Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Colton school officials are launching a second effort to fund remodeling of the aging Colton school building. Nov. 2 a proposal for a $5.1 million bond measure over 20 years was approved by a majority of district voters, but it failed to top the state’s 60 percent approval rate required for bonding measures. When all votes were totaled, the count was 301 in favor and 282 against. Over these next few months, Colton Superintendent Nate Smith said they will solicit the residents’ opinions on what should or should not go into the remodeling. “Ob...
Two Palouse council members are pushing for layoffs in the city police department. At a Nov. 9 council meeting, council members Randy Zehm and Norm Schorzman both voted “no” on renewing a three-year-contract in which Palouse provides law enforcement for Garfield. Zehm later told the Gazette he believes the city budget is struggling to the point layoffs are needed. He also denied public allegations he was attempting to get Palouse Police Chief Jerry Neumann fired. The majority of the council voted “yes” and the contract was approved for three f... Full story
The Palouse city council is one month away from potentially raising city water and sewer rates, after approving a six-percent utility tax on those same rates last January. Residents can comment on the proposed rates at the next city council meeting, Dec. 14. The Palouse Water and Sewer Committee will make a final recommendation on the amount of the water and sewer raise at that meeting. The city council will vote on the measure at their Dec. 28 meeting. The committee has been researching rates ever since the city determined it has been losing...
Five school districts in Whitman County are among a group of Eastern Washington districts recently selected to receive a portion of a $400,000 grant every year for the next five years. The College Access and Awareness grant gives 35 rural school districts in Eastern Washington funding to help rural students negotiate the leap from rural schooling to university life. The $400,000 will be divided among those 35 districts. Colfax, Tekoa, Rosalia, Oakesdale and LaCrosse are the Whitman districts to receive some of the funding, which was awarded by... Full story
Hours into Tuesday’s snow storm, most schools around Whitman County decided to close to avoid transporting children in increasingly poor road conditions. “Mostly out in the country is what we are having trouble with blowing and drifting snow,” said Rosalia Business Manager Phyllis Brown. Citing the fast drifting snow on rural routes, Pullman and Colfax schools closed by 2 p.m. Transportation for the Colfax buses was also hindered when traffic on Main Street was rerouted near the school due to fire crews on station at the Mitz’s Cabinet Shop in...
Tiny pewter figurines sparkle under the display lights while a choir sings carols in the background. Figures of the nativity, tall, tiny, wood, stone, will stand on table after table. These will be the sights at the nativity scene collection display in Moscow, Dec. 8 through Dec. 12. For the second year, more than 400 nativity scenes from around the world will line the rooms of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building in Moscow. The display at 1657 S. Blaine Street will be open Dec. 10, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Dec. 12, noon to 9...
A proposed county transportation program is still waiting for the right ridership to strike up a van pooling route. If four to five people keep roughly the same schedule and destination for a length of time, the Council on Aging Specialist Transportation (COAST) will have grounds to purchase two vans and set up a regular van pool. For the past five months, COAST has been tracking private car pools around the county. "We think it's an idea whose time maybe hasn't come yet," said Karl Johanson, executive director of the Council on Aging and...
A jar of beads made from the human bones of the Tibetan dead sits on the counter. Scarlet cubes of 150-year-old vermilion sit in a small box. The rich brown dust of a meteorite collects in a jar, next to an animal skull and a dirty, solid piece of melted scrap silver. In the crowded third floor garret of his historic Colfax home, nationally known artist Timothy Ely daily uses a kaleidoscope of earthly supplies to do what he does best; bind books, decorate them and sell them. Beginning Dec. 4, a display of 40 of Ely's famous books will be shown...
Three employees will be laid off from the Council on Aging this January, after the non-profit this summer lost its long-time transportation contract under Medicaid to another company. Residents in Whitman, Garfield and Asotin counties who qualified for this specific Medicaid program will now work with a different transportation provider, Special Mobility Services, to whom the Council on Aging and Human Services lost their bid in October. ÒThey beat us out in the bid,Ó said Karl Johanson, executive director of the Council on Aging. The C... Full story
Prosecutor Denis Tracy told a handful of Palouse citizens Tuesday night no charges will be filed against Alexandria Nieman for not intervening as 16-year-old Dylan Mayhan-Treese lay dying of a self-inflicted overdose Oct. 11. Palouse citizens have been protesting the alleged drug activity at the home where Nieman lived since the dead body of Mayhan-Treese was discovered Oct. 23. It was first believed the teenager's death was caused in part because he was supplied with drugs from the 21-year-old Nieman. The teenager's parents had a restraining...
The Tekoa city council is moving forward with a $3 million-plus plan to overhaul the city’s water system. The council Monday night voted to sign a contract that would bring in enough funding to replace all of the old pipes in town and provide new fire hydrants. Approximately 40 Tekoa citizens attended a public hearing before the council signed the contract. Now passed, the cost of the overhaul will raise citizen water rates $17 a month by 2013. The measure will use a $2.9 million loan and $1.2 million grant from USDA Rural Development. Mayor J... Full story
Colfax school board voted unanimously Monday night to retain Superintendent Michael Morgan for another two years and the superintendent accepted the offer. The board’s vote followed heated debate Monday and at their previous session Oct. 18. Criticism of the superintendent clashed with praise of him at Monday’s meeting, which was attended by 58 people, including school staffers, parents and other residents. Supt. Morgan said in a later interview with the Gazette he plans on standing by his acceptance of the contract, unless another opp... Full story
A three-mile run and walk is going down this Saturday, Nov. 20 at Schmuck park to raise funds for a Colfax family adopting two Ethiopian children. The Knox family is looking to raise $26,000 to adopt a brother and sister pair from an orphanage in Ethiopia. Another Colfax family, Matt and Jill Ross, began a non-profit organization this summer geared toward helping families adopt. No Longer Orphans is putting on the run/walk and has already raised $8,000 for the Knox family. Entry to the run is $20 and starts at 9 a.m. Jill Ross said they have...
