Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 216
COLFAX – Tracy Porter pled guilty to reckless burning for lighting five fires to burn tall grass in Rosalia that spread to three abandoned mobile homes. Porter, 65, of Rosalia, was charged with reckless burning in the first degree on May 3 in Whitman County Superior Court. He pled guilty on May 7. He was sentenced on May 14 to 90 days in jail but Porter was granted a first time offender waiver for the jail time. Conditions of his waiver include 12 months of supervised probation and he's to w...
COLFAX – Two people using the Bumble dating app introduced two friends and it ended with one raping a 20-year-old Washington State University student. Matthew A, Gladden, 18, of Tukwila, was charged in Whitman County Superior Court on May 12 with rape in the second degree and assault in the second degree with sexual motivation. He enters a plea during his pending arraignment on May 21. Gladden met the student through a friend. The male friend met a woman through the dating app Bumble. G...
TEKOA – COVID strikes again as administrators shut down Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves’ basketball and wrestling for the year. After Tekoa School District decided to return to online teaching, it triggered an agreement, said Athletic Director Rosie McLain. “If either of the schools went online, the sports would be put on hold,” said McLain. “We already agreed to have a short season … As District 9 we agreed to only play up to Memorial Day.” The decision on May 13 ends basketball and wrestling for the year. It was prompted by a recommendatio...
COLFAX — Seven Whitman County high school athletes were selected to be honored by being placed on the District 9 All League baseball and softball teams. Four played for the Colton Wildcats. Austin Jones made the baseball team. Josie Schultheis, Rylee Vining, and Maggie Meyer were named for softball. Garfield-Palouse Vikings softball had Kenzi Pedersen and Denni Feely named to the All League softball team. Douglas Stach earned a spot on the All League baseball team to represent the St. John-Endicott-LaCrosse Eagles. Selected for the District 9 A...
SPOKANE — Barbara Rockness is suing Whitman County for lack of a policy prohibiting romantic relationships between deputies and former victims of crime. The Rosalia woman named her ex-husband and former Whitman County undersheriff Ron Rockness as a defendant in the lawsuit, seeking money for his alleged abuse. Ron Rockness served in law enforcement for 17 years before resigning his position after being charged in Whitman County with felony assault in the second degree for alleged domestic v...
TEKOA – A couple from Idaho failed to find gas in a lawnmower trailer in Tekoa on May 11, instead, they found themselves a stay in jail. Danielee K. Zurcher, 20, of Plummer, of Idaho, and Misty D. Perkins, 33, of Athol, Idaho, were arrested by the Whitman County Sheriff's Office, according to Undersheriff Chris Chapman. Zurcher faces charges in Whitman County District Court of theft in the third degree, vehicle prowling, and two counts of driving while his license was suspended in the third degr...
COLFAX – A donation of $3,500 was made to the Whitman County Fire District 5 to improve response times for emergency aid near Lamont. The money is from a rural grant provided by Northwest Farm Credit Services. It was used to buy a Jeep Cherokee and convert it to an aid vehicle for the rural fire district. EMT Holli Basus is assigned the SUV. "It made sense to have some of the EMTs keep the vehicles at their residence ... to make response times faster," said Ryan Kile, Colfax branch manager f...
TEKOA – After their season was canceled, Tekoa-Rosalia Athletic Director Rosie McLain was happy to announce they will have a two-game season. The boys' basketball team has two seniors this season as part of the 12 player roster. Anthony Gehring and Zach Seans attend Rosalia High School. "That why we wanted to do something rather than nothing. I am going to fight for those seniors as much as I can," said McLain. "And the seniors were very thankful." The Timberwolves' first game is Tuesday, May 2...
COLFAX — Tracy Porter pled guilty to reckless burning for lighting five fires to burn tall grass in Rosalia that spread to three abandoned mobile homes. Porter, 65, of Rosalia, was charged with reckless burning in the first degree on May 3 in Whitman County Superior Court. He pled guilty on May 7. The standard sentencing range is 0-60 days in county jail, but Chief Deputy Prosecutor Dan LeBeau recommends Porter receive a first-time offender waiver for any jail time. Porter is scheduled to be s...
