Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 2870 - 2894 of 3750
Washington Voters, the ballots are in the mail. Please vote no on Initiative measure 1240! Simply put, it steals money from the tax-supported public schools. Yes, a Charter School is a private school funded with our hard earned tax dollars. Currently, the public schools are underfunded. Allowing a private school to take the money is not a good policy and we voters have rejected this nonsense in previous elections. If one carefully examines the research on Charter schools, one will discover that there is virtually “no effect size” dif...
Art Swannack is an honest, intelligent man who will bring common sense and reasoning to his decisions on behalf of the county. I attended the two open “hearings” the commissioners held this spring about the Hawkins development. I was frustrated upon realizing that the meetings were less about “hearing” from the public in order to inform their decision, and more about telling the public what was good for us. At the time, I mentioned feeling like a child who was being told to, “shut up, sit down, and eat your vegetables. They’re good for you.” T...
When Don Brunell wrote his essay “Striking it Rich in North Dakota” (Gazette, Oct. 18) he must have been wearing his rose-tinted glasses, or blinders, or both. For one thing, the statement that fracking is safe and actually protects aquifers is extremely questionable. But beyond that, implicit in his editorial is the idea that increased petroleum production is in itself a wonderful thing—a boon to the economy and an overall win-win situation. Brunell suggests that the US has “more than a 200-year supply of crude oil.” This, presumably, is at ou...
YYYY The generous volunteer who provided the chemicals, time and effort to spray weeds at the Steptoe cemetery. #!*! People who park their cars blocking the entire crosswalk at the intersection of Main and Wall streets....
A few years after Sid Snyder retired as Washington Senate majority leader in 2002, elected leaders from both parties voted to honor by him re-naming the street leading to the state capitol in Olympia “Sid Snyder Avenue.” It was a fitting tribute to a gracious man who worked tirelessly and in the best interests of our state. Snyder, who died on Oct. 14 at 86, was an icon. He was a politician whose respectful demeanor was in sharp contrast to today's rancorous partisan atmosphere in the other Washington. The manner in which Sid Snyder app...
ITEM-Washington is on the verge of becoming the first in the nation to let adults 21 or older buy taxed, inspected marijuana at state-licensed shops. Voters in Oregon and Colorado are considering similar initiatives but based on polls, Washington’s 1-502 is believed to have the best chance of passing. It could, however, bring on a protracted fight with the feds because marijuana remains illegal under U.S. law and when state and federal law conflict, federal law takes precedence. Conferences are planned to try to work something out if it c...
The idea of a democracy is that citizens will determine the direction and tenor of their government. Voting gives people a chance to express their hopes and desires. It allows them to voice what they feel is needed and necessary. Often, the accumulation of individual votes results in dramatic shifts in power. In America, immense power is peacefully relinquished or peacefully retained based solely on the vote of the people. It is a miraculous event. Few countries experience it, and none have experienced for as long or as unquestionably as...
Backs Tensfeld Whitman County is facing a tough choice in this election. The role of Whitman County Commissioner position 1 is vacant, and it is up to the citizens to decide who shall lead our county during this time of economic and financial uncertainty. For the last 25 years, Bill Tensfeld has devoted nearly half his life to public service as a volunteer firefighter and EMT, the last 12 being Rosalia’s Fire Chief. He is the only candidate with a proven track record of working with the WSDOT in Highway Maintenance and Traffic Safety. He is c...
. The Dark Tunnel to Stupidity W. Bruce Cameron Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in 2007. There are many people who are experts in how to raise children, and we call these experts “people who have never had children.” Anyone who has actually been through the experience of parenting knows that it requires patience, wisdom, kindness and love — so if your kid doesn’t have those, you might as well forget it. My own parents decided on a system based on redundancy: With three children, they figured they could afford to...
In 1951, if farmer Henry Bakken had told you there was oil under his prairie land in Williston, N.D., you’d have thought he was a few bricks short of a load. As it turns out, he was right. North Dakota’s economy is going gangbusters, thanks to millions of barrels of oil being recovered from what today is known as the Bakken formation. The Bakken formation stretches about 200,000 square miles beneath Montana, North Dakota and Saskatchewan. The U.S. portion of the Bakken is estimated to hold up to 10 billion barrels of oil. The oil is being rec...
WELL, IT HAD to come; we had to have Jake put down. I told you about Jake around National Dog Day. I got him June 29 when I was having lunch with friends and mentioned I was without a dog for the first time in years, having had a dog or dogs most of my life. I had just had to have three dogs put down, Max, a Labrador who got a tumor that was pressing against his organs and causing him pain, Daisy, a Springer Spaniel with similar problems, and Eleanor, a little bitty dog with an advanced case of heart worms. I promised my daughter no more dogs...
One life-long resident of Colfax loved to hunt as a young man. In those days, he had to travel to central Washington to hunt. There just were not any deer around here. Now, deer are everywhere. They are on roads and in gardens. They hold up traffic and, worse, cause serious accidents. Vehicle/deer collisions are common. Near misses are much more common. Many encounters go unreported so the real danger to drivers can only be guessed at. The special hunts around Colfax to reduce the number of deer reportedly have had some success, but some...
Colfax The county commissioner race for District 1 offers voters two individuals who are sincerely committed to serving Whitman County. In this time of divisive budget concerns, Art Swannack is the right person to deal with the challenges our county faces. Art is very approachable and listens with an open mind. He does his homework and looks at issues from a very practical and fiscally responsible viewpoint. Art isn’t afraid to ask the tough questions and he is refreshingly succinct and to-the-point with his matter-of-fact responses that d...
