Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Collin Pittmann, Rosalia seventh grader, was one of three finalists selected in the X-Factor television tryouts last week in Spokane. Pittmann was among 150 performers who took part in the regional tryout at Spokane. He will go to Denver next week for the next auditon round. Collin, now 13, competed in the 12-to-24 age division. He sang “Let it Be” and “You’re Beautiful” in the Spokane event. Collin, who performed at the Palouse Empire Fair last year and was in the cast of the Colfax High Scho...
Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in 2008. My ancestors come from Scotland, a place known for cold, wet weather, men wearing plaid dresses and a musical instrument that makes the sound you’d get if you sat on a bag of cats. Scotland is blamed for the creation of one of the most addictive substances known to humankind: golf. It’s also known for producing food so bad that even the people in England make fun of it. In fact, my father has always insisted that my ancestors were initially driven from their native land not b...
Even some of its strongest supporters now say that the federal Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, is going to be a train wreck. The question is, what are we going to do about it? According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, cost estimates for Obamacare’s new entitlements — the Medicaid expansion and exchange subsidies — have doubled since it was signed into law in 2010. The CBO originally estimated the cost at $898 billion from 2010 to 2019, but this estimate included only six years of spending, since most of the provi... Full story
Abraham Carpenter Jr., a farmer in Grady, Ark., has more insight into human nature than the average sociologist. “Anytime you are going to throw money up in the air,” he told The New York Times, “you are going to have people acting crazy.” Carpenter is quoted in an astonishing 5,000-word Times expose on the federal government’s wildly profligate program to compensate minority and women farmers for alleged discrimination. The government rigged the game against itself and in favor of anyone claiming taxpayers’ dollars. The enormous scam was se...
The United States Senate in a bi-partisan vote passed the on-line sales tax bill. This would require all retailers to collect and pay appropriate taxes to the states from where the merchandise was purchased. Currently, if an out of state customer buys on-line and the seller has no physical presence in that state, sales tax is not collected. Big national companies, such as Walmart and Target, with locations in every state, do charge and collect sales taxes on Internet sales, but most do not. Supposedly, for any purchases made that are not charge...
The T.O.R. softball team came up 11 runs short of the postseason. Playing at Asotin Tuesday night in a game for the last seed into the District 9 playoffs, the Nighthawks lost 10-0. Finishing in six innings, T.O.R. had four hits and six errors while Asotin delivered nine hits and no errors. M’Kenna Willey pitched all six innings to give up the nine hits with 10 walks and three strikeouts. The Nighthawks had an 8-13 record....
Colton High School senior Nick Robertson has committed to the George Fox University football program. A tailback, wide receiver and defensive back for the Wildcats, Nick was an All-State defensive back as a junior and an All-State honorable mention receiver this year. George Fox, in Newberg, Ore., is in the process of building a new football stadium and training facilities for the rebirth of the program in the fall of 2014....
Colfax senior Paige Mackleit tied for first with Sadie Garner of NWC in the girls sub district rouind at Liberty Lake Monday. The two leaders finished with 84s . Colfax boys placed second in the District 7 sub-district round at Meadowood Monday. The LRS Broncos took the meet with a 106 score, and the Bulldogs booked an 94.5. Odessa Harrington was third at 86.5. Kasey Johnson carded the top score for Colfax with an 84 behind the medalist score of 76 carded by Palmer Guhkle, Davenport eighth grader. He was four under par. Hunter Weitze carded...
The Colton girls softball team picked up a 4-1 win over Genesee on Monday before beginning an eight-day wait for the District 9 playoffs. Freshman Zoe Moser went 2 for 2 at the plate to lead the Wildcats while Winnie Schultheis and Kaitlin Druffel added one hit each. On the mound for Colton, Schultheis pitched four innings to allow three hits with one walk and one strikeout. Moser threw for three innings, giving up two hits with one walk and three strikeouts. “We played good defense, so I was happy,” said Colton coach Brad Nilson. Colton wil... Full story
The Colton Wildcats baseball team began their 2013 playoff push with 16-1 win. Playing at home vs. Pomeroy in the No. 1 vs. No. 4 seed game, the Wildcats showed why they had the upper slot. A season-high seven extra-base hits filled the stat sheet, highlighted by Austin Meyer’s three hits with a triple, Jake Straughan’s three with a double and grand slam, Carter Dahmen’s three with a double and Justin Meyer’s home run. Straughan pitched all seven innings to throw a one-hitter, striking out eig...
Susannah Scaroni, 21, of Tekoa took first place in the women’s wheelchair division at Bloomsday in Spokane Sunday. She has raced in Bloomsday every year since she was 12. This year was her first time winning it. Scaroni is now a junior at the University of Illinois, after transferring from Carroll College last fall to join the wheelchair track and road-racing team. Scaroni and her whole Illinois team raced at Bloomsday. Earlier this spring, she won the women’s wheelchair division of the Los Angeles Marathon.... Full story
Colfax Bulldogs posted a strong showing in the NE league meet at Mt. Spokane Tuesday. Coach Jason Cooper noted the Bulldogs qualified in all relay events and are expected to send 25 competitors to the regional qualifier next week at Riverside. The top eight finishers in the lane events qualified for the regional along with the top 12 in the two distance races and the field events. Scout Cai was back in action for the Bulldogs with a 9-0 win in the pole vault to set a meet record. The Buldogs also had Morgan Lord and Cacey Hall clearing 7-6 in...
