Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 1634 - 1658 of 3750
The $5.4 billion spent to expand the Panama Canal is paying off for East Coast and Gulf of Mexico seaports; however, it is putting more pressure on the Northwest to remain competitive. The enlarged waterway opened in June 2016 allowing much larger container ships and tankers to transit between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Ships carrying up to 14,800 containers can now bypass Washington ports. Shippers have a cost-effective alternative to reach midwestern markets from southern and eastern states. Our traditional advantage of shorter Pacific...
Another choice A few people would like you to believe that the residents of Tekoa have no choice but to accept that promoting a Washington State controlled bike trail is what everyone wants. But I believe we have another choice: Wendy Sienknecht for Tekoa City Council. She would bring some balance to our city government. I've known Wendy since 1984, and she would be a great councilwoman because she questions everything. She's not afraid to stand alone and voice her position. She won't rubber stamp special projects just to get along. She’s w... Full story
If Secretary of State Rex Tillerson resigned, how would anyone know? He has become the nation's least influential top diplomat in recent memory. His relationship with the president of the United States is strained at best, he has no philosophy or signature initiative, he has barely staffed his own department, and he's alienated the foreign service. The former CEO of ExxonMobil has taken one of the power positions in the U.S. government and made it an afterthought. Who knows the truth of the NBC story that he was close to quitting last summer...
There are first responders -- men and women who are heroes who bravely swarm to the rescue whenever there's a tragic emergency -- and then there's the first response, by politicians who have nothing to add so they put out statements that invariably include the bromide that their "thoughts and prayers" are with the victims and their families. Admirable thought, until we consider it has become a purely mechanical way of saying they have zero to say, that they're concerned but impotent. At its worst, it is an excuse not to take meaningful action.... Full story
A young student went on social media a few weeks ago and declared he was going to shoot up Colfax High School. Soon after he posted this ominous warning, three students went to the school counselor and reported the message. Immediately, officials went into action and arrested the youth. Those students who alerted the school deserve congratulations. What they did was the right thing to do. Such responsible actions can prevent needless violence and heartache and even save lives.... Full story
YYYY Volunteer soccer coaches. Church bells at 8, noon and 6, beautiful. #!*! People who don’t know the difference between “sorted’ and “sordid.” Pink, wow, so are we going to be just as enthusiastic regarding all manner of cancers or are we just a boob kinda town? People on Southview who let their dogs run loose at night so they can poop in neighbors’ yards. Send your pet peeves and okeydokes to Whitman County Gazette P.O Box 770, Colfax, WA 99111 or drop them off at the Gazette office...
Athletic Director Bill Moos is leaving WSU to become athletic director for the University of Nebraska. He announced his resignation just last weekend, and will start his new job by the end of the month. His announcement came as a surprise to nearly everyone, even the university president. Moos started his career at WSU and then went to University of Oregon as athletic director. He reportedly retired and was later brought back to WSU. His goal was to bring the university to a position of prominence in athletics. He has been successful at that.... Full story
I remember an ad on TV several years ago showing a teacher grading papers on her kitchen table late at night. That ad was instrumental in my becoming a teacher after I retired from the Air Force. I wanted to share the feeling of dedication that I felt in that hard working, underpaid teacher. That stereotypical servant is still alive and well in the small schools in Eastern Washington but is being replaced in some places by the angry image of union activists. My first school was a one room country school that housed over forty students ruled by... Full story
On a recent Saturday afternoon in Portland, a young woman stepped onto the playing field at the beginning of the University of Montana vs Portland State football game and started singing our national anthem. She immediately drew a blank on the words and briefly stopped, but as she started apologizing, the fans spontaneously took up the singing. By the time, the Stars Spangled Banner ended everyone in the packed stadium was singing in harmony. After the song ended, they gave her a huge ovation---clapping and cheering. For a moment, they were not... Full story
Gun statistics Those who oppose any gun regulation say that those who favor gun control laws are trying to divide the country. Let’s get away from politics and look at statistics. The U.S. has approximately four percent of the world’s population but more than 40 percent of guns in civilian hands. The U.S. has almost 30 homicides by firearms per million people, four times more than any other developed country. States with a higher percentage of households with guns have a higher number of gun deaths. Duh. States with tighter gun control law... Full story
The mind boggles at the horror of Las Vegas, where Stephen Paddock perched himself in the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel and sprayed bullets into a crowd of outdoor concertgoers in the worst mass shooting in American history. If this slaughter of innocents were an act perpetrated by a foreign power, the U.S. military retaliation would begin immediately, and rightly so. The impulse to act to stop the domestic massacres that have become a heartbreakingly metronomic feature of American life is laudable and understandable. "It's time," as...
I've never heard President Donald Trump sing, and that's certainly a good thing. Day after day, he shows just how amazingly tone-deaf he is. He frequently brags about how he is personally compelled to "punch back" whenever anyone takes him on. No matter how gentle the criticism, it spurs an all-out verbal assault from him. It also doesn't matter how desperate the critic is, if those crying out, for instance, are in mortal danger; if they cross Donald Trump, they can expect a nuclear Twitter barrage. So it is with the 3 million or so U.S....
Recently, Roger Ailes, CEO of Fox News, was ousted for his alleged inappropriate behavior with women on his staff. Bill O’Reilly, the top rated commentator on Fox, was fired for his indiscretions with women. Now Harvey Weinstein, founder of The Weinstein Company and producer for many of America’s favorite movies, is accused of predatory actions against women stretching over decades. He is one of the most powerful people in Hollywood and a friend of many national politicians and liberal causes. For years, his behavior has been, it is rep...
