Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 216
COLFAX - The Colfax Bulldogs football sought to upset the Lind-Ritzville-Sprague (LRS) Broncos to make the district playoffs but came up short by one point. The Broncos won 15-14 on Oct. 28 in Colfax. "It was the number four ranked team and undefeated and we knew we had our hands full going into the game," said Colfax Coach Mike Morgan. "I told them to keep it close and we'll have a shot at winning this." LRS scored first on a 35-yard pass to Hayden Melcher for the touchdown and made a...
COLFAX – The Colfax Bulldogs are going to the state tournament. Colfax defeated Upper Columbia Academy on Wednesday at home in four sets (25-20, 24-26, 25-17, 25-25-18). "They just outplayed us in the second set," said Colfax Coach Brandy Brown. "Then we turned it around and started to execute our goals better and forced them to make mistakes." The win puts them in the District 7 finals and means they are the top seed for the state tournament if they win. If they lose, they go to state in the n...
The silence of this general election is deafening. For years I have covered elections of officials to all levels of government from the smallest towns to the U.S. president. All year people talk, complain, and argue about politics. It picks up the month before the election. Not this time. It’s gone quiet. We can blame the pandemic for quieting down most of our lives. But I kept waiting for the candidates’ forum. I look forward to the gatherings where we witness debates from people seeking ele...
Why aren’t you working? I have read and heard enough from “experts.” I am hoping to hear from the people who are not returning to their jobs or trying to get one after being laid off. I have worked since I was 16 and will always have an urge to be productive and earn money. So I am baffled at why some people aren’t applying for jobs. Was it the extra unemployment money? Was it because you didn’t have to pay rent or bills during the pandemic? Are you waiting to be paid more? The Whitman C...
REARDAN - Colfax football ran over the Reardan Indians with two players rushing for more than 100 yards each in their 42-19 victory on Friday. The Bulldogs racked up 274 yards rushing on 43 plays. Mason Gilchrist ran 17 times for 137 yards and scored four touchdowns. Teammate Trentin Ensley ran 15 times for 103 yards. "The offense line just did their jobs and made the running backs' jobs easy," said Colfax Coach Mike Morgan. Colfax started the game differently by taking the ball to the air and...
TOUCHET - It was all offense between the St. John-Endicott-LaCrosse Eagles football team and the Touchet Indians. The Indians won 86-72 in a shortened game on Friday. The game started at 3 p.m. because Touchet's field doesn't have lighting. It ended at about 6:15 p.m. when it became too dark to play. The fourth quarter was cut short by two minutes. "It was a tough game. When you put up 72 points, you expect to win," said Eagles Coach John Hergert. "158 points in a game is pretty impressive no...
KENDRICK - Two points separated the Genesee-Colton Bulldogs and Kendrick Tigers in the 8-man football game on Oct. 21. The Bulldogs won 24-22. "It was kind of back and forth until the fourth quarter when we scored the final touchdown to go ahead," said Genesee-Colton Coach Justin Podrobsky. Then there was a fumble. "We fumbled on the 1-yard line and tried to give the ball back with a minute to go," said Podrobsky. "They recovered it and we were able to hold them down for the last few plays."...
COLFAX - The governor's ultimatum for teachers and school staff to have COVID vaccinations by Oct. 18 has passed and Whitman County didn't lose anyone. Gov. Jay Inslee required all school employees to be vaccinated against COVID or have their employment terminated. There were terms to grant exemptions to be vaccinated for medical or religious reasons. Colfax is the largest school district and employs 95 people, according to Superintendent Jerry Pugh. Seventeen employees received exemptions. No...
COLFAX - Fifteen members of Washington State University (WSU) fraternity Alpha Tao Omega are finished facing charges for providing alcohol to minors. Nineteen-year-old Samuel Martinez died of alcohol poisoning in the basement of their frat house on Nov. 12, 2019, after he was provided alcohol. Pullman police investigated the death and Whitman County prosecutors filed charges against 15 members. "This case involving such a tragic death serves (as) a stark reminder of the dangers of binge...
COLFAX - Ghosts are the only tenants of the St. Ignatius Hospital and their home is getting renovated. The hospital was built in 1893. The first patient had pneumonia and was joined ten more patients in a month. Only three were released, according to the Colfax Haunted Hospital website. The first death was F. E. Martin in June of 1893. He succumbed to his injuries after being crushed between two railroad cars. "He is just one of the ghosts known to walk the halls." He has company in Sister...
COLFAX — Homecoming is a time for home teams to win and the Colfax Bulldogs football did just that. Hoisting the Chewelah Cougars, Colfax won 30-27 on Oct. 15. “It was a good game and we were very pleased,” said Coach Mike Morgan. “We were expecting it to come down to the wire.” Colfax took the lead early and kept it. The Cougars scored first on a 65-yard run and a successfully point-after kick. Colfax came back with a Damian Demler 36-yard pass to JD Peterson for a touchdown a 2-point c...
OLYMPIA - The Washington State Patrol (WSP) lost 127 employees because of Gov. Jay Inslee's COVID vaccine ultimatum. The state employee deadline to be vaccinated or be accepted for an exemption was Monday. Any state employee not vaccinated or exempted was fired. Whitman County Sheriff's Office and police departments were not facing the mandate and left to determine their agencies policies. The state lost 74 troopers (67 troopers, 6 sergeants, and 1 captain) and 53 civil servants. "We will miss...
Medical freedom is more than women deciding if they are going to abort a pregnancy. It is a person's decision if they want to waive resuscitation. It's ending untreatable painful suffering. It's choosing to take a riskier healing path than what's recommended. It's deciding what drugs to take. It's deciding on vaccinations. The trio of COVID vaccinations was not welcomed by everyone. Some people decline to receive them. It used to be we had a right in Washington to decline medical aid. I guess...
