Utility improperly
installed water heater
Clark Public Utilities failed to obtain
permit
Marvin Fry of Vancouver noticed that the floor under his new water heater was rotting away, so he called Nate Kysar of Nate’s Plumbing for a quote on removing the water heater, having the floor repaired, and then reinstalling the heater.
But when Kysar got to Fry’s Hazel Dell home, he said he discovered five things wrong with the way Clark Public Utilities had installed the water heater.
Kysar said he went immediately to the state Department of Labor and Industries to confirm his findings.
According to Kysar, and confirmed by an inspector with Labor and Industries, Clark Public Utilities failed to obtain a permit for the installation. Utility officials affirmed that the water heater had been installed without a permit. Kysar noted the following errors when the utility installed the water heater on Feb. 4:
** No permit. Every new water heater installation requires a government permit. For manufactured and mobile homes, such as Fry’s, the permit is issued by the state Department of Labor and Industries. For standard framed homes, the permit comes from a city or county.
** The Temperature Pressure Relief valve was not vented outside the home. In fact, the overflow pipe was cut off about a foot above the floor and left hanging in the air.
** No pan under the water heater. A round or square pan is required under a water heater. The pan must also be drained to the outside of the home. But the Fry water heater had no pan and no drain.
** No earthquake strapping. Rules require that hot water heaters be strapped to walls to make sure they don’t fall over in an earthquake. This rule applies to mobile homes as well.
** Temperature set too high. When installed by a plumber, contractor, or Clark Public Utilities, the water temperature in a water heater is to be set at about 120 degrees. Fry complained to Kysar about the high water temperature in his new water heater, and Kysar measured it at 148-150 degrees, sufficient to scald a person, he said. Kysar said he used both an infrared thermal meter and a standard thermometer to measure the water temperature.
Mick Shutt, spokesman for Clark Public Utilities, confirmed that the water heater had been installed without a permit which resulted in no inspection and allowed the other violations to occur. “I have no idea,” said Shutt, as to why a worker with the utility would fail to obtain a permit.
Shutt firmly denied that the employee was directed to undertake the work without a permit, or that his supervisors or managers knew or approved of the action.
Shutt said utility officials had talked with representatives of Labor and Industries. As a result, the utility will obtain a permit, return to Fry’s home, and install the water heater properly.
Fry, who is 71 years old and a disabled veteran of the U.S. Air Force, said David Spencer of Clark Public Utilities responded to his Feb. 1 call about a leaking water heater. Fry said he has been on the utility’s Guaranteed Hot Water Program for 14 ½ years, paying $2.95 each month.
Spencer came to Fry’s home the same day to inspect the water heater. He returned Feb. 4 to install the new appliance.
Fry said Spencer told him that he, Spencer, would have to say that Fry installed the water heater himself or else he’d have to get a permit. Fry said Spencer did not explain why a permit would not be obtained.
“I’m going to tell them you installed it yourself,” Fry quoted Spencer as saying.
Fry said there is “no way” he could install his own hot water heater, considering he has two replacement hips, two replacement shoulders, a fused ankle, and a fused lower back, and can only walk a few steps at a time. He has crutches and a cane, he said, and his electric cart quit working. He retired in 1988 from his position as chief of security at Vancouver Mall.
Fry said he noticed that Spencer had installed a 40-gallon tank rather than a 50-gallon version which he previously had. Fry said he asked Spencer about the size of the heater and Spencer told him that a 50-gallon tank would not fit in the available space.
Kysar questioned that statement, because both the 40- and 50-gallon tanks are 20 inches in diameter, he said. Shutt said the 50-gallon tank the utility uses may be a different size and not fit in the space.
Fry let it go, he said, because “I wanted hot water,” something he had gone the weekend without.
But then Fry discovered the water was too hot. “It would scald you,” said Fry.
Fry said Spencer told him that the pressure relief valve drain pipe wouldn’t line up with the hole in the floor where his previous drain had been. Kysar said all Spencer had to do was move the tank over a few inches and the pipe would line up directly with the hole. However, said Kysar, the vent pipe must extend outside the home, not under the home, and other regulations apply as well, he said.
Kysar also said both a round and square pan would fit in the closet area where the hot water heater is located.
The state Labor and Industries inspector, who handles “Factory Assembled Structures” in the Vancouver region, looked into the situation and found that the utility had not obtained a permit and had not provided Fry with any paperwork. “I’m going to write ‘em up,” said the inspector. “They will get an infraction notice” which carries a fine of $250. A permit for installing the water heater would have cost $87.50.
