Bulletin Column

COLFAX SCHOOLS

PLAN 7-12 STAFFING

Parents of Colfax sixth, seventh and eighth graders were encouraged to attend a meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the high school to learn about the new education staffing model for grades seven through 12. Supt. Michael Morgan said the district is using the staffing system to better coordinate programs with fewer teachers on the staff after budget cutbacks this year.

Sixth grade parents were encouraged to attend because the new system will mean students in that grade level will be in self-contained classrooms. Sixth graders will not move from room to room for different classes.

Supt. Morgan said seventh graders will remain in the junior high wing, but some of their classes will be covered by teachers assigned from the high school. Eighth grade students will go to the high school for some classes and have the option of taking more electives for high school credits.

Supt. Morgan said staff meetings now will include teachers from grades seven through 12 for better coordination of the programs.

ST. JOHN MAN FACES CHARGES

Jared A. Lautenschlager, 27, St. John, pleaded not guilty in superior court Friday to two charges of fourth degree assault with domestic violence and unlawful possession of a firearm. Judge Douglas Robinson set bail at $5,000 surety or $500 in cash. He also ordered Lautenschlager to have no contact with the female victim who formerly resided with him.

The charges allege deputies found an unloaded .22 rifle at the residence. The report said Lautenschlager cannot possess firearms because he was convicted of a felony drug charge in 2008.

The arrest report said they found Lautenschlager and the alleged victim had both sustained cuts when they responded to the residence. Broken glass from a mirror was found in a hallway.

The report said the victim later alleged she had been assaulted in other incidents in previous weeks.

AUBURN DUO HURT IN

ACCIDENT

Two women from Auburn were taken by ambulance to Whitman Hospital Monday afternoon after sustaining whiplash injuries in a one-car accident on Highway 26 about seven miles west of Colfax.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, Joyce Wren-Clement, 79, lost control of a 2006 Kia Amanti on a curve while driving eastbound at 1:47 p.m. The car came to a halt in a field on the north side of the highway.

Stele I. Roine, 84, was a passenger in the car.

The Colfax rescue truck was also used to transport more volunteers to assist at the scene.

PORT RESOLVES TENANT SUIT

A Port of Whitman collection suit against Emit Technologies LLC of Seattle was ordered dismissed Friday in superior court. The port petitioned the court to drop the suit because the dispute has been fully resolved.

Filed in July of 2010, the suit contended Emit owed the port $2,879 in past due rent and $369 in leasehold taxes which are charged port tenants in lieu of property taxes. The sum was alleged due for a site at Wilma. Emit was a successor to Spacial Dynamics Inc. which initially leased the site, the suit said.

PULLMAN DUO HURT IN CRASH

Two Pullman residents were hurt Sunday night in an accident on Highway 27 south of Garfield. Alexander J. Wilson, 18, sustained neck and back injuries, and David A. Burbank 19, sustained hip injuries.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, Wilson was driving a 2002 Ford Explorer southbound on Highway 27 when it drifted onto the right shoulder. He over-corrected and the Explorer rolled into the southbound ditch.

TWO HOSPITALIZED AFTER FIGHT

IN Rosalia

Two people were hospitalized late Aug. 4 as the result of what deputies said was initially reported as an assault at Rosalia but now believed to be the result of a fight. Charles A. Green, 48, was taken by Rosalia EMTs to Whitman Hospital and a 17-year-old male who was found at Green’s residence was flown by Medstar Helicopter to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. The 17-year-old was found at Green’s residence. He was covered in blood and had sustained possible head injuries, according to a news report by Sgt. Chris Chapman.

The report said deputies were advised at 4:30 p.m. Aug. 4 of an assault in Rosalia. Green reported an unknown male entered his house, beat him up and then fled.

Rosalia EMTs and deputies responded to the scene and found the 17-year-old on the floor of the residence. Sgt. Chapman’s report said they now believe Green and the 17-year-old were involved in a fight. Green sustained cuts, bruises and a possible facial fractures.

Alcohol is believed to have been involved, the report said.

SCOTTS SEEKS JURY TRIAL

A demand for a 12-member jury was filed Aug. 4 in Superior Court for The Scotts Company by Seattle Attorney Colin Folawn. Scotts is a defendant in a suit filed by growers who seek damages for alleged losses as contracted suppliers of Kentucky Blue Grass seed for Scotts.

