Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Is this the best state high school basketball tournament in Washington? In the northwest? It might be both. The 1B/2B tournament at Spokane Arena is a showcase sporting event, for all the reasons that make sports interesting; atmosphere, stakes, personality, competition, fan experience. A 1B/2B team making it to Spokane must be a thrill like few other high school athletes experience. In comparison with other state tournaments in Washington, Idaho and Oregon, a case can be made that Spokane...
Joyce and Dan Leonard of Colton Colton couple Dan and Joyce Leonard have been honored by AARP Washington for the 2016 Andrus Award for Community Service. The Leonards work through the Spokane office of Statewide Health Insurance Benefits Advisors (SHIBA). Joyce first got involved when she and Dan became Medicare age. Dan was teaching for a semester in Honduras, and Joyce started fielding forms in the mail. “She found out how difficult it was for someone who is intelligent, competent,” said Dan....
Pasha Pavlo Rudenko works in his garage laboratory in Colfax Tuesday, March 7. It's game on for a Colfax man with a new product to aid old cars in longer use. Pasha Pavlo Rudenko, who earned a doctorate degree from WSU in materials science in 2014, started his company Tribotex in 2010. Its product is Carboss, a self-forming carbon coating which aims to reduce metal wear in engines. The idea came out of research Rudenko did as a graduate student at WSU. “We found something that would be wrong n...
Nearing a deadline to decide a plan to address new permit requirements for nitrogen discharge into the North Palouse River, the City of Palouse’s waste treatment plan upgrade committee met March 7, including two representatives of Varela & Associates, the city’s project engineers. “It went really well. Nine months now to iron out what we’re gonna do,” said Michael Echanove, Palouse mayor. The Department of Ecology permit for Palouse calls for zero inorganic nitrate discharge, and a 2.5-degre...
Colfax school staff and residents discuss priorities in small groups at the high school library March 9. A group of Colfax School District staff and community members have settled on a preliminary plan to seek the aid of an architect to plan a potential facilities bond for 2018. Gathering in the Colfax High School library March 9, about 25 people assembled for a second meeting to discuss school building needs. A notice will now go out to locate an architect to provide advice at the next...
Oakesdale senior Lindsey Lindgren pushes the ball up the floor in a lopsided win over Cedar Park Christian at Spokane Arena. Opening the state tournament in a quarterfinal game against Sunnyside Christian – after a first-round bye with a win in regionals – the Oakesdale girls ran into a task. Seeded No. 2 in the tournament, the Nighthawks had dreams of winning a state championship. They had beaten No. 1-seed Colton earlier in the season. Colton had to weather a threat from Pomeroy to win its 10t...
THE SPOILERS – Almira/Coulee/Hartline sophomore Gabi Isaak secures a rebound in the first half of the Warriors’ state semifinal win over Colton as the Wildcats’ Abby Kelly looks on. Was it the two-point third quarter? Was it 16 Colton fouls called to nine for Almira/Coulee/Hartline? Was it two Mosers enrolled at University of Washington and none at Colton High School? Was it no one to drive the lane when their three-pointers were not falling? Was it just a strange afternoon in Spokane? The Col...
Plans are underway at the Palouse Fire Department to buy a new, used fire truck. Aiming to stick with its 30-year replacement schedule for vehicles, the department looks to supplant its 1987 Pierce pumper tanker unit, which it bought used in 2008. On Feb. 28, the Palouse city council approved a shift of $50,000 from the fire reserve fund to the department's regular fund so Chief Mike Bagott may make a purchase. “We are actively looking, but we're not in dire straits or anything,” Bagott said. “W...
Colton sophomore Reece Chadwick looks for a way forward against the Redskins in a regionals loss Feb. 24. For more pictures, see Weekly Pages: March 2. Colton's season ended last Friday night in a 1B regional, with the winner going to state. Playing at Cheney High School, Wellpinit's boys began fast, scoring 20 points with five three-pointers in the first quarter. In the second, Colton chased, outscoring Wellpinit 17-8 to make it 28-25 at halftime. The chase continued, both teams pressing, and...
Oakesdale junior forward Anne Hockett scores against Evergreen Lutheran in a state seeding game. For more pictures, see Weekly Pages: March 2. Two teams, both from Whitman County, both from the Southeast 1B league, carry the honor of the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the state 1B tournament this week in Spokane. Colton, No. 1, is in a familiar spot as the eight-time defending state champions. Oakesdale won the state 1B volleyball championship in November, but for basketball they have not made an appe... Full story
Planning is underway in Palouse for the future of its water system. After the windstorm of November 2015 damaged its pre-1900 reservoir, the city took it offline, creating a need for a backup. This matter and pressure issues on the south hill led the city to hire TD&H Engineering of Lewiston. The firm is set to study and review the water line and water system plan, examining low flows on south hill. With the old reservoir off line, the city uses its 1974 reservoir, a 500,000-gallon structure whi... Full story
Steptoe Butte and Steptoe Battlefield state parks will be the subject of a State Parks classification meeting in Colfax next week. Steptoe Butte and Steptoe Battlefield state parks are the focus of Classification and Management Planning by Washington State Parks, beginning with a meeting next week in Colfax. The process, known as CAMP for short, will study the two parks in three areas, land classification, long-term boundary and narrative management. State Parks will kickoff the project with a...
