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PULLMAN — The Pullman Chamber of Commerce is receiving a $10,000 grant from the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) for its COVID-19 Relief and Recovery efforts. The chamber applied for the grant in April. Executive Director Marie Dymkoski was targeting the grant for the Pullman Farmers Market. “We plan to use this to support increased access to the market for Pullman residents, to bolster the visibility of our market to attract more vendors and customers,” said Morgan Sherwood, Pullman Farmers Market manager. “And to add some ed...
COLFAX - The Whitman County Comprehensive Plan is being updated. The comprehensive plan is a guiding document for all zoning codes, covers land use, transportation, public services, economic development, public services, parks, trails and recreation, facilities, and utilities. The Whitman County Planning Department held a virtual open house on Wednesday night to update progress on a revamp of the e plan, which has not been renewed since 1978. The plan is being updated for a Whitman County population of 50,480 residents, which marks a 13%...
PULLMAN – Pullman's Annual Fourth of July fireworks show returns to Sunnyside Park in 2021. "The location of the fireworks detonation was moved in 2020 due to pandemic restrictions and the desire to discourage people from gathering in the park," stated Kimberly Marshall, Pullman Chamber and Visitor Center office manager. It will only be a fireworks show. The Pullman Chamber of Commerce is not hosting a barbecue, music event, or providing additional facilities to the park area as they did in t...
TEKOA – The Tekoa pool is opening for the first time in two years on June 28 due to state COVID protocols and maintenance issues. The city pool normally opens on June 12, the last day of school, and remains open until the third week of August. It was closed in 2019. "We are still under COVID protocols and as a board, we are in the process of navigating changing guidelines on reopening a public pool," stated the Tekoa Parks and Recreation Board on June 5. "The state has put out a 20-page d...
PALOUSE – Improving water mains on three streets in Palouse continues planning with a concern for rising material costs. The city is looking to find funding to help pay $1 million to improve the Church Street, Culton Street, and H Street water mains. "We were hoping to move and be shovel ready by at least next summer," he said Mayor Chris Cook. TD&H Engineering was hired to help the city find funding and facilitate the project. When pursuing construction funding, TD&H Engineering r...
COLFAX - Tyler Paris is the newest member of the Colfax Police Department after graduating from the Basic Law Enforcement Academy at the youngest eligible age. No one in his extended family had been in law enforcement. It started in San Francisco, during Paris' freshman year of high school. A neighborhood friend who was a police officer invited him to do a ride-along. "I loved it," Paris said. "It happened by providence. I was invited to that ride-along and it hooked me. I knew I wanted to...
ROSALIA - Crews working on the Rosalia Trestle restoration project expect to finish around June 23. Motorists on Rosalia Road should expect delays of up to 20 minutes between Pine City-Malden Road and U.S. Highway 195. Traffic delays are necessary to allow Rock Supremacy crews to apply Shotcrete to damaged areas of the trestle. Shotcrete is a spray-on concrete that fills in cracks and holes. Once the Shotcrete finishes, height-restriction signs are being posted on the span. Rock Supremacy, of...
COLFAX – The Whitman Hospital Auxiliary is raising $5,000 to pay for a new curved mammography paddle to ease the discomfort of having breast examinations. About 800 women are examined with a routine scan of breast tissue that squeezes their breasts. “Too many women skip their annual mammography saying it is often uncomfortable,” stated organizers. The Whitman Hospital & Medical Clinic needs $12,415 to buy the new curved paddle, with the auxiliary hoping to raise $5,000 to pay for it. The auxiliary launched a fundraiser called Ease the Squee...
LaCROSSE – LaCrosse Community Pride is raffling a handmade quilt on June 26. The 84-inch by 70-inch quilt was donated by the LaCrosse Quilters. The drawing is on June 26 at the gazebo in the park during the Lacrosse Farmers' Market at 1 p.m. The $1 tickets are available at Startin's Repair, Carter's Market, LaCrosse Cafe, Bank of Eastern Washington in LaCrosse, Pioneer Telephone, and the Palouse River Quilts in Colfax....
PALOUSE – Summer swim lessons at the Palouse pool run July 5-15 and July 19-29. City hall is accepting reservations for the lessons. Private lessons are also available. Students living in the city are charged $35. Students living outside of Palouse pay $45. “Classes fill up fast so don’t miss out,” said Misty La Follett, deputy city clerk. For more information or to make a reservation, call 509-878-1811....
