Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 97
Happy Pastures out by LaCrosse and the Council on Aging and Human Services were both spotlighted on the Washington Nonprofits February website blog. Washington Nonprofits supports groups throughout the state by providing education, data and networks. “We make sure nonprofits have what they need to succeed,” is the slogan on the Washington Nonprofit’s webpage. The Feb. 20 article was written by Julia Hunter, membership and learning coordinator for Washington Nonprofits. Paige Collins, the execu...
Brenda Stav has been named the Port of Whitman's new communications and media coordinator. Stav moved to Pullman from Seattle four years ago with her husband, Brett, when he got a job at Washington State University. She grew up in Walla Walla and attended WSU where she earned a bachelors of arts in hotel and restaurant administration. Stav has worked for a variety of non-profits in communications and publications work. She worked the previous 11 years for the Life Sciences Discovery Fund which...
Port of Whitman Commissioners decided to support three aviation bills. Bills which have been placed before the legislature. Bill 1455 deals with work force shortage in the Aeronautics industry by increasing training and employment for commercial and airline transport pilots, avionics and aircraft maintenance technicians, and certified flight instructors in the state. Bill 1456 would establish a Community Aviation Revitalization Board loan program that would allow for low interest loans for...
Some of the Port of Whitman’s fiber lines that run up to Spokane on Spotted Road near the Spokane Airport were damaged in January while a construction company was working. While the company was excavating the fiber in order not to hit it, a rock fell on the exposed line and ended up pinching and crushing the line in two areas. On the following day, the group was cutting into the vault with a sawzall and cut into the fiber on accident as well. No additional damage was done by the sawzall, as i...
Whitman Hospital and Medical Center has announced reduced rates in the hospital’s Imaging and Laboratory departments. “We would like to highlight our efforts to remain conservative compared to hospitals within Washington and nationwide,” said Laurie Gronning, WHMC’s Public Relations Specialist Overall, WHMC has had a price increase of two percent for 2019 which is lower than other increases over recent years. In 2018, the increase was five percent, with a three percent increase for 2017. D...
Whitman County has agreed to do chip sealing and crack sealing on the Boyer Park parking lot while they are chip sealing Lower Granite Road over this coming summer. It has been 20 years since the parking lot has been sealed. The county tends to do chip sealing on the roads every six to eight years. The county will charge the Port of Whitman for materials and employees' time to do the sealing, but not for mobilization because the county machinery will already be in the neighborhood. "This probabl...
Whitman County Commissioners have decided to hold a workshop to address what criteria they plan to prioritize to which ‘larger economically significant projects’ they might award the .09 funds which derive from sales and use tax revenue. The funds had been set aside for the Hawkins property, which had been a projected site for a shopping mall, but was sold in August, ending those plans. “Since Hawkins went away, I get a lot of people chatting about that .09,” said Commissioner Michael Largent. ...
In order for the Colfax and Community Fund to continue, a new president is needed. Many local non-profits including the Council on Aging, Boy Scouts, Palouse River Counseling, Families Together, Boost Collaborative and the Colfax Youth League count on C&CF for funding. The office of president opened when the Rev. Phil Misner from Peace Lutheran Church transferred to Post Falls. C&CF began in the ‘60s as the Colfax Treasure Box. The organization isn’t as big as it has been in the past, but asi...
Selway Holdings, LLC and Dewey Scientific have set up a website to promote their bid for a zone change on a land parcel southwest of Pullman. Selway Holdings wants to rezone 3.5 acres of an 8.4 acre parcel they own to a Limited Light Industrial zone. The site is located at the intersection of Flat Road and Country Club Road southwest of Pullman. The aim of the zone change proposal is to locate a marijuana processing facility, which is not allowed in the current agricultural district. A...
The Whitman County Commissioners and the Port of Whitman County Commissioners had a combined workshop Monday. At the workshop, the port gave presentations on a couple of projects for which they would like to partner with the county. The port listed five goals: one- to support legacy businesses and identify opportunities around regional infrastructure, two- to create a craft industrial campus at industrial park west, three- to expand partnerships with Washington State University, four- to lead fi...
Kyle Hooper from Santa Clarita, Calif., has joined Curtis Scholz, his father-in-law, as a financial advisor at the Edward Jones office in Colfax. He received a welcome party at the office last Thursday. Hooper met his wife, Erin, while they were both in Phoenix, Ariz. Erin, née Scholz, was in graduate school studying physical therapy while Hooper was training as a member of the Dodger minor league baseball team. He made it as far as Double A. Unsure of what to do after he finished his last...
Greta White from Endicott is one of four new Washington State School District Association (WSSDA) board members. She replaced Harmon Smith from LaCrosse. WSSDA board members are nominated and elected by their colleagues and serve the three-year terms. They can serve up to two terms. New board members replace board members who are either termed out or have taken on another position on the board or with the state legislature. Smith finished serving both of his terms on the WSSDA board and had...
On Monday, the USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council and the American Pulse Association hosted a World Pulses Day event to celebrate World Pulses Day and connect pulse producers, breeders and traders at the Lodgepole Restaurant in Moscow. Becky Garrison, the Director of Domestic Marketing at USA Dry Pea & Lentil Council, called it a kickoff event of a mix of folks-in-the-industry since "pulses are like the heart of the Palouse." "Local products have gone to a world-wide market," said pulse producer...
