Orchards Community Advantage Magazine - South - Dec 2021

HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM ACTIVE MEDIA

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COMMunity ADVANTAGE MAGAZINE

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SPOTLIGHT

THE TREASURE TROVE CONSIGNMENT SHOP

Hidden Treasure

By Dennis McNabb, Active Media Contributing Writer Photos by Shonda Feather

E

very so often, you discover a local “treasure” that you were previously unaware even existed, and you find yourself almost in tears over the missed opportunities. In the case of The Treasure Trove Consignment Shop located in Vancouver, I’m now regretting all of those trips to other consignment stores. This is, of course, not to say anything negative about other stores, but only to highlight the amazing selection at The Treasure Trove.

It all began back in 2009, when the world was knee deep in the worst recession since the Great Depression.

People everywhere were losing their jobs, savings, houses, and worse. It was a terrible time for so many of us. But in the ashes of tragedy rose a beacon of light. Melissa Givvines and her husband recognized an opportunity and embraced it.

Melissa’s husband had been a career military man and they had spent many years moving around the country.

Something they witnessed during that time was that there were consignment shops set up in a lot of military towns, which were designed to assist people who moved around all of the time. It can be very difficult and expensive to recycle furniture every 2-3 years and most families can’t afford it. Consignment shops allowed them to sell their used items (and get a little return on their investment) while providing incoming families with lower cost alternatives.

In 2009, when a large portion of our population was faced with similar circumstances, Melissa and her husband came up with the idea of opening their own consignment shop to help their struggling community.

They take in almost anything, and they price items just high enough to cover their rent and make a small

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profit to stay viable.

That’s it! Beautiful, gently used items at thrift shop prices—and the majority of the money goes back to the community!

What started off as a humble attempt—a family trying to help their friends and neighbors— has matured into a thriving business!

They now work directly with 22 charities in the community and 3,000 families! And while items are generally seasonal, they carry a little bit of everything. Melissa joked that they are “Fred Meyer without the groceries”!

Next time you’re looking to give to charity or help your community, sell your used items on consignment or even donate them, go to The Treasure Trove. There is no easier or better way to directly help those in need!

The Treasure Trove Consignment Shop is located at 11912 NE 4th Plain Rd. in Vancouver. They can be reached at (360) 260-4956.

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LAS FLAMAS RESTAURANT & CANTINA

A Taste Of Fresh

By Tyler Francke, Active Media Contributing Writer Photos by Shonda Feather

W

hen it comes to truly remarkable cuisine, fresh is the name of the game. It doesn’t matter if you’re considering a 5 star restaurant or a dive bar; the fresher the ingredients, the better the food, and the more likely people will want to come back for more.

When it comes to Mexican cuisine in the Vancouver area, there is no one who does it better or fresher than Las Flamas (aka “The Flames”)!

Owners and operators, Marjie and Angel Estrada, opened their doors in September of 2018. They came to this new endeavor with over 40 years of combined experience between them. Marjie worked as a regional supervisor in the fast food industry for 13 years, while Angel managed his family’s restaurant, La Carreta, in Gresham for 30 years. The dream of course was to own their own restaurant, and when this location opened up they knew they’d found the perfect place in Vancouver.

For those living in the area, you may remember it as Cisco’s (also a Mexican restaurant). Marjie and Angel loved the location and the fact that it already had that classic Mexican restaurant look, so it wouldn’t require an excessive amount of remodeling. They replaced all of the booths and tables, and cleaned and spruced the place up, but they didn’t want to fix what wasn’t broken, including the iconic sign out front!

With the remodel done, the next step was the menu and that is all theirs! As mentioned above, great food is all about “fresh” and everything on the menu is made fresh and from scratch. Chips: cut by hand from tortillas and fried daily on site. Salsa: fresh tomatoes, onions, and cilantro diced by hand daily and mixed on site. Taco shells: folded and fried daily on site. Everything but the tortillas are made in-house. And Marjie and Angel are huge supporters of local businesses. They’ve partnered with local suppliers for all of their produce and supplies!

