Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 201 - 225 of 2119
PULLMAN - For the first time since World War II, the Apple Cup football game between U.W. and WSU may not be played. The 113th edition, set for Friday at Martin Stadium, was called off Sunday by the PAC-12 Conference, declaring the game a no-contest. The decision came after WSU did not foresee having a minimum number of scholarship players available for the game, after positive COVID-19 tests and resulting isolation of other players under contract-tracing policies. "As we work through the...
COLFAX — With girls basketball, wrestling and softball coaches resigning — followed by new virus orders issued by Gov. Inslee — the hiring process for high school athletics is paused. “We’re not offering coaching contracts until we know there’s gonna be a season,” Superintendent Jerry Pugh said last week. Girls basketball advertised for an Oct. 16 closing date. “We have a few candidates, but we’re waiting to see the response of the state,” Pugh said. With basketball and wrestling seasons now delayed to a Feb. 1 start date in the 2020-21 plan...
RENTON — Winter high school sports statewide will be pushed back a month to Feb. 1, after a vote last week by the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association executive board. It also shortened each of the 2020-21 seasons to seven weeks. In the new schedule, winter will conclude with a regionals event March 20. “Fall” sports run March 15 (a week earlier for football) to May 1. Spring sports start practices April 26, the season ending June 12. All is subject to change. The WIAA’s Nov. 17 decision -- part of a five-hour virtual meeting -- co...
COLFAX — With winter coming on, Whitman County Public Works is looking to keep plow drivers out of quarantine by having crews separated. If they lose a group at one shop, another crew from another has to fill in. “If we get hit hard by COVID, how do we keep the plows out?” Public Works Director Mark Storey said. “If we’re down 5-10 people, we’re gonna have a hard time keeping the roads cleared. We struggle even when we have all hands on deck.” Last week, Storey reminded road crews of operational precautions. “I know some people are fed up with...
COLFAX — Challenger Tom Handy of Pullman was expected to become commissioner-elect Tuesday. The Whitman County Canvassing Board was set to finalize the results of the Nov. 3 general election and name Tom Handy as the next county District No. 2 commissioner. The Canvassing Board met Tuesday after The Gazette went to press. At last count, Handy had a 350 vote lead over incumbent Dean Kinzer of rural Pullman; 19,130 votes were cast in the race. Handy, 63, an independent, was in his first run for political office. “It had us on pins and nee...
COLFAX - A sound man in a McGregor shirt hurried up the aisle. Eleven girls paraded in to the song, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot," the first girl approaching the microphone for introductions. Her words were muffled. Take Two. The narrator then announced the wrong year in the dastardly introduction of the superhero-themed Distinguished Young Woman of Colfax event, staged for a practice taping Monday night at First Baptist Church. "Stop," called a voice in front. An exchange followed between the na...
COLFAX — Whitman County commissioners continued discussing when to advertise the health director position when they met Monday, Nov. 16. Troy Henderson resigned; his last day was Nov. 15. Chris Skidmore was named interim director. Skidmore previously served as Whitman County Public Health deputy director. Commissioner Art Swannack said that comments he made last week were misinterpreted – it was not that he doubted Skidmore’s qualifications, it was just that he did not know them at the time. Skidmore’s background includes a bachelor of science...
COLFAX — The Whitman County Planning Commission is recommending new rules regarding commercial marijuana production, processing and sales. “We’ve never debated something like this,” County Planner Alan Thomson said after the commission approved the proposal Nov. 4. “Wind turbines were controversial, but marijuana is a different level. We’re in a another league when we’re talking about drugs.” If approved by Whitman County Commissioners, the new rules would allow indoor marijuana production in areas zoned for agriculture, heavy commercial, lig...
COLFAX —With the Pullman school board holding off on a return to in-person education until Jan. 4, some families are looking to send their kids elsewhere in Whitman County. Colfax Superintendent Jerry Pugh reports 12 students have transferred from Pullman in the last few weeks. “We’ve had more calls than that,” he said. He explained the decisions to allow the outside students to the school board Nov. 9. “In talking to the principals, where we can add a few here, add a few there, that’s what we’re going to do,” Pugh said. “We still have social...
COLFAX - With winter coming on, Whitman County Public Works looks to withhold plow drivers from quarantine by keeping crews separated from each other. If they lose a group at one shop, another crew from another has to fill in. “If we get hit hard by COVID, how do we keep the plows out?” said Mark Storey, Public Works director. “If we’re down five to ten people, we’re gonna have a hard time keeping the roads cleared. We struggle even when we have all hands on deck.” Last week, Storey put out a reminder on operational precautions to the roads c...
RENTON –– The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) set the rules for winter sports and made it clearer what it takes to have a season. Making plans to hold regional finishing events, instead of state tournaments, the WIAA will require eight teams to be eligible in a single classification of a region to have a postseason. If a classification does not have enough teams eligible, the leftover schools may join another level in their region. The WIAA executive board met Nov. 2, laying out the changes. For a winter season to sta...
PALOUSE – A question of feral cats has come up in Palouse. "We're trying to figure out if it's a problem and what we can do about it," said Kyle Dixon, city administrator. He is looking into costs and possible grants to cover humane traps and then neutering. The wild cats have increasingly been seen in the past year on the east end of Main Street. "We had a couple shop cats, they took down the mice population, so we left them," said Alex Anderson, owner of Palouse Welding, Design and Manufacturi...
