Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 55
Finch Road near Thornton will be closed to traffic beginning Monday, as Whitman County road crews replace a bridge over a drainage ditch. The bridge is close to one mile east of Highway 195 near the intersection of the Finch and Tuttle-Alexander roads. Whitman County’s bridge crew will replace a wooden crossing with a steel culvert. The work is expected to be complete by the end of the week....
The Sound of Bad-Car Karma W. BRUCE CAMERON I was driving down the highway a few days ago when my car’s engine began making an odd, expensive-sounding noise. A small light appeared on my dashboard, illuminating a small symbol that seemed to indicate my transmission had just lost a chicken. I called my mechanic, Melvin Walletdrainer. “Is the noise like, ‘klug-pee, klug-pee, krakatoa klug-pee-pee’?” he wanted to know. “Not really,” I replied. “More like a ‘Mike’s little toe, Mike’s little toe, Gary’d bite a bedpost for Mike’s little toe.’” “R...
Bagless in Seattle? On Aug. 18, Seattle voters will decide whether to reject a new fee aimed at reducing the use of paper and plastic bags. Referendum 1 would let voters have their say on an ordinance passed last year by the Seattle City Council. The measure would impose a 20-cent fee for each disposable paper and plastic bag dispensed at drug stores, grocery stores and convenience stores. Shopping bags from department stores are exempt, as are bags from “big box” warehouse stores. Historically, Seattleites have willingly – even enthu...
Where will all the old TV sets go? GOODBYE, little portable television set in my office. Goodbye, old but trusty television set moved down to the guest house when we bought a bigger new set for the living room. Goodbye, little battery operated television set I could at least get Canada on when the power was out. Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. Has anybody given any thought to the fact that all over this United States of America there are thousands of television sets that worked fine until somebody, I’m not sure who, decided it was long past time t...
#!*! Five candidates for the 9th District, but not one who will publically state that our president is a U.S. citizen. #!*! Has the city figured out that the new portion of Mill Street will not handle a Main Street detour? Send your Pet Peeves and Okeydokes to the Gazette P.O. Box 770 211 N. Main St Colfax, Wa 99111...
Billions more for other needs? It is hard to tell how much stimulus money is out there. Billions and billions of dollars for sure. Commitments may actually run into the trillions. Not so long ago, people used to say “a billion, with a “B.” It was to avoid misunderstandings and to emphasize the amount. Now, a billion does not sound like much at all. Congress is sure to give a couple of billion more this week for the “cash for clunkers” program, where the federal government gives money when old vehicles are traded in for newer ones that get...
The History Channel • On Aug. 23, 1784, four counties in western North Carolina declare their independence as the state of Franklin. In defiance of Congress, Franklin survived as an independent nation for four years with its own constitution, Indian treaties and legislated system of barter in lieu of currency. • On Aug. 21, 1903, America’s first transcontinental auto race, stretching from New York City to San Francisco, is completed. The race was finished by Tom Fetch and M.C. Karrup in two Model F Packards, which traveled an average of 80 mi...
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. Crews respond to alarm A Colfax fire crew, including the ladder truck, was called out Monday night at about 9:05 p.m. by an automatic fire alarm report at Whitman Health & Rehab. The alarm indicated smoke in the 300 wing of the building and residents were evacuated from the wing. A room by room search of the building failed to turn up any...
Palouse three-year-olds will be able to launch down a new slide, ring a bell, or run their fingers along chimes on the new-fangled playground equipment soon to be built in the city park. With three slides, a set of bells, a set of chimes, and other engaging toys, the shiny new playground structure set to be built this fall is specifically designed for three to five-year-olds, said Shelley Goertzen, president of the Palouse Little People’s Park Project. It will also have easier handicap access. “I am so excited. I’m like a child getting ready...
Whitman County has an end is sight for rules for placing small wind energy generators on private property. The ordinance for the small wind towers has moved ahead of the proposed ordinance for commercial wind generators which has generated objections from county residents. The county planning commission last month finished crafting the ordinance for small wind generators, and Planner Alan Thomson July 23 ruled the ordinance has no significant impacts under the State Environmental Policy Act. Thomson said Monday he was hoping for an Aug. 19...
Gracie Miller, top, of Belmont offers a variety of new crop veggies July 25 at the farmers market in the Legion Building at Garfield. Inge Bennett, below, of Tensed offered a variety of jams and jellies. Garfield residents also cranked up yard sales at multiple locations July 25....
Corps gives green light to bike ramp Colfax City Administrator Carl Thompson reported to the Colfax council Monday night that the Army Corps of Engineers has signed off on plans to rebuild the sidewalk approaches on the S. Main Street bridge. Corps approval was required for the project because the bridge spans the flood control channel for the S. Fork of the Palouse River beneath the bridge. Thompson said corps engineers determined the proposed changes to the bridge approach ramp will not have any impact on the flood channel. The corps oversees...
(SEE PHOTOS ON PAGES A5 & A6 IN THE WEEKLY PAPER SECTION) Pomeroy’s powerful swim team again churned up the waters at the Colfax pool in championship form Saturday to take home the Knights of Columbus Jerry Cluckey Memorial trophy for the third straight year. “It’s the third time we’ve done this, and it’s really an honor. Especially when you consider we’ve never won it before,” Coach Shelly Slaybaugh commented. She noted Pomeroy had a swim team for years before they took their first title. Pomeroy hoists the Cluckey Cup after topping six o...