COLFAX - An inmate faces a felony charge for breaking a security window in the door to the visiting room in the Whitman County Jail. Kyler J. Paine, 22, of Lewiston, Idaho, was charged May 5 in Whitman County Superior Court with malicious mischief in the second degree. He was booked on a warrant on May 4 for failure to appear in Whitman County District Court regarding a charge of malicious mischief in the third degree. Paine was temporarily housed in the jail visiting room and allegedly broke a...
WALLA WALLA — Garfield-Palouse softball Coach Rochelle Pedersen is sporting an unusual look – a notched eyebrow to show the Vikings won a post-season game. She told the team she would notch her eyebrows for every post-season win. It was something Rochelle Pedersen did when she played softball her high school. “I told them I would do it if we beat Pomeroy and I did,” she said. A tiebreaker game with the Pomeroy Pirates was needed after the Vikings tied with them for fourth place in the 1B Southeast league. The winner was going to play in the...
POMEROY — The Colton Wildcats baseball season ended on a bittersweet note for Coach Steve Judy. The Asotin Panthers handed the Wildcats their final loss of the season with a score of 14-3 on May 3 in Pomeroy. Steve Judy’s son, Kelton Judy, led the offense for the Panthers. “My own son did most of the damage in Asotin,” said Steve Judy. “I hugged him and congratulated him for having such a good game at my team’s expense.” Kelton Judy plays second-base for the Panthers. He went 3 for 4 at-bats...
COLTON — The last doubleheader of the season for Garfield-Palouse left the Vikings tied for fourth place with the Pomeroy Pirates heading into the post-season. The Viking went to Colton on May 1 and lost to the Wildcats 14-4 and 14-2. Garfield-Palouse ended the abbreviated season 7-7. “The (Wildcats) ended the season undefeated,” said Garfield-Palouse Coach Rochelle Pederson. “They hit the ball well and field the ball well.” A difference between the Vikings and the Wildcats is experienc...
Whitman County was placed in Phase 2 restrictions three weeks ago and we waited for a return to Phase 3, but now that isn’t going to happen. Gov. Jay Inslee chickened out. Facing a massive rollback to Phase 2 for Western Washington, meaning Seattle, Everett, and Olympia, he announced his decision to take a two-week pause on changes to counties’ COVID restrictions. Instead, all 39 counties in Washington will continue with their current phase designation. It means Whitman County remains stuck with Phase 2 restrictions until future notice. If the...
Chickens are part of a farm community. They are laying eggs for food, helping children raise FFA and 4-H animals for the fair and some people like them as pets. The usual opposition when city councils consider letting people keep chickens at home are concerns over noise, smell, and bugs, Cities have ordinances already in place to police the problems. It’s unfortunate when the public presents feedback in a public meeting and a city-sponsored online poll, and it’s ignored. The City of Colfax polled people about allowing chickens and 81.8% are in...
TEKOA – The Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves hosted Colfax and several high school golf teams for a match on April 29. The 9-hole course is a par 35. "It was nice to get a majority of the kids out," said Colfax Golf Coach Michael Heitstuman. "Ayden Miller had a good outing." Colfax Bulldogs fielded six players. Senior Ayden Miller shot the team best 53, followed by senior Kennedy Schmidt with a 55, and sophomore Austin Miller with a 63. Sophomore Daemon Butler shot a 57, senior Gavin Wells a 70, a...
COLFAX — A Pullman man is accused of entering the home of two people and taking things, while they are in jail facing charges of selling methamphetamine. Nicholas I. Woltering, 35, of Pullman, was charged on May 5 in Whitman County Superior Court with trafficking stolen property in the first degree, a felony, and for driving while his license was suspended in the third degree. Whitman County Deputy Tyler Langerveld spotted Woltering driving a small pickup on April 29. Reportedly knowing Woltering’s license was suspended, he stopped the pic...
