Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 151 - 175 of 492
The Port of Whitman County was notified last week about receiving a grant for the airport at Colfax. Last September, a Federal Aviation Administration engineer told port commissioners that the runway at the Port of Whitman County Business Air Center must be rebuilt to be in compliance with federal standards. The two-year project, with a total cost estimate of approximately $3 million, includes the design and engineering phase this year and the construction phase in 2015. The construction includes a sub-base that will go down 15 to 18 inches,...
Almost a year to the day after it opened, the Grillbilly Cafe in LaCrosse closed. Dionne and Joe Evans, along with friends and family, worked for months refurbishing the former Teapot Cafe in downtown LaCrosse to provide the town with a restaurant. They opened on May 29, 2013. “We appreciate everybody coming in,” Dionne Evans said. “We just can’t do it any more.” Evans operated the cafe with her husband, Joe. Other family members and friends also helped out. On the Grillbilly’s Facebook page, an announcement was posted May 28. “Well, it i...
Most high school graduations will be celebrated throughout Whitman County this weekend, with the exceptions being Pullman, which marked commencement Sunday, and Rosalia which will have commencement June 14. The total number of graduates in the county will be 305, a drop of 17 from last year’s total. Pullman’s graduate count dropped by 16 this year, and the tally at Colfax dropped by 14. Tekoa’s count dropped by six. Those declines were offset by slight increases in the smaller school districts around the county. The number of graduates from...
If you’re a redneck, you’ll feel right at home in Rosalia this weekend. Rosalia Battle Days, featuring the Rosalia Redneck Family Rodeo, along with parades, a car show, fun run, talent show and dances, will begin on Friday and run through Sunday. Battle Days was launched in 1970 by members of the Odd Fellows Lodge. The name relates to the Indian War of 1878 when Col. Edward Steptoe was turned back by warriors from a coalition of tribes and made his stand on east hill of Rosalia, now the site of the Steptoe monument. A special event for this yea...
After 14 years with the LaCrosse School District, Superintendent Gary Wargo has accepted a new job in Cle Elum. Wargo also served as superintendent for the St. John-Endicott School District which is going through a second phase of construction, Wargo said. “The construction project is set in motion,” Wargo said. “They will start as soon as school is out and will be done by the end of summer.” The second phase will complete the project for the entire school by removing the second boiler and rep...
Steve Laskey said this is his last big tour and after 7,500 miles, who could blame him. Laskey, 52, who lives in Foxborough, Mass., stopped for an overnight stay in Colfax Friday on the third day of his trip across the United States to raise money for the Make A Wish Foundation. His goal is to set foot in all 48 states in the continental U.S. Laskey flew into Spokane May 19 and started his trip May 21. He headed east via the Centennial Trail to make a stop in Idaho and then went south and...
Whitman County commissioners still are mulling over which roads could be designated as 35 mph for ATVs. County Public Works Director Mark Storey told commissioners on Monday morning that he must do a speed study on roads in order to designate a road be posted at 35 mph or less. He said the study probably wouldn’t be complete until this fall. Storey said he would pursue two roads for the speed study at the request of the town of Palouse, the South River Road and North River Road. He also said that roads around Garfield were too much of a s...
Janet Schmidt, WSU extension agent for Whitman County, along with Sheri Hatley, office manager, served Ferdinand’s ice cream, a specially decorated cake and other refreshments May 15 in the Public Service Building at Colfax to celebrate the 100th year of WSU Extension service. The Whitman County Extension Service also conducted a canned food drive for the local food bank and began collecting items for a time capsule. A locally produced video on the local 4H program was offered for viewing by g...
Sooner or later, Whitman County commissioners must make a decision whether or not marijuana is an agricultural crop. County Planner Alan Thomson on Monday asked the commissioners to discuss making some kind of resolution or ordinance declaring marijuana an agricultural crop. “There have been questions about the use of land when growing and processing marijuana,” he said. As a county, no official action has been taken, he said. “Citizens don’t know what to do,” Public Works Director Mark Storey said. “We’ve kind of ignored it because of state an...
A 2.33 percent wage increase for county elected officials was approved May 13 by the county salary commission. The new salaries, adjusted for cost of living, will begin in 2015. The salaries will be for commissioners, $65,784; assessor, auditor, clerk and treasurer, $65,820; sheriff, $84,420; coroner, $68,016. Nearly half of the prosecutor’s salary is paid by the state with the county’s share at $53,460. Salaries for county judges are set by the state legislature. According to salary commission chairman Darren Jones, the commission assigns rais...
The report for the Whitman County financial statement audit for 2012 was not flattering for the county auditor’s office. State auditors presented their findings to the county commissioners Monday with County Auditor Eunice Coker along with other county officials present. Although a significant number of findings about the county’s financial statements were discussed, state auditors found nothing wrong with county’s handling of federal fund awards. After the report, Coker had little to say. “We’re in a better spot now,” she said. “We’re star...
Jamie Ford is practicing his own kind of art. Board by board, nail by nail, Ford, 42, is tearing down an old three-story barn on Almota Road south of Colfax. The barn was built in the early 1900s and was the long-time farm home of the Herb Mohrs. In his retirement years, Mohr used the barn to raise donkeys which were a feature at the Ross Point Church camp. The barn was well known because of its large cupola. That distinction was as big as a small house, Ford said, and was the first thing to...
