Doomsday brewers prepare for ‘Weird Beer on the River’ festival

BY DAN TRUJILLO

Post-Record staff writer

Like disaster � icks?Doomsday brewers Erik Cloe and Jake

Walton have just the right concoction of alcohol to attack your taste buds.

Some of their beers on tap include Nu-clear IPA, Cascadia Fault CDA, Agent Orange IPA, Come At Me Bro IIPA, Re-demption Red, Undead Chihuahua Gold-en, Ender Vanilla Porter, Blackout Choco-late Stout and Solar Flare Citrus Wheat. Most of these titles are doomsday themed.

“We started all of this in 2012, at the end of the Mayan Calender when every-body was supposed to die,” Walton said. “Now, people say there’s going to be a big earthquake or the Super Volcano at Yel-lowstone is going to erupt. There’s always some disaster to talk about over a couple of beers.

“We’re not trying to scare people. The idea is to come in and have fun,” he add-ed. “Some people don’t like to talk about doomsday events. It’s taboo. Once people come in here and see the artwork, themes and the names of our beers, it sort of breaks the ice.”

These two weird scientists have been mixing � avors in their garages for the last decade. What started as a hobby with friends has turned into an obsession to change the perception of what beer tastes like.

“The � rst beer we made was something that probably went down the drain,” Cloe said. “It was just terrible, but we still drank it.”

“We had to do more research, and trial and error,” Walton said. “Basically, that’s

DAN TRUJILLO/POST-RECORD

Jake Walton and Erik Cloe love talking about end of the world scenarios over a round of beers they create at Doomsday Brewing, located at 421 “C” St. in Washougal.

how it’s always been. Trial and error the whole time.”

Cloe and Walton can brew new � avors in a day, but fermentation takes weeks or months. They say temperature control, environment and cleanliness are all fac-tors in bringing these beers to life.

“There’s a lot of science behind this. It’s fun. It’s what we love to do,” Walton said. “If you try to rush through the process,

it’s going to re� ect on your � nal product.”The Beatdown Beet Wheat drink won

a People’s Choice award at the 2014 Ore-gon Spring Beer and Wine Festival. Cloe and Walton describe it as a unique exper-iment gone horribly right. They started with a blend of pale wheat grains, added some mild bittering hops and tossed in beets for sugars, � avors and color. The

See Brewing, page F5

“There’s always some disaster

to talk about over a couple of beers.”

— Jake Walton, Doomsday Brewing

A LOOK AT THE HOBBIES, INTERESTS AND ENDEAVORS THAT CAMAS AND WASHOUGAL RESIDENTS ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT

Passionate about brewing beer

— Camas-Washougal, WA Post-Record F2 Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Customers appreciate receiving products and services with a smile

By Dawn FelDhaus

Post-Record staff writer

Regular customers of the Washougal River Mercantile are often welcomed by name when they enter the store.

Infrequent visitors can expect a smile and a greeting from one of the store’s owners and employees.

Lori Nutting, a mercantile employee for 20 years, recently congratulated Washou-gal High School student Christian Noel after he completed the presentation of his senior project.

“You look nice,” Nutting said as Noel, wearing a dress shirt and slacks, walked past the deli counter on his way to buy a snack.

“I love this store,” Noel said later. “The Washougal River Mercantile is really friendly. They are almost like family to me.”

Noel’s father, Michael Noel, agreed.“It is a family atmosphere and a very

pleasant experience,” Michael said.Noel’s senior project involved rebuild-

ing a rifle. Marcus Fuller, one of the own-ers of the mercantile, is also a gunsmith.

Fuller served as a mentor for the proj-ect.

“He is a very knowledgeable person,” Noel said.

The community feel of this place cannot be denied.

Nutting said people have called the store when they find a cow in their yard, a loose chicken, a horse in the middle of the road or when they lose their dog.

“When there was an accident on Skye Road, they asked, ‘do you know what hap-pened?’” Nutting said. “It’s truly a com-munity center.”

The mercantile sells fruit and vegeta-ble seeds, gloves, prints of wildlife drawn by the late Eric Johnson, car batteries, diapers, laundry detergent, dog and cat food, sunglasses, greeting cards and light

bulbs, as well as mouse traps, charcoal, cake mix, cigarettes, soda, health and beauty products, candy, bread and barbe-cue sauce.

There are also spices, soups, spaghetti sauces, fresh fruits, wine and peanut but-ter, along with frozen foods such as waf-fles, pizzas and ice cream.

There are gasoline pumps, and pro-pane tank refills are available. Hunting knives, orange vests, ammunition and elk and bear lure are available to purchase, along with rafts and fishing, painting, car care, plumbing and hardware supplies.

Washington State Parks Discover Pass-es, to park at various sites including the nearby Dougan Falls, can be purchased at the store. Washington Department of

Fish and Wildlife fishing and hunting li-censes are also sold there.

The deli has sandwiches, take and bake pizzas, corn dogs, egg rolls, jo jos and cook-ies. The most popular burger sold there is the “River Queen,” which includes swiss and American cheeses.

Near the deli are beef jerky and fresh pork loin, ribeye steaks, chicken breasts and macaroni and potato salads.

