Bulletin column - Jan. 13, 2011

Colfax women face drug charges

Two Colfax women have been summoned to court Jan. 21 for appearance on drug charges which allege possible drug sales at a house in the W. 900 block of Fairview in Colfax. Tiffani Zorb, 32, has been charged with delivery of methamphetamine, and possession of methamphetamine and marijuana, both with the intent to deliver.

Kendra Knighten, 31, has been charged with attempted possession of methamphetamine.

An affidavit filed with the charges alleges a member of the Quad Cities Drug Task Force received information from an informant that drug sales were being made at the residence. He said they put the residence under surveillance and observed people from the Colfax area going into the residence and departing a short time later.

The report alleges a purchase of methamphetamine was conducted with the use of a confidential informant in the first week of June.

The charges were filed in superior court last Friday, Jan. 7.

Mitzimberg plans return

Craig Mitzimberg Tuesday said he plans to resume his cabinet shop business, but he’s not certain if he will return to the same location which is now a vacant lot in the 600 block of N. Main.

Mitzimberg said he is still awaiting information from his insurance company before he finalizes plans for resuming business. His business was destroyed by fire Nov. 30, 2010.

Mitzimberg said the insurance company pushed for razing of the burned out shop at 610 N. Main because of the liability factor.

Demolition started last Wednesday after Palouse River Rock received a demolition permit at city hall. Gravel fill has been placed on the site to complete the process.

The building has been a part of the Main Street scene in Colfax since 1892 and was the long-time location of Williams Ice & Fuel operated by Homer Williams.

One of the problems with building anew on the same site would be the possible need for obtaining a Shoreline permit because the site is next to the South Fork of the Palouse River, according to City Building Inspector Andy Burgard.

Inmates remove river junk

Two Whitman County jail inmates Monday worked to remove debris which was illegally dumped along the bank of the North Palouse River. The mess was loaded onto a Public Works truck and will be included in a future run to the landfill, according to Officer Robert Wride.

The mess was discovered Friday along the north bank of the river just upstream from where the pavement ends on the North Palouse River Road.

Wride said the debris included several lengths of PVC pipe, old rain gutters and a lawnmower.

Arrest cites WSU office lockdown

Brook Neol Gettys, who was arrested in Pullman on a probable charge of harassment last Thursday, was allowed release on his own recognizance Friday in Whitman County Superior Court. A warrant was issued for his arrest last week after he allegedly made threats at the WSU Parking Service office. The allegation alleges Gettys, 27, Pullman, walked into the office, threw a parking ticket on the counter, refused to pay it and threatened to come back with a gun.

The report said staffers at the parking office considered the threat valid and put the office into a lockdown mode.

Deputies report pot bust on 27

Joseph M. Hashagen, 33, Spokane, was booked into jail here Saturday afternoon on drug charges after deputies conducted a search of the vehicle he was driving on Highway 27 north of Garfield. Deputies allege they found nearly a half a pound of marijuana, 26 grams of methamphetamine, scales and other material associated with drug trafficking, according to a report by Sheriff Brett Myers.

The suspect was initially stopped at about 3 p.m. for making a bad pass as he was driving southbound. Deputies determined he was wanted on a warrant out of Spokane County and driving with a suspended license. The department K-9 was brought to the scene, and deputies obtained a warrant to search the vehicle.

Sheriff Myers said deputies also seized $3,400 which was believed to be proceeds linked to trafficking in drug sales. Hashagen was booked on probable charges of possession of methamphetamine and marijuana with intent to deliver.

Truck window broken

Colfax police responded to a report of suspected malicious mischief in the 700 block of Southview Sunday morning. The back window on the driver’s side of a Dodge crew cab pickup truck had been broken out. Nothing was apparently missing from the truck.

Police Saturday afternoon responded to a report of water running out of an unoccupied house in the 900 block of S. Lake. One of the owners of the house arrived on the scene and shut off the water service.

Palouse youth faces charge

Harley C. Willmore, 18, Palouse, has been summoned to appear in court Jan. 28 on a charge of first degree theft. He is charged with taking more than $5,529 from his father’s Chase banking account between July and November of 2010. An arrest report by Palouse Officer Joe Merry alleges Willmore wrote 28 unauthorized checks on the account.

A formal charge against the youth was filed Jan. 7.

Graffiti charge at Pullman

Gilberto Villalobos, Jr., 20, Pullman, has been summoned to court Jan. 28 on a charge of first degree malicious mischief. Filed Jan. 7, the charge alleges Villalobos did extensive damage to the Mark Whitmore grain elevators in the area of N. Grand and Stadium Way in Pullman.

The report filed with the charges alleges Villalobos was arrested last May 22 after Pullman police responded to an alarm and discovered the suspect hiding in the brush. He is alleged to have had paint marks on his clothes, and police discovered paint cans nearby. The report alleges a warrant search of his residence later provided notebooks and art papers which indicated he could be a suspect in other graffiti marks.

Estes pleads not guilty

Monte D. Estes, 53, Farmington, entered not guilty pleas in superior court Jan. 7 on new charges of attempted manufacturing of methamphetamine and possession of ephedrine with the intent to manufacture methamphetamine. Estes was booked into jail Dec. 16 after officers conducted a warrant search of his residence outside of Farmington. The arrest report alleges they found components of an active meth lab in the house.

Estes was one of the first suspects arrested last year in a series of cases in the Oakesdale/Farmington area involving methamphetamine and stolen property. Officers at that time also alleged they had found a meth lab at his residence.

Charges in the first case are still pending. Estes attorney told the court Friday they intended to have the year-old charge and the new charges on the same track for resolution.

Estes, who has been held in jail since the Dec. 16 arrest for violating terms of release on the first charge, was scheduled for a Feb. 14 trial on the new charges.

Report EPA settlement

Colfax Grange Supply has agreed to pay $19,986 to settle alleged violations of the federal Clean Air Act, according to a report Thursday from the Region 10 office of the Environmental Protection Agency in Seattle. The alleged violation was failure to update plans for preventing chemical releases at the Colfax and Steptoe plants.

Jeff McCoskey, Grange agronomy manager, said Friday the settlement evolved from negotiations over the alleged violation which was in 2009. He said the Grange Supply at that time filed the required report under a new internet reporting process. After sending out the report, the office staff operated under the assumption it had been received until they received the violation notice from the EPA.

McCoskey stressed the Grange Supply has a plan in place, and the 2009 report, which was an update of the previous plan, has been accepted by the EPA.

Also settling with the EPA for $13,521 was Ag Link, Inc. which operates plants in Almira, Davenport, Edwall, Coulee City, Reardan and Wilbur.

Facilities which store more than 10,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia are required to comply with federal planning requirements.

Hardgrove faces revocation charge

A Feb. 18 hearing date was set last Friday on a motion by the state to revoke the Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative assigned to Justin J. Hardgrove, 31, Pullman. Hardgrove was allowed release Dec. 27 on $10,000 bail after he was arrested on a warrant for failing to appear in court for a hearing to review termination of treatment for methamphetamine addiction.

He was allowed the offender treatment option when he was sentenced in April of 2009 for possession of methamphetamine in May of the previous year. The DOSA sentencing option allows defendants to undergo drug treatment in place of serving jail time. Revocation can result in the court imposing jail time.