Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 128
COLFAX — St. Ignatius Hospital, once a beacon of healing in the remote Palouse region, now stands as something else entirely—a decaying relic, steeped in forgotten history and shadowed by an unsettling presence. The hospital, though abandoned for over half a century, is far from empty. It has new residents now, those who never left. During the Halloween season, St. Ignatius is far from silent. The spirits of its past occupants seem to wake, welcoming visitors to explore their home. Ghost tours wind through its eerie halls, as curious thr...
COLFAX — Whitman County is gearing up for Halloween with a variety of events scheduled throughout the week. Here’s a rundown of the festivities happening in the area: In Colfax, Trunk-or-Treat will be held in downtown Colfax on Halloween, Oct. 31, from 4 to 7 p.m. Trick-or-Treat on Main Street will take place on Friday, Oct. 25, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Additionally, the Friends of Whitman County Library will host the Halloween Spooktacular on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 8 to 11 p.m. This adults-only fundraising event will feature drinks, sna...
It’s October and that means that brown, red, orange and yellow are working overtime to show their colors and announcing the unmistakable arrival of fall in our magnificent Whitman County. If you have checked your fall calendar, you will see that it’s also time for Haunted Palouse! Brave adventurous souls age 12 and up can enjoy this October evening tradition which will be held from 7-10 p.m. over the next two weekends, on Fridays and Saturdays, October 18 and 19 and 25 and 26. Remember to dress warmly, wear close-toed shoes, and bring a friend!...
As the Halloween season approaches, the Whitman County Gazette is kicking off its special feature, “The Haunting Hour”, a section dedicated to ghost stories, mysteries and chilling local tales throughout the month of October. GARFIELD — Tucked deep within the rolling hills of the Palouse, where the winds sweep gently across golden fields, lies the nearly forgotten town of Elberton—a place that time has slowly claimed. Founded in 1886 by Sylvester Wait and lovingly named after his son Elbert, Elberton began as a hopeful frontier settlement. With...
PALOUSE - Palouse Days is just around the corner bringing another year of community fun and camaraderie next weekend. A Kickoff Party with live music at the Palouse Caboose at 7 p.m. will set the weekend of fun into motion Friday, Sept. 12. Following Friday night music comes the Lion's Club annual pancake breakfast starting at 6:20 a.m. - 10 a.m., Saturday, Sept. 14, in Hayton Green Park, 102 Idaho Road. Starting at 9 a.m. through 3 p.m. attendees also have the chance to view the Palouse...
PALOUSE — Residents have come to the rescue of Shady Lane trees on Shady Lane being attacked by an infestation of Western Pine Beetles. Palouse City Administrator Misty La Follett said a couple of residents applied for a grant from the Department of Natural Resources to fight the pine beetles. Local residents, husband and wife, Al Pancoast and Kayla Johnston noticed Shady Lane trees were starting to die and contacted the city. Pancoast said the grant came out to just over $100,000 to restore the forest. “It’s a grant for the removal of dead...
PALOUSE — An open forum meeting at the Palouse Community Center informed volunteers and locals that Haunted Palouse will return with a new theme and concept designed for people of all ages. Twelve people attended the 6:30 p.m. meeting on Thursday, June 27. Will Perry, of Palouse, began the meeting as the appointed director of the non-profit organization, announcing that the board of directors had decided on the themes of rebirth and resurrection while conceptualizing around carnivals for design. “We sat down as a board, and the main thing we...
PALOUSE –– The non-profit haunted-themed event has been confirmed to take place this October. Haunted Palouse meetings were held in the last few weeks to tentatively decide whether the annual event, which had been postponed and canceled in 2023, would take place in 2024. In addition, the open positions for a board of directors have been appointed and filled. The following people will assume the positions of: Director, Will Perry; Stakeholder, Jaimie Gaber; Building Manager, Bob Brown; Trail Man...
PALOUSE — The Halloween event that brings hundreds of people to town may return this fall after being post-poned last September. Haunted Palouse will meet periodically this summer to discuss the upcoming fright fest in five months. The non-profit organization will also be under new leadership this year, as Will Perry of Palouse has assumed the newly created director role. Haunted Palouse will see new changes this year due to last year’s postponement. Volunteers from Whitman County gathered in Palouse’s Community Center on East Main Stree...
PALOUSE — The Haunted Palouse planning team has postponed its annual haunted house and zombie trail events this year, resuming in 2024, due to needing to fill leadership roles for the event. Haunted Palouse Coordinator Jamie Gaber said they will strengthen the core group that puts the event on. “We’re going to have a community Halloween celebration,” Gaber said, noting that it will be on Saturday, Oct. 21, and is a pumpkin carving contest titled “Pumpkin Palooza: Carve-tastrophe!” Categories for the contest include Gremlins, ages 3-12, Teens ag...
PULLMAN - The Palouse Area Robotics Team (PART) is hosting an open house night on Thursday, Sept. 21, at 6 p.m. at the Lincoln Middle School, 315 Southeast Crestview Street, Pullman. Mentor Helena Johnson said that PART Sciborgs is a 4-H science club looking for adult volunteers and students ages 14-18. PART draws students from Colfax, Pullman, Moscow and all the surrounding area. Johnson said that the night is an informational recruitment night and will include information for parents. "We're...
PALOUSE - The City of Palouse is gearing up for another Palouse Days Friday, Sept. 15 through Sept. 16, with live music and fun-filled activities for the whole family. The festival will kick off with a party, Friday, at 7 p.m. featuring live music from Blaine Andrew Ross at the Palouse Caboose Patio, 110 North Beach Street. City Hall Deputy Clerk Jamie Gaber said Saturday's events start from 6 a.m. with the Lions Club Pancake Breakfast, which will end at 10 a.m. for a $5 donation, at the Lions...