A trip to trace Russian ancestry turned into educating farmers in foreign lands as told in a book by a local farmer. Lee R. McGuire, who lives on Cashup Flat, made his first trip to the former Soviet Union in 1991 to search for his mother’s relatives in the Volga River region. After that trip, he contacted an organization which implemented programs assisting Russian farmers “to uproot their entrenched controlled way of living and farming into a more friendly economic society.” “My love of agri...
Members of the Whitman Conservation District board are pondering whether to support adding more streams within the district to a state conservation program. Jennifer Boie, District Manager of the Palouse Conservation District, asked the board on May 8 to consider supporting adding more streams in Whitman County to the program and presented the board with a sample letter to send to the state Farm Service Agency. WCD board members balked at the language used in the letter and will meet May 22 to discuss what they want to send to the FSA or if...
Three marijuana retail winners were announced by the state Liquor Control Board last week and one retail license assignment for the county remains in open status after failing to attract any applications. John Anthony Villa Jr. of Spokane with T&H Consulting, Mary Jane Smith of Pullman with For Art’s Sake and Leonard Breuer of Spokane with Silver Sands Distributors are the top three applicants drawn from the lottery from among 14 vying for the retail licenses. All three applied for space on the 1300 block of Southeast Bishop Avenue in Pullman....
Port of Whitman County commissioners made their annual inspection at Boyer Park and Marina May 1. Concessionaires Leo and Terri Haas hosted the commissioners for lunch at the Snake River Bar and Grill and then Leo Haas took them on a tour of the park and marina. Several new signs guide visitors to different areas of the park. Twenty-four new trees were planted, replacing nine old trees that were removed because of disease problems and age. Port officials have been working with an arborist who...
Shelly McMasters was able to visit with family members and friends on May 3 at the Colfax United Methodist Church during a dinner fund raiser. McMasters is undergoing treatment for cancer and the funds raised will help pay for the expenses. McMasters’ sister, Kerry Barlow, surprised her by coming from Wisconsin early Saturday morning to join her in the fund raiser. All the tables were filled during the fund raiser, with the guest total about 125. The catering firm, Memorable Events, prepared the dinner and donated all the food for the event. A...
In a five-page letter sent out via email on Monday afternoon, Whitman County Auditor Eunice Coker went on the defensive to county elected officials and the media. Coker began with a timeline of events leading up to a meeting with commissioners on April 22 when she claims she was “taken to task and admonished.” In the two-hour session county commissioners grilled Coker about the sixth-month delay in submitting the county’s 2012 financial records report. Absence of the overdue report was cited by Standard & Poor’s for pulling their rating...
Gazette Staff Whitman County Treasurer Bob Lothspeich will not run for a fourth term when election filing opens Monday. Lothspeich announced his decision Tuesday morning at the courthouse. “I’m 70, and I’ll be 71 before the end of my term,” he said as he sat in his office on the main floor of the courthouse. “I want to play with my grandkids.” Two of his children and their families live in Seattle. A daughter teaches in Geneva, Switzerland. Lothspeich said that he and his wife, Cheryl, mak...
One of the treasures in the county and Colfax is the Perkins House. But the treasure is in trouble. Cheryl Kammerzell of Colfax, Whitman County Historical Society member in charge of the Perkins House, said that the house may not be available for tours if volunteers don’t step up. “The number of docents has become non-existent,” Kammerzell said last week. The volunteer positions are open to the public. Job descriptions and applications are available on the website. Kammerzell said between 15 to...
Her friends, family and even her doctors call her “amazing.” Even though she is in a battle for her life, Shelly McMasters of Colfax wears a smile and a bright pink ribbon. Friends and family have organized a fund raiser to help McMasters pay for cancer treatment expenses on Saturday, May 3, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Colfax United Methodist Church. Memorable Events Catering will provide a barbecue dinner along with dessert. A bank account also has been set up in Shelly’s name at Columbia Bank and...
Colfax firefighters were among the emergency personnel who responded to a four-car accident on Main Street in Colfax on Tuesday night. No one was injured. A Colfax woman hit three parked vehicles on Tuesday evening when her dog jumped into her lap as she was driving Northbound on Main Street in Colfax. At 6:50 p.m., Carol Damon, Colfax, driving a 1997 Jeep Cherokee, struck three parked cars in front of Westside Pizza, the Imperial Chinese Restaurant and the Top Notch Cafe. She was not injured....
Claiming she was misled in a meeting last week with county commissioners, Whitman County Auditor Eunice Coker canceled a planned followup meeting this week with county commissioners to submit a plan to resolve budget issues. Coker sent an email last Wednesday, April 23, one day after she met with commissioners in a long and intense session about the decision by Standard & Poors to withdraw their rating on county bonds. The S & P move cited lack of county financial information which stemmed from the failure of the county auditor to submit the...
Carol Hannas and Kay Smith could be called St. John Community Fair’s flower girls. The two women have been working together for more than 20 years at the St. John Community Fair. “We’ve been in cahoots for many years in the flower department,” Hannas said. Hannas said after the St. John-Endicott FFA members bring in the display shelves from storage, the women clean them and then position them in the Community Building, getting them ready for the hundreds of exhibits that are displayed during the...
Pasta for Palouse Spaghetti Feed is being organized to raise money for a plaque or kiosk to be placed at Palouse Falls to honor Washtucna students who launched the effort to have the falls declared Washington’s official falls by the legislature. The event will be Sunday, April 27, from noon to 4 p.m., at the Rimrock Grange Hall in Washtucna. Admission will be by donation which will be accepted at the door. Gov. Jay Inslee signed the bill into law March 18 where he also met with the students a...
