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Chances the Port of Whitman County will receive funding to link Pullman and Spokane via fiber optic line increased last week, when Gov. Chris Gregoire endorsed a package of telecommunications projects for federal stimulus funding. The port project is included in a $93 million package of projects from the Northwest Open Access Network. The package was one of 10 recommended by the governor’s office to receive funding through the federal government. “Now it’s simply speculation as to what happens next,” said JoAnne Todd, communications directo... Full story
Thrown out remnants of decades of afternoon snacks are a common sight on the roadways of Whitman County. A stray apple tree provides a burst of color against the stark steel-and-wood trestle of the old Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad at Tekoa. Thanks in part to these bygone litterbugs, Whitman County residents every October are treated to a dazzling display of reds, yellows and oranges, as the blossoms of antique apple trees mature into full-blown fruit. Many point to railroad crews and passengers as the biggest culprits of spreading...
With its state funds spent, the Palouse River and Coulee City Rail Authority is considering what its course of action should be in the future or if it has a future at all. The authority was formed in March of 2008 to meet a state mandate for getting $8.7 million to upgrade the rail network. The authority was formed and the funds have since been spent on a variety of railroad upgrades. The Port of Whitman County is polling other member entities to gauge their interest in continuing the Palouse River and Coulee City Rail Authority. “It always w...
Whitman Health and Rehabilitation Center will conduct an open house tomorrow to show off its brand new face. Ken Alexander, director of the center, said the remodel is part of efforts to make residents at the rehab center on Colfax’s Hospital Hill feel more at home. “One resident told me it doesn’t feel like a nursing home anymore, it feels more like a retirement villa,” Alexander told the Gazette during a tour Friday. New paint adorns the outside of the building, while new artwork, flooring, carpets and furniture have spruced up the rooms. “We... Full story
Whitman County commissioners Monday created a rural transportation district which will allow the Council on Aging and Human Services to apply for grant funding that will provide a rural van service in Whitman County. Council on Aging operates COAST senior transit services. Karl Johanson, executive president of the Council on Aging, said the agency is applying for a grant from the state Department of Transportation that would fund two 12-passenger vans. Johanson explained the Council on Aging can not apply for the state funds because it is not... Full story
An array of autumn attractions will take over Rosalia this weekend when the Chamber of Commerce conducts its second annual Fall Festival. Pumpkins, pies and a petting zoo will await attendees at this year’s edition. “We’ve really put together a great event,” said Jim Sharp, chamber president. “It was a great time last year, and it should be even better this year.” Sharp will provide hay rides around Rosalia throughout Saturday with his red 1961 Ford Workmaster tractor. Hay ride pickup stations will be set up around town to transport fall frolic...
The publicly declared campaign warchests of Susan Fagan of Pullman and Pat Hailey of Mesa show a difference in fundraising styles in their campaign for the open 9th District representative’s seat. The two Republicans are vying to replace the retiring Don Cox who served last year as a replacement for the late Steve Hailey. According to documents on file with the state’s Public Disclosure Commission, Fagan holds an advantage in overall funding, with $98,014 in her coffers as of Tuesday. Hailey’s campaign stood at $65,224. The bulk of those funds...
Whitman County finished its 2008 year-end financial statement Friday, marking the first time in five years the county has submitted a complete accounting of its records to state auditors. The year-end report was due in May. Commissioner Michael Largent said he believes it was more important to have a complete review of the county’s books than to make sure the statement was turned in by the state’s deadline. “The important thing is the people’s representatives, in this case the state auditors, will have our entire financial stateme... Full story
Whitman County officials are worried that voter approval of Initiative 1033, now before the voters, would create what Assessor Joe Reynolds called a “downward spiral” in revenue that would leave the county with no choice but to reduce services. “Basically it rips the rug right out from under us,” Commissioner Greg Partch said Monday. “I want to point out the dangers of this thing.” Other entities have crafted resolutions urging rejection of the initiative, but Partch was the only commissioner to speak on the matter during Monday’s re...
Whitman County’s allotment of nasal spray vaccines for the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, has been distributed to local health clinics. The county last week received 350 doses of a vaccine which is sprayed into the nose, said Fran Martin, director of the county health department. The spray will be distributed to those most vulnerable, namely people aged two to 24. Martin said the virus has killed four people in Spokane, all of whom were young and pregnant. Where deaths from the normal flu typically strike older people, the swine flu affects a d...
Whitman County commissioners Monday began chipping away at the county’s budget deficit by eliminating scheduled raises through the end of the year. “We have to make a statement on wages,” said Commissioner Pat O’Neill. County employees normally receive “step” raises of three percent when they are upgraded in the county’s classification system every 18 months. Freezing the raises scheduled for non-union employees, approximately 60 people, through the end of this year is expected to save around $2,000. “The compelling nature of our budget is s...
For the 18th year, area vintage tractor enthusiasts will gather at the David Morgan ranch in the Palouse River Valley at Manning to work up the ground for another fall crop. Morgan has his own collection of more than a dozen tractors, ranging from John Deere wheel tractors to Caterpillar crawlers to a brilliant red International T-D 6. “My dad used to farm with an International just like that,” Morgan said in his shop Monday. “I remember harvesting with it when I was a kid.” Morgan’s collection started with a 1939 John Deere Model H, which he...
To reduce costs from Whitman County’s general operating budget, commissioners are considering eliminating its long-standing administration of junior taxing districts. In a 2010 budget session Tuesday morning, Commissioner Pat O’Neill asked Auditor Eunice Coker to research the potential savings the county could receive from cutting off the county’s fire, cemetery and park and recreation districts. The county currently oversees payroll services and keeps the books for those taxing districts without charge. O’Neill said the county’s budget cr...
