Bulletin column - March 24, 2011

ROTARY WILL HELP JAPAN

At their March 17 meeting, members of Colfax Rotary Club decided to participate in a Rotary International Foundation project to help victims of the earthquake in Japan. Rotary Foundation has decided to supply shelter boxes for short term housing to be used by people who lost their homes during the quake and tsunami a week ago.

The temporary shelters have been provided by Rotary to victims of other natural disasters, including victims of the earthquake which hit Haiti last year.

The club plans to donate one of the shelters, which cost approximately $1,000 each out of its treasury. It will also relay donations from individual members and from local residents to purchase additional shelters.

Rotary member Jim Heilsberg, who is heading the project, said the Rotary Foundation shelters, which have been in use for years, is a program which provides quick assistance to disaster victims with little administrative cost.

Residents who wish to assist can send checks to Rotary Foundation in care of the local Rotary Club at Box 362 in Colfax. Checks should be designated for the Japan and Pacific Island Disaster Recovery Fund.

Residents can learn more about the shelter response on the internet by going to rotary.org and clicking on the shelter project. Heilsberg added residents with any additional questions can call him at the hospital.

CITY OKAYS RAMPS PLAN

Colfax city council members Monday night approved a state Department of Transportation plan to install asphalt approach ramps for handicapped access to the approaches to the S. Main Street bridge. Harold White, traffic engineer with the district DOT office in Spokane, presented the revised plan which calls for asphalt approach ramps to partially extend over Cooper Street to allow an approach to the bridge.

White noted the curbs on the bridge, which was built in 1934, are nine inches high compared to a normal six inches. The ramps will be built on both sides of the south end of the bridge. The plan also calls for handicap ramps to be installed in the Main Street sidewalk of the intersection at the crosswalk.

The approach ramp on the east side of Cooper will also be tapered on the Main Street side. Westbound motorists will have to drive over the ramp as they depart Cooper.

The plan on the west side of the bridge calls for the ramps to be built around the corner from the bridge railing.

The projec, which was approved Monday night, was developed after the DOT designers scrapped an earlier plan which called for partial rebuilding of the bridge rails to accommodate ramps.

That plan was dropped because the DOT regulations would have required the total bridge rail to be replaced to meet current safety regulations.

Before the 7-0 council vote, White said the district has the money to do the project in the coming months. However, he said the funds would be off the board when the state’s two-year budget cycle expires at the end of June.

A rebuild of the bridge approach ramps was initially requested at city council sessions by Roy O’Neill, former Paul’s Place resident who was known for riding his motorized wheelchair around town. O’Neill once rolled the wheelchair off the bridge sidewalk while on the way to a city council session to advocate for the ramps. He has since moved from Colfax.

FOUR UNHURT IN Endicott ROLLOVER

Jamie Misner, 31, Endicott, and three small children in the 2001 Subaru Forester she was driving, were uninjured in a rollover accident Monday on the Endicott Road near the Repp Road intersection. Deputies and volunteers responded to the scene at 3:20 p.m.

Two Colfax ambulances were dispatched to the scene and transported the occupants of the Forester to Whitman Hospital for a checkup.

According to the report from Sheriff Brett Myers, Misner was driving eastbound when she lost control of the Forester which went off the roadway and rolled. Proper use of seat belts and child restraints increased the safety factor in the car.

IDAHO COACH GIVES DESTINY TALK

Idaho football Coach Rob Akey gave an hour-long talk on Choices Are Destiny Monday morning at Colfax High School. Joining Colfax students for the talk were students from St. John/Endicott who responded to an invitation sent out to other county schools.

Akey told students making choices on their behavior can impact their future. One tragic example he noted was the death of a Moscow High graduate last week at Lewiston. Zachary Hull, 20, a pitcher for the Lewis Clark baseball team, was killed when he drove over an embankment in the early morning hours March 17 in Lewiston. Hull was a friend of the Akey family.

Police Chief Bill Hickman said one footnote during Akey’s appearance was the loss of the microphone about 15 minutes into the talk. Coach Akey continued in his coaching volume and most students in the audience probably didn’t realize the microphone had failed, Hickman said.

WILLIAMS FACES EIGHT CHARGES

An amended complaint against Darin F. Williams, 44, Kennewick, was filed March 17 in Whitman County Superior Court. Williams, who was arrested March 12 in Benton County and brought here last week, has posted a $25,000 bond for pre-trial release. He has been ordered to return to court Friday for arraignment.

The amended charge includes five counts of taking motor vehicles in an alleged Jan. 20 break-in of a farm shop in the Dusty area along Highway 26.

He is also charged with two counts of theft and one count of burglary.

One of the theft charges involves a Prowler travel trailer which deputies allege was taken from the property.

