Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 46 of 46
When President Obama nominated Sally Jewell of Kent for Interior Secretary Feb. 6, you would think that he had located the real Wonder Woman. The 56-year-old CEO of Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) was “A Jewell of a Pick” for “the massive job that makes her, by and large, the landlord of the Western United States,” The Seattle Times gushed editorially. She was “an inspired choice,” echoed Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., chair of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Former U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, longtime member of the House Appropriati...
Global warming is widely accepted as fact. Glacial snow packs are receding, and ocean levels are rising. Snowfall is diminishing. Dramatic weather events are becoming more frequent, be they blizzards or droughts. The seas are warming. According to Rutgers University, as reported by Seth Borenstein of the Associated Press, average spring snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere has shrunk by a million square miles in the last half century. Yet, in that same time, dramatic snowstorms have doubled. Call it what you will, but weather, by all...
Colfax High freshman Mitch Barney beat Matt Carroll of Tacoma Baptist 9-8 to finish third in the 113-pound class at the 1B-2B state wrestling championships at the Tacoma Dome. Barney won three matches total in the state tournament Feb. 15-16, losing only to the champion. Kevin Knauff, a junior from Gar-Pal, took fourth-place in the 160-pound bracket, losing to Zach West of Tacoma Baptist 12-6 in the consolation final match. The Colfax team tied for 22nd out of 38 teams competing. “Just being one of those 38 teams is an accomplishment and a s...
Three seniors will lead the Tekoa-Oakesdale girls into 2013 1B Regionals this Friday at Walla Walla High School. Courtney Perry, Kaylor Dub, Alex Overton and their Nighthawk team will meet undefeated Sunnyside Christian at 6 p.m. Tekoa-Oakesdale (17-5) is the No. 2 seed for District 9, after losing to Colton in the district championship game last Friday in Colfax. Nighthawks Head Coach Dan Brown noted that their opponents could be formidable. They scored 94 points against one team earlier in... Full story
Gazette Editor After again bowing to the unflappable Reardan Indians Friday at the Walla Walla Dietrich Dome, Colfax girls locked up a state ticket Saturday night when they again stopped the LRS Broncos in an elimination game, 51-29. The consolation win put the Bulldogs in line for a third- or fourth-place out of the two-week NE-SE scramble and sent Colfax back to Walla Walla Monday. They dropped the DeSales Irish 41-22 to finish number-three in the last NE-SE. That will put the Bulldogs on the road to Sunnyside where they will play White Swan...
Todd Dickerson, father of freshman St. John-Endicott girls’ basketball player Gracie, checked out the school video camera and drove west. He went as far as Mt. Vernon to record the game between Shoreline Christian and Tulalip Heritage. He drove the tape back and the team was set to watch it and eat pizza Tuesday night in preparation for the 2013 District 1B Regionals. “That’s small-town Whitman County basketball,” said coach Marv Schmick. “We do what we can do.” St. John-Endicott, the Distric...
The Colton Wildcat girls made it six district tournament championships in a row. Colton freshman Zoe Moser holds on to a loose ball against Tekoa-Oakesdale in the championship game at Colfax. Playing in the District 9 1B championship game last Friday, Colton did it with a big win over Tekoa-Oakesdale for the second consecutive year. Jenna Moser, Zoe Moser and Payton Meyer led the Wildcats, each scoring 10 points. Colton will now advance to Regionals, starting with a game at Walla Walla High...
Gazette Editor Colfax boys Saturday will return to the Mt. Spokane High gym to play Bridgeport in the first round of the state 1B tournament, now dubbed the round of 16. A win Saturday will mean a ticket to next week’s three-day all-B show at the Spokane Arena where they won the state cup a year ago. Colfax starts as the number-two qualifier out of last weekend’s Walla Walla NE-SE hoop run where they defeated Northwest Christian 56-47 Friday, and then again ran into the St. George’s Dragons in the title game. The Dragons, who had to scram... Full story
Like an old Case 1470, the L/W Tigercats ran smooth Friday night in Colfax to take the District 9 title over Pomeroy. LaCrosse-Washtucna senior Sam Harder gets a victory embrace after his team beat Pomeroy for the District 9 1B championship. The Tigercats enter Regionals Friday night. It just took an extra turn of the key to get it started. After a muted first few minutes, L/W engaged and moved the ball efficiently, making key shots and free throws the rest of the game. “We just played r... Full story
Steven Heaps, a retired psychologist from Spokane Valley and former professor at Gonzaga, will appear at Whitman County Library next Wednesday, Feb. 27, at 7 p.m., to discuss his book, “The Rancid Walnut: An Ultrarunning Psychologist’s Journey with Prostate Cancer.” An ultra-marathon runner and poetry writer, Steven Heaps lives in Spokane Valley. Heaps has a local link to Colfax: he and Colfax coach and teacher Jack McBride are long-time friends and members of the Shadle Park High School class...