The six major water users in the Palouse basin will shut down their pumps, likely over the week of Thanksgiving, while University of Idaho researchers take a baseline sampling of groundwater levels in the Grande Ronde aquifer. The shutdown, expected to be in the range of 48 hours, is being sponsored by the Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee with a University of Idaho team working on the project. The pump shut-down will include Colfax, Palouse, Moscow, Pullman, Washington State University and the University of Idaho. Prior to the shut-down, pumps w...
A doe and her fawn stroll through Colfax. Deer hunting season opens Saturday with a special doe hunt scheduled around Colfax. The expanded area and increased number of tags made available are aimed at reducing the deer population inside Colfax city limits. Boundaries of the zone are listed on page 82 of the state hunting pamphlet under Deer Area 1080. Many residents of Colfax have complained over the past year about deer eating plants and gardens inside city limits. Mayor Norma Becker has pushed the city council multiple times to pass an... Full story
Whitman County’s planning commission unanimously approved a new ordinance to govern placement of industrial-sized wind farms in the county’s agricultural district Oct. 7. The proposed ordinance, which has been on the planning commission’s table for almost two years, now goes to the county commissioners who will schedule a round of public hearings before putting the measure to a vote for approval. The ordinance requires wind towers be placed back at least 1.5 times their height from adjoining property lines and five times their height from... Full story
Whitman County will pay the same rate in 2010 it did in 2009 for housing its juvenile offenders at the Martin Hall detention facility in Medical Lake. Nine counties use the facility. County commissioners signed on to the $1.9 million Martin Hall budget for 2010, with the county’s incarceration rate staying steady at $135 per bed stay. The county has vowed to pay for 912.5 bed stays in 2010, regardless of how many county juveniles are actually sent to Martin Hall. At a cost of $135 per bed, the county will contribute $123,187.50 to the f... Full story
Pullman and Albion could be among 15 communities in the Northwest that will teach the nation how to be “smarter” with how power is delivered to homes. A group of energy companies, led by Avista, is hoping a $38 million project will make energy delivery to Pullman customers more efficient. The project is part of a $178 million five-state project by 12 energy companies that is being spearheaded by Battelle, the company that operates the Pacific Northwest National Laboratories in Richland. Battelle has applied to the U.S. Department of Energy for...
Wind power generators for individual use can now be installed in Whitman County through a standard building permit process after county commissioners Monday approved a new residential wind ordinance. Vote on the tower approval was 3-0. Prior to Monday’s approval of the new ordinance, a conditional use permit was required for all towers that exceeded 40 feet in height. The conditional use process meant applicants underwent a hearing before the county’s board of adjustment which could set conditions and restrictions for each site. Some non...
Washington’s 2009 winter wheat yield of 59 bushels per acre accounted for 96.8 million bushels of wheat, according to figures released last week by the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service in Olympia. Eighty-five percent of that total was white wheat, the primary cash crop in Whitman County. Yields were up three bushels per acre from the 2008 crop, while the total crop was up less than one percent from last year’s crop. Winter wheat was planted on 1.64 million acres of land last fall, which was 1...
With the Nov. 3 election drawing near, the race for Rosalia Mayor is heating up to a rolling boil. Many residents awoke Saturday morning to find an unsigned flier questioning the credentials of candidate Brady Kiesz, who is running against councilman Jim Stenhouse for the mayor’s post being vacated by Ken Jacobs. The unsigned letters were left on car windshields and doorsteps, apparently during the early morning hours of Saturday. Council candidate Karen Rockness said she discovered the flier shortly after 6:30 a.m. The main theme of the flier...
Malden residents will soon have access to internet service. A Spokane Valley telecommunications company last week began construction on a community center that will provide high-speed internet access with computers. “Our hope is that this really proves to be an economic benefit to them,” said Erica Schreiber with Wired or Wireless. The company is funding construction of the community computer center, located next to town hall, under a $671,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture. Wired or Wireless will soon offer hig... Full story
Whitman County’s Republican Party has decided to split its support and campaign funds evenly between the two GOP candidates for the 9th District’s Position 1 seat in the state House of Representatives. Republican precinct officers from across Whitman County gathered in the Public Service Building at Colfax last Thursday, Sept. 24, to discuss how to proceed with two party candidates on the general election ballot. Susan Fagan of Pullman and Pat Hailey of Mesa received the most votes in August’s five-candidate primary. Under the state’s “top tw...
Ben Stueckle carefully watches the ground beneath him as he makes his way up the cargo net. Bailey Mackleit swings over a gully on the Elberton zip line. “Fall back!” “Now?” “Yes. Fall back.” “Now? No way!” “Fall back. It’ll be okay.” And with that, Colfax eighth grader Brooklyn Schmidt took a deep breath and plunged backward from a log suspended between two trees 20 feet in the air. Just before hitting the ground, ropes master Keith Haley tightens his grip on Schmidt’s support rope to catch her. “That was the scariest thing I’ve ever done,” sa... Full story
After a critical audit report earlier this year, state auditors Monday released a report that said Rosalia city officials fully complied with state standards in 2007 and 2008. “We’re just real tickled about it,” said Mayor Ken Jacobs. “As bad as we got slammed last year, it sure was a welcome report, that’s for sure.” Earlier this year, state auditors cited several public accounting violations committed by the town during 2005 and 2006. That report prompted sharp criticism of several Rosalia officials. This year’s audit provides vindication f...