Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 1051 - 1075 of 2119
Colton senior guard Kendyl Druffel works the perimeter against Pomeroy Dec. 9 in this file photo. Basketball action paused before Christmas this week while a few games still took place. After the holiday, gyms fill again with tournament games and others set for this weekend. For Southeast 1B girls, St. John/Endicott is playing at the Dec. 29-30 Reardan Christmas tournament. Garfield/Palouse will play at Potlatch Dec. 30. Oakesdale was set to play Dec. 27 at Dayton followed by a Jan. 3 home game...
A change in the law for permit-exempt wells in Washington is now in the hands of the Public Works Department in Whitman County. Its interpretation may affect future well-diggers on the Palouse. An October decision by the Washington State Supreme Court, in the case of Whatcom County vs. Hirst, put this into motion. The ruling states that counties can no longer approve new development using permit-exempt wells if there is an impact to closed water bodies or impairment to instream flows....
The Town of Farmington Dec. 19 accepted an offer for a lease-purchase of the former Methodist Church building in Farmington. Cody Lord of Garfield, Farmington’s treasurer, will lease the building for $300 per year until Oct. 1, 2024, at which time he has the option to buy the building for $35,000. Lord will be responsible for all expenses of the property, including taxes, insurance, utilities and any expenditures to improve the property. Farmington Town Council first heard Lord’s proposal Oct... Full story
Washington State Parks released its John Wayne Pioneer Trail Noxious Weed Treatment and Vegetation Management Report Dec. 20. The report details the program which was started this spring on a 105-mile stretch of the trail between Lind and the Idaho border. The report was the culmination of a $100,000 proviso by the state legislature for noxious weed treatment and vegetation management on the trail to protect adjacent landowners with agricultural use. In its report, State Parks runs down how the...
A public meeting in Garfield about a sewer rate increase drew some controversy Wednesday, Dec. 14. The $16.14 per month increase to $119 was approved by the town council in November. The meeting, to inform residents of the reasons, drew about 10 residents. “It's because we've been struggling for three years at the sewer plant,” said Mayor Ray McCown, citing warnings from the state Department of Ecology. “We had to raise it to meet expenses.” Part of that is an increase in pay for the new Lev...
Colton and Oakesdale lead the Southeast 1B league, both at 3-0 approaching Christmas break. Pomeroy and Touchet follow at 2-1. Prescott (0-2), St. John/Endicott (0-2) and Waitsburg (0-3) round out the league standings. The Oakesdale girls play the 2016-17 season with every player back from last year – playing the past two years with no seniors. Now there are two – forwards Jacey Johnson and Lindsey Lindgren. Joining them are four new freshmen who played as eighth-graders last year. The Nig...
A new spark in Oakesdale is drawing notice in Southeast 1B league gyms around the county. Third-year coach Carl Crider graduated five seniors off last year's team and now has only two, along with three underclassmen starters and a junior transfer from Colfax. The team record is at 3-4, 1-2 league, and they have not yet lost by a double-digit margin. “We've had a real solid year so far,” said Crider. “We've been really competitive. Now we're just trying to figure out how to be ahead at the end of... Full story
Leading into the year-end break, Garfield/Palouse and Pomeroy are at the top of Southeast 1B league basketball standings, both with 3-0 records. Waitsburg follows in third at 2-1. Colton, Oakesdale and Prescott take the middle at 1-2, 1-1 and 1-1, respectively. Rounding out the standings are Touchet (0-3) and St. John/Endicott (0-4). Colton 66, Prescott 45 A new entry to Southeast 1B league basketball, Prescott played a league contest at Colton Dec. 17. Peter Schultheis led Colton with 23...
Decisions in the state legislature approach for four area projects on the John Wayne Pioneer Trail. Named in July as funding priorities by Washington State Parks, the projects are now in the hands of state representatives after being included in Governor Jay Inslee’s Dec. 14 budget. Inslee’s recommendations will act as a starting document for a 120-day legislative session to begin Jan. 9 in Olympia. Sent to the Governor’s office in July was the State Parks’ budget request for the 2017-19...
A bid purchase of a $29,600 surplus backhoe by the Town of Garfield two weeks ago has drawn questions from residents. The item, paid for from Garfield's equipment reserve fund, replaces a backhoe sold in 2013 by then Mayor Jarrod Pfaff. “It'll be used for plowing driveways, digging ditches, water and sewer, loading boxes at the compost site; we use them everyday,” Mayor Ray McCown said. Without a backhoe, town workers have used a skid steer and mini-excavator. “With a backhoe's capacity, a job...
A new display for 2016, Alan Druffel made the reindeer-taking-flight supports out of rebar, a nod to Colton Christmas past. “Snowball,” a display created by Larry Kirpis, is on display once again at the Colton Schools baseball field. The lights feature players at each position with a snowman at bat. A tradition has come back to Colton with Christmas light displays brought out again by a new organization. Last November, a group of residents formed the Colton Community Fund with the intention to... Full story
Pomeroy’s Oscar Morfin considers options at Colton Dec. 9. The Pirates pulled out an overtime win after Colton’s Grant Kinzer put-back his own deep shot to tie in regulation. The Garfield/ Palouse boys are at the top of the Southeast 1B league basketball standings after first league games were played last weekend. The Vikings are 1-0 league, 3-1 overall, while Pomeroy is also 1-0 in league with a 2-1 overall record. Oakesdale is at 0-1, 2-3 overall. Colton is 0-1 in league, 0-3 overall, aft... Full story
Colton junior Georgia Meyer takes a rebound back up to the basket in a 48-33 home win over Pomeroy. In Southeast 1B League girls basketballstandings, Colton and Oakesdale are tied at the top, both with 1-0 league records. Colton is 4-0 overall while Oakesdale is 3-2. Pomeroy follows in the standings with an 0-1 league record (1-2 league) after losing at Colton Dec. 9. Garfield/Palouse is 0-1 in league, 0-2 on the year. Touchet and St. John/Endicott have not yet played a league game. Several...
