Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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It’s no secret that airlines and airplane manufacturers have been clobbered by the coronavirus pandemic. Particularly hard hit are international flights traditionally flown by jumbo jets. Borders are closed and people aren’t flying. There is a small silver-lining. Just as restaurants started take-out service to survive, airlines are filling planes with freight. U.S. airlines are reeling from the pandemic and have lost more than $20 billion combined in the last two quarters. Even with the surge i...
Washington has one of the highest minimum wage levels in the U.S. For workers who have a job this sounds like a great deal, but as with all things the government mandates, there are some serious, negative consequences, primarily on young and entry level workers who are forced into joblessness. Nowhere is the harm imposed by a high minimum wage demonstrated more clearly than in Seattle, where the city council has aggressively increased the minimum wage over the last few years. The rash of...
Diversity in the ranks has been the lifeline of our all-volunteer military, but it wasn’t always that way. As we celebrate Veterans Day, 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 make safe our 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...
I have learned to shop on Amazon after spending years living in very small rural communities like Omak and Oroville. It beat driving two hours to find what you needed. Not groceries, hardware or general things for home, but the online giant could find me obscure tools I needed to work on my cars and trucks, professional camera supplies, and the latest computer thingy. Amazon Prime seemed like a great deal to receive television shows and movies, and have all my packages sent by “free two-day shipping.” Not paying for shipping offset the state sa...
Pet Peeves Whitman County Elections office taking an hour and a half longer than every other county in the state to post election results. Radio stations that are already playing Christmas music. Okeydokes People who put up Thanksgiving decorations....
Newspapers ask people to vote in every election. This time we didn’t have to and it’s looking like a silver lining in a contemptuous aggressive ugly political era. Election day has come and gone. The political ads are finished. No more campaign rallies or tour buses. Now we wait for all of the votes to be counted, and most likely counted again. Now, we can take a deep breath or two before the next phase. We can relax a little and remember the “enemy” is our neighbors, coworkers, friends and family. We can remember and reflect on how America has...
SEATTLE - Undocumented workers are the hidden people in every state, including Washington. Most work hard, pay taxes, and are engaged with their communities. Our state, however, has decided to ignore its own hypocrisy by working toward making legal means of employment through the H-2A program more expensive and creating a $40 million fund for undocumented workers instead. State officials announced today the Immigrant Relief Fund is now accepting applications from “Washington residents who are un...
I do not know the names of the couple that have the creamy-yellow barn. I pass it every time I come to work and every time I go home. I don’t know their names, but I do know they keep their yard well groomed, he wears a pale straw cowboy hat and they have dogs. I don’t know them, but if they are outside, I wave. They started it. At first I thought it was a fluke, that my vehicle looked like one they knew. No. It doesn’t matter what vehicle I drove, whenever I go by, they wave. Then it occurred to me; they are just friendly people. They wave as...
Okeydokes: SEWEDA helping small businesses in town stay afloat during Covid-19 Coffee stand patrons who leave enough room for others to get by City and locals’ trick-or-treating efforts...
A couple of years ago, a major regional medical clinic leader announced his support for a local tax hike to beef up the city’s police force and provide cops with better training and capabilities. His rational was two-fold: the Clinic needed police to augment its security and good public safety attracted the best staff. Any realtor will tell you people want good schools and safe neighborhoods. They want police who can respond quickly to emergency calls and investigate crimes. Today, the p...
As a Whitman County resident and subscriber to the Whitman Gazette I am dismayed that you would publish (so prominently) an editorial by Liv Finne of the Washington Policy Center, “Inslee funding unnecessary union jobs”, Sept. 10. Liv Finne has probably never seen a Palouse wheat field nor does she have any perspective on rural public schools and the families they serve. Most, if not all Whitman County schools are holding on site classes and the labor force is not unionized. Furthermore, the local public school is the only choice for par...
There’s buzz out recently about mouthwash killing COVID after a published study by Penn State amazingly found that it had 99% efficacy, just like it says on the bottle. Mouthwash usually contains some form of peroxide; the old school stuff had alcohol. So, I started thinking. How else can we achieve those results without the rigors of nightly oral hygiene? Consumption! Now, I do not advocate knocking back shots of peroxide unless you want to see your lunch a second time, but alcohol comes in many flavors pleasing to the pallet, and with a l...
Olympia is clearly out of touch with Eastern Washington, and you won’t have to look any further than your ballot to figure that out. In addition to the East versus West gubernatorial battle, you’ll find Referendum 90, pitting many rural parents against a few city-based lawmakers and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal over the measure. Referendum 90 targets Senate Bill 5395, a so-called “comprehensive” and “inclusive” sexual education curriculum being mandated by those in Olympia. For the last few years, a version of...
Okeydokes: Great customer service at the Colfax Post Office Pet Peeves: Icy bridges Snow before Halloween...
People have changed their travel preferences to minimize their COVID-19 exposure. Travel trailers and motorhomes are iconic symbols of campgrounds in our “great outdoors.” Meanwhile, outdoor recreation increased once the initial lockdowns were lifted. Before the pandemic came ashore in the U.S., the number of active camping households was increasing. It reached 1.4 million in 2018. In effect, outdoor recreation came before “social distancing” had a name. As travelers try to keep their separation...
We have a serious threat in the Whitman County commissioner race. Tom Handy is running against incumbent Dean Kinzer. Mr. Handy is an outspoken backer of the CAP (Colfax, Albion, Pullman) Trail, along the idle rail line. In a recent letter in the Gazette and Daily News, Nancy Mack encourages people to vote for Mr. Handy. She states, “We need commissioners who will lead this effort and who understand the value that capital projects such as bike trails bring a county like ours.” Do we want a commissioner advocating for a trail at our doors? No!...
I am writing in opposition of Referendum 90. This is a sex education bill that is inappropriate for K-12 children. It is supported by Planned Parenthood, World Health Organization, and LGBTQ community groups. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction’s website doesn’t give all the details of the program. The sample material presented to the Senate was so explicit that it was blacked out, and they want to teach this to our children? Too graphic for adults but okay to teach to children! Really? This program’s intent is to elimi...
I wholeheartedly support Dean Kinzer for reelection to the Whitman County District 2 commissioner position. Dean is a business owner/farmer, has knowledge of the business climate and economy of the county. He is an instrumental board member and chairman of Southeast Washington Economic Development Association (SWEDA). With Dean’s participation, knowledge of the business community, and effective leadership as county commissioner, during this COVID pandemic SEWEDA has given $1.8 million in small business emergency grants within Whitman County. D...
I’ve lived in two exclusive vote-by-mail states during my time as an eligible voter. My first ballot ever cast was via the mailbox in Oregon. There, the ballots are due in the hands of election officials by 8 p.m. election day to be counted. Now living in Washington, I’ve trained myself not to worry about election results until the Friday following election day, due to the state’s postmark deadline eligibility for ballots. I’ve often wondered how the country would react to the Washing...
Okeydokes Pumpkin spice season is here! Color changes brought on by autumn. Pet Peeves Pumpkin spice EVERYTHING....
