Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Colton’s long-time superintendent Dale Foley finished the very last day of his 17 years at the school Monday, Aug. 31, and walked out the door to retirement. Taking his place as superintendent is Nate Smith, formerly the district’s principal for all grades. Smith will now serve as district superintendent half the time and as the junior high and high school principal the other half. “I’m very excited about it,” Smith said. The school has hired Gordon Steinbis from the Moscow Charter School to serve as part-time principal for the elementar... Full story
Dr. Robert Slind, Mount Vernon, Thursday donated $10,000 to Whitman Hospital Foundation in the name of his parents, Dr. Ole and Bertha Slind. Dr. Slind presented the donation to Jon Davis, Whitman Hospital administrator. The donation was announced at the remodeled hospital’s formal opening ceremony Friday morning. The donation will be placed in the foundation’s endowment fund for the hospital. A memorial service for the Slinds, who made their home for 44 years in Colfax where he practiced medicine and both were active in volunteer work, was... Full story
More than 200 people were treated for flu-like symptoms in area clinics, urgent care centers and hospital emergency rooms over last weekend, prompting concerns of an outbreak of the H1N1 virus, also known as Swine Flu. Most of the patients were students of Washington State University, which reported a total of 302 patients had been seen for a flu-like illness at WSU Health and Wellness Service. Two patients were hospitalized for overnight treatment. No serious complications were reported. Samples have not yet been confirmed as the H1N1 Virus,...
Colfax volunteers extinguished a brush fire along the railroad track west of the railroad overpass on Highway 26 west of Colfax. The fire had been spotted by a Washington State Trooper. Cause of the fire was undetermined. Starting point was at the crossing for the former county road east of the bridge, but a train had not used the tracks Friday. The fire was in grass and brush along the railroad bank. The fire was considered under control after 24 minutes....
A race to the top—or to nowhere? Among the many federal initiatives passed in 2009 is “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.” The act attempts to put workers back on jobs and also slips in $100 billion for education related projects. The U. S. Secretary of Education, Arnie Duncan, designated $5 billion for competitive grants to states and school districts. Of that jackpot, $4.35 billion is earmarked for “The Race to the Top” (RTTT) fund to improve education quality and results nationwide. As with any federal program there are...
When Congress reconvenes next month, lawmakers will consider costly climate change legislation that includes a massive tree planting program. The plan, developed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), calls for reforesting 18 million acres of farmland, an area about the size of West Virginia. The theory is correct – the trees absorb carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and produce oxygen. And, because trees require less fertilizer and pesticides, proponents say water quality would improve as well. The only problem is where they plant the t...
THE BEST THING we could do to deal with the problem of reforming our health care system is to back up and start all over again. We’re moving too fast. I covered our own legislature in Olympia for 30 years and learned that tough, complex problems always required a couple of sessions, sometimes many sessions, to chew on and argue over until all the whys and wherefores had been exposed to public scrutiny. Why this new president wants to deal with all the ills facing us in his first year in office is beyond me. He’s got three more years to go so wh...
The right question. Just the wrong answer. It has finally been asked. County commissioner Greg Partch asked at the bi-weekly commissioners meeting if they should go back to meeting every week. The other two commissioners said ‘no.” Weekly meetings, of course, have been the routine for county commissioners for years. It was just this year that they decided to cut their meeting schedule roughly in half. It was a strange decision. For one thing, the county is facing tremendous financial difficulties. The entire organization is being asked to cut...
Whitman County commissioners Monday awarded All Surface Roofing and Waterproofing a $105,571 contract to replace the roof on the county-owned building at the corner of Main and Upton Streets in Colfax. The building was last occupied by Harazin’s Electric, and will be remodeled to house the county elections department. All Surface, Spokane, Aug. 17 submitted the second lowest bid on the project, but received the contract after the low bid of $50,300 from Royal Roofing and Siding of Pasco was disqualified because the company did not p...
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. **************** Deputy allegedly hit in face A formal charge against Thomas W. Benson, 61, Colton, alleges he struck Deputy Sgt. Donald Anderson in the face during a domestic violence arrest Aug. 27, in Colton. The report by Deputy Brian Keller said he and Sgt. Anderson attempted to subdue the suspect at the scene but Benson began to struggle.... Full story
The History Channel • On Sept. 17, 1903, Lester L. Whitman and Eugene I. Hammond complete their coast-to-coast expedition, the third trans-U.S. automobile trip in history. Their journey was memorable because it contained a small detour. Whitman and Hammond’s decided to include a side trip to Niagara Falls in Ontario, Canada, in order to dub their trek “international.” • On Sept. 18, 1917, 23-year-old Aldous Huxley, future author of “Brave New World” is hired as a schoolmaster at Eton. One of his pupils will be Eric Blair, who will later use the... Full story
Within a month, the Palouse region went from having long-distance access to kidney dialysis to having two centers in Moscow. Palouse Dialysis Center and Moscow Dialysis Center both opened in August in Moscow, offering a service for which people in the region used to have to drive to Spokane or the Lewiston/Clarkston Valley. “They both believe there is enough need in our community that both of them will survive even with the competition,” said Pullman Regional Hospital chief clinical officer Jeannie Eylar. “It was a surprise to me that we had t... Full story
Justin Ikehara There is a new face walking the halls of Jennings Elementary this year. Justin Ikehara of Reardan is the new science teacher for the middle school. Ikehara will teach all the science classes to Colfax sixth, seventh and eighth graders. Ikehara comes to Colfax from Federal Way after spending a year at the high school there teaching technical science to all grades. He was among 10 teachers who were cut at Federal Way in the wake budget cutbacks in the big district feels fortunate to be able to continue his career in Colfax. “I love... Full story
Meet the Bulldogs “Meet the Bulldogs” night has been scheduled for tonight, Thursday, Sept. 3, beginning at 6 p.m. on the CHS football field with the public invited to meet members of the football, volleyball, and cross country teams and the cheer squad. Hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and pop will be available for $5. The event will also offer “dunk your favorite coach” and field goal kicking activities for $1 each. Colfax football players will start their season the next night, Friday, at the football jamboree in Ritzville, and the Colfax... Full story
St. John/Endicott football season will start Saturday night with a non-leaguer against Highland Christian Prep from the Northwest 1B league. Coach Bob Clements and the Eagles have booked the starting time at 6 p.m. to allow the HC club more travel time from the northwest corner of the state. The Eagles have six senior veterans back this year to start the season. They are veterans from a young team which took their lumps last year. “We’ve got the experience from last year, and we expect it will make a difference,” said Clements. Back for more...