A seating area is next to a selection of doughnuts and muffins, as well as self-serve coffee, cappuccino and tea.

Katherine Baxter and Rhonda Reeser, teachers at Canyon Creek Middle School, purchased and ate a few snacks while enjoying a break before the fifth grade promotion and introduction to sixth grade

teachers that evening.“I love this little store,” Baxter said.

“I’ve been coming here for 20 years.”She was previously a teacher at Cape

Horn-Skye Elementary School for 18 years.

“I have ordered pizza here for kids’ par-ties,” Baxter said, regarding the mercan-tile.

She said teachers refer to it as “the store,” when they go there for lunch.

Reeser recalled when she was new to Canyon Creek seven years ago. She need-ed to make a long distance call, and she was allowed to do that, at the mercantile.

Reeser gets gasoline and food there.

WASHOUGAL RIVER MERCANTILEa community gathering place

Passionate about community

Customers of all ages enjoy visiting the Washougal River Mercantile. The owners of the store are six siblings, including Chris Fuller (right). He also serves as chief of Skamania County Fire District 4. “We are there to serve the community as best we can,” Fuller said. “That’s why all of the family volunteers in different ways at the American Legion, SCFD 4 and others.”

See Mercantile, page F3D

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Camas-Washougal, WA Post-Record — F3Tuesday, June 23, 2015

“It’s our mall,” she said.Reeser has been a teacher for 27 years.During “Teacher Appreciation Week,”

the Canyon Creek Boosters purchased mercantile gift certificates for teachers.

“I’ve been bailed out by their gas sta-tion a few times,” Baxter said. “We’re lucky to have it here.”

The mercantile has DVD and video-tape movie rentals, a copy machine and a free book exchange. Amusements for children include toy gliders, playing cards and water balloons.

The proximity of the mercantile to Washougal Motocross Park, 40205 N.E. Borin Road, is mutually beneficial.

Darren “Luda” Criss, a motocross em-ployee, stopped by the mercantile while the park was hosting the Loretta Lynn northwest regional motocross champion-ship.

The event attracted participants from New York, Wyoming and Utah.

“They support us, and we support them,” Criss said regarding the mercan-

tile, as he filled a cooler with ice and beer. He also bought a burger, before getting

back into his baby blue 1971 Dodge van. In addition to Marcus, the mercantile’s

owners are his siblings Jeri Connolly, Karlyn Woods, Chris Fuller, Lisa Joner and Diana Shiluk.

Their mother, Charrol Ann Fuller, died in July 2011, and their father, Theo-dore “Ted” Regis Fuller, passed away in September 2014.

Chris Fuller said the original name of the business was Washougal River Mer-cantile.

When Ted and Charrol purchased the store in 1977, it was called Riverside Gro-cery and Cafe Inc.

“After mom and dad had removed the cafe in the early 80’s, they left the cor-porate name the same and changed the business name back to Washougal River Mercantile,” Chris said.

Near the front door is a sign commemo-rating the mercantile’s 20th anniversary in 1977.

There are also photos of Ted and Char-rol, with the words “In Loving Memory”

and “Together Again” included in the framed sentiments.

Chris recalls growing up, from the age of 12, in the house next to the mercantile. It sits along the Washougal River, and the view from the back deck is accented with roses.

The Washougal River Mercantile, 4232

Canyon Creek Road, Washougal, is open

Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 8

p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, from 8

a.m. to 8 p.m. For more information, call

837-3470.

Continued from page F2

MercantileMarcus Fuller (left), one of the owners of the Washougal River Mercantile, is also a gunsmith. Ammunition, hunting knives, orange vests and elk and bear lure are available to purchase, along with rafts and fishing, painting, car care, plumbing and hardware supplies.

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— Camas-Washougal, WA Post-Record F4 Tuesday, June 23, 2015

BY DANIELLE FROST

Post-Record staff writer

Three years ago, Tammy Dinius was like many people: Working at a job she no longer liked and too mentally drained to enjoy her home or yard. When her posi-tion at East County Fire & Rescue was cut to part-time due to budgetary issues,

Dinius, 57, knew it was time to follow her heart.

“Money is great but if you aren’t en-joying it, what’s the point?” she said. “I am still young enough and wanted to do something that didn’t involve sitting be-hind a desk.”

So, she and husband Ron converted an old storage building on their Washougal property into a light, bright art studio,

where Tammy spends most of her days. “During my ‘commute’ I often see deer,

but that’s the only tra� c,” Dinius joked. Dinius is no stranger to being an en-

trepreneur, as she and Ron once owned a handmade wood furniture business. Clients included more than 600 stores across the United States. She sold hand painted gift items. However, Dinius found the market had completely changed in the

10 years she was with ECF&R. “I wasn’t sure what to expect and stum-

bled a lot in the beginning,” she said. “You don’t have sales reps anymore. You have to represent yourself and � nd a market. I had to do a lot of research. The way people buy product now is completely di� erent.”

Perseverance paid o� : Almost three

‘greatest joy’

Passionate about art

Finding her Tammy Dinius

starts a

new career

as an artist

DANIELLE FROST/POST-RECORD

Tammy Dinius puts the fi nishing touches on one of her paintings. The Washougal artist left her job in 2012 to pursue her life passion of creating and selling her artwork.