COLFAX –– The Colfax school construction project is in its final stage, stretching past its target date for completion of August 2020. District Superintendent Jerry Pugh said on Oct. 30 that there is another week or two of electrical work at the junior-senior high school, the gym is being professionally cleaned, and speakers and the stereo system is being installed. It is part of the bond-funded project’s “punch list” of final items as deemed by Pugh and Amy Browne-Minden, the project manager from Design West in Pullman. “Within the next we...
COLFAX –– The public can the Colfax City Council what they think of the proposed 2021 budget. Council advanced the budget proposal Monday night, Nov. 2. The public can comment for 30 days before a December council approval vote. The budget totals $3.9 million, which is $75,099 more than last year. The extra budget would go toward paying for another police officer. The budget includes money to replace concrete panels in the river as it runs through town, which would be funded by an increase in the monthly storm drain fee. The city received a $...
COLFAX –– Whitman County commissioners discussed and delayed the decision on when to advertise for its open health director position. Monday, deciding to take up the matter in a future workshop session. Board president Michael Largent suggested on Monday they start the hiring process in March or April next year, while interim health director Chris Skidmore does the job. He was appointed following the resignation of Troy Henderson. Commissioner Art Swannack questioned it. “We’re making ourselves shorter-staffed, since we’re already down one...
COLFAX- Students are receiving free ASB cards, free sports admissions for family, and a reduced lunch program. The Colfax school board met Monday night for the first time in person since March. The directors approved a new policy about ASB cards and reducing the lunch program. The provision allows immediate families of the students to get into home games at no charge. Superintendent Jerry Pugh said the district has used funds to buy athletic shoes and ASB cards for students in need....
COLFAX — The Colfax Police Department hired new officer 29-year-old Tyler Paris. He started Monday, filling out paperwork, beginning to study radio procedures and policy manuals, and getting measured for gear, according to city officials. Paris is going to the police academy in Burien Dec. 2 for five months of training. Until then, Paris will observe and work with Colfax police as a cadet. “A great, qualified candidate for an entry-level (position),” said Mayor Jim Retzer, who is a Washington State Patrol trooper. Paris is originally from...
PALOUSE - The state took three years to move on a plan to pump wastewater to lagoons on top of a hill in Palouse to clean river water. “While we are relieved to bring an end to the long discussion and debate with Ecology regarding our wastewater plan, we are equally anxious to move forward with a reasonable and prudent mindset that minimizes the burden of debt to city and cost to our individual citizens,” said Chris Cook, Palouse mayor. The City of Palouse nears approval from the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) on a final plan to...
COLFAX –– Colfax School District lost about 8% of its students because of COVID and it's going to cost the district funding, possibly $462,000. The Colfax school board discussed how many students dropped out at its regular meeting on Oct. 26. In September and October the district lost 42 of the 502 students, said Superintendent Jerry Pugh. The district is preparing for a budget shortfall since state funding is based on the number of students. Washington school districts receive between $11...
COLFAX – Steep and deep and (socially) distant, October snow across Whitman County last weekend brought thoughts of skiing in 2020-21. Skiing depends on more than just the snow. The first significant snowfall helps but has ski hills wanting more and clear direction from the state regarding COVID. "As much as possible, situation normal," said Kim Clark, general manager of Bluewood, outside Dayton. "It all depends on what the flavor of the day is from the government." Representatives from the P...
MALDEN –– Controversy continues over whether the Malden siren should have been used to warn the town during the Labor Day Fire. The siren and the fire station burned, along with 70 percent of the town's structures. The fire call went out that day at 11:58 a.m. Arriving at the station were two volunteer firefighters. One was sent to knock on doors while the other, Dan Harwood, former 16-year Malden chief, went up to sound the siren for an extended warning. "I pushed the button and nothing hap...
GENESEE – The Genesee High School football season ended after a player tested positive for COVID-19 last Saturday. It came before the team’s rescheduled game at Prairie on Monday night, one of two games left in the regular season. The timing of the positive test would put quarantined players out for longer than time allowed to play the games. “We don’t have the time remaining, we just need to be done,” said Kelly Caldwell, Genesee High School athletic director. “We talked all along that if you had something happen in mid-late October, th...
COLFAX – Some questions remain about the impact of COVID-19 on the basketball and wrestling seasons for this year. Not everything is settled about what will be allowed in which counties in Washington or even if the state will permit high school basketball and wrestling. The start of winter sports is set for Dec. 28 in this year’s Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA)’s four-season sports schedule, which was decided in July after the rise in COVID-19 cases. Basketball and wrestling are both classified as “high risk” sports by...
COLFAX - A 10-year-old boy with cancer came from Zillah got to hunt for the first time thanks to Youth Outdoors Unlimited. Izaiah Trillas' hunt was held near Colfax this week as a four-day experience. He and his family stayed at a camp set up at the fairgrounds by the non-profit organization that's based in Moses Lake. Trillas began the hunt Oct. 17, the first day of general-firearm deer season. Volunteers took him to a deer blind looking into trees in Tom Kammerzell's wheat field. Inside the...
COLFAX - Have you noticed the amount of hay trucks on Whitman County highways late this summer and fall? The harvested area for hay is up by 60,000 acres in Washington since 2019, according to the Oct. 1 statewide crop production report from the USDA National Statistics Service (NAS). It means more trucks shipping the harvest. Reasons why are connected to potatoes and the timing of rain. In a normal year, about 160,000 acres of potatoes are planted statewide. In 2020, the number is down by...