You may think all of this talk of “fresh” is an exaggeration, but once you’ve eaten at Las Flamas and tasted the difference, nothing else will ever match up to it again. Favorite dishes include their Molcajete (served in actual Molcajete bowls from Mexico with their fantastic house-made chorizo sauce), Carne Asada (served with topof-the-line skirt steak marinated in their special in-house sauce), and Pork Carnitas (which took them months to perfect, trying endless recipes until they landed on this one—and it’s incredibly moist!). These are just a few recipes because everything is fantastic!

As a special note, for those gluten-sensitive folks out there, everything on the menu is gluten-free except the flour tortillas. Because they do serve flour tortillas, they can’t be certified as a gluten-free facility, but almost everything on the menu can be made to order with gluten-free ingredients!

Of course, no Mexican Restaurant & Cantina can be considered complete without the Cantina drinks. And Las Flamas brings those in spades! Every margarita is made with a distinct top-shelf base of Silver Tequila, Triple Sec, Sweet & Sour, and a splash of O.J. Fantastic. And don’t worry

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about getting thirsty half way through dinner. They offer a 50 ounce margarita! “The Flames” indeed! With year round specialty margaritas (like watermelon margaritas served in a fresh watermelon and pineapple margaritas served in a fresh pineapple), there is never a shortage of fun or fantastic beverages to keep you from getting thirsty.

Locally owned and operated by people who truly love and care about their community, Las Flamas is a family business catered towards families. The level of their customer service

combined with the quality and freshness of their cuisine sets them far above the pack. Come in and see for yourself what a difference “fresh” makes!

In December, they will donate a percentage of the proceeds to Relay for Life and other local vendors! Follow them on Facebook for info on local fundraising activities.

Las Flamas is located at 10820 NE Coxley Dr. in Vancouver.

Check out their website and menu at lasflamas.com, or call them at (360) 984-5450.

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Orchards Community Advantage Magazine 5

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37

YEARS

URGES YOU TO...

Sat., Dec. 4th 9am - 2pm

I

t only takes a few minutes to help your neighbor. That’s what Walk & Knock is all about: Neighbors helping neighbors.

For 37 years, our home-grown food drive – the largest one day, local food drive in the nation – has been collecting food, toiletries, and money for people here in Clark County. The need is greater than ever. And you can help.

In Clark County, more than 65,000 people go hungry every year. One in four are considered food insecure. Last year, 117,000 people received help from the Clark County Food Bank. Those numbers are startling. No one should go hungry with so much abundance in our midst. That’s why we take pride in organizing the biggest food drive of its kind anywhere.

Interservice Walk & Knock of Clark County has collected more than 8.6 million pounds of food and $415,000 since its founding by civic clubs in the mid-1980s. All donations go directly to the Food Bank. Every dime and pound of food collected goes to help the needy. We are all volunteers – no paid staff. We are funded by local businesses and civic clubs.

Every year, more than 3,000 volunteers – mostly young people – have gone door-to-door collecting donations. It’s a wonderful, local tradition of which we are very proud. And last year we had to switch gears because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Board wouldn’t think of canceling – they knew the need was too great. So we put our heads together and came up with an alternative: Walk & Knock became Drive & Drop. We set up eight drop-off sites throughout the county, and folks brought us more than 134,000 pounds of food and donated a record $114,000.

Although we were hoping to get back to porch pickups this year, we are asking you again to “Drive & Drop” your donations. The drive is Saturday Dec. 4 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at a location near you. We’re counting on you to do even more this year, because the need continues. And your neighbor might need our help.

Postcards will be mailed to everyone in the county after Thanksgiving with details.

Visit walkandknock.org for more information.

Saturday, December 4 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Bring non-perishable food or toiletries to a site on the map Donate at walkandknock.org or send a check to P.O. Box 353, Vancouver, WA, 98666 Non-perishable donations can also be dropped off at Riverview Community Bank branches, Les Schwab Tire Centers, or Cost Less Auto Parts from Nov. 29th through Dec. 10th.