See Art, page A7

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beets turn the beer bright red and pink.Come Sunday, the clock strikes zero on

Doomsday Brewing’s one year anniver-sary at 421 “C” St., in Washougal. Cloe and Walton are getting ready to unleash another dangerously delicious toxin. It’s called, Raspberry Chipotle Stout.

“Mixing crazy flavors like that togeth-er keeps us interested,” Walton said. “If we brewed IPA all the time, we would go crazy.”

“We would turn into robots,” Cloe add-ed.

Which is why these Doomsday brewers are looking forward to the Weird Beer on the River festival July 10 and 11, at Mari-na Park in Washougal. Amnesia Brewing, in Washougal, and Mill City Brew Werks, in Camas, will also be part of the event. Hours are Friday, from 4 to 10 p.m., and Saturday, from noon to 9 p.m.

More than 25 local and regional brew-eries have been challenged to create their weirdest brew made from ingredients such as fruits, vegetables, candy, seafood and even food-grade insects. Proceeds from this event benefit CDM Caregiving Services, a non-profit agency providing in-home care for veterans, senior citizens and people with disabilities in Southwest Washington.

“Our committee, our brewers and our sponsors all thought this was one of the more unique ideas to raise money for a good cause,” said CDM Caregiving Ser-vices Executive Director Eric Erikson. “We have huge breweries like Deshutes, Pyramid and Bridgeport. We have local favorites like Amnesia, Doomsday and Mt. Tabor. And we have breweries from Hood River to Astoria, and Bellingham to Eugene. Across the board, brewers were

Continued from page F1

Brewing

A Doomsday Brewing taster tray comes with beers in

every spectrum. Darks, lights, reds and stouts.

Weird Beer on the river

July 10 and 11, at Marina Park, next to the Port of Camas-Washougal offices, 24 S. “A” St., Washougal

• Hours: from 4 to 10 p.m. Friday, and from noon to 9 p.m. Saturday

• Tickets: $20, includes souvenir glass and six tasting tokens

• Advanced $17 tickets at www.cdmcaregiving.org.

• Featuring: Doomsday Brewing, Amnesia Brewing, Mill City Brew Werks and other Gorge breweries

• For details, go to www.visitwashougal.com.

excited to do something different and fun.”

People ages 21 and older can come to the festival for $20 a day. They will receive a souvenir glass and six tokens to try four ounces of the weirdest beers imaginable. Advanced $17 tickets are available at www.cdmcaregiving.org, if purchased be-fore July 8.

Cloe and Walton said they should feel right at home showcasing their beers in the corner and trying everybody else’s weird stuff.

“Let your creativity run wild,” Walton said. “This is something we loved to do in our free time, and now it’s become our jobs. Besides all the paperwork, it’s still home brewing.”

“I took care of the set up of the area we were using and had an absolute ball with the folks that came to the winery as pa-trons and our invited guests,” she added.

Hinds said her 94-year-old father enjoyed playing bocce in a covered court.

He is a World War II veteran who wore a Navy U.S.S. Enterprise hat to the birthday celebration.

“At the end of the party, he was ap-proached by a lovely young couple and sa-luted by the young man, and he thanked my father for his service,” Hinds said. “This young man was also a veteran.”

Through the years, the winery has host-ed chili cook-offs, painting classes and an-niversary celebrations.

“We love to make wine, and we love to drink it,” Vance Corum said.

Wallenberg said she appreciates that wine making involves many disciplines, including farming, chemistry, food pairing, travel, wine history and understanding how wine is made all over the world.

“Running the winery and the farm means we get our hands into a little bit of everything,” she said. “In any given day, I might spend an hour on web design, order a part for the tractor, run some tests in my chemistry lab, blend wine samples in dif-ferent configurations so we can decide what recipe we like best and then research an or-ganic way to keep deer out of the vineyard.”

Continued from page F11

Wine

english estate Winery

Regular hours: Fridays through Sundays, from noon to 6 p.m., and Mondays, from 4:30 to 7 p.m.

Where: 17806 S.E. First St., Vancouver

good times and Wine

Fridays, from 6 to 9 p.m.

What: food, wine and live music, from 6 to 9 p.m.

art & Wine Fair

When: Saturday, July 11, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, July 12, from noon to 6 p.m.

What: art, food, wine and live music

Free admission

Contact: 772-5141, email wine@englishestatewinery.com or visit www.englishestatewinery.com.

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— Camas-Washougal, WA Post-Record F6 Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Hollow

By HeatHer acHeson

Post-Record staff writer

It’s a sunny spring morning in Fern Prai-rie, and Jim Fisher is ready to hit the pave-ment. He is dressed in grubby jeans, sturdy work boots and a white T-shirt covered by a bright orange reflective vest. With work-glove protected hands, he places a white hard hat atop his head of shoulder-length gray hair.

“Are you ready?” he asked.With garden clippers, grabbing tool and

white plastic bags in hand, we set out on Northeast Everett Road — a two person clean-up crew aiming to make the area along state Route 500 a little bit cleaner than we found it.

