Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 925 - 936 of 936
Thousands of motorcycles are expected to be scattered throughout Rosalia this weekend, as the town will host its fifth motorcycle rally. This year’s edition will be modified from previous rallies. “It’s all coming together,” said Rita Crowl with the Rosalia Motorcycle Association. “It’ll be fun. It’s always fun.” In prior years, the rally has taken place on closed off downtown streets. Because of a lawsuit filed by Josh Bryan, originator of the Rosalia rallies, the town has declared it will not allow city streets to be shut down during the even... Full story
-photo by Mike Day-New proprietor Garth Hill stands along the shelves in the newly re-opened Empire Foods in Rosalia. Just in time for this year’s motorcycle rally, a Spokane family has opened up a grocery store in Rosalia. Garth and Song Hill opened up the renovated Empire Foods Monday, giving Rosalia a grocery store for the first time since the previous owners shut it down in November. The Hills have stocked the store with a wide variety of groceries and fresh produce. Garth said they plan to eventually have a meat department, but will w...
Whitman County has an end is sight for rules for placing small wind energy generators on private property. The ordinance for the small wind towers has moved ahead of the proposed ordinance for commercial wind generators which has generated objections from county residents. The county planning commission last month finished crafting the ordinance for small wind generators, and Planner Alan Thomson July 23 ruled the ordinance has no significant impacts under the State Environmental Policy Act. Thomson said Monday he was hoping for an Aug. 19... Full story
Construction in Whitman County fell off last year’s record pace in the second quarter of 2009, but still came in around average, according to a report by Dan Gladwill, county building official. Gladwill presented his quarterly report to county commissioners Monday morning. “Why haven’t we seen a downturn?” Commissioner Michael Largent asked after reviewing the report. Gladwill said the county has a unique economy that tends to avoid national trends. “Whitman County is kind of its own micro-climate,” he explained. He said the downturn hit harder...
Saturday, rodeo riders atop behemoths will fling dirt in the air as they wind their way through poles, around barrels and through a number of obstacle courses in the rodeo arena at the Palouse Empire Fairgrounds. But unlike traditional rodeos, these riders will be perched atop classic motorcycles. “It’s just like the cowboy rodeos, only we do it on 750 cc machines,” said Gary “Bootmaker” McGlasson, organizer of the event and President of the Northwest Classic Motorcycle Club. Riders compete for prizes atop street-legal, modified Harley Da...
County Auditor Eunice Coker says customers in her office will face long lines if a decision made Monday by county commissioners stands. Commissioners rejected a routine order to fill a vacancy in her office. The order would have allowed Coker to replace a recording clerk who is leaving at the end of the month. Coker said the position is vital to meeting the needs of the public. Commissioners see it as an opportunity for her office to become more efficient in light of the county’s projected $311,000 budget deficit this year. “They are not lis... Full story
Cuts to county services may be forthcoming as Whitman County officials struggle to cover a 2009 deficit now projected at $310,812. The projected loss grew by over $57,186 from the deficit the county projected in April. That setback came when county officials concluded a second round of spending cuts in an attempt to offset the loss of revenue. Monday, county commissioners unanimously approved the year’s second budget amendment which included cuts but still had the $57,186 added to the projected deficit. The amendment included a series of c...
Sheriff Brett Myers is closing in on a deal with the U.S. Marshall’s office to house federal prisoners at the Whitman County jail. “We have the space to squeeze these guys in,” said Myers. “And if we have a real busy weekend and run short on space, we can always throw a mattress on the floor.” The U.S. Marshall typically houses prisoners at large county jails. Prisoners nabbed by the local marshall stay at the Spokane County jail, but Spokane’s jail has been running out of space, and Whitman County’s proximity makes it an attractive al...
After missing its first court date in May, the Port of Whitman County will once again try to collect a debt owed by Columbia Phytotechnology, a former tenant of the port’s Pullman Industrial Park. Published in the legal section of last week’s Gazette is a public summons for the company, and its managing director, Mark Savarese, to appear in Whitman County District Court. The port publicly summoned the company in April for a May 20 court date, but no one representing the port appeared in court on that date. Debbie Snell, port properties and deve...
County planner Alan Thomson last week affirmed his decision that the county’s proposed commercial wind ordinance would have no significant environmental impacts. The opinion was issued under requirements of the State Environmental Policy Act. Thomson’s decision was challenged by Roger Whitten of Oakesdale, Carolyn Kiesz of Thornton and Brian Bannan of Uniontown. Thomson’s affirmation said their comments did not bring up any significant impacts on the environment. Under SEPA provisions, the three challengers have the opportunity to appea... Full story
The five hopefuls for the 9th District’s Position One in the state House of Representatives often pronounced similar views at the first League of Women Voters candidates’ forum at Pullman last Thursday night. The five candidates are Susan Fagan of Pullman, former public affairs director for Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories; Pat Hailey of Mesa, farmer and rancher and widow of former Rep. Steve Hailey; Glen Stockwell of Ritzville, former city councilman with a trucking and freight brokerage firm; Art Swannack of Lamont, a farmer and sheep ranc... Full story
The Port of Whitman County has hired two consulting firms to study potential users of a high-speed fiber optic link between Pullman and Spokane. Port commissioners at their regular meeting July 16 approved a $44,500 contract with CFO Outsourcing, LLC and a $7,125 contract with Rostie Consulting, both of Spokane. The port added the Rostie firm to the project because they specialize in research covering long-range areas. The companies will study the potential customer base of a fiber optic line that would allow high-speed data transmissions... Full story
