Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Would you believe in the future when a cement truck shows up to pour your foundation or patio, the mixture will likely contain ground-up wind turbine blades? As a part of new agreement between GE Renewable Energy and Veolia North America (VNA), old blades, consisting mostly of fiberglass, are shredded at a processing facility in Missouri and then shipped to cement plants across America where they replace coal, sand, and clay in manufacturing. “Last summer, we completed a trial using a GE b...
It’s been a difficult year for us all. I know that’s an understatement. But methinks I shouldn’t have to go into many details to explain why. Unfortunately, those reasons are still all around us. It’s said hard times bring out the best and worst in people. I’ve come to see the truth in that first-hand, and — put mildly — it’s disheartening. But, there have been bright spots this year, too. So, let’s focus on those. Ironically, to see a couple of those bright spots we’ve had to look up — literally. One of those is taking shape right now in th...
Okeydokes All the people who are spaying and neutering cats. The Thrifty Grandmothers. Those ladies do so much and give so much money to the locals. Pet Peeves Beware of Colfax speed traps!...
On Dec. 18, 1917, Congress proposed the 18th Amendment, which would later make it illegal to make, buy, sell or drink alcohol. Two years later, after ratification Jan. 16, 1919, prohibition became the law of the land. For nearly 14 years, Americans who wanted to have an adult beverage were forced underground. They danced, dined, drank and gambled in what became known as a “speakeasy.” Law enforcement and other public employees often knew about their clandestine watering hole and even joined the local folk exercising their constitutional rig...
One of the biggest challenges of the 21st Century is dealing with the progress of the 20th Century — especially old computers, monitors, cellular phones and televisions. These appliances depend on hazardous materials, such as mercury, to operate. After a 5-8-year life, many are tossed into dumpsters and sent to landfills where those hazardous materials can leach into the soil and groundwater. That was the opening paragraph of a column I wrote 20 years ago. However, today the problem is much l...
As a “pandemic” rages across the land, the Washington State University basketball team had to play the Eastern Washington University team, mask-less. We must demand an end to the blatant mistreatment of college athletes. These poor wards of the state, like expendable gladiators, are thrown in the ring to face the COVID beast unprotected. Shamefully, fans endorse this as they take a seat in front of the virtual “coliseum”, remote in hand, to be entertained from the safety of their homes. Shameful indeed. Thankfully, by decree, “Caesar Inslee” h...
I am saddened and disheartened by a letter published in the Dec. 3 Gazette. The writer accuses Auditor Sandy Jamison of fraud because she was not permitted to have actual oversight of the ballot-counting process. I wasn’t there, so I am not in a position to confirm or contradict her assertion that she and other designated poll watchers were so treated. If so, there may have been some improprieties on the part of Ms. Jamison in not being more accommodating. On the other hand, perhaps her greater concern was the health of employees and w...
A Dec. 3 letter may have been a little over the top. The writer was a formal observer of the vote counting in Whitman County. She said, “Fraud was very apparent here.” The observations she cited did not support that. If she had said that the conditions that she observed were perfect for concealing fraud, I would agree with her. I observed similar conditions when I was an observer of the count at a recent election. The only difference was, we had to sit with our backs to the far window. Like the writer said, it’s so darned far away you could...
As your Whitman County Auditor, I feel compelled to respond to the letter published in the Dec. 3 edition of the Whitman County Gazette. She claims that “fraud was very apparent here” in our county and that I had “just broke election law and the count was fraudulent.” These claims are unfounded. I have never met Ms. Culbertson, nor would I recognize her if she walked down the street. Her visit to the Elections Office, as an official Republican Party observer, occurred on Nov. 6. She spoke with my Elections Supervisor, not me. I wasn’t...