For more information, visit walkandknock.org

DRIVE AND DROP LOCATIONS Interservice Walk & Knock of Clark County is a non-profit, all-volunteer organization not affiliated with, but supportive of the Clark County Food Bank. All donations and financial contributions go to the Food Bank to help the less fortunate in our community.

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HISTORY

The History of Fort Vancouver

Fur Traders, Settlers, And The Hudson Bay Company

By Robert Matsumura, Active Media Contributing Writer

F

or many of us, Fort Vancouver and fireworks are synonymous with the Fourth of July. As one of the region’s largest fireworks displays, thousands gather each year to enjoy the brilliant pyrotechnics exploding over the shimmering waters of the Columbia. This annual celebration could not be located at a more prominent site when considering the significance of Fort Vancouver to the history of our region.

source of revenue. American interests, on the other hand, centered primarily around the ownership of land for settlement and agricultural development. This conf lict of interests would eventually tilt in favor of the United States.

Established in 1824 as a trading post for the British Hudson Bay Company, Fort Vancouver was headquarters for the Company’s Columbia Department which covered 700,000 square miles stretching from Alaska to California, and from the Rocky Mountains to Hawaii. The fort was named after Captain George Vancouver, a British Naval officer known for his exploration of the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, Hawaii, and Australia.

Holding the position of Chief Factor for 22 years, McLoughlin administered the law among his British subjects, kept peace with the indigenous, and strived to maintain amicable relations with the American settlers in the nearby Willamette Valley. It was McLoughlin who had originally allowed Americans to settle south of the Columbia River, which earned him the title, “Father of Oregon.” Contrary to the wishes of the HBC, McLoughlin provided substantial aid to American settlers, and in 1846 he resigned from the Company to found Oregon City along the bank of the Willamette River.

George Simpson, an employee of the HBC, was initially responsible for founding the fort.

However, it was Dr. John McLoughlin, the fort’s first Chief Factor (manager), who was instrumental in developing Fort Vancouver as a primary hub of commerce in the region. At the time, the northwest was still in f lux, with the f ledgling United States vying with Great Britain for dominance over the territory. The fur trade, which was well-established in the area, generated immense profits for the HBC, and the Company was committed to safeguarding this valuable

Fort Vancouver was originally composed of a 20-foot high palisade approximately 750 feet long by 450 feet wide. Inside the palisade were 40 buildings, including a school, library, pharmacy, chapel, and blacksmith shop, along with individual homes. Residing outside the walls were a tannery, shipyard, hospital, and distillery. Agricultural products were cultivated in the orchards and fields surrounding the fort, in addition to a dairy providing milk and cheese. At the height of its activity, Fort Vancouver employed up to 600 workers who

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staffed its network of two dozen trading posts, with six ships regularly plying the waters of the Columbia in transport of the Company’s goods. It was one of the largest settlements in the West, and also served as the end-point for migrants on the Oregon Trail. Between 1840-1850, fur trading revenue began to decline as increasing settlement of the region led to an economic shift towards mercantile activities based largely on agriculture, livestock, and timber operations.

Originally, the fort’s primary employees consisted of French Canadians and members of indigenous tribes including the Metis, Iroquois and Cree. English, Scots, and Irish were found among the workforce as well. In the 1850s, workers from Hawaii arrived to augment the burgeoning enterprise, and in time became so populous that the village outside the fort became known as “Kanaka Town” or “Kanaka Village.” “Kanaka” translates roughly to “Hawaiian native,” or “Pacific Islander.”

By 1849, this multi-cultural village was home not only to the employees of the HBC, but also became the site of Camp Columbia, a military base for the U.S. Army located on a rise 20 feet above the fort. Initially, traders and soldiers coexisted amicably at the fort. The Army provided additional employment for local workers and rented buildings in the village. The HBC allowed the Army access to its sawmill for cutting timber to construct the military post. During this period the Army built a number of structures, including the Quartermaster Depot and Captain Rufus Ingalls’ home, where the future Civil War general and U.S. President, Ulysses S. Grant, lived from 1852-1853. In time, the Army expanded the post to more than 10,000 acres and renamed it Fort Vancouver Military Reservation.

land overlapped the HBC’s fur trade activities, sparked conf licts between the Company and the United States. In June of 1860, the HBC withdrew from Fort Vancouver and consolidated its operations in Victoria, British Columbia.

