Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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SEATTLE – President Joe Biden visited Seattle and Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers had a message for him. “I wanted to draw your attention to the environmental devastation caused by the continued pollution of Puget Sound and the inhumane living conditions in downtown Seattle,” wrote McMorris Rodgers. The 5th District Republican representative wrote Biden before he arrived in Seattle on Earth Day, April 22, to present some environmental problems for him to consider while he visited Seattle. Rodgers urged the president to see firsthand the d...
COLFAX – The first week standings of the Colfax Men’s Club Spring League golf series is done and in the books. Team standings for the A Bracket are: 45 Almota Elevator 38 Whitman Family Dental 37 Idaho Forest Group 35 Three Jack National 34 Ace Hardware 27 Medical Micro Machining Almota Elevator is comprised of Tom Fowler, Phil Hergert, Tyson Rogers, and Jamie Warwick Team standings for the B Bracket are: 40 State Bank Northwest 39 The McGregor Company 37 Colfax Body Repair 35 KTM Wood 33 MDKJ Law Firm 32 Ackerman Heating & Air State Bank Nor...
REARDAN – The Colfax Bulldogs won one, and lost one in Reardan on April 22. The first game was Colfax's victory with a score of 8-1 after seven innings. The Bulldogs jumped to a 4-0 lead after three innings. Both teams score one run in the fourth inning. Innings five and six were quiet and Colfax came out at the top of the seventh to add three more runs for a final score of 8-1 and the win. Alex Mortensen was the winning pitcher for Colfax. He threw for seven innings and had 3 strikeouts, w...
COLFAX - The Colfax boys baseball team remains atop the Northeast 2B league standings after knocking off league rival, Liberty on Tuesday night, April 19. The Bulldogs (9-1) doubled up on the Lancers (2-7, 2-8 overall) in a 10-5 victory. Individual statistics were not available prior to press time. The win kept the Bulldogs tied with Northwest Christian (4-1; 5-2 overall) atop the league. Meanwhile, the Lancers from Spangle are tied for sixth-place in the league with the Davenport Gorillas....
PULLMAN – National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week honors 9-1-1 dispatchers for their efforts to assist first-responders. It runs April 10-16. It recognizes the contributions of emergency dispatchers to public safety and emergency response. “Across the nation, 9-1-1 operators play a critical role in coordinating first response and lifesaving efforts within their communities. These unseen heroes are first to provide crucial assistance to people in need, reassuring and supporting them while law enforcement, fire personnel, or emergency med...
COLFAX – A Walla Walla man who led deputies on a chase from Colfax to Washtucna in a stolen car April 6 is being held on $150,000 bail. Brandin Rencken, 29, of Walla Walla, was arrested and booked into the Whitman County Jail for driving under the influence, attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle and theft of a motor vehicle, records show. The arrest came after a Washington State University police officer reported seeing a stolen black 2012 Mini Cooper heading north on U.S. Highway 195 toward Colfax and turned on emergency lights in a...
DAVENPORT – The Colfax Bulldogs swept a doubleheader against the Davenport Gorillas on the road April 2. Colfax (3-2-1) won 19-0 and 15-4. Davenport managed just four runs between two games against a tough Colfax pitching effort Saturday. In the opener, the score went back and forth with both teams tied 4-4 at the bottom of the sixth inning. Then the Bulldog bats came alive with Colfax scoring 11 runs in the top of the seventh inning to secure the 15-4 win, behind a home run, two triples and o...
COLFAX – A Pullman man facomg seven felony charges may have a new one added after damaging a jail cell. Jamil M. Fields, 26, is charged with drive-by shooting, second-degree kidnapping and five counts of second-degree assault in Whitman County Superior Court. He may also be charged with second-degree malicious mischief after damaging a window in the Whitman County Jail with an improvised tool March 1. The damages left the cell unusable for four days, the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office reported. A deputy assisted correction officers with the...
COLFAX – A California man is being held here on $3 million bail after being arrested March 7 on a third-degree murder warrant. An extradition hearing for Francisco Real, 32, is scheduled for April 8; he was booked into the Whitman County Jail on a Long Beach (Calif.) District Court warrant for third-degree murder and prohibited firearm access, jail records show. Real is contesting extradition. The Los Angeles Police Department alerted the Pullman police Real was hiding with an acquaintance in Pullman, records show. He was tracked to an a...
COLFAX – Three Spokane men are accused of breaking into St. Ignatius Hospital, vandalizing the building and fleeing police at speeds of more than 100 mph. Christopher B. Cooper, 20, of Spokane, Louis Hibbs, 20, and Nick Perez, 20, both of Spokane Valley, were arrested. Cooper was charged on March 3 with second-degree burglary, second-degree malicious mischief, carrying a concealed pistol, and reckless driving in Whitman County Superior Court. He will be arraigned March 11. Hibbs and Perez were charged with second-degree burglary and second-degr...
PALOUSE – Palouse police Chief Jerry Neuman was fired after an investigation claims he broke the law and city policy multiple times. Clear Risk Solutions, a government insurance and risk management company, investigated Neuman on behalf of the city and issued a 39 page report concluding with seven allegations of misconduct. Neuman is accused of: • Falsely claiming overtime for police callouts he did not conduct • Incorrectly issuing concealed pistol licenses • Not completing reports for all law enforcement calls he worked • Failing to respon...
COLFAX – Whitman County Coroner Annie Pillers announced she is running for re-election in November. Candidates can file for election from May 16 to May 20. The primary election is Aug. 2 and the general election is Nov. 8. The coroner is not alone. Seven other county officials face re-election this year. The positions of assessor, auditor, clerk, Dist. 3 commissioner, prosecuting attorney, sheriff, and treasurer are part of the general election. Pillers joined the coroner’s office in 2008, became a deputy coroner in 2013, and began serving as...