Over the last few weeks, 42 businesses in Whitman County have been visited by Liquor and Cannabis Board officers from outside of the area. They’ve driven more than an hour into our communities to investigate and cite local eateries, taverns and other places based on mostly anonymous complaints. In addition to acting on anonymous tips, those same officers, local business leaders say, refuse to allow them to copy or photograph the complaints. Apparently, they are acting on completely anonymous tips or they’re hiding the identities of cor...
Okeydokes: All the Christmas lights around town. Pet Peeves: Political signs up after election....
It all started March 17, when I declared a local emergency proclamation for the city of Washtucna due to the coronavirus. The emergency proclamation facilitates potential future assistance related to COVID-19, as well as access to regional and state resources. This declaration was a means to ensure all necessary resources will be available if needed. On March 21, the first COVID-19 patient in Adams County was confirmed. Ever since, it has been a roller coaster. Gov. Jay Inslee gave executive orders to wear masks and to stay 6 feet away from...
I’d like to call your attention to something special that’s been going on in Colfax and Whitman County for the last thirty years and more. It’s the Colfax Fireman’s Toy Box and it has happened every year at Christmas time for the last three decades. Many of the volunteer firemen and women, city of Colfax employees, and countless other volunteers have taken it upon themselves to see that those in need with small children have a little bit brighter holiday with the gifts they receive from the Fireman’s Toy Box. Each year donations are taken by...
In his Nov. 12 column, Don Brunell lauds the racial diversity of the U.S. military. I agree with his statement that the integration of our military is something to celebrate. Interestingly NPR ran a related story this fall (Why Does the Navy Have So Few Black Admirals? Nov. 6, 2020). The enlisted population of the U.S. Navy is more diverse than the U.S. population. Twenty percent of enlisted sailors are black compared to 13% of the general population. But the percentage of black sailors in the officer corps drops to 8%. When promotion becomes...
I strongly disagree with Whitman County Auditor Sandy Jamison concerning the election process. Fraud was very apparent here. I arrived at 8:15 a.m. to be a Republican ballot counting observer and was told opening of ballots would not start til 10 a.m. No problem. I said I will watch the lady in the corner validating signatures and postal date stamps. But I, as well as other observers was told to go behind the glass window. I explained to Ms. Jamison that my eye sight was not good enough to see 25 feet away and I had not brought binoculars; I...
It’s been 278 days since Gov. Jay Inslee first issued executive orders shutting down businesses, ending government transparency and calling some people “non-essential.” His mantra at the time, “flatten that curve” on the growing coronavirus outbreak. The governor and his hand-picked advisers told us the shutdowns were temporary, that the so-called emergency was temporary. More than six month later, temporary seems to have a different definition. Businesses are closing daily, residents across the state are protesting and civility is dissipati...
Yes, Gov. Jay Inslee has issued new orders shutting down your favorite gym and movie theater, and limiting service at your favorite diner or watering hole. Yes, you’re directed to wear a mask when you go in public. And yes, there’s another run on toilet paper and paper towels (in some parts of our state). But it’s Thanksgiving. It’s time to count your blessings. You’re in America. You live in the greatest, most prosperous country the world has ever known. You have housing opportunities, electricity, running water and employment available...
Okeydokes: How nice the lights are around the schools....
Since I am now in the process of retiring after more than 40 years of farming, I thought I would pass along some of the things I have learned. I remember as a kid there were ditches in the field from erosion that required filling before crossing with a wheat truck. I remember farming with plows and hoeing weeds in the summer fallow by hand. When I later took over the farm, I believed in chisel plowing deep to break the “plow pan.” Then, I did the strip farming when it was recommended to prevent erosion. I soon learned that this did little to...
Diversity in the ranks has been the lifeline of our military, but it wasn’t always that way. We ought to be thankful for all of the men and women from a variety of ethnic backgrounds who put their lives in harm’s way to protect our freedoms and way of life. When my father was inducted into the U.S. Army during World War II, our military was segregated. That lasted until 1948 when President Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981. Truman recognized integration was key to winning the war in Eur...
