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1. U.S. STATES: Bay Staters hail from which U.S. state? 2. GEOGRAPHY: What is the capital of Lebanon? 3. HISTORY: Which major World War II battle was known by the code name "Operation Detachment"? 4. MUSIC: Which rock group had a 1960s hit with the song "Incense and Peppermints"? 5. MEASUREMENTS: What does a chronometer measure? 6. ADVERTISING SLOGANS: Which automotive company had the slogan, "Quality is Job 1"? 7. MOVIES: Which movie won the 1991 Oscar for Best Picture? 8. SCIENCE: What kind of adaptation allows an organism to blend into its...
* Following the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, thousands of hairstylists and alpaca farmers donated over 19 warehouses worth of cut hair to help absorb the spilled oil. * Los Angeles' full name is "El Pueblo Nuestra Senora la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula," or "Town of Our Lady the Queen of Angels of the River Porciuncula." Now you know why people usually just call it "L.A." * Sex expert Dr. Ruth was trained as a sniper by the Israeli military. * Looking for the perfect gift for the object of your affection? How about a toilet seat?...
WHITMAN COUNTY – County school districts are working on plans to re-open in the fall after State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal announced last week the intention from state officials. Reykdal laid out required changes to make it happen, including requiring masks and other modifications to normal operations. "I am very thankful, we want to see our kids back in the building," said Paul Clark, Colton superintendent. "I think (Reykdal) is the Superintendent of Public Instruction...
WHITMAN COUNTY – Entities in Whitman County received more than $15,000 from the COVID-19 Community Response and Recovery Funds for Eastern Washington and North Idaho. The grants are part of $746,012 awarded to 165 organizations in Eastern Whitman County Library åwas awarded $3,450 to provide PPE for library staff. The Council on Aging and Human Services received $4,800 for Rosauer gift cards for 12 small food pantries to fill gaps in supplies. Community Action Center in Pullman received $10,000 for emergency housing assistance and eviction pr...
COLFAX – The Colfax city council gathered Monday night on Google Meet for the last time, with two representatives missing, until COVID-19 guidelines for public meetings revert June 17. City Councilman Tom Huntwork was absent while Mark Mackleit was listed as connected to the meeting, though no response was given in the opening roll call. The meeting began, the council approving minutes from the last time, followed by a motion to excuse Huntwork's absence. Another roll call came for the vote, f...
A full road closure of 2.5 miles of Almota Road (from Stevick Road to Upper Union Flat Road) is set to be ended Friday – which has been closed since March. The opening, after months of work on the ongoing Almota Road Phase Four expansion project, comes after a shorter, temporary road closure was lifted Monday at the intersection of Stevick Road going south -- following the arrival of water springs which complicated the work. Overall, the 3.5 mile project remains on task for its target for completion at the end of September. “We're quite a bit...
Whitman County commissioners approved Monday re-appointments to three-year terms on the Emergency Communications Advisory Committee for Scott Kruse, Jaime Keller, Jake Opgenorth and Dean Wigen. County commissioners approved Monday Anna Hogden to a new three-year term on the county developmental services board....
Whitman County commissioners opened bids Monday for two overlay projects on county roads. Bids for the work on Steptoe Area and Rosalia Road came from Poe Asphalt of Clarkston ($302,110 total); Inland Asphalt Co. of Spokane ($299,681 total) and Shamrock Paving ($295,470 total). The basis of award was the Steptoe project, which put Inland Asphalt as the lowest bidder ($179,740). Documents still need to be reviewed by Public Works before the work is awarded. The first part of the project is for 2/3-mile asphalt overlay in Steptoe, encompassing...
COLFAX – The Colfax Police Department will receive $250,000 from a Department of Justice grant to hire two new police officers. "It's exciting for us," said Interim Police Chief Bruce Blood. Chief Blood has been looking to hire lateral officers since coming into the department. “Laterals” are officers who have already been trained and have experience versus basic recruits who take longer and more money to get in the field. "We haven't had luck getting laterals in here," he said. The quart...
