Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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The ballots for the November 3 election may be different than what you expect. In fact, some voters might be confused. First, the contested race between Martin Marler and Sandra Brabb for Whitman Hospital and Medical Center hospital district was not on those ballots for voters in the hospital district. A special ballot should be received shortly. The idea is that voters are to complete the first ballot on all issues and then do the second ballot which will contain only the hospital race. The elections office requests that these two ballots be...
Clear choice A clear choice: return Michael Echanove to the Palouse Washington mayor’s office with your vote. Ballots will be mailed Oct. 16 and must be postmarked by November 3, 2015. I had the pleasure of working with Michael as a member of the Palouse City Council 1994 though 1995. I left City Council after two terms, 1988-1995, confident of Michael’s leadership skills, cordiality and proactive stance on matters pertaining to the City of Palouse. During Michael Echanove’s first three terms as Mayor, I was happy to endorse his reele... Full story
Hillary Clinton has a new gun agenda that is the same as the old gun agenda. We all are appalled and heartsick over the country's mass shootings, which aren't any less shocking for their routine occurrence. But that doesn't mean we know how to stop them. The Pavlovian Democratic reaction is to offer a raft of familiar gun-control proposals, whether or not they have any bearing on mass shootings. Hillary's ideas are a testament to the essential sterility of the gun debate, no matter how much heat it generates. There is no way around the fact...
Here's a shocker for you: There is strong evidence that many of those running for president are dishonest. What's even more startling is that nobody seems to be the slightest bit surprised, and in some cases, supporters don't seem to care. Let's take Carly Fiorina, for instance: She's been climbing in the GOP polls in spite of her blatant misrepresentation of videos and what they show about Planned Parenthood's handling of aborted fetuses. In fact, her devotees seem to celebrate her dishonesty. With nearly every reputable fact-checker finding... Full story
The ballots for the November 3 election will be mailed tomorrow, Friday. There will be a lot to consider when it arrives. The ballot contains state measures, advisory votes, local levy issues and candidates for a plethora of positions. Three of the races are most prominent. Everyone in the county will be able to vote for their choice of Ninth Legislative District Representative. Representative Mary Dye is facing off with Richard Lathim. The successful candidate will finish the unexpired term of Susan Fagan who resigned under a cloud of controve...
Later this month, most facilities in Yellowstone National Park will close for the winter. The year’s visitor total is likely to top last year’s 3.5 million people. It may even beat the all-time total of 3.64 million set in 2010. The good news is more people are experiencing the wonders of the nation’s oldest national park established in 1872. The bad news is there is more traffic congestion and trash. To accommodate the crowds, Yellowstone has made a concerted effort to rebuild its roads and construct new facilities. That’s no easy task. T... Full story
Endorses Roberts It is not too soon to think about the election for Mayor of Colfax. Jeremiah Roberts wants to be the person to lead the City. He knows about budgets and how important they are to the stability of Colfax. He plans to have the Council well informed about any and all issues that will come before them so they can make good decisions. Jeremiah values the employees since he knows they are the heart and soul of the City and will always listen to their input. He also knows how important the water, sewer and streets are to the citizens...
Carly Fiorina is a no-nonsense former business executive who is showing she can play -- and throw elbows -- with the big boys in the Republican presidential nomination battle. Feminists have noticed, but their admiration is tinged with dread -- and it should be. An eloquent, fearless critic of abortion, the latest outsider to climb into the Republican race is a clear and present danger to what feminists hold most dear. Even if she had said nothing else at the CNN debate, Fiorina would have stood out for her gut-punch of a statement about the...
Those who are so snobbish they pretend they don't know anything about country music probably wonder why every time someone prominent walks away from his high position, we say, "He's done a Johnny Paycheck." We riffraff are aware that Johnny Paycheck was a Grand Ole Opry star whose most famous song was "Take This Job and Shove It." That's roughly what Speaker John Boehner is humming as he prepares to walk away from the soap-opera House of Representatives and the hard-right extremist members in his Republican House majority. They have... Full story
Schools were once considered some of the safest places in the country. That has changed. The recent killings at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Ore., are the most recent evidence that schools are easy targets. This attack by a young man is the continuation of frightening attacks on innocents. Obviously, the wave of gun violence in the nation is not over. Many demand stricter control of guns to avoid more mass murders. Others want gun ownership rights protected at all costs, interpreting the Second Amendment to give relatively unfettered g...
In the early 1970s, a small group of Washington business leaders led by Yelm grocer, Hal Wolf, decided it was time to integrate business owners with high school students. They realized that our free enterprise market-based economic system would not survive unless it was reinvigorated with a consistent injection of young entrepreneurs. At the time, our nation had been deeply divided by the Vietnam War and an anti-establishment, anti-business fervor. Wolf, a state legislator, saw trouble ahead for our way of life. Central Washington University...
Hispanic Heritage I wish to add my own thoughts and experiences to the recent heartfelt letter by Lionor Galindo in regards to National Hispanic Heritage Month. Even though the Hispanic community in the Palouse is rather minimal, it is large and well established in central Washington. In the 45 years I have resided in a semi-rural county here in Texas, the Hispanic population has grown immensely. That has brought great changes, almost all positive, to our community. Economically the area has prospered. We have a vibrant labor force, made...
The U.S. has joined the global bidding on Syrian refugees. At first it said it would take 10,000 Syrians. Now it says it will increase the annual U.S. overall refugee intake from 70,000 to 100,000 during the next three years to help deal with the migrant wave deluging Europe. The Obama administration's attitude used to be that Syria is a faraway country of which we know nothing, and it stood by while Syria descended into mayhem and madness. It turns out that Syria is not so far away that some of its nearly biblical exodus -- half of the...