Among the vehicle theft charges is one involving a white Ford pickup truck which deputies allege was located outside of his residence in Kennewick after they spotted the truck in a video from the fuel plaza on Highway 395 on the morning after the Dusty break-in.

License plates on other vehicles in the video led to a request for Kennewick police to check out Williams’ residence in Kennewick, the report said.

The revised version of the charges against Williams added the burglary charge.

Another suspect in the Dusty burglary, Mark McKee, 34, was jailed here and has since been released on $10,000 bond with a trial date set April 18.

Reid D. McCullough, 53, was identified by Sheriff Brett Myers Feb. 1 as a suspect in another Garfield area burglary which involved the heist of a 1959 Cadillac convertible from the rural residence of the late Willard Gwinn. McCullough was reported to be in the Franklin County jail.

The alleged theft at the Gwinn ranch was Oct. 25. Mr. Gwinn died Nov. 5.

ALLEY CHANNEL POLES SNAPPED

Colfax city crews Monday morning were at work repairing support poles for the fence along the alley side of the S. Fork of the Palouse River between Wall and Upton Streets. The poles had been snapped off at the base, causing the fence to lean toward the alley. Four brackets were used to secure the poles to the wall which runs along the alley at the base of the poles.

DAM OPENING DELAYED AGAIN

Opening of the lock at Lower Monumental Dam has been moved back another five days to Saturday at 5 p.m. The lock operation had previously been slated to open today.

A report from the Army Corps of Engineers said high winds and rains have delayed final work on the Lower Monumental Lock. The conditions have delayed sandblasting and painting of the new lock gate and installation of framing assemblies for the seal. Because of its size and the need to move the gate for painting and welding access to the bare-metal end plates, the lock cannot be placed under a weather cover.

The lock at John Day was slated to open Sunday, and the new lock gate at The Dalles was slated to undergo tests Tuesday and open just before midnight Wednesday. If more work is needed the lock will open Friday.

NUMBERS EMERGE IN Rosalia MC SUIT

Figures on the 2007 Rosalia motorcycle rally are cited in legal arguments which were filed in superior court Thursday. The declarations had been filed in opposition to a motion for summary judgment made by attorneys for Josh Bryan, originator of the rally.

Bryan’s suit contends the Town of Rosalia and the Chamber of Commerce breached a contract agreement which provided him the right to present rallies beyond 2007.

A declaration filed by Courtney Garcia, attorney for Rosalia, said Bryan after the 2007 rally paid Rosalia $2,138 for its share of admission under terms of the agreement. It called for the town to be paid 50 cents per ticket for the use of its streets and facilities. The declaration notes the payment reflects a sale of 4,277 tickets.

It argued reports it has received through pre-trial discovery indicate ticket sales for 2007 totaled $120,990. Figuring the $19.95 per ticket rate, that sales total would indicate 6,064 tickets sold.

Also filed was a declaration from Rosalia council member Nan Konishi who said she and her husband sold tickets at an entrance to the 2007 rally. Konishi said that tickets they sold were not Tickets West tickets, and they were not told to keep a record of the number sold and none was kept. She said she believes the number of tickets to the rally that day far exceeded 4,277 indicated by Bryan when he paid the town.

The declarations also include post-rally reports in the Spokesman Review and a Rosalia town newsletter that said attendance at the rally was in the 15,000 to 20,000 range.

The hearing on Bryan’s motion has been scheduled for March 31.

JENNINGS BAND, CHOIR RATE RARE ‘PLUS’ MARKS

Both Jennings Junior High entries in the SE Junior High Band and Chorus festival last Thursday at Clarkston earned “superior plus” ratings from the adjudicators. Normal top mark at the music event is a “superior” but adjudicators occasionally add a “plus” to designate a group which exceeds the top level. Choir Director Cary Cammack said he and band director Mike Morgan believe the rating has been awarded to only one other Colfax group in the last 20 years.

The Colfax groups are made up of seventh and eighth graders.

BLINKING LIGHTS ARREST

Brandon S. Holibaugh, 23, Spokane, was released on his own recognizance Monday after a probable drug charge arrest which started when a deputy Saturday observed him driving on Highway 195 with blinking lights. He was booked into jail Saturday afternoon on probable charges of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver and driving with a suspended license.

In his arrest report, Deputy Mike Bogenreif said the arrest started when he noticed a vehicle driving southbound near mile 62 on 195 with its lights flashing. The deputy noted other motorists were reacting to the flashing lights.

After he stopped Holibaugh, the suspect admitted he had been drinking and handed the deputy a bottle of Corona beer. The report alleges Bogenreif smelled a marijuana odor coming from the car and that led to a warrant search with the assistance of K-9 Bosco.

Two plastic bags were allegedly found in a compartment under a carpet in the vehicle. Holibaugh was ordered to appear in court Friday for a first appearance.