroom portable over the summer,” said Woodland superintendent Michael Green. “Our first priority is to provide an appropriate learning environment for students, so when we needed one more English/math middle school classroom, our only choice was to take over the Community Meeting Room.”
In addition to board meetings, various school and community groups have previously used the Community Meeting Room. Other locations are being sought for these groups.
Information about meeting space is available by calling Woodland Community Education, 225-9510. Information about school board matters is available by calling 225-9451.

Educator John Davis succumbs to cancer
Bill Myers
staff reporter
Dr. John Davis, a former superintendent of the Hockinson School District whose vision is credited with expansion of the District to include a high school, died Sept. 16 at his home in Ridgefield after a long battle with cancer.
Only days before his passing, Davis attended a Sept. 13 tribute in his honor at the Hockinson High School library in a facility he helped to build.
District officials at the ceremony credited Davis with unrelenting enthusiasm and a passion for education that paved the way for construction of a modern high school facility with a spacious library. Hockinson Middle School librarian Barbara Fritzler said Davis always considered libraries “the hub of a school.”
About 100 well-wishers at the tribute where Hockinson school board vice-president Deborah Stavig said Davis, who led the District from 1994-2001, “dreamed how to make impossible possible.” School board members presented the former superintendent with a plaque of appreciation that is now displayed in the library.
Born in Winthrop on Feb. 26, 1947, Davis was raised in the small village on the eastern slope of the North Cascades mountains. He graduated from Winthrop High School in 1965.
A spirit of adventure challenged Davis early in life. After his high school graduation, he volunteered for training as a smoke jumper at a U.S. Forest Service facility near Winthrop. Stepson Damon Hess and son Carson Davis said their dad made his first “hot” jump into a remote area known as Delancey Ridge where he was struck and seriously injured by a falling, burning tree. It took fellow jumpers about 12 hours to pack Davis from the wilderness. He was then taken by ambulance to hospitals in Omak and Wenatchee. Surgery, necessary to eliminate damage done by infection in his right elbow, permanently impaired movement of the elbow.
Stepdaughter Mignon Heggen said a doctor asked her dad which direction he would like to have the arm pointing after surgery. “Dad told the doctor to point it so he could put his right hand into his pocket,” she said.
Davis redirected his life following the injury. He majored in education at Eastern Washington University at Cheney, earning a bachelor of arts degree in 1970 and a master’s degree in 1973.
A two-year stint as a school principal in Neah Bay followed. Davis then became principal of a middle school in Goldendale. Heggen said a teacher at the school introduced Davis to Sheila Catterall. Romance bloomed and they married in 1980.
The couple, with Sheila’s three children from a previous marriage and a new baby, moved in 1982 to Storrs, CT, where Davis attended a University of Connecticut doctoral of education program. While studying for his doctorate, Davis worked as assistant dean at the University’s School of Education.
Son Carson Davis said his father was the first candidate for a doctor’s degree at the University of Connecticut to do a thesis on a computer. He said the experience convinced his father to successfully apply for grants from the Bill Gates Foundation and made him a strong advocate of teaching technology in schools.
On weekend jaunts with his wife in New England, John began to collect Thomas Edison memorabilia, including old light bulbs, radios and fans. He soon developed a passion for Edison memorabilia, and years later would have what was considered the largest collection of vintage Edison light bulbs in the world. The collection was donated by Davis later in life to the American Museum of Radio and Electricity in Bellingham.
Following completion of his doctorate program in 1985, Davis and his family moved to Kelso where he worked for nine years as assistant superintendant in the Kelso School District. In 1992, he began teaching night classes in education law at Washington State University Vancouver. He taught evening classes at the University until 2003. Davis was an active Rotarian in Kelso, and a leader in foreign student exchange programs. He and Sheila hosted several foreign students at their home.
In 1994, Davis was hired as superintendant of the Hockinson School District, then a district with grades K-8.
Former Hockinson School Board member Erik Mattson remembers how seeds for a new high school grew under Davis’s tenure. He said, “This (high school) site was dreamed into existence and John expressed that dream to the community.”
Davis led a successful campaign for bond funding to buy property for the new high school. He helped to navigate the new school project through complex permitting processes. Mattson said a tireless and focused Davis would often say, “We’re here for the kids. That’s why we do what we do.”
After retiring from the Hockinson post in 2001, Davis was asked by then-governor Gary Locke to become interim superintendant of the Washington School for the Deaf in Vancouver. Davis accepted a superintendant post at KWRL Transportation Coop in Woodland in 2002. The Coop provides school bus services to Kalama, Woodland, Ridgefield and La Center school districts. He led the Coop until retiring in June 2005 to devote more time to a growing family. Davis also enjoyed genealogy and researching family histories.
During his tenure at the Coop, Davis was narrowly defeated in a September 2004 primary election by fellow Democratic candidate Paul Waadevig in a race for the state senate from the 17th District.
At the Sept. 13 tribute, Steve Wright, who assisted Davis at the Hockinson School District, marvelled at Davis’ accomplishments. He said that Davis, while superintendent at the District, was able to remodel primary and middle schools, build a new maintenance building, and start a new high school. “He saw barriers as opportunities,” said Wright.
Memorial services were held Sept. 25 at the Hockinson High School auditorium to honor Davis.

