Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Tensions are high. 2017 has left an indelible mark on us. The world is in turmoil what with irresponsible statements and threats, childish posturing and claims that defy reality. Like children who live in violent homes and are in turn violent as adults, the world is learning from its leaders, and the lessons are not good. There is more to the tension than just global problems. Individuals are not immune from the atmosphere. A recent news broadcast showed Americans behaving badly in restaurants. A wild woman jumped on a counter and threw food...
Whitman County commissioners in June approved reorganization of the county Parks and Recreation Department and Developmental Disabilities Department to combine them with Emergency Management/Emergency Communications. Bill Tensfeld, emergency management director, took on some additional responsibilities, including reporting to the commissioners on the departments. There will be no change in department services. “We looked at a variety of scenarios,” said Janel Goebel, who served as interim director since the retirement of Parks and Rec...
Rural Whitman County residents can expect faster broadband speeds coming their way as Pioneer Telephone has already started upgrading its lines to fiber optics. “Everything seems to be going pretty smooth,” said Dallas Filan, Pioneer Telephone general manager. Thanks to grant money from the state’s Universal Service Fund, in conjunction with federal funds, Pioneer is undertaking an upgrade from copper to fiber to serve residents in its 800 square mile service area. The total job to make the move is expected to cost about $8.5 million. Accor...
Pacific Northwest Farmers Cooperative (PNW) and Cooperative Agriculture (Co-Ag) announced a merger of the two agricultural companies at the beginning of 2017. PNW, which operates its corporate office in Genesee and another office in Colfax, and Co-Ag voted on the merger in December, 2016. “Both companies’ members voted, and there had to be a super majority on either side for it to pass,” said Bill Newbry, chief executive officer of PNW. Co-Ag operates its corporate office in Rosalia and also has offices in Oakesdale and Fairfield. The offic...
At its June 13 meeting, Endicott town council voted unanimously to allow chickens to be raised within the town limits. Known as the “chicken ordinance,” the measure went into effect June 27, five days after the official publication date. “Everybody’s worked pretty hard on it,” said Mayor Dave Bilow. “Hopefully everybody just does what they’re supposed to.” After the council passed the ordinance Bilow vetoed it. It went back to the council and they voted unanimously to override the veto. Bilow said his reasons for the veto were concern from ci...
Last winter’s perpetual snow took a toll on Tekoa in late January when the roof of the former Cohn Motors building on Crosby Street collapsed. An estimated 1,200-foot section of its roof and part of two walls fell onto its second floor. Keith Andersson of Tekoa has owned the property since 2006. Controversy over the pace of the cleanup and what to do to secure the building led to Mayor John Jaeger appointing a Tekoa unfit building committee, consisting of three volunteers who began work in l...
They reached the peak and stayed there for eight years. The Colton girls streak of eight consecutive state 1B championships was a record for all classifications in Washington state hoop history. It ended in March in the state quarterfinals at Spokane in a 46-50 loss to Almira/Coulee Hartline. Colton subsequently followed the loss by blowing out Sunnyside Christian 72-41 to take third place. Colton’s streak of 10 straight district championships continues....
Colfax Bulldog sports marked a year of change with the departure of two long-time coaches. Both capped their careers by winning state championships. Coach Mike Parrish headed up a baseball team which finished with the 2B title trophy after stopping an undefeated Tri-Cities Prep team at Wheeler Field in Centralia. Coach Parrish told his players in the last week of the campaign that he planned to step down after heading Colfax baseball for 21 years. The 2017 state win was the third for Parrish...
A key achievement of the Uniontown Community Development Association (UCDA), New Sage Baking opened in a two-story, brick former saloon in 2002 and closed in September after four years under the name New Sage Bakery. Supplying various wholesale bakery accounts across the Palouse – from Colfax to Moscow — the company also ran a cafe three to four days a week. Del and Amy Stillwaugh of Uniontown bought the operation in 2013, and later expanded to run Daily’s Bakery in Clarkston and a doughnut-making facility in Asotin. At the time of closi...
St. John made the top 10 of the America’s Main Streets Contest. “We are ecstatic,” said Amanda Webb, one of the organizers behind getting St. John into the contest. “So excited!” Webb, along with fellow organizers Jessiann Loomis and Valerie Brewer, found out about making the top 10 May 30. “I called Jessiann, and I said, ‘This is the time I start harassing you about your email,’” said Webb. The contest concluded Sunday, May 28, for the voting in the top 25, and those who made the top 10 would...
Rosalia officially became the first community in Whitman County to have an electric vehicle charging station. Avista Utilities, which installed a slow charger and a DC Fast Charger at the former gas station, commissioned the electric station Wednesday, Feb. 22. Mayor Nanette Konishi said she was pleased with the turnout. Joining those in attendance were owners of three Teslas, a Nissan Leaf, a Chevy Volt and a Toyota Prius. All were plugged in at the station during the event at one point or... Full story
A harvest time fire left nothing to be salavaged from this combine July 24. Volunteer firefighter Michael Hubert took this photo at the Craig Gilchrist place after the blaze on the first day of Gilchrist’s harvest.... Full story
The general election for 2017, a vote for local offices, generated a lot of interest and finished up with voters turning out incumbent mayors at Garfield and Rosalia. After a controversial four years, Garfield Mayor Ray McCown was defeated by his predecessor, Jarrod Pfaff, who won by a margin of 129 – 84. McCown, 84, who will finish his sixth term as Garfield mayor, told the Gazette it marked the end of his political career. McCown’s last term included a 2016 recall effort which was tossed by the court. Pfaff’s election grants him a third... Full story
Art work by Harold Balazs, reknowned area artist who died Saturday night at his Mead home at age 89, has been on display along Main Street in Colfax for 56 years. Balasz created the large design which was placed on the the front of the Plymouth Congregational-UCC Church during a remodeling in 1961. He also is believed to have designed the unique front door handles for the chirch, according to Pastor Lynn Nelson. See related story on page 12....