Fisher, 71, who refers to himself as “the old hermit at Skunk Hollow,” is a volunteer with the state’s Adopt-a-Highway roadside clean-up program. It’s a job he officially took

on in the fall of 2013, but keeping things neat and tidy in the rural community began long before.

“A long time ago I started doing mowing and weed control along our area,” he said. “As I was doing that, I would notice that there was so much litter in the ditches. I had known about the roadside litter program and how it works. So I thought well, shoot, I’ll just go ahead and sign up for it.”

Volunteers with Adopt-a-Highway have worked to beautify communities around the state.

According to WSDOT, from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014, 1,387 volunteer groups with 23,519 volunteers spent 19,037 hours collecting 23,519 bags of garbage along state roadways. In addition, 245 sponsored con-tractors picked up 6,909 bags of garbage. If WSDOT workers had completed the same amount of work, it would have cost the state an estimated $846,000.

Southwest Region Roadside Maintenance

Supervisor Bill Morrison said there are cur-rently 55 Southwest Washington Adopt-A-Highway volunteer groups. Their participa-tion has an impact.

“We don’t have the resources to put people out on the highway picking up litter,” he said. “We have other priorities, so litter slides to the bottom. There would be a lot more litter out there if it wasn’t for the volunteers. They do a great job for us.”

According to Morrison, volunteers are typically responsible for stretches of 1 to 2 miles each.

“We are willing to work with them on whatever area they want to tackle,” he said.

Sections of state Route 500 as well as Hig-way 14 are currently in need of litter pickup volunteers.

“There are plenty of options out there,” Morrison said.

Along state Route 500, Fisher has found cigarette butts, liquor and wine bottles, beer cans, small car parts and candy wrappers, among other things. The strangest item he’s ever found? A pile of dead fish hidden behind a guard rail. “After a few days, those things smelled real ripe,” he said.

PHotos By HeatHer acHeson/Post-record

Jim Fisher, known in the local area as “the old hermit at Skunk Hollow,” regularly picks up garbage along Everett Road in Camas as part of the WSDOT Adopt-a-Highway program. He is passionate about keeping the area clean and safe for walkers and bicyclists.

HelPing out in tHe

Jim Fisher is a volunteer with the state’s

Adopt-a-Highway program

Passionate about helping others

See Helping, page 10

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Camas-Washougal, WA Post-Record — F7Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Danielle Frost/Post-recorD

Tammy Dinius has always had a flair for creativity, but in 2012, she made a major life change and left a job with East County Fire & Rescue to pursue her dream of becoming a full-time artist. “When I first started, I stumbled a lot,” she said. “It’s amazing what I started with and where I am at now.”

years after her career switch, Dinius is successful at marketing and selling her artwork. She has also designed items for Craft Warehouse and Canvas Corp International. She blogs about her expe-riences at www.tjdinius.wordpress.com, and hopes to inspire others.

She incorporates female faces, inspirational quotes and wine in most of her mixed media artwork, which is sold at online store Etsy and at various shows. In Dinius’s Etsy store, potential buyers will find original art, prints on canvas panels, post cards, note cards and other prod-ucts. According to Dinius’s website, her artwork seeks to, “empower, bring joy, impart emotion and tickle the funny bone for the per-son buying and/or receiv-ing our products.”

“I wanted to focus on words in my artwork be-cause they have power,” Dinius said.

Her excitement is pal-atable as she talks about following her heart.

“It is amazing what I started with and where I am at now,” Dinius said. “I have a whole different life now. You can go through phases in your life and think that you are satisfied and happy, but you really aren’t. I absolutely love what I am doing. I can’t express just how much.”

Her husband and daughters, Cassan-dra, 30 and Jessandra, 22, have all no-ticed a difference.

“They tell me I seem much happier now and if anything, I am hoping this sets a good example for my daughters,” Dinius said. “I love having the freedom to follow what I want to do with my life. I don’t

have to go to a job I don’t really like and I get to enjoy the things I worked hard for.”

She noted that while painting is always easy for her, marketing herself and keep-ing an online presence has proven to be challenging.

“Jessy has worked with me on my mar-keting, and I have also helped her in my busi-ness,” Dinius said. “She was born to be an entre-preneur as well.”

She noted that Cassan-dra is also following her dream of teaching at the college level and has earn-ing a doctorate in psychol-ogy.

“She is absolutely pas-sionate about what she does,” Dinius noted. “If anything, this career change has helped me set a better example.”

Her advice to others who are looking to follow their dreams?

“Start by making small changes,” Dinius said. “You don’t have to do ev-erything at once. I wish I would have started doing what I was doing while

I was still working. Do your research. If you don’t know what your passion is, think about what makes you happy and makes you want to get out of bed in the morning.”

In addition to a career switch, Dinius is now six classes shy of a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing, a journey she began in 1975.

“It only took me 40 years,” she joked.Dinius noted that doing what gives her

the greatest joy doesn’t feel like a job. “It fills my life with meaning,” she

said. “The car you drive, the house you own, nothing lasts forever. Make every moment count and do what makes your heart soar.”

