Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 3582 - 3606 of 3749
GOP campaign snafu could stall out Benton bid views SO STATE Sen. Don Benton of Vancouver has suddenly surfaced as the Republican to beat Democrat Patty Murray for the U.S. Senate this fall. That’ll be the day. There have to be a lot more people besides me who remember that if it hadn’t been for Benton’s squirreling away $1 million bucks in donations that should have gone into campaigns when he was state party chair in 2000, we might still have Slade Gorton in D.C., not to mention avoided losing legislative majority to the D’s. Benton wanted... Full story
My Relationship With Cats I didn’t have any felines growing up, though I did have gerbils, hamsters and other small rodents — I guess my parents decided that though I couldn’t have a cat, I could have things that cats eat. Our neighbor, Mrs. Reid, was a widow who owned four cats, which my father said was evidence she wasn’t interested in ever getting married again. My friend Billy had a cat, too, one that Billy claimed he had trained to hunt rattlesnakes. We spent a lot of time searching for rattlesnakes to bring home to his cat, so maybe it’s...
The Palouse Health Center for being there when us old duffers aren’t mature enough to be caring for oursleves, much less playng with sharp things. Send your Pet Peeves and Okeydokes to the Gazette P.O. Box 770 211 N. Main St Colfax, Wa 99111...
Arrogant It took me a few days to figure out if I should keep silent to the arrogance of some county official in deciding how the possible second stimulus funding, that have not arrived yet to the county, will be distributed. The last funding was decided by sitting around a table and distributing the funds between the County, Pullman and Colfax, by representatives of the County, Pullman and Colfax, with no input from the rest of the Towns’ Officials or public of Whitman County. Since these three agencies benefited from the first round of the s...
Colfax: Levy failure sparks review The Colfax School District’s Operations and Maintenance levy was not approved by voters last week. It was the first levy failure for schools in Colfax since 1970. As a result, the Colfax School District is undertaking a review of the failed levy proposal. And, it is seeking the help of district patrons and taxpayers to help shape the new levy proposal, most likely expected in May. Concerned citizens, administrators and school board members will kick off the review. All others are invited to participate as t...
Sovereignty The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies that serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may maintain control over the instruments that they have created. RCW 42.56.030 - Public Records Act Jim Farr, Palouse Clarification We, the Sprague and Lamont School Directors, wish to clarify our position as it relates to the...
W. BRUCE CAMERON I was fascinated to listen to a report on how to make one’s brain more effective, although my brain wasn’t all that interested. Apparently, there are three levels of brain activity. Level 1 is the lowest level — the amount of concentration required to, say, delete e-mails or serve in Congress. As human beings, we spend a lot of time in Level 1, including all of our teenage years. Level 2 is mild engagement, like listening to an in-law. Our brains are burning glucose and becoming fatigued (or, depending on the in-law, enrag...
It is the ultimate no-win situation. A Catch-22. Washington employers struggling to survive our “Great Recession” are being forced to lay off employees. Those workers are receiving unemployment benefits, which deplete the state’s unemployment trust fund. To replenish the fund, the state is increasing unemployment insurance taxes on employers. Higher taxes make it harder for those employers to create jobs. Unlike workers’ compensation, employers pay for the entire unemployment insurance program because there is no employee contribution. The amo...
MY OCCASIONAL writings about the uproar in the Evangelical Lutheran Churches in America over whether to ordain actively gay clergy and allow gay weddings in the church hasn’t stirred any bishops to respond until now. Bishop Martin D. Wells of the Eastern Washington and Idaho Synod, ELCA. writes. “You’ve caused some trouble for me in Eastern Washington.” He sent me a copy of his letter to the Ellensburg Daily Record where he accuses me of “several serious mistakes that must be corrected for readers to have an accurate picture of dynamics...
#!*! Steptoe school which does not fly a state or American flag during school hours. #!*! To those who teach, lying no consequences, truth big consequences. Send your Pet Peeves and Okeydokes to the Gazette P.O. Box 770 211 N. Main St Colfax, Wa 99111... Full story
Public records searches Citizens have the right to know, and, just as important, they have the right to find out. Throughout the state, municipalities and other government organizations are faced with citizens seeking information. The inquiries often cause those public entities difficulties in collecting all the information requested. Extra payroll, extra time and extra expense are all part of it. As with anything, some searches of public documents are sincere and in the best of faith, representing citizens seeking information and details... Full story
I saw an ad recently that said, “Get Paid to Lose Weight” — but when I called and told them I had lost 10 pounds, they refused to send me a check. So I gained the weight back. Determined to make dieting a source of income, I’ve now started a weight-loss blog, where thousands of people will come every day and read about what I’ve been eating and then buy T-shirts, hats and candy bars. If I sell a thousand T-shirts at $200 each, well, you do the math. Day 1: Started my diet with a healthy salad and iced tea. Please click on the link to buy a T-s...
Transparency Bill Will of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association and Washington Coalition for Open Government would have us believe that House Bill 3031, giving agencies in Washington State the option of charging for staff time for excessive records requests, will lead to the downfall of open government if passed. Well stop the presses! According to information I found at the sunshinereview.org website, referencing a 2008 study conducted by the Better Government Association, nothing could be further from the truth. Of the ten states...