In the Jan. 27 edition of the Whitman County Gazette, in the article “Colfax’s barber puts his scissors away,” we incorrectly stated Terry Vietz was the last barber in Colfax. We apologize for the mistake and any inconvenience it may have caused....
TEKOA - Tekoa School District suspended all in-person learning and activities at the junior and senior high school through Friday due to a COVID outbreak. "This decision was not made lightly," wrote a school official. "This is the best option to reduce COVID-19 transmission and keep everyone safe. The health and well-being of everyone in the school is our top priority." The closure is "due to a significant increase in COVID-19 cases with students and staff." Junior and high school students are...
COLFAX - It took something huge to get Terry "the Barber" to close his barbershop in Colfax after 38 years of haircuts and conversations. It took cancer. Terry Vietz was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer, said his wife, Jacqueline Mitzimberg-Vietz. He decided to become a barber after being a logger. The logging jobs began disappearing owl habitat ended numerous jobs and decimated the logging industry. In 1981, Terry attended barber school graduating the next year. In 1983 he started...
COLFAX – The Bulldogs girls basketball team posted three wins over the last two weeks, topping Asotin, Medical Lake and Mabton. The local girls routed the Asotin Panthers, 50-16, on Jan. 4. "It was a bit of a slow night tonight, but our girls were able to grind through it," Coach Jordan Holmes said. "Our scoring was a little different than it's been all season, but our defense was able to step up and perform well and I'm very proud of that." Holmes is humble as her slow start was the Bulldogs s...
In the Dec. 30 edition, the engagement announcement misspelled the name of Lindsay Webber. We regret the error and any inconvenience it may have caused....
YAKIMA - The Colfax boys beat Medical Lake and LaSalle in the Holiday Classic basketball tournament on Dec. 28-29. "I was very pleased at how coming off a break like that – just seeing more guys step up and score and play with confidence," said Coach Reece Jenkin. "It was great two games for us as we executed offensively and defensively. It was great to see the kids improve." The tournament allowed the team to play two teams outside of their league. It didn't mean the teams didn't know about 6...
COLFAX — The Colfax girls basketball team looked like they were going to win, but Liberty (Spangle) came back hard to tie the game at 60-60, pushing it into overtime. In overtime, the Lancers outscored the hosting Bulldogs by 3 points and that was enough to beat Colfax 65-62 on Dec. 21. “It was a tough loss tonight, to a very good Liberty team,” said Colfax Coach Jordan Holmes. “We played three solid quarters of basketball, but just couldn’t keep the momentum going early in the fourth.” Colfax started strong and scored 16 points in the first q...
PULLMAN — A Colfax family finished Christmas shopping and was heading home when a passenger in a stopped car tried to shoot them. Two suspects were arrested and no one was injured, according to Whitman County Sheriff Brett Myers. A Colfax man and his family finished Christmas shopping in Pullman and headed home on Dec. 22. The three adults and two children were heading north on Davis Way in Pullman when a white Volkswagen Golf sped to catch up and began following their van closely, according to the sheriff’s office. The Golf crossed a dou...
COLFAX — A visit to a friend’s apartment ended in a stabbing and arrests for a Colfax couple. A 32-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman were visiting a friend at a Colfax apartment on Main Street on Dec. 19 at about 8 p.m. The friend told Colfax police she “knew there was going to be trouble.” The man reportedly tackled the woman onto a bed then sat on the floor next to the bed, but the woman left the room and came back with a knife, according to the Colfax police report. The friend said the woman stabbed and slashed the man on the back. T...
WAITSBURG — The Colfax Bulldog girls basketball team beat the Dayton Wolfpack so bad, some fans felt bad for them. Colfax defeated Dayton 63-10 on Dec. 18 in Waitsburg. The first quarter was where it started and ended. The Bulldogs scored 33 points to the Wolfpack’s 2 points. Colfax slowed down in the second quarter, scoring 6 points, the lowest quarter score for them all night. But, Dayton managed only 1 point. The first half ended with the score at 39-3. The second half was dominated by the Bulldogs scoring another 24 points and keeping the W...
WALLA WALLA — The DeSales Irish tried to catch up but the St. John-Endicott-LaCrosse (SJEL) girls ikept pulling away to win the basketball game, 45-23. The Eagles victory came on the road. “We finally got a good feel for our offense,” said SJEL Coach Jeff Gates. SJEL started the game long lead in the first quarter, scoring 9 points to DeSales’ 2 points. Their lead grew and by halftime the Eagles led 19-8. In the second half, SJEL poured on the offense in third quarter to add 15 points to the Irish’s 8 points in the third quarter. The fourth qu...
COLTON — The Colton Wildcats boys basketball team continues improving, but slid to 0-4 after a loss to Sunnyside Christian. The Knights won the game 63-22 on Dec. 18. It was the first game for Colton with the entire roster. “(They) are still learning and working to find cohesion,” said Colton Coach Brandon McIntosh. Sunnyside started with the lead in the first quarter, 26-5 and by halftime, the score widened to 45-9. In the third quarter, it grew to 58-15. In the fourth quarter, Colton outscored Sunnyside, 7-5, but the final score was 63-22...
EDITOR'S NOTE: This article is run again. Last week, we printed an old version of the story file that left the article incomplete. I apologize to the team, parents, and Whitman County Gazette readers. COLFAX - Plaques, hugs, tears, and laughs were part of the Colfax volleyball awards banquet on Dec. 3. About 60 parents, grandparents, and players gather in the Colfax High School cafeteria for a meal made by parents to watch the team awards to be presented, said varsity volleyball Coach Brandy Bro...