These reports are from the previous four issues of the Daily Bulletin in Colfax. They are reprinted here for the benefit of Gazette readers who reside outside of Colfax. Some accounts have been updated. N. FLAT PROJECT HIKES BUDGET A major street, water and sewer project for Cedar and Oak streets this year is reflected in the Colfax 2018 budget. The bottom line for the 2018 budget is $5,207,279, compared to $3,703,386 for the year just finished. The reason for the big increase is the plans for the North Flat streets. Cost of the project will in...
Sarah McKnight, a member of the Colfax City council for 22 months, started off Tuesday night’s meeting by resigning her seat. McKnight got up from her seat at the council table, walked around to the opposite side of the room to face the council and leveled charges against Mayor Todd Vanek and Councilman Jim Kackman. Among those seated at the council table were three newly-elected members of the council who were waiting to be sworn into office. McKnight said she serves on five different boards and when she decided to cut back it wasn’t too dif...
Heavyweights Augie Leinweber of Colfax and Kelton Saad of Potlatch battle at the Colfax double dual meet at Colfax. Saad placed second in the 220 class at Pomeroy Friday, and Leinweber placed third in the 285 class. The Colfax/St. John/Garfield/Palouse wrestlers placed third at the Pomeroy tournament Friday and seventh at the larger Freeman tourney Saturday. At Pomeroy the team totaled 140 points behind the 270 top score posted by Clearwater Valley. Caden Noha of St. John won the 145-pound... Full story
County boys and girls high school basketball teams return to Southeast 1B league play this weekend after a dose of outside experience playing in tournaments over Christmas break. The Garfield/Palouse boys, which won the four-team Colton tournament Dec. 21, returns to the court Friday for a big game at home against unbeaten Pomeroy. Game time is 7:30 p.m. The Colton girls and boys teams played at West Valley High School in Spokane Dec. 27-28 in the 48-team East Valley Holiday Tournament. The... Full story
Colfax girls will travel for a big early clash with St. George’s Dragons Friday after booking a split last Thursday and Friday at the West Valley Christmas Classic. The Bulldogs Thursday were defeated 74-63 by a LaSalle Lightning team which got off to a fast start in the first quarter and managed to fend off the Bulldogs for most of the balance of the game. LaSalle led 24-16 after the first quarter and still had a 42-38 edge at the break. LaSalle plays in the state’s A division and was a first-day qualifier in the A title playoffs last yea...
--Julie Kinkaid photo Colfax senior Austin Ring dunks against Colton at West Valley in Spokane Dec. 27. Colfax boys extended their win string by pegging wins Thursday and Friday in the West Valley Christmas Classic. Colfax topped Colton 64-41 in the Thursday round, and then defeated a bigger team from Sandpoint, Idaho, 57-41 Friday afternoon. The pair of tourney wins left Colfax at 8-2 when they resume NE league play Friday night at St. George’s against the Dragons. Colfax will make the trip a... Full story
Whitman County commissioners Monday approved a zoning change for a Whitgro Inc. plant at Lancaster. The change taking it from an ag zone to a limited heavy industrial zone means Whitgro, based in St. John, will not be required to get a conditional use permit each time they make a change, such as adding a scale, to the property.... Full story
Garfield and Elberton: Homegrown Memories, is now in print to mark the end of a project which started in the late 1990s. The 175-plus page, soft-cover, book incorporates local memories with area history and photos. Author Sally Elder began the book in the late 1990s by focusing on her own collection of Garfield and Elberton tales. During her research at area libraries and historical societies she discovered the number of written items on the two towns is limited. “There is so much local history out there, but none of it is written d...
A new building inspector was expected to be named for the City of Tekoa Tuesday, Jan. 2, at the first city council meeting of the new year. The city advertised for candidates after current inspector Zach Lanham submitted a letter in November saying he would like to depart the position. The city interviewed three candidates Dec. 28....
Daniel Broeckel is ready for customers at his new shop, Outlaw Meats. After almost 30 years sitting vacant, the old butcher building in LaCrosse is back in business with Daniel Broeckel returning to offer custom farm-to-table services. “We are putting back into the community that raised me,” he noted. Broeckel was born and raised in LaCrosse and grew up cowboying. When he started a family he realized he could not support them by cowboying. While in college he took a job at a butcher shop in Wal... Full story
Whitman County Public Works has agreed with Busch Distributors to extend its fuel delivery contract for no increase in 2018. The annual, renewable contract will have no increase for next year, remaining at 13.5 cents per gallon plus 1 cent in summer months and three cents in winter. The contract only pertains to fuel delivery. The county pays the rack price, at the time of delivery, for the fuel itself. “When something doesn’t go up, we’re happy,” said Mark Storey, Public Works director.... Full story
