Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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After an e-mail arrived Friday morning, Aug. 10, at Palouse City Hall with an offer of $2.7 million in funding from the USDA for a water tower project on the south side of Palouse, Mayor Michael Echanove turned it down due to the terms of the package, no time to discuss it with the city council and more. The offer came in at the nine o’ clock hour, with directions from the Washington state USDA that it would need to be signed by noon. “They didn’t really give us any notice this was comin...
The Palouse Empire Fair office has moved its headquarters out to the fairground. As of this week, all fair operations will be handled from the fairground location instead of the county offices located in the Public Service Building in Colfax. This includes the selling of fair admittance and carnival passes. The fair office will be open this week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and expects to extend its hours to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. next week for the run of the fair. Wristband passes which allow entry for the week of the fair are $17 for adults and $7 for chi...
The Colfax school district board approved a new salary agreement Monday night with the Colfax Education Association (CEA) – the teachers union – after negotiations since the spring between Superintendent Jerry Pugh, CEA President Christopher Clausen and others. The 180-day contract sets starting salaries at $40,760 with a top salary of $78,000, plus six “responsibility days” and one professional learning day at per diem pay. Responsibility days refer to time spent by teachers setting up classro...
The Whitcom Executive Board named its new executive director during a special closed meeting last week. Tara Murker, a Puyallup resident with almost 25 years of experience in the field, was selected to head the county's 911 dispatch center in Pullman. Most recently a communications manager at the University of Washington Police Department for the past two years, Murker began her career taking calls at the King County Sheriff's in 1994. The executive director position has been vacant since January when Patti Kelly retired after 20 years, citing...
The last open swim for the season was Friday night at the Colfax swim pool. The swim will be sponsored by Greg's Electric and Colfax Thrifty Grandmothers. The Aug. 17 open swim drew 98 people. It was the third swim under the city's new policy of recruiting sponsors to pay the cost of operating and staffing the pool during the four-hour swim. The law firm Carpenter, McGuire & DeWulf sponsored last Friday's swim. Last day of operation for the city swim pool will be Saturday. Two lifeguards on the pool staff have already departed for...
Washington licensing offices will be closed and elections services will be down over the Labor Day weekend because of a system modernization project at Washington Department of Licensing. Vehicle licensing offices will be unable to do vehicle transactions beginning 5 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 30, and lasting through Labor Day. Some online licensing services are already unavailable and will not return until Tuesday, Sept. 4. Driver and vehicle licensing offices will be closed Friday, Aug. 31, through Labor Day. Residents will not be able to register...
You are cordially invited to enter "Inspired Palouse" sponsored by The Colfax Arts Council. The event is based on a classic plein-air painting competition but with a few fresh twists: 1. It is open to ALL MEDIA - painting, fabric art, sculpture, photography, etc. 2. Works must have an open air (plein-air) perspective. However, artists may either complete their artworks in the traditional plein-air manner on site, or complete the work elsewhere. 3. Subjects must be selected within a 75-mile radius of Colfax. All submissions will be part of a...
Local pastor Phil Misner said his goodbyes this month after announcing his upcoming departure to serve as assistant to the bishop in Spokane. Phil has led Sunday services at both Peace Lutheran in Colfax and Trinity Lutheran in Endicott since 2012. In addition, he and his wife, Jamie, have been deeply involved in the local community outside of church since making the move from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Phil has coached soccer and baseball, served as president of the board of the Colfax Community...
Travis S. Walters, 24, Lamont, was sentenced to 45 days in jail Friday morning in Whitman County Superior Court after pleading guilty to charges related to break-ins at Lamont July 21. Walters pleaded guilty to one charge of burglary and one charge of theft in the second degree. He was originally charged with two counts of burglary, but the second charge was reduced to the theft charge. He was charged with breaking into the Lamont town hall and the Lamont Community Church. Walters told the court he had returned to using drugs and that caused...
Director Cary Cammack has announced "Cinderella" will be the fall musical production for Colfax High School. The show will run during the week prior to Thanksgiving break, Nov. 15 through Nov. 21 Cammack, who retired as Colfax vocal music teacher last year, has agreed to return to direct this year's musical presentation with Maarika Vercamer, who has been hired as the new vocal instructor. Vercamer did her advanced practicum with Cammack at Colfax while completing her studies at Washington State University. Audition date for Cinderella will be...
Retired Whitman County Superior Court Judge David Frazier has endorsed John Hart to be the next district court judge. Frazier concluded a 34-year stint as a judge at the start of 2017 when he administered the oath of office to Judge Gary Libey. He served on the district court bench before beginning service on the superior court bench. Hart finished with more than 43 percent of the vote in the Aug. 7 state primary to top the three-way race and will face Robert Rembert, who finished with 29.6 percent. Dan LeBeau finished with 27.2 percent of the...
