Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 54
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. ROSALIA CHECKS CORRECTIONS Accounts in the Bulletin and Gazette last week about the arrest of Karen Beatty of Rosalia on probable charges of first degree theft incorrectly reported the alleged victim in the case was Mrs. Beatty’s mother. The victim is the mother of family members who noticed the alleged discrepancy in the checks in their m...
Every generation has at least one life-changing event that impacts the way they see the world. I remember every detail about the open house at Fairchild Air Force Base in 1980. My in-laws had been visiting for about a week, and I had talked them into staying an extra day to see the air show. It was a glorious Sunday afternoon. We had airplanes on display from bases all over the country. More than 10,000 visitors had just watched the Air Force Thunderbird’s show, when I noticed ominous clouds building in the west. The volcanic activity on M...
“America needs more welders and fewer philosophers,” proclaimed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio during the 2016 presidential campaign. He hit the nail on the head without disrespecting philosophers. Industry News reported in 1988 there were 570,000 welders compared to the 360,000 in 2012. Considering the manufacturing and construction sectors have boomed in recent years, the growing shortage of welders is troublesome. Even worse, the American Welding Society estimates a 290,000 job deficit by 2020. This shortage is primarily due to the large num...
If you've only followed coverage of the Republican health care bill loosely in the media, you might believe that House Republicans, after much effort, passed legislation to deny people with pre-existing conditions health insurance. The issue of pre-existing conditions has dominated the debate over the GOP health care bill out of all proportion to the relatively modest provision in the legislation, which is being distorted -- often willfully, sometimes ignorantly -- into a threat to all that is good and true in America. The perversity of it all...
Mark down the first week of May in your scorecard. To the frustrated "do something even if it's wrong" crowd, that is when the Trump White House and the House Republicans actually got something done. They passed legislation that keeps the federal government running, which is generally regarded as not wrong, except for by some anti-government hard-liners. And they actually passed another important bill: one that would gut health insurance for millions of Americans. But hey, it was getting something done for the GOP politicians, most importantly...
Card of thanks This goes to all who voted for Donald Trump. THANKS A LOT!!! (said with extreme sarcasm). May God save the United States of America. Richard Stanton, Colfax...
It's still there. A large piece of real estate on the north side of the Moscow-Pullman Highway on the Washington side of the state line. It's pretty close to the expansive Palouse Empire Mall which runs along the highway on the Idaho side. Eight years ago, the piece of real estate was the focus of a retail vision: it would be the site of yet another shopping mall, but it would be in Whitman County. Stores there could generate retail sales tax income which would provide a welcome boost for the area's economy and inject sales taxes into the...
Colton picked up two wins in the 1B District 7/9 softball tournament May 13 in Medical Lake, beating Curlew 5-0 and Inchelium 11-9. The Wildcats advance to play Almira/Coulee/Hartline at 4 p.m. Saturday again at Medical Lake in a seeding game for state, to decide the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds from District 7/9. The state 1B/2B tournament will be held in Yakima May 25-27. Against Curlew, Colton pitcher Emma Schultheis threw a three-hit, seven-inning shutout before the Wildcats met Inchelium and trailed quickly. Down 5-0 in the third inning, Colton...
Track qualifiers from SE and NE District teams in the 1B division will compete for state tickets at the regional meet Friday and Saturday at Central Valley. The top five girls and the top four boys in each event will qualify for the state event at Cheney. Oakesdale girls, who rolled up 133.5 points for a 53-point win at the district meet May 9 at Riverside, will have 11 girls and three boys in the action at Central Valley. LaCrosse/Washtucna/ Kahlotus girls placed seventh with 40.5 points, and St. John/Endicott girls placed 11th with 29....
A cross-state bicycle ride was scheduled to start Sunday on the Washington coast at LaPush. The riders are expected to hook up with the John Wayne Trail which begins at North Bend and take that route across the state. Rosalia Mayor Nan Konishi said officials of the ride have advised her Rosalia will be one of the stops. The name of the event is Grand Depart according to the events website....
Colfax and Tekoa/Rosalia softball teams were scheduled to play Wednesday in the elimination round of the NE district softball tournament. The eliminations were the first of the final two rounds of the tournament at Franklin Park in Spokane with the final round booked Saturday. The round of NE eliminations at Franklin were originally set for Tuesday, but they were moved back to Wednesday, too late to be reported in this week’s Gazette, because of rain. Colfax moved to the Wednesday eliminations after bowing May 9 to Davenport 6-13 in its f...
Liberty Bell will be the opponent for Colfax in the first round of regional playoffs Saturday at Ferris High School in Spokane. Liberty Bell qualified for the playoffs as the number-two team out of a playoff round between contenders from WIAA Districts 5 and 6. Colfax enters the regional round after posting wins over Kettle Falls and Asotin in the last round of the NE district playoff at Ritzville. Northwest Christian and Brewster will also play in the first round Saturday at Ferris, and the winners of the first two games will play for one of...