Following the departure of the HBC, the Army took over the fort and commenced adding additional facilities, notably the Vancouver Arsenal in 1859.

Unfortunately, catastrophe struck in 1866 when a fire broke out that destroyed the entire original trading post. Over time soldiers rebuilt the fort, adding two double-story barracks at each end of the parade grounds. Officer quarters were also erected during this phase. In 1879, the post was renamed the Vancouver Barracks, and by World War I it had grown considerably.

Upon the outbreak of World War II, the Army mobilized the post as a staging area for the Seattle Port of Embarkation. In 1946, the fort was officially closed.

To honor Fort Vancouver’s historical significance, on June 19, 1948, the site was declared a U.S. National Monument. It was re-designated “Fort Vancouver National Historic Site” on June 30, 1961. Today, visitors can tour a full-scale replica of the original fort, including historical re-enactments and exhibits commemorating this iconic landmark, a site that figured prominently in our regional heritage.

In the wake of the 1846 Oregon Treaty, which established the U.S./Canadian border at the 49th parallel north, Fort Vancouver was effectively isolated within U.S. borders. And while the treaty provided for the HBC to continue operations at Fort Vancouver—including free access to the Columbia, Puget Sound, and Straits of Juan de Fuca—conducting business had become problematic. The inf lux of American settlers to the region during the 1850s, whose demand for Community Advantage Magazine V11

BUSINESS FEATURE

GENTLE TOUCH MOBILE PHLEBOTOMY

The Gentlest Care In The Comfort Of Your Own Home

By Dennis McNabb, Active Media Contributing Writer Photos By Shonda Feather

T

hose interested in this service will likely be familiar with the term, but for the rest of us, Wikipedia defines phlebotomy as “the process of making a puncture in a vein, usually in the arm, with a cannula for the purpose of drawing blood.” In layman’s terms, it’s getting your blood drawn. In the case of Gentle Touch Mobile Phlebotomy, it’s getting your blood drawn without having to go anywhere!

Tanya McNeely, owner, founder, and certified phlebotomist, was inspired to open her business while working at Compass Oncology. She noticed a lot of her patients were struggling to make the frequent trips in for their blood work. Many were too ill, but even for those who weren’t, it was a huge inconvenience. In particular, many were older and had trouble getting around regardless of their condition. Some were too young and reliant on their parents’ schedules. Some had special needs, and some were simply too busy and couldn’t spare the time. Tanya recognized the need for a mobile service, and in June of 2019, Gentle Touch became a reality.

Tanya’s enthusiasm for her work is reflected in her patients’ smiles. The relief they have when she’s finished

and they have no pain, no trauma, no inconvenience; that’s what truly gives her life purpose. She “doesn’t work a single day,” she told me, and I believe her. To be fair, nobody enjoys having their blood drawn, but she has done everything in her power to make it the least traumatic experience possible. And although Gentle Touch is a newer endeavor, she has been a phlebotomist for 14 years. So she is an expert in every facet of the job.

Venipunctures/Blood Draws, Fingersticks, Mouth Swabs, Urine Collection, Urine Pick-up, Redraws, COVID-19 antibody testing; Tanya and her team do it all, anything and everything having to do with phlebotomy, and they come to you! Also of special note, she performs phlebotomies, a procedure whereby blood is drawn and disposed of for patients with hemochromatosis.

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Call Gentle Touch Mobile Phlebotomy at 360-690-6364. You’ll never go anywhere to have your blood drawn again.

