Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Maxine Iverson, 95, of Colfax, Wash., passed away peacefully Jan. 11, 2022, at St. Joseph Medical Center in Lewiston, Idaho. As her granddaughter Miriam said, "She is being loved on and snuggled by Jesus right now." Maxine is preceded in death by her parents, James and Francis Teitrick, her husband Leon Richard Iverson, and two sons. Born in Colfax, Wash., July 7, 1926, she graduated from Colfax high school, married her husband Leon in 1947 and raised six children: Leon R. (Christine) Iverson... Full story
Our beloved brother and uncle Kenneth Emerson Norton passed from a heart attack on Jan. 7, 2022. Ken was born Feb. 12, 1949, in Walla Walla, Wash., to John H. and Barbara (Woods) Norton. Ken lived briefly in Waitsburg, Wash., after which the family moved to Oakesdale, Wash., where he resided until his death. He graduated from Oakesdale High School in 1967. He briefly attended WSU and Spokane Community College. He also became certified as a Heavy Equipment operator after attending schooling in Fl... Full story
Linda D. (Sorensen) Hall, longtime former Steptoe resident, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, at Pullman Regional Hospital. She was 80. Memorial Services will be planned at a later date. She will be buried in the Endicott Cemetery with her parents. Linda was born Dec. 5, 1941, in Albany, Calif., to George and Florilla (Stevens) Sorensen. She grew up along with her younger brother in Redding, Calif., and attended high school in Enterprise, Calif., where she graduated in 1960. Linda was a... Full story
A memorial service will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, at the Colfax Golf Course. Tacos will be served for dinner.... Full story
A celebration of Chuck's life will be held at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2022, at Village Church Chapel, 715 SE 12th St., College Place, WA 99342. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Oakesdale Athletics Department, PO Box 228, Oakesdale, WA 99158; or Community Services Center for Student Aid, 785 SE 12th St., College Place, WA 99324.... Full story
8 Years Ago Colfax Gazette Friday, January 15, 1897 DRASHER APPOINTED After Four Years of Waiting Plum Falls In His Mouth The New Board Organized, and “Shorty’s Appointment Approved – Officer’s Expenses The new board of county commissioners consisting of Messrs. J. J. Stephens, from the first district, S.M. Davis, from the second district, and Charles N. Hinchcliff from the third district, met at one o’ clock p.m. on Monday, Jan. 11, 1897 (last Monday) and organized as a board by electing S. M. Davis chairman. The first matter brought b...
On Feb. 8, Colfax School District taxpayers will have the opportunity to vote for the next two year replacement enrichment levy. Since the Washington State Legislature began designating school district funds, the local levies have been given the title of “Enrichment Levy.” An enrichment curriculum includes music, arts, field trips, highly capable programs, college in the high school, credit retrieval, and elective course offerings. This levy will provide and enhance extracurricular programs such as FFA, FCLA, FBLA, Knowledge Bowl, clubs, athlet...
As residents of the Colfax School District, we can show once again how much we value the high-quality education provided by our district. Resolution 511 renews the levy for 2023 and 2024. It requests voter approval to continue to fund programs and services already in place, such as nursing, counseling, arts and vocational programs, and athletics, along with operational expenses like insurance and utilities. State funding just doesn’t go far enough, and the district is allowed to fill the gap by requesting these levy funds. They show prudence b...
The Colfax School District has proposed a renewal of the current levy in the Feb. 8 special election. That levy passed in 2020 by a 2-to-1 margin, and we Thrifty Grandmothers urge voters to continue their strong support of our local schools by approving its renewal. Although the state allows levy rates of up to $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed property values, the renewed Colfax levy proposes a rate of only $1.99 in 2023 and $2.00 in 2024. This levy will help fund essential programs such as nursing, counseling, the arts, and extracurricular...
The first order of business when Washington’s Legislature convenes in Olympia is replacing the state’s new long-term care law. It is fatally flawed. Gov. Jay Inslee and Democrats who control the state legislature wisely postponed implementing the sweeping “Long-Term Services and Supports Trust Program” but it is beyond repair. It is time to find a better alternative. The new law, also known as the Washington Cares Act, is a mandatory, public, state-run long-term care insurance program. Beginni...
The 2022 legislative session began this week much like the 2021 session. It will be a mostly-remote session with online committee meetings and floor votes and very few legislators or staff in attendance in Olympia. Because of the increase of COVID-19 cases statewide due to the Omicron variant, this is what the majority party in Olympia has decided. It may not be what I would want, but it is the reality in which we’re living at the moment. TOP 5 ISSUES 1. Repealing and replacing the long-term c...
