Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Plans for repairs of a washout which has shut down the railroad service on the line which links the western part of the county with the rail network on the Snake River advanced last week with the opening of bids for a contractor to make repairs. Rail service on the line, which connects with the Union Pacific line at Hooper, has been out since heavy rain Jan. 23 caused a bank to wash out along Willow Creek in the Pampa Pond area west of LaCrosse. Bob Westby, state manager for the Palouse River &...
First filings of the civil service appeal of former Colfax Police Chief Rick McNannay have been made public and provide a look at arguments involved in the dispute. The McNannay appeal to the three-member Colfax Civil Service Commission is scheduled to start July 29. During a scheduling meeting March 5 with the three-member commission, McNannay's attorney and the city's special attorney discussed deadlines and procedure for the upcoming session. Filings of papers in the dispute are scheduled to go to the Storey & Miller court reporting firm in...
Actual precipitation total for February at the NRCS station in Colfax was charted as 1.79 inches which is two-tenths below the 1.99 average for the month and continues the string of below-normal months. The late snow storms started in February and the tally at the station could have been off because the cold, dry snow could have blown off of the gauge. Measured precipitation actually hit .85 over three days before the middle of the month, with .45 inches on Feb. 4, .16 on Feb. 12 and .24 on Feb. 13. The Feb. 13 reading also logged four inches...
LaCrosse Café opened under its new management March 5. Beth and Steve Beck of Endicott have taken over the business which had closed Dec. 29, 2018. "It's a little weird," said Beth. "It took a little longer to get going than we expected." Beth said she is both excited and nervous about this new adventure, but not focusing on moving the business in any particular direction. Not much has been changed from when it was last opened. The menu is a little different, and the Becks hope to try some new...
Hunter H. Haley, 26, Reardan, was sentenced to six months in jail Friday in connection with the string of car prowls in Rosalia last November. Haley was booked in jail here Nov. 20 after he was arrested at Reardan by deputies from Whitman and Lincoln counties. He pleaded guilty to two counts of theft. Four other charges filed against him were dismissed. Haley, who had an offender score of three because of prior convictions, faced a sentencing range of two to six months, and Court Commissioner Howard Neill opted to sentence him to the top of the...
Anthony Emerson, 44, was booked into jail Saturday after an early morning arrest in Colfax. Emerson was stopped for an equipment violation and deputies learned a warrant was outstanding for his arrest. A search warrant was obtained for the vehicle he was driving, and deputies allegedly located one ounce of packaged methamphetamine and a small quantity of heroin in the vehicle. He was jailed on probable charges of possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver and possession of a controlled substance. He was expected to make a first...
Andrew Stewart, left, and Dominic Villareal show a few of the plants in their inventory at their new shop. Located in one of the Canyon Street spaces in the former Rose Theater building, the shop has been scheduled for a grand opening Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. all three days. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be at the shop at 11 a.m. Friday. They have been working in the shop since last December and have been open for business for the past three weeks. They also build...
Buildup of snow plow berms along runways at the Colfax Airport has become a concern, particularly for airplanes with low wings. Plowing of the runways has been somewhat restricted because of landing lights which run along the sides of the runways. Operators have to take care not to damage the lights. At last Thursday's Port of Whitman meeting, Port Attorney Bruce Ensley asked Linda Fender, owner of Fender Air Service with her husband Darrell, if anyone was trying to use the airport. She said...
Port of Lewiston Commissioner Jerry Klemm, and the CEO of Valley Vision, Karl Dye, attended last Thursday’s Port of Whitman County commissioner’s meeting. Last November, Commissioner Klemm visited to request, on behalf of the Port of Clarkston, a pledge of financial support for an economic study to find and understand the economic benefits of the cruise boat industry to the region. For this study, the ports of Lewiston and Clarkston are seeking a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce Eco...
The Natural Resources Conservation Services at the USDA Service Center in Colfax has a new face. Stephen Johnson is Whitman County's new resource conservationist, filling in a position that has been vacant for more than a year. Johnson joined the NRCS in a move from the Palouse Conservation District. While working in the Palouse Conservation District, Johnson was a planner who worked with farmers. "Ultimately, I'm just excited to step into this new position," said Johnson. He is looking forward...