St. John/Endicott’s cross country team will have four seniors back from the team which took the SE title last year. The Eagles, one of just three teams out of the 1B class to qualify, placed seventh at the state meet last year. First race for the season will be the Asotin invitational Sept. 12. Starting her sixth year as head of the program, Coach Andrea Miller will be without the two top runners off the team last year. Ben Salzman, who topped the state entry, graduated, and senior Warren Miller will miss the season after undergoing a knee o...
Starting his fourth season as the head of the Colton Wildcats, Coach Clark Vining has six seniors back from last year’s club. The seniors include a lot of talent who could advance Colton’s fate in the SE B-1 action. Colton has also booked an unusual launch with two games next week. They will open at home Tuesday against Valley Christian and then travel across the Camas Prairie to Salmon River country to play at Riggins, Sept. 11. Riggins, which has 12 players, and most of them big players, started their Idaho season with a 38-28 win over Tri... Full story
An expanded roster and veteran experience should help the Nighthawks of Tekoa, Oakesdale and Rosalia rebound from a miserable 2008 campaign. Coach Ken Lindgren, entering year 20 as head of the Nighthawks, said the team opens with 45 players, including 11 returning seniors. Veteran savvy is one of the reasons Lindgren expects his team to improve from 2-6 last year in the SE-2B league. “We’ve got some experience this year, and that should help us handle the big boys a little better,” Lindgren said. One spot where the ‘hawks will be lacking... Full story
Scott and Lori Ackerman of Colfax make their last run in the qualification round. They qualified second in the super modified class. US Sprint boat racers and an estimated 3000 fans returned to Webb’s Slough Saturday for their second stop in St. John for the 2009 season. The full day of action saw close competition and just one serious spill from the racers who will be headed back to Albany, Ore., in two weeks for another round Saturday and the national finals on the second day, Sept. 13. Scott and Lori Ackerman of Colfax qualified second w...
THURSDAY Police in Antioch, Calif., find a 29-year old woman who had been abducted at age 11 in 1991. Jaycee Dugard was found with two children fathered by her kidnapper living in tents and sheds behind his house. The USDA reports farm income this year is forecast to plunge 38 percent to $54 billion due to lower commodity prices for crops and livestock. The 2009 forecast was $9 billion below the 10-year average of $63.2 billion in net farm income. A Viking hoard of jewels and coins unearthed in 2007 go on display in museums next month. The...
An open mic session will be at the Rosalia Performing Arts Center, formerly the Christian Church, Saturday, Sept. 12. All musicians, singers and foot tappers are welcome to come and share their talents or just listen. The session begins at 3:30 p.m., and is open to all ages. Performers can sign up at the door. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. All proceeds go towards putting a new roof on the center. A fund for the new roof has been set up at the Rosalia branch of the Bank of Fairfield. An over-sized thermometer has been installed...
The total value of Whitman County property will be 3.4 percent higher in 2010 than it was in 2009. Assessor Joe Reynolds certified a total county valuation for 2010 of $2,628,585,260 Monday, after the county’s board of equalization concluded business for the year. Total value in 2009 was $2,541,136,905. Reynolds said the $87.4 million increase was a result of more than $50 million worth of new construction and an increase in the county’s open space valuations. Open space, which assesses farmland on the basis of production rather than mar... Full story
At the age of 17, Kelly Reiber of Palouse cleaned up a corner of her house, acquired a digital camera and set about making her own photography business. One business license and 10 photo shoots later, Reiber won the state FCCLA award in entrepreneurship and found herself and her Palouse FCCLA advisor on a plane to Nashville this summer for the national FCCLA conference. FCCLA stands for Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America. The state award had 24 categories a student could win. Over 100 students from Washington State went on to the...
Proposed new rules governing the placement of wind generating power stations on residential property are now in the hands of county commissioners. Whitman County’s planning commission finalized and unanimously passed the proposed ordinance after a public hearing Aug. 26 that generated little comment from the audience and no citizen opposition. The planning commission has been working on the ordinance for the past year and a half. Though the residential wind ordinance passed without controversy, the commercial wind ordinance has been appealed i...
To avoid having the roof fall in on occupants, the county-owned Community Education and Training Center will be shut down for the winter. Repairs to the foundation of the CETC building may also be too costly for the county to keep the building standing. A survey of the foundation of the former Elks Lodge found the back section, roughly ten feet of the building near the South Palouse River channel, was built on river silt that allows the building to continually settle. The survey is about two-thirds complete. The CETC sustained significant...
