Bulletin Column

These reports are from the previous four issues of the Daily Bulletin in Colfax. They are reprinted here for the benefit of Gazette readers who reside outside of Colfax. Some accounts have been updated.

FOUR HURT IN 270 COLLISION

Both drivers and two passengers were hurt in a collision on Highway 270 Monday morning at the Pullman City limits at the 5.4 mile mark. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Loren C. Bates, 20, Bellingham, lost control of a 1996 Ford Bronco when he moved to the middle lane while driving westbound at 8:40 a.m. The Bronco slid across the centerline into the path of a 2007 Toyota Sienna van driven by Collette Edge, 32, Pullman. Bates sustained neck injuries, and Edge sustained head and leg injuries. Alicia Brooks, 18, Vancouver, a passenger in the Bronco sustained ankle, head and neck injuries. A two-year-old in the Toyota van, who was in a car seat, sustained neck injuries.

SCHMICK PLANS TELECONFAB

State Rep. Joe Schmick plans a one hour telephone town hall meeting Thursday, Feb. 2, beginning at 6:35 p.m. Residents are urged to call a toll-free number, 1-877-229-8493, and enter the code 15440 when prompted.

Once on the line, participants may select star 3 on their telephone keypads to ask a question or they can simply listen in and take part in instant polls. They will also have an opportunity at the end of the call to leave a message.

STUDENTS CATCH UP ON SEMESTER END

Colfax High School students Monday began taking final tests to close out the first semester after last week’s three-day snow shutdown. The original finish of the semester had been scheduled for Friday.

Finals Monday were underway for classes in odd-number periods, and tests are slated tomorrow for even-numbered periods.

The school is now expected to switch to the new class schedule for the second semester later this week.

BORTKO ALLOWED RELEASE AFTER 325 DAYS

DJ Thomas Bortko, 21, a former sophomore at Washington State University from Kirkland, was allowed release from jail Friday after 325 days in confinement. Bortko pleaded guilty to two counts of assault in the second degree and a misdemeanor charge of negligent driving in the first degree.

He was allowed release to the custody of his parents who will enroll him at an in-patient treatment program at Kirkland.

Bortko was arrested last Feb. 28 after hitting several parked cars in Pullman and then struggling with police. Bortko’s outbreak last February was described as “essentially a psychotic episode” during a plea and sentencing hearing Friday in superior court.

Defense Attorney Carl Oreskovich of Spokane told the court Friday other students who were residing with Bortko at Pullman had noticed changes in his behavior before last February’s episode along Lost Trail Drive in Pullman.

Bortko was kept in custody for almost a year to build up custody time and also to provide a “baseline” for treatment medications, his attorney said.

One of the assault victims was Pullman Officer Ryan McNannay who sustained minor stab wounds when he attempted to subdue Bortko who attempted to run away from the accident scene. The other assault charge resulted from Bortko’s spitting on an ambulance attendant while he was being taken to the hospital.

Judge David Frazier pronounced an exceptional sentence of less than the mandatory year-and-day minimum Bortko would have faced under the state’s standard range. He was sentenced to a year which allowed him release for in-patient treatment. A standard year-plus sentence would have required the county to turn him over to the Department of Corrections.

Bortko was also placed under 18 months of community custody. Chief Deputy Prosecutor Byron Bedirian said most of the restitution for damages to the seven vehicles have been covered by insurance with Bortko’s family paying the difference.

KLONDIKE CALLED OFF

The annual Klondike Derby, the traditional winter event for the Chief Kamiakin Scout District, was canceled last week because of the winter storm. Seven Colfax Boy Scouts and their leaders had planned to attend the event which includes competition for scouting skills during the winter. Colfax scouts also planned to camp overnight Saturday.

The event had been slated at Moose Creek Reservoir near Bovill. That area was hit with 24 inches of snow last week with rain following to make the access road off Idaho Highway 8 impassable.

The Derby has now been re-scheduled for Feb. 11.

SCHOOL CLOSED FOR THIRD DAY

Another day of steady snow left schools around the area closed Friday and crews battling to keep roads open. Colfax crews again were at work in the early morning hours to keep streets open and clear out the downtown area.

A third straight day of school shutdown at Colfax included cancellation of sports events with Friday’s long basketball trip to Kettle Falls called off.

Supt. Michael Morgan said the condition of rural roads led to the school closure. Approximately 60 percent of the district’s students come from residences in the rural areas where the district cannot operate.

Morgan said the district has Feb. 29, March 1 and 2 scheduled for closure during the state basketball finals, and those days are now expected to be the makeup days.

Snowfall at the NRCS station on the south hill totaled another 4.5 inches Jan. 19. Since Jan. 17, the snow total was measured at 15.5 inches at the station.

Phil Meyer, operations supervisor for the county road department, said the LaCrosse area was hit the worst. He said winds picked up last Thursday night with some drifting in that part of the county.

A warming trend before the weekend was expected to reduce the drifting factor, but it will also mean the packed snow floor on the county’s gravel roads will become slushy. Meyer said crews are unable to plow the slush that works up from the packed road floors without damaging the gravel.

The county had a crew of 40 out on the roads. Crews last Thursday night worked until 10 p.m. after working until 1 a.m. the previous morning. Meyer noted the crews were not working in shifts so the late-night assignments; mean they were working up to 16 hour stints.