Notice of the jury demand filing went to attorneys for the growers and two seed processing companies, Seeds, Inc. at Tekoa and Dye Seed Ranch at Pomeroy.

Folawn represented Scotts in its unsuccessful motion last month to limit damage allegations under restrictions of the Uniform Commercial Code. The judge’s denial of that motion will allow growers to seek consequential damages such as alleged losses by contracting acres for grass seed production instead of for wheat.

WARRANT FILED AGAIN IN

GUNS CASE

A fourth arrest warrant for the arrest of Cody Richardson, 19, former Colfax resident who faces two charges of theft of a firearm in 2009, was filed in superior court July 29 after he again failed to show up for a pre-trial hearing.

Richardson was charged in March of 2010 of taking two rifles from an unoccupied farm residence in the Winona area. When officers investigated the scene the previous November several more guns were reported missing. Some of those guns were later returned.

A warrant for Richardson’s arrest followed the initial filing of the charges with bond set at $10,000. He was arrested, posted bond and pleaded not guilty May 14, 2010. Trial was set for July 19, but Richardson failed to show up for a July 9 hearing and a bench warrant was issued. He was arrested in Spokane, returned to jail here Aug. 2 and again posted bail, this time for $15,000. The next trial date was set Sept. 13, but it was moved back four times until June 13 of this year after Richardson waived speedy trial rights.

He failed to appear again for a June 3 hearing and that led to another bench warrant. It was later quashed when he voluntarily appeared.

Prosecutors filed for another bench warrant after Richardson failed to show up for another pre-trial hearing in advance his trial, now set for Aug. 15. Bail amount sought for the latest warrant was $25,000.

ELEVATOR KEY INSTALLED

A lock box system to provide a key to open the elevator has been installed at the Wheatland Condominium, Fire Chief Ralph Walter reported at the Aug. 1 city council session. The project was started after a resident of the condominium was stuck in the elevator and the fire department discovered they could not get access to a key to open the elevator doors from the outside. Walter said the department is also working to ascertain if they have similar access to the elevator at United Methodist Church.

DUMPSTER FIRE NETS JAIL

Michael D. Walton, 23, Ellensburg, was sentenced to 30 days in jail with credit for two days already served after he pleaded guilty in Superior Court July 29 to an amended charge of reckless burning. Walton was arrested May 12 during the early morning hours in the 600 block of NE Maiden Lane after police received a report of a dumpster fire. Pullman fire crews also responded to the scene and extinguished the fire.

Three other suspects were arrested that morning, and Walton was later charged with second degree arson after police said they determined he was the one who set the fire. He was ordered to pay $2,400 in fines and fees including $200 in restitution to Pullman Disposal. The lid on the dumpster was reportedly destroyed in the fire. He will have the option of doing 160 hours of public service work for 20 days of the sentence.

POLICE TRAIN AT RACE PARK

Colfax police officers went to Spokane Raceway Park Aug. 1 to undergo certification training in Emergency Vehicle Operation. They took the city’s Subaru and Ford Crown Victoria police cars to the track to undergo the state training, Chief Bill Hickman said in a report to the city council Monday night.

GARFIELD

DRIVER HURT

Jessica Erickson, 25, Garfield, sustained lacerations Monday in a two-car accident on Highway 195 near Rosalia. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Erickson was driving a 2001 Chevrolet Tahoe northbound at 10:50 a.m. when it drifted onto the right shoulder of the highway. She over corrected and the Tahoe rolled into the oncoming lane and struck the rear bumper of a 2005 Honda Civic being driven by Kenneth W. Dey, 45, Meridian, Idaho. He was unhurt.

BONGS LEAD TO LACROSSE ARREST

Jeremy Miller, 22, LaCrosse, was allowed release on his own recognizance Aug. 1 after being booked into jail for probable drug charges the previous night. The arrest report alleges deputies discovered bongs in a cupboard in Miller’s residence after he consented to a search of the house. The deputies, who had gone to LaCrosse for follow up on an unrelated case, alleged they also found unlabeled prescription drugs in the residence.