Continued from page F4

Art

“I have a whole different

life now. You can go through phases in your life and think that you are satisfied and

happy, but you really aren’t. I absolutely love what

I am doing.” — Tammy Dinius

To learn more...For more information about Tammy Dinius’s artwork, visit www.womenwineandwords.com or www.Etsy.com/shop/womenwineandwords.Show.

Next month, she will be participating in the English Estate Winery Art & Wine Fair, July 11 and 12. For more information, visit www.englishestatewinery.com/art-wine-fair-2.

— Camas-Washougal, WA Post-Record F8 Tuesday, June 23, 2015

BY DAN TRUJILLO

Post-Record staff writer

A simple walk on a trail in a small town gives Dale Rule goose bumps when he thinks of about how much inspiration generates from putting one foot in front of the other.

The 43-year-old Camas High School football coach and 24 Hour Fitness em-ployee published a book in September about his odyssey to overcome obesity. He also made his � rst public address June 4, at Liberty Middle School. He asked them to donate $1 dollar a month toward his vision of building parks with designated walking trails in cities across the country.

“Obesity is the number one killer in America. Everybody has this scienti� c method to try and beat it,” Rule said. “You know what I did? I started walking, and it saved my life.”

The � rst stepRule’s journey dates back to seeing an

un� attering photo of himself six years ago. He stepped on the scale and was sur-prised to see he weighed 363 pounds. At that moment, Rule knew if he didn’t do something drastic, he was not going to live long enough to see his kids to grow up and have children of their own.

Rule and his wife, Lya, went for their � rst walk together. It took 41 minutes to reach one mile. The next day, Rule walked another mile. Then four miles. Then 10 miles from his home up on Prune Hill, down to the Heritage Trail around Lacamas Lake, and back up again.

Do the ridiculousDuring his walking peak, Rule aver-

aged 19 miles a day for 72 days in a row. He lost 140 pounds during that � rst year of trail blazing every day. Then came an epiphany to walk for 24 straight hours and to start a non-pro� t organization to raise awareness of obesity.

“We were driving to the zoo, listening to the radio, and they were talking about doing a 24 hour radio-a-thon for a cause,” Rule said. “I asked my wife, ‘Do you think

I could walk for 24 consecutive hours?’ Her exact words were, ‘There’s something wrong with you.’ We both kind of laughed it o� , but a seed had already been planted in my brain.”

Rule has organized four 24-hour walks in Camas. His miles have increased with every attempt. The number of partici-pants in each event multiplied from tens, to hundreds to thousands of walkers. Friends, colleagues, community leaders and strangers have all joined him in this march.

“This is what these walks are all about, bringing communities together,” Rule said. “Not everybody is heavy or obese, but everybody knows someone — family member, a friend or a colleague — who struggles with weight. Every person who comes to the track walks, and at some point has introduced themselves to me, and thanked me for what I’m doing.”

Addicted to foodPeople are addicted to many di� erent

vices. Rule says you can’t live without eat-ing.

“If you over eat, you die. If you don’t eat, you die. So you’ve got to � nd it right in the middle,” he said. “Food is relational. Food is family. Food is celebration. Food is recovery.”

Rule deals with food addiction every day, especially during the holidays.

“You can’t eat cake every day, but can you take a bite of cake and be satis� ed with that?” he asked. “Mentally, you go through this battle because it’s sitting there. So, you give in and have a piece. And a piece becomes four. And then, you look in the mirror and say, ‘You’re such a loser.’ You’re your own worst critic.”

This is the biggest challenge Rule has been given in life. He said he has too much respect for the people he has met on this journey to let them down.

A family journeyRule loves his sons, Joey, Je� rey and

Josh. A walk on the trail together gives them all an opportunity to talk about life and peer pressures with no distractions from a television or a mobile device.

“I tell my kids, ‘You were born into the Rule family. God has placed expectations and responsibilities in our life. The way we’re going to behave, the way we’re go-ing to act and the things we’re going to do,” Rule said. “And the beautiful thing is, they reenforce it right back to me by going on these walks together. There’s ac-countability that’s held into place on both sides.”

Rule said the walks with his wife are priceless.

“Walking will save marriages. Every-one says money is the biggest cause of divorce. No, lack of communication is the biggest cause of divorce,” he said. “You fell in love for a reason. You married that person for a reason. If you would go for a walk with that person every day, you would be shocked by the things you would � nd to talk about. And you would fall in love all over again every day.”

Dale and Lya Rule have yelled, cried

and laughed on their walks together. He said it hasn’t saved their marriage, but it’s made them stronger.

“We don’t commit to have dinner to-gether. We don’t commit to go to the bar together. We don’t commit to watch a show together. We commit to go for a walk together,” he said. “It’s just her and I talking about life. Remembering why

DAN TRUJILLO/POST-RECORD

Dale Rule holds up a copy of his book, “Is the Prize Worth the Price?,” after walking the Lacamas Heritage Trail. The 43-year-old said he has been on this stretch so many times, he could probably walk it blindfolded “without falling into the lake, hitting a tree or getting lost.”

