health department | Rosemere Neighborhood Association

Rosemere Neighborhood Association Honored with Public Health Community Award

April 24, 2009 Author: admin

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On April 22, 2009, Clark County’s Board of Health (also known as the Clark County Commissioners) presented community awards to various organizations and individuals that have worked toward improving public health and safety. RNA was awarded a certificate of honorable mention as a “Community organization advocating for health promotion, disease prevention, and social justice through water quality advocacy and monitoring and improving neighborhood livability.” A total of ten community awards were given, including medical and dental caregivers, and health educators.

Click here to view the 2008 Public Health Community Award recipients and RNA’s Health Award Certificate in full view (pdf format). [Read More...]

ROSEMERE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER – SEPTEMBER 2007

April 5, 2009 Author: admin

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2007 NEWSLETTER

SEPTEMBER 2007 NEWSLETTER

PROPOSED COAL-BURNING POWER PLANT

On September 20, 2007, representatives of Columbia Riverkeeper, Willapa Audubon Society, and the Rosemere Neighborhood Association, along with a number of other concerned citizens, attended a public hearing held by Washington’s Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council to voice their opinions about Energy Northwest’s proposed Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant in Kalama, WA. The council took comments from the public on Energy Northwest’s greenhouse gas “sequestration plan” (view the plan at http://http:www.esfec.wa.gov/pmec.shtml). [Read More...]

VANCOUVER LAKE REOPENED FOR WATER ACTIVITIES – July 20, 2006

April 4, 2009 Author: admin

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[From a news release from Clark County Health Department]

Vancouver, WA – Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation and Clark County Public Health have reopened Vancouver Lake for swimming, wading, and wind-surfing. The lake was closed last Friday when regular water testing detected E. coli above acceptable levels.

“We’ve tested the water twice this week and results from both tests indicate that E.coli levels are now within the range that’s considered safe for swimming and other water activities. [Read More...]

VANCOUVER LAKE CLOSURE – July 14, 2006

April 4, 2009 Author: admin

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[From a news release from Clark County Health Department]

Public Health closes Vancouver Lake due to E. coli test results

Contact: Alan Melnick, Clark County Health Officer
(360) 397-8000 ext. 7209; alan.melnick@clark.wa.gov

Marni Storey, Clark County Public Health Department
(360) 397-8000 ext. 8434; marni.storey@clark.wa.gov

Jilayne Jordan, Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation
(360) 619-1141; jilayne.jordan@clark.wa.gov

Vancouver, WA – Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation and Clark County Public Health have closed Vancouver Lake to swimming, wading, and wind-surfing for at least the next week, according to Health Officer Dr. Alan Melnick. Regular testing of the lake recently detected E. coli above acceptable levels. [Read More...]

Sewage Spill Reported at Frenchman’s Bar for Second Year in a Row – April 8, 2005

April 3, 2009 Author: admin

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Anglers return to Frenchman’s Bar the day following the report of a sewage spill

The Washington State Department of Ecology’s Spill Responder’s Unit was dispatched to Frenchman’s Bar (near Vancouver Lake) on April 5, 2005 following another report of a raw sewage spill. This scene is a replay from a year ago when fishermen called in the worst sewage spill in memory at Frenchman’s Bar in April 2004, where the spill team found tampons, condoms, syringes, and globules of raw sewage washed ashore along two ½ miles of beach at Riverfront Park. A source was never discovered for the 2004 sewage spill, though a spill responder indicated that wind and weather conditions supported the theory that the spill was caused by a sewer overflow from Portland. However, Oregon’s DEQ was not able to identify a malfunction of Portland sewer treatment facilities. The Health Department closed Frenchman’s Bar under a public health emergency and special equipment was brought in to collect syringes hidden in the beach sand. [Read More...]

Media Correction: RE Columbian article “Rank water a worry” – July 19, 2004

April 2, 2009 Author: admin

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On July 19, 2004, the Rosemere Neighborhood Association sent the following request for a correction to Erik Robinson, environmental reporter with the Columbian. This email was not aknowledged, nor did Mr. Robinson issue the correction. [Read More...]

SWIMMING MAY BE DANGEROUS IN LOCAL WATERS – July 14, 2004

April 2, 2009 Author: admin

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According to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle, “Study finds pollution in coast rivers, hot spots have fecal bacteria that pose a danger to swimmers” (5 Jan 2001), this statement was reported in bold: “Fecal coliform, for instance, can cause hepatitis A, bacterial meningitis and encephalitis.” Fecal coliform is present in dangerous levels in many of the public swimming areas in our local lakes and rivers, meaning that these waterbodies are unsafe for human contact when fecal coliform levels are on the rise. [Read More...]

Elevated levels of toxins in fish in Portland harbor – June 16, 2004

March 29, 2009 Author: admin

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ELEVATED LEVELS OF PCBs IN RESIDENT FISH FROM PORTLAND HARBOR

Press Release from Oregon Health Services

June 16, 2004

Contact: Bonnie Widerburg (503) 731-4180
Technical contact: Dave Stone or Ken Kauffman, DHS (503) 731-4012

Elevated levels of PCBs in resident fish from Portland Harbor
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The Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS), in cooperation with Multnomah County Health Department, is advising the public today of high levels of PCBs in fish caught from Portland Harbor, in the lower Willamette River. [Read More...]

May 1st Water Quality Discussion – May 4, 2004

March 29, 2009 Author: admin

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May 3, 2004

Members of the RNA Board met with representatives of the Clark County Health Department, the City of Vancouver’s Public Works Department, and local Water Quality Experts to discuss failing septic systems and cesspools in the Rosemere Neighborhood and the Burnt Bridge Creek Watershed in general. [Read More...]

RNA Advocates for Burnt Bridge Creek Water Quality Improvements – April 23, 2004

March 29, 2009 Author: admin

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The RNA met with Clark County Health Department officials in March to discuss how failing septic systems are contributing to the pollution of Burnt Bridge Creek (which feeds into Vancouver Lake). There are several homes in Rosemere that do not have access to City Sewer Service. Neighbors approached the RNA in 2001 to ask how they could get sewer service where there are no sewer mains. There are cesspools and aging sewer systems in Rosemere (and throughout Vancouver) that are not being properly maintained or inspected. Water quality tests indicate that effluent from failed septic tanks is polluting the creek and is also creating a public health risk. [Read More...]