Colfax wrestlers, who logged a sixth-place finish in the all lB division of the state mat classic at Tacoma, wrapped up their season with a family team pizza feed Tuesday in the CHS cafeteria. The team also won the district meet where they topped NE foe Reardan. Coach Dennis Gransbery noted the team marked a lot of success by scoring a lot of pins during the campaign. Colfax rated 16th among all 368 teams at state in the meet's pin efficiency bracket. The rating is compiled for the number of...
Colfax Track Coach Jason Cooper and his coaching crew this year find themselves surrounded by a lot of talent and also by a lot of snow. The team, which has had one outdoor practice so far this year, is chomping at the bit for Old Man Winter to retreat. "We just want to get out there," Cooper commented. The largest setback because of the snow this week was cancellation of the MacDougall Invitational, the giant meet which has brought track teams from all over the area to the Colfax track. Colfax...
HONOR CONCERT AT COLFAX More than 100 student musicians and choir members gathered at Colfax High School Monday for the SE Washington Music Educators' Association honor band and honor choir concert. Two members of the music department from the University of Idaho worked with the students who also conducted a practice session last week. The event concluded a five-year run of honor concerts here. It will move to Clarkston next year while Colfax schools are undergoing renovation. The SEWMEA plans...
The 15th annual benefit bowling tournament at Zeppoz in Pullman brought in a record high return this year at the games last Saturday. “It was awesome!” said Ron Morgan, who, with his wife Heather, started the benefit event in 2004. The proceeds from the event are split between the Whitman County Humane Society and the Northwest Cancer Foundation of Hope. They were awarded the checks at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday evening at Zeppoz. That first year the event had 13 teams sign up and raised $650 dol...
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 WILL RESPOND TO L&C BOARD Whitman County will now respond to notices from the state Liquor and Cannabis Board about license applications for proposed sites in the county. The policy change follows Monday's approval of a six-month moratorium on issuance of cannabis growing or processing...
A scam affecting some elite universities has revealed how far the rich will go to get their children in prestigious schools. Apparently, those with money have been working with a so-called charity to phoney up student admission applications. It is pretty basic. Parents can hire a company to get their kids in the school of their choice. This company has jimmied test scores, had surrogates take admissions tests, paid test proctors and bribed coaches. The super wealthy, of course, do not need such scams. they can simply buy the school a building...
Pet Peeves Winter and snow!!! Okeydokes The commissioners for placing a six month moratorium on marijuana....
Reform is inevitably a difficult process, and not just for the reformees. It's particularly painful for the reformers, no matter how meritorious their cause. Who would admit opposing fundamental changes to a health care system in this country that is glaringly overpriced and significantly underperforms? Who would resist efforts to rescue the planet from boiling away? As the reformers are learning, once they stop preaching to their own choirs and face off against those who benefit and prosper from the current setups -- like the insurance compani...
The race for 2020 is taking shape, although there are still significant unknowns, including whether Donald Trump will get a serious primary challenge. His fiercest Republican critics say, "Yes -- please, please, yes." They are probably wrong, and it's certainly nothing to root for. Trump's dominance of the party begins with his lockdown support of the right, forcing any primary challenger to the left. This isn't fertile territory. Self-identified moderates and liberals are only a fraction of the party, and it is grass-roots conservative...
Historically, international trade issues have galvanized our state’s congressional delegation. Many wondered if that would still be the case today. Fortunately, it seems to be. While Democrats and Republicans are at one another’s throats on most issues these days, it is gratifying when it comes to promoting our state’s products internationally, they coalesce. Boeing is our state’s largest exporter and has strong congressional backing when it comes to leveling the playing field with Europe...
I didn’t think it was quite time for political season, but it seems to have started. I was just sitting down to dinner when my phone rang. If it had been thirty seconds later, I would have let the answering machine take it even though I was expecting a call from my agent. The caller asked for my wife, and being well trained, I asked if I could tell her who was calling. I guess talking to my wife wasn’t the caller’s highest priority because he went right into his spiel. He started by thanking me for past contributions I have either forgo...
I should lighten up and tell a joke. The definition of insanity is doing something over and over, while expecting different results. Every year since 1915, we have tried drug prohibition; year after year, over and over, while expecting a drug free America. As of March 15, 2019, we will have tried it one hundred four times. But the problem has grown, and only the parasites have liked the outcomes. On March 15, 2019, we’re going to try drug prohibition for the 105th time! Even though we know that it will produce the same world of addictions a...
