Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 53
It has been a long, hard winter. I feel the cold and snow in my aching joints, so my wife and I try to take a couple weeks in February to go somewhere warm. We had never been to Jamaica, so we booked nine nights in a five star all inclusive resort. Good choice! We were treated like visiting royalty. Lots of sun, sand, and pampering for about half of what it cost last year in Hawaii. I found it interesting that I had to provide our return flight information at the desk when we checked in to the resort. I asked why and was told that they were...
I can't believe what I am seeing these days. I never would have imagined it just a few years ago. In the news, we see pictures of women dressed in vagina costumes with what they call "pussy" hats, claiming they are demonstrating for women's values, family values, and American values. Really? Then there are the pictures from Berkeley of protesters with "stop the hate" signs; cheering while fellow demonstrators smash in the windows of a Starbucks store. Are you kidding me? I read where the same people who throw out the "Hitler" epithet are also...
As if on cue, riots broke out in a heavily immigrant suburb of Stockholm as soon as the media mocked President Donald Trump for a vague warning about immigration-related problems in Sweden. At a campaign rally, Trump issued forth with a mystifyingly ominous statement. "You look," he declared, "at what's happening last night in Sweden." What? Had the president invented a nonexistent terror attack? As it turned out, the reference was to a segment on Sweden he had watched on Fox News the previous night rather than to any specific event in the...
My feelings are hurt. I'm not on President Donald Trump's list of "enemies of the American people." Here is his exact tweet: "The FAKE NEWS media (failing @nytimes, @NBCNews, @ABC, @CBS, @CNN) is not my enemy, it is the enemy of the American People! 1:48 PM -- Feb 17, 2017" I mean, what do I have to do to make the team? I've called him a know-nothing buffoon. I've condemned his actions on immigration. My comments on his reaction to judges have dripped with scorn. I've ridiculed the ineptitude of both him and the people around him. Yet I'm not...
The long saga of county financial accounting has taken a sad turn. Cinnamon Brown, former financial administrator in the Whitman County auditor’s office, has been arrested in Shelton, Wash., for alledged embezzlement and fraud. The charges against her pertain to her employment with the City of Shelton where she was hired in the fall as finance administrator. At this point, no conclusions can be drawn. She is innocent until proven guilty. In fact, Monday she pleaded innocent of the charges. In Whitman County, the auditor’s office is con...
The proposal for a five-story mixed-used facility in downtown Pullman is set to go before Pullman's Board of Adjustment Thursday, March 9. Field Holdings LLC in Los Angeles has proposed the facility, called “Evolve on Main,” and has plans for three stories of apartments in the building, as well as two levels of parking and a retail space on the ground floor. The 42,000 square foot facility is proposed at the current site of the Washington Federal Bank on Main Street, and plans at one point called for the facility to extend to the site of the Ch...
The Sand Road project near Pullman is expected to resume in March, Public Works Director Mark Storey reported to county commissioners Tuesday, Feb. 21. Storey reported that rock-crushing work was completed Feb. 17 and crews are now coordinating how to remove equipment from off the site while following newly-posted load limits on area roads. Some lighter equipment has been removed while Public Works awaits cold mornings to potentially approve hauling out heavier equipment. “We have to sit in somewhat of a holding pattern this time of year,” Sto...
First graders Bodee Horton and Colton Nebe show that raisins float up and down in Sprite. Second graders Ty Scott and Ashley Morgan quiz the school board. The Colfax School Board met in the library of Jennings Elementary Monday night to hear from students in a presentation before its regular meeting. A pair of representatives from each each class spoke to the board; from kindergartners informing them that snakes have venom to older students demonstrating that raisins float up and down in Sprite...
--Trevor Skelton This map shows the detour route during the Whitman Avenue reconstruction slated this summer. The project will close Whitman Avenue between Eighth and the south city limits. Road detours are indicated by the dashed lines and numbers one and two, with the one indicating the detour for truck traffic and two indicating the detour for through traffic. Rosalia's long-awaited Whitman Avenue reconstruction project has gone out to bid. The town last year went to bid for the project, but...
Next Colfax farmers breakfast meeting will be at 7 a.m. Wednesday, March 8, at the Colfax Methodist Church meeting room at 109 S. Mill Street in Colfax. Tim Paulitz from the USDA Agricultural Research Service at WSU will talk about diagnosis of disease in wheat and canola seedlings and also how the soil reacts to glyphosate. Jennifer Boie of the Palouse Conservation District will talk about programs that offer financial assistance to growers for conservation projects. Breakfast will be co-sponsored by Inland Northwest Bank and Four Star...
The next Colfax Connects luncheon is booked for Wednesday, March 8, at the Whitman County Library in Colfax. The luncheon is at noon, and cost is $5. Colfax Unified Executive Director Valoree Gregory said some topics of discussion will be the Colfax Downtown Association's storefront grant fund and First Thursdays. Those present will discuss what is happening with their businesses and entities. RSVP can be completed online. www.explorecolfax.com...
The City of Palouse has spent nearly all of this year's $12,000 snow removal budget on required work so far. Clerk/Treasurer Kyle Dixon's numbers for January show $8,600 spent through Jan. 31. Costs for February have come close to consuming the balance of the fund. Additional budget line items, including $600 for supplies and $3,000 for equipment, have been pratically untapped because the Public Works Department has seen no major breakdowns this winter. The snow budget items are listed in the city's streets budget. If spending goes over...
