DEC. 16, 1998
(Elje {lortbm ò f l W n v t r
Chief Frai jo Elected President O f
Regional Fire Chiefs Association
Clark C ounty C om m issioners
E xpected To A d o p t Sales Tax
The B oard o f C lark County C om ­
m issioners is expected to adopt an
ordinance im posing an additional one
tenth o f one percent sales tax on
purchases m ade within Clark County.
The revenues will be dedicated exclu­
sively to support law and justice ac­
tivities. C om m issioners Betty Sue
M orris and Mel G ordon have said
they anticipate voting for such an
“We all know there are some press­
ing needs in the crim inal justice sys­
tem ,” said Betty Sue M orris, chair o f
the Board o f Clark County C om m is­
sioners. “ This new revenue stream
w o n ’t solve all o f the problem s, but
the action w e’re taking will help us
deal with m any o f the public safety
issues that currently face our com ­
munity. It also m aintains the county ’ s
increase.
The com m issioners ’ action is part
o f their adoption o f a biennial budget
for 1999-2000.
The new sales tax ordinance in­
cludes the follow ing stipulations:
* The additional revenues will not
supplant any m onies currently bud­
geted in 1998 for law andjustice pur­
fiscal solvency.”
These are som e o f the additional
program s and services the new rev­
enues will fund:
* 12 new s h e riff s deputies
* 2 new prosecuting attorneys
* 1 new court com m issioner
* Jail-w ork center and its staffing
* Juvenile ju stice center and its
poses.
* Ten percent o f the new revenues
w ill be designated for program s that
provide early intervention, counsel­
ing, and treatm ent o f young offend­
ers referred to the county courts, with
the goal ofkeeping them out ofdeten-
staffing
* Extended service contracts b e­
tw een the s h e riffs office and the
tion.
* E lected officials responsible for
law an d ju stic e program s will report
to the com m unity at least annually on
the services that the new revenues
are providing.
cities
In addition, the com m issioners'
action will take some o f the pressure
o ff the county ’ s road fund, w hich has
been looked to as a potential source
for m eeting specific law a n d ju stic e
needs, in particular s h e riff s patrol
deputies. Prelim inary budget recom ­
m endations included $ 1 m illion from
the R oad Fund to support crim inal
ju stic e activities; this ch an g e w ill
r e d u c e R o a d F u n d s u p p o r t to
$640,000.
The sales tax change m eans that
residents w ill pay an ad d itio n al $1
on a purchase o f $ 1,000. The increase
is expected to take effect in early 1999.
A n im portant factor in the com ­
m issioners’ decision is the co u n ty ’s
overall budget situation. P rincipally
as a result o f Referendum 47, w hich
put a lid on property taxes, budget
projections show the county having
increased difficulty in funding law
an d ju stice activities, as w ell as other
activities that rely on property tax
revenues, in the years ahead. T he
additional sales tax is expected to
provide the county w ith approxi­
mately $2 million annually for law and
justice activities; cities w ill also re­
ceive revenues as a result o f this
change.
State law perm its counties to im ­
pose the additional sales tax for crim i­
nal ju stice purposes. O f the eight
largest counties in the state o f W ash­
ington, C lark is the only one not to
have im posed the additional tax.
Tw enty-five o f the state’s 39 coun­
ties have already passed such an
increase.
VancouverFireChiefDanFraijohas
been elected president o f the South­
west Washington Fire C h ie f s Asso­
ciation (S W W F A).This 16-member
group is dedicated to excellence in fire
suppression, hazardous materials op­
erations, and em ergency medical ser­
vice provision. O ne o f the group’s fo-
cal points is implementing legislation
to support fire prevention.During his
one-year term as president, ChiefFraijo
will focus on current fire service issues,
including making technical information
and guidance available toall members.
He will also cultivate closer coordina­
tion am ong Southwest Washington
fire service agencies to enhance public
safety.
ChiefFraijo heads the consolidated
Vancouver Fire Department and Clark
County Fire District 5, which serves
over 186,000 people in a 100-square-
mile service area. He oversees an an­
nual budget o f over $ 18 million.