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

• Contact Dale Rule, purchase his “Is the Prize Worth the Price?” book or make a donation to www.everyonewalk.com

• Join the next 24-hour walk from 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, to 10 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 20, at Doc Harris Stadium

Mentor and author gives his � rst public address

See Rule, page F10

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Camas-Washougal, WA Post-Record — F9Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Teachers played crucial role in securing a full-day kindergarten program in Camas

BY DANIELLE FROST

Post-Record staff writer

When the Camas School Board chose to move forward with full-day kindergarten, some audience members found it hard to contain their joy.

Hollering and clapping was heard amidst the members of the committee, which had spent several months research-ing the need for such a program.

“We were thrilled and excited when the board approved moving forward with full-day kindergarten,” said teacher Diane Loghry, who chaired the committee. “It was so wonderful to know our work was respected and valued and the commu-nity of Camas believes in supporting our youngest learners.”

The state of Washington will require all school districts to have a full day pro-gram by the fall of 2017, but many Camas educators have long desired the program. They � rst tried to have it approved � ve years ago, but it was postponed due to the budget crisis across the state.

When the district decided to form a study team earlier this year to revisit the issue, kindergarten teacher Cathy Saw-yer was quick to volunteer.

“A lot of us are in agreement that we need more time to teach the Common Core standards than what a half-day pro-gram allows,” she said. “With a full-day program, we can provide appropriate pac-ing and still have breaks for movement and play. I am really excited about build-ing stronger relationships and adding more social time to our day.”

Sawyer has taught kindergarten for 20 years, with the last 15 at Dorothy Fox El-ementary in Camas.

“Things have changed a lot in the past few years with the state requirements for learning,” she said. “Our study team was really focused on making sure we do this in a way that is best for kids.”

The committee spent approximately � ve months de� ning its principles of early

learning, planning professional develop-ment needs for kindergarten teachers, and projecting implementation needs and costs.

Julie Swan, Prune Hill Elementary School principal, also served on the com-mittee. She has worked in education for 24 years as a classroom teacher and prin-cipal.

“The uniqueness of our full day pro-gram is twofold: Establishing intentional play into the day as developmentally ap-propriate and folding the literacy inter-vention of our current LEAP program into full day kindergarten.”

LEAP is a supplemental full-day pro-gram, directed at children who have the highest needs. The program was � rst of-fered several years ago but was cut due to budget restrictions, then brought back later.

“We had to make a decision whether to expand LEAP this year, or have a full-day program for all kindergarten stu-dents,” Sawyer said. “It seemed logical to move forward with it, since the state will be requiring that soon. We are just get-ting a head start. This will help the kids be more socially ready, self-directed, have

Supporting the youngest learners

better stamina and are given an oppor-tunity to engage in activities for a longer period of time. It is not the direction ev-ery school district would take, but we are looking for balance.”

Loghry, who has worked in the edu-cation � eld for 27 years, noted that the young students’ sense of wonder and dis-covery is what keeps her here.

“I love the enthusiasm and excitement that each child brings into the class-

room,” she said. “Increasing the time stu-dents are in attendance in school allows for greater opportunity to support the unique needs of young learners while at the same time promoting intellectually stimulating and challenging educational experiences. Preparing our students to meet the challenges of a global communi-ty and becoming college and career ready requires an investment in their learning. Full day Kindergarten is that invest-ment.” Swan noted that the research be-hind early childhood education supports literacy development and number sense.

“The sooner we introduce literacy and number sense with an emphasis on in-tentional play, our chances of having strong, on-grade level readers, writers and thinkers increases,” she said. “Our parent community has been supportive of full day kindergarten for some time now, with many attending full-day preschools and kindergarten before entering the Camas School District. Our school board, knowing that we do not receive any state funds for FDK, made the investment in our youngest learners as they are big pro-ponents of early childhood education.”

Sawyer refers to early childhood edu-cation as “my biggest passion,” and is ex-cited for what the coming school year will bring.

“I am looking forward to getting to know each and every student better,” she said. “As a half day kindergarten teacher, there is not as much time as you would like. I love working with the kids and want more time with them.”

DANIELLE FROST/POST-RECORD

Kindergarten teacher Cathy Sawyer was part of volunteer group which led the charge to add a full-day program for all kindergarten students in the Camas School District. The School Board approved the request this spring.

Passionate about education

— Camas-Washougal, WA Post-Record F10 Tuesday, June 23, 2015

we love each other and dreaming about our future together.”

Trail blazer to writerAll of these stories are detailed in

Rule’s book, titled “Is the Prize Worth the Price?”

Rule said he never wanted to write a book. Actually, he was adamantly against it. A conversation with friend Don Lovell changed his whole outlook.

“He said, ‘You talk about being a man of God, and you love the Lord. God has given you this gift, and you’re too selfish to share it with other people?’” Rule said. “That stabbed me right in the heart, but he did it out of love. So guess what I start-ed doing next week? Writing the book.”

Midway through the book, Rule hit a rough patch in his life. He had surgery to repair a torn shoulder. Doctors told him he couldn’t walk for two weeks. While he was recuperating, Lya — who has mul-tiple sclerosis — had to work three differ-ent jobs.

Rule sank into depression. While the Papermaker football team was playing in the state championship game, he was at

the darkest point of his life.“It was my greatest moment in coach-

ing, and I couldn’t enjoy it,” Rule said. “I didn’t know what to do. I’d never been de-pressed like that in my whole life.”

