The Daily News

For Helen Ford, finding her birth mother four months ago was “exciting, but scary.” Full Story »

Due to this week’s freezing temperatures, a Kelso church has opened an overnight shelter for the homeless, and Community House in Longview is allowing people to sleep in its lobby. Full Story »

A house fire Friday in Kelso was caused by a piping-hot wood stove, Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue said. Full Story »

Thanks to an alert citizen’s call to the Crime Stoppers tip line, Cowlitz County sheriff’s deputies arrested a man suspected of committing in nine burglaries and thefts in Cowlitz County. The arrest also clears at least one Clark County case, according to the sheriff’s office. Full Story »

Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging Inc. will temporarily shut down its No. 6 paper machine in January and reassign 32 employees to other machines, company spokeswoman Sarah Taydas said Monday. Full Story »

Bedbugs have made their way into a Longview apartment complex for the disabled, and managers are trying to figure out how to kill off the pests. Full Story »

“Take a few quiet moments just for you — sit back, relax & enjoy.” Those words on the fireplace at Linda Beer’s Victorian shop in Longview are words she hopes customers take to heart. Full Story »

Enrollment reached a new high at Lower Columbia College this fall, prompting the school to hire 30 adjunct instructors to handle the additional workload, said LCC spokeswoman Sue Groth on Friday. Full Story »

No arrests have been made in the Nov. 15 destruction of uniforms and equipment belonging to the Kelso Youth Football League, said League President Scott Radcliffe. Full Story »

In the first two months of its prescription drug drop-off program, Longview Police collected 40 pounds of pills, according to evidence technician Ron Cryderman. Full Story »

A local fundraiser last month raised more than $6,000 for research of a rare genetic disorder. Full Story »

Two young Kelso men are in custody in connection with the theft and sale of two gold rings belonging to a Kelso woman. Full Story »

Due to scheduling conflicts, the state Department of Transportation has postponed its Dec. 9 ground-breaking ceremony for the Longview Wye interchange reconstruction project at Exit 36. Full Story »

The Neighbors in Need fund drive received $1,125 since Thursday, bringing the total since the fund began Thanksgiving Day to $5,500 — that’s $1,610 more than was collected by the same day last year. Full Story »

WOODLAND — More than 12,000 lights flicker and flash in synch with Christmas songs playing daily outside Jeff Flanagan’s home on Misty Drive. The dazzling show, which runs every half hour starting at 5 p.m., has been a labor of love since late June for Flanagan, a 36-year-old technology teacher at Woodland Intermediate School. Full Story »

Law enforcement agencies all over Washington will have extra patrols on the road Dec. 11-12 for the 19th annual “Night of 1,000 Stars.” Full Story »

The Health Care Foundation is accepting applications for its 2010 grants to community health organizations. Interested organizations should contact Mary Jane Melink at P.O. Box 308, Longview, WA 98632; phone (360) 423-3591; or e-mail healthcare@kalama.com Full Story »

The state Department of Transportation is will hold a ground-breaking ceremony Dec. 9 for the long-awaited Longview Wye interchange reconstruction project at Exit 36, according to WSDOT officials. Full Story »

The city of Kelso is seeking residents with an interest in community planning to apply for a vacant city planning commission seat. Full Story »

Clad in bright red T-shirts and scurrying as busily as Santa’s elves, a dozen volunteers from the Cowlitz PUD attacked and sorted through mountains of canned food arriving Saturday at the CAP Help Warehouse. Full Story »

A central fountain, water park for children and a radical change in traffic flow are among the ideas in a revised set of proposals to improve safety in Longview’s notorious traffic circle and rehabilitate the park it surrounds. Full Story »

WOODLAND — Home appliance repairman Sterling West never needed to advertise. Calls for service just came in from all over town. Full Story »

A Longview man accidently shot himself in his hand outside the Longview Walmart Saturday morning, trying to put ammunition into his newly purchased gun. Full Story »

The looming expiration of an $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and longer closing periods caused a November home sales blitz in Cowlitz County, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service and area brokers said this week. Full Story »

If grants come through, the Port of Woodland next year will widen Guild Road and build a stormwater treatment plant — two steps required before it can develop a 19-acre industrial park in the area. Full Story »