Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 15862
OLYMPIA – When Gov. Jay Inslee took office in 2013 after stating in the 2012 election race that new taxes weren’t “the right direction," the state Legislature approved a $38.4 billion budget for the biennium. With less than a month before stepping down from office, Inslee is proposing a $78.8 billion operating budget that comes with $4 billion in new taxes to fund it, including a wealth tax. The approach is in contrast with how the Legislature responded to a massive budget deficit during the Great Recession, when lawmakers reduced spend...
PULLMAN — Washington State University (WSU) has received a $3.5 million grant for cyber security training. The multi-year National Science Foundation (NSF) funds will go towards scholarships and an education program. The CyberCorps Scholarship for Service Program is geared towards twenty undergraduate and six graduate students providing full tuition and living stipends. The students will be training to become the next generation of cyber security professionals for federal, state and local government positions. Those who apply must be U.S. c...
COLFAX — Whitman County Public Hospital District No. 3 commissioners approved an undesignated capital request for the urology department. During the regular board meeting, Wednesday, Dec. 18, Commissioner Kathy Wride requested approval from the board for the two urology requests including $60,000 for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) software and $62,000 for a chair for special urology exams. The board unanimously passed designating $122,000 in funds to urology. Wride reported the fluoroscopy unit completed. Fluoroscopy is a medical imaging t...
PULLMAN — A man was stabbed during an altercation on North Grand Avenue early morning Saturday, Dec. 21. Pullman Police Department Commander Aaron Breshears confirmed police responded to the call at approximately 2 a.m. in an area north of the Mobil gas station on Grand Avenue. The 34-year old man, whose name was not released by the city, was stabbed in the abdomen with scissors and taken by ambulance to the Pullman Regional Hospital then was transferred to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane to be treated and released. Reports say, o...
COLFAX — Whitman County Commissioners approved the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) funded projects for the new year. During the regular meeting Monday, Dec. 30, commissioners authorized carrying over incomplete 2024 CIP Projects into the new year totaling $1,528,571. These projects include Public Service Building repairs for $378,571; Developmental Services (DS) roof repairs for $150,000; DS Parking Lot Design and Engineering for $25,000; DS doors for $25,000; Sheriff, Jail Boiler Room for $550,000; Remodel of the Pro Mall 2 for Pullman H...
PULLMAN - Two teenage students accused of plotting to shoot a Pullman High School teacher will appear in Whitman County Superior Court today Thursday, Jan. 2, for another hearing. Pullman High School students Izzy Alexander Miranda of Pullman and Corban L. Hop of Colton, both 14, were arrested Tuesday, Dec. 10. Miranda was detained on charges of harassment-threats to kill and threats to bomb or injure property. Hop was also arrested on a charge of threats to bomb or injure property. Miranda and...
PULLMAN — A 28- year-old-man identified by the Whitman County Coroner’s Office as Darcy Taylor Spracklin, died after being shot Thursday, Dec. 26. According to reports, Pullman Police Department detectives have reclassified the case as a homicide and are continuing investigations. According to a press release from Monday, Dec. 30, from Whitman County Coroner Annie Pillars, Spracklin died from multiple gunshots. Pullman Police Department Commander Aaron Breshears stated the police and fire department responded to the reported medical pro...
COLFAX — The Whitman County Commissioners are considering a proposed “Whitman County-Harvest Hills LLC-Cost Reimbursement Agreement” during the regular Monday, Jan. 6, meeting. Whitman County ordinances and fee schedules require Harvest Hills, the applicant for a commercial energy facility to pay the processing costs associated with review of State Environmental Police Act (SEPA) and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) compliance and all County activities necessary prior to submittal of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP). The processing costs cons...
COLFAX - A two car collision, four miles west of Colfax, resulted in minor injuries to one driver on Friday, Dec. 27. Washington State Patrol Trooper Caleb Hudson stated a BMW driven by Michael Schmidt, 62, of Mead, was headed eastbound, when he lost control of his vehicle across the center line colliding with a Ford F250 Super Duty truck driven by Keith Thompson, 51, of Diamond. Thompson was wearing a seat belt and could be seen helping with the incident. Hudson said Schmidt was suspected to...
PULLMAN — The Pullman Police Chief has been put on administrative leave pending an investigation from the Washington State Patrol (WSP). According to reports, Police Chief Jake Opgenorth was placed on administrative leave at an unspecified time. Reports confirm the Washington State Patrol is doing a confidential investigation into Opgenorth which can not be shared due to the personal nature of the incident. Washington State Patrol Sergeant Greg Riddell is reported to have stated the WSP is brought into conduct an investigation at the request o...
ODESSA — An irrigation contractor and Inland Power and Light Co. were exonerated last week by a jury in a civil lawsuit over failed systems. After a five-day trial and four hours of deliberations, a Lincoln County Superior Court jury in Davenport found in favor of Inland Power and Light Co.; not-for-profit Mitchell, Lewis and Staver Co.; and Foremost Pump and Well Services. The two companies and the not-for-profit agency were defendants in a lawsuit filed by Walter Family Grain Growers Inc., owned by Colley Walter. Walter had sued claiming a b...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced $300 million in assistance to distressed direct and guaranteed farm loan borrowers. The funding announced Friday, Dec. 20, is expected to provide assistance to more than 12,800 distressed direct and guaranteed Farm Loan Programs borrowers, officials said. “USDA has always been committed to standing by our nation’s farmers and ranchers, especially in their most challenging times,” Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “At USDA, we are not only addressing immediate financial...