The stipulation for the Pullman School District to construct a secondary access road to the new Kamiak Elementary School prior to opening may have been solved last week. Several Pullman residents in January voiced concerns over the district's construction plans not including a secondary access road, and Pullman's Board of Adjustment ultimately approved the district's conditional use permit, with one of the conditions stating that the district construct a gravel road as a secondary access if there was not another access road already in place by...
Colfax’s Abbie Miller drives against Kaitlyn Chantry of Dayton. Miller scored 10 points in the first half. For more pictures, see Weekly Pages: March 2. Colfax girls Saturday defeated top-rated Dayton 57-48 in the state's regional round at Richland High School to lock up one of four quarter-final slots Thursday when the state's 2B Hardwood Classic returns to the Spokane Arena. The Bulldogs will return to Spokane after placing sixth last year in the final hoop show with another trophy matchup a...
Colton sophomore Reece Chadwick looks for a way forward against the Redskins in a regionals loss Feb. 24. For more pictures, see Weekly Pages: March 2. Colton's season ended last Friday night in a 1B regional, with the winner going to state. Playing at Cheney High School, Wellpinit's boys began fast, scoring 20 points with five three-pointers in the first quarter. In the second, Colton chased, outscoring Wellpinit 17-8 to make it 28-25 at halftime. The chase continued, both teams pressing, and...
Oakesdale junior forward Anne Hockett scores against Evergreen Lutheran in a state seeding game. For more pictures, see Weekly Pages: March 2. Two teams, both from Whitman County, both from the Southeast 1B league, carry the honor of the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the state 1B tournament this week in Spokane. Colton, No. 1, is in a familiar spot as the eight-time defending state champions. Oakesdale won the state 1B volleyball championship in November, but for basketball they have not made an appe...
The Colfax Downtown Association has announced the first deadline date for storefront grant applications. The deadline is April 1. Colfax Unified Executive Director Valoree Gregory said this will be the first round of awards, and funds are coming from the $2,500 grant recently awarded to the Downtown Association from Umpqua Bank. She said the $2,500 could end up being split among multiple applicants. “It will be $2,500 in the first round,” said Gregory. “The committee wanted to give out a grant now so that the people will have the chance to wo...
Planning is underway in Palouse for the future of its water system. After the windstorm of November 2015 damaged its pre-1900 reservoir, the city took it offline, creating a need for a backup. This matter and pressure issues on the south hill led the city to hire TD&H Engineering of Lewiston. The firm is set to study and review the water line and water system plan, examining low flows on south hill. With the old reservoir off line, the city uses its 1974 reservoir, a 500,000-gallon structure whi...
This youngster, dancing at last year’s first ever First Thursday, will soon be able to pull out her dance moves again when First Thursday returns with larger bands this summer. The winter break is still in place for Colfax First Thursdays, but planning is well underway for this year's series of events. “We're way ahead of schedule,” said Valoree Gregory, Colfax unified executive director. “I think it's going to be a good time.” Set to return May 4, the opening First Thursday of the year is t...
Public forums last week in St. John and Endicott brought out approximately 100 residents over the course of two nights to discuss a potential sports cooperative with the St. John/Endicott and LaCrosse schools. The LaCrosse School District has asked to be able to officially join with St. John/Endicott for all sports. The district has cited declining participation numbers from its students, as well as for Washtucna and Kahlotus which had combined with LaCrosse in the past, but are now forming a cooperative with Ritzville. SJE Superintendent...
County Commissioners Feb. 13 approved a new contract with Connell Oil for $32,000 to supply oil and grease for Public Works for one year. The new contract came to be after Connell Oil informed Public Works Director Mark Storey in January that it would not extend the contract another year due to rising costs. Both parties agreed Connell can extend the new contract, which allows for a one to two percent increase in price. The oil and grease is used on all county vehicles, as overseen by the Public Works Department. In addition, Public Works went...
Colfax has lost the use of its number-one street sweeper which will require repairs estimated in the $10,000 range. Matt Hammer, public works director, reported at the Feb. 21 city council session a bearing for the sweeper’s fan, which generates suction for the vacuum system, failed Feb. 17. The failure resulted in damage to the housing around the fan which is expected to lead to the extensive repair bill. The sweeper is a 2004 Tymko model. City crews also have a 1988 Athey sweeper. Hammer said the Athey uses a combination sweeper and c...
Casino Night in St. John last month raised approximately $3,000 with about 125 in attendance, reported Lydia Smith, one of the event organizers. The second annual Casino Night was at the St. John Community Building and included blackjack, poker, roulette, bingo and a beginner poker table. Funds raised are going toward improvements at the St. John Heritage Museum. Smith said she was pleased with the attendance. “We thought we'd have a few more, but we were competing with the Gonzaga game, and the flu prevented some people from coming,” she sai...
Steptoe Butte and Steptoe Battlefield state parks will be the subject of a State Parks classification meeting in Colfax next week. Steptoe Butte and Steptoe Battlefield state parks are the focus of Classification and Management Planning by Washington State Parks, beginning with a meeting next week in Colfax. The process, known as CAMP for short, will study the two parks in three areas, land classification, long-term boundary and narrative management. State Parks will kickoff the project with a...
In 1954, choosing a weekend for the annual Uniontown Sausage Feed, organizers decided on mid-February. Not long after, having to cancel the growing attraction one year due to snow, they moved the event to the first Sunday in March. All was well, except for the fact that one day a man named Clark Vining took over the girls basketball program at Colton High School. More than 50 years into the Uniontown Sausage Feed tradition, the new coach’s teams started making the state tournament, not to m...
