Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 197
COLFAX – In the fall of 2019, a countywide community-based task force was established to build resiliency within communities, educate and train community members to identify early-on common mental health issues, develop effective interventions and responses to suicidal crisis and provide support after a death by suicide. “We see the wake of trauma that follows suicide,” said Annie Pillers, Whitman County coroner. “We decided to reach out broadly to help the community.” She said when the task force was formed they realized the first people to...
PULLMAN – The Lost Apple Project has been busy this past year with rediscovering 10 once lost apple varieties, one of these being near Pullman. With these recent discoveries, the total of rediscovered apples in eastern Washington and northern Idaho is now 23. The Milalyfi apple, found near Pullman, was found on Rocky Butte, land farmed by Roy Druffel. Druffel is on the Lost Apple Project committee and has been looking at the apples growing on Rocky Butte for the past few years. David B...
COLFAX – Whitcom, the regional emergency dispatch center, held a special finance committee meeting, Wednesday, April 22, where it was announced the emergency center was running on a budget deficit ranging from $400,000 to $600,000 for the next fiscal year. Whitcom provides police, fire and EMS dispatch services to Whitman County, Asotin County, the City of Moscow and the Nez Perce Tribal Police Department. Member of the Whitcom Finance Committee and Whitman County Commissioner Dean Kinzer said Whitcom has had years where reserve funds were u...
COLFAX – Three candidates are set to be interviewed today, April 30, for the position of principal at Jennings Elementary School. “We’re looking for a fit for Colfax,” said Superintendent Jerry Pugh. “We’re after the best qualified candidate.” The position initially drew interest from 11 people with nine applying. The district narrowed it down to the three being interviewed. The candidates are Andrew Borders, Sarah Dinkins and Jordan Jennings. While the candidates will be in town for the interviews, the process will be different from how it w...
COLFAX – At the beginning of April The McGregor Company began a collaborative effort with the Whitman County Library and Colfax School District to 3D print face shields to donate to Whitman Hospital and Medical Center. At the time, only 75 face shields were needed to allow all of the staff and any community partners at Whitman Hospital and Medical Center to have an issued face shield. Since then 128 face shields have been made with deliveries to WHMC, including its satellite clinics in the c...
COLFAX – Since the end of 2019, a variety of upgrades and replacements have been discussed to possibly occur at the county courthouse and jail during the summer of this year. The overall project was expected to include upgrades or replacement to the courthouse roof, HVAC, elevator, windows and doors, jail plumbing, electricity, jail facade, generators, etc. Project costs estimated to approximately $8.6 million if all aspects of the project were to be completed. Although in light of the coronavirus pandemic, uncertainty on the county's f...
COLFAX – The bids received for the moderate risk waste facility will be rejected Public Works Director Mark Storey informed the commissioners at the Monday, April 27, county commissioner workshop. “After looking at the bids we received it looks like we will start over and put out for a re-bid in the future,” Storey said. “It looked like the received bids were not in the best interest for us.” The bids for the MRW facility was opened April 20 by Storey and Commissioner Michael Largent. Two bids were read and presented. The first bid was from Ken...
COLFAX – The 90th Washington State Convention will be switching from its annual, multi-day event to four virtual convention sessions that will run from May 3 to June 1. “With changing from in-person to a virtual event, it's been brand new for us, like so many other organizations that have had to change the way they do things,” said Washington State FFA Association Executive Director, Abbie DeMeerleer. “It wasn't easy for us to make the change.” DeMeeleer said many factors were considered before making this decision. She said, if anything, they...
COLFAX – Whitman County Administrative Director Gary Petrovich has submitted his letter of resignation, with his last workday being May 1. Petrovich will be taking a new job in Spokane County as Chief Budget Officer. "This is very similar to what I've been doing in Whitman County, only on a much larger scale, 10 times larger," Petrovich said. "I'll be reporting to the CEO, Mr. Gerry Gemmill, who reports directly to the Board of County Commissioners." Petrovich began working for Whitman County o...
PULLMAN– On Thursday, April 16, Pullman Mayor Glenn Johnson, Police Chief Gary Jenkins, City Administrator Adam Lincoln and Washington State University President Kirk Schulz hosted an online coronavirus town hall. The town hall addressed previously submitted questions in regards to business updates during COVID-19, police reports, upcoming summer events and WSU football. Mayor Johnson gave an update about the City of Pullman before COVID-19. He said before the coronavirus hit there were a lot of positives going for the city. Some of those p...
COLFAX – At the Thursday, April 16, Port of Whitman County meeting, Port Properties and Development Director Debbie Snell informed the port commissioners on a temporary lease by Veterinary Medical Research & Development at Henley Court in the Pullman Industrial Park. Senior Vice President of Products, Sam Srikanth said VMRD is working with a human diagnostics company to fill and package a molecular transport media that kills the SARS CoV-2 virus. He said this type of molecular transport media they are creating preserves the nucleic acids so i...
COLFAX – During the week of April 12, temperatures across the Palouse dipped below freezing, with some areas recording temperature in the nine to 12 degree range. These freezing conditions have impacted spring plantings and crops in the county and beyond. "We've seen significant injury in our county. We've had temperatures in the nine to 12-degree range and each morning is still below freezing or close to it," said Whitman County Extension Agent Steve Van Vleet. "These freezing conditions h...