The sheriffs log for Jan. 19 listed reports of disabled vehicles on the Luft Road at 3:06 p.m., Pullman/Albion Road at 3:22, Endicott South Road at 4:12 and Hume Road at 4:29.

TRIAL DATE SET FOR BURNHAM

John R. Burnham, 43, Oakesdale, was scheduled for a March 19 trial after pleading not guilty Friday on one charge of child molestation in the first degree. Burnham remains in custody under the $100,000 bail requirement which was set by the court Tuesday, Jan. 17.

Formal charges of first degree assault, first degree burglary and harassment were filed Friday against Frank R. Toupal of Tucson, 61, Ariz. He was arrested Jan. 13 in Spokane after deputies investigated a report Toupal had threatened to shoot his ex-wife. She discovered him in her Steptoe residence Friday when she returned from work, according to the arrest report.

Toupal’s arraignment was scheduled for Feb. 3. His court appointed attorney told the court family members are attempting to hire an attorney in Spokane, and Toupal wanted to delay arraignment until he could consult with that attorney.

Toupal remains in jail under a $1 million bail requirement set by the court Jan. 17.

SPOKANE DRIVER CRASHES

Samuel E. Grashio, 67, Spokane, was unhurt last Thursday night when he lost control of the 2005 Subaru Outback he was driving and slid across Highway 195 about four-and-one half miles north of Colfax. According to the Washington State Patrol report, he was driving southbound at 7:41 p.m. when he lost control of the Outback. It slid across the highway and center turn lane and went into the ditch along the east side of the highway.

State patrol troopers last Thursday responded to 12 reports of accidents. Only two involved reportable damage and none involved injuries.

SNOW SNAGS POWER LINE

An Avista service truck was called to the Ackerman Apartment on Mill Street Friday morning to free up a line over the building. The line had been bogged down by the builtup snow on the roof of the apartment building. An Avista bucket truck was used to get on top of the building, and the line was cleared from the snow.

CHIEF SEEKS HYDRANT

CLEARING

Fire Chief Ralph Walter Friday issued a call for residents to clear out hydrants from snow. Giant piles of snow at some locations have covered up hydrants. Residents are asked to check the hydrants in their respective neighborhoods and clear them out so fire crews will be able to spot them in a hurry, if needed.

CITY SETS

DEADLINE FOR

COUNCIL APPOINTEE

A Feb. 3 deadline has been slated for Colfax residents who are interested in applying for appointment to the city council seat which was vacated by Jeremiah Roberts at the start of the Tuesday night’s council session. Roberts told other council members he was resigning because of “unforeseen circumstances.” He left the city meeting before the start of business.

Council members opted to call for letters of interest from residents who want to be appointed to the seat. Deadline for sending the letters was set for Feb. 3. That will allow council members time to decide on the next step at their Feb. 6 meeting.

SCHOOL GYM HIT BY WATER

The fire sprinkler mishap at Colfax High School two weeks ago resulted in an extensive water flow in the gym. Colfax Fire Chief Ralph Walter reported to city council members last Tuesday, Jan. 17, that a sprinkler head in the gym was knocked off when it was hit the previous Friday by a football. Students were apparently attempting to pass a football from one balcony to the other in the gym when the ball hit the overhead sprinkler. The ball broke off the sprinkler and water began to drain out of the system.

Walter said all the water in the overhead system drained out through the broken sprinkler head after the system was turned off. One factor which limited damages was the resealing operation which was done on the gym floor over the holiday break. That kept the water from penetrating into the gym boards.

FIVE HURT ON SNOWY

HIGHWAYS

Washington State Patrol troopers responded to 11 accident reports Jan. 17 when the snow storm system hit here. Four of the wrecks resulted in injuries and three others involved reportable damage.

Ramadan Skylemani, 55, Mill Creek, sustained possible neck injuries when he lost control of a 2006 Volvo semi truck with trailer 5.8 miles north of Colfax. He was driving southbound at 1:40 p.m. when the truck went out of control after hitting a drift and went off the south side of the highway. It jackknifed and came to a halt in a field.

William Kochman, 77, Moscow, sustained a nose injury, and Karen L. Curtis, 53, St. John, sustained possible neck and back injuries in a collision about eight miles north of Colfax on Highway 195 Tuesday. Kochman lost control of the 2003 Trailblazer he was driving southbound through snow and slush. It crossed the centerline and collided with a Ford F250 pickup truck being driven by Curtis in the northbound lane.

Phillip G. Keon, 18, Moscow, complained of leg pain after the 1994 Lincoln Continental he was driving went off Highway 27 eight miles south of Oakesdale and rolled on its top Tuesday at 2:55 p.m.

Cory Morton, 20, Lake Stevens, sustained possible neck injuries when the 1997 Mercury Mountaineer he was driving went off Highway 23, struck an embankment and rolled about 2.3 miles west of Steptoe. Morton was driving southbound at 2:50 p.m. when he lost control of the Mercury, and it crossed the highway, struck the embankment and rolled.

Thomas S. Jacobs, 23, Moses Lake, was unhurt when the back of the 2001 Ford Expedition he was driving was struck by a semi truck in snowing conditions three miles south of Pullman on Highway 195. Jacobs was driving north in blowing snow at 6 p.m. Tuesday when the oncoming semi slid sideways and struck the Expedition. The semi driver continued southbound.