Poker tourney raises money for charity
About $2,100 was raised for charity during a no-limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament conducted Sept. 15 by the Southwest Washington Independent Forward Thrust (Swift), a Vancouver-based organization that raises money for community projects and charities.
Vancouver resident George Niziol claimed the top prize of $2,200 at the end of the evening in the first-ever Swift poker tournament.
The poker event was held at the Pantheon Banquet Hall in southeast Portland, with the assistance of Wild Bill’s Casino. Washington gambling laws dictated that the tournament be conducted in Oregon.
Swift office assistant Kim Stewart said 58 players entered the tournament with a minimum buy-in of $110 and a maximum of $210. An array of food was served during the tournament which began at 4 p.m. and concluded at about 10 p.m. In addition to the ultimate winner, the top 10 finishers received prizes, all in the form of pre-paid credit cards.
Mike Ciraulo of Battle Ground took part in the tournament.
Ciraulo said he started with 11,000 chips, but was eliminated mid-way in the competition.
Ciraulo said the ante was raised as the event progressed which encouraged higher betting.
“I went “all-in” (better all his remaining chips) more than once,” said Ciraulo. “It was lots of fun.”
Ciraulo said he plays social poker with friends but has never before entered a tournament.
In his final hand, Ciraulo had a pair of fives and went “all-in” against an opponent who also had a pair but won with three of a kind. “He had been bluffing,” said Ciraulo in explaining his decision to challenge with the “all-in” bet.
Swift raises money for its community grants program through a gala banquet and auction and a golf tournament. The Swift organization staffed a booth at Fort Vancouver during the July Fourth festivities. The poker tournament may take place again, said Stewart.
Food Bank auction, banquet set
Ciraulo, who is a member of the Battle Ground city council and a division chief at Fire District 11, is also on the board of the Battle Ground Community Food Bank. He will serve as master of ceremonies for the Food Bank banquet and auction which will take place Sat., Sept. 29, at Royal Oaks Country Club in Vancouver.
Elaine Hertz, who heads the Food Bank, said there is still time for people to register to attend the event. Doors will open at 5:30 p.m., with dinner at 7 p.m. and the auction to follow. Cost is $50 per person. Anyone interested in attending is urged to call Hertz, 687-5007.
Ciraulo also serves on the steering committee for Loaves and Fishes, a charity organization that serves meals to senior citizens both at central locations and in homes through the Meals on Wheels program.
Loaves and Fishes recently committed $100,000 toward the construction of a planned community center in Battle Ground where the organization would serve meals to seniors several days a week and provide other senior programs.

BG School Board names reconfigured campuses
Brandy Slagle
Staff reporter
Battle Ground School Board members voted 4-0 to name the reconfigured schools in the city of Battle Ground “Captain Strong Primary” and “Chief Umtuch Middle School.”
School board member Fred Striker was not present at the meeting and had been excused to attend a conference.
A naming committee had given school board members a list of options to name the campuses after spending months deliberating on information from community surveys and studying district guidelines. Board members selected the committee’s second choice for the school names, changing Captain Strong Elementary to Primary.
School board member Richard Kent made the motion to adopt the new names. His motion was followed by an amendment from Sam Kim, school board vice president, who changed the committee’s recommendation of elementary to primary.
Kent said he objected to the amendment, but still voted in favor of retaining the names of the two schools. “Most of the recommendations made by this committee were in favor of using elementary,” he said in his objection.
Kelly O’Brien, who assisted the committee during the naming process, presented the item to the board at the Sept. 20 meeting at Amboy Middle School. She told the board earlier in the meeting that committee members had hoped the school would have been named before the school year started. She said that most of the employee feedback the committee heard stressed that a school’s name fosters a sense of ownership and pride in the school, she said.
The looming changes inspired strong emotion from teachers and staff as well as current and former students, she said.
Several school board members said they were not sure if they were prepared to make a decision that evening on naming the new schools. Still, Kent made the initial motion to retain the school names after O’Brien expressed to board members how the community had repeatedly asked the committee why the board had not yet made a decision.
“It means a lot to a lot of people,” she said. “Putting this decision off for an extended period of time could cause more problems than naming it.”
Board members also discussed finding a way to retain Lewisville as a school name somewhere in the district in the future.
The name change will not go into effect until construction is complete at the new middle school campus in the 2008-09 school year.

Lloyd’s could reopen in month
Commercial real estate agent Bob Bernhardt of Vancouver said he has three viable restaurant operators interested in reopening Lloyd’s Grill in Battle Ground. The business could be in operation within a month, said Bernhardt.
Owner Scott Hoffman purchased the business from Lloyd Taylor who opened the family-style business about two years ago. Bernhardt said it is his understanding that Taylor got over-extended and sold both Lloyd’s Grill and Rose’s in Vancouver to Hoffman.
Hoffman also acquired All-Star restaurants, formerly Boston’s, and at one point was operating five restaurants, said Bernhardt.
Rose’s was the first to close, said Bernhardt, followed by Lloyd’s and All-Star in Orchards.
“In my opinion, Lloyd’s is an absolutely successful restaurant,” said Bernhardt, who, in addition to handling the search for a new operator is part owner in the Gardner Center development.
“I just put out information three weeks ago and I already have three restaurant owners interested,” said Bernhardt. “I believe it will be (operating) in a month.”
Lloyd’s Grill, located in the Gardner Center at NE 199th St. and SR-503, has 6,200 square feet of space and is fully equipped with restaurant equipment, tables, chairs, “even the silverware,” said Bernhardt. A cleaning crew has worked inside the facility, he said.
Anyone interested in discussing ownership of the Lloyd’s Grill business is invited to call Bernhardt, Coldwell Banker Commercial, Jenkins-Bernhardt Associates, 699-4494.