Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Bids were due Wednesday to buy the former Bank of Whitman building in LaCrosse. The building was offered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation which shut down the Bank of Whitman last August. Pullman Realtor Chud Wendle, who is conducting the sale as an agent for FDIC, said they opted to put the building up for bid because a number of parties have expressed interest in the building. “Because there’s been so much interest, I think (the FDIC) is trying to whip up a sort of an auction,” said Wendle. LaCrosse has been without a bank since...
Pomeroy native Tory Bye took over last month as executive director of Whitman County’s office of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency. “You know, minus the snow, I’m very excited to be here,” Bye said Monday. Bye graduated from Whitworth University in 2010 and immediately began training for a leadership position in the FSA. After spending six weeks in six offices all around the state, Bye was named director of Yakima County’s FSA, where he served for the next eight months. “It’s nice to be closer to home,” he said....
Local advocates were pleased upon hearing Monday a bill that would legalize gay marriage in Washington had clinched the number of votes it needs to pass the legislature. Local legislators, meanwhile, continued to voice their opposition to the measure. “Absolutely, it’s a great day for Washington residents,” said Chris Bidiman with Inland Oasis, a Moscow-based support organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered community on the Palouse. Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, pledged to become the 25th senator to support Senat...
County officials this week continued their quest for funding to build $15 million worth of infrastructure at the Hawkins shopping center. Commissioner Greg Partch, Administrative Director Gary Petrovich and Public Works Director Mark Storey were scheduled to meet in Olympia Wednesday morning with 9th District legislators. Rep. Susan Fagan reported Wednesday the meeting was cancelled because Partch could not cross Snoqualmie Pass Tuesday night. County officials had an afternoon meeting with Marty Brown, director of the state’s Office of F...
Rosalia Fire Chief Bill Tensfeld tossed his hat in the ring Monday for Whitman County Commissioner from District 1. “I’m at the point in my life where I think I’ve got the background, education and experience to make a good commissioner,” Tensfeld told the Gazette. Tensfeld, 50, works as a traffic systems safety operator for the state Department of Transportation’s Spokane Regional Transportation Management Center. He has also served more than 25 years as a firefighter and EMT with the Rosalia Fire Department, the last 12 years serving as the d...
A group of Whitman County citizens filed suit in Superior Court Monday to stop the county’s development agreement with Hawkins Companies of Boise. Pullman Attorney Timothy Esser filed the suit on behalf of a group identified as the Organization to Void Illegal Conduct. Ten people Monday formed the corporation to file the suit. “These are, without exception, men and women who have been successful in business in Whitman County for decades,” said Esser. “They are not the usual suspects that come out of the woodwork anytime growth is propose...
Until they see what the legislature does with .09 economic development funding, Whitman County commissioners decided Tuesday not to allocate any of the funding. “We can’t go on the hook, say we’ll give you X amount of dollars and then not have it,” said Commissioner Pat O’Neill. Each year, the county receives a .09 percent share of the state’s portion of sales tax revenues to use on projects that will bolster the local economy. Clerk Maribeth Becker said she typically sends out letters to small towns and development authorities this time o...
Gazette Reporters Union employees in the Whitman County courthouse will receive $550 bonuses this year, commissioners officially decided Tuesday. County employees working without unions will also receive the bonus. Commissioners signed a 2012 contract with the 46 Teamsters who work in the courthouse Tuesday which includes the one-time bonus in lieu of raises to base pay. Courthouse employees are represented by the Teamsters Local 690 out of Spokane. Last week, commissioners voted to extend the same payment to the county’s 64 non-union e...
A Kansas fund spent $13.6 million last week to purchase a 25 percent share in bad loans from the Bank of Whitman portfolio. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which shut down Bank of Whitman in August, set up a limited liability corporation to hold 62 loans that had an unpaid balance of $101 million from the Colfax-based bank. Mariner Real Estate Partners III, based in Leawood Kansas, announced in a press release Jan. 11 it had outbid eight other firms for the share of Bank of Whitman loans. The loans were bought at a 46 percent discount. LaJ...
Losing money inspecting farm structures, Whitman County is considering increases to its fees to permit those buildings. Building Official Dan Gladwill reported to county commissioners Tuesday he collected $2,700 in fees to permit ag structures. Those same buildings, if permitted without the ag exemption would have generated around $17,000 in fees. In 2009, responding to limits set by the legislature, Whitman County reduced its fees to permit ag buildings so farmers paid only Gladwill’s time on the permit and his fuel to inspect the buildings. N...
Lawyers began looking into the legality of Whitman County’s agreement with Hawkins Companies this week, while one of the county’s most prominent businessmen said he was “shocked” by the deal. County commissioners voted 2 to 1 two weeks ago to add $5.9 million to a 2008 agreement that obliged the county to pay for $9.1 million worth of public infrastructure at the 714-000-square-foot shopping center proposed by Boise-based Hawkins Companies. Pullman attorney Timothy Esser last Thursday submitted a public records request to commissioners for all...
After a year’s exile in Colfax, the SE 1B basketball playoffs will return to Endicott next month. Athletic directors from the eight Southeast district schools voted to bring the district qualifying tournament back to Endicott’s Hardy Gym, long-time site of the Whitman County basketball tournament. “We’re really excited about it,” said Tournament organizer Suzanne Schmick. “We had a break, but now we’re back, bigger than life.” WIAA District 9 Director Bob Kirk of Pomeroy said a number of the directors wanted to get back to the Endicott gym, k...
Whitman County commissioners kicked off a slate of major capital projects Monday by signing a series of contracts to initiate replacement of a heating and cooling system on the jailhouse. Facilities manager Bob Reynolds presented contracts for more than $504,000 for the jail chiller. The new chiller will replace a decades-old unit that Reynolds said costs as much as $300 a day in utility costs. Commissioner Greg Partch noted the unit has for the past several years required as much as $1,800 a month for repairs in summer months. Reynolds said...
