Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 51 - 64 of 64
After hearing complaints, compliments and calls to “Git r’ Done” throughout two hours of public testimony last Wednesday, Sept. 16, Whitman County’s planning commission decided to delay a vote on the proposed industrial wind tower ordinance until Oct. 7. The commission has been working on the ordinance since October of 2007. The ordinance requires wind turbines be placed at least five times their overall height from buildings and 1.5 times their height from adjoining property lines. Wednesday’s hearing drew criticism of the proposed draft fro...
Whitman County pays private quarry owners less than any county in the state. Public Works Director Mark Storey said that needs to change if the county wants to continue to have a reliable supply of road rock. “We are right now the cheapest rate in Eastern Washington,” Storey told county commissioners in a workshop Monday. “If we don’t raise our rates, we may not have some quarries in very critical areas.” Currently, the county pays 20 cents per ton of rock taken from privately-owned quarries. More than half of the 30 quarries used by the count...
Fran Maxwell, WSU Whitman County Master Food Preserver, alerted the Gazette last week that a recipe for pumpkin jar bread in the Friends of the Library’s “More Recipes from Our Friends” cookbook presents the potential for botulism poisoning. Maxwell said the pH level, the amount of moisture and the airless environment of canned breads is in the right range for the growth of the C. botulism toxin to form a potent toxin. “It’s a wonderful recipe. I’m probably going to make it,” said Maxwell. “I just won’t can it.” Library director Kristie Ki...
A semi truck and two trailers landed on their sides in the ditch off Highway 195 after driver Doyal W. Snider, 50, Selah, rolled the truck off the road shortly after 1 p.m. Monday afternoon. The rollover blocked the highway at the Round Barn Hill corner for about 30 minutes as crews cleaned up the accident. Snider had to be extracted from the collapsed roof of his 2007 Volvo truck tractor but was not injured. According to a State Patrol report, Snider was driving southbound when the truck, which was towing two empty trailers, drifted onto the...
A petition by Brandon J. Wagner, who is serving a year in jail on a child rape conviction, was denied Friday in superior court. Judge David Frazier told Wagner his petition amounted to a repeat of an earlier request, which was denied Aug. 28. Wagner had sought release from jail to seek employment or a furlough to apply for bankruptcy. He had been denied a similar request earlier because work release privileges are not allowed to sex offenders. Judge Frazier said the ruling of Aug. 28 decided the matter, and told Wagner any additional requests...
Oakesdale’s popular antique and consignment shop, Two Old Hammers, will close after Oct. 3. Suzanne Hammer said she is putting the wraps on the store because she and her husband, Terry, are up to their necks in other projects. “It was more successful than we ever imagined,” Hammer said, adding they don’t yet know their future plans for the building once it closes. The antique shop, which has slowly become a hub for aspiring local vendors and a popular weekend hangout, is now looking at its last days. People were weaving in and out of the row...
Forty years of hard drinking is only a memory now for 58-year-old Larry Caudill, the man responsible for painting a mural on an east alley wall in Colfax. Larry Caudill works on his mural in alley behind main street. A self-described recovering alcoholic, Caudill was painting a few dabs onto his ever-evolving bright blue and black painting in the alley behind the N.100 block of Main Street. Tuesday morning, his worn baseball hat was flecked with paint. “Used to be in my younger days I’d say I was going to paint the town when I was going dri...
Weather Forecast-Central County Thursday: Sunny skies, with a high near 89. Winds from the west at 7 to 10 mph, with gusts up to 18 mph. Overnight lows drop to around 47. Friday: Sunny, with a high near 82. Winds calm to around 7 mph. Clear overnight, with a low around 47. Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 82. Light clouds overnight, with a low around 45. Sunday: Sunny and clear, with a high near 78. Mostly clear overnight, with a low around 43. Monday thru Wednesday: Mostly clear, with highs around 78. Nighttime lows in low to...
Ninety-year-old Jeanne Ellis lives in a retirement center in Spokane. Ellis spent most of her years in Oakesdale, and if given the choice, would return to a care center in her beloved hometown. Today, a group of Oakesdale residents is working to make it possible for people like Ellis to remain in their hometown. Friends for Living Choices is preparing to buy eight lots of land from the city of Oakesdale to build an assisted living center, located off Second Street and Bartlett Street. The parcel is less than an acre. “When they can’t live by...
Residents told county commissioners Monday the county’s proposed residential wind ordinance does not protect neighbors. Their outcry delayed a final vote on the ordinance, which passed the planning commission last month. Commissioners are slated to decide the fate of the ordinance Oct. 5. The ordinance allows wind generators to be placed on lots of at least one-half acre with nothing more than a building permit. Towers must be set back 1.2 times their height from neighboring structures and public roadways. Residents at Monday’s public hea...
A small turnout followed by injuries forced Garfield/Palouse school officials last week to drop the school’s football program from an 11-man team to an 8-man team. The Vikes opened the year with 20 players, but injuries and illness knocked out six team members, leaving GP with a short roster, primarily made up of freshmen and sophomores. “With that many young kids having to play, it really just became a matter of safety,” said Coach Scott Thompson. Parents met with school officials last Wednesday to discuss the drop. “As happens in any season,...
Palouse second grader Isaac Bailey lets out a yell of delight as he tosses a broken egg back to his partner, Evan Potter, during the opening rounds of the Palouse Days egg toss competition on Main Street Saturday. The boys are second graders at Palouse Elementary....
PAGE 2A - Two Old Hammers to close. PAGE 3A - Botulism said risk in local cookbook recipe; County to renegotiate with rock contractors. PAGE 4A - Colfax coaches and advisors upset by pay cut; Railroad repair grant in doubt. PAGE 5A - Former Oakesdale coach inducted to local hall of fame. PAGE 9A - Lewiston duo dies in accident; County may add nurse for H1N1 vaccinations. PAGE 1B - Colton band helps UI christen “new” Kibbie Dome....
NOTICE OF CLOSING REGISTRATION BOOKS NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the registration books for the registration of voters within Whitman County, Washington, will be closed for the GENERAL ELECTION to be held Tuesday, November 3, 2009, against original registrations and transfers of registration from one precinct to another precinct within said County, on the evening of September 29 2009. The books will reopen on the morning of November 4, 2009. DATED this 16th day of September 2009. (SEAL) Eunice L. Coker Whitman County Auditor Ex-Officio...