Pullman recently saw the grand opening of a new dental clinic. Unify Family Dental had its celebration on Jan. 8 at 1095 SE Bishop Blvd. The clinic has been open for almost three months. The Clinic's hours are Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Several years ago, Troy Henderson, the Director of Whitman County Public Health Department, contacted Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic, an organization which specializes in serving the underserved in rural and urban...
Chief Operating Officer Kara Riebold reported to Port of Whitman County commissioners Jan. 24 that the Community Economics Revitalization Board (CERB) has increased the Port’s loan and broadband grant. The Department of Commerce CERB program can issue grants and/or loans for projects. The Port last September had received a grant-loan from the CERB Rural Broadband Program for $1 million to fund fiberoptic networks at Garfield, Oakesdale, Palouse, Rosalia and Tekoa. Originally, the port r...
Port of Whitman County’s Chief Operating Officer Kara Reibold, recently received a phone call for an option to improve the rail inspections and maintenance for the county. A former employee of Watco is just getting started on building a new business and contacting the ports and tenants along the railroad. He is offering services at $300 per site per month, so the Port of Whitman, if they engaged his services, would be charged $600 a month for Wilma and Central Ferry. “We would get more than an i...
Students in grades four through twelve at LaCrosse went on a ski trip Jan. 3 to Bluewood near Dayton. This was the school's third year taking students skiing as part of their Student of Character program. The Student of Character program awards students for meeting criteria, often personal qualities, selected in advance. The school's student body leaders set the criteria for the program in advance, and students who are recognized as having these qualities are awarded, earning a special trip....
Over the last few years, Whitman County has seen an ever-increasing amount of paint nights. Four years ago in Rosalia, some students came up with a new way to raise money for their senior trip. Rebecca Dempsey, Cheney School District's art teacher, is the mother of one of the students, Logan Dempsey. She attended a paint night that her mom had set up in Cheney and felt it would make for a good fundraiser in Rosalia. With Rebecca's help, the students were able to put together 'Canvas Caf...
Over the past year, a number of fundraising events have taken place to help pay for two group service mission trips to Camp Victoria, Brazil, just outside Tres Ranchos. Camp Victoria is in the southern part of the state of Goiás in central Brazil sitting on a peninsula into Represa Emborcação, a reservoir created by the Emborcação Dam on the Paranaíba River which separates the state of Goiás from the state of Minas Gerais. The most recent mission trip took 15 individuals to the camp after 31 hou...
The Port of Garfield has requested interlocal agreements with the Port of Whitman. The Port of Garfield has received a little more than $500,000 of funding from the Community Economics Revitalization Board (CERB) Jan. 17 for a "Fiber to the Home" project in Pomeroy. “They've been working with us, talking about the fiber system, what we do here and their growth down there,” said Kara Riebold, Port of Whitman's Chief Operating Officer. “They don't have any experience with fiber and would like...
A special meeting will be in the Steptoe Elementary School cafeteria from 6-8 p.m. on Feb. 4 to review a petition covering zoning and ordinances, road conditions, non-running vehicles, trash and garbage in yards. The petition requests the commissioners to enact an ordinance stating specific activities residents are not to engage in. When asked whether they wanted to view a presentation provided by Kirk Suess, the concern arose that pictures viewed could cause potential embarrassment for private...
After 30 years as a corrections officer with the Whitman County Sheriff's Office, Sgt. Toni Poffenroth retired Jan. 16. "Today I am officially retired!" she said."I thank everyone that has been on this sometimes crazy ride and all of those that are not with us anymore, for without all of you, my journey would not have been possible." Poffenroth lives in Spokane, where she and her husband raised their family. Her husband, Harold 'Hal' Poffenroth, was considerably older, and came into their...
Cost to mail a first class letter will increase five cents from 50 cents to 55 cents Jan. 27, a hike which is believed to be the largest postage jump in U.S. history. The first class stamp, which became synonymous with a forever stamps in 2011 with the price set at 44 cents, are for mail up to one ounce. According to the USPS Forever Stamp fact sheet, the forever stamp was introduced in 2007, with prices set at 41 cents. It allowed customers some extra security, as even with price changes the...
When Eunice Coker last year announced her intention to retire, Sandy Jamison was approached by several people in the county to run for the county auditor position. Before making a decision, Jamison, who has a strong background in management and finance, talked it over with her husband, Rusty, and their kids. The family was supportive as they discussed how it would impact their personal lives, but it was her son, Mitch, who convinced her to go for it. "You raised us to reach for high goals," she...
At the 2018 November election Annie Pillers ran unchallenged for the position of county coroner. Pillers had been appointed coroner earlier in February of last year after the former coroner, Peter Martin, announced his retirement. Martin was county coroner for 37 years. Pillers has lived in Whitman County for 29 years and has served as deputy coroner since November of 2008. In 2013, she was named chief deputy coroner. Even though it is a 24/7 job, like any other emergency care service, Pillars...
