Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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COLFAX–With Gov. Jay Inslee's order for hospitals to suspend non-essential services, local hospitals are tightening their financial belts in preparation of the shutdown impacting their bottom line. "Just like everybody, we're going to have to take a hit," Whitman Hospital and Medical Center spokeswoman Laurie Gronning said. Rural hospitals are seeing very few coronavirus cases. Elective medical procedures have been shutdown. And rural residents have been told to stay away from clinics and h...
Whitman County Treasurer Chris Nelson notified the county commissioners that she has received three applications from those who need an extended amount of time to turn in their property taxes. “When applications are turned in it's reviewed by me, I see what business it may be and how much money would be owed, then I see from there what I can do,” Nelson said. “I'm handling each on a case by case basis.” First half of property taxes for the county are due by April 30. There will be no deadline extension for the county, only those who submit...
In an effort to help draft bid packages and contracts for future port telecommunication projects, the port commissioners approved the motion to allow the executive director to move forward with hiring a special council. This recommendation was brought forth by Port of Whitman Attorney Matthew Johnson of Carpenter, McGuire & DeWulf. Johnson said during this time of the port working on the fiber-to-the-home project and other new projects that may arise it would be helpful to engage a law firm. The port fiber-to-the-home project received $1...
James Sharrard, 28, Orofino, was booked into the Whitman County Jail April 2 after deputies responded to a call of a disorderly person outside a home on Almota Road screaming that he had coronavirus and trying to get into another person's car. When deputies arrived at the home, they approached Sharrard who made several incoherent statements according to the police report. He allegedly was breathing heavy and fast and moving his body in over-exaggerated ways. Sharrard was handcuffed and placed under arrest for residential burglary. According to...
ST. JOHN — A local woman is alleging her husband defrauded her and induced her to sign a quit claim dead. In a Friday filing in Whitman County Superior Court alleges Lila Novak claims her husband, John Novak, used fraudulent inducement and undue influence to cause her to sign a quit claim deed for property. According to the lawsuit, Lila Novak purchased the property in 1998 using her separate assets. Due to health issues in 2013, she signed a will naming her son heir and granting him power of attorney. The claim states Lila Novak's health d...
Three winners have been announced for the Colfax Chamber of Commerce's Post a Picture contest. The contest was announced on the chamber's Explore Colfax Facebook page April 1. For entry in the contest, residents were asked to post a picture of "how you are surviving these crazy times" and tag Explore Colfax. Pictures include families spending time or doing activities together, gardening, funny faces and 165 Degrees Brew coffee to consume. Winners received a $25 gift card to a Colfax eatery. Winners announced Monday were Reba Poland, Jessie...
The Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (WADDL), on the Washington State University campus in Pullman, has tested two cats in connection with COVID-19. Both felines were quarantined with people who were positive for COVID-19. The testing being done is to determine if either cat was infected and, more importantly, if they are able to carry and spread the virus. Both animals were negative for the virus. According to a WSU press release, the question of infection in animals is important because in a study done in 2003 with the previous...
OLYMPIA ― Gov. Jay Inslee and Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal Monday announced the extension of school closures for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year. The order keeps both public and private schools closed in accordance with the governor's original order on March 13. The governor's proclamation prohibits in-person instruction through June 19, with exceptions for students with disabilities and English language learners for whom distance learning would present challenge...
During this worldwide pandemic, grocery stores all over the county are finding its shelves bare as customer frequency has increased and the amount that people are buying has increased. Many local grocery stores are not only having to battle with the shopping influx but are also working through a new food distribution service. URM Stores Inc. is a grocery distribution service based out of Spokane. URM services much of Whitman County. While pressure is high on supply chains during this time of increased shopping URM has had to shift its focus on...
On March 17, a three-alarm fire burned the interior and roof of the Fonk’s building to the ground. While Fonk’s Coffeehouse has been deemed unsafe to enter, two other businesses on Main Street, Leftovers and Whitman Family Dentistry, may be safe to enter, but also received substantial smoke and water damage that has affected business operations. “Currently, we can’t be in the store for very long periods of time because of the smoke damage,” said co-owner of Leftovers, Mary Davidson. “We just finished with inventory this past week. Next will b...
The McCluskey Run for Campus Safety, originally planned for an April 4 race at Reaney Park in Pullman, has made the transition to make the 5K race virtual. "We are sad to announce that due to COVID-19 and the cancellation of Mom's weekend, we will no longer be offering our in-person 5K event in Pullman," said the McCluskey Virtual Run for Campus Safety Facebook page. While the 5K event won't be in person on April 4, the organization opened the race to an online virtual platform and will allow...
Open comment remains available until April 13 on the Draft Environmental Impact Study on the Snake River Dams. The draft EIS rejects dam breaching, stating the approach of breaching the dams would destabilize the power grid and increase overall greenhouse emissions. “It is not anticipated that the open comment period for the DEIS will be extended,” said Port of Whitman Communications Director Sarah Highfield. All comments need to be either mailed or entered online up to April 13. To help communities send in comments, the Port of Whitman wro...
