Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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The annual second-weekend-in-September Palouse Days celebration returns Friday with events to run until Sunday at noon. Along with the Saturday morning parade and 37th annual Palouse Show and Shine car show, new this year in downtown Palouse is more live music – with five bands playing across Friday night and Saturday. Also new are two brunch/lunch events Sunday. "It'll be fun and exciting, we'll have live music all day long," said Paula Echanove, Palouse Days volunteer. Palouse Days begins F...
Whitman Hospital district board members met in a special session last Wednesday, Sept. 4, in the hospital’s administration wing to review progress for acquiring the medical clinic and reaching agreement with physicians of Whitman Medical Group to provide services. The board reviewed a 36-page draft for acquiring assets of the clinic and a 16-page draft of a professional agreement with Whitman Medical Group. The hospital board has targeted Oct. 1 as the date to conclude the agreement with possible action by the board at their next meeting S...
A steady rain Sunday took a toll on the Palouse Empire Fair and shut down harvest in many areas for the second time in four days. The NRCS rain tally Monday morning was at .2 for precipitation logged Sunday and early that morning. LaCrosse weather observer Jeremiah Broeckel in his weekly report to the Gazette logged four tenths of an inch of rain for Sunday. The reading was twice the amount logged at the NRCS station at Colfax for the Sunday rain storm which put the brakes on harvest crews with crops still to cut and the last-day attendance...
Railways in Endicott will continue to stay busy as the new grain shipping routine goes into effect. After the merger of Whitgro and Northwest Grain Growers, Endicott has become a direct shipping terminal to facilities on the coast. Northwest Grain Growers is headquartered in Walla Walla. As of last December, 95 percent of the grain that Whitgro took in came from Endicott, Thera, Lancaster and Sunset. Once shipped out, the grain was then shipped in state cars to the port of Wallula where it was...
Drivers of two cars involved in a collision on the Walla Walla Highway near Central Ferry were transported to Whitman Hospital in Colfax Sunday morning. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Maria Lara, 55, Milton Freewater, was driving a 2002 PT Cruiser southbound at 10:19 a.m. and failed to negotiate a curve. The Cruiser went into the oncoming lane of traffic and collided with a 1918 Dodge hot rod which was driven up the Central Ferry grade by Jarin L. Herschi, 31, Sagle, Idaho....
Winners of the Whitman County Shrine Club raffle that supported 4H and FFA exhibitors at the Whitman County Fair are: 1st prize Roxanne Scharffer. 2nd prize Sydney Philips, 3rd prize Barb Wachter, 4th prize Scott Philips and 5th prize Cheryl Van Lith....
In last week’s Gazette article “Commissioners take flak, but extend pot moratorium” (Sept. 5), it was incorrectly stated that Lisa Brown, director of Washington State’s Department of Commerce, would speak at a Whitman County planning commission meeting last week in Colfax. It was Dave Anderson who spoke, managing director of the Growth Management Services unit for the Department of Commerce....
At the Sept. 3 city council session, Police Chief Rick McNannay reported the department now has two operating squad cars, and they have reached a point where the number of officers on duty can sometimes be more than the number of vehicles available. The city has a 2013 Ford Taurus which has been sidelined at Pullman for weeks with what is believed to be a failed engine. McNannay said estimates to repair the car have ranged from $4,600 to $11,600, depending on what approach the city takes to get the car back on the road. The chief said the...
Brian Oliver, a two-year city councilman, was sworn in Aug. 19, to take the place of Dave Baker, who resigned earlier this year after three years as mayor. Councilman Mark Hellinger served as mayor pro-tem in the interim. The city council will appoint a new representative to fill Oliver’s council seat at their next meeting Sept. 16....
LaCrosse candidate Lauren Stubbs topped five other contestants Thursday, Sept. 5, to win the Miss Palouse Empire title for this year in competition at the fair's community building. Stubbs performed a jazz dance for her talent portion of the event. Kyla Hanson of Oakesdale, who performed on the piano, was named first princess, and Lexi Brantner of Garfield/Palouse was named second princess. Scholarship awards included $1,000 to the queen, $750 to the first princess and $500 to the second...
Colfax schools started at 8:20 a.m. Sept. 9 for the 2019-20 school year, as planned. Final cleaning from a summer of construction lasted into Sunday night, Sept. 8, with Superintendent Jerry Pugh, Maintenance Director Mark Brown, Business Manager Reece Jenkin, Technology Director Carter Comito, and a group of other volunteers washing floors and windows and hauling in desks and chairs from storage, dusting them off for use Monday morning. "We wouldn't have been able to do it, between Mark and...
Trooper Katelynn Baxter responded to a report of an accident involving a combine and semi truck Saturday three miles east of Colfax on Highway 272. According to the report, Larry C. Smith, Colfax, was driving a 2012 John Deere combine eastbound on the highway at 2:47 p.m. Rudolf J. Goossen, Farmington, was traveling westbound in a 1999 Kenworth semi pulling a trailer. The report said the front axle of the combine was struck by the trailer behind the Kenworth....
