Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 68
The Palouse Regional Housing Assessment was presented Monday by Brian Points, project manager, and Paul Kimmel, Avista's regional business manager, to county commissioners. The Palouse Regional Housing study began nine months ago by The Partnership for Economic Prosperity who hired Thomas P. Miller & Associates to conduct the assessment. Points began by saying how this project was managed in the economic development organization because housing is an economic development issue. "It doesn't take...
The McCoy Land Co./PNW grain pads project is underway at Dusty, after a process that brought public comment, attorneys and controversy, ultimately going to a hearing examiner who granted a conditional use permit for the work last spring. A county building permit was issued Aug. 8, after a 21-day period to appeal the examiner's decision expired. The first permit is only for making an access road, as well as concrete work for a culvert to cross a drainage for access to the pads. PNW/McCoy is...
Washington Department of Labor and Industries cited the City of Pullman with three violations with fines totaling $2,700 for the actions by Pullman fire department and maintenance crews during the rescue of 22 people when Grand Avenue was flooded April 9 by high water runoff from the Missouri Flat Creek drainage. Pullman’s finance department has paid the fines after the city determined it would not appeal, according to a report issued Monday by Mayor Glenn Johnson. The L & I violation, with a penalty of $900, was for a fire department c...
At the Oct. 3 Port of Whitman County meeting, Chief Operating Officer Kara Riebold presented resolution to continue moving forward of the Freight Rail Assistance Program application. The motion passed with a 2-1 vote. According to Riebold, the resolution that is being submitted is practically identical to a resolution of a few years ago when an application was put in for the Port of Wilma. “The resolution just authorizes the application,” Riebold said. “It’s a part of the attachments needed to move forward and the final application is due Oct...
A Colfax candidate forum for the Nov. 5 election will be on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. in The Center at Colfax Library. Candidates set to appear are Council Position 4: Mark Mackleit and Andrew Stewart; Position 5: Sarina Roberts and Ben Miller; Position 6: Jim Kackman and Dominic Vilareal, and Position 7: Jeremiah Roberts. Incumbent for Position 7 Tom Huntwork is unable will be unable to attend due to a prior commitment. The forum is sponsored by the Pullman League of Women Voters and The Whitman County Gazette. For more information,...
Removal of five more railroad crossings on the former Union Pacific line is now underway in Colfax. Public Works Director Matt Hammer reported to the city council a joint crew Monday removed the crossings on East Cooper and East Street. Work was slated to begin Tuesday on the West Cooper crossing, and the crews hope to remove the crossings at Island and Last streets on the west side of main. Rails at the crossings will be gone and a State Department of Transportation crew will fill and pave...
The Broadband Cooperative LLC discussion was brought back to the table at the Oct. 3 Port of Whitman County meeting. It was added to the agenda by Port Commissioner Tom Kammerzell, who voted against the measure at the previous meeting when the port voted 2-1 motion to join the cooperative. The Cooperative is being formed through an inter-local agreement with the Port of Bellingham, Port of Kalama, Port of Pasco, Port of Ridgefield, Port of Skagit County and Port of Whitman County. Kammerzell said that since the vote on Sept. 19 no action has...
After further review, documents all checked out from M.A. DeAtley of Clarkston’s bid for the Almota Four road project. County commissioners accepted the bid Monday, of $5,561,284. The difference between the bid and the engineer's estimate of $4.9 million will be covered by $600,000 from the county's annual $1.4 million federal general allocation for 2021. “Spending ahead,” said Dean Cornelison, assistant county engineer. The extra money was expected to be added to the $2 million from the state...
Whitman County Public Works Department will move approximately 50 of its 72 employees to winter hours Nov. 4, switching back to five eight-hour days after the summer schedule of four 10-hour days. Most of the road crews and engineers have been on since daylight savings in March. Also in preparation for winter, Brandon Kruger, operations manager for road/bridge maintenance, sent out annual “snow letters” Monday to area school superintendents and transportation supervisors, as well as post office officials. The letters outline priority of roa...
Palouse Conservation District will join other organizations across Washington State to host more than 40 events, Oct. 19 on “Orca Recovery Day” aimed at improving conditions for critically endangered southern resident orca whales. Interested volunteers will meet at 9 a.m. at the district office in the WSU Technology Park at 1615 NE Eastgate Blvd, Suite H in Pullman. Carpool will provide rides from the office to the Bill Chipman Trail along the Pullman-Moscow Highway. Tools and gloves will be provided. Participants are encouraged to wear stu...
In observance of World Mental Health Day, volunteers with the Palouse Advocacy League are scheduled to greet Lincoln Middle School Students in Pullman today, Oct. 10, and give them muffins, suicide prevention wallet cards, prevention refrigerator magnets and handmade positive affirmation rocks, all in an effort to let students know somebody cares about their well-being and mental health. “It’s important to let our youth know that they are cared for and that there will always be somebody willing to listen to them, especially when they’re feeli...
A member of the Tekoa High School class of 1992 has self-published a book. Jason Burke, a Washington State Parks ranger for nearly 10 years and Eastern Washington University graduate in journalism, released his first book in August. It chronicles a journey. The title is "Secretly Seeking Sasquatch: A Road Guide to Washington's Bigfoot Country." Burke began the project in Shoreline where he lived with his wife and two boys, in a lull between employment after being laid off by State Parks in...