Recent conservations at the Whitman County Courthouse between county commissioners have been in regards to revenue flow into the county during this time and throughout the year. “We continue to not have a crystal ball for what the remainder of the year financial will look like, it is my belief and probably others that we will have significant budget and revenue shortfalls,” said County Commissioner Michael Largent. “Perhaps, we need to start doing some things now to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to cost savings.” At the March 30 comm...
A delivery of 350 handmade face masks were received Friday by Whitman County Emergency Management. Bill Shuler of Masks for Spokane Healthcare delivered the bags of fabric masks to the Emergency Operations Center at the Public Service Building. The masks will be distributed to firefighters and EMS personnel around the county. "The phone call was so unexpected and blessed," said Janel Goebel, EOC logistics. Without preamble, Shuler called EOC Friday to set up the delivery. He founded Masks for...
Gov. Jay Inslee increased the length of his Stay Home shutdown order through May 4. The extension keeps all gatherings banned and non-essential businesses closed for the next month. The order could be lifted May 5. "Epidemiological modeling from the University of Washington predicts we will have at least 1,400 deaths this year," Inslee said. "We are yet to see the full toll of this virus in our state and the modeling we’ve seen could be much worse if we don’t continue what we’re doing to slow the spread." If gatherings are held in viola...
Sharing a space with Flowers, Decor and More, Purpose Roasters is officially moved in and open for business at its new location. "I am all moved in and very excited about it," said Nick Wright, the new owner of Purpose Roasters. "The transition from locations has been going great." Wright received ownership of Purpose Roasters on March 14, when previous owners Janelle and Travis Harrison closed the cafe due to health concerns. Unlike before, Wright will just be operating the roasting portion of...
Four more people in Whitman County have tested positive for COVID-19. This brings the total to 12. With the exception of the most recent case, Public Health has completed contact tracing for the patients. Those who have been identified as having "close contact" were contacted and given instructions. According to a health department release, "close contact" is someone who has lived in the same household as the infected person, cared for the infected person, been within six feet of infected person for about 10 minutes or had direct contact with...
Moderation in all things is a pretty good code to live by–even in politics. Or maybe it should be especially in politics. Citizens should constantly be checking themselves and their elected officials, regularly questioning actions and asking, "Is this going too far?" Some cases are blatantly obvious. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban received authority to rule by decree indefinitely and without any parliamentary oversight to handle the COVID-19 crisis last week. It may be the s...
Roger Harnack's April 2nd editorial quotes Benjamin Franklin about giving "up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety...," which was not written at the time of a pandemic, even though Roger wrote that our nation's forefathers were not unaware of them. Thanks to science, we now know much more about how viruses spread. I am glad we are giving up the right to assemble, as directed by Governor Inslee, for as long as necessary to stop this scourge. I happen to believe scientists more than I believe politicians. Medical and health...
I am grateful to have grown up and raised my family in Whitman County. In this strange, pandemic world, I am especially glad that I still call this quiet corner of the world home. Mr. Obama is certain COVID-19 is a result of global warming. Maybe. Our governor is convinced that social distancing is the solution to the problem. Perhaps. The only thing I am sure of is that there is a loving, omnipotent, and omniscient God whose Son overcame all things including death and disease on our behalf. I partially attribute that conviction to the input...
I have not seen a comparison of the 1918 flu epidemic to the one we are experiencing now. That one was devastating, too. There are very few folks around who could relate stories from then. I heard one my father, Harvey Barr, told many times and will share it. In their neighborhood of about ten square miles lived seven families. Harvey was not sick nor was Mrs. Daniels just down the road. Their families were. Each morning, after Harvey made his own family comfortable, he hooked up a buggy and off he went. First stop was at the Daniels because Mr...
Me: "Prohibition's drug pushing has gotten out of hand. We need to return drugs to a legal and regulated market." Them: "Legalize drugs? When you become a parent, you will become more conservative." Facebook post by a niece: "Having children, is like seeing your heart running around outside your body." This bachelor understands that. When my thirteen year old niece visited for a spell, it frightened me when she was out and about at night. The fear expressed itself as anger, and I was unable to communicate my concern. Adults have an instinct to...
Enjoyed Agriculture 2020 tab in March 26, 2020, Gazette. Especially appreciated "Voyage of a blueberry." Good research/story by Garth Meyer. Tim Marsh, McMinnville, Ore....
Many of us old folks who grew up in the 30s and 40s lived in isolation and social distancing, it was called living on a farm. Entertainment was scarce so we made our own. We cranked up the Victrola, played a lot of checkers, and if we were lucky enough to have a telephone, we did a little rubber-necking, okay, well maybe a lot of rubber-necking. Our neighbors, the Repps seemed to have the most interesting stuff! It was a special occasion when we would hear the clanging of the distinctive bell and we kids would rush to the window to view the...