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Community Advantage Magazine V13

SEASONAL SPECIAL

ANIMAGIC

The Surprising History of Rudolph

By Donovan Darling, Active Media Staff Writer

Y

ou’ve probably never heard of Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment, but you’ve certainly seen their abundant and classic Christmas movies. The most popular stop-motion Christmas movies they produced were Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964), Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (1970), The Year Without a Santa Claus (1974), The First Christmas (1975), Rudolph’s Shiny New Year (1976), and Rudolph and Frosty’s Christmas in July (1979). While far from being new, these heartwarming movies continue to charm new generations every holiday season.

First known as Videocraft International, Ltd., the company was founded

by Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass in New York City in 1960. Most of the Rankin / Bass animations, including their “Animagic” stop-motion movies, were produced in Tokyo, Japan. In fact, most of the studio’s animation was outsourced to Japanese companies like MOM Production, Eiken, Toei Animation, Mushi Productions, and Topcraft.

Rankin / Bass was one of the first American film studios to outsource low-budget animated television and movies to foreign animation studios. Throughout the 1960s, the Animagic movies were spearheaded by stop-motion animator Tadahito Mochinaga at MOM Production.

Rankin / Bass remained successful for many years thanks to their animated holiday specials which aired for American television. In 1964, the company produced a special for NBC and sponsored by General Electric: a stop-motion animated adaptation of Robert L. May’s 1939 story “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer,” which featured the 1949 song it inspired, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” written

by May’s brother-in-law, Johnny Marks. With American actor Burl Ives as Sam the Snowman and narrator, with an original score by Marks himself, Rudolph became one of the most popular and longest-running Christmas specials in television history, airing with NBC until 1972 when it 14 To Advertise With Us, Call Brad 360.606.3412

moved to CBS. After its last series output, Rankin / Bass shut down its production company on March 4, 1987.

The look and style of the films has heavily influenced more modern holiday classics such as Elf (2003), as well as being parodied by Saturday Night Live and South Park.

The figurines featured in Rudolph were created by Japanese puppet-maker Ichiro Komuro for the fan favorite stop-motion movie. “These were hand-made.

They weren’t toys,” pop culture memorabilia appraiser Simeon Lipman told PBS in 2006. “They had mechanisms to make them move, to make them come almost alive. No mass manufacturer of toys, especially in the 1960s, made things like that. It was made to be on film.” The 6-inch-tall Rudolph and 11-inchtall Santa were made of wood, wire, cloth, and leather, with Rudolph’s nose lighting up and Santa’s beard made from yak hair. Sometime in the 70s, the puppets came to Barbara Adams, a secretary at Rankin / Bass. She used the figurines to decorate her Christmas tree, and let her nieces and nephews play with them like toys.

Later, most of the figurines ended up tragically melting in a hot attic, presumably Barbara’s. Her nephew brought the survivors, Santa and Rudolph, to the Antiques Roadshow, where they were valued at $8,000 to $10,000. A toy collector, Keith Kriess, purchased the puppets for an undisclosed amount, but much more than that appraisal. He then spent $4,000 to have them meticulously restored. Before that, Rudolph had lost his nose, and Santa was missing half his yak-hair mustache. Santa and Rudolph were successfully restored, according to Peter Lutrario, who purchased them from Keith for an undisclosed amount. In late 2020, Peter sold them to an anonymous auction bidder, who won them for a whopping $368,000!

Although the current whereabouts of the figurines are unknown, we can be sure that Rudolph and Santa are alive and well in their Rankin/Bass stop-motion movies, emblazoning television screens each December all across the world. Magical and heartwarming to this day, these Christmas films pioneered holiday television specials, forever changed the world of animation, and continue to capture our imagination and hearts.

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SLEEP SPECIALISTS

CASCADE FURNITURE & MATTRESS

Vancouver’s Comfort Solution Destination

By Dennis McNabb, Active Media Contributing Writer Photos By Shonda Feather

F

or many of you, Cascade Furniture will be a household name. This fantastic, family owned and operated business has been proudly serving the community and “doing the right thing” since 1997! Some people might call that a tagline but Cascade Furniture sincerely considers it a way of life.

They believe that consistently providing great customer service, quality furniture, accessories and art, and great value, all while giving generously back to the community, is the key to success—and clearly, they’re doing something right!