Kent Kimberling, 61, Garfield, pleaded no contest in superior court Friday to a charge of felony harassment with a threat to kill and was sentenced to a maximum of 90 days in jail. Kimberling was allowed credit for time served in jail and allowed credit for good time. Depending on the good time compilation, his release from custody could have been Sunday. District Court Judge John Hart banned Kimberling for possession of any firearms. He also ordered him to undergo a mental health evaluation and follow recommendations for compliance with the...
Darlo Tolan, who was convicted here in 2005 of second degree theft, was signed into jail here Oct. 1 after a warrant was issued for his arrest. The warrant was issued after Tolan failed to appear for an August court date to show cause of why he has not made payments ordered as part of his May 18, 2005, conviction. Tolan, now 32, was ordered to pay $1,210 at the time of his conviction, but interest charges on the sum put the amount now due at $3,405. That sum was set at the bail amount for his release after he was jailed Oct. 1. At a Oct. 2...
On Monday, Oct. 7, County Administrative Director Gary Petrovich, presented the 2020 preliminary county budget to the county commissioners. The preliminary total budget for 2020 county-wide is $61,229,235. Petrovich said the 2020 budget is similar to the past years adopted budget of $62,303,720. “We expect the revenues in the general fund to be $16,867,500,” Petrovich said. “Last year our budget for revenue in the general fund was $16,984,353. Most of our revenues come from four (categories): General property tax, retail sales and use taxes...
A superior court jury Oct. 1 reported they were unable to come up with a verdict after the two-day trial of Michael J. Keller, 44, Farmington. Keller was charged with second-degree assault. He was one of two defendants charged with assaulting Lawrence Clark at a shop in Farmington last Feb. 4. Deputy Jim Pelissier in his arrest report said Keller and Brandon Reese encountered Clark at Grumpy's Tavern that night, but Clark left with the owner of the shop Keller and Reese later showed up at the Farmington shop. The report said a third man who...
Liberty's Lancers are expected to bring the goods Friday night when they make the short trip south to play football against the Bulldogs on homecoming night. Both teams are rolling on 4-1 records and both are undefeated against NE foes. Liberty's lone loss was to Napavine in the double-header which opened the season at Spangle, and the Bulldogs' lone loss was against Heppner. Colfax will host after cranking out a 39-13 win over the LRS Broncos at Ritzville last week in their NE-South league...
Colfax volleyball team will host the Liberty Lancers tonight in a showdown battle in the second round of SE volleyball. The Lancers topped Colfax in the first round of league play at Liberty. Since that loss Colfax has booked wins in four league matches. They also won the Okanogan tournament by stopping Liberty in the title game. Tuesday night both Asotin and the Bulldog players donned pink for cancer awareness month. The Bulldogs booked a win in the first game, but had to battle back against a...
Two county Southeast 1B volleyball teams met Tuesday night in Colton and went to a 15-15 tie in the fifth game. Needing to win by two points, at 16-15, St. John/Endicott/LaCrosse’s Ashlynn Archer stuffed a Colton kill, the ball dropped onto Colton’s court and it was over. “Then the gym erupted,” said Eagles Coach Jenn Johnson. Archer, a sophomore middle blocker, led the winners with 20 kills, 12 blocks and 24 digs. Roxy Dickerson added 23 assists and three aces. Last week, the Eagles swept P...
The St. John/Endicott/LaCrosse Eagles went to Toppenish Oct. 4 to face a winless Yakama Nation team and came back still with one win of their own. The home team, on their homecoming, beat the Eagles 38-6. "Yakama was pretty jacked up. They took it to us and we didn't respond," said SJEL Coach Rich Hallenius. "They were faster than they looked on video." St. John/Endicott/LaCrosse (1-4, 0-3 league) scored their touchdown late in the first half, when Doug Stach, a defensive back, picked up a...
Kolby Slate and Anna Cocking of Colfax each placed second in a bi-district cross country race hosted by Valley Christian at the Plante’s Ferry Park in the Spokane Valley. Slate clocked 17:27 on the park course to finish 11 seconds back of winner Winston Telvord of Davenport. Anna Cocking finished at 21:53 just 10 seconds behind winner Stephanie Chadduck of Valley Christian. Catherine Treis of SJEL placed fourth at 22: 17, and Lauren Stubbs placed sixth at 22:57. Ian Engledow of Asotin placed third in the boys race with a 17:42. First results o...
Tekoa/Rosalia and Sunnyside Christian tore up the turf Friday night on the Rosalia field with the Timberwolves racking up an 82-34 win. That’s a total of 116 points over the four quarters. The T-wolves posted a 22-14 edge in the first quarter, blanked SC in the second quarter and then rolled up 32 points in the third quarter after the break. Colton will travel to Rosalia for the homecoming game this week, and the Timberwolves will make the trip to Walla Walla to face DeSales, another team which has dropped down to 1B football for this y...
Hal (Babe) Lyons, one of the CHS grads who returned here to play in the 1988 Codger Bowl against St. John, checked in with a letter to the Gazette Oct. 2. Lyons, believed to be one of the last Codger Pole players still alive, reported he celebrated his 96th birthday with "vim and vigor" Sept. 9. Played at Colfax 31 years ago, the Sept. 24 Codger Bowl game was a rematch of the Colfax-St. John game. It brought back players on the two teams from the 1938 county championship game. The rematch game,...
