Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 126 - 150 of 217
OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee declared an emergency drought for most of the state on July 14. The drought affects every county in the state but excludes an area that encompasses most of King County, half of Snohomish County, and Tacoma by itself. It stretches from north of Everett to south of Kent. Tacoma is the only area in Pierce County not impacted by the drought, according to the state. "Many areas of (Washington) are currently under the stress of these extreme drought conditions," said I...
COLFAX — A Pullman woman is accused of punching a Whitman County Jail guard to escape. Brianna McCabe, 26, of Pullman, was charged in Whitman County Superior Court on June 21 with the felony of custodial assault of a corrections officer. McCabe is accused of punching a corrections officer while he was delivering medications to the female inmates in the work release room. He entered the room and blocked the door by standing in front of it with a cart, according to court records. McCabe reportedly stood up after the officer provided an inmate w...
PULLMAN — A Pullman man nearly lost his life as a firework launch tube braced on his thigh exploded on the Fourth of July. The tube was for an aerial display. Neighbors of the man in his 20s came to his rescue. The people in the 300 block of NW Thomas Street called 9-1-1 while applying a belt tourniquet and direct pressure to his groin area. The explosion nicked his artery, according to Pullman police Assistant Chief Ryan Scharnhorst. “Pullman Police officer Brock Westerman applying a tourniquet … may have saved the man from possibly bleed...
ROSALIA — A Spokane man meeting a prostitute at a rest area had two women steal his wallet, flee, and fire a gun at him. On July 5 at roughly 3:30 a.m. the Lewiston man called 9-1-1 to report a woman he met in Spokane stole his wallet while they were at the Horn School Rest Area near Rosalia and later fired a pistol at him, according to the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office report. Three deputies and a Washington State University police officer responded to investigate. The woman allegedly told the victim she was a prostitute. They traveled in di...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A proposed federal act’s acronym is named after Malden since it is designed to help rural communities find government aid after a disaster. The Making Aid for Local Disasters Equal Now (MALDEN) Act is designed to speed up disaster assistance. The bill is named after the Town of Malden, which was 80% destroyed by the Babb Road Fire in 2020. Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-5th District, introduced the bill on June 15. “The devastation caused by the Babb Road fire took my breath away. The town of Malden was destr...
COLFAX — Whitman County finally broke a record high on Tuesday after a week of triple-digit temperatures setting records across Eastern Washington. Tuesday’s record high was 95 degrees in 2008 and it hit 104 degrees by mid-afternoon and there was potential to climb a little bit higher. The Whitman County Gazette’s deadline was Tuesday. “Today we are seeing the hottest temperatures and we will see a cool down after that,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Laurie Nisbet on Tuesday....
ROSALIA — Cowboys and cowgirls gathered to rope, wrestle, and ride at the Rosalia Rodeo Grounds for two competitions on June 19-20. Each day was a separate rodeo for competitors of all ages. Parents and kids got the chance to compete. Rodeos are scheduled for two more weekends in 2021. The next rodeos are on July 17-18, and one more series on Aug. 21-22. Rolling Hills Rodeo Association (RHRA) is a non-profit organization promoting "the western traditions and values through educating youth in the...
COLFAX - A heatwave is predicted to hit triple-digits and could break the 2015 record of 105 degrees for Whitman County this weekend. "We're looking for the initial temperature arriving around Saturday and lasting into next week," said National Weather Service Meteorologist Jennifer Simmons. "It will be about 20 degrees above the seasonal norms." The normal high temperature for the last weekend in June is 73 degrees. Monday was 12 degrees above normal at 85. Saturday's high temperature is predic...
COLFAX — A man released from jail is accused of stealing an SUV, threatening family members, breaking into a Pullman home, and fighting his teenage son. Stephen M. Baumgardner, 44, of Pocatello, Idaho, was charged in Whitman County Superior Court on June 11 with burglary in the first degree, assault in the second degree-domestic violence, malicious mischief in the second degree-domestic violence, taking a motor vehicle without permission, and felony harassment-domestic violence. On June 8 a family member called the Pullman police to report h...
Alcohol is just part of life at any university. Every campus has its problems. It's nothing new. But sometimes it takes a tragedy to evaluate just where the line is between a good time drinking responsibly and a binge culture causing dangerous situations. Sam Martinez was a 19-year-old from Bellevue attending Washington State University. He planned on getting a degree and where he wanted his future to go. He never wanted to fall asleep on a basement couch and die. He drank himself to death. He...
PULLMAN – Tyler Knight found that if you post a video of your crime to Facebook, the Pullman police are going to find it. Tyler S. Knight, 23, of Pullman, was charged on May 25 in Whitman County Superior Court with robbery in the first degree. On June 13, 2019, Knight allegedly met with the male victim in a parking lot of a skate park in Pullman and beat him while a friend video recorded the assault and theft. He reportedly posted it on a Facebook account to brag about knocking out the victim. The two men had met months earlier when Knight a...
TEKOA – The Tekoa pool is opening for the first time in two years on June 28 due to state COVID protocols and maintenance issues. The city pool normally opens on June 12, the last day of school, and remains open until the third week of August. It was closed in 2019. "We are still under COVID protocols and as a board, we are in the process of navigating changing guidelines on reopening a public pool," stated the Tekoa Parks and Recreation Board on June 5. "The state has put out a 20-page d...
PALOUSE – Improving water mains on three streets in Palouse continues planning with a concern for rising material costs. The city is looking to find funding to help pay $1 million to improve the Church Street, Culton Street, and H Street water mains. "We were hoping to move and be shovel ready by at least next summer," he said Mayor Chris Cook. TD&H Engineering was hired to help the city find funding and facilitate the project. When pursuing construction funding, TD&H Engineering r...
