Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 1026 - 1050 of 2119
Colton sophomore Jordyn Moehrle scores Feb. 4 as the Wildcats avenge their January loss to Oakesdale. Oakesdale’s Emma Perry pushes the ball up the sideline against Colton’s Dakota Patchen. Colton took the regular-season Southeast 1B league championship with a win over Oakesdale last Saturday night. The Wildcats' 52-34 win made for a regular season split for the two teams. Colton takes the title because Oakesdale lost once to Pomeroy. Now all is settled for the District Nine tournament, whi...
Whitman County Public Works Department will institute weight restrictions this week as roads thaw. Because of the extended cold streaks in December and January, the annual posting for 2017 will happen later than usual. On Wednesday and Thursday, Public Works crews were set to flip the square, hinged-signs on dozens of roads throughout the county. Once turned, the signs set a 19,500-pound load limit. The posting will be for four to 10 weeks. The decision of when to flip the signs is made each... Full story
Colfax Maintenance Supervisor Mark Brown leads attendees on a tour of Colfax High School Jan. 31. Colfax Levy Committee Chairman Wes Claassen, center, listens during a facilities meeting Jan. 31. Colfax superintendent Jerry Pugh is at left. Roof problems, asbestos, heating and air-conditioning systems are some of the top concerns for Colfax school buildings. Status of the buildings was reported to approximately 35 residents who went to a meeting and tour Tuesday, Jan. 31. The session began with...
An estimated 1,200 square-foot section of roof came down at the former Cohn Motor Co. location and later Redfern & Sons Motor Company. Part of a roof collapsed on one of the original Tekoa buildings Jan. 26 due to snow. The red-brick building on the corner of Crosby and Main Street is known as the former Cohn Motor Co. location and later Redfern & Sons Motor Company. Keith Anderson of Tekoa has owned the building since 2006. “I've had several people look at it,” Anderson said. “Everyone says it'...
Saturday night in Oakesdale is a Southeast 1B league girls showdown unseen in these parts for many years. Colton, the eight-time defending state 1B girls champions, lost at home for the first time since 2010 when Oakesdale beat them Jan. 13. This week, the Nighthawks beat Pomeroy to set up a rematch between Colton-Oakesdale to decide the league championship. Both teams are 11-1 in league, with Colton's one loss to the Nighthawks, and Oakesdale's one loss to Pomeroy. Before Saturday's showcase,...
Oakesdale senior guard Austin Rutledge drives the key against Pomeroy in a 68-54 loss. After a nervous weekend, Pomeroy remains unbeaten in the Southeast 1B league. Garfield/Palouse took them to overtime last Friday night, and Oakesdale pushed them into the fourth quarter Saturday before the Pirates got control. Now at 12-0, Pomeroy is followed by Waitsburg at 9-3 with a crowd vying for third; Garfield/Palouse, Prescott and Colton, all at 7-5. Key games this weekend to help decide district...
A sold-out crowd enjoyed the fourth Palouse Cabin Fever Brewfest in 2016. This year another 100 tickets were added for a new sellout of 590. Once again, sold out. The fifth anniversary of the Palouse Cabin Fever Brewfest is spoken for. Tickets for the event, set for Feb. 11, went on sale the day after Thanksgiving and were gone faster than any previous year. This year 100 more tickets were offered. For this year's 590 tickets, organizers have expanded the indoor/outdoor event to an adjacent...
Tekoa’s new “Neighbors On Patrol” program aims for a spring start with organizers seeking to add volunteers. City Councilwoman Alyssa Heaggy said the patrol project grew out of a rise in Tekoa crime last summer. Crimes included car prowling and burglaries. Organizers have divided the city into sections with one of eight leaders assigned to each. “They don’t only patrol, they get to know their neighbors,” said Heaggy. The purpose of the patrols is to observe. “They do not confront,” He... Full story
St. John/Endicott sophomore Riley Lamb shoots against Garfield/Palouse Jan. 14 as Katie Arrasmith defends for the Vikings. Both 9-1 in the Southeast 1B league, Oakesdale and Colton picked up more wins this week, including Oakesdale's victory over top 2B team Dayton Monday night in non-league play. Chasing Oakesdale and Colton in the Southeast 1B are Pomeroy (8-2), Touchet (5-5) and Garfield/Palouse (5-5). With four more league games to play, Colton and Oakesdale will meet again Feb. 4 in...
The Pirates are saying, “Bring me that horizon” as they pull away from their Southeast 1B rivals with a 10-0 league record. With four league games to play, Waitsburg holds second at 7-3 followed by Prescott (6-3), Garfield/Palouse (6-4) and Colton (6-4). Garfield/Palouse will play Pomeroy next on the road Friday. In other key games this weekend, Colton plays at Waitsburg Saturday and Prescott goes to Gar/Pal. Grangeville 58 Colton 29 Colton beat them by 23 earlier this month. This time Gra... Full story
School board members Brian Becker, Robert Smith, David Nails and Jennifer Hauser watch as Colfax High School students Kyle Appel and Lauren Claussen perform Monday night. School board members, from right, Terry Huber, Brian Becker, Robert Smith, David Nails and Jennifer Hauser receive plaques as part of “Board Appreciation Night” in the Colfax Library. At the end of the table are Superintendent Jerry Pugh and district office secretary Shawn Stine. Colfax student representatives saluted the Col...
Sausage is in March, chocolate is in February. Uniontown businesses are putting on the first Uniontown Chocolate Walk Saturday, Feb. 4, with locations across town giving out chocolate items from 11 a.m to 3 p.m. “We just decided we wanted to do something fun and get people to go out of their houses in this winter weather and to Uniontown and our little shops,” said Julie Hartwig, curator for the Dahmen Barn. “And chocolate makes you feel better.” The event will start on the south end of town at...
