Vancouver, WA – Clark County residents can safely dispose of all medications at four free collection events held this month in Vancouver and La Center. All events will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 25, at: • Clark College, Purple Lot 1, 1800 Fort Vancouver Way • Kaiser Permanente-Cascade Park, 12607 S.E. Mill Plain Blvd. • Kaiser Permanente-Salmon Creek, 14406 N.E. 20th Ave. • La Center City Hall, 214 E. Fourth St. Similar events collected more than 2,400 pounds of medications from more than 1,250 participants last year.

Vancouver, WA — Bryce Hackett has been recognized by the Washington State Public Health Association as a 2015 Health Champion in the Outstanding Student category. As the youth representative on the Clark County Public Health Advisory Council, Bryce consistently exhibits leadership in protecting and promoting public health. Recently, he testified before the Clark County Board of Health about the harmful effects of electronic vaping devices. He also joined other public health and school advocates in Olympia to testify in favor of legislation restricting youth access to e-cigarettes.

Vancouver, WA – The Clark County Auditor’s performance audit of the County’s job creation/fee waiver program has earned the top award in its size category from the Association of Local Government Auditors, a group of more than 340 audit organizations across North America. The Knighton Award program recognizes the best performance audit reports from the preceding year in each of five size categories. Evaluation criteria include methodology, evidence and persuasiveness of conclusions.

Vancouver, WA – With spring in the air, it is a great time to head outdoors. Clark County has many recreational sites, including scenic properties and habitat conservation areas within the Legacy Lands program. To encourage visits, Clark County will feature areas open to the public while celebrating the program’s 30th anniversary this year. Two events will showcase Legacy Lands this month: • Salmon Creek Greenway, 1112 N.E. 117th St.: More than three miles of paved and nature trails provide excellent wildlife and bird watching opportunities.

Vancouver, WA – Clark County residents will have ample opportunity to safely dispose of household hazardous waste and other materials during nine free collection events.

Residents can drop off household hazardous waste, including pesticides, paints, solvents, thinners, motor oils and cleaners. Block foam, electronic equipment, old tires without rims, refrigerators, freezers, air conditioning units and scrap metal also will be accepted.

In addition, each event will partner with local food banks to collect nonperishable food donations.

STEVE is an acronym for Signal Timing, Evaluation, Verification and Enhancement. It is a project to collect data to further refine and improve signal timing and coordination on the county’s busiest streets. The Board of County Councilors today accepted a $920,000 federal grant to build upon the county’s ongoing traffic signal optimization program. Clark County will provide the remaining 20 percent of the project’s estimated $1.15 million cost. The grant will be administered by the Southwest Washington Regional Transportation Council.

Doug Lasher, Clark County Treasurer, announced that first-installment 2015 property tax statements have been mailed. Property tax statements include property tax levy amounts, special assessments, and certain fees. There were 94,852 statements mailed, 73,846 postcards mailed for those taxpayers whose mortgage company pays their taxes, and 881 e-statements sent.

Vancouver, WA – The Board of County Councilors will hold a work session at 9 a.m. Wednesday, March 11 to discuss rural options in the ongoing effort to update the Comprehensive Growth Management Plan. The work session will be open to the public on the sixth floor of the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St. Three alternatives are included in an environmental analysis nearing completion. The councilors are considering whether to expand the environmental study to cover a fourth alternative introduced during a work session last week. The fourth alternative has not been finalized.

Vancouver, WA – Age-friendly housing will be the topic of a Tuesday, Feb. 17, meeting of the Commission on Aging. The meeting will be 4:30-6 p.m. in the sixth-floor hearing room of the Public Service Center, 1300 Franklin St. It is open to the public, and a chance for Clark County residents to share concerns about needs of local residents. Speakers will be Howard and Sharon Johnson, co-founders of the nonprofit Age-Friendly Innovators, which teaches building professionals and homeowners about aging in place.