Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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What will Lutherans churches do after gay pastors NOW WHAT? Now that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has given the green light to allowing gays to serve as clergy, what do Lutheran congregations do that have voted through the years against that? Peel off and form or join a new group that dissents from the decision as was done by some Episcopal congregations? Episcopalians and Evangelical Lutherans have been a partnership for some years now, sharing pastors and churches. The Episcopalians kicked off a worldwide uproar among Anglican c... Full story
The President’s speech: Now the discussion should change The President of the United States, Barack Obama, gave a speech Tuesday to the nation’s school children. It was to be broadcast nationally to schools. Days before the President even reached the podium, the speech became embroiled in controversy. Many parents demanded that the speech not be shown at their child’s school. Many educators worried about the message it would give students. Early on, several states decided not to run the speech at all. Elsewhere, schools were left to decid...
Jon Kehne of AmericanWest Bank presents Gail Webster of Community Action Center with a $1,000 donation. Webster said donated funds are used to make purchases which are outside the normal scope of the CAC budget. Many families now need help with back-to-school needs. One of the uses of the money will be to purchase shoe vouchers which will be used by students....
A harvest moon peaks over the trees Friday night at LaCrosse while fans enjoy visiting and munchies during halftime. The season opener included a junior class feed along the sideline....
Colfax volleyball team spotted Freeman 18-25 Tuesday in the first game of a non-league opener on the home court and then went on to take the next three games and the match. The win came after the Bulldogs bowed to Pullman and defeated Newport in jamboree rounds here Saturday to start the season. Line score from the Freeman match Tuesday was 18-25 25-17 25-17 and 25-19 “We just started to get our serving going,” Coach Sue Doering commented on the turnaround. After the serves started to hit the range, other aspects of the Bulldogs’ game came... Full story
• It was Chinese philosopher Confucius who made the following sage observation: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” • In 1875, a locust plague of epic proportions descended upon the Great Plains. Observers say it was 110 miles wide, and, at 1,800 miles long, stretched from Canada all the way down to Texas. • If you ever travel to China, keep in mind that the menu item known colorfully as phoenix talons are actually just chicken feet. • Farming is against the law in Washington, D.C. • When business magn...
Colton’s unusual two-game football booking for a single week went off the table when Valley Christian canceled out of Tuesday’s season opener at Colton. The Spokane Valley club called Coach Clark Vining Tuesday and reported they couldn’t make the trip south because of a lack of players. That puts the Wildcats’ season opener back to Friday when they roll south to Riggins to face Salmon River. The Savages will host with a 1-1 record after bowing to LaCrosse/Washtucna Friday in LaCrosse. They have a 12-player roster with one member of the team ou...
St. John/Endicott defeated Liberty in three straight Tuesday to start the volleyball season for Whitman county teams. The Eagles prevailed 25-12 25-22 and 25-17. Kelli VanLith put down eight kills against the Lancers, and Katie Jensema had seven assists. Trisha Luft hit five aces off the serve line, and Gretchen Van Lith booked 12 digs. The Eagles will open their home season tonight, Thursday, with Pomeroy as the guests. Rosalia is also slated to open their season on the home court tonight with Asotin visiting. Tekoa/Oakesdale opens their year...
Eagles quarterback Dylan Schmick covers the yards with Trevor Johnson, Steven Bowen, Dakota Hallenius, and Kyle Raynor putting up the blocks. Schmick finished with 178 yards rushing. After a dusty, windy power win over Highland Christian Saturday, the St. John/Endicott Eagles will travel to Harrison Flats Friday to play a powerful Kootenai Warrior team. The Warriors are rolling on a 2-0 record after a comeback win over Lakeside of Plummer in the North Star league. “They’re a tough, disciplined team, and they have a lot of seniors,” Eagle Coach...
With a new coach, a new offense and a new stable of young players, Garfield/Palouse looks to repeat its strong finish in last years debut season as an 11-man team. The Vikings finished third in an SE race which included Asotin, DeSales power clubs. The Vikes will travel to Springdale Friday for their opener. The challenge to repeat will be tougher, as new coach Scott Thompson puts together a Viking youth movement. The Vikings lost five seniors from last year’s team that went 6-4 and advanced to the playoffs. Seven freshmen have joined the c... Full story
Garrett Whitney strides past a Salmon defender on the way to a score early in the second half. Whitney and Garrett Blauert together had over 450 yards against the Savages from Riggins. LaCrosse/Washtucna/ Kahlotus Tigercats will travel to Burbank turf Friday to play a brand new Sunnyside Christian eight-man team. The Knights, who have rattled the state B hoop ranks in recent years, converted to football from soccer this year. “We expect them to have some pretty good athletes. They have done well in basketball for several years,” Coach Jeff Nel... Full story
Pomeroy’s Pirates are expected to bring a grinding ground game to Colfax Friday to test the Bulldogs in a season opener for both teams. The SE neighbors claim a pre-season scouting report similar to the Bulldogs; they graduated few seniors off last season’s 4-4 club and will return with a big line and some question marks at the talent slots. “I like their brand of football. We play Pomeroy, because they make us a better team,” Colfax Coach Mike Morgan said of the traditional rivalry between the two teams. The Pirates start the year without...
