Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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It’s estimated that 240 million calls are made to 911 in the US each year. As more people have access to phones and emergencies increase, the number of first responders has not. Nationwide, in communities of 2,500 or less, they have seen a reduction of 20 percent in a two year period (2015-2017) of volunteer and career firefighters, according to the National Volunteer Fire Council. “I think every department in this county is experiencing a shortage of volunteers, even, speaking for the City of Pullman,” said Tim Tingley, Colfax Fire Department....
Ballot count for the Nov. 5 election reached 10,001 as of 5:13 p.m. Tuesday night with the auditor's election staff estimating 450 more ballots remain to be counted. The tally amounts to slightly more than 40 percent of the registered voters for the county. Pullman Hospital District's request for a $29 million bond issue levy remained just below the required 60 percent approval rate, 59.66 percent with 2,507 in favor and 1,695 opposed. The proposal was under 60 percent on election night, but topped the mark on the second count before it...
The Port of Whitman County staff received a bid for the materials and procurement for the fiber-to-home project in Rosalia. Back in August, the port was awarded $1 million from Whitman County’s .09 funds to design and construct a fiber-to-the-home network in five rural towns in Whitman County. “We received one bid from Graybar Electric for $132,580.41,” said Kara Riebold, chief operating officer for the port. “This is a very competitive price. I was able to do the materials and procurement for the Port of Garfield, and I got to see two bids dow...
Veterans were honored at assemblies Friday, Nov. 8, in Garfield and Steptoe. Ozzie Knezkovich, US Army, retired, spoke at Garfield Middle School. He is the Spokane County Sheriff. "We are about to hand off the torch. I apologize for the condition of the torch you are being given," he said. "... I challenge you to reunite this nation." The Garfield assembly included rows of veterans, called to stand, if able. Special honoree Jerold W. Powell, a veteran of the Philippines was in World War II. The...
On Tuesday, Nov. 12, Lance Bishop, county information technology director, reported to county commissioners that as of Monday afternoon, the automated process of moving the phone numbers to the new system has been rejected twice. “This data is going from point A to B to C,” Bishop said. “If it’s not formatted exactly the same from all three parties there’s a misalignment and it gets rejected.” Bishop explained that since the automated process isn’t working they will have to manually move each phone number through the system. The county has ap...
Colfax Chamber of Commerce is encouraging residents to shop local by starting their fourth annual Passport of Colfax event; all cards must be returned before Dec. 5. Passports can be picked up at most chamber businesses. On the back of the card are six spots for local businesses to stamp after residents shop at their stores. The winner of the drawing will receive $200 in cash. The drawing will take place on the first Thursday of December. Cards can be returned to The Colfax Mercantile at 214 N. Main....
The LaCrosse FFA made a strong showing at this year's 92nd National FFA Convention and Expo on Oct. 30 to Nov. 2, in Indianapolis, Ind. The LaCrosse marketing team placed 4th overall in the National Marketing Plan Career Development Event. Members of this team were Alynn Harder, Genevieve McGregor and Jasmin Watson. Members of the top four teams received cash awards to recognize their success. The National FFA Marketing Plan CDE helps students practice and sharpen skills in marketing through the development and presentation of a marketing...
On Nov. 8, a motion was brought before the port commissioners to join the Northwest River Partners (NWRP) as an affiliate member for $500. NWRP advocates for the bettering of our communities, our region, and the world through the low-cost, carbon-free hydropower system. According to its website, they encourage the balanced use of Columbia Basin rivers, while working towards solutions that help hydropower and salmon coexist and thrive. "Northwest River Partners has allowed us to participate in...
The Whitman County Public Works Department and County Commissioners will consider area paved roads that may need work as the biennial state County Road Administration Board (CRAB) submission period approaches. Counties around the state submit proposals for funding every other year, with a deadline in January. Mark Storey, Public Works director, asked commissioners for input at their regular session Nov. 4. Two years ago, Whitman County submitted for and received funding of $2.5 million to go to...
On Nov. 12, at Washington State University fraternity Alpha Tau Omega, 19-year-old Samuel Martinez, fraternity member was found dead. Martinez was a freshman and from Bellevue, Wa. Preliminary investigation states that the death may be alcohol-related. Pullman Police and fire medics responded to the fraternity for a reported male who appeared to be unconscious and not breathing. Members of the fraternity were performing CPR until first responders arrived. The university released a statement regarding the death of the student. The statements...
Whitman County Commissioners approved Nov. 4 an update to the county's critical areas ordinance – adding five definitions that were inadvertently left out of the document's April 1 final draft. Joan Folwell, Steptoe Butte native and a Palouse prairie landowner, and David Hall of Palouse Prairie Foundation appeared in support at last week's hearing, and Mark Storey, Whitman County Public Works director, suggested commissioners approve. The critical areas ordinance, by state mandate, covers w...