COLFAX - Fifteen people are charged with furnishing liquor to minors after a Washington State University (WSU) student died of alcohol poisoning in 2019. Samuel H. Martinez, 19, of Bellevue, was a pledge to the fraternity Alpha Tau Omega on Linden Street in Pullman. He died on Nov. 12, 2019, during a fraternity event. The Whitman County coroner ruled his death as accidental acute alcohol poisoning. Martinez was last seen to be alive at 2 a.m. on Nov. 11 while sleeping on his side in the...
PINE CITY - The Babb Road Fire in 2020 destroyed the Pine City rock church so completely, even the rocks are unusable. Spokane-based Belsby Horrocks Engineering volunteered a structural engineer to evaluate what's left of the building. "The fire burned so hot that it compromised the strength of the stones and (the engineer) deemed it unsafe to hold a new structure. The only choice left was to take the building down," stated Louise Belsby, president of Pine City Historical Society. Last year the...
ROSALIA - St. John-Endicott-LaCrosse Eagles boys met the Tekoa-Rosalia Timberwolves on the hardwoods to win 71-50. The two teams, representing five Whitman County communities, played basketball on May 25. "Both teams played hard. Lots of energy was expended throughout the entire game," Eagles Coach Mike Stubbs said. "It was an enjoyable game to watch." Tekoa-Rosalia had the lead at the end of the first quarter, 16-8, and held on to it at halftime, 29-26. "The second quarter was us regaining our...
COLFAX - A new memorial in Endicott, a ceremony in Colfax, and a 13 mile march from Malden to St. John all paid tribute to fallen military personnel. Ruck for the Fallen was a march of flags from the Malden fire hall to the St. John park on May 22. A "ruck" is a forced march by people in the military. "Ruck for the fallen honors our fallen military and first responders with flags that travel across the country. These flags are signed by individuals from different agencies and transported across...
Sports are important for more than entertainment. For our young student-athletes, it helps them be healthy, learn the importance of teamwork, how hard work can pay off with success, and how to cope when it doesn't. In a normal year, the work it takes to organize and coordinate high school students, coaches, and teams is huge and daunting. Canceling a season is emotionally hard. Putting on an abbreviated sports season that ends before the seniors graduate is extremely difficult. This "winter"...
Memorial Day is not to honor living veterans, but the military personnel who died in the line of duty. "We should guard their graves with sacred vigilance ... Let pleasant paths invite the coming and going of reverent visitors and fond mourners. Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic," said U.S. Army Maj. Gen. John A. Logan in 1868. It was three years after the Civil War...
ST. JOHN — The season started with mixed results for the St. John-Endicott-LaCrosse boys basketball team, winning one and losing one. The season opener went to Oakesdale 42-33 in Washtucna on May 17. They bounced back the next day to beat Wilbur-Creston 48-33. The Nighthawks came on strong to make it a defensive game for the Eagles, said St. John Coach Mike Stubbs. The team had little time to prepare for their first game with the constant changes in schedules from COVID precautions. “There was adrenaline. There was first game anxiety,” said...
SPOKANE — Garfield-Palouse’s Kenzi Pedersen had a banner game scoring 29 points, making 7 rebounds, and hitting 14 for 19 shots against Valley Christian Panthers on May 22. “She didn’t miss much,” said Timberwolves Coach Garrett Parish. Teammates Maci Brantner helped by scoring 9 points and making 8 rebounds, and Makenzie Collier added 6 points and 4 steals. The Timberwolves beat the Panthers 59-29 to advance their season record to 3-2. It was the sixth game the girls played in eight days. “We started our older girls and they went out and jumpe...
WILBUR — Two games into the season and the St. John-Endicott-LaCrosse Eagles girls are still looking for their first win. They lost their season opener to the Oakesdale Nighthawks 55-32 on May 17 and the next day lost to the Wilbur-Creston Wildcats 35-18. The young Eagles team has seven players, leaving two to rotate in when starters need a break, said Coach Jeff Gates. Three seniors declined to return to the team due to graduation and other activities. Two cited the COVID mask requirement as a factor. “Half the team opted out so we have a much...
COLFAX - A state 2019 audit listed the Port of Whitman as failing to update internal controls for financial reporting under the Budgeting Accounting and Reporting System (BARS). It is the first finding by the Washington State Auditor's Office since the Port of Whitman was formed in 1958. The state accuses the port of not listing Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) on the Schedule of Long-Term Liabilities and Notes correctly. It's what the port pays for retiree benefits. "Even though retires...
It’s time to decide if you want a COVID vaccination. If you want to take a precaution to help you avoid contracting COVID, then you can accept a free vaccination. If you don’t want a new COVID vaccine, you can turn down the free vaccination. It’s that simple. You are free to decide what you want to do with your body. The ugliest side effect of the COVID vaccinations is the nasty, bullying attitude affecting some people. I keep speaking with people and business owners about how badly people treat...
MOSCOW – A sex offender faces charges of raping a 14-year-old Moscow girl after being charged for sending her sexual text messages while staying in LaCrosse. Austin T. Johnson, 23, of Moscow, Idaho, is charged with two counts of communicating with a minor for immoral purposes in Whitman County Superior Court on Feb. 17. Johnson was recently charged with two counts of rape of a minor while being an adult, according to Latah County, Idaho, court records. The teenage victim lives in Moscow, I...
