Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 65
A possible pedestrian bridge at Hayton Greene Park in Palouse may be on its way. The city was nominated in November for a grant as part of a new program of the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board called “The Complete Streets Award,” which focuses on alternative forms of transportation. The T.I.B. program requires a nomination from a list of board-approved state agencies and non-profit organizations such as Cascade Bicycle Club and Washington Department of Archaeology and His...
A special meeting will be in the Steptoe Elementary School cafeteria from 6-8 p.m. on Feb. 4 to review a petition covering zoning and ordinances, road conditions, non-running vehicles, trash and garbage in yards. The petition requests the commissioners to enact an ordinance stating specific activities residents are not to engage in. When asked whether they wanted to view a presentation provided by Kirk Suess, the concern arose that pictures viewed could cause potential embarrassment for private...
Colfax Police Chief Rick McNannay, who was placed on administrative leave Oct. 16, was officially fired last Thursday by Mayor Todd Vanek. The firing was reported by City Attorney John Kragt who read a prepared statement at the close of Tuesday's city council session. After Kragt read the statement, Vanek called for a 20-minute executive session for what he said was pending legal action. According to the report, McNannay was fired for "findings of dishonesty" involved with officer certification in the hiring process. The report said an...
After 30 years as a corrections officer with the Whitman County Sheriff's Office, Sgt. Toni Poffenroth retired Jan. 16. "Today I am officially retired!" she said."I thank everyone that has been on this sometimes crazy ride and all of those that are not with us anymore, for without all of you, my journey would not have been possible." Poffenroth lives in Spokane, where she and her husband raised their family. Her husband, Harold 'Hal' Poffenroth, was considerably older, and came into their...
A prize of as much as $20,000 is the top prize in the new Women Farm to Food Business Competition. The competition, which closes Jan. 31, is sponsored by the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), and promotes a new program to help women in agriculture launch or boost their farm businesses. Both Washington and Oregon are partnering with NASDA in the effort. In addition, NASDA is launching a new business accelerator program and conducting a survey to learn more about the business needs of women in agriculture. The...
The City of Palouse seeks a new member for its board of adjustment. Those interested are asked to submit a note of interest to City Hall. The board of adjustment hears and decides applications for conditional use permits and variances in the town. The five-member board meets only when an application is submitted. Mayor Michael Echanove will appoint the new member with approval by the city council....
Cost to mail a first class letter will increase five cents from 50 cents to 55 cents Jan. 27, a hike which is believed to be the largest postage jump in U.S. history. The first class stamp, which became synonymous with a forever stamps in 2011 with the price set at 44 cents, are for mail up to one ounce. According to the USPS Forever Stamp fact sheet, the forever stamp was introduced in 2007, with prices set at 41 cents. It allowed customers some extra security, as even with price changes the...
When Eunice Coker last year announced her intention to retire, Sandy Jamison was approached by several people in the county to run for the county auditor position. Before making a decision, Jamison, who has a strong background in management and finance, talked it over with her husband, Rusty, and their kids. The family was supportive as they discussed how it would impact their personal lives, but it was her son, Mitch, who convinced her to go for it. "You raised us to reach for high goals," she...
Whitman County commissioners Tuesday approved a public hearing for Feb. 4 for a list of Public Works surplus vehicles and equipment, including old-style snowplows that the county has been replacing for the past 10-15 years. Three 2006 Ford F-250 trucks, police vehicles, an old forklift and a 1998 John Deere road grader are among the items to be surplused....
Brenna VanDalsen, a licensed Am I Hungry? Mindful Eating facilitator in Colfax, is offering an eight-week program starting Jan. 29 at noon at the Colfax Library. The program will cost $40 for materials. Participants will discover how to reconnect with their instinctive ability to eat when they’re hungry and stop when they’re full without restrictive rules. Participants also learn to recognize and cope with mindless and emotional eating and rediscover joy in movement. To register for the seminar, contact Brenna by phone at 397-5743 or ema...
Whitman County Building Inspector Dan Gladwill gave a fourth quarter and year-end building report to county commissioners Tuesday. For the fourth quarter of 2018, he noted 54 permits were issued for a total valuation of $1.4 million. “Kind of a medium average,” Gladwill said, noting that numbers were not as big as recent years of large commercial projects. “We had a pretty good fourth quarter. It didn’t tail off as it had in the past. We just kept chugging along,” he said. For the year-end...
At the 2018 November election Annie Pillers ran unchallenged for the position of county coroner. Pillers had been appointed coroner earlier in February of last year after the former coroner, Peter Martin, announced his retirement. Martin was county coroner for 37 years. Pillers has lived in Whitman County for 29 years and has served as deputy coroner since November of 2008. In 2013, she was named chief deputy coroner. Even though it is a 24/7 job, like any other emergency care service, Pillars...
The Whitman County Public Works department is still preparing specifications for a small, new office building at the county landfill off Carothers Road. Mark Storey, Public Works director, informed county commissioners Tuesday that they will rent a portable for the landfill in the short term, at an estimated cost of $400 per month. “We’re getting pretty close,” said Storey. Last September, the commissioners passed a resolution to establish the project for a 1,100 to 1,200 square foot building to...