Monday, Jan. 10 1:14 a.m. – Main Street, Colfax – Jordan C. Paddock, 21, of Colfax, was arrested for DUI. 8:11 a.m. – Montgomery Street, Uniontown – There was an abandoned vehicle. It was towed. 9:03 a.m. – Sunset Road, Thornton – There was a report of a suspicious person. 9:09 a.m. – Montgomery Street, Uniontown – A deputy responded to a report of a problem with a child custody exchange. 12:40 p.m. – Sheriff’s office – A sex offender updated a photo. 12:41 p.m. – Sheriff’s office – A sex offender updated a photo. 1:26 p.m. – Washington Stre...
OLYMPIA – The financial responsibility for an oil spill could belong to facilities and vessels owners that produce and transport oil under proposed House Bill 1691. “The goal is to minimize the permanent long-standing damage that can happen when a catastrophic spill happens,” said Rep. Mia Gregerson, D-Kent, the primary sponsor of this bill. The bill requires the owners or operators of oil vessels and facilities to demonstrate their financial ability to pay for its oil damage and to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility (COFR) from...
OLYMPIA – Homeless students at community and technical colleges across the state will get the help they need if House Bill 1601 becomes law. If passed, the bill would provide homeless students and students who age out of the foster care system help with access to laundry, shower facilities, locker rooms, food banks, technology, reduced-price meals or meal plans, case management services and short-term housing and housing assistance. “This results in people not being able to graduate or go onto a career. It hurts our students, our ins...
COLFAX — Two basketball players have been named as WIAA Athletes of the Week. Colfax senior John Lustig was selected after he erupted for 51 points against the Liberty (Spangle) Lancers boys basketball team. The Bulldogs topped the Lancers, 68-65. Lustig is also credited with scoring more than 40 points during other games this season. Meanwhile in Spangle, Liberty’s Teagan Colvin received similar honors for her efforts against crosstown rival Upper Columbia Academy. On Jan. 4, the Liberty sophomore recorded a triple-double, scoring 23 poi...
RITZVILLE – A Tekoa-Rosalia wrestler may have set the record for the school's fastest pin on Jan. 15. At 145 pounds, Timberwolves freshman Cullen Billings, of Rosalia, caught Selkirk's Jeffrey Nicholas in a standing cradle during a mix-and-match event in Ritzville and pinned him in 18 seconds. The pin was Billings' second of the event that attracted wrestlers from Pomeroy, Lind-Ritzville, Wilbur-Creston-Keller, Almira/Coulee-Hartline and others. In his first bout of the day, Billings pinned Ruge...
SPOKANE VALLEY — An Eastern Washington lawmaker has introduced a bill in Olympia to allow the state Department of Transportation to rehire workers who refused coronavirus testing and vaccination. Rep. Bob McCaslin said the governor’s get a shot or get fired effort went too far, and has resulted in slow response times to clearing snow from roads, among other transportation issues. “Our governor fired several key workers last fall who refused to comply with his vaccine mandate,” McCaslin said. “These workers would have made a differenc...
OLYMPIA – Some educators are pushing for children’s enrollment in school by age 5. Currently, Washington parents are allowed to delay their child’s enrollment with the local school system until age 8. If Senate Bill 5537 passes, it changes to 5. The Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee held a public hearing on the bill on Jan. 14. “By adjusting the compulsory age to 5, we are aligned with the majority of states and closer to alignment with our Pacific coast neighbors,” said Sen. Lisa Wellman, D-Mercer Island, sponsor of the bill...
OLYMPIA — A Spokane-area senator introduced a bill to help cities and counties hire more law enforcement officers. Sixth District Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Spokane, introduced Senate Bill 5841 to provide cities and counties with more funding to hire more law enforcement officers. “Over the past few years, we’ve seen a large number of police officers and deputy sheriffs leave their jobs, whether it’s caused by strong opposition to law enforcement by some groups or laws passed by Democrat legislators that make it harder to apprehend criminals,” Holy said...
OLYMPIA — Washington State University freshman Sam Martinez was found dead from alcohol poisoning following a fraternity house hazing tradition just weeks into the 2019 school year. His mother is pressing for rules that would prevent future tragedies. She said her goal, since her son’s death, has been to “try and save a life for the one that was taken from us two years ago.” Rep. Mari Leavitt, D-Tacoma, said approximately 100 deaths associated with hazing occurred in the U.S since 2000. Washington established legislation prohibiting hazing...
COLFAX - The Colfax Chamber of Commerce has selected its leadership for the coming year. Toni Jorgensen has been named president, Alexis Ryan as vice president and Jayci Cocking as secretary/treasurer. The new officers were selected during a Jan. 11 meeting, with 10 members present to vote. Jorgensen is a longtime chamber volunteer; she works in the pharmacy at Tik Klock Drugs. Ryan is a realtor with Magenta and Co.; and Cocking is a realtor with ReMax. " The Chamber is re-energized and these...
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