The inspector expressed concern about the situation, and responded to a suggestion from Kysar that the utility had failed to obtain permits in other cases. The inspector listed the safety implications of an improperly-installed water heater. He took note of the rotted floor in the Fry home and said the utility should not have installed a water heater on a floor in that condition. He said the water heater could tilt or fall through, leading to both water and electrical problems. “Lots of things could go wrong,” said the inspector, a nine-year veteran in his job.
The inspector stated that the policy of his department has been that the utility will train and manage its own employees in matters dealing with appliance repair, certifications of installers, and permits.
Steve Pierce, a spokesman for Labor and Industries in Olympia, said the agency would look into the matter before responding. “We are investigating,” said Pierce. “We have to gather the facts.”
Shutt said previously that many people choose to install their own hot water heaters even though they are part of the Guaranteed Hot Water program which includes both a hot water heater and its installation.
In 2007 through November, said Shutt, the utility replaced 226 hot water heaters of which 142 were delivered to homes and not installed by the utility.
When the utility installs a water heater, said Shutt, the utility acquires and pays for the needed permit. Customers who choose to install their own water heaters must obtain and pay for their own permits. Shutt had no explanation why 62 percent would choose to install their own water heaters despite paying for the program.
The program also includes disposal of the old appliance, added Shutt. Utility crews will take away old heaters when installing a new one, whereas those who install their own water heater must dispose of their defective appliances themselves.
Shutt said the utility would comply with a Reflector request for a list of people who, over the last year, have chosen to install their own water heaters.

O’Brien continues with BG District
Despite the implication in recent news accounts, Kelly O’Brien continues to serve the public for the Battle Ground School District and plans to do so at least through the duration of her current contract.
District superintendent Shonny Bria affirmed that O’Brien continues as community-school liaison and is an important and wanted part of district administration. Bria lauded O’Brien for her work and service to the District.
O’Brien’s current contract with the District extends through June 2008. She has been the District’s public information consultant, meeting facilitator and community relations person for about nine years.
Citing concerns for her personal safety, O’Brien said she has sold her Battle Ground home and moved her children elsewhere. She now lives part-time with a friend in Battle Ground, she said, and part-time elsewhere.
Through her years as a consultant with Battle Ground schools, O’Brien has worked for other organizations simultaneously, including work in California. She continues to have contracts with other organizations, she said.
O’Brien said District communications is in a transitionary period. The District could move toward a consolidated department, she said, a proposal O’Brien made to the board in October 2007. and that remains under consideration.
O’Brien said her role at present includes helping parents resolve issues, responding to requests from the media and public for information, and resolving public concerns. She is not presently handling publications, she said. Bria affirmed this role definition. At present O’Brien is working part-time for the District. She said she advised the District of her reduced schedule in September 2007.
O’Brien traces threats against her to her support of community involvement in District matters. She said that threats have followed occasions when she has conveyed public opinion to the board regarding levy amounts, sometimes telling the board that the public would not support higher levy amounts.
O’Brien said she advised the board last year that changing to a simple majority on levies, instead of the super majority vote criteria, would provide more stable local funding for schools and “put at risk” the willingness of schools to listen to the public.
O’Brien said threatening notes, phone calls, and damage to her car and home have caused her to live in fear.
O’Brien filed multiple reports with the Clark County sheriff’s office in August 2006, but, she said, the incidents have continued.
O’Brien said the problems began in 2003, and recurred in fall 2005 during a school levy campaign. She told sheriff’s deputies that she received multiple phone calls, all by males, and all delivered in a threatening tone. One message stated, “I know where your little boys go to school,” O’Brien reported to the sheriff. Another stated, “You need to shut up, or you will be made to shut up,” sheriff’s records show.
O’Brien said she has received 1-2 threatening calls a week. In September 2006, said O’Brien, threatening calls came mostly from women. On the advice of the sheriff’s office, she tells callers not to bother her and hangs up.
In December 2005, O’Brien returned to her vehicle parked at the school district’s administration facility in Brush Prairie to find a flat tire. O’Brien said she had only been in the building five minutes. A tire company employee later told her the tire had small holes consistent with an ice pick.
In January 2006, said O’Brien, two tires on her vehicle were punctured while it was parked at her home. Nails protruded from the sides of her tires, O’Brien said. The late evening incident included damage to her lawn by a vehicle. She received a threatening phone call that same day, she said.
