Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
CITY OKAYS POLICE
CONTRACT
Colfax city council members Monday night approved a work agreement with the Colfax Police Officers Association. The agreement, which was presented to council members for review at the previous meeting, calls for a four percent wage hike over each of the next three years. The first increase will be retroactive to the start of this year.
The agreement sets a standard work week of four 10-hour shifts. The contract calls for a 1.5 pay rate for work in excess of 40 hours a week or 10 hours in any shift.
Officers will be paid on a scale determined by the number of years of service and pay grade. Starting monthly pay for a beginning officer at the lowest pay grade will be $2,920 this year, $3,037 next year and $3,159 in 2013.
The agreement also provides for longevity pay hikes with the first at 1.5 percent after 10 years of service. Sick pay and vacation pay provisions are included in the agreement.
Among other provisions, the officers in the association agreed not to take any action which would result in work stoppages for the department.
Negotiations for the work agreement have been underway for months after the officers formed the association last year. Monday’s vote by council members authorized the mayor to sign off on the agreement after it is formally signed by the association’s representative, Bryce Nebe.
City Attorney Bruce Ensley Monday night credited members of the council’s personnel committee with their role in negotiating the agreement.
The pay hike for city officers, then pending, was one of the motivations for city council members to add a pay hike for other city employees. That move ended in a flat $60 cost of living hike for other employees on the city’s payroll starting March 1.
ROBOT IN THE WATER TANKS
Colfax City council Monday night authorized the hiring of Clear Water Robotics to check out two city water reservoirs at the top of the Thorn Street Hill. Public Works Director Andy Rogers said the two tanks are slated for cleaning and painting this year. The robot system will allow the city to get an idea of what needs to be done without having to first drain the reservoirs for an inspection.
David Kroom of Clear Water Robotics of Nampa, Idaho, in a letter said his company will be in Moscow for a job this week and could do inspections here at the same time. The company offered to do a $200 tank video inspection and produce a 10 to 15-minute DVD and a written report. They have a Video Ray submarine for inspections and also offer the services of a cleaning robot.
MILL STREET ARCHEOLOGY
Next step for the city’s Mill Street project will involve an archeology check. City Administrator Carl Thompson reported David Harder of Plateau Archeological Investigations, LLC, of Pullman has been contracted at $4,175 to undertake the job. He said one other firm submitted a bid for the job at $8,300.
State law now requires an archeological survey before projects advance. The work will involve a check for historic Native American and other sites.
PART OF Rosalia MC SUIT OUT
Superior Court Judge David Frazier March 31 granted the Town of Rosalia a partial summary judgment in its defense of the breach of contract damage suit filed by Josh Bryan, originator of the 100 Years of Motorcycles rallies.
The court ruled the city did not violate terms of its agreement with Bryan when it signed the Rosalia Motorcycle Association to produce a 2008 rally after Bryan was ousted following the 2007 event. The court ruled Bryan’s contractual right to present a rally had a limited time frame for each year under specific terms of the agreement.
However, the court also ruled a number of questions of fact remained in the dispute and those would have to be determined with a trial. The ruling reserved a decision for ordering payment of costs.
EIGHT MORE BANNERS GO UP
Eight more street banners from the Colfax Arts Council collection were added to downtown light poles in Colfax Sunday. The Arts Council purchased the mounting poles and brackets from donations and other income. Hannah and David Walker worked for more than six hours with the city lift truck Sunday to mount the new brackets for the banners.
Colfax now has 24 banners mounted on downtown light standards between Island and Stevens streets. Other banners are displayed on the interior front wall at Rosauers.
The council’s street banner competition marked its fourth year last year with 10 to 11 banners completed each year.
CABLE FRANCHISE ON CITY AGENDA
A franchise agreement for installation of a high speed fiber optic cable service in Colfax was approved by a 5-0 vote at Monday night’s city council session. The Port of Whitman is extending the fiber optic cable into Colfax as part of its county project.
It plans to provide service to Whitman Hospital and Whitman Library.
The proposed franchise agreement has been reviewed by Garfield Attorney Stephen Bishop, and his report was submitted to the city council at their March 21 session. The city had asked Bishop to review the proposal because Colfax City Attorney Bruce Ensley also represents the port.
The port is requesting similar franchise agreements from four other towns in the county.
GARAGE FIRE AT PULLMAN
Pullman fire crews early Sunday responded to a fire in a three-car garage at 770 Pheasant Run Court north of Bishop Boulevard.
The fire was at the former residence of WSU Athletic Director Jim Sterk. It was undergoing remodeling at the time.
Pullman Fire Prevention Officer Rich Dragoo said the fire was confined to the garage, but the house sustained extensive damage to the basement. Some of the damage was caused by burst water pipes.
Dragoo, who spent most of Sunday investigating the fire, said the point of origin was inside the heating, ventilating and air condition unit.
A neighbor reported the fire at 2:38 a.m. and it was brought under control in less than an hour. Whitman Rural district firefighters assisted, and the Moscow Fire Department responded with an air compressor trailer to help refill air tanks.
BORTKO PLEA DELAYED
Arraignment of DJ Thomas Bortko, 20, Pullman, was delayed another two weeks Friday in Whitman County superior court. Bortko’s attorney, Carl J. Oreskovich of Spokane, told the court his client has been undergoing evaluations which are expected to help them determine their next step in the case.
Bortko was arrested in the early morning hours Feb. 28 after several vehicles parked on Lost Trail Drive in Pullman were hit. He also was charged with assaulting Pullman Officer Ryan McNanny.
Bortko Friday waived his right to a speedy arraignment. He is being held in jail under a $100,000 bond.
