Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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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. CITY RESTORES FIRE CHIEF POSITION Colfax City Council members Monday night approved a new staffing plan for the city fire department which will restore the position of “fire chief” to the roster. Mayor Todd Vanek, who introduced the proposal, said it was worked out by the council’s public safety committee in conjunction with fire department volu...
Colfax freshman Bennett Gray carded an 81 Tuesday in the second lap of the district golf qualifications at Meadowwood to finish second overall. Gray logged a 161 combo score to finish back of medalist Palmer Guhlke of Davenport who hit a 73, one under his first round score, and finished at 147 for the two laps. Guhlke and Gray lead a field of 11 qualifiers who will be in the the state round. Dawson Strobel, Tekoa/Rosalia, finished third with a 166, and Augie Allenbach of Colfax, finished fourth at 169. Chance Weitze qualified for state with a... Full story
Colfax will have 28 competitors entered in the Regional 2B track meet Friday and Saturday at Central Valley. The regional offers tickets to the state meet next week at Cheney for the first five finishers in each event according to Colfax Coach Jason Cooper. Qualifiers for the two-day Central Valley show are from the NE District and the SE District. Some of the top features of the first round action Friday will be Colfax junior Caleb Brown who will enter as the top rated 2B high jumper in the state for the 6-5 mark he hit here in the last home...
The second of two public meetings last week on the John Wayne Trail drew several State Parks representatives to Ritzville, including Don Hoch, Director of the State Parks system. In remarks afterward, he talked about the John Wayne Iron Horse Trail process underway and what he sees coming for the conclusion July 21 in Clarkston. “I think it’s great, it’s going good,” he said. “We want to be transparent. We all recognize where the big issues are.” Matters at hand include how to maintain th... Full story
Colfax baseball players will face Okanogan at 10 a.m. Saturday in the first round of the regional final at Eastmont in Wenatchee. Okanogan qualified Saturday as the third-place team from WIAA Districts five and six. The Eastmont games are among four state regional sites. The team that takes two wins at each site will advance to the four-team state finals next week, May 27-28, at Wheeler Field in Centralia. Toledo, the number-four qualifier from District four, and Warden, the top team from districts five and six, will play in the other... Full story
Colfax softball team sustained two defeats Tuesday in the playoff round at Merkel Field in Spokane to end with number-four entry out of the NE league. The first Colfax defeat came at the hands of Kettle Falls which made a big run the Merkel playoffs. After edging Colfax 12-10 in the first game, Kettle went on to defeat Northwest Christian for the top slot out of the NE. The Crusaders were undefeated in the NE league run and were the top-seeded team going into the playoffs Tuesday at Merkel. Next round for Colfax will be against Dayton Saturday...
Kendyl Druffel throws out a runner against Curlew. At top, pitcher Emma Schultheis throws in a 10-0 shutout. At left, junior second baseman The Colton infield converges; MaryAnn Jacobs, Emma Schultheis, Jordan Moehrle, Kendyl Druffel and Rachel Meyer. It was a test of discipline. Don’t swing at high and/or wide pitches and you may draw enough walks to score 10 runs off two hits. Colton did just that last Saturday at Medical Lake in the Southeast 1B District 7/9 tournament against Curlew. O...
A 7-2 seeding game loss to Republic nonetheless sends Colton to the state quarterfinals Saturday for a showdown against Liberty Christian. The two teams will meet in Walla Walla in Washington's 1B final-eight round for the third time in three years. Colton swept their league foe in the regular season. Playing at University High in Spokane last weekend, the Wildcats trailed 7-0 to Republic before scoring two runs, off of a wild pitch and an RBI-groundout from Matt Wolf. Luke Vining led Colton... Full story
Cooper Lundberg of St. John/Endicott, seen here competing at Colfax, won the high jump at the B-1 district meet in Davenport by clearing 5-10. Oakesdale girls rolled up 112 points May 10 to win the 1B track qualifier at Davenport. The Nighthawks booked a 21-point edge over second-place Cusick. St. John girls finished with 21 points, LaCrosse 20, and Garfield/Palouse 14. On the boys side, Oakesdale stacked 53.5 for a fifth-place finish behind the 104 win rolled up by Odessa/Harrington. St....
County Coroner Peter Martin Friday issued a finding on the unattended death of Robert W. Welch, 64, Steptoe, who was found as his residence May 10. The coroner said Welch died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The manner of death was determined to be suicide. Martin said Walker had a history of depression, anxiety and suffered from severe chronic pain.... Full story
As plans are coming together for the annual Farmer's Fest in LaCrosse June 18, event organizers are seeking silent auction items. “We had a big year last year, and we're hoping for an even bigger and better year this year,” said Carol Cauley, one of the organizers of the silent auction. Cauley said all proceeds from the silent auction will be used to pay for operating costs at LaCrosse Community Pride buildings. She noted LCP lacks other income for operating the buildings. The silent auction process will go toward things such as insurance, ele... Full story
Gazette intern reporter The City of Pullman and Whitman County are working together to ensure the public knows of emergencies and disasters. The water main break under North Grand Ave. April 19 resulted in dropping water reservoir levels on College Hill and Military Hill and caused Pullman officials to issue a boil water order for some residents. The boil water notice was not announced using the emergency notification system. “That was the chief's call,” said Bill Tensfeld, Whitman County Emergency Management director. The Everbridge Mass Not...
