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Top Stories: Woman arrested in fatal 2022 DUI; water features; heck of a glass collection

Jan 20, 2024

It's gonna be hot, hot, hot this weekend. Check out our local weather forecast before you head outside.

Here are the top stories on columbian.com this week:

Investigators say a Yacolt woman had a blood-alcohol content more than four times the legal limit shortly after she crashed a pickup Feb. 4, 2022, killing her passenger.

Ronda J. Knapp, 50, appeared Thursday in Clark County Superior Court on suspicion of vehicular homicide in the death of 51-year-old Steven J. Woolsey of Yacolt.

The city of Vancouver has turned on the water play features at multiple parks in time for what promises to be a very hot weekend.

The Esther Short Park and Vancouver Waterfront Park water features opened Wednesday, and will remain open between dawn and dusk through the end of summer.

Five generations of the Lawffer family have called the Tum Tum Springs Dairy farm home. Early this month, the farm's current owner, Randy Lawffer, was awarded the Heritage Barn Preservation Award from the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation.

"Where there is a will, there is a way, and with a history of use by five generations of the Lawffer Family, saving their heritage barn was an easy decision," said Allyson Brooks, state historic preservation officer, during a May 3 awards presentation.

In April, the Vancouver Police Department reported 22 job vacancies, including several open upper-management roles.

As the department ramps up efforts to address its hiring challenges, one part-timer has provided some relief: Washougal Police Chief Wendi Steinbronn, who spends three days each week in Vancouver helping the police department.

Remember when fast-food joints would entice customers with novelty glasses in the 1970s and ’80s? "Collect all four," the ads blared.

Vancouver retiree Deena Fisher, 64, collected a lot more than that — about 6,000.