Whitman County commissioners approved Monday, Aug. 20, a traffic policing agreement with the county Sheriff's department to cover the cost of a sheriff's deputy who performs commercial vehicle inspection and enforcement. “This is basically tidying up paperwork from the '90s,” said Mark Storey, Public Works director, referring to a rule change in the Washington Administrative Code which required an updated filing for the agreement which goes back to before the county's last document on the matter in 1997. The deal states that the county use roa...
Classes started in Colfax Monday morning, and the school board met that night for a full agenda. Among a list of items approved included $472,916 in accounts payable/payroll, for the budget status report; the hiring of Heidi Koenig, para-educator at seven hours per day and Carrie Phillips, kitchen assistant at three hours per day, and Matthew Morgan, junior high football coach. Resignations were approved for Emma Klaveano, secretary two and Sarina Roberts, para-educator. The board also signed of...
Deputy Chris Olin responded Aug. 22 to a report of target shooting on Squires Road, which intersects with the Malden/Pine City road. Target shooting is now prohibited under the state burn ban which is in force in the county....
Officer Joe Handley Aug. 21 responded to a report of a vagrant sleeping in Schmuck Park. The 25-year-old man told officers he had been living on the streets in Spokane and met a Colfax resident who told him it was easier to reside in that mode in Colfax. He was given a ride to Colfax and dropped off at the park. He told officers he hasn't seen the people who drove him down here since they dropped him off....
Inclusion of an international maintenance code in the city's building code regulations was discussed at the Aug. 20 city council session. City council members have been presented with an updated version of the code which is part of a statewide program to update city codes. Councilman Jim Kackman questioned why the international property maintenance code needed to be included in the city's code. Kackman noted the international code was "voluminous" and probably contained requirements which his own residence would fail to meet. Kackman pointed...
Shane Lawrence Hagedorn, 37, Spokane, was booked into jail here Aug. 22 after a high speed chase which went through downtown Pullman and downtown Palouse. The chase extended over 19 miles, and ended when Hagedorn climbed out of the silver Dodge Durango pickup truck he was driving and threw himself on the ground. According to the arrest report filed by Pullman Officer Aaron Breshears, the chase started in Moscow where Hagedorn and another man were alleged to have stolen weed whackers. The two were seen leaving the scene in the Durango. Moscow...
Colfax Junior Golf results from Friday, Aug. 24, include: Age 10-12, Jacob Ward led with a 66, followed by Tyler Peterson, 73, Eric Christiansen, 75 and Paul David Buri, 109. For age 8-9, Kaitlyn Ward shot 69. The Colfax Junior Golf championship tournament was held Tuesday, Aug. 28, at 3:45 p.m. with an awards ceremony to follow at approximately 6:15 p.m....
Everett C. Johnson, 63, Garfield, has been summoned to appear in court Aug. 31 on a charge of possession of methamphetamine. The charge was filed against Johnson Aug. 17. According to the investigation report, Johnson was taken into custody March 14 when a Palouse/Garfield officer was called to the Garfield City Clerk's office where Johnson had appeared. The arrest report said Johnson was believed to be under the influence of drugs after he gave a varying account about people who were in his house and threatening him. During the interview,...
The auditor's canvassing board rejected 87 mailed primary election ballots which arrived with postmarks too-late for the Aug. 7 primary election deadline. The board also rejected 995 ballots which were returned as undeliverable by the post office. Of 22 ballots which arrived without signatures, the board accepted 15 and rejected seven. Of the 128 that arrived with questionable signatures, the board accepted 77 and rejected 51. The board accepted seven of the 11 ballots which were brought before it for miscellaneous reasons....
During a Department of Licensing (DOL) system upgrade scheduled for Labor Day weekend, online voter registration and updates will be unavailable at myvote.wa.gov. However, Washington residents can still make and update voter registrations via downloadable, printable forms available at the Office of Secretary of State’s elections website. The Secretary of State’s voter registration page contains forms for new Washington voter registrations and updates to existing voters’ information that can be printed in any of 21 languages and submitted by ma...
Loran C. Bacon, 22, Spokane, was formally charged Aug. 22 with possession of a stolen vehicle, driving with a suspended or revoked license and two counts of theft. Bacon was arrested Aug. 18 on Highway 195 north of Colfax by Colfax Officer Perry Tate, who saw him driving through Colfax after being informed of a pending car theft investigation in Pullman. Pullman Police were called to Safeway on Bishop Blvd. at 7:53 a.m. Aug 18 when a man reported the 1995 Buick Regal he had left parked in the store's lot had been stolen while he was in the...