Thanks to Wal-Mart, the economy of Whitman County saw a marked upswing during the third quarter of 2011. Figures released Friday by the state Department of Revenue showed taxable sales in Whitman County between July and September were more than $145 million, up nearly 15 percent from the same period in 2010. Retail sales, which exclude construction and services, rose 30 percent, from $44 million in 2010 to $58 million in 2011. Most of that came from Wal-Mart. “No doubt about it, Wal-Mart’s been good for our city,” said John Sherman, Pullm...
Whitman County is “in” on new state rules that govern farming around environmentally-sensitive areas. Commissioners unanimously Monday signed Whitman County onto the Ruckelshaus rules, which requires the county assemble a panel of farmers and regulators to monitor the impact farming has on critical areas. Critical areas as eyed by the state are wetlands, aquifer recharge zones, flood plains, geologically hazardous areas and critical habitat areas. Farming is currently allowed to take place anywhere in Whitman County, with no restrictions fro...
Having committed last week to $15 million worth of infrastructure at Hawkins Companies’ stateline shopping center, Whitman County commissioners are now looking for the money. “Just 15 million balls up in the air this week,” said Administrative Director Gary Petrovich. Commissioners voted 2-1 last Tuesday to provide the funding after Boise-based Hawkins asked for an additional $5.9 million on the county’s 2008 agreement to provide $9.1 million for development of the site. Commissioners are looking into several sources including state funding...
Gazette Reporters After a semester of burning up the Lancaster and Winona roads, Gary Wargo seems to be receiving top grades from the three school districts for which he is serving as superintendent. “Everything seems to be working as good or better as before,” said Jim Rogers, St. John school board member. Wargo in September took over superintendent duties for the St. John and Endicott cooperative in addition to his post at LaCrosse. “It took a little while to get into the groove, but I think I’m getting a hold of it now,” said Wargo. “I...
Final version of the state’s redistricting plan which was approved last night was drawn without earlier concerns over changes in the 9th Legislative District becoming a reality. Chief concern from an earlier proposal was the potential departure of State Sen. Mark Schoesler from the 9th District because that version had Adams County bumped out of the district. The early draft also had Whitman County headed for the 16th legislative district which has its population base in Walla Walla County. Under that plan, the 9th District population would h...
Gazette Reporters The illness of Whitman County Commissioner Michael Largent Tuesday prevented the county’s decision to “opt in” to new rules to govern farming around environmentally-sensitive areas. Commissioner Greg Partch said at a hearing Tuesday night commissioners will vote, and likely join, the state’s new Ruckelshaus program next Monday. Farming is currently allowed to take place anywhere in Whitman County, with no restrictions for environmentally critical areas. If the county does not opt in, it must revise its critical areas ordinan...
Kirk Suess of Steptoe announced last Thursday, Dec. 29, his campaign to unseat Greg Partch for Whitman County Commissioner from District 1. Suess, 65, works as a substitute teacher around Whitman County. He previously worked 10 years as a contractor after returning to Steptoe from a 25-year career as an officer in the U.S. Army. He contends Partch is “out of touch” with the people of Whitman County. “It’s time for a new set of ears. It’s time for somebody to listen,” Suess said. “Mr. Partch seems to have the philosophy that once he was elected,...
County “working on” source of $15 million Betting on an anticipated $11 million in new revenue, Whitman County commissioners Tuesday decided to put up $15 million to help build a shopping center on the Washington side of the state line. “This is a risk that will forever define the economic landscape of Whitman County,” said Commissioner Greg Partch. Partch and Commissioner Pat O’Neill voted to add $5.9 million to a 2008 agreement that obliged the county to pay for $9.1 million worth of infrastructure at the 714, 000-square-foot shopping...
A one-percent increase in property tax revenue was part of the budget approved Tuesday morning by Whitman County commissioners. The county opted to add the one percent increase in tax revenue which is allowed in the state. The one percent gain in tax revenue for the county comes out to a one cent hike in the general county levy; from $1.50 per $1,000 to $1.51. “We need the money to pay the bills. Gary needs the money to balance the budget,” Assessor Joe Reynolds told commissioners in recommending they increase property tax revenue by one per...
Exterior work to begin next month Exterior work on the new grocery store at LaCrosse is expected to begin next week, according to Ed Casey, president of LaCrosse Community Pride. “I know it’s felt like a slow-go with all the work being done inside,” said Casey. “But now people will start to see the real thing happening.” LaCrosse has been without a store since Jerry Chastain closed the market in February 2009. The goal of LaCrosse Community Pride is to have the new store up and running in time for the June Farmers’ Fest, the annual LaCrosse co...
Whitman County commissioners delayed a decision Tuesday on increasing the county’s contribution to help build a shopping center at the stateline. In the week since Hawkins Companies asked for an additional $5.9 million to build public infrastructure at its long-proposed 714,000-square-foot shopping center, commissioners learned their bonding company would not underwrite bonds on the project and Prosecutor Denis Tracy advised them he had concerns about the legality of the proposal. “I guess we’ll see what we can put together over the next week,...
Six Colfax children had an entirely new experience last weekend, celebrating their first Christmas. All six children were adopted from Ethiopia by three Colfax families in the past year. “I can’t tell you how much more special this Christmas was,” said Caylene Knox, who along with husband Craig celebrated the holiday with newly adopted Landon, 5, and Rosa, 4, added to their family. “They just ate it up,” Knox said of her children’s Christmas celebration. While everyday items like vacuums, ice cubes and domesticated dogs have thrown the children...
