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Articles from the February 23, 2012 edition


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  • Students test newly built bots

    Joe Smillie, Gazette Reporter|Feb 23, 2012

    While much of America is caught in the grips of Linsanity, students from Colfax and Palouse high schools went Bot Crazy for the first time Saturday afternoon. For the past several months, the Palouse Area Robotics Team (PART) Sci-Borgs, as they have dubbed their team, have been working to figure out computer programs and engineering designs for their robot which will compete in an April contest in a battle with other robots built by students from around the country. “We’re rookies. We’re rookies of the rookies,” said Dave Tharp of Palouse...

  • Palouse C.D. seat up for vote

    Feb 23, 2012

    A seat on the five-member board of supervisors for the Palouse Conservation District will be up for election March 6. On the ballot are incumbent Keith Kopf of Pullman and Kim Weerts of Garfield. Registered voters living in the district can vote between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. March 6 at the district office, located at 1300 NE Henley Court in the Port of Whitman Industrial Park in Pullman....

  • Benefit for Palouse fire victims

    Feb 23, 2012

    A benefit dinner for the Garceau family of Palouse, who lost their house in a fire in January, will be Friday at the Palouse Community Center from 4 to 8 p.m. A silent auction will conclude at 7 p.m. The cost is $5 per person or $15 per family....

  • GOP sets caucus date

    Feb 23, 2012

    Date of the Republican Presidential caucuses has been set for Saturday, March 3, at six different locations around the county. All caucuses will begin at 10 a.m. around the state. The caucus nomination process was adopted by the GOP after the legislature eliminated the state presidential primary as part of a budget measure last year. Caucus participants are required to be registered voters in the precincts specifically assigned to the caucus site. They will also be required to sign a pledge that they are a Republican and will not participate...

  • Tekoa Mayor looks to new year's project

    Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter|Feb 23, 2012

    Appointed once and elected twice, John Jaeger looks to his fifth year as Tekoa mayor. Items on the upcoming agenda include pigeons, sewer lines, a basketball court, the community center and road work. In the Feb. 6 city council meeting, after a discussion on an upgrade to the furnace at city hall, Jaeger proposed that any time the council is to spend money on something, they should postpone the decision until the next meeting. “We’re spending other people’s money, so I thought it’d be good to...

  • Walla Walla firm's bid nets quarry closure job

    Feb 23, 2012

    Walla Walla firm Harry Johnson Plumbing and Excavating was awarded a contract Tuesday to reclaim the Webber Quarry near Shawnee. Johnson submitted the lowest of five bids on the project, with the company’s quote of $36,900 almost $10,000 lower than the county’s $46,673 estimate. The project will entail blasting rock off the rim of the decommissioned quarry and smoothing it to a shallower slope. Public Works Director Mark Storey said the project was required of the county by the state’s Department of Natural Resources, which has final overs...

  • Structure costs shelve Oakesdale recycling plan

    Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter|Feb 23, 2012

    Oakesdale town council has reversed an effort for an agreement with Empire Disposal to collect cardboard and mixed paper to recycle. Mayor Dennis Palmer and the council had been talking with Empire Disposal for the past year until the project was shelved due to lack of a place to put the 40-yard capacity dumpsters. The 20 x 7 x 8 dumpsters need to stay dry so they have to be under a roof or other cover. They also need to be secure so people cannot randomly dump garbage in them. Because the town...

  • Judge rejects outside lawyer for OVIC suit

    Joe Smillie, Gazette Reporter|Feb 23, 2012

    Judge David Frazier last week rejected the request by Whitman County commissioners to hire an outside attorney to defend them against an injunction suit filed by the citizen Organization to Void Illegal Conduct. Prosecutor Denis Tracy Tuesday said he was ready to act as the county’s counsel, but commissioners said they had already asked the judge to reconsider his decision. “I don’t think he could represent us fairly,” said Commissioner Greg Partch. In a letter sent last Thursday, Frazier said the legal questions in the lawsuit did not require...

  • Port tries again for rail grant

    Joe Smillie, Gazette Reporter|Feb 23, 2012

    With construction on the high speed grain train loading facility at McCoy expected to begin this spring, the Port of Whitman County is again vying for $8.5 million in federal funds to fix up the track leading to the site. Joe Poire, port executive director, said the port sent off another grant application to the federal Department of Transportation. Funding would be used to replace tracks and rebuild 25 bridges on the state-owned P&L shortline railroad. The shortline connects the Palouse to the Burlington Northern Santa Fe mainline at...

  • Security cameras on trial at Colfax High School

    Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter|Feb 23, 2012

    In response to a series of reported thefts and break-ins, two web-accessible cameras with four lenses each were installed at Colfax High School for a 60-day trial period. One of the four-directional cameras is in the high school foyer while the other is on the north side of the building facing the parking lot and playing fields. The discounted value of the two-megapixel per lens cameras, including mounting and software, is roughly $4,000. The district has not paid anything for them, as it is a...

  • Bulldogs win District 7 trophy

    Feb 23, 2012

    Bulldog fans blast off after title win Colfax fans let out a mighty roar after the Bulldog boys held off Northwest Christian Friday night to win the District 7 trophy and the top ticket to this week’s regional round. The title win by Colfax ended a 22-0 win streak rolled up by the defending state champions this year....