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.

MOTORHOME THEFT ARREST

A Yakima area resident, Jocelyn Elise Gates, 23, was arrested early Friday morning on probable charges of theft and arson related to the motorhome which deputies believe was stolen July 8 from the Wheatland Travel lot east of Pullman on Highway 270. The motorhome, a 1995 Damon Intruder, was destroyed by fire the next morning near LaCrosse. Fire crew reported it was engulfed by flames when they arrived at the scene at mile 105 of Highway 26.

Sheriff Brett Myers reported Damon Lee McCart, 26, is a second suspect in the case. He was identified as Gates’ boyfriend. The report said McCart was not present when a search warrant was served at a residence on Keys Road outside of Yakima.

Gates was allowed release on her own recognizance after a first appearance in court Friday.

According to the arrest report, deputies received a report the morning of July 9 that the Damon Intruder had been taken. The owner had been at the storage lot the previous day to load items for a camping trip and found the Intruder gone when he returned the next morning.

Surveillance tapes at the storage lot led deputies to identify a 1998 GMC Suburban as a suspect vehicle. The GMC was also observed on surveillance tapes at the Country Travel Plaza at the intersection of Highways 395 and 26 west of Washtucna, the report said. Photo copies of the suspect SUV were sent out to other agencies and that led to a call from officers at Union Gap which tied the SUV to the two suspects.

Deputies also learned the SUV had been involved in a wreck that night on Highway 24 south of Othello.

According to the report, Gates said they had an argument that night while driving west on Highway 26 and the Intruder had become stuck on a side road. She said she accidentally dropped a pistol while she was alone inside the Intruder and that subsequently led to a decision to set it on fire, the report alleged.

HIGHWAY 26 BLOCKED

Both lanes of Highway 26 were blocked Monday night when a truck became high centered while attempting to enter the highway. The truck attempted to drive onto the highway from the Jones Truck & Implement equipment lot on the north side. Officer Perry Tate responded to the call at 9:56 p.m. The Washington State Patrol and sheriff’s deputies assisted with traffic control. Motorists were able to get around the stuck truck and trailer along the shoulder of the highway. The highway was cleared after about 30 minutes when a tractor for JTI was used to pull the high-centered truck free.

BALDREES WILL BE FAIR GMs

Randy and Paula Baldree will be honored as grand marshals for this year’s edition of the Palouse Empire Fair. Confirmation of the honor was announced at Monday night’s fair board meeting.

Randy Baldree served as Whitman County Extension agent for 16 years beginning in 1988. He was promoted to director of WSU extension for southeast Washington in 2004 and later headed the state extension ag program. He served the past year as interim director of extension.

Paula Baldree is an information technology specialist at WSU.

The Baldrees’ three children, Travis, Joanna and Daniel, all attended Colfax schools and are graduates of Colfax High School.

MORE CLAY STREET CLEANUP

Fire department volunteers returned to Clay Street Tuesday evening for another round of street cleanup. Clay and Park Streets were hit again by mud and water runoff late Friday afternoon when another cloudburst hit the Colfax area. City crews were called to the scene late Friday and worked Saturday to again clean up the street.

ALBION MAN

SENTENCED

Michael D. Cox, 53, Albion, was sentenced to six months in jail Friday for two counts of theft involving disability payments from the state’s Department of Labor & Industries. Cox was convicted on two of the three charges made against him June 21. The jury reported no decision on the first charge made against Cox which reportedly involved $25,000 of the loss prosecutors said was sustained by the state. That was the alleged loss in the first of three years in the case. The jury convicted Cox for L & I funds he received in 2009 and 2010.

The court Friday ordered the state’s count one charge dismissed on a motion from Assistant Attorney General John Hillman, who represented the state at the trial. Hillman called 10 witnesses to testify in the trial, and defense attorney Steve Martonick called six witnesses.

The state’s case against Cox said he was injured on the job in the fall of 2006 and underwent surgery to fuse two vertebrae in his back in 2007. Cox was cleared to return to work in December of 2007 by a neurosurgeon, but his primary care physician at that time found him unable to work.

Cox was also ordered to pay fines and fees of $2,675. A restitution hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 24.

Malden YOUTH UNHURT

A 17-year-old Malden teen was unhurt Friday afternoon when he lost control of a 1994 Ford Probe on Highway 271 approximately 1.13 miles north of Oakesdale. According to the state patrol report, the youth was driving northbound at 2:10 p.m. when the car slid off the roadway and rolled after the youth lost control in a curve on the wet asphalt.

CHIEF AT

MANSFIELD FIRE

Colfax Chief Ralph Walter returned July 19 after four days of duty as safety officer on a range fire south of Mansfield and a neighboring fire in McNeill Canyon above the Columbia River. Both fires were started by lightning.

The Mansfield fire burned 2,644 acres, including 80 acres of wheat. The McNeill Canyon fire covered about 100 acres. The fire took out one storage shed which was lost in the initial response.

Walter said the campaign involved 180 firefighters.

SEWER LAGOON DREDGING

The city has contracted with Fire Mountain of Onalaska to remove sludge buildup from the sewer lagoon at the treatment plant along the Walla Walla Highway.

Fire Mountain submitted the lone bid for the project at $100,000.

The company is expected to remove about 241 tons of material from the lagoon. The material will again be deposited on the Roberts ranch which is located off the Green Hollow Road.

TWO HURT IN

ISUZU ROLL

Two juvenile boys were taken by ambulance to Whitman Hospital July 17, for treatment of injuries sustained in a rollover accident on Highway 272 four miles east of Colfax. According to the Washington State Patrol report, the driver, a 17-year-old from Potlatch, lost control of a 2001 Isuzu Rodeo in a curve while traveling eastbound at 8 p.m. The Rodeo crossed into the oncoming lane and rolled onto its side.

The driver sustained possible head and neck injuries and the passenger, a 15-year-old, also sustained possible head and neck injuries.