-- Don Marshall photo Oakesdale’s Jacey Johnson, Lindsey Lindgren and Anne Hockett swarm Colton’s Kendyl Druffel. The Nighthawks’ Emma Perry later hit the shot to push the game into overtime. Neither had happened since two years into the Obama administration. The Oakesdale girls ended both streaks last Saturday night in Colton's gym with a 55-50 overtime win, handing the Wildcats their first home and league losses in almost seven years. The Colton girls – eight-times running state 1B champions ...
The West Whitman Street project in Palouse remains on hold, awaiting completion of railroad work by the Washington State Department of Transportation and its designer, H.D.R. Engineering of Spokane. Munir Daud, Palouse consulting engineer, said he has documents ready to be posted for bid once WSDOT is finished. “We are waiting for them to complete the design,” Daud said. “I don't know why they're dragging their feet. It's frustrating. Every time we set a date, those guys aren't ready for it....
Culverts and storm drains are the subject of attention for county and city crews around Whitman County this week as thoughts of melting snow approach. Depending on if and when warmer temperatures arrive – and hold – a vast melt-off may occur. “It’s gonna cause a lot of little problems around the county,” said Bill Tensfeld, director of emergency management. “It should be mainly small stream and lowland flooding.” Tensfeld is in contact with the National Weather Service on the latest forecasts. A...
The first Colfax school board meeting of the new year Monday night featured items such as facilities planning, Washington State School Directors' Association (WSSDA) policy updates, a resignation by teacher Sue Doering and more. In opening remarks, board member Brian Becker mentioned the many comments he heard about high school principal Carrie Lipe shoveling snow outside a basketball game last Saturday. “Mr. Pugh, too,” said Lipe, sitting in the chairs for the public. “Nobody mentioned him,...
Mason Bates of Garfield/Palouse works against Pomeroy’s Oscar Morfin and Cort LaMunyan in a 67-58 loss. Gar/Pal’s Erik Anderson looks to the basket in a home loss to Pomeroy Jan. 6. The Vikings are now 3-3 in league. Gar/Pal junior guard Daniel Orfe pushes the ball up the floor. The Vikings play next on Friday at Touchet. With a loss to Pomeroy at home Jan. 6 and a 73-71 loss at Prescott a night later, Garfield/Palouse dropped to 3-3 in league for fourth in the current Southeast 1B sta...
Whitman County Public Works projects large and small shape up for 2017, Director Mark Storey reports. The biggest is phase four of the Almota Road reconstruction project, a $3.5-$4 million job which calls for work on right-of-way issues, with designs already submitted to Washington Department of Transportation, awaiting funding release for bid. “It's a tricky spot at the top of Henning Hill,” said Storey, also citing geometric issues and access with landowners on the span between Onecho Bib...
The endgame for landfill cell No. 4 is part of a request for qualifications now being prepared to go out seeking an engineer at the Whitman County Waste Transfer Site. The cell No. 4 project is to go along with work on the closed cells No. 1, 2 and 3, regarding final checks on the liner over the top and gas monitoring systems. Cell No. 3 was closed in 1993, shortly after No. 1 and 2. By law, the cells are to be monitored for final closure on a 20 year-timeframe. “We should've been able to w...
Washington State Parks prepares to go to bid this month for sterilant to be used on a controversial stretch of the John Wayne Iron Horse Trail. The chemical – a pre-emergent herbicide to be sprayed before any vegetation grows – is to be paid for from the remaining $46,000 of a 2016 state legislature proviso. The document called for State Parks to find and spend $100,000 on noxious weed control on the 20-mile trail section from milepost 1904 (Ewan) through 1924 (Benge-Ritzville Road). The lim...
The new year in the County Parks department promises a mix of completion of old work and new projects. First on the list is to finish the roof replacement on the shelter at Wawawai Park, a project begun last summer to put a new metal roof on the 1978 structure. After fall weather shut down the work, County Parks board members and staff expect to be out there when weather breaks to put in an estimated week’s work to finish the gentle slope of the roof. The project was separated into two s... Full story
-- Jerry Morse photo Colton senior Grant Kinzer passes the ball in a 66-45 win over Prescott Dec. 17 in Colton. It may be the task of the Southeast 1B league this winter: to control Mason Bates. The Garfield/Palouse 6'2”, 260-pound senior is the only Vikings player who started last year. Now he leads the team in scoring and rebounding as they carry an early lead in Southeast 1B league standings. “He's our leader this year, and he's doing a good job of it,” said coach Steve Swinney, who guide... Full story
A backhoe purchase by the Town of Garfield continues to draw controversy after its approval Dec. 7. The backhoe, purchased on a bid by Reuel Klempel, the town's Public Works superintendent, has not yet arrived in town after Klempel acted without approval by the town council, which later signed off on the purchase – after questioning why it happened as it did. One councilman called for a public reprimand of Klempel. “It was just a misunderstanding, a misinterpretation,” said Garfield Mayor Ray Mc...
A change in weed spraying may come to Whitman County in 2017. Being considered now by Public Works is a plan to do county road right-of-way spraying in-house. The move away from private contractors would allow for more flexible, more efficient coverage later in the year, according to Mark Storey, Public Works director. As it is today, contracts are locked in for the summer, and if more spraying is needed in the fall, it can be difficult to arrange for more work. Under the new plan, costs are...
Whitman County Public Works is preparing for the bid process on new effluent tanks to be built at the Waste Transfer site south of Colfax. The two 10,000-gallon tanks will take the place of one 90x90 foot, 180,000-gallon evaporation pond which serves to evaporate all drain-off from the floor of the waste transfer station. The water, called contact water, is now stored in the pond and evaporated or taken by tanker truck to the wastewater treatment facility in Colfax. County Solid Waste and...
