Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 51 - 63 of 63
Among county school districts proposing maintenance and operation levies on the Feb 13 ballots five are asking for a levy rate of $1.50 per $1,000 assessed value. This is following directions pertaining to legislation related to the state supreme court’s McCleary decision is supposed to even out operations funds for all districts in the state. Other districts in the county are sticking to the traditional approach and have requested approval of higher rates from voters. School officials explained they have asked for the higher rates as a h...
As business in Olympia goes on and Whitman County officials are at work here, others advocate for the county’s interest across the state: lobbyists, or legislative liaisons. Because when state law comes down, it is counties that most often administer them at the local level. “It’s too numerous to count the bills that affect Whitman County,” said Michael Largent, county commissioner. “We’re not advocating for county government, we’re advocating (funding) for the services the county provides. Most...
A climber from Idaho trims off branches of this tree in preparation to felling it in a parking lot on Lake Street in Colfax....
The Colfax Junior Rodeo is hosting its regular Winter Barrel series which offers barrel racers an off-season venue and helps support the Colfax Junior Rodeo awards. “All the money we raise goes toward awards for the little guys,” said Carrie Lyle with the Colfax Junior Rodeo. The group has been hosting the event for about five years. Riders from all over attend the Sunday events. “I do have a lot of local girls,” Lyle said, noting many also come from Idaho, Oregon and other parts of Washing...
St. John School The St. John School District is seeking voter approval on a Feb. 13 capital levy for health, safety and facilities improvements which would make repairs to the school and grounds. “Roofing is the number one thing we need to do,” noted Supt. Suzanne Schmick who serves the St. John and Endicott districts. On the ballot is a capital levy proposition which would generate $500,000 over the next two years. Those funds would be used to replace the St. John school’s roof, repair sidewalk...
—Crystal Davidson photo The sun sets on the Palouse River west of Lancaster along Kackman Road....
It is the perfect beginning for a dystopian novel: “A county wide power outage. Reports of an earthquake on west side of Washington State. Potential for ‘declared disaster’ situation pending. Whitman County’s capabilities are overwhelmed and activation of ECC is possible. Cell phone and internet service begins to degrade...” But it is not alternate-reality fiction, it is the scenario for the Whitman County Power Outage 2018 tabletop exercise set for March 8. “This is all about bringing pe...
Representatives from Apollo Solutions of Kennewick visited Garfield Jan. 9 for a meeting to discuss energy efficiency. Mayor Jarrod Pfaff attended, along with Clerk-Treasurer Candi Fisher and Councilman Mark Phillips. Apollo proposed a solar array of panels on city property. At an estimated cost of $800,000, the solar project would be expected to pay for itself through rate incentives, energy savings and overall power generated. Apollo did a similar project in Palouse in 2016 which has exceeded expectations. Pfaff recommended to the others...
Gathered Monday at the county Public Works Department offices, Mark Storey, Public Works director, at left, confers with Jeff Stehr, District One road supervisor and Brandon Kruger, right, operations manager, about a prototype of a sign to go up at some county bridges, warning of new single-unit weight requirements. A question of what to put on a series of road signs has come up at the Whitman County Public Works department. The process to make a sign advising single-unit truck drivers of new...
Pullman Police has been in touch with the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife regarding the presence of a cougar within a residential area. The state agency is willing to assist in relocating the animal, if it can be located. Any resident who sees a cougar in the City of Pullman is encouraged to immediately call 911 and report its whereabouts....
A private railroad crossing which has been used for more than 80 years could now cost a homeowner $4 million dollars insurance a year to attain a crossing permit. Richard Old of Pullman brought the matter to Whitman County Commissioners Jan. 22 after seeking a resolution with State Department of Transportation for the past five years. “Basically what this is is extortion,” Old commented to commissioners. The issue came about in 2013 when Old approached the Whitman County planner to build hom...
PILLERS SEEKS CORONER’S JOB Annie Pillers of Palouse, who has served as chief deputy coroner since 2013, Jan. 24 announced her intention to seek the coroner’s position which will be vacated by Pete Martin as of March 1. Pillers began her service with the coroner’s office in 2008. As chief deputy she has been responsible for death investigations, case management, fiscal operations and budgeting. She has handled a variety of unattended death cases involving natural causes, accidents, suici...
The Powell Plumbing sign at the intersection of Main and Canyon has been on for several weeks. Greg Harazin, proprietor of Greg's Electrical, which is now located in the Powell building, said he turned on the sign in honor of Katie Powell, who died Dec. 30. She and her husband, Harold Powell, operated Powell Plumbing for decades until Mr. Powell's retirement. Harazin also activated the sign after Mr. Powell's death in 2009....
