In 2001, "stimulus" meant a $300 check for just about everybody. In 2003, parents got $400 per kid. Last year, taxpayers got $300 to $600.

This year, borrowed federal money is pouring into Clark County once again — more than $200 million of it so far.

That's $464 for every man, woman and child in the county, with well more than half of February's $787 billion stimulus package left to spend. But this time, most of the money is going not to taxpayers' pockets but to grants, contracts and subsidized loans intended to put people to work doing useful things.

But how useful? As Democrats debate a second stimulus package, The Columbian dug through federal records to find seven local workers who got slivers of the biggest domestic spending bill in U.S. history.

How'd they get the jobs? What good are they doing? Where have they spent the money?

They all said they're glad to be doing work they like during the worst recession of their lives, from a $13-an-hour technician for an Orchards telecom manufacturer to a Minnehaha road worker who makes $46 an hour on the rig.

But four said their disposable income this year has gone into savings accounts or debt payments.

The same thing is happening everywhere, state economist Arun Raha said last week.

"The problem we are having right now is that people are not necessarily spending out of increases in disposable income," he said. "They are worried about their jobs." Raha expects low spending until summer.

Even so, there are glimmers of hope. Andrew Brahe, a project manager for the Confluence Project, said he's optimistic.

"I have four friends who in the last week have all gotten jobs," said Brahe, 26. "We had a dinner party."

Roxeanne Boose

Job title: Program coordinator for Partners in Careers, a nonprofit organization in Vancouver's Shumway neighborhood.

What I'll actually do: Assist women veterans, finding out where they can get assistance. And if the assistance doesn't exist, we're gonna bring that to 1/8the American Legion and VFW3/8 that can bring it to the political makers to make it happen.

What it pays: $34,700 annually.

Why I do it: A lot of women, they get a different reaction when they say, "I think I have PTSD." A lot of women won't say that; they just don't think of it. This is the first of a program that is going to sweep through the nation.

How I got it: I served in Desert Storm. I am a member of the American Legion. I served for two years as my post adjutant, another few years as my district chaplain. So I do have a lot of ties in the community.

Before I got here: Disabled veteran outreach program specialist at Worksource, the local unemployment office.

How I'm spending money this year: Well, I put new gutters on this year. I'm doing the slow payment thing.

My thoughts on the stimulus: At Worksource, I have seen the stimulus money come in and boost jobs that were not available. And right now, a job is a major thing.

Kit Morrison

Job title: Equipment operator for Highway 99 widening work by Rotschy Inc. of Yacolt.

What I actually do: I run equipment.

What it pays: About $1,200 a week.

Why I do it: They hired me to run the finish blade. It sets the finish rock; right after that gets done, they pave it. It takes experience.

How I got it: The blade's really a picky machine. I've been in construction for nearly 30 years. I worked with my dad — I'm old school.

Before I got here: Unemployed for seven months before starting at Rotschy to work on a stimulus project in Longview.

How I'm spending money this year: My wife is a penny-pincher. The way the economy is, she just sticks it in a savings account. She said she wants to do a charity this year; we do better than most.

My thoughts on the stimulus: It saved my ass, as far as it goes.

Emily Friz

Job title: Lab technician for Paradigm Optics, a Sifton manufacturer.

What I actually do: Run a tower all day and make capillary tubing or polymer optical fiber. There's a lamp at the top that heats the plastic, and we pull it down, just like taffy.

What it pays: $13 an hour, full-time.

Why I do it: I'm planning on going to graduate school, so it's a good way to make money for that. I'm lucky. Maybe half my graduating class is actually using their degree, because no one can find jobs right now.

How I got it: Answered an ad on Craigslist. The interview went pretty well, and I'd say it's because I did really well in school.

Before I got here: Chemistry student at Pacific University.

How I'm spending money this year: Right now, just food and gas. I'm pretty much saving as much as possible.

How I feel about the stimulus package: It definitely helped our business. We just bought a new facility that's right next door to our current one. In the short term, we're planning to hire a lot more employees.

Katie Suchland

Job title: Lab manager at Washington State University Vancouver.

What I actually do: Manage two labs studying the medical effects of marijuana and morphine in rats.

What it pays: About $43,000 annually.

Why I do it: People who are taking morphine constantly build up the tolerance so quickly and they have to keep increasing the dose. We're finding ways to treat people without causing addiction.

How I got it: A friend of mine was working in a lab, and he said, "Hey, we need someone to wash our dishes." When I graduated, I knew so much that they hired me on as a technician.

Before I got here: Lab manager at OHSU, but funding had run out in 2008.

How I'm spending money this year: Paying off credit cards and saving for a house.

My thoughts on the stimulus: I've seen a lot of labs struggling … really important work that's been going on for a long time. Those labs had to shut down. When this stimulus money came out, there was a lot of excitement in the scientific community. We had hope again.

Andrew Brahe

Job title: Project manager for the Confluence Project on Officers Row in central Vancouver.

What I actually do: Coordinate between architect, artist, stonecutter, and graphic designer of a planned seven-site public arts project across the Northwest.

What it pays: $45,000 annually for full-time work, cut lately to 15-30 hours a week.

Why I do it: Building a memorial is, I think, one of the most difficult tasks that architects face. I enjoy the challenge.

How I got it: I met Jane Jacobs, the director, my senior year of school, and became involved as an intern. Because the project is so fluid, I just kind of became a part of the organization.

Before I got this job: Architecture student at Portland State University.

How I'm spending money this year: I bought a house last year, so there's a lot of outflow in that direction. (Laughs.) God, everything.

My thoughts on the stimulus: On the one hand, I think it's irresponsible to continue to invest money in a system that ultimately is unsustainable. You're spending more money than you're bringing in. Instability in the economy would be an opportunity to restructure how things are done. But on the other hand, I have never experienced the reality of a cataclysmic depression. So I might change my tune.

Craig Patterson and Brent Ward

Job titles: Carpenter and painter for Evergreen Public Schools.

What we actually do: Patterson: We have titles, but we do everything that needs to be done. Ward: We don't do toilets, though.

What it pays: $23.62 an hour.

Why we do it: Ward: The stability. (Laughs.)

Patterson: It's just a lot easier than building a home from the ground up. The variety's nice.

How they got it: Patterson and Ward have worked for Evergreen for years. Without the district's $1.7 million in stimulus grants, administrators said, the schools would have cut many non-classroom employees.

How we're spending money this year: Patterson: My mortgage, and that's it. We're older and wiser. We don't fall into that "charge it" category.

Our thoughts on the stimulus: Patterson: This is the big question. You gotta come up with something good, Brent. Ward: All I know is, it doesn't seem like big business dealt well with what they were given. All the bankers and the insurance companies should pay for the new stimulus.