Robert Nord Olson, 93, longtime resident of Palouse, passed away at Regency Retirement and Assisted Living in Pullman June 7, 2023. He was born Jan. 31, 1930, in Champaign, Illinois, to Fred and Gwendolyn (Schick) Olson. He and his parents moved to the family farm near Palouse in 1932, and he graduated from Palouse High School in 1948. He began farming after attending Washington State College and Cal-Poly Tech at San Luis Obispo. For the first few winters, he worked for Willard Lange on a sheep...
COLFAX - St. Ignatius Hospital once again was featured as the subject of another acclaimed paranormal television show. "Ghost Hunters" previously filmed the episode in October of 2022, and the episode aired Thursday, May 11. "It was really exciting for them to come out," said the owner of St. Ignatius Hospital, Austin Storm. "At this point, people find the building because of its notoriety in the paranormal investigation world. They reached out to us and asked to film," he said. The owners,...
Margo Wekenman passed away peacefully in her home in Palouse, Washington, on January 9th 2023. None of us expected her light to dim so soon. Margo was such a vivacious human, we thought she would outlive us all. Margo was born January 7th, 1948, in Malad, Idaho, to Ren and Sally Thomson. She had four siblings who adored her. Margo came from a very loving, kind, community-minded family and it showed in every facet of her life. When you met her you knew you were loved. Her small town upbringing ta...
PALOUSE– Haunted Palouse is happening this year starting Friday, Oct. 21. The events will run this Friday, Saturday, Friday Oct. 28 and Saturday Oct. 29. The event is a community fundraiser with four nights of Halloween festivities, including two indoor haunted houses and an outdoor venue. There will be one exterior zombie hunt, and a tarot reading at the library, as well as vendors and shirt sales along the local store front of Palouse. “Haunted Palouse has been happening for 19 years now. Wit...
PALOUSE — For the first time in two years, the city will host the annual Haunted Palouse celebration for Halloween. The event will run the last two weeks of October, officials said. Haunted Palouse has brought visitors to town for around 20 years. This year’s festival is expected to feature two indoor haunted houses and an outdoor attraction like a hay ride. The event is scary, officials said, noting Haunted Palouse-goers must be at least 12 years old. An admission fee is charged....
PALOUSE—Haunted Palouse will disappear for 2020, after organizers announced July 29 they will not hold the perennial fundraiser over two weekends in October because of concerns over the virus. Leaders considered options for no-contact haunted buildings, a solely outdoor event as well as a possible pay-per-view “Haunted Palouse” movie. “We could not come up with a solution that would ensure a reasonable measure of safety for our staff and visitors,” said co-chair Nicole Flansburg. “Even if...
A 100 years ago, the Palouse Xeondican Club founded the Palouse Library. In 1925 the City of Palouse began to contribute financially to the library as well, and in 1947 Palouse contracted with Whitman County Library District, with annexation into the Whitman County Library in 2006. The purpose of the club is to raise funds for the library, with funnel cakes and a book sale during the Palouse Days event and selling goodies during Haunted Palouse. The club members participate in yearly...
Palouse Mayor Michael Echanove adjourned a city council meeting for the last time Dec. 10, after 18 years as mayor and eight as a city councilman. He began as mayor in 2001, appointed to the office before he first won election in 2002. Echanove and wife Paula also marked their final year in 2019 of direct involvement in Haunted Palouse, the annual two-weekend fundraiser for which the couple was part of the the original incarnation and all 17 years since. As the city council’s streets and sidewalks chair, Echanove worked on the reconstruction o...
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. LEGAL COSTS HIKE BUDGET Colfax city council members Monday night approved a $75,000 addition to this year's city budget to cover unanticipated costs for legal fees. The costs were incurred by the city in an unsuccessful attempt to stop Police Chief Rick McNannay's Civil Service Board petition...
The Palouse Fire Department bought three new oxygen cylinders following an early morning house fire Oct. 21. “So we can bring more air with us,” said Scott Beeson, fire chief. The quick-change cylinders are rated for 45 minutes of oxygen – while that varies depending on how active a firefighter is. A cylinder holds 4,500 pounds of air. Beeson ordered three more $1,000 cylinders to be paid for out of the department’s capital fund, so it will now have six air packs and 12 cylinders. A cylinde...
The early numbers for Haunted Palouse are in with total attendance of 3,590 over the four nights for a gross of $87,972. This year featured an increase in ticket price from $20 to $25. Net dollar numbers are not yet available. Haunted Palouse was held the last two weekends of October. Last year's total total attendance was 4,006. In 2018, total net proceeds were a record $70,603.48 in the event's 17th year....
Thursday, Oct. 24 Colfax, LaCrosse, Tekoa – Storytime – Songs, games, stories and crafts are all part of the fun at storytime. Rosalia – 5 to 9 p.m. – Virtual reality – Draw in 3D, play with a robot, see a T-Rex up close and more. Colfax Hyde Out – 6:30 p.m. – Trivia Night – Bring your team, test your knowledge, and win free stuff! Friday, Oct. 25 St. John – 1 p.m. – Bingo – Happiness is yelling Bingo and eating pie. Enjoy this fun, free program. Garfield – 6:30 p.m. – Bad Art Night – Tweens & teens will make the worst art they can, the uglier...
The 18th annual Haunted Palouse arrives Friday with change in the air. Many of the original 12 residents who founded the four-night event, and have worked it each year since, are stepping back as a new generation will take over much of it in 2020. The final hurrah for these leaders, in the haunted town, its haunted printing museum, old firehouse and Shady Lane, will carry an increased ticket price to $25 from $20. Last year, the 12-and-over event netted $70,000 for various Palouse community causes. The run for 2019 will be this Friday and...
