Clark County’s strangest Friday the 13th
Clark County might have experienced the wildest Friday the 13th in its history last year.
On March 13, 2020, the county council declared its first emergency proclamation due to COVID-19. Clark County Public Health confirmed the second and third local cases. Then-County Manager Shawn Henessee resigned the same day.
News came in that a Camas police officer had fatally shot a man the previous night.
The state expanded COVID-19 measures, and schools in the county closed for what was expected to be six weeks, affecting nearly 85,000 students locally.
Then-President Donald Trump declared a national emergency, and the House of Representatives approved an aid package.
As the Clark County reporter, my piece in all of this was the Henessee news. I interrupted a meeting full of editors to add yet another significant story to the list, and for a second, we chuckled in disbelief.
One would have reason to believe that March 13 this year will be a bit less active. It does fall on a Saturday, after all.
Jack Heffernan
Jack Heffernan is a breaking news reporter and covers Clark County government for The Columbian.