In 1954, choosing a weekend for the annual Uniontown Sausage Feed, organizers decided on mid-February. Not long after, having to cancel the growing attraction one year due to snow, they moved the event to the first Sunday in March. All was well, except for the fact that one day a man named Clark Vining took over the girls basketball program at Colton High School. More than 50 years into the Uniontown Sausage Feed tradition, the new coach’s teams started making the state tournament, not to m... Full story
Washington State Department of Transportation has completed its railroad engineering and approved the overall West Whitman Street revitalization plan for Palouse. The project includes a 550-foot section of street and railroad tracks with a new drainage system as well as sidewalks, curb, gutter and lighting. A call for bids will go out next week with a deadline of March 29 on the project, estimated to cost $575,000 to $650,000. “We are ready to go,” said Munir Daud, Palouse city engineer. Onc...
Tom Mohr with some of his work at his current residence in Colfax. In September of 2001, Tom Mohr and his wife lived across the street from the World Trade Center in New York. Working for Dow Jones in the art department for Barron's magazine, he was on vacation on the day the Trade Center buildings were destroyed by hijacked airliners. Unable to return to their damaged apartment, Mohr later came up with a plan to go on the road. He and wife Jil left in December of 2002 on a journey that... Full story
Colton sophomore Luke Vining drives in the district second-place game against Waitsburg. Dark bus rides on snowy roads define basketball season. But to board the bus again in lighter sky, a tinge of warmth in the air, is the sport's goal. The Colton boys got there, outlasting the rest of the Southeast 1B league last weekend to join Pomeroy as the two teams to advanced into spring and regionals – one last step to state. Spring has been good to the Wildcats in recent years, with state baseball c...
Colton’s Kendyl Druffel and Pomeroy’s Kacey Halbert, both seniors, in the thick of the district championship game. Colton’s Dakota Patchen rises for two last Friday in Colfax. Oakesdale’s Logan Reed looks to the basket against Pomeroy. For a moment, they sparked a thought. The Pomeroy girls, playing Colton in the district title game last Friday, were still tight with the eight-time defending 1B state champions at the end of the third quarter. Then came the idea – an inkling in some minds in...
A new website, snow make-up days and a baseball arrangement were discussed at the Colfax School Board meeting Monday night, Feb. 13. Superintendent Jerry Pugh opened the meeting with a demonstration of a newly re-designed district website, which he worked on with Tony Lewis, director of technology. “Very nice,” said Board President David Nails. “That was much needed.” Pugh then informed the board of a request from LaCrosse to allow its students to play baseball in Colfax. At least one boy has...
The Town of Garfield’s restaurant space is drawing new interest with a movie production investing to improve it and a local man in discussions to use it to open a food operation. Since December, cast and crew for “The Last Champion,” a movie being filmed in and around Garfield and the Palouse, has used the space. Preparing for filming, the production installed new flooring, new formica on the counter, covering on booths and a new ceiling. As per the agreement, the estimated $20,000 in improvemen...
Honoree Don Schmick of Colfax at the event Feb. 10. Attendees gathered at Hill-Ray Plaza, including Ninth District Representative Joe Schmick. Don Schmick and Gordon McLean were subjects of honor at a Whitman Community Hospital Foundation awards luncheon Feb. 10 in the Fireside Room of Hill-Ray Plaza. The luncheon saluted Schmick and McLean for their involvement in creating the Whitman County Public Hospital District No. 3 beginning in 1987. Terry Eng, Hospital Foundation treasurer, spoke of... Full story
-- Don Marshall photo Oakesdale’s Kieran Anderson and Mason Bates of Gar/Pal fight for a rebound Monday in Colfax. The Colton boys continued the Kinzer, Chadwick, Schultheis era into the weekend with a 70-64 win over Prescott in a loser's bracket round of the District Nine 1B tournament. The win puts the Wildcats (14-9) past the stage which they lost the last two years, thus ending their seasons in 2015 and 2016. At this stage three years ago, Colton was in the midst of a run of seven e...
Oakesdale’s Lindsey Lindgren goes up for basket against Pomeroy’s Sydney Watko in a Nighthawks loss. The Colton girls aim to defend their District Nine 1B championship Friday night in Colfax against Pomeroy. The Wildcats began the tournament with a bye and advanced with a 61-40 win over Touchet Feb. 10 while Pomeroy beat Waitsburg 55-24 and Oakesdale 68-49 for a slot in the title game. Oakesdale, who beat Colton (19-2) in the regular season and split with Pomeroy (16-5), will meet Touchet in... Full story
The Town of Oakesdale has opened a public comment period for input on a permit application for work at Pearl Street, McCoy Street and First Street. The comment period is open through Feb. 24. The work will include reconstruction of sections of the streets near Oakesdale schools, reducing the grade of the Second Street hill and widening the loading and unloading area for buses. Other proposed changes include relocating and lowering water and sewer mains, sidewalks, constructing retaining walls... Full story
Ted Blaszak, left, president of the Tekoa Trestle and Trail Association, listens during a meeting at The Center in Colfax Tuesday night. The John Wayne Pioneer Trail stretches from North Bend to the Idaho border. The section from the Columbia River to Malden is the subject of State Parks' budget proposals. Ted Blaszak and the Tekoa Trestle and Trail Association (TTTA) have begun a campaign of area meetings to push legislators to fund work on the John Wayne Pioneer Trail. After a year-and-a-half... Full story
The Pirates owned the regular season, and the 1B District Nine tournament begins this week with Southeast 1B teams vying for two spots in the state-subtournament. Action begins Thursday, Feb. 9, with Oakesdale at Colton. The winner advances to play Waitsburg Saturday. Pomeroy, with a bye in the first round, will play Friday night at home. The championship game will be Friday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in Colfax followed by Saturday's last-chance second-place game at 7 p.m., also in Colfax. Oakesdale...