PULLMAN – A former employee of the Bookie at WSU is facing felony charges for allegedly writing bad checks to the business. According to certificate of probable cause, on March 20 an employee of Bookie, Leslie Martin, reported a theft, alleging a former employee had written numerous bad checks to the Bookie. Martin told WSU Police Officer Brett Boyd that Melissa Abrams, 20, had written 19 checks between May 2019 and Jan. 2020 for merchandise at the Bookie and each check had bounced due to insufficient funds. When the issue was discovered, n...
PULLMAN – Pullman police responded about 7 a.m. June 4 to a report of a man saying "I have to kill someone." According to the arrest report, officers stated they were familiar with the man, identified as Christopher Short, 26. He had a history of mental illness and had threatened others in the past. When officers arrived, Short was seated in the driver's seat of a Honda Civic. According to the report, when Short saw the responding officer, he flipped him off and began to drive away. The officer yelled at Short to stop and slapped the trunk o...
COLFAX – The Colfax Police Department has dealt with some new scam angles in the past weeks, these related to Amazon purchases. In one case, a person received an email notification an item was being shipped. At the bottom of the email was "P.S." in bold font, then advising the victim to contact the fraud department if they did not order the item. Interim Chief Bruce Blood noted the P.S. is "unorthodox" and not something Amazon would typically include in correspondents. The victim is then "reimbursed" for the item, but the amount in the f...
Educators nationwide scoff at the idea of homeschooling children. Those in unions, especially those in the Washington Education Association in our state, say parents can’t provide the same educational opportunities at home as are available in public schools. A large part of their reasoning is social interaction. Indeed, those in the union have long argued social interactions are more important than allowing advanced students to move up a grade or substandard students from being held back. Even e...
May was Older American’s month. The focus of Older American’s Month is normally the contribution seniors have made and continue to make to our communities and the needs of older American’s going forward. I represent Whitman County on Aging and Long-Term Care of Eastern Washington’s board and represent the Counties in Washington State on the Washington State Council on Aging. We hear a lot about the capabilities and the needs of seniors. However, I believe right now the biggest challenge seniors face isn’t some bill going through Congress...
U.S. Wheat Associates reported the Government of Vietnam recently revised Most Favored Nation tariff rates on several imported agricultural products, including wheat. This decision reduces Vietnam's tariff on imported U.S. wheat (excluding durum) from 5% to 3% and will take effect July 10. The reduced tariff is welcome news to U.S. wheat producers, reports U.S. Wheat Associates, in part because it helps make U.S. wheat more competitive in Vietnam's growing wheat market. There is, however, more w...
WHITMAN COUNTY – Avista is replacing about 140 structures between Marengo and Shawnee as part of a 115kV transmission rebuild. The approximately 68-mile section is part of a rebuild that began in Lind and ends at the Shawnee Substation just southeast of Colfax via Ewan and Diamond. "It's a pretty big replacement project," said Paul J. Kimmell, business and public affairs for the Palouse region. The rebuilt is primarily focused on pole replacement and reinforcement of structures with wood p...
ST. JOHN – State Department of Fish and Wildlife officers referred charges to the Whitman County Prosecuting Attorney Office on June 9 for nine men from the St. John and Colfax areas for their roles in the illegal take of at least three elk on Oct. 5, 2019. According to a press release from the WDFW, an investigation by WDFW Police officers, along with a Whitman County Sheriff's Office Deputy, shows the men illegally used vehicles to chase, corral and prevent the escape of a large herd of elk near Endicott-St.John Road and Mulkey Road, b...
Real Estate Kirk Hansen to Rachel Lewis, house on 4th Street, Oakesdale, $59,900, May 1. Barry Holben to Jeff and Samantha Skinner, Emerson Road, $170,000, May 1. Robert and Anna Morgan to Jason and Tawni Bishop, house on Hall Drive, $244,000, May 1. John and Gisela Merriman to Timothy Whisenand, lot 1 block 1 Morrow land, Malden. $66,000, May 1. Jacob Bunyard to Steven and Anna Hildebrand, house on Cooper Street, Colfax, $184,000, May 4. Greg Rankich to Andrew Potter, house on State Street, Pullman, $185,000, May 4. Steven Aspenwall to Jamie... Full story