O’Brien said notes have been left on her vehicle. One note, left in fall 2005, said, “Quit giving a voice to people who don’t deserve it.” Another message stated, “You better watch your kid.”
On Aug. 31, 2006, O’Brien told the sheriff’s office that she had received a phone call with the message, “You’d better take your kids somewhere else, ‘cause you won’t be there to take care of them.”
She also told authorities that on Aug. 31 she found a note on her car that read, “Good riddance, little miss community involvement.” That note was handwritten, said O’Brien, on 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 yellow, lined paper.
O’Brien said threatening phone callers have not been identified because they call from blocked or restricted numbers, and the call-back procedure does not work.
“I believe there are some who do not support the district’s practice of listening to public opinion and using that opinion to help guide decisions,” said O’Brien. “There are some who would have the district tell the public only what they want the public to hear.”
O’Brien is an independent contractor, paid $40.62 per hour, and can bill the district for up to eight hours a day. She receives no benefits or car allowance. She said she pays her own cell phone bill which is over $500 a month. She accepts phone calls at various hours of the night, she said. She said that in the past she worked 15 hours a day but was paid for eight.
O’Brien said school board members were lobbied not to renew her contract.
“I’m a public advocate,” said O’Brien. “I believe in the public process.”
“I care about the safety of my family,” said O’Brien. “I’m worried about my personal safety. I’m afraid. It isn’t stopping.”
Bria said the District will add security cameras and lights inside and outside its district office facility in Brush Prairie.
O’Brien said threatening calls have come from people who find out where she lives, who know where her children are, and who have contacted her father who lived near Spokane until his recent death. Even her friend with whom she now lives has been threatened, she said.
O’Brien described teachers in the Battle Ground district as “experts who know what’s best for kids.” And, she said, “parents are experts on their kids.”
“And the community wants what’s best for children,” added O’Brien.
“As we bring all three together (teachers, parents, and community), that’s when kids are best served,” said O’Brien, adding that “true partnership is the key to bringing parties together.”
“We need to try harder to bridge the disconnects between the district and its patrons,” said O’Brien. “There are people who don’t want our community involved in District decisions. They want information shared with the public to be censored. I don’t believe that’s in the best interests of our children. That kind of thinking scares me. There are clearly people who want me gone.”
“My heart remains committed to public service,” said O’Brien. She said she has served the Battle Ground community as a volunteer and then under contract for 15 years.

BG man denies theft, laundering money
Brandy Slagle
Staff reporter
When it came time for Elizabeth Christensen to apply to college, her father informed her that finances were too tight, and she would have to get a job and put herself through college. But that was before she talked to her step-mother about the $90,000 of inheritance money left by her grandmother to the custodianship of her father, David Christensen.
The 57-year-old Battle Ground certified public accountant pleaded not guilty to stealing about $66,000 from his daughter’s trust fund. He faces one count of first-degree theft and 11 counts of money laundering.
His trial is set for June 2 in Clark County Superior Court.
In an affidavit, Senior Deputy Prosecutor James David wrote that David Christensen received $90,000 in December 2004. His daughter was 17 years old at the time, and he had been instructed to keep it in an account until she turned 21.
But rather than establishing an account for his daughter, he allegedly transferred $75,000 to his Ameritrade account three days later after receiving the money. Ameritrade is an online stock trading company.
Battle Ground Police Detective Kim Armstrong reportedly traced the money last year. Her investigation was included in the affidavit and said that Elizabeth had repeatedly questioned her father as to the status of the money, but that he would not disclose any details to her.
Concerned that her father was withholding information from her, she hired an attorney. About one month later, after obtaining a court order to force her father to account for the money, David Christensen resigned as conservator and turned over $23,637.
David Christensen said he had not told her about the money because he wanted to wait until she was 18.
Elizabeth Christensen obtained a court order to account for the $66,362 of the $90,000 her grandmother left for her and has also filed an order demanding that he repay the money.
Armstrong’s report claims that the remaining balance was distributed to three bank accounts as well as to his Ameritrade account.
David Christensen claimed he was entitled to pay himself from the custodial monies for charges he incurred in obtaining the custodial funds, as well as other charges dating back to December 2002.
Prosecutors refute that he was entitled to be reimbursed for the expenses because it was not included in the original order, and that his expenses had already been covered by Elizabeth Christensen’s child support fund.

