These stories might not have been the biggest news in town, but they sure caught our attention: Ceiling climber: A man, who Clark County deputies say locked himself inside a Hazel Dell Starbucks restroom and refused to exit, tried to escape by climbing through the ceiling, flooding the business and damaging the Great Clips hair salon next door. Cistern: Construction crews working on a downtown Vancouver apartment complex uncovered an old brick cistern used for fire department water storage. It dates between the 1880s and 1920s. Bear near Lacamas Lake: The Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife was working to locate a bear, which wasn't aggressive, wandering around Lacamas Lake. Corpse flower: Washington State University Vancouver's resident corpse flower, named Titan VanCoug, blossomed for a third time since 2019, emitting a foul odor. Thousands visited to observe. People play mermaids: Vancouver residents who embrace the magic of mermaids swim and dive while dressed in mono-fins. They greet visitors with "shello" instead of "hello." Dead smelt: A massive number of dead smelt washed ashore the banks of the Columbia River in March. It happens after they spawn, and they're a source of food for birds, salmon and sea lions. Woman sells glasses to pay for grandkids' college: Deena Fisher, 64, has collected about 6,000 novelty drinking glasses from the 1970s and '80s. She and her grandkids sell the glasses to pay for their college at NW's Largest Garage Sale, which you can find a few Saturdays a year at the Clark County Event Center at the Fairgrounds. Fantasy yard toy display: A Hazel Dell man decorated his yard with fun toys that became a tourist attraction. You can find it at the corner of Northwest 10th Avenue and Sluman Road. Pornography interrupts Battle Ground City Council meeting: Battle Ground residents tuning into the city council's regular meeting in early December got more than they bargained for when the YouTube livestream was suddenly interrupted by a broadcast of pornography. The council later revised its procedures to prevent it from happening again. AirBnBeaver: Columbia Springs hatchery in east Vancouver offers temporary residence for beavers being relocated for interfering with local homeowners. More in This SeriesIn 2023, the photos were there and so were weIt is always an interesting task to look back at our year in pictures. Dedicated photojournalists explore the community each day to bring back images...Clark County stories worthy of a double takeThese stories might not have been the biggest news in town, but they sure caught our attention:Homelessness, teacher and health care strikes and I-5 Bridge topped news in 2023 in Clark CountyThe long-simmering problem of homelessness boiled into a crisis in 2023, making it The Columbian's top story of the year, up from the No. 3... Trending nowLoading...