There is a new machine being tested in Montana which could decontaminate toxic mine tailings while recovering valuable precious minerals for everyday use. Gold, silver and other metals are essential for our cellphones, computers and electronic devices and their sale could offset the processor’s purchase and operational costs. If pilot tests are successful, the inventors envision building them in the United States. The potential market is worldwide because there are over 3,500 tailing ponds awaiting treatment. For now, it is a South Africa c...
Different view I read Nicolas Kiessling's statements against Coach Leach last week, and I must state a different view. If what Kiessling says about what Leach said, is accurate, (and I have no reason to believe that it is not) then I must applaud Coach Leach. I think it is ridiculous for millionaires and multi-millionaires to take-a-knee and somehow claim that the USA is oppressing them because of the color of their skin. Are they so ill-educated that they can knowingly and purposefully disrespect the flag that approximately 650,000 Union...
To listen to the commentary, Donald Trump used an inappropriate term at the U.N. -- not just "Rocket Man," but "sovereignty." It wasn't surprising that liberal analysts freaked out over his nickname for Kim Jong Un and his warning that we'd "totally destroy" Kim's country should it become necessary. These lines were calculated to get a reaction, and they did. More interesting was the allergy to Trump's defense of sovereign nations. Brian Williams of MSNBC wondered whether the repeated use of the word "sovereignty" was a "dog whistle." CNN's... Full story
Quick! What does Kim Jong Un have in common with Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, most journalists and so many Americans who have somehow crossed President Donald Trump? You already know the answer: Kim is now a Donald Trump Trash Talk Target. "Rocket Man" Kim now joins "Crooked Hillary," "Lyin' Ted," "Little Marco" and the "Fake News Media," along with a slew of others who have crossed Donald Trump and become nicknamed recipients of Donnie's Antagonistic Childish Attacks, better known as DACA. (You thought DACA stood for something...
Thousands of concertgoers celebrated the end of a country music festival in Las Vegas. Not only were they drawn by the music, they were drawn by all the attractions of Las Vegas itself. About 22,000 of them crowded in the shadows of several enormous hotels. It was a time for some fun. Suddenly, what sounded like automatic gunfire broke out. Many concertgoers at first thought the noise came from fireworks. The lead singer continued singing until he realized what was happening. Gradually, too, the crowd became aware of the shooting. The gunfire...
President Trump is working with Democratic congressional leaders much to the chagrin of his own party. The Republicans have no reason to be surprised. He advertised himself to be non-political. He doesn’t play politics, and he doesn’t even try to be diplomatic. His recent speech to the United Nations should have made that point clear. He does, however, have an agenda. He believes his own campaign promises. He promised immigration reform, but he did not promise to deport those young people protected by DACA. To the best of my knowledge, the fir...
In Washington, the legislative stalemate over permitting new household wells and the state’s construction budget has not only delayed needed funding for public projects, but triggered yet another salvo in the wider conflict over future supplies of fresh water for people, fish and farms. At immediate risk is $4.2 billion in state funding for local water and sewer projects, school construction, mental-health facilities, colleges and universities, and, other construction. While there is general agreement between Democrats controlling the House a...
What planet? Our poor Coach Leach is baffled about why hundreds, if not thousands, of NBA, NFL, and college sports players are expressing themselves by taking the knee during the National Anthem, or locking arms, or just staying off the field during the anthem (WSU and UW players do this as a matter of course). Leach said in a televised interview yesterday, “I haven’t gotten a real clear articulation of what’s being protested or what’s being objected to.” What planet is he living on? Or is he just reflecting ultra right-wing obliviousness to th...
Donald Trump, much to his chagrin, never won an Emmy for "The Apprentice," but he can now take indirect credit for a clutch of the awards. The Hulu series "The Handmaid's Tale" just won eight Emmys, a sweep fueled, in part, by the widely accepted belief in liberal America that the show tells us something about the Trump era. Based on the 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood, the series depicts a misogynist dystopia. Christian fundamentalists have established a theocracy that -- after an environmental debacle craters the birth rate -- forces fertile... Full story
It shouldn't be necessary to say this, but apparently it is: You can't drain the Washington "swamp" by dumping human waste all over it. That only makes the swamp more of a cesspool, which it already has been for a long, long time. Not that this is necessarily a profound thought, although most put it a bit more elegantly. Many others contend that Donald Trump, who made the "Drain the Swamp" mantra part of his campaign patter, has in fact made it deeper and sloppier. The Washington swamp is populated by creepy-crawly politicians, lobbyists,...
Colin Kaepernick has gotten almost everything he wanted, except for a job. The protest he started last year has ballooned into widespread protests in the National Football League and is gaining momentum throughout the country. He started his one-man challenge of the status quo by not standing when the national anthem was played before games. Gradually, others joined him. Now, the entire NFL is embroiled in a controversy over the protest and how to respond to it. His goal was to bring attention to police violence, prejudice and discrimination in...
The Spokane County Sheriff has informed us that he may not be able to find enough qualified applicants to fill vacant positions. The standards are very high. Less than one out of five applicants meet the minimum criteria. The police accept only the best of the best. Despite the stringent criteria, there have always been enough applicants who make the cut. That is no longer the case, and it is not a local problem. Police departments across the country are finding it increasingly difficult to attract new officers. Large cities like Seattle and... Full story
