Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 51
“THANK YOU for saying, so succinctly, in your column ‘Afghanistan: Say we won and come home’ what many of us up here have been saying for years and having the courage to write this,” writes Peggy Burton of Coupeville. “I belong to a group here in Coupeville called Coupeville Peace and Reconciliation or CPR. Our local papers are very much aligned with military thinking. We have NAS Whidbey in Oak Harbor, and we find it hard to get much support for a different viewpoint. When we all have courage enough to stand up against this huge military-indus...
Conservation Reserve Program sign ups are taking place now. This year there is concern that the total number of acres in the program may go over 25 percent of the county’s total farmland acreage. Twenty-five percent is the cap for the program unless the county commissioners give special dispensation to exceed it. CRP was designed to pay farmers for not farming environmentally sensitive and highly erodible land in order to protect the land and waterways. The idea is a good one. It pays farmers to protect the environment and their land. Land i... Full story
• It was American drama critic and author John Mason Brown who made the following sage observation: “Reasoning with a child is fine if you can reach the child’s reason without destroying your own.” • The first Wal-Mart was located in the town of Rogers, Ark. When it opened in 1962, it had a total of 16,000 square feet of space. Today, there are Wal-Mart Supercenters all over the United States, and they measure at least 100,000 square feet and can range up to 220,000 square feet. • The original Maytag company was known for making horse-drawn...
1. GEOGRAPHY: What is the capital of Arkansas? 2. LITERATURE: Who wrote the novel “Captains Courageous”? 3. MOVIES: Who plays the title character in “Nanny McPhee”? 4. ANATOMY: The temporal bone would be found in what part of the human body? 5. MEASUREMENTS: How long is a cubit? 6. ASTRONOMY: Which planet in our solar system is closest in size to Earth? 7. MUSIC: What is a doxology? 8. INVENTIONS: Who invented Velcro? 9. LANGUAGE: What does the phrase “a skeleton in the closet” mean? 10. ADVERTISEMENTS: What kind of product did the animated ch...
Area Whitworth University students who have been named to the Whitworth University Laureate Society for the semester are Kelsie Kilpatrick, Oakesdale; Kenneth McNaughton, Colfax, and Rachel Witthuhn, Palouse. The students qualify for the academic honors society by maintaining a grade point average of at least 3.75 during the semester.... Full story
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. Pullman driver hits bridge Suprateek S. Sarker, 45, Pullman, was unhurt Sunday afternoon Aug. 8 when he lost control of a 2002 BMW X5 sports car and struck the bridge barrier next to the Colfax Chevron lot on Highway 195. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Sarker was driving southbound into Colfax at 2:08 p.m. and drove off the...
—John Henry photo A piece of Colfax commercial history departed the Main Street scene Monday when the Fonk’s sign came down from the former variety store building. Steve and Debbie Warwick, who recently purchased the building, have been upgrading the structure which they use for storage in their Sports Shack operation. The Fonk’ s name derives from a chain of area variety stores operated by A. Fonkelsrud. The Colfax store, which closed in 2000, was started in 1928 by W.A. Johnson who originally was employed by Fonkelsrud. Johnson purchased the...
Next Tuesday’s mandatory meeting for parents and athletes involved in Colfax fall sports will include participants in the Jennings Junior High sports programs, according to Athletic Director Mike Morgan. One or both parents are required to attend with their sports participant to be informed of sports policies and rules. Jennings fall programs include football, basketball and cross country. High school sports include football, volleyball and cross country. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. at the high school. First day of high school football p... Full story
Colfax golfer Dixie Brannon Monday aced the 11th hole at the Coeur d’Alene Municipal course in the women’s Northwest Regional Golf Association Tournament. She used a number-five club to hit the ace at the 133-yard number 11 hole. Dixie scored a 97 for the round....
A Bi-County sports scheduling format which has resulted in hundreds of bus miles and several non-competitive games will be off the board this year when the school sports season cranks up next month. The change is the result of a two-year adjustment in classification assignments after school enrollment counts by the WIAA. The result of the new assignments means that Colfax volleyball and basketball teams will no longer hit the road to play teams in the 1B division. Beside the miles, the schedule often led to lop-sided scores that netted...
Girls in the 14-under class hit the water in the 50 freestyle event early in the Saturday meet. Pomeroy’s pool crew turned in another strong performance at Colfax Saturday to win the coveted Cluckey Cup, the trophy for the Knight’s of Columbus Jerry Cluckey Memorial Swim meet, for the fourth straight time. The Pomeroy team rolled up 431.5 points to dominate the six other teams at the meet and take the trophy for the fourth straight year. Colfax swimmers stacked up 350 points to place second this year and collected trophies for three of the fou...
THURSDAY A New York judge dismissed charges against Japanese competitive eating champion Takeru Kobayashi, 32, for crashing the gates at the July 4 eating competition at Nathan’s Famous Frankfurters near New York City’s Coney Island amusement park. A research report by London School of Economics sociologist Catherine Hakim showed men, contrary to popular belief, pull their weight in family duties when paid and unpaid duties such as housework, care and voluntary work are taken into account. Judge Vaughn Walker of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of...
MARRIAGE LICENSES Jose Hurtado, Jr. 25, Pullman and Juana Camarena, 22, Pullman, July 27. Kurtis Semler, 27, Pullman and Lillia Green, 20, Palmdale, July 28. Reid Camp, 23, Moscow and Meghan Leiper, 31, Moscow, Aug. 2. Brad Chandler, 48, Oakesdale and Shelia Curtis, 44, Oakesdale, Aug. 2. Brandon Greene, 23, Decatur, GA and Ashley Delorme, 23, Decatur, GA, Aug. 3. BUILDING PERMITS Drew Peterson, gas furnace, $2,500, 205 W. 8th, July 27. Jerry Binder, gas/electric rooftop unit, $9,311, 204 S. Main, Aug. 2. REAL ESTATE SALES Cooper Basin...
