Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Colfax farmer Tom Kammerzell, 51, was sworn in by port attorney Bruce Ensley as the 13th commissioner of the Port of Whitman County last Thursday, Dec. 15. “I’m really looking forward to this challenge,” he said. “This is going to be a very interesting adventure.” Voters selected Kammerzell over Al Sorensen of Pullman in November’s general election. Kammerzell takes the seat currently held by Don Cox of Colfax, who was appointed last year to fill the post after the death of Bob Gronholz. Gronholz was elected to a six-year term in 2009. Kamme...
Less than a week before Christmas, Whitman County commissioners decided Monday to allow churches to be built in the Pullman-Moscow Corridor. Real Life Christian Ministries petitioned the county to change its zoning code to allow churches in the corridor. The church wants to build a new building at the current site of Crossroads Nursery, which is located at the intersection of the Pullman-Moscow Highway and Pullman Airport Road. Because churches are not included in the list of developments that can be built in the corridor zone, the church was... Full story
Whitman County commissioners will vote on the wind-aided budget for 2012 next Monday. A second public hearing on the $57 million spending plan garnered neither support nor opposition Monday morning. The budget is balanced by anticipated revenues from the Palouse Wind wind farm under construction on Naff Ridge between Oakesdale and Rosalia. “What really made the difference of our whole budget was windmills,” said Commissioner Greg Partch. Construction sales taxes from the wind farm chopped $500,000 off the initial $1.5 million deficit. Departmen...
A superior court jury of nine women and three men Tuesday convicted Michael Thompson, Lewiston, of pulling Larry D. Hood out of his pickup in the early morning hours of April 22, 2010, and robbing him of more the $2,500. The jury returned the verdict on charges of robbery and second-degree theft less than an hour after getting the case for deliberation. Thompson, now 21, was remanded to custody of the jail and Judge David Frazier set his sentencing date for Jan. 13. Deliberation began at 10:07 a.m. Tuesday. Hood was the last witness to testify...
Gazette Reporters Employees in Whitman County’s courthouse could receive a one-time bump in pay if their union agrees to an offer by county commissioners. Members are voting this week on a 2012 contract that will give them no salary raises, but does offer an additional $550, according to union steward Kris Thompson, who was interviewed while working her second job at Rosauers Tuesday. Courthouse employees are represented by the Teamsters Local 690 out of Spokane. Commissioner Greg Partch said commissioners decided to offer the one-time checks a...
First Wind, parent company of the Palouse Wind firm building a wind farm on Naff Ridge, received financing for the project Monday from Key Bank. The firm announced a $170 million construction and term facility loan and letters of credit for up to $40 million. “We’re excited to be building our first project in the Northwest, and we are grateful for the support we have received from the local community and Whitman County to help us advance this project,” said Paul Gaynor, CEO of First Wind. The project is located in northern Whitman County, betwe...
Now seeking $15 million: Construction could begin at Hawkins Companies’ long-proposed stateline strip mall next spring, if Whitman County will pick up another $5.9 million of the cost. In May 2008, commissioners agreed to fund $9.1 million worth of public infrastructure for Hawkins’ 714,000-square-foot shopping center site. Jeff DeVoe, project lead for the Boise development firm, asked commissioners Monday to up that amount to $15 million. Before the commercial real estate collapse which spun out of the 2008 recession, Hawkins was ready to buil...
Life in the county jail is expected be a little more comfortable next year after Whitman County commissioners Monday gave the go-ahead for a project to install a new heating and air conditioning system. Facilities Manager Bob Reynolds will work with energy company McKinstry to purchase the new system. Estimates Monday put the price tag at $574,000. The jail HVAC is part of a series of capital projects commissioners have planned for next year. Also on the list is a new $132,000 air conditioning system for the information technology building,...
Indigent veterans in Whitman County were given $3,926.84 in aide by commissioners Monday morning. Roy Lord, adjutant for the Codd-French American Legion Post in Colfax, said the money was used to bring a pair of veterans current on their rent. “The important thing here today is that we helped keep two veterans from being evicted from their homes,” said Lord, who asked the veterans not be named, though Commissioner Greg Partch read their names aloud while reviewing the payments. Almost half of the payments went to one veteran whom Lord said is...
Whitman County officials are beginning anew efforts to redraw voting district lines. The process began in late 2009, and county officials have been figuring out how best to undertake the task since then. They are now inching closer to the deadline. “We lost a lot by messing around and wasting time with WSU,” said Auditor Eunice Coker. Washington State University earlier this year put out an $18,000 proposal to adjust those boundaries. The county and Pullman had considered splitting that cost, but Pullman opted out when it found it cheaper to...
A budget proposal from the Washington House of Representatives should let Whitman County rest a little easier, for now. The House Ways and Means committee Monday approved a $480 million change to the state’s tight budget. Ninth District state representatives Susan Fagan and Joe Schmick said the plan included few cuts to services they were worried about when legislators were called in for a special session this month. “Nothing here is going to have much impact,” said Schmick. “The hard stuff will come in January. Rep. Fagan agreed local residen...
A second hearing on Whitman County’s $57 million budget for 2012 will be in the commissioners’ chambers at 10:15 a.m. Monday, Dec. 19. Departments plan to spend $401,155 more than the county will earn in revenue next year. By finding other funding sources for $353,000 worth of capital improvements, Administrative Director Gary Petrovich said the deficit could be cut down to $47,000. Next year’s budget is balanced by removing three high priced projects from the $12.9 million current expense fund. Transfers from the fund had been slated to pay fo...