A free Thanksgiving dinner cooked and served by the United Methodist church members will be held Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25. Volunteers are putting together a turkey extravaganza complete with mashed potatoes and gravy, cranberry sauce, pie and stuffing. “We’ll probably have three or four kinds of pie,” said Donna Thompson, the church member who is organizing the dinner. Thompson and other church members began cooking and serving free community dinners once a month at the start of this summer. Attendance at those dinners has grown from eight...
An increase in the illegal practice of hunting from the road has been observed over the the past two years by Bob Weaver, Fish & Wildlife officer for Whitman County. “In the last two years it’s really increased quite a bit,” Weaver said. Weaver wants to get the word out to the public to report illegal hunting practices. Since the hunting season began in October, Weaver has received 20 to 25 calls from landowners around the county reporting people trespassing on their land to hunt. Weaver said he has received twice as many complaints this year...
Two weeks after the body of 16-year-old Dylan Mahan-Treese was found under a bridge, more than 35 Palouse residents gathered for an at-times emotional city council meeting Tuesday to pinpoint community solutions to the problems leading to his death. Perhaps the most troubling problem to Palouse residents was drug activity at a residence which Mahan-Treese frequented. Many residents believe his involvement with a 21-year-old woman who lives at the home contributed to his death. Also Tuesday, the Palouse council and mayor discussed closing down...
It is dusk and a lone wind turbine sits high on a hill above Palouse. “It’s running right now,” said Sharon Tharp, squinting at the fixture from her home across town. The wind turbine belongs to the late Mike Carlton, well-known Palouse resident who died Oct. 20. Because of Carlton’s ongoing passion for wind energy, Dave and Sharon Tharp are putting together a memorial for Carlton in the form of solar panels for the town’s planned community center. The Tharps, along with other friends of Carlton, are interested in adding 16 panels to the roof...
The investigation of a multi-county poaching spree that killed a bull moose and several bears came through Whitman County Oct. 27 and ended in an arrest in Moses Lake several days later. A poacher is suspected of shooting a bull moose in Stevens County and several bear, elk and deer in surrounding counties, according to Bob Weaver, state Fish and Wildlife official who patrols Whitman County. Weaver said they recovered the carcasses of the animals at the bottom of a creek bed in Garfield County the night of Oct. 27. Weaver said the suspect has...
A cold fog flows around the ancient barn, highlighted by the virgin green of spring wheat shoots. The March photo is one of 12 depictions of Whitman County barns included in a 2011 calendar now being sold in the county. The photo calendar was put together by WSU extension crop specialist Steve Van Vleet who takes pictures of barns as he drives the farm-barn-dotted expanse of the Palouse while making his rounds. Proceeds from the calendar will be given to the county library. Van Vleet said taking pictures of the region’s barns has become an o...
Palouse Grain Growers is seeking to enlarge its elevator facility to keep up with the times. Co-op directors want to add a 100-foot-long new scale to the elevator, possibly build three more storage bins and change the surrounding roads to better direct traffic in and out. Today’s heavier, longer grain trucks make the existing 24-foot grain scale on the elevator obsolete. Also, farmers using semi-trucks can’t use the scale because the trucks are too long to make the sharper turn to get onto the scale. “It’s confining,” said co-op manager B...
Two months after news broke over their finances and handling of children, Colfax’s Little Angels day care at the Methodist Church in Colfax has made sweeping changes to correct their situation. In August, Little Angels fired its director for mismanaged finances and days later was notified by the state it was in violation of 25 state guidelines for child care. Violations included infants left unattended while staff were in other rooms, bottles going unsanitized between uses, food served without the use of gloves or tongs, too many children w... Full story
Details surrounding the death of Dylan Mahan-Treese of Palouse have triggered questions about drug activity in Palouse and a scheduled visit from the county prosecutor to the next council meeting. A Palouse home believed by the Palouse Police Department to be the site of drug activity has been linked to Mahan-Treese. Mahan-Treese was found dead Oct. 23 under a bridge in Palouse, an alleged 13 days after his death. A coroner’s finding on the cause of Mahan-Treese’s death is still pending, but authorities believe his death was most likely a sui...
Colton/Uniontown voters Tuesday struck down the $5.l6 million bond proposal for remodeling the school. Preliminary results from Tuesday night’s returns showed 197 yes votes for a 52.12 percent approval rate, almost eight percent short of the 60 percent needed for approval. “We’re disappointed - that’s for sure. There still are some votes out so I guess we still have a little bit of a chance,” said Colton Superintendent Nate Smith. The school would have to receive 69 percent approval from the 339 ballots not included in Tuesday’s count. That...
It is National Hospice Month, and the county’s own hospice advocacy group is celebrating. Friends of Hospice is a non-profit advocacy group in Whitman County with 12 board members. It supplements the professional services of Family Home Care and Hospice based out of Spokane. Family Home Care offers professional, for-profit hospice care to Whitman County and Latah County clients. In addition to their staff, they have 36 volunteers. Hospice serves those who have been diagnosed with a terminal illness and have had a doctor certify that they likely...
The body of 16-year-old Dylan Mahan-Treese was found under a bridge in Palouse last Saturday, Oct. 23, 13 days after he is presumed to have died. Palouse Police Chief Jerry Neumann said the father of the 16-year-old had reported him as a runaway Oct. 11. That is believed to be the day the he died. Mahan-Treese was found under the end of the Church Street bridge over the former Great Northern railroad approach into Palouse. Whitman County Coroner Pete Martin is awaiting results of a toxicology test that will rule out or confirm an accidental...