New owner Chris Mathis introduces her new fall display, full of bright orange pumpkins. Mathis moved to Colfax last month from Moses Lake to take over the store. Ownership of Colfax’s Cottage Gate has switched hands. New owner Chris Mathis is days away from signing the final paperwork on the business. Mathis said the store will still have an active floral and coffee business but she plans on adding a café in later months. Former owner Rayanna DeFord sold the business to Mathis because the stress of running the place was exacerbating her on...
Whitman County commissioners need to better understand exactly what their former finance department did before assigning out its duties, Auditor Eunice Coker said this week. “They’re moving ahead with things, and I don’t think they even fully understand what the finance department did,” Coker said of last week’s move to create an administrative position in the commissioners’ office. Commissioners Aug. 2 created a finance administrator job that would handle several duties like coordinating grants and negotiating budgets, but will primarily o...
Workers from Central Pre-Mix pour the concrete foundation for a new 160,000-bushel grain bin for Almota Elevator Co. at their port site on the Snake River. The steel structure will be ready for storage next spring. It will replace the company’s wood crib elevator. The crib was built for $25,000 in 1941. Almota last winter built a 250,000-bushel steel bin at the site where a concrete elevator blew out in 2000. Both of the new elevators have robotic arms to sweep the bin floors. Assistant manager Dan Hart said the arms eliminate the need for e...
Five minutes before opening, staff of the newly remodeled Whitman County Colfax library were wiping down windows, rigging up a sign with their new hours and putting the final touches on book shelves. The 10 a.m. opening time hit, and two people entered. Ten minutes later, the place was flooded with parents, children and others exploring the “new” library. The renovations added an elevator, a skylight, an expanded children’s corner, remodeled offices for the staff and handi-cap accessible entrances. The town has been without their library buildi... Full story
Whitman County’s planning commission is trying to develop a way to reduce the amount of necessary paperwork required to build near wetlands. Tighter regulations laid out by the state Department of Ecology are expected to complicate the process of permitting such developments. The planning commission is trying to massage those requirements to keep building and permitting costs low. “It’s a negotiation between us and ecology,” said County Planner Alan Thomson. “Ecology is asking us to be much more cautious about how we document what led to a...
Palouse city council and would-be developer Nicole Wood clashed once more at a city council meeting Tuesday night, opening up a now two-year struggle over extending water lines to Wood’s property. In a heated debate that lasted for the better part of an hour, Palouse real estate agent Patti Green-Kent, representing Wood, accused the city of Palouse of neglecting to write up a concise water and sewer plan. This is preventing Wood from having a clear direction for the proper guidelines needed for installing water and sewer service to Wood’s lan...
A $200,000 bond for pre-trial release was set for Paul S. Bickle, 32, new LaCrosse resident who was arrested Monday as a suspect in at least eight crimes committed over the past three weeks. Also arrested was Vikki Jane Kropp, 37, who officers say resided with Bickle at the trailer home in LaCrosse. They were arrested Monday after officers in Pullman said they observed them attempt to break into a construction trailer at the WalMart site the previous night. Bickle started work as a night watchman at the WalMart site at the first of the month....
Lack of rain a half a world away kicked soft white wheat prices up a buck last week on Main Street in Colfax. Portland’s offer for wheat surged just past $7 per bushel Aug. 5 after Russia’s Vladimir Putin announced his nation would stop exporting wheat through the end of this year. The country’s wheat crop has been hit hard by drought and a record heat wave. Thursday’s $.60 price spike is a rarity during harvest, when prices typically hit their annual valley, said Glenn Squires, vice president of the Washington Grain Alliance. “You definitel... Full story
Garfield barber Gene Bridge charged four bits for a haircut when he began cutting hair in 1952. Fifty-eight years later and three weeks away from retirement, Bridge, now 84, now just takes donations for a haircut, which range from $7 to $10. “Still going to retire next month?” asked customer Bob Felgenhauer of Oakesdale as he settled into the barber chair last Thursday. “Yeah, I think so,” Bridge said. “About time isn’t it? You’re only 85 aren’t you?” “84! You’re trying to jack me up a year,” Bridge said with a laugh. For the past 58 years,...
A lack of local political competition appears to be dampening the eagerness of Whitman County voters in the current primary election. As of Tuesday, one week from the Aug. 17 primary election night count, voters had returned 3,202 of the 19,273 ballots sent out by the county elections office – good for a turnout of 16.6 percent. Ballots for the election must be postmarked or returned to the auditor’s office by next Tuesday, Aug. 17. The mark is just under the 21 percent ballot return rate from last year’s special primary, which featured a fiv... Full story
Whitman County’s Farm Service Agency committee has asked county commissioners permission to lift the cap on the amount of county land that can be enrolled in the Conservation Reserve Program. Federal regulations limit the amount of land that can be enrolled in CRP to 25 percent of a county’s cropland. Whitman County currently has 191,457 acres, or 18 percent of its cropland enrolled in CRP. Under CRP, landowners receive payments under long-term contracts to remove environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production. The first gen...
Hopes that world peace is indeed possible were stoked Tuesday morning as Todd Imeson’s green John Deere combine and Jim White’s red International Harvester came together to cut the same field on Union Flat near Wilcox. If red and green combines can work together, might it be possible for Democrats and Republicans to cooperate as well?...
