Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Pressure continues January 22 the ballots for this spring’s Colfax School District replacement special levy election were mailed out. The current levy expires at the end of 2016. The importance of this special levy election which covers years 2017 and 2018 cannot be overstated with regards to the continuing excellent education of our community’s young people. The Washington State Legislature continues to shirk their constitutional responsibility and not fund basic education, even while receiving a $100,000 per day fine by the Washington Sta...
At the moment, the Republican establishment is relevant to the presidential-nomination battle only as an epithet. The fight for the Republican nomination isn't so much a vicious brawl between the grass roots and the establishment as it is a bitter struggle between traditional conservatism and populism that few could have foreseen. Conservatism has always had a populist element, encapsulated by the oft-quoted William F. Buckley Jr. line that he would rather be governed by the first 2,000 names in the Boston phone book than by the Harvard...
Just to set the tone, I despise winter. This is being written as I sit in my Washington house looking through the window at 2 feet or so of snow, snarling at anyone who says it's a pretty winterscape. There is no such thing. But being imprisoned does give one time to think First of all, I have some sympathy for the municipal officials here who rarely get snow removal right. It's not like we're in an uninhabitable location, like Canada, Chicago or Cleveland, where frigid climate is routine. Those locations can maintain huge inventories of heavy...
The Iowa caucuses are over. Turnout was heavy, and emotions were high. The five front runners all claimed victories of sorts. The three Republicans getting the most delegate votes were Ted Cruz, Donald Trump and Marco Rubio. Each had reasons for their claims that this was just the start of future success. Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton finished in a virtual tie, although Clinton claimed the victory. Both claimed this was just the start of their future successes. Iowa is an anomaly as compared the most other states. A win here does not...
In 2001, Boeing shocked state and local leaders announcing it was relocating its headquarters to Chicago. Suddenly, the company with its deep roots in our Puget Sound region was housed on the shores of Lake Michigan. That move coupled with Boeing’s world-wide search for sites to build its next generation of commercial airplanes prompted then Gov. Gary Locke (D) to form a competitiveness council. Its mission was to recommend ways to improve our state’s competitiveness primarily so Boeing’s production and jobs would remain here. Some legis...
Hallmark I want to encourage a “yes” vote on the school district levy. Our levy committee has planned with the administration and staff a reasonable and responsible budget supplement that is necessary to maintain our community as a desirable place to raise a family. Consistent levy support makes it possible to extend the curriculum by providing richer and deeper courses, allows experiences in band and choir that have made these experiences special, provides leadership opportunities in ASB, FFA and FBLA, and allows for classroom needs that don’t...
The Obama administration was right when it insisted that the capture and release of 10 American sailors by Iran showed the benefits of a cooperative relationship with Tehran. The crux of the arrangement is simple: The Iranians agree to humiliate us (and pursue their long war against the United States and their hegemonic ambitions in the Middle East), and we agree not to care. It is, as Secretary of State John Kerry says, diplomacy at its best. What Vice President Joe Biden called "standard nautical practice" involved the Iranians making our...
In the immortal words of Rahm Emanuel, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste." Of course, he's moved on from Washington power broker to broken mayor of Chicago, where he's becoming a walking, talking crisis himself. He's fighting for his survival in the midst of a police controversy that even by Chicago standards has become a scandal. The difference between the murderous cop abuse this time and that of generations past is the video that makes it impossible to sweep under the rug, like they've always done. But still, the advice to...
A four-month-old child died April 5. He rolled off his bed and suffocated on a plastic bag. The father was sentenced Friday to 27 months for second degree manslaughter. The apartment where the child, his parents and two other siblings lived was reportedly in total disarray, filthy and loaded with dangers for the children. The mother was not charged with any culpability in the child's death, but the children have been taken away from her. It is a sad case and an unnecessary death. Also involved in this case is Child Protective Services. CPS...
Seattle lost an icon earlier this month when Dick Spady, the 92-year old founder of Dick’s Drive-In restaurants, died. He was an entrepreneur who took a risk, worked hard, treated his workers and customers well, sold an excellent product at an affordable price, and did his part to make his community and country a better place to live and raise a family. Dick Spady was a pacesetter in the fast food industry which developed a full-head of steam in the 1950s. He was quick to recognize a business opportunity and believed that people wanted a f...
Reasons for levy My name is Weston Claassen. I am a 1990 graduate of Colfax School District. I received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Biola University in 1994. This is where I met my wife Jennifer of twenty years. We married and she moved to our community to join me on our family farm. I am a proud fourth generation graduate of Colfax High School, so when I was asked to serve on the Committee for quality schools in support of the 2015 Colfax School Replacement Levy, I was excited to have this opportunity. Jennifer and I have five...
The lazy conventional wisdom is that Ted Cruz is the new Barry Goldwater, doomed to suffer an electoral landslide defeat should he win the Republican nomination. Not only is this wrong about Cruz's general-election chances, it may compare Cruz to the wrong 20th-century Republican forebear. The better analogue for Cruz might be Richard Nixon, not in the crudely pejorative sense, but as another surpassingly shrewd and ambitious politician who lacked a personal touch but found a way to win nonetheless. First, all the caveats. Obviously and most...
Let's face it: Those guys who have taken over a federal building at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in remote eastern Oregon haven't exactly caused an uprising of support. Instead of rallying everyone around their cause -- which in case you don't know is to take back massive swaths of land from the U.S. government -- they've brought on mainly ridicule. Punsters have been having a field day, calling this self-styled armed militia group "Vanilla ISIS" or "Y'all Qaeda." Law-enforcement officials have thus far chosen not to drag them out, and...