Council, planners to discuss downtown
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Business owners and residents of Woodland who have worked to improve the city’s downtown area are hopeful that the city will create a zone that allows people to work and live in the same building.
The City Council on Feb. 19 scheduled a combined council and planning commission work session for Mon., March 10, to consider a mixed-use zone that would allow shops or offices to be on the ground floor of a building with apartments or offices on the upper floors.
The Woodland Downtown Revitalization Committee has been working toward a mixed-used zone as well as a smaller historic district to preserve and enhance the character of the city’s older business and commercial section.
In a revitalization committee report given to the council, the downtown committee suggested changing the zones to extend a commercial corridor along Goerig Street to the I-5 interchange, tying the core area more closely with the freeway.
Mayor Chuck Blum has recommended that the commercial core be extended to the railroad tracks at the west end of Davidson Avenue.
Revitalization committee chairman Tom Golik said the committee would like to keep the revitalization area small while expanding downtown commercial opportunities.
“We want to keep the focus of revitalization on a small scale,” Golik said. “There is not a lot of vacant land, and we will need to expand the broader downtown area.”
As presented to the city council, the downtown committee’s report recommends that buildings in the mixed-use zone be no more than four stories high, and contain retail shops, residences, offices or restaurants.
The report stresses that no light industrial activity be included in the mixed-use zone, and that the size of any one commercial footprint be limited.
The revitalization committee will continue to work toward developing a historic district along a three- to four-block area downtown. Two early 20th Century buildings have been recently renovated. One, the Centennial Building, has been restored to include apartments or a studio on the second floor.
Blum suggested that an official who has “significant experience” in creating mixed-use zones speak during the joint council-planning commission workshop.
The mayor also suggested that Woodland planner Kei Zushi and a group of Woodland residents visit Washougal to talk with officials there who have developed mixed-use zones.
The report from the revitalization committee states: “Expanding the core of Woodland has been one of DWR’s (Downtown Woodland Revitalization) goals for five years. We have a treasury of history and historic buildings in our little town but we need to expand the area to accommodate the growth we have been and will be realizing.”
Although a new mixed-use zone has not been prepared, it is expected that any zone would include design guidelines for new buildings.

House Fairy keeps in touch with children
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Santa’s sister Sarah Claus, who was born with wings, never cleaned her room when she was a little girl.
Her family knew she was destined for great fairy-hood, but she was so disorganized and sloppy that she could not get into the tooth fairy college. She had to give up the dream of being a tooth fairy.
One Christmas her brother asked for her help in observing the children of the world by flying to their homes, but he gave his sister one preliminary task: she had to get organized first.
Sarah Claus wanted so much to fly around the world that she organized her room and her life. From that one adventure came the House Fairy, the magical fairy who knows which children are cleaning their rooms, helping their parents and being polite.
The House Fairy gives out prizes, visits children’s rooms, sometimes leaving a little bit of fairy dust, and gives points and fairy dollars for cleanliness and good behavior. She has even “sponsored” entire family vacations.
The House Fairy reaches young children through a Web site set up a year ago by her alter-ego, Pam Young of Woodland.
Young, who with her sister Peggy Jones penned the Slob Sisters series of seven books, got the idea years ago when her daughter was in elementary school.
She recalls that her daughter’s room was a mess of discarded clothes, toys and other items.
One day Young’s daughter came home from school and told her mother about the “desk fairy” who sometimes visited the classroom while the children were playing outside. Children with clean, neat desks got a prize from the “desk fairy.”
“I didn’t think she had ever gotten a prize,” Young said. “She was a slob at home; her room was a cave, but she said, ‘I always get a prize.’
“I realized that after so much nagging, Mom’s voice becomes like Charlie Brown’s parents’ voices, ‘blah, blah, blah.’”
From the conversation with her daughter and her years of writing books on home organization, Young gradually developed the House Fairy persona. Her husband, Terry Richard, a videographer, helped her create a television set in the basement of their home. From there, the House Fairy appears online and on CDs and DVDs.
On the Web site, www.housefairy.org, the House Fairy sings children’s songs, tells stories and gives incentive to children. New songs and stories are added from time to time.
“It takes the burden of always being the bad guy off the parent,” Young said.
The House Fairy is not the bad guy either. In her tall white wig and her wings, waving her wand to create fairy dust, she sings original songs and talks about positive behavior.
Although she is not musically trained and does not read music, Young said she’s been singing since she was a child.
“As little girls we got together and sang,” she said. “That’s where I got my love of music.”
