‘Instrumental in everything’: Castle Rock public works director retires after 44 years

By: Henry Brannan

Outlets: The Columbian

Published: January 23, 2026

Words: 679

Last Updated: 4 days, 10 hours ago

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Longtime Castle Rock Public Works Director David Vorse retired at the end of 2025 after 44 years with the city.

He joined not long after Mount St. Helens’ 1980 eruption that sent about 1 million Olympic swimming pools worth of debris around the nearby North Fork Toutle River.

The volcanic debris eroded into the Toutle and Cowlitz rivers, worsening flooding and creating challenges to this day for the city’s wastewater treatment plant.

“When the mountain …

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