Last week, the news could hardly be turned on without hearing talk of the Powerball as it surged to its largest prize in its history, soaring to nearly $1.6 billion – a number so large that it did not even fit on Powerball billboards which were designed years ago to cap out at $999 million. It seemed as though everyone wanted a piece of the prize, and hopes were high across the nation as people forked over $2 to buy their ticket and then dream of the possibilities of quitting jobs, paying off college debts, traveling the world and buying m...
When Boeing rolled out its first 737 MAX last month there was little fanfare. Nevertheless, its importance to the company’s future and our state can’t be understated. The good news is Boeing delivered more airplanes last year than Airbus and it has a backlog of 5,800 orders. However, yellow flag goes up when it comes to the 737 MAX. It is behind the A320neo in development and sales. According to the Seattle Times, “Not counting Airbus sales in December — those figures are still to come — the European jet maker’s A320neo in 2015 had already won...
The Malheur National Wildlife Refuge hasn't heretofore been known as a locus of government tyranny or much of anything else. Saying that the refuge, established in 1908 by Theodore Roosevelt, is in the middle of nowhere makes it sound too centrally located. It is in Southeastern Oregon, about 30 miles from the nearest town of Burns, population 2,722. Now the Bundy family – notorious for its standoff with the feds at the family's Nevada ranch last year – and sundry anti-government protesters have occupied the refuge and pronounced it the sta...
I'm among those who mourn the death of Natalie Cole. I didn't know her personally – only through her singing, but that was enough to make me a devoted fan. She leaves behind a long list of recordings and performances that marked her as a star. Her voice and style stood alone, but she was never able to shake the attachment to her father in the public mind. In spite of her prodigious talent, she was most often described as "the daughter of Nat King Cole." Her inheritance was, as the saying goes, both a blessing and a curse. But even for those o...
The campaigns for president cannot give Americans confidence. On the one side, the Democratic contenders are racing to the left. The Republican candidates are pushing and pulling each other to the right. In the middle, at least so far, there is a great chasm, and it is getting deeper and wider. That chasm is the space between the two parties. Over the years, the political system in the United States has grown into two camps, each wanting to devastate and dominate the other. Often, it seems that political ideology and political gamesmanship...
It was good to be a merchant this Christmas, but it was even better to be a shopper. According to MasterCard Spending Pulse, retail sales were up eight percent over 2014 while the Bureau of Economic Analysis’ price index shows that product prices were three percent lower. Interestingly, a National Retail Federation (NRF) analysis reveals that while fewer dollars than expected came in because of deep pre-holiday discounts, the volume of purchases were up. Simply, while lower prices for sweaters, toys or electronic gadgets brought in less per uni...
Cause to celebrate We greet the New Year with the good news that you reported in a recent issue, namely that State Rep. Joe Schmick has abandoned his efforts to close the John Wayne Trail. This is a cause for celebration. Just a few short months ago he was committed to introducing legislation to correct the typo that thwarted his previous proviso. Now rather than hand over 6,000 acres of the only cross-state trail in Washington to adjacent landowners, the John Wayne Trail will remain open. It's a beautiful, epic trail, stretched over 280 miles...
We should be glad that 2015 has passed into memory, because it was a year when we could barely hold it together. It was a year when we freaked out over symbols and scared ourselves with fake statistics. It was a year when the facts weren't allowed to get in the way of a good, overwrought slogan. It was a year when we convinced ourselves that Earth was nearly beyond saving. It was a year of the safe space and micro-aggression. It was, in short, a year of hysteria. By now, we should be familiar with the workings of hysteria, since – usually w...
"Happy new year." That's what we holler as we replace our calendars. It's the rite of passage where we're supposed to dismiss from our minds the darkness of the past and look forward to a brighter future. Well, you can try to repress all you want, but wouldn't it be more honest to simply admit that we seriously resent much of what took place since we last went through this annual subterfuge? Forget the personal grudges we're supposed to let go of but never do – let's face it, 2015 also left some indelible stains on our collective lives. W...
The second year of the College Football Playoff is almost complete. What follows are the errant thoughts of one fan trying to stay interested to the end. • The four-team playoff last year brought the biggest ratings in cable TV history. But those were just cable ratings – and it was basically the first time cable ever aired major championship games. • One key element lost in the playoff system is the potency of the regular season. Simply put, before the Playoff, it was two-and-a-half months of p...
As we approach 2016, we need to stop and look at what it takes to keep manufacturing in America. Our country has advantages, which include higher product quality, shorter delivery times, rising offshore wages, lower inventory and the ability to be more responsive to changing customer demands. But there are some glaring disadvantages, which include higher taxes, mounting costs of government regulations and increasing electricity prices. Nowhere is that more evident than in Washington State. Our state and local politicians got a sobering reality...
To believe his critics, Donald Trump has ripped up the U.S. Constitution and sprinkled its shreds on the smoldering embers of what was once the Statute of Liberty. He did this, of course, by proposing a temporary ban on Muslim immigration into the United States, which might be the most roundly and fiercely denounced idea in America since the British Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts (in 1774). There is no doubt about it: Donald Trump's proposal is invidious; not all Muslims are a security risk. It is unworkable; among other things,...