Rule turned to Lovell for advice. Lovell suggested reading “From a Name to a Number,” by Holocaust survivor Alter Wiener.

Continued from page F8

Rule

Dan Trujillo/PosT-recorD

Dale Rule conducted his first “Everyone Walk” public address June 4, at Liberty Middle School, in Camas. He shared his internal and external struggles with weight gain, the moment he decided to save his life by going for a walk every day and the past five years of his mission to save others.

“I bought Alter’s book that night and read it cover to cover,” Rule said. “The next day, I looked in the mirror and said, ‘You selfish, selfish person.’”

Rule went to one of Wiener’s public speeches at David Douglas High School, in Portland. Wiener invited him to his home to talk about Rule’s story. He asked Rule two questions that changed the whole dynamic of his story.

“He asked me, ‘Are you bitter about your life growing up?’” Rule said. “I told him, ‘There isn’t a day that goes by that I’ve been bitter. I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t go through what I went though. And I’m here today, so it can’t be that bad.’”

Wiener’s second question stopped Rule dead in his tracks.

“He said, ‘Dale, why were you so fat?’ My canned response was, ‘I love food.’ And he said, ‘Dale, everybody loves food. I haven’t met a person who doesn’t like food. Why were you so fat?’” Rule said. “I didn’t have an answer for him. He said, ‘If you can’t write about the two questions I just asked you, you’ll never have the im-pact you think you can have.’”

Rule was off and writing again. He fin-ished the rest of the book on a stationary bike while working graveyard shifts as a

front desk clerk at 24 Hour Fitness. He published it just in time for his next 24 hour walk.

Just keep walkingRule writes “is the prize or the price”

on the mirror he looks at every day. If it starts to look like wallpaper, he’ll erase and write the message down in a differ-ent place with a different color pen. Those words have molded into his brain, along with honesty and accountability.

“If I can be honest and accountable to that person in the mirror, which is my-self, I can do that about anything,” Rule said. “I’m tired. I’m not going to lie. You throw football into the mix and it’s 90 hours a week.”

He’s not about to break his number one Rule to walk every day, because the prize is worth the price

“What if I stayed home so I could sleep an extra hour and I didn’t meet that one person on the trail, told them my story and possibly saved their life? What if drives me. What if puts me on this trail,” Rule said. “The worst you can do every day is go for a walk. The best thing you can do is go for a walk and whatever you want to do activity wise. But on your worst day, just go for a walk.”

‘Don’t be a litter bug’According to Fisher, as a child growing up

in rural Wichita, Kansas, his mother instilled in him values illustrated by the classic catch phrase “Don’t be a litterbug.” He remembers riding in a car with her once when he thought-lessly tossed some garbage out the window. Mom was not pleased.

“The one-time admonishment I got, I al-ways remembered it,” he said. “That incident from long-ago, it had a lasting effect.”

Fisher first purchased his Everett Road property in the early 1970s. His work for BNSF Railways took him around Washing-ton, Oregon and Idaho, so he didn’t live in the house full-time until 2001 when he retired as a locomotive engineer after a 36-year career.

“I think they were happy to get rid of me,” he said with his signature sense of humor.

Since then Fisher has become a fixture in the area, recognizable to neighbors and public employees who often spot him out and about.

In addition to picking up garbage, he main-tains nearby walkways by clipping overgrown

blackberry bushes and other vegetation and removing debris.

“The cops drive by, but they don’t even notice I’m on the side of the road,” he joked. “They know I’m just off in my own little world.”

Just feet from his front yard, a bright blue roadside sign recognizing the Adopt-a-High-way volunteer reads, “The Old Hermit at Skunk Hollow.”

“It’s been called Skunk Hollow ever since people first started inhabiting the area,” Fish-er explained. “It almost disappeared. There were fewer and fewer people who knew about it. Because of my mischievous nature, and part of that mischievousness is enjoying irri-tating people sometimes, when I moved back onto the property I immediately started pro-moting the name Skunk Hollow. I think it’s because of the skunk cabbage, because I’ve only smelled a skunk in the area once or twice in the many years I’ve either lived on the prop-erty of been on the property.”

As part of his work with the Adopt-a-High-way program, Fisher aims to complete litter patrol four times a year.

“The area I cover is probably one of the safer areas to do, because so very seldom do you ac-

tually have to walk on the pavement,” he said.Fisher has found cigarette butts, liquor and

wine bottles, beer cans, small car parts and candy wrappers, among other things. The strangest item he’s ever found? A pile of dead fish hidden behind a guard rail.

“After a few days, those things smelled real ripe,” he said.

Fisher said he does the unpaid work be-cause he cares about the community, and its citizens.

“Each year that I live here I get more and more interested in seeing things get done,” he said. “I like the way it looks to the north when the ditches are all clear and the blackberry bushes are clipped back instead of growing out over the edge of the guardrail and the fog line.”

He is particularly concerned about pedes-trians and bicyclists who frequent the area, which has no officially dedicated bicycle lanes or sidewalks.

“I just don’t want to see them get hit and hurt,” Fisher said. “I tell people I would like to make it safer for them so I don’t have to go down there with a spatula and scrape them off of the road.”