Colton's Cameron Bean in action during the first two-part, two location, weather-delayed game against Pomeroy (starting at Colbert) to decide the District 7/9 championship. Tied at 4-4 in the sixth inning, rain, lightning and hail stopped a Colton vs. Pomeroy matchup in the 1B District 7/9 baseball tournament last Saturday in Colbert. The championship game was then scheduled to resume on Monday night at 5 p.m. in Asotin. They would continue just as the game left off – with no outs in the top o...
Funding has been secured for the Almota Road reconstruction project's phase three. The $3.5 million grant from the state's Rural Arterial Program will fund a two-mile stretch beginning one half-mile north of the intersection of Sommers Road and run south up Henning Hill to one half-mile north of Klaus Road intersection. Phase three, set for 2019, will be the last of four stages of the Almota Road rebuild which began in 2006. Phase four, which received funding before phase three, was set for...
The Board of County Commissioners Monday agreed to a site lease agreement with Wired to Wireless Airpipe, LLC, for a radio tower site near Malden. The Whitman County Emergency Management Department proposed last month to construct an emergency communications radio site near Malden for the purpose of enhancing fire and law enforcement radio systems. The initial plan called for the construction of a tower, but Emergency Management Director Bill Tensfeld said plans changed. “This is a completely different project,” he said. “It evolved that we wer...
The Colfax Downtown Association has awarded the first storefront grant out of the newly-established storefront grant fund. The fund was started earlier this year with funds paid to the association from Colfax businesses through the Washington Main Street tax incentive program. “We're glad to give out our first grants and help out,” said Valoree Gregory, Colfax unified executive director. The Downtown Association had $2,500 available in its first round of awards. Initially, a $2,000 grant was awarded to Garth Mader who had planned to pur...
Arrangements are falling into place for the annual Endicott Flea Market this weekend. The market is scheduled for Saturday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Previously, it was announced that the market would change locations this year from the Andersons’ lot to the Basketball Park on the corner of Third and E streets. However, the location was recently switched back the Andersons’ lot, across the street from the Endicott Food Center. “It was a logistics issue,” said Cinda Tribble, Endicott Community Club president. “Everyone just agreed it would be better...
The Edmundson Bridge project is clear to go ahead after parties involved in the delay signed a memorandum last week. A permit is expected to be issued soon for construction to start June 1. The delay came late last summer when the Historic Bridge Foundation, based in Austin, Texas, questioned whether the 1916 bridge should be saved. After a historical review process, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, the Historic Bridge Preservation Office and the Washington State Department...
Defense Attorney Stephen Graham questions Robert Barber Tuesday morning in Whitman County Superior Court as Judge Gary Libey looks on. Barber was accused of second degree assault, but was found not guilty by the jury. After a day-and-a-half of testimonies, the Robert Barber trial ended Tuesday with the jury returning a not guilty verdict after an hour of deliberation. Barber was charged with second degree assault, and the defense argued that he had acted in defense of himself and of others at...
Construction on the West Whitman Street project in Palouse is scheduled to start Monday. The estimated 90-day work schedule will include a 550-foot section of street and railroad tracks – with a new drainage system, sidewalks, curb, gutter and lighting. One potential barrier of complicating rail traffic has been alleviated by a coincidence. Earlier this year, ice damaged a railroad bridge near Potlatch on the Washington and Idaho Railway, causing a halt in train traffic. “At least through mid...
The kitchen at the former Elks space in Colfax will undergo a remodel thanks to three grants totaling $50,000 received by the Council on Aging. The organization will use the funds to fix up the kitchen as a community space where events can be hosted, including the Colfax senior meal. Paige Collins, executive director at the Council on Aging and Human Services, has long wanted to see the kitchen space at the former Elks Lodge in Colfax be remodeled into a community kitchen space. Last week, she...
The public restrooms at Garfield re-opened Monday, April 24, after a delay to fix a broken water pipe. A plastic water pipe break led to a three-week delay in the normal opening time. Garfield Public Works Assistant Mark Phillips worked to replace the pipe last month. The two-day job required digging out the pipe and pumping out standing water. The restrooms will remain open until Nov. 1....
A winter canola tour stop is scheduled for next Wednesday, May 24, at 10 a.m. in St. John. The large-scale winter canola variety trials with funding provided by Viterra will be featured, so this is an opportunity to see variety performance in different environments. Six different varieties of winter canola will be shown on the Ross Jordan farm which is located two miles west of St. John. Planted last September, the canola now stands at approximately six feet and is now all in bloom. Karen Sowers will talk about canola research now underway at...
This year’s Farmer’s Festival in LaCrosse will mark a date change with a shift from the third weekend of June to the fourth weekend. The date change was made so that the event would not be competing with other county events. The annual festival will be June 24 this year. LaCrosse Community Pride, the group planning the event, is now seeking items for the silent auction to occur during the celebration. Auction proceeds will go toward paying operating costs for The Gathering Place, which includes a meeting area and a kitchen, as well as the LaC...
Funding for the Hume Road reconstruction project is set after the county received a $254,000 grant last week to begin work on improving three miles of road south from Oakesdale at the Highway 27 intersection. The grant comes from the Washington Rural Arterial Program – funded by the state gas tax – which comes with a guarantee that the rest of the money will be granted in the next biennium. The full project is estimated to cost $2.4 million. “The funding will be there,” said Dean Corneli...
