Bulletin column Aug. 20, 2009

City gets request for CETC aid

A request to the City of Colfax for $5,000 to help with operation of the CETC building has been relayed to the Chamber of Commerce. Mayor Norma Becker informed city council members Monday night that County Commissioner Greg Partch has requested the city to come up with the sum to help cover the operation.

The Port of Whitman, one time owners of the building, no longer provides funding to operate the building.

Becker told the council the city doesn’t have $5,000 for the CETC building. She said she has referred the request to the Chamber of Commerce.

The mayor noted at one point the city had envisioned the CETC as a community center site. That was part of a downtown revamping proposal which never materialized after the port, then owners of the CETC, dropped a proposal to purchase and remodel the Masonic Building.

The mayor suggested the chamber could still locate offices in the CETC and promote more community use of the building. She noted, however, use of the kitchen in the building is now limited because the venting system over the grills is defunct. Colfax Rotary club meets in the CETC once a week, but its meals are catered by Hill Ray and prepared there.

Partch today said the county hopes by the end of the month to have a definite idea on the fate of the CETC building which was damaged by last winter’s snow fall. The county expects to have results from test borings this week. Partch said insurance coverage on the CETC was included in an overall county policy and that leaves a wide range of possible response by the insurer on coverage for repairing or replacing the building.

The request for $5,000 would be to help pay for operation of the building which is being sought in the wake of county fund shortage, Partch said.

Yakima senator credits town

Yakima State Sen. Curtis King sent a note of appreciation to Mayor Norma Becker after a family celebration was marked in Colfax. Mayor Becker read King’s note at the start of the city council session Monday night.

Sen. King, a Republican from the 14th district, was part of a family celebration honoring his uncle’s 90th birthday. His uncle lives in Clarkston, and his daughter brought him to Colfax for a rendezvous with family members from the Yakima area. Sen. King’s mother is one of two sisters of the honored guest who was surprised when they joined him for lunch at the Top Notch Aug. 8.

The birthday party later moved to Schmuck Park to share a birthday cake from Rosauers.

“I wanted to let you know how impressed we were with your town and particularly Schmuck Park. Everything was clean; the food was great, and everyone was very friendly. My uncle and all of us had a great time,” Sen. King said in his thank you note.

Report accidents on 26

Xiaotian Geng, 26, Pullman, sustained an elbow injury Monday afternoon when she lost control of a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt on Highway 26 at mile marker 102 near LaCrosse. According to the Washington State Patrol report, she was driving eastbound at 5:25 p.m. and went onto the shoulder of the highway. She over-corrected and the Cobalt slid across both lanes and into the ditch on the westbound side. It came to a halt on its side.

Phillip Main, 47, Kennewick, was unhurt early this morning on Highway 26 about 12 miles west of Colfax when he swerved to miss a deer. Main was driving a 2006 Ford box truck eastbound at 5 a.m. The truck crossed the centerline and went into the ditch on the westbound side, according to the WSP report.

Booking follows campus fight

James R. Barber, Jr., 21, was booked into the county jail Sunday morning after Pullman Police responded to a report of a fight in a parking lot. Barber and his alleged victim told the arresting officer they reside at Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

The officer’s report said the two went out to a parking lot after an argument started. After the alleged fight, the victim said the suspect damaged his pickup truck. The windshield and windows on the passenger side of the older Toyota pickup truck had been broken out. Barber allegedly struck the truck with a folding chair, the report said.

Golf contractor faces wage suit

The state Department of Labor filed suit alleging the general contractor of the Palouse Ridge Championship Golf Course paid less than prevailing wages for work performed on the job between June of 2006 and the end of 2007. The suit alleges 46 workers who were employed on the job are owed a total of $592,814.

Defendants in the suit are Oliphant Golf Construction, Inc., a firm based in Arizona, WSU and Fidelity Deposit Co. of Maryland, said to be performance bond holder for the contractor.

