Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 70
Wylie & Wild West Wylie Gustafson and his Wild West Band returned to Steptoe Friday night for what could be the last public event at the Steptoe Grange Hall. Gustafson, now of Conrad, Mont., and the band played two sets Friday night at the Grange Hall to an appreciative audience. The performance was a fundraiser for the courthouse Relay for Life team, one of the entrants in the July Relay for Life at Colfax. The Steptoe stop was part of a tour for the band which played in Spokane, Post Falls and Snoqualmie over the weekend. The concert could...
A Chat With My Algorithm W. BRUCE CAMERON I pay an online company $ 9.99 a month to send me DVDs that I then lose and have to shell out 14 bucks to replace. It would probably be less expensive if I just shot the movies myself. I lose the discs because I set them aside to watch during my “free time,” and then they get buried in the piles of mail I’m supposed to be handling during my “work time.” Part of the service is a recommendations algorithm (RA) that assesses what movies I’ve enjoyed losing in the past and suggests movies for me to lose in...
On the record MARRIAGE LICENSES Samuel A. Campbell, 33, and Holly Jennifer Herne, 22, both Colfax, May 23. Jeremy Ryan Burkhart, 30, and Kayla Nicole Hoffman, 29, both Berthold, N.D. May 24. Zackery Ryan Spear, 22, West Point, U.S. Military, and Kelsey Rachelle Thurman, 23, Palouse, May 24. Trevor L. Alexander, 28, Pullman, and Jessica Kathleen Shiflett, 25, Pullman, May 25. Waylon Martin Safranski, 29, and Ashley Nicole Scourey, 22, both Pullman, May 26. Craighton Jeffrey Vance, 19, and Heidi Kathleen Allan, 23, both Pullman, May 26. Scott...
The Colfax teacher’s union presented a counter-proposal to the school district at a third mediation session June 14, but their proposal still does not budge on the issue which has deadlocked the two sides—the priority for laying off teachers in the district. “I was disappointed in their counter proposal,” said Supt. Michael Morgan, who now represents the school district in mediations. Colfax Education Association President Cary Cammack said the union didn’t change its counter-proposal because the district has not offered a suitable trade-off...
Spokane County Farm Bureau and WSU Extension will conduct a workshop next Thursday, June 23, to discuss what to do with land that did not get planted because of the wet, cold spring. Topics will include management of chemical fallow, fall crop opportunities and seeding dates, plant-back restrictions and soil fertility. The session will be at the Harvester Restaurant in Spangle June 23, at 6 p.m. The workshop is free and open to anyone interested. Coffee and pie will be provided....
Spokane County plots slated for tour WSU Extension will host a tour of research plots in Spokane County next Tuesday, June 21. The tour will include plots on aluminum-tolerant crops, spring and winter cereal varieties, weed management plus legume varieties and virus control. It begins with a breakfast at Frednecks Bar and Grill in Rockford. Preregistration for the breakfast is required by noon on Monday, June 20. The tour is free and open to anyone interested. For further information or to preregister contact Diana Roberts at WSU/Spokane... Full story
Inland Northwest Community Foundation recently awarded the Friends of Whitman County Library $30,000 to renovate the Endicott Library with support from the Joe M. & Florence P. Smith Fund and the Spokane Foundation Fund. The grant advances the fund drive for the project to $42,000. Other sources for funding include $6,140 from the Friends of the Library raffle and fundraising drive and $5,860 from the Endicott Community German Dinner and Auction. The renovation cost for the library has been projected at $120,000....
Jobs for college grads growing at a snail’s pace Just as thousands of college graduates are walking across the stage to receive their diplomas, the U.S. Department of Labor announced frail May jobs figures. Unemployment ratcheted up a notch to 9.1 percent and the U.S. economy added just 54,000 jobs last month - barely one-third of the 150,000 needed each month to return our nation to prosperity. Even more troubling, economists think the true national unemployment numbers may be much higher. That’s because the government doesn’t count the people...
The Persecution of Boeing H.L. Mencken defined Puritanism as the haunting fear that someone, somewhere may be happy. The National Labor Relations Board is haunted by the fear that a company somewhere might be creating jobs with a nonunionized workforce. Boeing has run afoul of that fear by investing more than $1 billion in a new plant in the right-to-work state of South Carolina. With only the flimsiest legal justification, the board wants to force Boeing to reverse course and locate the facility with its current operations in Washington...
Well Done My wife Michele and I visited the Dusty Cemetery in Dusty on Memorial Day. We were tremendously impressed with the maintenance of the cemetery. It looked like a well manicured golf course. We live in Pasco and have heard several comments regarding the cemetery’s great appearance by people who have driven by. The volunteers of Dusty in the maintenance of the cemetery are to be highly commended. Terry Stueckle, Pasco...
The candidate filing period ended Friday. This is when individuals officially put their hats in the ring for elected offices. Interest was high this time around, and openings for many local offices generated more than one candidate. The races with two contenders will be decided in November. The races with more than two contenders will appear on the August primary ballot. The fields then will be narrowed to two. These two candidates will appear on the November ballot for a final decision. Three such races have developed. The Colfax mayoral... Full story
Colfax Chief Bill Hickman Monday night reported the department this year is planning a slo-pitch softball tournament as a fundraiser for the Special Olympics. The slo-pitch tourney will take the place of a golf tournament, which has been the Special Olympics fundraiser for several years. The softball tournament will be July 30....