In good times, our elected leaders can walk the high wire between spending and taxes, spreading around money like gobs of peanut butter on a slice of toast. Bringing home the bacon has always been a sure ticket to re-election. But when the economy goes sour and money is short, all kinds of special interests descend on politicians hollering, “Cut somebody else, not me!” Who are those special interests? We all have them, whether it’s a church group lobbying for non-profit tax exemptions, an environmental organization seeking more public funds to...
I RAN ACROSS a copy in my files of a speech given on the opening day of the Legislature 14 years ago by the then Speaker of the House, and wished with all my heart that this was the kind of man we had in charge today in Olympia and Washington, D.C. The people have been sending their legislators a message for quite some time, he said. “They want change in the way government operates. They want change in the way government spends their hard earned dollars. They want change in the way government treats them. All too often we get calls from c... Full story
++++ To the courteous staff at Cougar Foodmart for being a beacon 24 hours a day to the locals as well as the travelers. #!*! Drive-ins and restaurants that don’t serve iced tea year-round. ++++ The beautiful art inside the courthouse. I hope it stays. #!*! To administrators who hold the kids to policy but not the coaches. ++++ The two Colfax men not afraid to stand up and tell the truth on our school bond issue. #!*! The reprinting, remailing and extra return postage for the school levy. How much did it cost the taxpayer? Send your Pet P...
The mistake on the Colfax school levy election ballots is well known. Voters have been sent a second ballot to revote on the issue. An error on the initial ballots has made it necessary to reprint the ballots and resend them. Plus, there are the additional expenses of return postage and hand counting the ballots once they are received. The error also causes confusion over those ballots already received, and those votes that may or may not be duplicated on the new set of ballots. In all, it is not the smoothest of elections. The mistake also...
My New Face My face is a work in progress. Having grown an appropriate number of eyes, lips and noses, I’m now busily at work drawing lines to connect them all together. I’m also fond of developing what my dermatologist calls “squeamish basil cells.” (This may not be the precise medical term.) It seems there are places on my face that are considered bad neighborhoods, where tough cells hang out and frighten away healthy skin. To combat this blight, my doctor wants to use a technique known as “expensive.” “I’m going to use a laser to burn a... Full story
In crisis We are in a crisis because our leaders in all areas of government have the physiology that overspending or a give away program will solve the crisis. History tells us that it will not work. As citizens we need to look at the background of people we are electing into the positions of leadership. Do they represent what is best for America and our freedom? Do they know anything about economics, morals or Christian relationships? Once elected, do they represent what is best for America or do they represent special interest groups, who pai...
Big ideas are not microwavable snacks, instantly ready for American taxpayers to swallow. They’re more like a pot of grandma’s homemade soup, tested over the years with just the right ingredients, added at the proper time and allowed to simmer to perfection. So it is with federal health-care reform. It is a work in progress. There have been many attempts to pass sweeping reforms too quickly, and they have all failed. Americans want meaningful change they can afford and reaching that delicate balance takes time and careful consideration. Hopeful...
GIVEN ANY thought to applying for a job as a census taker? OK, answer this question which is in the practice test you have to take before they give you the real thing which could lead to your hiring as a field employee or a supervisor. .41 + 21.4 +6.3 +280 (one of the following) A. 48.498. B. 59.8 C. 308.11 D. 450. Didn’t get it? Neither did I. But that was an example of what they will ask to determine your number skills. Now try this one that tests how well you read. “Census takers who visit homes to collect census information are called enu... Full story
The economy is the center of attention. Jobless rates continue to climb. Foreclosures are expected to rise. Governments are frantically trying to balance budgets. It is a new environment, not so much because of the difficulties experienced over the last few years, but because there is little of a quick recovery. Quick fixes will not do enough. Some fundamental hard work and objective thinking is needed. The temptation, however, seems to be to get involved in peripheral issues instead of the most basic ones. Take, for instance, Washington’s l...
One of life’s great ironies is that for the first 18 years of my existence, I tried everything I could think of to gain weight, while for the most recent 18 years I’ve tried everything I can think of to stop gaining weight. I was a spindly, spoke-like teenage boy, with wrists and thighs of equal diameter and every rib on display in my frail torso. In seventh grade, my father said I should lift weights to improve my physique, but I didn’t have a physique. I weighed barely enough to stay rooted to the ground. Bullies took note of my frail const... Full story
Our country may be struggling to compete economically with China, India and other rapidly developing nations, but when disaster strikes, America still leads the world in caring. The latest example is our response to the devastating earthquakes that ravaged Haiti. One of the first world leaders on the phone rallying the rest of the world was President Obama. It is not unlike the situation a few years ago when a devastating tsunami washed out parts of Indonesia and countries along the Indian Ocean coast. President George W. Bush worked the... Full story
ON LITTLE SYLVIA Lake in Gig Harbor lives a lonely old mute swan, lonely because his companion went to that great watering hole in the sky two years ago, and efforts to replace him have been thwarted by the Darth Vader of mute swandom, the state of Washington. Hiss! Boo! Fie on mute swans, declares the state. They have a bad habit of beating up and sometimes killing native waterfowl. They have even been known to attack and seriously harm people in their territories. Which is why in 1991, the state added them to its Deletorious Exotic Wildlife...