Say what you will about marathon Republican presidential debates -- and many are saying a lot about CNN's performance -- but you can't fault the network for one feature: its use of split-screen shots, mainly to show the reactions by Donald Trump as someone else talked. He's become the network's latest Malaysian Airliner ratings gambit. This time his facial expressions (some animal-like grimaces, some incredibly foolish grins) and his awkward moves toward the speaker as he was trying to show he was paying attention all reinforced an already...
The uproar over the attempted closure of a portion of the John Wayne Trail is justified. At the heart of it is the move by representatives Joe Schmick and Mary Dye to close 135 miles of the trail. The section they want abandoned was to be turned over to area landowners. That would have been enough to cause a controversy. More disturbing is the fact that the move was made in relative secrecy. The two stuck the closure in a state funding bill. They did not make it public. They certainly did not ask for public comment. The idea of the closure has... Full story
While Hillary Clinton's team of consultants is locked in a room somewhere trying to figure out how she can project authenticity, Joe Biden is out doing it. The vice president's recent interview on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" was compellingly human, as Biden talked of the tragic loss of his son Beau and his decision whether or not to make a late entry into the Democratic presidential race. It's rare for someone who has been at the pinnacle of our politics for decades to get a second look. But Biden's latest family tragedy (he lost his...
What do Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have in common? They both despise the idea of apologizing. Those of us past puberty might remember the book/movie "Love Story," which really should have been called "Sappy Story." Perhaps the most cloying line in the entire maudlin melodrama was, "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Yeah, I don't know what it means either, but The Donald and The Hillary have made it a watchword of their love antithesis -- which, of course, is politics. Except that -- as her campaign started to implode and with...
The city of Colfax has recognized the Codger Pole as a unique attraction. Restoration work is now underway on the pole and surrounding park. They are finally getting some appreciation. It has been a long time coming. The pole, born out of the famous Codger Bowl, a rematch of St. John and Colfax football teams 50 years after the fact, was the creation of John Crawford. Crawford, raised in Colfax, was an actor, playwright, musician and author. More telling, he was imaginative. Much to the chagrin of many, he pushed his ideas until he got his... Full story
Tesla is the premium entry in the electric car market, with a starting price of $75,000. According to the Wall Street Journal, the high-end “Signature” model costs $132,000, slightly more than the base price for Porsche’s AG’s 911 GT3. Even with a $7,500 federal tax credit, an assortment of state tax credits and $10,000 in fuel saving over five years, the driver’s investment is over $110,000 – far beyond the reach of the average family. However, Tesla’s luxury styling and impressive performance give high-end buyers the best of both worlds ...
Hispanic Month This week marks the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month, a time to honor the diverse cultures and traditions of Hispanic Americans nationwide. The daughter of seasonal farmworkers, I am part of an often forgotten population of hardworking people who are deeply rooted in many communities across the country. After a summer spent in Washington, D.C., interning for the Peace Corps in the Office of Civil Rights and Diversity, I feel this month is an important time to call attention to a program that changed my life, and is c... Full story
While Jeb Bush feuds with Donald Trump and others kowtow to him, only one candidate is seriously gaining on him. Ben Carson is now tied with Trump in one Iowa poll and is close in others. His rise suggests that it's possible to catch the populist wave roiling Republican politics and yet not be an obnoxious braggart. Ben Carson is a superior outsider to Donald Trump. He is more gentlemanly and more conservative, with a more compelling life story. He is a man of faith who, despite his manifest accomplishments, has a quiet dignity and winsome...
Those who are past puberty might remember Mort Sahl. Sahl became one of the 1960s' first insult comedians, who would trash just about anyone and everything. He was considered a model for the incredible 1976 movie "Network," which featured a deranged network anchorman, Howard Beale, inspiring millions of citizens to scream, "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it anymore!" Millennials should download the film or at least do an online search. It was perceptive and farsighted, plus it was funny as hell. That brings us to Donald Trump, a...
The Veterans Administration has been in the news. Not much of it has been good. In response to complaints about the difficulty of getting proper care at the various VA hospitals and clinics, the VA has tried to start a new service. It is called Choice. It allows veterans qualified for medical care at VA centers to seek that medical care with local providers. Reportedly, Choice has not been very successful, even though it gives veterans who live more than 50 miles from a VA hospital or clinic the possibility of getting care closer to home. The...
On September 4, the State Supreme Court derailed Washington’s nascent charter school movement when it ruled that charter school Initiative 1240 is unconstitutional. Approved by voters in 2012, I-1240 allowed up to 40 charter schools at a rate of eight per year. The initiative specified that low-income, at-risk students be given priority and charter schools were required to meet the same rigorous certification, performance and teacher accreditation standards as traditional schools. Nevertheless, the state teachers’ union sued to overturn the ini...
Pet peeve answer Please allow this letter to answer the question submitted within the Pet Peeve section of the Sept. 3, 2015, edition of the Whitman County Gazette. Specifically, the question stated, “How many of the ‘non-elected’ general population were even aware of the opportunity to possibly participate in a lucrative Moscow/Pullman airport wetlands offset?” For the Pullman-Moscow Regional Airport (PMRA) Runway Re-alignment Project, the National Environmental Policy Act Environmental Assessment (EA) Process was initiated in Septemb...