The LaCrosse-Washtucna tennis team will play Thursday and Friday at the 1B/2B District 9 Tournament in Spokane. Competing at West Valley High School will be three singles players and one doubles team. At the No. 4 seed is L/W’s two-year No. 1 boys singles player Justin Wargo, who will aim to make a return to regionals. L/W’s No. 1 girls player, sophomore Lura Potter, has also qualified for districts, along with sophomore Brooklyn Hostetler. The doubles team of senior Chelsie Kneale and junior Amber McKaleb are a No. 3 seed for districts. Las...
The road to sub-districts for the St. John-Endicott-LaCrosse-Washtucna track team is a loop. Competing at Walla Walla last week in a five-team meet May 1, the team posted several top finishes before they returned to Walla Walla Wednesday for sub-districts. Last week, the SJELW girls took first with 93 points over Tekoa-Oakesdale-Rosalia’s 71 points. Gretchen Van Lith solidified her spot as the district’s top long-jumper with a winning distance of 16 feet, seven inches. Meanwhile, Annie Bai...
Colfax softball players crunched Liberty 15-3 over five innings in the first playoff round Tuesday night at McDonald Park. The win puts Colfax in the number-two slot for the district round next week at the Merkey complex in north Spokane. Liberty will also make the trip to Spokane. The two clubs from Colfax and the two from the Northwest Christian round will play for seeding slots in the regional eliminations for the following week. Liberty, the number- three finisher in the league race,... Full story
When the bus went through Dayton on the way there, the sign at the bank read 93 degrees. It stayed that way when the Tekoa-Oakesdale-Rosalia team arrived at Waitsburg to take a 7-4 playoff win and keep their season alive. The Tuesdsay afternoon in Waitsburg came after a doubleheader at Rosalia Saturday in which the Spartans struggled, losing 18-13 and 6-0. “The kids played well,” said T.O.R. coach Kevin Young, following the playoff win. “After Saturday, I wasn’t sure what was going to happen,... Full story
Alex McGregor, president of the McGregor Company, asked for support from Whitman County commissioners in an attempt to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ regulations regarding cattle grazing on corps’ land along the Snake River. He asked if the commissioners would allow the county Weed Control Board to help with a proposed study if the corps would cooperate. In an April 29 letter to county commissioners, McGregor proposes a field tour and a research trial he is “willing to organize to find a way to move beyond eviction notices for dedi... Full story
Farmington’s gazebo, bell tower and basketball court projects are moving ahead. The gazebo and bell tower roofs will be replaced this summer with money donated by the Farmington Harvest Festival committee. The 1940s basketball court will be rehabilitated with money from a Community Development Block Grant and donations solicited by city hall. Mayor Ron Dugan was set to meet with a contractor from Quality Fence of Princeton, Idaho, Wednesday to discuss the roof replacements. “We need to make sur... Full story
When Roxanne Hartman received her monthly newsletter enclosed with her Malden utility bill, she became angry. It was not her normal reaction. Mayor Ted Maxwell’s newsletter referred to a phone call the mayor’s wife received from a man who’s tired of “loose dogs knocking over his garbage can and scattering trash while eating the choice tidbits. He is tired of picking up the mess. He wants all of you to know he intends to poison the trash in order to kill the dogs,” Maxwell’s report said. “I am livid about this mayor not contacting the sheriff,... Full story
Jesus Cons of the Washington Department of Transportation performs annual maintenance on LED traffic lights in downtown Colfax Tuesday afternoon.... Full story
The feasibility study for the proposed Tekoa truck bypass is nearing completion. Sometime in June, the city council expects to get a report from Dave Kliewer of J.U.B. Engineering and Joe Tortorelli of Economic Development Northwest who began the study in January. The proposed bypass would create a route for heavy trucks to pass through Tekoa without going up and over Crosby Street/Highway 27 which is the main business strip. Instead, a bypass would be constructed on one of two routes; the exist...
The Whitman County commissioners on Monday morning approved offering Bill Tensfeld the position of Emergency Management/ Communications Director. Tensfeld, if he accepts the position, will replace Fran Martin who is retiring. Commissioner Dean Kinzer said there were three close candidates. “Each one had real assets,” Kinzer said. “We chose the candidate with the skills and ability for this job. I think we’ll be pleased.” Tensfeld is the Rosalia Fire Chief and ran for county commissio...
Boyer Park Concessionaire Dave Peterson last Thursday reported to Port of Whitman commissioners that so far this year business has been slow. He said he blames the cooler than normal spring weather and higher gas prices for decreased business. The port board made their annual visitation to Boyer May 2 after conducting a short business meeting at the office in Colfax. Peterson also told commissioners that all costs are forcing him to increase rates 10 to 20 percent at the camping sites, motel and boat slips. “I haven’t heard any negative com...
Causes of failure of the Bank of Whitman based in Colfax have been listed in a review conducted by the Office of the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board. Posted on the Federal Reserve Board‘s web site, the March 22 report notes the Inspector General conducted the review because of the loss sustained by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) when the bank was closed down Aug. 5, 2011, by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions. Reported loss to the FDIC at... Full story
