Morning Press: Two shot near Battle Ground; Farmers Market to reopen; Inslee closes schools for year

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In case you missed them, here are some of the top stories from the week:

Gunman wounds two near Battle Ground; apparently kills himself hours later

A man who shot two people Tuesday afternoon in a rural area southwest of Battle Ground apparently killed himself less than two hours later in southern Cowlitz County, according to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

Both victims were shot in the legs with an AR-15 or similar weapon shortly after 4 p.m. and were taken to an area hospital, according to the sheriff’s office and emergency radio traffic monitored at The Columbian.

Vancouver issues two emergency orders

Vancouver City Manager Eric Holmes issued two citywide emergency orders Friday designed to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 on small businesses.

Among other things, the orders make it illegal for landlords to evict small businesses during the crisis, effective through April 30. A small business is defined as any business with fewer than 50 employees holding a valid Vancouver business license.

Inslee: Washington schools closed through end of the year

OLYMPIA — Schools in Washington state will remain physically closed for the remainder of the school year while more than 1.2 million public and private K-12 students continue distance learning at least until mid-June due to the coronavirus outbreak, officials said Monday.

Schools have been shut statewide since March 17 and were initially scheduled to reopen April 27. That was extended until June 19 — when the spring term ends — and schools were encouraged to continue distance learning.

Distance learning will continue through June

Clark County grocery stores limit customer numbers

Kroger, the parent company of grocery store chains Fred Meyer and QFC, announced Monday that it will begin limiting the total number of customers allowed in its stores at a time, in order to encourage social distancing and help combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kroger operates six Fred Meyer locations and one QFC in Clark County.