Continued from page F6

Helping

Adopt-A-HigHwAyGroups, organizations individuals or businesses interested in participating adopt a 1 to 2 mile stretch of state highway, then pick up litter one to four times a year. Volunteers are recognized with their names printed on a roadside sign. Training as well as some tools and supplies are provided. For more information, contact Bill Morrison at 905-2139 or morribi@wsdot.wa.gov, or visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/Operations/adoptahwy/information.htm.

Camas-Washougal, WA Post-Record — F11Tuesday, June 23, 2015

By Dawn FelDhaus

Post-Record staff writer

On a recent sunny Saturday morning, children, chickens and a cat named Lizzie scattered about on the grounds of English Estate Winery.

The names of the chickens include Blanca, Princess and Sir Grey.

The traditions of a close-knit family and wine making are being passed from generation to generation there.

The property, located along the Camas-Vancouver border was purchased by Carl S. English and his father, Jude English, in 1903, to become the English Farm.

Their grandson and great-grandson, Carl D. English, started growing wine grapes and making wine in 1980. The winery opened its doors to the public two decades later.

Carl D. English served as the vintner of the winery, until he died in 2010.

Jennifer English Wallenberg, daughter of Carl and his first wife, Marian, lives on the English Estate property with her husband, Fredrik, and their two children.

Wallenberg and her brother, Carl S. English, grew up on the grounds of the estate.

She said the farm was 80 acres when she was a child.“We had about 50 head of cattle which my grandfa-

ther raised and sold — grass fed beef,” Wallenberg said. “There were always three or four horses around too. We also had pigs, chickens, geese, barn cats and some dogs. I rode my horse every day before and after school, helped my grandfather make hay in the summer and helped take care of the cows, which mostly meant shoveling a lot of manure.

“I also helped my grandfather raise orphan calves if a cow died giving birth,” she added. “The area was still mainly empty fields, so I used to ride my horse to Lac-

amas Lake and certainly all around the neighborhood, to the grocery store and friend’s houses. It was a great childhood, very little television, mostly being outside.”

Kristin Dowling, daughter of English’s second wife Gail, also lives at English Estate with Vance Corum, and their two children.

Dowling moved to the property in 2000 and developed the winery over the next year with her stepfather.

She has lived on English Estate on and off since then. “It’s a piece of heaven with all the luxuries of conve-

nient, suburban living within a mile,” Dowling said. The wines are estate grown and handcrafted by Wal-

lenberg, with the help of her brother. Their primary fo-cus is Pinot Noir. English Estate also produces Cabernet Sauvignon.

White varietals include Pinot Gris, Semillon, Gewurz-traminer and Sauvignon Blanc. There are also sweet fortified dessert wines.

Visitors to a tasting room, named The Loafing Shed, can view black and white historical photos of the English Estate property, as well as more recent color images of the winery.

“It provides a cool respite on hot days,” Andee Mowery said about the tasting room.

She manages events and tastings for the family.In addition to wine, soda, water and custom English

Estate wineglasses are available to purchase.The grounds of the 20-acre estate are worth exploring.

They include fruit and vegetable gardens, maintained by Gail English, with blueberries and raspberries, as well as corn, Brussels sprouts, tomatoes, peppers and onions.

“I think it’s really great that we are able to preserve some open space for wildlife in what is becoming a very urban area,” Wallenberg said. “We regularly have bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, wild rabbits, kestrels [falcons] and sometimes deer.”

Special occasions, such as bridal showers, weddings, receptions and corporate events, are held at English Es-tate. The Volcano View Event Center can accommodate up to 100 people.

Jan Hinds, a Portland event planner, recently cele-brated her mother’s 90th birthday in a covered area next to the Pump House tasting room.

She planned the celebration with her daughter and sisters.

“I was truly impressed with the winery’s flexibility with the event,” Hinds said. “We were covered for any inclement weather that might have come along, but it was a truly spectacular day.

winemaking legacy

A family’s

continues

Passionate about winemaking

Multiple generations of the English family live at English Estate Winery. They include Kristin Dowling and Vance Corum, with their children Zia and Quinn, and Jennifer English Wallenberg and her husband Fredrik, with their children Madeleine and Andrew.

Public is invited to enjoy the ambience of English Estate Winery

Dawn FelDhaus/Post-RecoRD

Gail English’s gardens at English Estate Winery include art by Scott Kluka, of Washougal, a gazing globe, as well as a variety of colorful flowers and views of Mt. St. Helens. A seating area near the garden invites visitors to sit and stay awhile.

See Wine, page F5

S H A R P CA M AS : W E CA R E

WE CARE.Because there’s so much worth protecting.

As citizens of the Pacific Northwest, we have the

fortune to live in one of the planet’s richest natural areas.

It’s a quality of life that’s well worth protecting.

At our campus in Camas, Sharp continually seeks new

ways to reduce our impact on the environment.

WHEN PEOPLE, COMPANIES, AND COMMUNITIES COME TOGETHER, THAT’S WHEN REAL PROGRESS IS MADE.

— Camas-Washougal, WA Post-Record F12 Tuesday, June 23, 2015