Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 44 of 44
When they travel north to Colbert Friday, Colfax girls will face a Northwest Christian team which booked a 2-3 record in the NE north loop prior to the Christmas break. The Crusader girls finished fourth in the first lap of league play behind the 5-0 mark set by St. George's on the north side leaders. Northwest Christian bumped Freeman 46-34 last week in holiday action to move its overall record to 4-4. The NE north-south battles started Tuesday with a clash of the leaders from each side. Liberty, which nudged Colfax here in the last...
Farmington Town Council Dec. 19 approved the resignation of Councilman Joel Abbott who cited the growth of his cabinetry business as the reason to bow out. He served on the council since April 2013. The town now seeks letters from those interested in filling the seat. Letters may be dropped off at town hall or sent to Town of Farmington, P.O. Box 65, Farmington, Wash., 99128. Mayor Dave Baker announced at the Dec. 19 meeting that a replacement for Abbott will be named by the March 2017 meeting. Abbott also served as mayor pr...
The fate of a city-run payphone in Tekoa is up for discussion. The payphone, installed outside the current library and former city hall across from the Empire Theatre, costs the city $852 in yearly payments to Frontier Communications. At the last city council meeting in December, Mayor John Jaeger asked councilman John Guidice to check into whether the phone had been the source of invalid 911 calls. “There might not be any, which would be nice,” said Jaeger, who indicated he had reason to believe that juveniles may be playing around with the...
The Palouse Clearwater Food Coalition has booked a food summit for local producers in Moscow Friday, Jan. 27, and SE Washington Economic Development Association wants to help Whitman County producers attend. “SEWEDA is offering a scholarship to Whitman County residents,” said Sarah McKnight, SEWEDA director. The price range to attend is $15 to $200, and SEWEDA is offering $25 per person to attend. McKnight said depending on how many inquire about scholarships, the amount could go up to $50 to $100. The food summit is themed with the value of...
A backhoe purchase by the Town of Garfield continues to draw controversy after its approval Dec. 7. The backhoe, purchased on a bid by Reuel Klempel, the town's Public Works superintendent, has not yet arrived in town after Klempel acted without approval by the town council, which later signed off on the purchase – after questioning why it happened as it did. One councilman called for a public reprimand of Klempel. “It was just a misunderstanding, a misinterpretation,” said Garfield Mayor Ray Mc...
The City of Pullman is asking for public input on the 2017 city council goals. The city annually requests suggestions from residents, and according to a city press release, numerous resident-generated suggestions were incorporated into the list adopted last year. While not all ideas were incorporated, Mayor Glenn Johnson said suggestions made in the past can be re-submitted. The council and mayor will hold a special meeting once the goals are received, and together they will discuss and refine the goals and add their own suggestions. The...
The St. John Community Club wants to support the art department at St. John, and the group has planned an art night to do just that. Amanda Webb with the community club said the group is planning “For Art Sake!”, an event that will allow participants to paint a winter scene. Travis Echanove, second year art teacher at St. John, will guide participants through the painting. “This came about as some of us community members wanting to bring this kind of event to St. John,” said Webb. For Art Sake! is planned for Saturday, Jan. 14, startin...
The City of Palouse asks for letters of interest to serve an open position on the city council. Christopher Langsett resigned his No. 7 seat effective Dec. 31. Langsett told the Gazette he resigned due to health priorities for him and his father. Langsett served on the council for three years, starting in January 2014. “I really enjoyed it. I think everyone should take a turn at it to see how local government works,” he said. The open position will be filled by appointment by Mayor Michael Echanove. The appointee will serve the remainder of...
Whitman County Association of Wheat Growers will make plans for the Washington State wheat grower's annual lobbying trip to Olympia at its monthly meeting Friday, Jan. 6, at noon at Eddy's Chinese and American Restaurant in Colfax. At its last meeting, the association decided to pay the Olympia travel and lodging expenses of up to six county growers who are current members of the Washington Association of Wheat Growers. The dates of this year’s Olympia trip will be Jan. 23-25. "At this point, we are still looking for wheat growers to fill t...
