Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Whitman County Board of Commissioners approved the 2019 budget Monday, culminating a months-long process for a total budget of $62,303,720, representing a $1,765,280 decrease from 2018. The largest fund is the road department at $19,243,000 and the smallest $200 for the WSU Extension Publication fund. “The departments have been really good in not padding their budget and just presenting what it should be,” said Gary Petrovich, county administrative director. “Comparatively speaking, there’s not...
Graves of 117 veterans buried in the Colfax cemetery were included in the "Wreaths Across America" remembrance ceremony which was conducted in approximately 1,400 cemeteries in the United States Saturday. The wreaths for the Colfax graves were provided by Bethel Cemetery in Steptoe which participated in the event and had extra wreaths because of a shipping mixup. This wreath is on the grave of Joe Osmun, a Korean War veteran from Colfax. See page 12B for photos of the first such ceremony in the...
Pullman has no plans at this time to put a courtroom or district court offices in its new city hall building, leaving the county commissioners to debate whether to move all district court sessions to Colfax, or rent out space to continue to hold some district court sessions in Pullman. Whitman County District Court for several years has been conducted at different venues depending on the day of the week. Three days a week, court sessions are at the courthouse in Colfax, the other two days...
Washington Governor Jay Inslee put forth his $54.3 billion budget proposal Dec. 13, including $750,000 for a state task force to study possible breaching of the Lower Snake River dams – and other options in the name of efforts to protect salmon and orcas. Eastern Washington congressional representatives Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R) and Dan Newhouse (R) released a statement two hours later. The task force would consider costs and benefits of various options, including how to replace power g...
The grant of $42,000 from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office's Salmon Recovery Board will help add post and log structures to a section of Steptoe Creek to make the area more habitable to steelhead. Each of the 76 structures the Palouse Conservation District plans to put in the creek costs $570. The Pomeroy ranger district of the U.S. Forest Service is providing $7,000 of wood material for the project. The structures will help back up water to nourish shrubs and trees and...
Endicott has received a $150,000 grant/loan from the Department of Ecology to study the inflow and infiltration issues in town. The city knows there is a problem due to spikes in the treatment plant following heavy rains. Rain or ground water seeps into the sewer lines and makes treatment less effective. It also puts a strain on the system. Of the $150,000 from the Department of Ecology, Endicott only plans to use $69,000 on half grant, half loan format. To offset the loan the city plans to use...
The City of Tekoa added two new city council members Monday night, appointing Bethany Fletcher and Alyssa Heaggy. Heaggy returns to the council after losing a re-election bid in November 2017. They filled city seats vacated by Troy Wilson, who became the new mayor in November, and Jason Fletcher, whose resignation was accepted Monday. Fletcher defeated Heaggy for election last year. Fletcher and Heaggy were among four residents who submitted letters of interest for the council seats....
Rosalia students collected 657 pounds of non-perishable food in their food drive Dec. 3-7. Using Hunger Games as the theme for the second year in a row, the school divided into six different 'districts'. Organizers Jenna and Ryan Schu and the Leadership Class aimed to have an equal number of students in each district. District 1 included sixth, seventh and twelfth graders; District 2, fourth and fifth; District 3, second and third grades; District 4, eighth and eleventh graders; District 5,...
Whitman County Coroner Annie Pillers Dec. 7 issued cause of death findings on two men who died at separate locations Dec. 4 of self-inflicted gunshot wounds. Manner of death in both cases was determined to be suicide. Benjamin P. Perkins, 47, died at his residence in Palouse. Pillers reported Perkins had a history of depression and anxiety. Donal H. Wilkinson, 54, died at his residence in Pullman....
Judge Doug Robinson said last week one of his goals for retirement will be to re-take the state bar examination so he can serve as judge pro-tem when needed around the area. He needs to pass the examination to renew his license as an attorney, one of the requirements to be appointed as a judge pro-tem. Robinson said last week, he doesn't plan to start a law practice once he gets the license. He also plans to serve as Colfax Municipal Court judge. After serving as Whitman County District Court...
Roger Flook, the Endicott resident who was convicted of child molestation by an Asotin County jury last week was charged here in October of 2017 with dealing in child pornography and voyeurism. The investigation report alleges the crimes took place in July of 2015. The Asotin County trial is the second time the case has gone before a jury after Flook prevailed in a 2017 appeal of his first trial. The Asotin County jury received the case Dec. 13, deliberated for three hours without a verdict and resumed deliberation Friday morning. Flook was...
A female employee at West Side Pizza in Colfax was reported to have been assaulted the night of Dec. 12 while going out the back door of the business after closing time. The woman was reported to have been hit in the neck by a taser gun after she stepped out the door in the east alley. The assailant was reported to have been wearing a blue coat and riding a bicycle. City police are investigating the alleged assault....