THURSDAY A huge wildfire burning in the mountains above Los Angeles, now the largest ever in the county, was started by arson and will be investigated as a homicide. The Station Fire has killed two firefighters, destroyed 64 homes and torched an area the size of Chicago across the rugged San Gabriel Mountains. Susan Atkins, a follower of Charles Manson convicted nearly four decades ago for seven grizzly murders, including the 1971 murder of pregnant actress Sharon Tate, lost her 13th bid for release. Atkins, 61, is serving a life sentence and i... Full story
A new school year has schools around the county living with the reality of budget cuts after the legislature sliced a hefty sum of education funding last session. I-728 funding was reduced from $458 to $131 per student, and schools around the state and in the county have been forced to come up with ways to bridge the financial gap. The I-728 funds are state monies given to schools to help keep classroom sizes down. The five districts hit the hardest in the county this year are Colfax, St. John, Lamont, Pullman, and Rosalia. These districts eith...
Construction on Almota road is underway with the public being told to expect another two to three months of work before the road construction is set to finish. With a price tag of $2.3 million, crews are working to widen the road, smooth out curves and reduce the grade for one of the hills. The 2.74-mile stretch under construction begins at the intersection of Duncan Spring Road south of Colfax and runs to near the Sommers Road intersection. The road remains open with a pilot truck guiding traffic through the stretch under construction. “The r...
Whitman County will conduct public meetings in the near future on the county’s new wind power ordinances. A public hearing on the large-scale wind power ordinance will be next Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. in the Public Service Building in Colfax. County Planner Alan Thomson said the planning commission will go ahead with the hearing, despite pending appeals of his ruling that the ordinance has no impact under the state’s environmental law. A court ruling in favor of the opponents would put the process in reverse, Thomson acknowledged. For...
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sept. 8 closed the road crossings at Little Goose and Lower Monumental dams. Corps officials said the closures were brought on by short-term staffing shortages. In addition, crossing hours at Lower Granite Dam are being changed to 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. The Lower Granite Dam road is closed on Sundays. No date has been set for resuming normal dam crossing hours, but the corps said it will announce when the Little Goose and Lower Monumental crossings re-open....
Duane Wollmuth of Walla Walla was hired last week as executive director of the Southeast Washington Economic Development Association – or SEWEDA - and the Palouse Regional Transportation Planning Organization. Wollmuth previously owned and operated the Three Rivers winery in Walla Walla, and has served on the state Tourism Commission. He also formerly worked as senior vice president of sales and marketing for the former Cellular One. SEWEDA is the lead economic development agency for Asotin, Columbia, Garfield and Whitman counties. The o...
Visitors to the Port of Whitman’s booth at this week’s Palouse Empire Fair will be able to see promotional videos extolling local business opportunities. The short films were created by Digital Barn Productions of Lewiston and promote the port and some of Whitman County’s smaller communities. One video will focus on marketing the port’s available properties to potential industrial clients. The second video will highlight business opportunities in 11 of the county’s 16 towns. The 11 towns were selected because they have sufficient infrastru... Full story
A bump on the landing strip at the Tekoa Airport will be smoothed over by a construction crew this month. A spring runs downhill through the Tekoa airport field and flows through a pipe under the runway. Over the years, the asphalt over the pipe became tamped down, causing a bump for pilots and passengers when their planes touch down. “Now the asphalt on the runway has settled, so you have a big bump when you go through it,” said Duane Groom, Tekoa’s public works director. The city council voted in April to apply for a federal aviation grant... Full story
Vehicle at crash site Thursday A rollover accident at the top of the Almota grade took the life of Erich Parizek, 25, a fish biologist at Lower Granite Dam. The accident is believed to have occurred at 11:30 p.m. Wednesday but was not discovered until Thursday morning, Sept. 3. The 2006 Dodge pickup was found about 300 feet down a ravine below the Almota grade. Parizek was ejected from the truck and found uphill from the wrecked truck. The WSP report said excessive speed was believed to have caused the accident. Parizek was driving down the... Full story
August’s top two primary produced a general election final between two candidates from the same political party, and local party officials are figuring out how to deal with it. Republicans Susan Fagan of Pullman and Pat Hailey of Mesa advanced to the finals in the race for 9th District State Representative, leaving the GOP with too many candidates and the Democrats without. “I’m becoming less and less enamored with the top two system,” said Steve Naught, chair of the Whitman County Republican party. Following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Washin...
The time to speak your mind at Palouse city council meetings may soon be shortened to a three-minute limit after council members Tuesday said a handful of people misused the open forum. Council members at the Sept. 8 council meeting informed the audience the proposed rule may soon be approved. For the past several months, residents Steve McGehee and Dixie Reiber have asked questions to the council that council members said drew out the open forum session too long. “We didn’t ask any questions tonight, and this is the latest we’ve ever got o...
Tattoo artists, award-winning pumpkins, fairy godmothers, carnies, a blacksmith, and preened livestock are a handful of the sights to be seen at the 60th annual Palouse Empire Fair, which opened today. With crowds estimated at up to 25,000 and good weather anticipated this year, the gates open at 8 a.m. today with the official opening ceremony at 10 a.m. At the opening ceremony, Iraq veteran Ashley Drewer of Endicott is scheduled to speak a few words honoring America’s fallen soldiers, complete with a moment of silence. Youth livestock j...
Junior, Krista and Alexa Given A single-wide trailer sits on a hill in Albion, windows rattling in the wind. Inside lives a single mother with two children. The stove barely works. The carpet is ancient. Times have been hard and with another winter coming on, Krista Given is less than excited about her living conditions. “Air comes in through the outlets. Half of them don’t work,” she said. “I can’t let my kids freeze,” she said. All this, however, is about to change. Given and her family were selected from among 150 applicants for a house bui...