POLICE NEWS
W est V irg in ia H o m ic id e
Suspect A rre ste d In Portland
On D ecem ber 8,1998, Tuesday, at
approximately 11:30 A .M .,G regorys.
Crouch, DOB 07-30-62, was taken into
custody w ithout incident in a south­
east Portland check cashing store by
Portland Police Bureau D etectives.
Crouch was the subject o f an o ut­
standing arrest w arrant from Kna wha
County W est V irginia in w hich he is
charged w ith First D egree M urder.
Crouch w as transported to the P ort­
land Police D etective D ivision w here
he was interview ed and confessed to
killing T hom as H aw kins, age 36, in
Cross Lanes W est V irginia in on
Thanksgiving Day.
On the m orning o f D ecem ber 6,
1998, the O regon State Police in
LaGrande, cited and released Crouch
for Theft o f Services. A t the tim e o f
his arrest, it was not know n Crouch
w as a hom icide suspect. Later that
sam e date, an arrest w arrant was is­
sued and entered into the National
Crime Information Center, NCIC, com­
puter charging Crouch with First D e­
gree M urder.
The O regon State Police then is­
sued an all points bullentin to police
agencies in O regon and W ashington
for C rouch and the vehicle he was
driving, a silver 1986 Chevrolet S - 10
B lazer beraing W est V irginia license
plate num ber 6SF 557, in an effort to
relocate him and take him into cus­
tody.
On D ec em b e rs. 1998, at approxi­
m ately 10:15 A.M ., a Portland Police
O fficer spotted the listed suspect v e­
hicle parked and unattended at a re­
pair shop on SE 82nd Ave. and SE
T ibbetts St. at w hich tim e detectives,
w earing plain clothes, surveilled the
vehicle and established, through the
repair shop em ployees, that the p er­
son w ho brought the car in for repair
w as thought to be on foot in the area
w aiting for the car to be fixed.
D etectives located C rouch at a
nearby check cashing business, lo­
cated at 8201 SE Powell Blvd., where
he adm itted his identity and stated he
believed the police in W est V irginia
w ere looking for him.
Crouch w ill be lodged in the Jus­
tice C enter Jail pending extradition to
W est Virginia.
Foster Care Resident M issin g
Panel Recommends Arts Group
In N o rth Portland
For Columbia Arts Center
The City o f V ancouver will begin
contract negotiations w ith the Arts
Council o f C lark County (AC3) to
operate the C olum bia A rts Center. A
seven-m em ber panel heard presenta­
tions M onday from two potential op­
erators o f the facility. The panel, com ­
posed o f representatives from local
business, arts and education, recom ­
m ended negotiations get under way
w ithA C3.
Proposals resulted from a Request
for Proposal (RFP) process that began
last sum m er w ith the help o f a citizen-
m em ber RFP A dvisory Panel. Two
m em bers o f that panel participated on
the M onday’s review panel.
AC3 seeks to operate the facility as
a perform ance space for local theater
groups, as well as gallery space tor
artists. Educational programming, spe­
cials events, rentals and a summ er
cinema program are partofthe mix. The
other proposal came from the Players
Theatre Restaurant and Lounge. Play­
ers representative Sally Booton sought
to operate the Columbia Arts Center
as a dinner theater.
“Both proposals represented a lot
o f work, research and passion,” said
Pam Brokaw, Cultural Division Ad­
ministrator. “The review panel reached
a consensus that the AC3 proposal
best met the requirements and spirit o f
the RFP."
The city will now begin discussing
terms o f a contract with AC3. It is
hoped that the contract will be agreed
upon and signed before Jan. 1,1999.
A p p o in te d b y th e C ity o f
Vancouver, review panel members
were: Larry Swatosh, Cultural C om ­
mission and RFP Advisory Panel: Elson
Strahan, Clark College Foundation;
Jan Oliva, Cultural Com m ission and
RFP Advisory panel; Phona Sen Hoss,
The Columbian; M arcia Ross, Ever­
green School District assistant super­
intendent; David DiCesare. Vancouver
National H istoric Reserve manager and
M ary Robinson, business advisor.