The top three remain in place for the Southeast 1B league girls as Colton holds first after beating Pomeroy in their opening meeting of the season Dec. 15. The Pirates dropped to 3-1 in league, 6-1 overall while Colton is 3-0, 6-0. Right behind the top two is Oakesdale 3-1, 5-1, after losing at Pomeroy 50-23 Dec. 14. Trailing the Nighthawks are Garfield/Palouse at 1-3 in league (5-3) and St. John/Endicott/LaCrosse (1-2, 3-2). Colton will play again Friday at home against Grangeville (6 p.m.)...
Colfax girls booked a split over the weekend with a loss Friday on their home court to the LRS Broncos and a big win over Asotin Saturday on the Panthers' court. The split leaves Colfax 1-1 in the new NE south league before the league break over the holidays. Next league action for the girls will be Jan. 4 when they host a Liberty team which is rolling on a 5-1 record. The Bulldogs will play Wahkiakum tonight on the home court and travel to Lakeside Friday to play the A division Eagles in a...
Colfax boys booked two wins in the NE-south league start over the weekend to bump their record to 5-1. The Bulldogs stopped LRS Broncos 44-36 Friday night in the south side opener on the home court and powered past Asotin 68-62 Saturday night on the Panthers court to move to a 2-0 league mark. Colfax will host Wahkiakum in an unusual non-leaguer tonight and then travel to Lakeside Friday to wrap up the pre-holiday part of the season with a non-league matchup. Colfax teams are booked into the...
Tekoa/Rosalia boys booked a split over the weekend to bump their record to 3-3. The Timberwolves were out-paced by Liberty on the Lancers court Friday 67-51, but they defeated Reardan 67-51 in the Saturday round at Rosalia. Craig Mueller led TR with 19 points in the Friday round. Other scorers were Garrett Naught 7, Noah Beach 1, Riley McLain 10, Mitchell Billings 11 and Joe Rerecich 3. Saturday at Rosalia in another league round, TR rolled to the 67-51 win with McLain dropping 18 points and Naught hitting 17. Also scoring were Gehring 15,...
They switched from Nike to Under Armour for uniforms, added more facial hair and a tattoo. Their point guard is listed at three inches taller than last year and they started 0-3. The Garfield-Palouse boys since have won four consecutive games to even their 2018-19 season record at 4-4, tied with Oakesdale for first place in the Southeast 1B league. The reason for the winless start? Perhaps its best explained by pregame music at the Palouse gym. "It's tricky," as Run-DMC rapped. "Tricky, tricky,...
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. MC SPEED CHASE PLEA BOGS A Spokane attorney who has represented a suspect in a high speed motorcycle case here has filed a notice with the court of his intent to drop his client. The defendant, Emory Reeves, 32, Spokane Valley, had been scheduled to appear in court Friday for possible entry of a...
County Auditor Eunice Coker's retirement party was in the commissioners chambers Tuesday afternoon with cookies, cupcakes and cake pops provided by the auditors staff. Raised in Colfax, Coker had a stint with the Army in the military police at Fort McPherson, Ga., from 1975 to 1977 and returned to Colfax. Coker started in the Treasurer's office in 1984 under Mary Crawford, who Coker says is "the best person in the world." After working in the treasurer's office for 18 years, she filed for the...
Palouse city council approved advertising for the position of police officer at the council’s Dec. 11 meeting. The department, which also covers Garfield in an agreement between the two towns, now has two full-time officers with a reserve officer, following the departure of Officer Joe Handley to the Colfax Police Department in October. Reserve Officer Terry Snead is set to leave at the end of February. Advertising an open position does not commit the department to hiring a third officer. P...
Every part of Serenity House was designed with consideration for who its residents would be. Licensed to be occupied, Serenity House is a three bedroom, high quality care, end-of-life residence. Serenity house provides guiding support and caring to dying individuals and their loved ones, giving chances for them to spend time together in a setting that provides comfort, support and reassurance. Friends of Hospice planned to rent a house when they first started working on Serenity House, but one...
CONVICTION IN 2015 CASE April Alice Byer, 30, Moscow, was sentenced to 45 days in jail Friday morning in Whitman County Superior Court after she pleaded guilty to a charge of harassment with a threat to kill. The charges actually dated back to June of 2015. Byer was charged after she went into the DRA Real Estate office in Pullman and made threats to kill three women who were working in the office at the time. The outburst happened after she was presented with an eviction notice for failing to pay back rent. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Dan LeBeau...
A famous letter: Dear Editor— I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, "If you see it in The Sun, it's so." Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? --Virginia O'Hanlon 115 West Ninety Fifth Street 1897 The famous response Virginia, your little friends are wrong. They have been affected by the skepticism of a skeptical age. They do not believe except they see. They think that nothing can be which is not comprehensible by their little minds. All minds, Virginia, whether they be men's or c...