Innovia Foundation for Eastern Washington and North Idaho announced the application round is now open for the 2019-2020 school year scholarship program. Scholarship awards are typically between $500 and $2,000 and help students in Eastern Washington and North Idaho achieve their higher education goals by attending colleges, universities or vocational schools. Most applications are due by March 1 with the majority of the awards being announced by May. In the spring of 2018, Innovia awarded more than $230,000 in scholarships to 124 students. For...
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Jan. 16 announced effective on that date through March 31, the daily limit of hatchery steelhead caught on the Snake River has been reduced from three to one. Hatchery steelhead are identified by their clipped adipose fins on the lower back. Steelhead with those fins left unclipped are to be released immediately. The catch limit reduction is due to concerns for the run returns being lower than expected and how they impact the wild fish. “We’re mak...
Of the $28.4 million the state received from Volkswagen for violating the state’s Clean Air Act, $12 million of it was allocated to be used to help pay for clean emission school buses throughout the state by replacing old school buses. Joe Thornton, the Director of Operations for the Pullman School District, learned about the grant for new school buses through the Office of Superintendents for Public Instruction which sent out a bulletin to all the school districts. Pullman received a grant t...
Colfax boys stacked three league wins over five days in the second round of the NE-South league with the hoop season winding down. The Bulldogs finished the run Tuesday on the home court with an 89-42 runaway win over Tekoa/Rosalia, the only team to beat them in the south side campaign to date. Colfax rolled out a 56-37 win over the LRS Broncos Saturday night at Ritzville and topped Asotin 58-42 in the Friday round on the home court. The three wins left Colfax at 7-1 in the campaign with a...
Colfax wrestlers placed third Saturday at the Kittitas Coyote Classic tournament with 115 points behind the 159 win by Lake Roosevelt. Nolan Burrill in the 120 class and Augie Allenbach in the 220 class both placed first. Burrill won the 113 title with two byes and two pins, and Allenbach won the 220 class with a bye and three straight pins. Kolby Sisk placed second in the 113 class, and Jacob Brown placed third in the 182 class. Other NE teams placing at the tourney were Wilbur/Creston/Keller,...
The Colton girls picked up two more dominant wins in the Southeast 1B league last week to extend their record to 8-0, 13-2 overall. In the second meeting of two league teams which played in the state title game last year (Colton won) and returned most of their players, the Wildcats again put down any suggestion this year would be different. They won 58-31 at Pomeroy. Leading by seven at halftime, Colton opened the second quarter with a 16-3 run and took it from there. Dakota Patchen scored 24...
Colfax girls advanced their record to 6-2 in the NE-South race with two wins and one loss in the second round. The Bulldogs topped Tekoa/Rosalia 70 -36 Tuesday night on the home court. They stopped a determined Asotin team 61-52 on the home boards Friday night, but were stopped 55-47 Saturday by the Broncos at Ritzville. The Broncos also topped Colfax in the first league round at Colfax. Tuesday on the home boards, Colfax and the TR girls waged a close battle in the first quarter. Colfax had a t...
Tekoa/Rosalia boys sustained two defeats in NE-South league games over the weekend to drop to 3-4 in league standings and 11-5 overall before Tuesday’s trip to Colfax. Friday, the Timberwolves were nipped 56-51 at Reardan in a close battle. Craig Mueller topped TR with 16 points in the Friday round. Other scorers were Garrett Naught, Rusty McLain and Anthony Gehring, each 8; Noah Beach 3, Mitchell Billing 5, and Keegan French 2. Zane Perlberg topped the Indians with 17. Saturday at Rosalia the neighboring Liberty Lancers rolled up a 74-49 w...
A project to replace the grandstand at the Palouse Empire Fairground received a big boost Jan. 7 when Whitman County Commissioners pledged $1.4 million for the project at a meeting with fair board members and support groups. The funds will come from the county's .09 sales tax revenue. Replacing the grandstand this year has become the focus of the Palouse Empire Fair Foundation which has been responsible for major improvement to the fairground for several years. Members of the foundation, fair board, Palouse Empire Rodeo Association and Fair...
Coach Carl Crider asked if he was ready and no. 11 got up and went and sat on the open bleachers in front of the scorer's table at the Oakesdale gym. The Southeast 1B league standings hung high on the wall behind him. At 2:52 left in the first quarter, the buzzer buzzed and Matt Hockett stood and jogged into the game to applause. Making his first game appearance this year Jan. 18 after injuring an ankle in football [for Colfax, in a co-op agreement with a 1B school without a football team], the...
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. COUNTY FSA NOT ON TEMP LIST The USDA Farm Service Agency office was not among the eight offices in the state listed to be open for three-days as announced Jan. 16 by Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue. Offices listed open in this area were Spokane Valley, Pasco and Okanogan. The open days were slated...