Icicles hang from the back of a building in Colfax. With several days of snow followed by periods of freezing temperatures in recent weeks, large icicles have become a common fixture on many buildings....
The first snows of 2017 kept county snow plows out on New Year's Day and the start of the week. The big snow and wind hit Saturday night, the last day of the year and on New Year's Day. “Everybody was out yesterday and a lot of people out the day before,” Whitman County Public Works Director Mark Storey told county commissioners Tuesday. He reported that two plows were damaged in the past week due to malfunction of attachment devices. The county crew was short-handed in District One, the north segment of the county in St. John, Oakesdale, Malde...
With the beginning of a new year, the Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to make a change in its seating chart. Former chairperson Michael Largent motioned at the beginning of the meeting for Commissioner Art Swannack to move into the chairperson seat and Commissioner Dean Kinzer to move to vice chair, while he would move to the third chair. “At this point in time, I'd like to move,” Largent said. With a second coming from Kinzer after a few silent seconds, the commissioners moved as indicated. “This is the spot I was many years at be...
A change in weed spraying may come to Whitman County in 2017. Being considered now by Public Works is a plan to do county road right-of-way spraying in-house. The move away from private contractors would allow for more flexible, more efficient coverage later in the year, according to Mark Storey, Public Works director. As it is today, contracts are locked in for the summer, and if more spraying is needed in the fall, it can be difficult to arrange for more work. Under the new plan, costs are...
The Pullman-Moscow Runway Realignment Project is on hiatus for the winter, but the project is still moving forward in other ways. The airport recently acquired more land that will help in the completion of the overall project. Pullman-area farmer Keith Kopf recently sold approximately 40 acres to the City of Pullman for the purpose of the project. Another Pullman resident, Carol Jorstad, also sold approximately 65 acres for the project. Airport Administrator Tony Bean explained that land sales have to be conducted through the city rather than...
The St. John Heritage Museum is planning a bingo night for anyone in St. John this weekend. Bingo is slated at the town hall on Sunday, Jan. 8, and it will be a fundraiser night for the museum. “It’s to keep our museum going,” said Linda Hayes, town clerk. “We’ve had to completely start with the bottom for that building with the museum. We’ve been at it several years.” The St. John Heritage Museum houses several displays including a veteran’s area, a metal and bronze sculpture display from a local artist, paintings, farm pictures and to...
If the latest proposed housing developments in Pullman go through, some residents will find themselves listing their address near Highway 195. One of the developments is proposed at the intersection of Highway 195 and Old Wawawai Road. This development, if approved, would be on approximately 50 acres of land recently annexed into the City of Pullman. “It’s right up against the city boundary,” said Jason Radtke, assistant city planner for Pullman. In June, Ed Greer, owner of Germain Farms LLC, asked the Pullman Planning Commission to annex...
Whitman County Public Works is preparing for the bid process on new effluent tanks to be built at the Waste Transfer site south of Colfax. The two 10,000-gallon tanks will take the place of one 90x90 foot, 180,000-gallon evaporation pond which serves to evaporate all drain-off from the floor of the waste transfer station. The water, called contact water, is now stored in the pond and evaporated or taken by tanker truck to the wastewater treatment facility in Colfax. County Solid Waste and...
With the ink barely dried on the November General Election, attention is moving to the upcoming special election slated for Feb. 14. Towns and school districts have already submitted proposals for local voters to consider. The elections office has announced voter registration deadlines for the upcoming election. Address updates for those who have moved need to be completed on or before Jan. 16. This can be accomplished online through the Secretary of State website. Voters who are new to the state or voting for the first time can register up to...
Gary Libey of Colfax takes the oath of office Friday to become the 17th judge to preside on the Whitman County Superior Court bench. Judge David Frazier administers the oath while Jim Repp, retired Whitman County auditor, holds a vintage history book of Whitman County and the U.S. Constitution. Libey’s wife, Trudy, and grandchildren wait at right to present the new judge with his robe. The lower photos show part of the crowd which packed the courtroom. Lower right Judge Frazier and Libey l...