Battle Ground’s Burke Harris of Soundtracks arranged and recorded Young’s original tunes.
“She’s a grandmother, but I can make her sound like a seven-year-old,” said Harris.
The House Fairy’s Web site provides an e-mail address for parents to ask questions or make comments. One parent complained that her children were “pack rats.” The House Fairy suggested that the parent decorate a box, give it to the children and ask that they put the clothes and the toys they no longer used into the box.
One of the House Fairy’s plans is to reward neat, well behaved children with prizes. A parent wrote that the prizes were adding to the clutter in the children’s room.
“We’re creating all the stuff that we keep adding,” Young said.
To keep from adding to the clutter, Young developed the Good Behavior Ticket Program that rewards coupons or “money” toward something important that children really want.
One couple told their children that the House Fairy had sponsored their trip to Disney World.
Working with parents, the House Fairy visits the children’s rooms, taking pictures of the clutter or the neat appearance. The neat and clean rooms are posted on the Web site, but if a room is dirty and sloppy, its owner gets a little fairy dust, “but no prizes,” Young said.
Joining the House Fairy program costs parents $13 a year for the online program. The CDs and DVDs are $20 per year. About 13,000 parents have joined the program, she said. To order a CD or DVD, call (360) 225-9080.
“This has been a ball,” Young said. “I connect with kids, and I get to write music.”
Young said the House Fairy’s goal is to help youngsters develop good habits and routines in their daily life.

Rainford named Port of Woodland director
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
Former Woodland City Council member Erica Rainford has been named director of the Port of Woodland, succeeding Dave Ripp who has been hired by the Port of Washougal.
Rainford, a Realtor with Woodland Real Estate, served one full term on the city council, retiring in December.
The position that pays $50,000 per year is one of two full-time positions at the Port. The auditor’s job is held by Carol Moore.
The Woodland native was selected from a field of 28 candidates. Dave Boon, chairman of the three-member commission, said Rainford was chosen because of “her enthusiasm and her desire to take the Port forward.”
Rainford began working Feb. 1, but the three-member port commission did not have a final vote on hiring her until Feb. 21. Boon cast the “no” vote.
“I thought another candidate had more experience, business-wise,” he said.
In addition to Boon, commission members are Tom Wilson and Jerry Peterson.
The original vote, also 2-1, was taken in January, but according to the minutes of the regular Jan. 17 meeting, the vote did not take place then.
“We didn’t actually have a called advertised meeting to discuss it,” Boon said.
Wilson said on Feb. 20 that he supported the decision to hire Rainford.
“She has excellent qualifications,” he said. “She been a business owner, built up a business and sold it. She has a broker’s license. She’s already done a good job for us.”
Commissioner Peterson could not be reached for comment.
The Port of Woodland is a taxing district and its meetings are subject to the state’s public meetings law. The vote to hire a top official must take place in public and the vote must be recorded.
When asked about her decision to apply for the Port position, Rainford, 25, said, “the Port has interested me for a while. It was a perfect opportunity and it all fell into place.”
Boon said most of the candidates came from the Northwest but few had experience with ports. Those with experience had worked mostly with marinas, he said. The Port of Woodland does not have a marina.
Activity at the Port has been slow during the winter, Boon said.
“No industry has expressed interest in recent months,” he said, “but December and January are usually pretty slow.”
Boon said the director’s “largest responsibility is to work with potential clients” and recruit new tenants to the port’s industrial parks.
A goal for this year is to expand city services to the Guild Industrial Park, Rainford said.
“We need more space,” she said, although the park does have some property that can be leased now.
“We’re finishing up a new transaction,” Rainford said. “We’re constructing a building for a new tenant.”
Rainford declined to release the name of the proposed tenant.
The Port, with 24 tenants, has projected revenues at $495,000 for 2008.
When she won a seat on the city council a little more than four years ago, Rainford became one of the youngest ever to be elected. She said she has been with Woodland Real Estate for 3 1/2 years is not taking new clients.
“I’m finishing up with a few transactions,” she said.
A graduate of Woodland High School, Rainford attended Washington State University Vancouver. She is married to Phil Rainford and the couple has no children.
In her free time, Rainford said she enjoys walking and spending time with her family. Her parents are Colleen Scott and Neal Rodman.
“I have a large family, and I feel blessed by that,” she said.

Volunteers invited to campground work party
The state Department of Natural Resources has scheduled a work party at the Woodland Campground for Sat., March 1, 9 a.m.-2 p.m., and invites volunteers to help out.