The suit was filed by Diana Carwright and James Mills, assistant attorney generals in Seattle July 16. A notice of appearance on behalf of WSU was filed Monday by Frank Hruban, assistant attorney general at the university.

Endicott man summoned

Michael A. Huffman, Endicott resident who turned himself into police at Roseburg, Ore., has been summoned to appear in court Aug. 21. He has formally been charged with theft of a motor vehicle, driving without a court-ordered ignition lock and driving with a suspended license.

Huffman, 18, is charged with taking a 1999 Geo Prism in Endicott last March and driving it to Oregon. The officer’s report said Huffman told officers he drove the Prism on back roads to Seattle and then took Interstate 5 south in an attempt to drive to the Bay area of California. The Prism broke down near mile marker 132 in Oregon and Huffman turned himself into police at Roseburg.

Immigration takes city suspect

Juan Gutieres, 27, who was arrested in Colfax Aug. 8 on a probable charge of driving with no valid license without identification, was taken into custody Wednesday by U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement offices. Gutieres had been held at jail here for immigration officials after his initial arrest by Colfax Assistant Chief David Szambelan. He was driving a pickup truck with Taco La Differencia markings at the time of his arrest.

He was taken into custody by the customs officials after the City Prosecutor Mark Monson opted not to pursue the local charges which led to the initial arrest.

Response filed on manhole motion

A response to a motion to drop a suit against the town of Endicott was filed in court Thursday by Colfax attorney Ronald B. Webster. He represents Jimmie D. Britton who seeks damages against the town for injuries alleged sustained when he fell after stepping on an alleged faulty manhole cover Aug. 15, 2004, on Machin Street in Endicott.

Spokane attorney Michael McFarland, Jr., July 24 asked the court to drop the suit. McFarland’s motion included statements from former Endicott employees who testified on how the lid had been fastened in place. One of the employees said “legs” had been welded to the under side of the lid and a screw driver was required to remove it.

Webster’s response to the motion included statements from Britton and others about the alleged loose condition of the lid which they said “clanked” every time a vehicle ran over it.

Britton noted he was in the process of moving from Endicott to Pullman on the day he was injured, He said he was crossing Machin after taking a swing set to his in-laws.

The response also included statements from Britton’s wife, Patricia, their daughter, son-in-law, his mother-in-law, his sister, and Gary Luft. The filing included photos of the lid which was out of place.

Luft’s statement said, in contrast with the statement given by the former city employee, that he was able to lift the lid with a finger.

Webster also asked the court to delay the Aug. 21 hearing date on the dismissal motion. He contended the defense has not complied in a timely manner with his requests for evidence in the pre-trial discovery process.

School sends out calendar

Calendar for the Colfax school year was included in the district’s newsletter which was mailed out this week. School will start Sept. 2 and end June 11. Thanksgiving vacation will be Nov. 26-27, and Christmas vacation will be Dec. 21 through Jan. 4. School will also be out March 4-5 for mid-winter break at the end of hoop season and March 29- April 2, for spring vacation.

Pool aims for Sept. 1 closure

Colfax swim pool will operate until Sept. 1, the last day of summer vacation, if good weather holds, according to Pool Manager Connie Ellis. Last midnight swim of the season will be next Friday at 9 p.m.

Spokane trucker hurt again

Robert Bermudes, 73, the Spokane trucker who sustained minor injuries in an accident on the Dry Creek road two weeks ago, was hurt again in another grain truck accident on the Colfax-Palouse highway last Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 12. He was treated for abrasions to his face and chest. He also complained of pain in his right knee.

Trooper Michael Murphy said Bermudes was driving a 1986 International with two trailers when he went off the eastbound side of the highway. The tractor and lead trailer went across the highway with the trailer going into the westbound ditch. The westbound lane of the highway was blocked.

The pup trailer detached from the lead units and went into the ditch on the east side. The trailers were empty.

The accident site was at the Altergott Road intersection, and traffic was detoured around the Y configuration of the intersection.