FALL TAKES LIFE OF TEKOAN Dean Gumm, 81, retired farmer in the Tekoa/Farmington area, died Monday, June 6, of massive neck injuries after falling while working on a ladder at his home, according to a report issued June 8 by County Coroner Peter J. Martin. Mr. Gumm died at the scene, and the determination of cause of death was accidental....
The warrant issued for the arrest of Cody Richardson after he failed to appear at a pre-trial hearing was quashed Friday after he voluntarily showed up in court. Richardson’s trial date was reset for Aug. 15 after he waived his right to a speedy trial. He has been charged with two counts of theft of a firearm for allegedly taking guns from an unoccupied house in the Winona area. Richardson was also the subject of an arrest warrant last July when he also allegedly failed to appear at a readiness hearing in advance of a July 19 trial date. R... Full story
Tiffany M. Jackson, 25, was sentenced Friday to 90 days in jail with all but 10 suspended after she pleaded guilty to a charge of possession of a legend drug, hydrocodone, without a prescription. She was allowed the option of converting the 10 days in jail to community service. Jackson was charged after she was arrested Feb. 10 in Colfax in what was initially a traffic stop. She was taken into custody after the arresting officer learned she was wanted on a warrant. She was also ordered to pay $950 in fines and fees.... Full story
Colfax Fire Chief Ralph Walter Monday distributed 113 fire prevention self inspection forms to downtown businesses and offices. Recipients are asked to fill out the one-page forms and send one copy back within 30 days. Ken McNaughton circulated additional forms Tuesday.... Full story
Clyde Lee Zurcher, 36, Tekoa, was arrested Sunday at Tekoa on a charge of attempted assault. A deputy’s report filed with the arrest alleges Zurcher pulled out a knife and threatened a neighbor when an argument started over control of a dog. Bond for pre-trial release was set at $2,500 in a first appearance in court Monday. Formal charges had not been filed as of Tuesday morning.... Full story
A volunteer crew was called out early Sunday afternoon to clean up shattered glass on North Main in front of Zip’s Drive-In. The glass containers spilled out of the back of a Toyota pickup truck. Deputy Sgt. Keith Cooper, who was responding to a report of a possible fight in Tekoa, was driving behind the pickup truck at the time. Cooper stopped for initial traffic control and cleanup before city police and volunteers arrived....
A July 18 trial date was scheduled for Steven Thomas Schuler, 35, Lamont, after he entered a plea of not guilty Friday in superior court to a charge of child rape. Schuler is being held in jail under a $50,000 bond requirement. Schuler was arrested at Rosalia June 3 after deputies received a report of an alleged sex offense at Lamont....
Cannons take twinbill after Pats 4-0 launch After pegging a 4-0 league mark under the revised Spokane Legion schedule format, Pullman Patriots sustained two losses to Spokane Cannons at WSU’s Bailey-Brayton Field Tuesday. The Cannons took the first game 11-4 and the nightcap 8-6 after the Pats made a charge in the last two innings. The Legion schedule this year matches up teams on four-game stints with a home-and-home format during a single week. In the league start last week the Patriots swept the four-game series with the Northeast 49ers, a...
Softball seniors get farewell Graduating seniors Brooke Webber, Lauri Gay and Christa Nyholm were honored June 8 at the CHS softball banquet. Webber and Nyholm were team captains. The Bulldogs posted a league record of 10-5, district playoff record of 2-1 and state tourney record of 3-2 for an overall 17-8. They finished fifth in the state tournament for the third straight year with losses to Pe Ell, which landed in second place, and Mossyrock which finished third.... Full story
Windows will rattle and cattle will quiver around St. John this weekend as the United States Sprint Boat Association kicks off its 2011 season at Webb’s Slough. Racers and crews will descend on the town Friday night, and park their boats along Front Street for safety and technical inspections. The line-up gives race fans a last chance to view the boats at their polished state before they are coated with mud from the Webb’s Slough water track. This marks the fifth season the jet-powered boats will rip through the channels at Webb’s Sloug...
Nathan Johnson of Colfax departed on a flight to Phoenix early Monday morning to cap a whirlwind week in the world of minor league baseball. Johnson, who completed a four-year college baseball career with the Whitworth Pirates in Spokane, Sunday signed a contract to play for the Kansas City Royals. He reported to the Royals’ facility at Surprise, Ariz., for a camp session. Johnson is the first Whitworth graduate to ink a professional contract since Matt Squires was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 19th round of 2001. Johnson s...
Whitman Cougars rolled all the way to Lakeland High in Idaho Tuesday to play the Bayview Whitecaps, a team in the Spokane Legion organization that would have to follow the playoffs trail in Idaho. The two games at Lakeland wrapped up a nine-game run for Cougars over a five-day span. The hosts took the first game 11-1 with Zac Druffel throwing a six hitter. The game was a close 3-1 until the Whitecaps scored seven runs in the fifth. Steve McAleer relieved Druffel. Will Dedic drew a walk in the fourth inning, stole second and scored on a... Full story
The 36th annual Colfax Junior Rodeo brought over 100 contestants Saturday and Sunday. The all-around Champion cowgirl award went to Tessa Johnson in the girls 6-8 class. She won the barrel race, CA Stake, goat flanking and pole race. The Johnson & Johnson entry from Eltopia took the top awards in the weekend event. All around cowboy award went to Traver Johnson in the boys 6-8 class. He won the barrel race, calf riding, dummy roping and goat flanking. LITTLE PEOPLE, 5 and under Barrels—1. Cody Inderrieden 46.96, 2. Payton McMurtrey,72.12, 3. Ka... Full story