The campground is located three miles east of Woodland.
Individuals, students, families and groups are invited to help maintain the campground for future generations.
Volunteers are asked to meet at the pavilion at the campground, bringing two sets of gloves, boots, rain gear, layered clothing, lunch and water.
The work will include cleaning up fire pits, campsites and picnic areas, clearing paths, replacing picnic tables, and installing signs.
Those interested in volunteering or wishing more information may contact D. Becker or Jessica Kimmick, (360) 577-2025.

Ridgefield settles suit with police sergeant
City’s insurance
carrier will pay
former sergeant
Bill Myers
staff reporter
Attorneys for the Washington Cities Insurance Authority agreed Feb. 14 to settle a wrongful termination lawsuit brought by police sergeant Randall Ostrander against the City of Ridgefield for $200,000.
The settlement was reached during a Feb. 12 mediation session in Seattle.
City officials fired Ostrander after five years of service in August 2006 for what Vancouver attorney Gregory Ferguson, representing Ostrander, said were disputed allegations that the police sergeant made false entries in an electronic police reporting system and gave false information to Internal Affairs investigators.
In a lawsuit filed in December 2006, Ostrander, 50, contended that he was wrongfully terminated after he investigated and reported improper conduct by City officials.
Conditions for the settlement required city manager Justin Clary to send an amended Notice of Officer Termination to the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, saying that there is insufficient evidence to support the allegations. Other conditions required that documents pertaining to a 2006 Internal Affairs investigation concerning Ostrander be removed from his personnel file and retained in a separate confidential Internal Affairs Investigation file.
The City agreed to reinstate Ostrander effective Feb. 22, 2008, and accept a resignation by him on the same day with his agreement to waive claims for back pay or benefits.
Wording in the accord said the agreement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing or liability by either party.
Ferguson said that “after a long, hard look...,” the City did the right thing. He said his client was employed in law enforcement since becoming a military policeman at age 19. Until he was discharged by Ridgefield, he had never received any type of formal written discipline, said Ferguson. He said the cloud hanging over Ostrander’s head prevented him from returning to law enforcement and he began working as a long-haul truck driver.
Ferguson said Ostrander’s investigations in the years prior to his termination helped expose official misconduct by Ridgefield officials, including fraud and environmental violations at the City’s wastewater treatment plant. The lawyer said his investigations also aided in the prosecution of a prior city manager who had allowed lead-based paint to contaminate the City’s storm water system.
Following the settlement, Ostrander said, “Despite the hardship I suffered, it still remains an honor to have served the Ridgefield community. I hope that those who truly know me continue to think of me as a dedicated officer who served with honesty, integrity and conviction.”

Clover Church adds youth program
Alice Perry Linker
staff reporter
A student at Washington State University Vancouver has been hired as the youth leader at Clover Valley Community Church in Woodland.
Eric Nelson began his duties in January when he developed the “Streetlight Youth Community” at the church.
In considering names for the organization that includes middle and high school students, Nelson said he wanted to get away from the standard “youth group” name.
“I looked at a street light one evening and I started thinking about what a street light is,” Nelson said. “When we move out of the shadows and into the light, we begin to live and move and breathe. I really liked the idea of a street light.”
A native of Battle Ground and graduate of Battle Ground High School, Nelson has been a youth leader volunteer at Charter Oak Church.
The Wednesday youth program is new to the Clover Valley Church, said Linda Gustafson, wife of Pastor Dave Gustafson.
“In the past, Clover Valley Church has not been highly involved with their surrounding community, but all that has changed,” she said.
Nelson said the first “Streetlight Youth Community” program attracted 45 people, and attendance has averaged between 30 and 40.
“We see new faces every week,” he said.
The youths meet each Wednesday at 7 p.m. The gatherings open with a greeting and the group plays a game, either inside or outside, depending on the weather, Nelson said. Music is a part of every meeting, he said.
Linda Gustafson said the Clover Valley congregation moved into a new church building last year and since then has been adding programs. The new sanctuary can hold about 200 people and can be converted to a dining room for potlucks and church dinners, she said.
The worship service that takes place at 10:30 a.m. includes contemporary music with guitar, bass and drums. She said different musicians play at each service.
“We want people to know that Christianity is joyous,” she said. “Of course it’s serious, too, but there can be a lot of good times.”
For information about the church and its programs, call (360) 907-0379. Nelson may be reached at (360) 713-2816.