COLFAX–On Wednesday, April 15, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers announced more than $65 million in grant funding from the Federal Aviation Administration for eastern Washington airports that are being impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Port of Whitman Business Air Center has $20,000 available from this grant. Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport with $18,059,137 and Rosalia Municipal Airport with $1,000 were also included in grant opportunities. "We had just finished applying for a $...
During the time of stay at home orders and public health and safety, the staff at the Whitman County Humane Society is continuing work to make sure animals in the county are kept healthy and safe. Currently all WCHS services are still available, but by appointment only. “We are trying to get through this current climate as best as we can and are hoping that the order is lifted soon, but we are still taking care of all the animals currently in our care,” said Assistant Director of Shelter Operations Katelyn Snyder. Across the country pet ado...
The Port of Whitman County announced that the Snake River Family Festival, scheduled for May 30, is canceled. Prior to the final cancellation decision, there was a possibility of postponing the event to an available slot at Boyer Park and Marina in August. “There were two days in August that Boyer Park had available to move the Snake River Family Festival to, but those two dates also had conflicting events in the community,” said Port of Whitman Communications Director Sarah Highfield. One of the Saturdays conflicted with the Lentil Fes...
The extensive Almota Phase Four road construction project kicked-off March 30, closing the road for 12 weeks until July 31. The Almota Road closure is for a stretch between Union Flat Creek to Stevick Road. This portion of the Almota Phase Four project is moving 200,000 yards of dirt. "Things are going well," said Public Works Director Mark Storey. "The weather is cooperating, and we are making good progress. The dry winter has made soil moisture perfect for packing and moving the soil." The...
The McGregor Company has begun production of 3D printed face shields to donate to Whitman Hospital & Medical Center. Christian Hille, engineer and manager of the Plant Nutrient Center for The McGregor Company and leading the 3D printing project, won't be working on this alone, as help is being given by both the Whitman County Library and the Colfax School District. "Christian got the blueprints from a colleague at the University of Idaho and began making them," said Whitman County Library Direct...
The 2020 Junior Livestock Show of Spokane will be taking showmanship to the computer screens with a virtual experience for exhibitors. Due to the cancellation of all scheduled events for May at Spokane County Fair and Expo Center, the traditional livestock show was put in jeopardy. The Board of Directors of the Junior Livestock Show of Spokane made the decision on April 5 to move forward with a virtual format for the show and omit a livestock sale. "Going to a virtual show is a learning...
Whitman County has 10 active projects under the Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) that are currently being worked on or in the approval process to get started. All projects in the county are under a “green” status, meaning these projects do not have issues that may cause delays or put the project at risk. If the project status turns yellow or red, this indicates a delay or potential risk of the project. Towns with projects are Albion, Colton, Endicott, LaCrosse, Malden, Oakesdale, Palouse, Rosalia, St. John and Tekoa. TIB Engineering Man...
For more than 15 years on the first Friday of each month, downtown Palouse has hosted an open mic night for residents to enjoy food, drinks and music together. Although, with the current "Stay Home, Stay Healthy" order given by Gov. Jay Inslee, meeting for an open mic night in April seemed like it wasn't an option, but local Palouse musicians had another idea. "Leslie Sena, Jens Hegg and I worked together to organize the very first Palouse Palouse Homebound Open Mic," said musician and...
The Gar-Pal FFA is continuing with its annual plant sale, although the format will be different than in previous years. The sale will take place on April 25 and 29 and May 2 and 6, by appointment only due to COVID-19 concerns. “Here at Garfield Palouse FFA Plant Sale, we are driven by a single goal, to keep our students safe during this time,” according to the plant sale website. “Our decision-making process in this different time is to help us best protect our FFA members and still try to serve our community.” Garfield-Palouse High School...
Presidential election season begins far before November for the country as delegates are selected and conventions held the spring and summer before nationwide voting takes place on the first Tuesday of November. In the 9th Legislative District the process for selecting Democratic delegates for the district is in process and runs through April 24. Selection for Republican delegates in the district runs through April 17. Delegates are persons designated to act for or represent others. To become a delegate, one must be a registered voter and also...
Whitman County Treasurer Chris Nelson notified the county commissioners that she has received three applications from those who need an extended amount of time to turn in their property taxes. “When applications are turned in it's reviewed by me, I see what business it may be and how much money would be owed, then I see from there what I can do,” Nelson said. “I'm handling each on a case by case basis.” First half of property taxes for the county are due by April 30. There will be no deadline extension for the county, only those who submit...
In an effort to help draft bid packages and contracts for future port telecommunication projects, the port commissioners approved the motion to allow the executive director to move forward with hiring a special council. This recommendation was brought forth by Port of Whitman Attorney Matthew Johnson of Carpenter, McGuire & DeWulf. Johnson said during this time of the port working on the fiber-to-the-home project and other new projects that may arise it would be helpful to engage a law firm. The port fiber-to-the-home project received $1...
OLYMPIA ― Gov. Jay Inslee and Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal Monday announced the extension of school closures for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. The order keeps both public and private schools closed in accordance with the governor's original order on March 13. The governor's proclamation prohibits in-person instruction through June 19, with exceptions for students with disabilities and English language learners for whom distance learning would present challenge...