For 65 years, hundreds of people have not only enjoyed shooting, rolling dice and playing cards at the Dusty Gun Club, they come for the real prize. Trap shooters line up at the Dusty Gun Club on Feb. 10 to get some of the club’s famous sausage. Since 1948 the smell of sausage has permeated the air around the Dusty Gun Club once a year. And judging by the number of people there on Feb. 10, some estimating more than 200, the sausage is what draws them. According to gun club member Mark Vogler, the annual sausage shoot attracts people from not o...
Keith Morrison, 26, Pullman, was arrested Monday night after what was described as a high speed chase northbound on Highway 195 and the Shawnee and Mick Parvin roads. The report by Sgt. Chris Chapman said Morrison was located inside the vehicle which had become stuck on the Mick Parvin Road. The report said officers had to break out windows of the vehicle to get the suspect to respond. The report said the chase started after a trooper attempted to stop the vehicle for a defective headlight. The driver failed to yield and hit high speeds while...
Whitman County Auditor’s recording, marriage licensing and elections departments will be closed all day on Friday, Feb. 22, to allow the staff to attend the funeral of Mary R. Crawford, retired Whitman County treasurer. After serving as county treasurer for more than 22 years, she recently worked as an elections employee for the county auditor’s office. The vehicle and vessel licensing, accounts payable, payroll and finance departments will be open regular hours.... Full story
Camp Grizzly, a Boy Scouts camp near Potlatch, Idaho, has received a $1 million donation from Ed and Beatriz Schweitzer. He is the founder of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories at Pullman. The money will help pay for a new shower and restroom facility, an environmental education center, a leadership and training lodge, a new maintenance and storage building and for dining hall improvements, according to the Inland Northwest Council of Boy Scouts. Camp Grizzly will celebrate its 75th year this summer.... Full story
Members of Colfax Thrifty Grandmothers presented checks they donated to Whitman Hospital and Medical Center’s kitchen and the Hospital Auxiliary recently. The grandmothers donated $1,500 to the hospital for kitchen and dietary equipment and $500 to the hospital auxiliary. From left to right are members Jill Miller, Shirley Richardson and Bonnie Smith presenting the check to Ruth Heisler, dietary department manager, and Darlene Kroll, auxiliary treasurer, accepting the donation from Shirley Simmons. The grandmothers operate a gift shop on M... Full story
Dionne Evans is working from dawn to well past dark to get the former Teapot Cafe ready to open. Evans had hoped to open the restaurant, now the Grillbilly Cafe, by March 1, but she now expects to open by mid- to late-March. Dionne Evans, left, and her mother, Jeannine Henley-Larkin, put the finishing touches on the counter in the dining area of the Grillbilly Cafe in LaCrosse. The refurbished restaurant is set to open by mid to late March. She said the building, most likely built about 1915, needed major renovation, taking more time than she...
Speaking before chamber members at the luncheon on Tuesday afternoon, Colfax Mayor Todd Vanek said citizens in the community must work together. “When a car comes through Colfax, we want them to stop, have a cup of coffee and do some shopping,” he said. “We need volunteer support.” Vanek said since he’s been in office, “people have been coming out of the woodwork to ask, ‘What can I do to help?’” Vanek mentioned the Downtown Revitalization Committee, a group of volunteers trying to revitalize the downtown. “We’ve always been a service commun... Full story
Single stream recycling may arrive in Whitman County this summer. Separate bins may soon be phased out. The City of Pullman passed a resolution last April to go to the new practice this year, and the county will follow, say private and public recycling officials. “I would say it’s probably going to happen early summer, by June,” said Mark Storey, Whitman County Public Works Director. Single-stream recycling requires no separation of items, meaning that aluminum cans and milk jugs are tosse...
The goal was $7,500 and when the money is all counted, it will exceed the goal, going to more than $11,000. Volunteers have their heads shaved at the Colfax High School gym Feb. 13. A total of 71 people went under the razor for the cause of childhood cancer research. The second year of the St. Baldrick’s Foundation head-shaving event for childhood cancer research took place at Colfax High School Feb. 13. Set up for an assembly in the gym, eight hair stylists stood ready at tables as students, s...
NOTICE OF ROAD CLOSURE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the following Whitman County roads/bridges will be closed to vehicular traffic for the 2013 Snake River Canyon Half Marathon, pursuant to R.C.W. 47.48.01, for the time periods specified below: County Road No. 9000, the Wawawai Road from the Wawawai Park to Steptoe Canyon Road on March 2, 2013 from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISIONERS of Whitman County, Washington GIVEN under my hand this 19 day of February, 2013. W. Mark Storey, P.E., County Engineer 8/1 NOTICE OF... Full story
Daniel Lazcano A Whitman County superior court jury Wednesday morning continued deliberation for a second day after hearing six days of testimony and arguments in the trial of Daniel Lazcano. The jury was asked to render a verdict on charges of first degree murder of Marcus Schur of Rosalia, kidnapping and unlawful dispoal of a body. They were also given an alternative— finding Lazcano guilty of second-degree murder. Deliberation continued past deadline for this edition of the Gazette. At the start of the case, Spokane Attorney Eric C...