A 35 year-old Portland m an has
been reported m issing since D ecem ­
ber 3 from his adult foster care hom e in
North Portland. The hom e operator
andC ounty officials seek the public’s
help in locating Joshua Petefish.
Mr. Petefish has not been seen
since he left A nthony A dult Foster
Care on D ecem ber 3 near N. G reeley
and N. K illingsw orth streets. He was
w earing a brow n checked quarter
length coat with a fur lapel, dark blue
sweatshirt, dark blue L evi' s and black
N ike tennis shoes. Mr. Petefish is a
w hite m ale with black hair, approxi­
m ately 6 ’2 , 210 pounds, with notice­
able scare on his forehead and neck,
anyone with information about Mr.
Petefish’s whereabouts should con­
tact Julius W right at A nthony’s A dult
FosterCare(287-3665;pager952-3852)
or M onica M um per with M ultnomah
C ounty’s Division ofD evelopm ental
Disabilities (248-3658, Ext. 22812).
C ity Invites A p p lic a tio n s For
P roject Review C o m m itte e
T he C ity o fV a n co u v e r is seeking
applicants to fill four vacancies on
the P roject R eview C om m ittee. The
Project Review C om m ittee is a none­
m em ber citizens group appointed by
City Council to review plans for build­
ing and rem odeling in V ancouver’s
dow ntow n, w aterfront area and C en­
tral Park. T he com m ittee goal is to
m aintain and im prove the appear­
ance and architectural tone o f those
areas, and to encourage innovation
and flexibility in design.
M em bers serve four-year term s,
with two terms maximum Ihe Project
Review C om m ittee regularly m eets
the second and fourth T hursday o f
each m onth, 4-6 p.m. in C ity H all
C ouncil C ham bers.
For applications or further infor­
m ation, contact Peggy F u m o in the
C ity M anager’s O ffice at C ity H all,
210 E. 13th St., P.O. Box 1995,
V ancouver, W A. 98668 o r call 696-
8484 (fax 696-8049). A pplications
m ust be subm itted by M onday, Jan.
4,1999.
W a sh in g to n State Trip A n d
Fuel P erm its N o w A va ila b le
AsofM onday, Decern ber 7, citizens
needing Washington State trip and
fuel permits can obtain them from the
Clark County Pubi ic Woiks Operations
Division. The permits are available for
purchase at the Operations Division,
located at4700NE 78th Street, Building
A, Vancouver. Those making their
purchase by a Visa or Master Card
credit card can order a permit by tele-
phoneat(360)397-2446. Thepermitwill
be faxed to you upon completion. Per­
mits will be issued M onday through
Friday, from 7:00am .-4:00p.m .
The prices for the permits are as
follows:
Fuelpermit $22.00
Trippermit $13.00
Fax fee $ 1.00(forperm itsordered
via telephone)
In addition to the fuel and trip per­
mits, the Clark County Public Works
Operations Division also sells the fol­
lowing county and state permits:
♦Overlegal permits
♦ Structure move permits
* Utility permits
For more information, please con­
tact the Clark County Public Works
Operations Division at (360) 397-2446.
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Kids First W in te r W o n d e rla n d
Seeks D onations
C om m unity organizations, busi­
nesses and agencies are asked to
donate gifts and gam es to over 300
underp rivileg ed child ren in the
c ity ’s “ K ids F irst” after-school
program .
The gifts will be distributed at a
<
W inter W onderland event on Tues-
day, Dec. 22, from 7-9 p.m. at
Bagley C om m unity Center, 4100
Plomondon.
Staff from the V ancouver-Clark
Parks and Recreation D epartment
will entertain with crafts, carnival
games, face painting, raffles, car­
oling, refreshm ents and a visit by
Santa Claus. Kids will use their
good-behavior tickets to win raffle
prizes.
To donate or to be a sponsor,
call T eresa W i lliamson at 696-8065.
Communication Plus
317 NE Killingsworth Portland 735 1422
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