Whitman County commissioners Monday approved code changes for a list of new cluster residential zones near Pullman. All are within two miles of the city on Kitzmiller Road and Airport Road: a change for a 20-acre plot from agricultural to cluster residential at Lentil Estates; another 20 acres at Legume Acres; 23 acres at Pullman Garden Acreage, and 20 acres at Amber Waves Estates. The changes come as a result of the county's tax sharing agreement with Pullman, which set a deadline of Dec. 31 of last year for cluster rezoning which allows lando... Full story
Colfax School board has chosen a new high school principal. Carrie Lipe will be formally approved by the school board Monday, after a hiring process which began in March with the resignation of current principal Nathan Whittle. Lipe comes to Colfax from her job with Spokane's District No. 81 as a teacher on special assignment, responsible for the science curriculum for grades 7-12. Previously, the Pullman High graduate taught science at West Valley High School in Spokane. She earned her administrative credentials from WSU. This will be her...
Gazette intern reporter All three Republican incumbents for the ninth district filed for re-election when state filing opened at the Secretary of State office. Rep. Joe Schmick, of Colfax and Rep. Susan Dye of Pomeroy filed for two-year terms Monday, and Sen. Mark Schoesler of Ritzville filed for re-election to a four-year term. In the county, Commissioner Art Swannack of Lamont and Commissioner Dean Kinzer of Pullman filed for re-election to four-year terms. Swannack represents district one and Kinzer represents district two. Both are Repulica...
Gazette intern reporter The proposed interlocal agreement to provide court services for the town of Albion was tabled Monday by Whitman County commissioners until they get information on where the proceeds from the court sessions would land. The commissioners have asked the prosecutor's office to make a determination. Albion City Clerk Star Cathey said the town has been attempting for approximately 18 months to start some type of court system. The court service would be used for violations of the Albion Civil Code. Top need would probably be...
A slide show of historic Colfax will take place at the United Methodist Church in Colfax Thursday, May 26, after a free community dinner. All are welcome for the event, beginning at 6 p.m. for dinner and slide show about 7 p.m. The pictures come from the collection of Joan Hubbard, spanning the years 1872 to the 1940s. Hubbard worked at the former Bill Walter photography studio in Colfax, from 1968 to 1972. Customers often brought in old pictures to get slides and other copies made. Walters made a deal to do it for free if he could keep the...
Hiring of William Mulholland, retired City of Pullman finance director, was approved by Whitman County Commissioners Monday to help design a system for timely reconciliation of statements for the county's accounts. Mulholland will work with County Treasurer Mark Clinton and the treasurer's office to upgrade the system. County Commissioner Dean Kinzer said the key problem they hope to resolve is a lag in the county's financial system which leaves the county unable to get up-to-date information on the standing of its accounts. The lag means the... Full story
Approximately 30 members of Gentlemen on Horseback started a cross country ride Monday from Hay. The outing was the first of five rides slated during the week around the Hay area and along the breaks of the Snake River. Host member Dennis Moore of Hay received permission from 21 area farmers for the riders to cross their land on the trips. The Gentlemen's group arrived with their own caterer who prepares their meals. They are camping on a flat in Hay across from the church. A welcoming...
Plans are advancing for the 21st edition of the Whitman County Relay for Life in Colfax, according to Taylor Johnson, community coordinator with the American Cancer Society office in Spokane. “We're doing really well, we have a lot of entertainment lined up, and we're getting new sponsors on board, ” she said. The relay is scheduled to begin at McDonald Park June 10-11, with a 6 p.m. start time June 10 and 6 a.m. finish the next morning, Saturday, June 11. The relay has been scheduled at McDonald Park this year because renovations are exp...
Ferguson Gazette intern reporter Port of Whitman commissioners May 5 discussed needed repairs to the roof of the Henley Court Building in Pullman. The building was built by two different contractors and two different roof manufacturers, said Port officials. The two roofs were installed in two phases starting in 2005 and 2006 by Firestone Roofing Systems of Spokane and Stevens Roofing Systems (now DOW Roofing Systems). The two phases of the building include phase one, which is the smaller portion of the building and phase two, which is the... Full story
Stripe rust on susceptible winter wheat varieties in an experimental field in Walla Walla May 4, 2016. Ferguson Gazette intern reporter Port of Whitman commissioners May 5 discussed needed repairs to the roof of the Henley Court Building in Pullman. The building was built by two different contractors and two different roof manufacturers, said Port officials. The two roofs were installed in two phases starting in 2005 and 2006 by Firestone Roofing Systems of Spokane and Stevens Roofing Systems... Full story
Garrison Keillor warms up the crowd singing a few verses of a hymn before the two-hour broadcast. A parade of English majors, Elvin Bishop, a veterinary urologist, mordant salutes to Wisconsin’s Paul Ryan and a mandolin player who used to live in Colton highlighted the Spokane performance of “A Prairie Home Companion,” billed as part of Garrison Keillor’s last year hosting the public radio show he started in 1974. The Saturday afternoon live broadcast began after Keillor stepped out from a... Full story
A small field of solar panels are set to power a water pump in Palouse by this fall after a $277,000 grant was awarded by the state. The money comes from the Washington Department of Enterprise Services. “Energy efficiency,” said Palouse mayor Michael Echanove. “That’s kind of the big picture on this.” The solar farm – to be made of up 2.5x5-foot non-tracking panels – is expected to save the town $8,000 per year in electricity costs. Apollo Solutions of Spokane is the contractor on the projec...
Turn-of-the-century farming methods are evident in this historic photo of a Palouse region harvest crew at work. Photo courtesy Joann Hamlin. 125 years ago The Commoner May 15, 1891 The school bonds election in this city on Saturday last resulted in the polling of the largest vote ever cast at a school election in this city. Polls opened in the Main street school building at 1 o'clock p.m. and closed at 8. The number of citizens voting was one hundred and seventy, of which number a hundred and...