What you may not be aware of is that their selection of mattresses has expanded significantly in the last year and a half. They’ve always carried them, but today they have on display the largest selection of Tempur-Pedic mattresses in the greater Portland Metro area!

I had the pleasure of speaking with Skyler Bohanon and he is the man spearheading the expansion. Skyler is a local, born and raised in Gresham, and has lived in the Portland area most of his life. Both his mother and his grandfather were in the furniture and mattress business and he followed in their footsteps. Between the three of them, they have a wealth of experience and knowledge.

Skyler has seen just about all there is to see from the retail and the wholesale parts of the business, and this latest endeavor with Cascade Furniture has him extremely excited. They have partnered with 3 major name brands: Sealy, Stearns & Foster, and Tempur-Pedic; 3 of the best

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in the business. And as mentioned previously, they have the largest selection of Tempur-Pedics in town. Literally every mattress Tempur-Pedic currently has on the market is on display here!

If you are at all interested in upgrading to a higher-quality mattress, and let’s be honest, we all should be, then there is no better place to go than Cascade Furniture! Certainly there’s no better place to try out different models of Tempur-Pedic. When the owners of Cascade Furniture decided to expand their mattress selection, Skyler was the person they sought out. They’d worked with him for so many years while he was on the wholesale side that they knew he’d be the perfect person for the job. And they were right! Skyler has fit right in with the team and is thrilled to be in a position where he can directly and positively affect their clients and their ability to sleep more comfortably.

Cascade Furniture & Mattress as a whole is taking on the challenge of being Vancouver’s “comfort solution destination.” Whether it’s helping you to find a higher-quality mattress designed to accommodate you and your particular sleep patterns (side sleeper, back sleeper, etc.), or helping you to find a better and more comfortable, ergonomically supportive chair, these guys are the experts! They have the experience, the expertise, and showroom inventory to help you find exactly what you need.

Next time you’re considering a comfort upgrade, look no further than Cascade Furniture & Mattress. Locally owned and operated by people invested in helping their community thrive!

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FURNACE FOCUS

Apollo Drain & Rooter — A Story of Family Story & Photos Provided By Apollo Drain & Rooter Service

W

ith nothing more than an old used van, a dream and a desire to do great work, a young and eager Scott Bird and his bride Jody, began a journey.

If someone were to ask Scott if he was raised on a farm, he could emphatically reply, “Yes!” He grew up in Mattawa, Washington where he worked with his dad, three brothers and three sisters.

When he was 21, he went to his cousin’s wedding reception. There, catching his eye from the reception line was his future wife, Jody. Their world grew closer since it was Jody’s sister marrying one of Scott’s cousins.

Scott attended Utah Technical College for two years and graduated with a degree in Heating & Air Conditioning. The trade which he would then work in back home in Mattawa. Being back home gave Scott the opportunity to reconnect with Jody and they married in June of 1983.

After about a year of working in the Heating and Air Industry, Scott and Jody decided to return to his family farm. Scott worked with his dad on the farm during the day and drove a semi-truck at

night hauling hay cubes to Seattle. Jody went to work for an insurance company in Othello, Washington.

Jody’s sister and a couple of Scott’s cousins had started a drain cleaning company in Tri-Cities, Spokane and Salem, Oregon. It was going so well that they talked Scott and Jody into leaving the farm and to start their own drain cleaning business in Portland, Oregon.

The Apollo journey: Scott was told by the bank that they didn’t think it was a “good investment.” They were so wrong.

After procuring a bank loan, they were able to start a business of their own. Apollo Drain & Rooter was on its way! Their tagline, “Big enough to do the job, but small enough to care” would carry them through many years of hard and difficult work. Using their own apartment as their headquarters and Jody navigating with the large and cumbersome Thomas Guide Map Book, they offered a flat rate of only $26.50, no matter how long it took or how challenging the job was.

Over the years of juggling work, marriage and parenthood the Birds eventually grew to become a family of 5 with 3 energetic boys! In 1985 Scott and Jody were blessed with their first baby boy, Brandon. Brandon was continuously by Jody’s side as she answered phones, scheduled jobs and handled the paperwork.