COLFAX – A little bit goes a long way to help people end or avoid opioid drug abuse. Lorien Smith, Miss Colfax for America Strong 2021, is organizing a "Fill the Boot" fundraiser and awareness building event in Colfax on May 16. The event runs from 1 to 3 p.m. in the parking lot next to Rosauers grocery store at 632 N. Main Street, Colfax. "This will be the first time I have organized one," Smith said. "I am literally just making this up as I go." She's asking people to drive by and drop a d...
COLFAX - The Colfax Little League Park is getting a facelift thanks to volunteers and a city donation. A flurry of work is being performed by volunteers through the Rotary of Colfax, according to member Carl Ogren. He spoke about an update provided by Al Kirkpatrick. Most of the efforts are to improve the softball field. Ken Arthur replaced a broken pressure relief valve after they found it was broken when the water was turned on for the field and the bathrooms on April 14 by Don McClintock....
GARFIELD – Garfield-Palouse Vikings softball split the April 20 doubleheader with the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves. The Vikings won the first game 16-6 and advanced their record to 7-3 for the season. Garfield-Palouse Junior Kenzie Pedersen was the starting pitcher and had 7 strikeouts and walked 2 batters. The Vikings got off to a slow start with the Timberwolves keeping pace. The fourth inning is when the game changed. "The girls were hitting the ball and it was a pretty close game until the f...
COLTON – The Colton Wildcats celebrated Senior Day with their first win of the season, beating Liberty Christian 15-5 on April 24. “It was exciting for our first win of the season,” said Colton Coach Steve Judy. “The guys were really happy we got the win. We steadily tried to improve and this shows we can have discipline at the plate and put it all together.” The win at home was during Senior Day for the Wildcats. Their three seniors are Kelton Devlin, Trent Druffel, and Austin Jones. The team conducted a presentation with the players...
COLTON – Colton was looking for their first win of the season against Pomeroy until errors changed the momentum allowing the Pirates to sweep the doubleheader. The Colton Wildcats (0-9) lost games, 22-4 and 12-8 on April 20. First game ended after three innings because the Pomeroy Pirates led by 15. “It was just a lot of errors and quite a few walks,” said Coach Steve Judy. “It was our inability to get it over the plate.” Colton pitcher Kane Weiker started the game and Trent Druffel stepped in, then. Lane Peters came in to throw one pitch. Th...
GARFIELD — A Lewiston, Idaho, couple led police on a 15-mile chase that ended with spike strips flattening the fleeing car's tires and their arrest. On the evening of April 30, the Garfield Town Marshal Joe Handy spotted a 2000 Acura RL being driving by someone he remembered as having warrants in Washington and Idaho, according to Whitman County Deputy Sgt. Michael Jordan. He tried to stop the car, but the driver allegedly started driving recklessly to escape. Handley requested assistance f...
PULLMAN — A couple allegedly stole tools and a robot vacuum together from two Pullman stores, and was caught thanks to Facebook. Kirsten N. Green, 20, of Asotin, and Gabriel A. Nichols, 23, of Lewiston, were charged separately with organized retail theft in the second degree, theft in the third degree, and burglary in the second degree in Whitman County Superior Court on April 13. Store security reported the thefts and shared surveillance video with the police of two people stealing items from the Pullman Walmart and Pullman Building Supply, a...
ROSALIA – Tekoa-Rosalia softball pitcher Elise Wilkins stole third and home for the winning run in the second game against Touchet Indians on April 17. The Timberwolves won their second game of the doubleheader 12-11 in 11 innings after losing the first game 9-4. Tekoa-Rosalia softball is now 2-6. "The girls started off slow and they had to work together," said Tekoa-Rosalia Assistant Coach Bailee Nickelson. "They had to fight back more and worked together really well." The Vikings hustled r...