PULLMAN – Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins retired after 47 years in law enforcement. Jenkins was the chief of the Pullman Police Department since July 2010. He came to Pullman after serving 33 years with the Claremont Police Department in southern California. "It has been an honor to work alongside the men and women of the Pullman Police Department. They are all dedicated to policing Pullman with compassion and professionalism," Jenkins said. Mayor Glenn Johnson and City Administrator Mike U...
TEKOA - A Mennonite cycling group crossing the U.S. to race awareness for climate action rode out of the state on June 5, after spending the last several days in Eastern Washington. The group of 16 riders, two leaders, and two support-vehicle drivers were at the Idaho state line midway through Day 6 of their ride. "We're biking from Seattle to Washington, D.C., to promote (climate) awareness," cyclist Isaac Alderfer of Harrison, Va., said. "We expect to reach D.C. on July 28." When complete, the...
COLFAX - The Colfax High School boys and girls basketball teams are both 6-2 after winning at Asotin on June 1. For the Colfax girls, they beat Asotin 73-47. Junior guard Asher Cai led with 30 points. "She was everywhere on the court," said Colfax coach Mike Dorman. Justice Brown and freshman Hailey Demler each added 10 points. Rounding out the compact regular-season schedule, the girls also play on June 8 at home against Lind-Ritzville-Sprague, followed by the trip to non-league Clarkston on...
RENTON - Three local athletes were recorded as top 1B league performers during the abbreviated 2021 track season by Athletic.net. Oakesdale sophomore Jessie Reed posted the top time in the 100 with 13.34, and long jump with16'-4. Bree Rawls, a junior from Oakesdale, had the fastest time in the 100 hurdles (16.31) and triple jump (34-0). Kennedy Cook, a Garfield-Palouse junior, had the best 1B mark in the 200 (25.57) and 400 (1:02.23)....
SARASOTA, FLA. - Rosalia's Hannah Beach rowed with seven other women from Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) to a fifth-place finish in the NCAA Division III national crew championships. PLU made it with an at-large bid, after winning its fifth-consecutive Northwest Conference championship. Beach, a four-year captain from Rosalia, graduates in December with a nursing degree. "She's an incredible person to have on the team. A hard worker, models behavior for everyone," said Coach Andy Foltz. "She...
COLFAX - Whitman County Assessor Robin Jones died early Saturday morning, June 5, of cancer. She was 48. Jones worked for 27 years in the assessor's office, serving as assessor since her appointment in 2017 and election to a four-year term in 2018. County Commissioner Art Swannack read a statement at a commissioners meeting. Signed by him and fellow commissioners Michael Largent and Tom Handy, Swannack noted Jones' "work ethic and (her) energetic and joyful presence." Jones' daughter, Rian,...
COLFAX - Fifteen people are charged with furnishing liquor to minors after a Washington State University (WSU) student died of alcohol poisoning in 2019. Samuel H. Martinez, 19, of Bellevue, was a pledge to the fraternity Alpha Tau Omega on Linden Street in Pullman. He died on Nov. 12, 2019, during a fraternity event. The Whitman County coroner ruled his death as accidental acute alcohol poisoning. Martinez was last seen to be alive at 2 a.m. on Nov. 11 while sleeping on his side in the...
COLFAX - The scoreboard time clock was set to 20:21 and a gusting wind caused graduates to hold on to their mortarboards. It's how 48 students completed their education at Colfax High School. Valedictorians Hannah Buri and Kari Largent spoke, along with salutatorian Alexis Booth, representing their graduating class on June 5. "We all feel like we missed out on a senior year," said Largent, in her speech, before talking of how the class worked through their disappointment of their senior year...
TEKOA – "My horse and I are tough enough." That was the mantra of John Wayne Pioneer Wagons and Riders who completed the grueling 200-plus-mile, two-week trail ride on June 4. The wagon train and horse riders started at a farm in Easton and rode daily until they reached the Idaho border. "My brain I half-dead," an exhausted Rachel Miller, of Peshastin, said as she reached Tekoa. "In normal years, this would've been the end." But because riders were denied an opportunity to complete the trek a...
PULLMAN – A 17-year-old Pullman male was injured when his car rolled sideways along State Route 27, about four miles north of Pullman, on June 11. The Washington State Patrol withheld the teenager's name. He was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center for treatment of his injuries. He was driving a silver 2003 Pontiac Vibe south toward Pullman when the wheels of the car left the road while failing to negotiate a curve. The car came back onto the road but turned and rolled sideways several times b...