COLFAX – Whitman County Public Hospital District No. 3 commissioners unanimously approved establishing a new hospice care program. During the regular Wednesday, Dec. 18, meeting, Dr. Peter Edminister reported that a contract was needed to allow Gentiva Dr. Eric Sohn to admit patients, write orders, direct nurses and more at Whitman Hospital. Gentiva is the only hospice provider in the St. John area and it is having staffing troubles, Edminster said. With the staffing shortage, hospice providers there need a place for patients to receive care wh...
COLFAX — During the Port of Whitman County’s meeting on Friday, Dec. 19, it was updated to the public that the plans to expand Hunga Dunga Brewing operations to the Port’s Pullman Industrial Park have been canceled. The Port of Whitman received a $2 million low-interest loan from the Washington State Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) last year to construct a new Hunga Dunga Brewing Company building at the industrial park in Pullman. The loan would have been used to expand the business’s production capacity in Pullman by designi...
COLFAX – A Moses Lake man pled guilty in Whitman County Superior Court Friday, Dec. 20, to theft and trespassing charges. Hunter Grant, 25, was charged on Nov. 29 after a resident of North Cedar Street confronted a masked man hauling a generator through a neighbor’s yard. Reports say the man, later identified as Grant, of Moses Lake, drove off with the generator. The resident recorded the vehicle’s license plate number and reported the incident to law enforcement. According to documents, the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office traced the vehicle...
COLFAX — A local lawmaker is co-sponsoring a pair of bills that would give some workers in Washington state a reprieve from the long-term care tax. Rep. Joe Schmick, R-Colfax, is co-sponsoring the bills with Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia. The bills would reopen a limited opt-out period for WA Cares and let individuals who have paid into the program transfer benefits to a spouse. WA Cares deducts 58 cents per $100 earned for every worker to fund a limited lifetime benefit – up to $36,000 – for long-term care costs. Before the program launc...
COLFAX –– Whitman County commissioners are expecting a $4.2 million budget shortfall next year. The expectation was explained during a regular meeting Monday, Dec. 13, on the proposed $38.1 million budget. The meeting included approval of the 2025 budget as well as discussions on the financial status of county funds and projects. Whitman County Chief Financial Office Jessica Jensema estimated the county budget shortfall for 2025 to be $4,183,472. But she noted the shortfall doesn’t accurately reflect county finances. “I do not believe that wi...
COLFAX –– On Monday, Dec. 23, Art Swannack and Tom Handy were sworn in for their next terms as Whitman County Commissioners. County co-workers and family members gathered in Superior Court for Swannack and Handy to be sworn in by Whitman County Superior Court Judge Gary Libey. Both Swannack and Handy ran unopposed in this year's county election and will hold their seats for the next four years....
COLFAX — The Whitman Conservation District is hosting a donation drive for used live Christmas Trees starting Thursday, Dec. 26 through Wednesday, Feb. 1 in the new office parking lot, 614 North Mill Street. The Conservation District will have a large black dump trailer parked close to the office building, to use as a collection container and area residents are welcome to drop off their no longer needed used Christmas trees for free. The trees will have a “second life” to be used in the Conservation District’s riparian restoration project...
ST. JOHN —The St. John-Endicott Schools announced free math tutoring for students in grades 6 through 12. The state legislature approved funding for a math tutoring program across Washington. Math Nation awarded the contract to facilitate the legislated request, with goals to reduce disparities in student performance and improve algebraic achievement to create a statewide interactive math tutoring tool for middle and high school students. It is accessible 24 hours a day for students, teachers and parents. The program, Math Nation-Washington, i...
ST. JOHN — The St. John-Endicott School Board has established a budget review committee for evaluation of the 2025 through 2026 school budget. The committee was started to ensure a transparent and thorough process for evaluating next year’s budget with the possibility of reducing expenditures and taking proactive steps to identify potential adjustments early. The job of the committee will be to carefully review the current budget and provide informed recommendations for the board to consider and allow the district to address potential cha...
COLFAX — Cases in whooping cough went up by eight cases last week. According to Whitman County Public Health the local pertussis, also known as “Whooping Cough”, outbreak has now reached 85 people and includes four cases identified within two elementary schools. Health officials are asking everyone to cover their mouth when they sneeze and cough, stay home when they are sick, wash their hands often and get vaccinated against pertussis. Those whose are most susceptible to contacting pertussis include infants under 1-year-old, pregnant women...
COLFAX — A homeless man was sentenced to four months in jail after leading a Washington State Patrol (WSP) Trooper on a dangerous car chase near Colfax. Angel Cartagena, 36, pled guilty to felony attempted eluding on Friday, Dec. 13, after failing to stop for a WSP trooper north of Coflax. According to reports, Cartagena was going 93 miles per hour in a Prius, with the pursuit ending when the car broke down climbing Buck Canyon Northbound on U.S. Highway 195. Reports show, the trooper found methamphetamine, a gun and an explosive device inside...
PALOUSE — The City Council released a revised proposed budget for the new year. The revised budget expects a proposed deficit of $4,582,896.60, a $526,520.45 difference from the original proposed revenue. Current Expense has a proposed difference of $11,150 in revenues, at $1,045,434.50. Expenditures come to $607,516.05, at a difference of $66,226.70. Pool revenues are project at $212,951, a difference of $3,908; the RV park proposes a difference of $7,000, coming to a total of $62,405.00 and Parks comes to $63,065, a difference of $370. The Po...
PULLMAN — Two 14-year-old students were arrested Tuesday, Dec. 10, following threats of violence at Pullman High School. According to reports, Pullman Police responded to reports at approximately 8:01 a.m. after school staff became aware of threats made by a student to bring a gun to school and target a teacher. The suspects were intercepted upon their arrival, before the start of classes, and were sequestered from other students to ensure campus safety. The school briefly entered a “secure and teach” protocol. Police investigations revea...