Port of Whitman commissioners Thursday approved a motion to apply for the Freight Rail Assistance Program which would be in effect for 2020. According to the Washington State Department of Transportation, FRAP is a grant program open to applicants in both the public and private sector. The type of projects must be shown to maintain or improve the freight rail system in the state and benefit the state's interests. If approved, the grant funds will be used for repairs needed at the Port of Central Ferry. Currently, repairs that are being made...
A Port of Whitman County hearing has been slated Sept. 19 at 11 a.m. in the Port of Whitman office at Colfax to declare property which was the object of a $1.258 milion purchase offer from a housing developer based in Austin, Texas, surplus. Aspen Heights is seeking to purchase 25.17 acres. This purchase would be close to a quarter of the 100.5-acre parcel which is now in use for growing wheat. This portion of land is located at the intersection of N. Grand Ave. and Pullman-Albion Road in Pullman. Aspen Heights is an off-campus student housing...
The City of Palouse approved a retroactive $5 per hour on-call stipend for its Public Works Department Aug. 27 to match what they did previously for the police. Both stipends ended Sept. 1 as the city council and administrator Kyle Dixon now work on revisions to the city’s personnel and policy manual. The matter stemmed from the Palouse Police Department – which also covers Garfield – being reduced to two officers after officer Leighton Cox was terminated June 20 for violating department polic...
Dr. Dave Cole will conduct an installation service in which Martin Masten will formally become the pastor at the Garfield Community Church Sept. 15. The service will be at 10 a.m. in Garfield at California and 5th Avenue. It will be attended by the pastors who served on an interim basis while the church was seeking a pastor. Masten and wife Janice served the Garfield Church 30 years ago. He was a mailman for 30 years and as he approached retirement he sought to renew his ordination. They have been married for 38 years and have three sons and...
Port of Whitman commissioners last Thursday agreed to continue sponsorship for the PNW Farm Forum in the 2020 Spokane Ag Expo. For this upcoming year, the sponsorship will remain at $500. “Just a few years ago one of the featured clinics was the Snake River System,” said Port Commissioner Tom Kammerzell. “Obviously, the Ag Expo reaches all types of people.” The Ag Expo webpage shows people come from as far as Ohio and Georgia. The page notes four reasons attendees go to the Ag Expo are for the farm forum seminars, to see equipment and service...
A pathway to the river project funded by county .09 funds is expected to begin in Palouse this week with contractor Jesse Parkins and Palouse Hills Excavation. The $30,000 project will cut two pathways to the Palouse River from Shady Lane across from downtown. The switchback, gravel paths – about 200 feet apart – will reach the river where landings/viewing areas will be built, an estimated 15 X 15 feet, with benches. The work is expected to last three weeks. “If all goes according to plan,...
A Palouse River Rock crew from Colfax this week started excavation for the new office building which will house the dental practice of Dr. Matt Mellor. The new office building will be located on the east side of Fairview across from Whitman Health & Rehab. The crew is now excavating into the hillside for the building. Material excavated from the building site is being hauled south and deposited at a site below the north side of the former Community Bible Church which is now part of Catalyst...
At the fair’s main gate, wasn't it strange not to see the late John Henry of the Colfax Rotary Club taking tickets? Friday night's rodeo ran late, with an extended list of barrel racers, and Wylie and the Wild West was supposed to play at about 9 p.m. It was past 9:30 p.m. and they would still have to bring out the flatbed stage and get everything ready. How long would it take? After the last barrel racer, the Jones Truck & Implement semi rolled through the end gate, parked in the dirt just i...
Colfax Bulldogs unloaded 29 unanswered points in the first quarter against the Wahkiakum Mules for a big start of the football season Friday afternoon in the non-league game at Liberty. The Bulldogs posted a 35-7 lead at the end of the quarter and led 48-14 after the first half. Wahkiakum, which blanked Colfax 14-0 in the non-league season opener last year, came out tougher in the second half and out-scored Colfax 7-6 in the third frame. Neither side scored in the last quarter, and the Bulldogs...
The St. John/Endicott/ LaCrosse volleyball team opened the season with a comeback win at home over 2B Davenport Tuesday, 19-25, 23-25, 25-18, 25-17, 15-4. The team lost six key seniors to graduation and returns a mix of two seniors, five juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen. “We are young, but we are good,” said second-year Eagles head coach Jenn Johnson. The team went to a four-day team camp in July at University of Idaho and lost in the championship round to 4A Chiawana, in the eight-t...
Colfax boys and girls booked team wins Tuesday in the Josh Wright Memorial cross country opener at Northwest Christian. The Bulldogs boys finished with a 42 for an 16-point edge over number-two Valley Christian. Other team scores were NW Christian 93, Newport 97, Kettle Falls 110 and Chewelah 116. Colfax girls edged Kettle Falls, the only other team entry, by a point, 27 28. Junior Kolby Slate topped the Bulldog boys with a second-place finish at 13.07 behind the 12:14 win posted by Kettle’s Easton Pomrankey over the rugged course in the C...