Ruck for the Fallen: March for the Heroes will be Saturday, Nov. 30, in downtown Oakesdale from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. to honor past and present military, law enforcement and first responders. Ruck for the Fallen is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization that raises donations for fallen or wounded officers, injured first responders or for families of those who lost their lives in the line of duty. The donations raised also go to family members. The Oakesdale event will consist of a 5k and 10k walk or run. Participants are encouraged to wear patriotic...
It was more than just a one-time thing for Lana and Roger Myers of LaCrosse when they sent their first military care package in November of 2018. Their personal ties to those serving in the armed forces sparked the idea of sending these packages and they haven't stopped since. "To get just a little touch of home, builds morale," said Roger, recounting the time he spent overseas serving in a special warfare unit. "It was just nice to hear from home. Anything from home, no matter how small, helped...
Garfield/Palouse senior Anais Mills placed second in the all-B state cross country race on the Sun Willows course at Pasco, and the Colfax girls team placed ninth in the state final which totaled 112 finishers. Mills, who topped the district and regional races, clocked 19:24.6 on the hilly Pasco course. She was topped by Life Christian sophomore Gabby Martin who ran away from the field and finished with a 17:57.5. Colfax girls booked 184 points behind the 96 win posted by Pope John Paul II of...
Colfax will be host to an estimated 400 to 470 college runners Friday when WSU hosts the NCAA Western Regional cross country races at the Colfax Golf Course. The event is expected to be approximately twice the size of the Pac-12 Conference race which was at the golf course here four years ago, according to Ben Clark, assistant WSU athletic director for special events. Clark said WSU landed the regional through a competitive bid process. He noted the Colfax Golf course site proved successful for the Pac-12 race, and they have continued to offer...
Colfax football players have earned a ticket to the state football playoffs as one of the top 16 teams in the state, and they have been rated among the top eight teams in the state. Colfax will host Toledo, a semi-final team last year, in the first round here at noon Saturday. Coach Mike Morgan noted this will be the first state entry for Colfax since the 2013 Colfax team nailed a ticket and advanced to the quarter-final round. Colfax landed the state ticket with a runaway win Friday over...
Colfax volleyball players received a sendoff Wednesday morning before they departed for the Yakima SunDome for the state 1B volleyball tournament where they will play Brewster today in the first round at 1:30 p.m. The Colfax match will be opposite the LaConner-Willipa Valley match in the 16-team start of the state show. Colfax earned the return to state with a third-place finish in the NE tournament Saturday at Liberty. They finished third with a four-game win over Chewelah in the match to deter...
Tekoa/Rosalia will enter the 1B football playoffs as the no. 6 seed in the eastern region, set to play Southeast 1B league foe Lyle/Wishram, the no. 5 seed, at Lyle Friday at 5:30 p.m. The two teams played each other Nov. 1 at the same location, with L/W winning 64-36. The winner Friday will advance into the state bracket. The losers' season will end. “Gotta win it,” said Tekoa/Rosalia coach Jay Scholz. “Win it to be in it.” Colton 38 Sunnyside Christian 26 Colton senior quarterback Chris Wolf ran for 269 yards and three touchdowns – and passe...
Oakesdale and Pomeroy met for the district volleyball championship match Nov. 9 at tournament host Pomeroy and Oakesdale won 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 25-19. The Nighthawks now advance to state in Yakima, beginning Thursday, as District Nine's top seed. Pomeroy goes as the no. 2. At the SunDome, Oakesdale, the four-time defending state champions, will open the tournament with a first round match against Providence Classical Christian (Bothell) at 8 a.m. Thursday. If they win, they play the winner of...
The country is entering a historic period. The House of Representatives is conducting hearings for its impeachment inquiry against the president. The hearings started Wednesday. Ostensively, the hearings are to determine if there is enough evidence to bring formal impeachment charges against President Trump. If so, then the Articles of Impeachment would be sent to the senate for a trial. Simple arithmetic suggests there are votes enough in the House to arrive at Articles of Impeachment, but not enough to convict him in the Senate. That is based...
Here's the thing about those bright, shiny human objects that are so irresistible to those of us in media: The truth is that, like so much bling, they are merely fool's gold, soon tarnished by reality. The overexposure reveals that there's little under the gloss, and this "next big thing" is very quickly reduced to "same old, same old." So it was with Beto O'Rourke. He skyrocketed to national fame as the Democrat who almost beat a Republican for US Senate in Texas, which has turned indelibly deep red. But the Republican was Ted Cruz, who has...
If there's one thing that elite opinion tends to agree about on the left and the right, it's that nationalism is a very bad thing. If anything, this view has become even more entrenched as nationalism has demonstrated its potency in recent years, from the election of Donald Trump to Britain's vote to leave the European Union. When President Trump first openly embraced the term "nationalist" at a 2018 campaign rally, commentators reacted in horror. Patriotism is about love, nationalism about hate, New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof...