VASQUEZ RECORD VACATED
A court order vacating the record of Freddy R. Vasquez, who was convicted of drug charges involving sales of cocaine more than 20 years ago, was granted in court Friday. Vasquez, who admitted he “ran the gamet” when he was convicted of a Pullman case, told the court he has completed a master’s degree in education but will need to have his criminal record vacated before he can obtain a teaching position in Washington.
He said he also encountered the burden of having a criminal record while attempting to secure employment with Macy’s and Microsoft. In addition to obtaining a degree which qualifies him to be a teacher, Vasquez has participated in volunteer work including service with the Way Out program in the Rainier Valley of Seattle. Judge David Frazier credited Vasquez with turning his life around and noted it was a rare occurrence. He noted Vasquez could be a model for jail inmates on the front bench in court Friday.
PRESCHOOL SCREENING DATE
A Colfax school district preschool round-up, for infants through age five, will be April 21 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the library at Jennings Elementary. The preschoolers’ session will be the same date as the kindergarten round-up. The free sessions are conducted to provide information to parents about the development of their children which can help them prepare for kindergarten. To sign up for the screening call the JES office for an appointment.
BICKLE WANTS REDO
Paul Bickle, the former LaCrosse resident who was sentenced to 68 months in prison after being convicted of four burglaries in the county last summer, has petitioned the court to withdraw his guilty pleas. In a motion mailed to the court from the state corrections center at Shelton, Bickle contended he was not properly represented by his court-appointed defense attorney and was under psychological and physical stress at the time he entered guilty pleas to four charges of burglary Oct. 29.
Bickle entered the pleas to the four charges as part of a plea bargain agreement. He was originally charged with 21 counts, a list which led to an extended arraignment as he denied each of the charges.
Deputies and Pullman officers recovered stolen items at a mobile home in LaCrosse where Bickle had been residing.
The 68 months was the maximum he could have received under the states sentencing guidelines. The burglary convictions involved Arrow Machinery July 29, the State DOT shop next to Arrow on the same night, Ace Hardware in Pullman Aug. 1 and the WalMart construction site in Pullman Aug. 9.
Deputies at the time said Bickle was responsible for two successive break-ins at the Arrow display store. Trucks were taken on the same nights from the DOT complex north of Arrow on Highway 195 and later abandoned.
Case reports also noted Bickle was taking materials and tools from the WalMart site after he had been hired as a night watchman for the construction project last summer.
In addition to the 68 months, Bickle was ordered to pay a total of $41,185 in fines, fees and costs.
A fact finding hearing on Bickle’s allegations has been scheduled for April 29. The court also ordered he be transported from Shelton to the court here for the hearing.
TRUCK THEFT CHARGE FILED
Travis R. Keene, 31, Spokane, has been summoned to appear in court April 8 on a charge of taking a motor vehicle at Uniontown. According to the investigation report filed with the case, deputies responded to a report from Uniontown March 4 that a Dodge pickup truck had been stolen. The owner of the truck said he had allowed Keene to use the truck and Keene never brought it back. He said he contacted Keene on a cell phone, and Keene assured him he was on the way back to Uniontown but he never showed up.
Keene was arrested in Spokane March 8 and officers there later recovered the pickup truck which was being driven by another Spokane area resident who told officers he was using the truck while Keene was in jail in Spokane.
MOLLER OPENING DELAYED
Spring opening for Moller Road on the west hill of Colfax has been postponed because of the rainy weather. Moller Road is posted for an April 1 seasonal opening, but wet conditions did not allow that this year.
Andy Rogers, Colfax Public Works Director, said the road surface needs to dry out before it can be graded and opened for traffic. Opening could be delayed at least a week.
GAZETTE FILES OBJECTION
An objection to a motion to seal a settlement agreement involving a suit between the Pullman Hospital District and Lydig Construction was filed Wednesday in superior court by the Whitman County Gazette.
Filed March 24 by a Seattle attorney representing Lydig, the motion to seal said the parties in the suit had entered into a settlement agreement Nov. 15 and asked for an order to file it under seal to prevent public access. The motion contends the information if made public could be potentially disruptive and harmful to the parties and their businesses.
The declaration by Gazette Publisher Gordon Forgey, filed Thursday with the objection, contends the hospital district is a public entity and sealing the outcome of the suit would prejudice the rights of the public and taxpayers to know details of the impact the settlement will have on the future strength and stability of the Pullman hospital.
The objection and notice of appearance were filed by Colfax Attorney Gary Libey.
The Seattle Attorney for Lydig Thursday filed a response by asking the court to disregard the objection because the Gazette was not a party in the suit. Washington limits objections to actual parties in a civil suit. She argued the Gazette would have to request formal intervention as a first step in filing an objection.
DOGS RANKS ON DECLINE?
Dog license sales at city hall totaled 101 as of today, the final day of the March which is the month the city renews dog tags. The total is about half the normal license total for dogs in town.
The city can levy a $25 fine when an unlicensed dog is impounded. Owners are also required to license the dog before it is released.
Cost of the annual dog license tag is $5 for spayed /neutered dogs and $12 for dogs that can reproduce.
FILE CHARGE WILMA CASE
Joseph E. Tomaszychi, 44, Kennewick, was charged Monday in superior court with trafficking in stolen property last August. According to an investigation report filed with the charge, he is suspected of taking a water pump and two transmitters from a ranch along the Snake River near Wilma and selling them at Pacific Recycling in the Lewiston area. The report alleges he received $66.20 from the recycling firm.
The report said the suspect borrowed a Toyota pickup truck in Lewiston to transport the stolen items.
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