Dream a Little Q&A W. Bruce Cameron Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in 2007. My dreams are so boring they usually put me to sleep. They bore other people, too. When I was young, my father had a rule that if I wanted to tell my family about my dreams I had to (a) keep it short and (b) find another family. But dreams ultimately tell us a lot about ourselves, such as the fact that we must be asleep. Thus, the fact that my dreams are excruciatingly boring tells me they would make a good episode of “John From Cin...
Elections are always important, but the stakes are particularly high this year with our economy stuck in neutral and threatening to slip into reverse. The economy will move forward only when employers feel confident enough to begin hiring. The choices voters make this November will either strengthen or weaken employer confidence. When you mark your ballot, ask yourself, “Will my vote help create real private-sector jobs for me and my family? Will my vote put us on the path to reducing our crushing federal debt? Will my vote begin to reverse y...
THIS IS WRITTEN before the first presidential debate because it didn’t mesh with my deadline so I will have to deal with that later, but I look forward to watching it and the slew of other candidate debates in this final month before the election. I am anxious to see if the news people selected to ask the questions betray their bias. You’ll generally know where they stand by what media they represent. It was the same here during the 30 years I was an active political writer expected to give readers the who, what, why and wherefores without ind...
The lines are drawn and opinions are set. It is hard to remember when Americans were so divided and so antagonistic to opposing views. The last time may have been more than forty years ago during the Vietnam War. The national debate over it reached much the same volume as we are hearing now. Then, as now, opinions were entrenched and few would budge from their views. Opinions in this presidential election, whether expressed in the media or over a cup of coffee, are rigid and unforgiving. All the harsh noise reduces the chance for meaningful...
When the so-called Affordable Care Act was signed into law, President Obama promised that health care would be affordable and repeatedly assured Americans that if they liked their health plan and their doctor, they could keep them. Neither promise has come true. Millions of people are losing their preferred coverage, tens of thousands of doctors plan to retire rather than deal with the ACA, and costs are skyrocketing. Last March, the Congressional Budget Office doubled the original cost estimate of “Obamacare” to $1.76 trillion over the nex...
Okay, since we are a little over a month from the election, and that’s all anybody talks or writes about, let’s test you on memorable quotes: 1 “It’s time to put aside partisanship, stop telling lies and start telling the truth.” 2. “You know, do me a favor. Could you say senator instead of ma’am? I worked so hard to get that title so I’d appreciate it.” 3. “I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs...
The Great Hoodwinki When I was 13 years old, I was a professional escape artist known as “The Great Hoodwinki,” except that no one actually knew me as that and I wasn’t professional. I thought that people would admire the clever play on words, since “Hoodwink” means “to fool” and “the Great Hoodwinki” would remind the same people of “the Great Houdini,” though who these “people” were supposed to be I had never really defined. Probably the local news anchor, a woman I had such a crush on that when her show came on the television, I couldn’t be...
The presidential election is coming fast. Although “election day” is not what it used to be, what with all the early voting and vote-by-mail options, election day is Tuesday, November 6. Despite the ticking clock, there is still time to register to vote. A presidential election with all the other federal, state and local races is no election to miss. Two deadlines are here now. Mail-in registrations must be postmarked by this Saturday, October 6. Forms are available online or at the elections office in Colfax or Pullman City Hall. Ele...
MARRIAGE LICENSES Timothy J. Cottrell, 25, and Justina I. Petry, 25, both Pullman, Sept. 21. Brett W. Josephson, 27, Pullman and Amy R. Keller, 26, Portland, Sept. 21. Larry W. Hickman, 21, and Crystal J.M. Blank, 20, both Pullman, Sept. 21. Randy A. Zehm, 40, and Maeleen E. Aston, 38, both Palouse, Sept. 19. Steven D. Tronsen, 21, and Roze L. Vessey, 24, both Palouse, Sept. 19. Christopher B. Holmes, 40, and Teana L. Gregg, 41, both Palouse, Sept. 18. Luke E. Davis, 18, and Cayla L.M. Leinweber, 18, both Endicott, Sept. 18. WHITMAN COUNTY...
No way To whomever thought that police sign on JJ Building Supply was a good idea.....don’t quit your day job. What awful public relations for such a “homey” town. How about some community policing, getting out there and interacting with the community on a positive level. How about common sense traffic control during WSU games, not that awful, intimidating sign. It gives a threatening connotation just by the way the officers are portraying themselves. “Stop For Other Reasons.” No way. Who would? That doesn’t help out this town that has so much...
Have you ever traveled to another state for your job, perhaps to attend a business meeting or a conference? Most people have. But few people realize that they may owe income taxes in that other state. In all, 41 states levy a tax on the income earned by nonresident employees during their time in the state, even if they’re just attending a conference. Each state calculates its tax differently — 24 states levy the tax from the very first day, while 17 others, including Oregon, Idaho and California, set thresholds of how long the nonresident emp...
ITEM—Mitt Romney comes under attack by the media for saying at a private meeting of his supporters and secretly recorded that he doesn’t expect the vote of Americans who depend on government handouts and have been persuaded by the Obama campaign that they are victims. He must reach out instead, he said, to the undecideds. COMMENT—Over 20 nations around the world were in turmoil as Islamic fanatics burned U.S. and Israeli flags and attacked those countries’ overseas institutions and citizens yet the media concentrated instead in its news coverag...