Tekoa City Council Dec. 5 voted against placing a $50,000 streets levy again in February after it failed in November. The vote ended a proposal made by Mayor John Jaeger which was reported in last week's Gazette as already decided. The mayor was interviewed for the story before the Dec. 5 city council session. “Obviously, I was very disappointed,” said Jaeger. The Nov. 8 levy vote failed with 59 percent of the vote, just one percent short of the 60 percent majority required for approval. The...
The City of Palouse has postponed the ribbon-cutting for its solar farm, originally scheduled for Dec. 2, until next spring. Mayor Michael Echanove and project engineers will wait until weather is more cooperative. “The ground is just not conducive to holding an event up there,” said Kyle Dixon, Palouse clerk-treasurer. The solar site is on the south side of Palouse, just past the railroad tracks. The eight-acre operation was inspected and went online in mid-November. The solar farm con...
The elements are the same, the instruments change. Plowing snow in Whitman County is an annual task performed by the Public Works department, which has begun another snow season much the same, and much different than years past. The county now has 20 large Mack trucks with a capacity of 10 to 12 yards, a size much bigger than the fleet of five-yard trucks of 30 years ago. “We needed to decrease costs,” said Public Works Director Mark Storey, who has been in the job since 2001. “It’s fewer p...
Southeast 1B league boys and girls basketball has begun around the county. With teams starting with non-league contests last week, Friday night will bring the league opener for several local teams. Colton boys and girls play Pomeroy at home, and Garfield/ Palouse plays at Oakesdale. Garfield/Palouse 79, Lakeside 55 Five Vikings scored in double figures in a home non-league win Tuesday night. Daniel Orfe led with 18 points while freshman Blake Jones had 15 and Erik Anderson 12. Mason Bates and...
After football season ended in the state 1B quarterfinals, Colton players went to the gym Monday, Nov. 21, joining five others who had been at basketball practice the previous week. Nick Simons is their new coach, taking over for Jason Shull, who spent two seasons with the Wildcats after Seth Paine's 2014 state championship team. “I think we have a lot of athletes, a lot of kids that work hard,” said Simons. “We just have to put it all together. I think we'll be playing our best baske...
The City of Palouse passed an ordinance Nov. 22 to reduce the speed limit at the south entrance of town. The change decreases the speed on a stretch of Highway 27 from 45 to 25 miles per hour for safety concerns. Needing approval by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), it is unclear how long this may take. “I don't know, I've never done it before,” said Palouse Mayor Michael Echanove. The city's effort follows two accidents this fall. The Highway 27 incidents prompted Pal...
Representatives from five contractor firms gathered in county commissioners’ chambers Monday for the opening of bids for the 2017 Road Safety Project. The project went to the low bid from Frank Gurney, Inc., of Spokane Valley at $680,015. Bids ranged up to $1,311,311 from Pavement Service Control of Kennewick. The work is to be paid for with $750,000 from the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act. County Public Works department staff will now review Gurney’s bid documents for appro... Full story
Mayor John Jaeger and the Tekoa City Council have decided to run their $50,000 street levy proposal again in February after it failed, for the second time, in the Nov. 8 General Election. Final count for the proposal was 58.7 percent approval with 202 yes and 142 no. The proposal was intended to pay for city road maintenance, including streetlights. “It’s streets and lights, come on,” said Jaeger. “If you’re not gonna vote for it, or not vote, tell us why. We just need an answer and we’re not ge...
--Jon Skoglund photos A new roof takes form at the top of the 1919 Kramlich barn on Hauser Hill in Colfax. Barn work is being paid for by the Cocking family and a grant from the Washington State Department of Archaeology & Historic Preservation. The Kramlich barn project, on an east hill at Colfax, is moving ahead. The 1919 barn, the subject of a restoration effort begun this spring, now has a crew working to finish the roof this month. That will be followed by trim work, new windows and other d... Full story
A crew member for CTX Infrastructure of Spokane Valley helps guide into the place the second section of the new restrooms facility at Schmuck Park Nov. 21. A joint City of Colfax-Colfax School District project, the building will serve the athletic complex and the park. The Colfax school board met Monday night and touched on a range of topics following last week's attendance at the Washington School Directors' Association (WSSDA) conference in Spokane. Superintendent Jerry Pugh opened the... Full story
--Ted Blaszak photos The Tekoa Trestle is aglow ahead of Christmas, and for the first time it is powered with LED lights. The lights run daily on a timer from 4:30 p.m. to midnight. A crew works Nov. 18 to install the Tekoa Trestle Christmas lights. For the third year, the Tekoa Trestle has been decorated Christmas. A group of volunteers climbed into place Nov. 18 for a streamlined process which included more lights and features than last year. “Every year it gets better,” said Monte Mor... Full story
After a months-long study and recommendations by Washington State Parks for improvements to the John Wayne Trail in Whitman County, Ninth district Representative Joe Schmick of Colfax is skeptical of its prospects in the legislative session which begins Jan. 9. The 105-day session includes a goal of passing a new budget to pay for a myriad of items – among them the McCleary mandate to fully fund K-12 education and the Parks' proposal. In July, State Parks released its budget request for the 2...
