County will upgrade railroad
 Beginning in May, Clark County officials will begin upgrading a 14-mile stretch of the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad from Rye Junction in Vancouver to Battle Ground.
The rehabilitation work will include replacement of rail, ties and ballast at various points on the county-owned railroad, funded by a $1.1 million rail emergent grant from the state Department of Transportation.
County planner Fred Abraham said the project will allow greater use of the rail for freight purposes, reflecting the growth of rail traffic expected in the coming years.
Abraham said the grant requires the county to provide a 10 percent match.
Abraham said the track from Rye to Battle Ground is not now adequate for passenger use and will not be adequate for passengers following the planned work. It will improve the “potential” for passenger service in the future, said Abraham.
The work will allow the use of heavier cars and for cars to move at higher speeds.
Abraham said the grant will not only be used for rail rehabilitation, but also for drainage work near the Bonneville Power facility in Vancouver, and for preliminary engineering on switching improvements where the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad meets the Burlington Northern-Sante Fe Railway.
The county created a Railroad Industrial Reserve zone in its recently updated comprehensive plan. The zone is designed to encourage development of industrial properties along the railroad.
Shipping on the rail line has increased more than 1,000 percent in the last 24 months, said Abraham, because of long-term contracts with Columbia Basin Railroad Company. The track will be brought up to standards that would accommodate current shippers. In addition to new rail, track spikes, tie replacements and ballast rock, the county will upgrade one culvert and improve drainage along the tracks, plus complete maintenance work on a crossing at NE 40th Ave.
HDR Engineering has been selected to work on the project, with Cahill Inc. acting as project engineer and rail consultant.
Cars stored in Battle Ground
Eric Temple, operator of the Columbia Basin Railroad Company which holds a 90-year contract on the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad, said he has stored passenger cars in Battle Ground temporarily.
The seven dining cars and one generating car are located north of Main Street and surrounded by a temporary security fence. He said he might take them elsewhere.
Temple characterized the planned track work to be done between Rye and Battle Ground as making “marginal improvements.”
Information is available by calling Abraham, 397-2280, ext. 4113.

Utility drops ball on another water heater
Some wonder how extensive the
problem may be
Margaret McDonald of Hazel Dell said Clark Public Utilities installed a new water heater in her home about Nov. 28, 2007, and she has been troubled with scalding water ever since. She said she warns her guests about the water temperature, and must take precautions when taking a shower.
As it turns out, the new water heater was heating water to 150 degrees instead of the standard 120 degrees.
And the water heater was installed without a pan underneath, without earthquake strapping, and without a drain pipe away from the house--all required by code. And it was installed without a permit which was confirmed by Mick Shutt, spokesman for Clark Public Utilities.
McDonald takes advantage of the utility’s Guaranteed Hot Water program and pays the utility $2.95 per month.
The issue arose when McDonald was talking to a neighbor about her water temperature. Word got around her development and another neighbor, Marvin Fry, informed McDonald of his newly-identical problems with a water heater also installed by Clark Public Utilities. That work was also done without a permit, according to utility and state officials, and therefore no inspection was done to assure that various installation requirements were met.
In addition, Fry’s floor beneath his water heater was rotten due to water leaks, but the utility installed the water heater anyway.
An inspector with the state Department of Labor and Industries said he issued an infraction notice to the utility regarding the Marvin Fry errors. The infraction notice carried a $250 fine.
McDonald said she called the utility about the excessively hot water and was promised corrective action. She then delayed having work done until she felt better, she said.
Plumber Nate Kysar, who was working on the nearby Marvin Fry repairs, visited McDonald’s home and discovered the installation errors. McDonald’s water heater was tilting several inches to one side due to a rotting floor, said Kysar.
McDonald said a utility official called to ask about her water heater situation, and even asked if it was installed by the utility. McDonald said she told the official all about her problems, including problems with the rotting floor.
Shutt said the utility had hired Kysar to repair Fry’s water heater problems, including floor repairs, earthquake strapping, bottom pan, proper temperature, and exterior drain. Kysar said his bid for the work was $2,600, and the utility was to pay for the $80 permit.
Shutt said March 12 that the utility would make the same corrective actions for McDonald, including floor repairs, and had already acquired the necessary permit.
Shutt said utility records show that over 60 percent of people who take part in the Guaranteed Hot Water program choose to install their own hot water heaters, acquire their own permits, and dispose of their defective appliances.
Kysar points to the Fry and McDonald incidents as evidence that the utility has frequently installed water heaters improperly and without permits.
Shutt provided The Reflector with a list of customers who, over the past year, had acquired hot water heaters through the utility’s Guaranteed Hot Water Program but had chosen to install the heaters themselves. Shutt noted that The Reflector is the only organization interested in the hot water heater permit and inspection problems.