In 1988 he was followed by little brother Ryan, and in 1990 their son Derek completed their family and the nest was full.

With discipline, hard work and a good sense of humor, the young family survived many ups and downs. Tough economic times challenged their survival in the industry, but they kept going. No matter what challenges they faced, they did so with strength and integrity, always willing to help out their fellow members of the community.

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As the Bird boys grew into men, they fully immersed themselves into the family business, which has become one of the fastest growing, full-service plumbing companies in Oregon and Washington. The company of two people has grown to over 50 employees! In 2014 the family became the first in this area to invest in the latest technology of plumbing called Cured In Place Pipe (CIPP).

It is their dedication to a growing industry that instilled in them the desire to share this with an area where it is so desperately needed. CIPP, a trenchless lateral drain line repair, is the perfect answer to the root intrusion problem that is so prevalent in the Pacific Northwest. Old pipes are not getting any younger and degradation is a serious problem. Luckily, Apollo is a leader in the installation of LMK’s CIPP technology.

After 37 years of successful plumbing and drain business, the Bird family are proud to announce they have added Heating and Cooling Services. This is exciting news, and the company looks forward to working with the community to keep everyone warm in the winter and cool in the summer.

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The Bird’s high standards and love of the work are a testament to their trade. They have great appreciation for the community and their continued support because they would not be where they are today without them.

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AUTOMOTIVE BONUS

RON’S AUTOMOTIVE

Quality You Can Trust, At A Fair Price!

By Dennis McNabb, Active Media Contributing Writer Photos By Shonda Feather

W

hen it comes to servicing your vehicle, there are a lot of choices out there.

Some are content to simply drop their vehicles at the dealership knowing they’re probably paying more. Others are a little more discerning, and look to find comparable if not better service at more reasonable prices from locally-owned businesses. The one downfall with that scenario is, of course, finding a place you can trust. Well let me take that variable out of the equation and tell you about Ron’s Automotive in Vancouver (Cascade Park).

Ron Warmen is a local guy born and raised here, and he’s been working on cars since he was in high school. In 1974, he went to Michigan to attend MoTech, an automotive school which, at that time, was one of the only ones in the country.

Ron became fully certified, and has been fully certified since before that was even “a thing” in the industry! Already ahead of the game, he came back home, bought a mobile service truck, put out a ½ page ad in the Yellow Pages, and started his business. 46 years later, he’s still ahead of the game!

A/C climate control repairs, brake repairs, transmission repairs, steering and suspension repairs, diagnostics, alternator and electrical repairs, 30k, 60k, and 90k services, oil changes, wheel alignments, diesel services, engine and radiator repairs, and towing services; Ron’s does it all.

Ron’s is a household name for many of us and for good reason. His reputation precedes him. Honesty, integrity, transparency; these are not concepts Ron needs to boast of because they are simply an integral part of who he is. And more importantly for you, they are an integral part of his business. But don’t take my word for it: ask his crew. Most of them have been with him for 20+ years. That’s loyalty that has to be earned. It can’t be bought!

And that’s not all! Ron has a dealer’s license, too. He buys used vehicles from customers, fixes them up, and sells them to other customers. So rather than trading it in at the dealership for pennies on the dollar, talk to Ron and see what he can do for you first!

Ron’s Automotive is locally owned and operated by a man who was born and raised here. Next time you need work done on your vehicle, don’t hesitate to call Ron’s. You’ll never take your vehicle anywhere else again.

Ron’s Automotive is located at 16211 SE 1st Street in Vancouver.

Call 844-942-0134 or check them out online at Ronsautomotive.com.

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Trusted Car Care Experts For Over 40 Years!

✓ ✓ Ron’s Automotive is part of this community, and as such, we deeply care about its health.

We understand this is a stressful time and strive to cultivate a safe and secure space.

Having your vehicle serviced should always be a pleasant experience. Please feel free to ask our management for more details on precautions we are taking.

OWNER Best Regards,

RonWarman,

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