COLFAX - Whitman County departments are shuffling to accommodate the $8.9 million remodel of county facilities. Four county offices are relocated to the Warwick building across the street from the courthouse at 409 North Main Street in Colfax. They are the assessor, auditor, treasurer, and human resources offices. The Whitman County Public Service Building, at 310 N. Main Street, is the temporary home to the county commissioners, prosecutor's office, superior court, juvenile court, and Child...
KETTLE FALLS - It was Bulldogs versus Bulldogs with Colfax winning the football game beating Kettle Falls 50-0 on Oct. 8. "They never got within scoring distance," said Colfax Coach Mike Morgan. "We had the ball a ton more than they did." The first Colfax touchdown came on an 11-yard run by Mason Gilchrist. A 2-point conversion was added by a pass from Damian Demler to Seth Lustig to make the score 8-0. The second touchdown was a 6-yard run by Gilchrist. Demler threw another successful 2-point...
COLFAX - Not all school superintendents want to talk about the effect of Gov. Jay Inslee's mandate for teachers and staff to be vaccinated or fired. Many pundits in state and national media predicted losses of employees for declining a vaccine to be up to 30% of teachers, Washington State Patrol troopers, hospitals staff, and other state employees. The deadline is Oct. 18 for all school districts' employees to have both shots of a COVID vaccine or an approved medical or religious exemption. If t...
PALOUSE - Farming is everything to Colby Dugger. The Garfield-Palouse High School junior is an Future Farmers of America (FFA) member, works on the family farm, is rebuilding his great-grandfather's tractor, and organized a plowing bee because he felt one was needed. "Nobody has had one in the Palouse area," said Dugger. The Palouse area event drew 35 tractors and about 90 people. "It's half talking and half plowing," said Dugger. "I relay like that a lot of people came out, people I look up to...
SPANGLE – The Colfax Bulldogs volleyball beat the Upper Columbia Academy Lions and was placed on pause due to COVID quarantine. "The whole team comes back to the gym on Oct. 11," said Colfax Coach Brandy Brown. "We all have to quarantine since we have all been around each other." The halt of volleyball practices and games does not affect other Colfax sports or the school, she said. The last game they played was on Sept. 28 in Spangle when they beat the Upper Columbia Academy Lions (25-20, 2...
SPANGLE - It wasn't a game the Colfax Bulldogs football team wanted, but losing to Liberty was better than not playing. The Liberty Lancers won 26-0. "At the time, we were outmatched, but our kids continued to play hard even though we were getting beat," said Colfax Coach Mike Morgan. "We struggled." Liberty is an older more experienced team. Colfax faced them missing three starting players. "Offense didn't do their part and that left the defense on the field for the majority of the game and...
COLFAX - George M. Harris III told Pullman police he was attacked before pulling a pistol and shooting a man and a Cougar football player. Liban A. Barre, 23, of Kent, died from multiple gunshot wounds, and Washington State University (WSU) football player Brandon C. Gray, 22, of Detroit, was severely wounded and flown to Spokane on Sept. 25. Harris, 23, of Pullman, was arrested and booked for assault in the second degree but has not been charged in Whitman County Superior Court. "Charges are...
ST. JOHN - Desks sit empty and the gym is silent as students in the St. John-Endicott School District stay home in quarantine. The district closed the schools on Oct. 1 and anticipates reopening them on Monday, Oct. 11. The closure was due to a high rate of absent students and staff. It's a measure to reduce the spread of COVID and other illnesses. "There were days where we were reaching up to 30% to 40% (absent)," said Superintendent Suzanne Schmick. "It varied on any given day ... We are...
NETHERLANDS - First Sgt. Mitch Kriebel was 77 years late, but he jumped from a plane over the Netherlands to honor the soldiers of Operation Market Garden. The Oakesdale native and Washington Army National Guard member was one of 1,500 paratroopers from the U.S., United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, and the Netherlands to parachute during the last week of September to commemorate the largest airborne assault in history. In 1944, about 30,000 Allied soldiers parachuted and rode gliders behind Nazi...
COLFAX – New bodycams for the Colfax police are going to save money for the city and improve service for the department. After a four-year contract with Axon, Colfax police is moving to use Motorola Watchguard body-worn cameras to record police work. "We think it's a better deal and better quality," said police Chief Bruce Blood. The Motorola cameras are used by the Whitman County Sheriff's Office, which was a factor in deciding to change companies. Cost is another factor. "With the Axon s...
ST. JOHN - It was a long painful game for the St. John-Endicott-LaCrosse (SJEL) Eagles football team on Sept. 24. The undefeated Sunnyside Christian Knights beat the Eagles 66-13. At half time, they led 40-0 and added 18 points more in the third quarter. But with 9:30 left in the third, Eagles' quarterback Tanner Fleming returned an 80-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Teammate Landen Miller kicked the extra point. "That was the first time we kicked an extra point in a very long time," said...
SPOKANE – Colfax entered the Linda Sheridan Volleyball Classic as one of 42 teams playing and earned 13th place. The two-day tournament was Sept. 24-25 at Ferris High School. The Bulldogs faced 39 schools that are larger than Colfax. The first games were pools of teams with winning two out of three matches to decide each. Colfax defeated Kellogg, a 3B school from Idaho, (13-25, 25-19, and 15-13) then West Valley, a 2A team, (25-13, 25,13), and Lewis and Clark, a 4A team, (25-21, 25-18). The B...