Butler will challenge Boldt for commissioner post
 Martyn Butler, who supports a proposed Cowlitz tribal casino near La Center, has announced that he will seek election to the post of Clark County commissioner from the east county district.
Butler will challenge fellow Republican and incumbent Marc Boldt.
Butler said a tribal casino would bring about 3,000 jobs to the area.
“The casino is a win-win opportunity for the citizens of Clark County,” said Butler. “The benefits are many. Not only will jobs be created, but vendors will be able to have new markets for their products and services.”
Butler said officials should pursue an agreement with the Cowlitz Tribe to protect taxpayers and gain revenues in lieu of taxes.
“We’ve got to have good faith on both sides,” said Butler of a possible agreement with the Tribe.
Butler suggested that a new agreement with the Tribe be prepared with public hearings and a very public process.
“I think the Tribe will work well with us,” said Butler. “One thing you’ll find about me is I like to move on, not sit around and chew the fat.”
Butler said opposition to the casino is due in part to religion and that “some people just don’t like gambling.” But he said that the majority of citizens would support the casino if it were put to a vote. He said, despite claims that casino jobs would be minimum wage, his research showed that casino workers would start at $28,000 plus benefits.
Butler said he doesn’t understand why the Citizen Against Reservation Shopping group opposes the project. He said convention centers and hotels in both Vancouver and the new casino would gain business.
Butler works in a commercial printing business, commuting each day from Vancouver to west Portland. He previously served for 10 years on a school board that consolidated with the Hillsboro, OR district. He also owned a printing business in Colorado. He is a three-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps. He was a firefighter in the Sequoia National Park. He and his wife, Penelope, have a daughter, Molly Butler, and son Marty Butler, plus two grandchildren.
Third bridge a good idea
Butler said he supports the construction of a third bridge over the Columbia River rather than the rebuilding of the existing structures. He said he expects continuing population growth. He said people come to Clark County for less expensive housing while working jobs in Portland. He said $4 a gallon gas hasn’t slowed the volume of commuters.
Butler said light rail can be added to the existing I-5 bridges or by reconstruction of a nearby railroad bridge. He said light rail could extend to Clark College without area citizens being taxed for construction. He supports a vote on a sales tax increase for operation of light rail. “The people will have spoken,” said Butler.
Butler said he commutes to his Portland job about 6-6:30 a.m. without delay, but traffic bogs down northbound in the afternoon, he said.
Butler said seniors and retired people are against light rail. “People are really tired of taxes,” he said. He cited the proposed trail along the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad as an expensive project that taxpayers may not support.
Butler said it is the duty of local government to attract business, perhaps by offering incentives. “We don’t do enough to protect small businesses,” he said.
Butler, 68, holds a degree in graphics from the University of Kansas at Pittsburg, KS.
Butler can be reached at 696-8568.

Final vote count issued
The official final report for the Feb. 19 presidential primary and special election has been issued by elections’ officials in Clark and Cowlitz counties.
In the final Clark County tally, 82,077 voters cast ballots which is a turnout of nearly 43 percent of those registered to vote.
Democratic Party presidential contender Hillary Clinton carried Clark County with 50.13 percent of the vote. Barack Obama had 48.4 percent, with seven other Democratic candidates sharing the remaining ballots. Clinton’s 21,374 votes put her 1,573 votes ahead of Obama.
Among Republicans, John McCain received 44.1 percent of the vote, with Mike Huckabee following with 26.8 percent and Mitt Romney with 20.1 percent.
According to the report, 42,634 Clark County voters cast ballots for Democratic candidates, and 38,178 for Republicans.
 Clinton wins in Cowlitz
 Clinton won with a wider margin in Cowlitz County where she garnered 55.6 percent of the vote to Obama’s 40.8 percent. McCain won among Republicans with 49.5 percent of the vote, followed by Huckabee with 24 percent and Romney with 16.3 percent.
In Cowlitz County, nearly 59 percent of voters cast ballots for Democratic candidates.
Voters wrote in the names of candidates in both the Democratic and Republican balloting.
Clark County Republicans cast 62 ballots for write-ins. Newt Gingrich received 11 write-in votes, Colin Powell and Michael Savage received four each, Ronald Reagan three, and two each for Rush Limbaugh, William Koch Sr., Condoleezza Rice, Lou Dobbs, J.C. Watts, Jerry Curry, and Michael Bloomberg.
Clark County Democrats cast 42 ballots for write-ins. Al Gore received 13 write-in votes, with two each for Lou Dobbs, Don James and Steven Colbert.
Obama won statewide, however, with 51.2 percent of the vote to Clinton’s 45.7 percent. About 56 percent of the 1.2 million votes cast statewide went to Democratic candidates.
Secretary of state Sam Reed said his office received about 9,000 phone calls and 800 emails from people concerned about the requirement that voters accept a party oath.
“Washingtonians cherish their freedom on the ballot, “said Reed. “They want the right to choose the candidate they believe will make the best chief executive for the country--free and clear of a party oath.”
Turnout statewide was about 44 percent, higher than the 42 percent in 2000 and, according to Reed, a presidential primary record for the state.
BG voters turn down parks bond
The city of Battle Ground parks bond proposition was rejected with a 58.1 percent “no” vote. About 46.2 percent of Battle Ground’s 6,349 registered voters cast ballots in the special election.