Energy utility Avista is putting up a pair of meteorological towers to measure how much wind blows around Palouse. The company received building permits from Whitman County Dec. 1 to construct two 60-meter met towers near Palouse. The towers were valued at $18,550 each. Avista Spokesperson Anna Scarlett said the company has been putting up met towers to measure wind resources across the Inland Empire in case it needs to build a wind farm. “It’s part of our ongoing efforts to find more wind power resources,” said Scarlett. “We know we’re g...
For the second straight year, a rebuild of Colfax Airport Road tops Whitman County’s list of construction projects. Public Works Director Mark Storey unveiled the $5.3 million 2012 construction plan Monday. The plan for the $3.5 million Colfax Airport Road project is to widen the road, create shoulders, eliminate some of the road’s tight curves and better angle its slopes. “We have great expectations to do that next year,” said Storey. Colfax Airport Road, a major thoroughfare for east-west WSU traffic, was originally slated to be rebuilt...
“Cut!” Serena Belsby shouts out directions to her film crew from behind the bar at the Rialto Tavern in St. John. “Let’s do one more take,” she says. “Just for the fun of it.” Belsby and her crew comandeered the tavern and St. John’s annual Winterfest parade Saturday to film her upcoming feature film “The Merry Graingers.” Fortunately, Belsby’s crew got two takes at the parade as it regularly takes one spin up Front Street before turning around to head back. The town did move the annual parade from its regular 5 p.m. start to 1 p.m. to ac...
Daniel Lee Camp was allowed pre-trial release in Spokane Monday after pleading not guilty in United States District Court to two child pornography charges. Camp, was arrested at his home in LaCrosse last Tuesday, Nov. 29. Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation served the arrest warrant, according to Whitman County Sheriff’s Sgt. Chris Chapman, who assisted in the arrest. Camp appeared in court later that day before Magistrate Judge Cynthia Imbrogno on one count of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of c...
Property taxes from the Palouse Wind project will generate $1.2 million for Whitman County’s operating fund over the next 20 years, Assessor Joe Reynolds said Monday. “This is a key piece of consideration as it relates to how we are going to finance our capital projects,” said Administrative Director Gary Petrovich. That figure is important to the $57 million 2012 budget because commissioners are planning to delay several capital improvements and pay for them with bonds that would be covered the additional tax revenue from the wind farm. Initi...
State cuts could cost Whitman Hospital $1.6 million Officials with Whitman Hospital and Medical Center, along with their colleagues around the state, are concerned a bill floating around the legislature could drastically cut their funding. “If this goes through, almost every - with very, very few exceptions - the budget of almost every hospital in Washington would go negative, and severely negative, very quickly,” said Tom Corley, acting administrator for Whitman Hospital. Part of Gov. Chris Gregoire’s plan to balance the current budget, House... Full story
After hearing nothing but support during a pair of public meetings last month, County Planner Alan Thomson recommended county commisisoners “opt in” to the state’s new Ruckelshaus rules. The new rules allow counties to come up with boards that will set local priorities while regulating farming around environmentally-sensitive areas. If the county does not opt in, it must revise its critical areas ordinances to ensure they are protected from agricultural activities. Farming is currently allowed to take place anywhere in Whitman County, with...
Gazette Reporters Ballots will be recounted by hand to determine a winner in the race for seat 2 on the Rosalia Town Council. Challenger Rick Lau still leads incumbent Bob Hill by one vote, 112 to 111, in the finalized count by Whitman County’s elections department. Auditor Eunice Coker said the recount will be done in the elections office at 10 a.m. Friday. State law mandates a recount if the difference between the two candidates is less one-half of one percent of the total number of votes cast for both candidates. The recount was o...
Balanced by tapping cash reserves and a possible bond issue funded by potential wind farm property taxes, Whitman County’s 2012 budget is ready for the public. “I think, based on what we have here, we’re ready to pass a budget,” said Commissioner Greg Partch. Financial Administrator David Ledbetter told county commissioners Monday departments plan to spend $401,155 more than the county will get in revenue next year. By finding other funding sources for $353,000 worth of capital improvements, Administrative Director Gary Petrovich said the def...
Gazette Reporters Colton will get a new road, and St. John and Oakesdale will greatly improve streets as grants from the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board were announced last week. Whitman County entities were awarded a total of $2,027,767 in transportation grants from the board for projects that will be done next year. Most major project was in Colton, where the city was awarded $680,000 to build a new street to divert heavy traffic from driving in front of the Colton school. The new street, called Rimrock Street, will connect...
State auditors gave Whitman County a clean grade on its 2010 financial statement. County officials were briefed Tuesday morning by state auditors Karen Wilson and Kent Zirker on the results of their review of the county’s 2009 financial statement. “I might start crying,” said Auditor Eunice Coker. Last year marked the first time in six years the county had submitted a full financial statement. This year, the audit crew reported, the county’s statement was complete and without any serious errors. “We couldn’t have gotten any better than we did...
Following a pair of serious workplace accidents this fall at rock quarries, Whitman county commissioners last week decided to limit access to a crushing operation north of Palouse. James Hussey, 38, Peck, Idaho, was killed Sept. 13 after being electrocuted while working on a rock crushing crew for DeAtley Crushing Service of Clarkston at the Doneen pit east of Oakesdale. Kyle Phillips, a 21-year-old construction worker from Clarkston, remained in Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane Monday from injuries sustained when he rolled a truck backwards... Full story
Barnes Cut-off Road will be renamed to honor the late Sen. Eugene Prince, who represented Whitman County in Olympia for 19 years. Whitman County commissioners approved the name change Monday. Commissioner Greg Partch said the move was a fitting tribute for a man who focused so much on roads and bridges while in Olympia. “Transportation was something near and dear to Gene’s heart,” said Partch. Sen. Prince died in October, 2007, at the age of 77. The road runs west toward Prince’s home near Sunset from Highway 195, intersecting at the north e...