THURSDAY The New York Times reports sluggers Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz were among the 104 Major League Baseball players who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003. In 2004, the duo led the Boston Red Sox to the team’s first World Series in 86 years. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control warned outbreaks of the H1N1 flu could surge this fall as children who attended summer camps return to school. Portuguese officials captured an escaped prisoner who had been hiding out in caves after 16 years on the run. The 54-year-old m...
A crew from Strata Inc., Moscow, last Thursday bored two soil sample holes next to the CETC Building in downtown Colfax in the latest part of an engineer’s study to determine if the building is worth saving. The bore samples will be used to determine the type material under the building, formerly the Elks Club. Evan Laubach, Pullman consulting engineer, said the aim is to determine whether conditions which caused a corner of the building to settle several years ago might still be present and lead to additional settlement. The CETC building s...
Community Action Center is again conducting a “fill a backpack” drive to collect school supplies for children in low income families. Backpacks and all kinds of school supplies can be dropped off at the CAC office at 200 N. Main Street. For more information call Gail Webster, CAC coordinator....
The candidates’ forum in Colfax, organized by the League of Women Voters, brought all five District 9 hopefuls together. From left are Susan Fagan, Pat Hailey, Glen Stockwell, Art Swannack and Darin Watkins. It was the second such forum, the first was held in Pullman. The five candidates for the 9th district’s position one seat in the state House of Representatives answered a slew of questions at a forum in Colfax last Wednesday, occasionally raising the eyebrows of the roomful of locals. The forum at Colfax followed a similar event last Thu...
A total of 57 ballots were returned in Monday’s mail as voting gets underway in the Aug. 18 primary election. The auditor’s election staff Friday mailed 20,268 ballots to registered voters. The mailing follows an earlier mailing to overseas residents and military personnel. In addition to the 57 ballots, the office received approximately 1,000 ballots that could not be delivered. Most of those came back from Pullman....
Construction in Whitman County fell off last year’s record pace in the second quarter of 2009, but still came in around average, according to a report by Dan Gladwill, county building official. Gladwill presented his quarterly report to county commissioners Monday morning. “Why haven’t we seen a downturn?” Commissioner Michael Largent asked after reviewing the report. Gladwill said the county has a unique economy that tends to avoid national trends. “Whitman County is kind of its own micro-climate,” he explained. He said the downturn hit harder...
Saturday, rodeo riders atop behemoths will fling dirt in the air as they wind their way through poles, around barrels and through a number of obstacle courses in the rodeo arena at the Palouse Empire Fairgrounds. But unlike traditional rodeos, these riders will be perched atop classic motorcycles. “It’s just like the cowboy rodeos, only we do it on 750 cc machines,” said Gary “Bootmaker” McGlasson, organizer of the event and President of the Northwest Classic Motorcycle Club. Riders compete for prizes atop street-legal, modified Harley Da...
Richard and Sedona Baumfalk rest with their horses at a corral at Union Creek Ranch. The couple and their two children are on a 4,000 mile journey south on horseback to the U.S./Mexico border. Their faces are sunburned, and Richard Baumfalk is walking like he’s saddlesore. Sedona Baumfalk said she worries about their 19-year-old horse. “She’s getting ribby,” she said quietly. Their two wiry, sunburned children wrestle with the host’s dog. The 7-year-old girl’s hair is snarled into golden strings from the wind. Meet the Baumfalks, a family from...
County Auditor Eunice Coker says customers in her office will face long lines if a decision made Monday by county commissioners stands. Commissioners rejected a routine order to fill a vacancy in her office. The order would have allowed Coker to replace a recording clerk who is leaving at the end of the month. Coker said the position is vital to meeting the needs of the public. Commissioners see it as an opportunity for her office to become more efficient in light of the county’s projected $311,000 budget deficit this year. “They are not lis...
Kevin Grenz, 49, Farmington, has been scheduled for sentencing Sept. 4 after he pleaded guilty Friday in superior court to an amended charge of child molestation in the second degree. Standard sentencing range for the crime is 31 to 41 months. An Aug. 17 trial date had been scheduled for Grenz after the court ruled he was competent to undergo trial. The ruling followed a court-ordered examination. The amended charge alleges the molestation took place in September and October of 2001....
Rebekah King, the driver of a car involved in a high speed chase between Pullman and Palouse last May, was sentenced to 45 days in jail Friday in superior court after pleading guilty to charges of drunken driving and attempting to elude. The high speed chase May 21 ended when the car King was driving caught on fire south of Palouse. A deputy’s report after the chase said the Pontiac hit speeds up to 110 miles per hour. The car began to lose speed as smoke began to trail out behind it. An arrest report alleged tests showed her blood alcohol c...
Cuts to county services may be forthcoming as Whitman County officials struggle to cover a 2009 deficit now projected at $310,812. The projected loss grew by over $57,186 from the deficit the county projected in April. That setback came when county officials concluded a second round of spending cuts in an attempt to offset the loss of revenue. Monday, county commissioners unanimously approved the year’s second budget amendment which included cuts but still had the $57,186 added to the projected deficit. The amendment included a series of c...
