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.

JURY CONVICTS

HARDGROVE

A superior court jury convicted Justin James Hardgrove of two counts of delivery of methamphetamine after a one day trial Monday in superior court. The jury began deliberation at 5:30 and returned the guilty verdicts at 7 p.m.

Hardgrove, 30, Colfax, was remanded to the custody of the jail prior to his sentencing which has been scheduled for Sept. 7.

The jury convicted Hardgrove of selling methamphetamine in October of last year and January of this year. The state alleged the drug transactions were done by confidential informants.

Hardgrove also faces a theft of a vehicle charge. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge and has been scheduled for a jury trial Sept. 17.

The vehicle theft charge alleges Hardgrove asked permission to use a car owned by a Colfax resident to take a friend to visit the hospital in Pullman. The car owner later learned her car had been confiscated by officers in Lewiston where she had to go to retrieve it. Among items found in the car were a 30-can case of beer with seven unopened cans and two nightsticks, according to the police report filed with that case.

Flooding:

CITY GETS

FORMAL REQUEST

A formal request for the city to take “immediate action” to alleviate problems caused by flooding due to soil erosion above the east hill was presented to the city council Monday night by Mike Damery.

Damery, one of the property owners, said the draft could be signed by as many as 35 people and forwarded to the state Department of Ecology with pictures and statements of what took place.

The complaint pointed out tons of top soil covered streets and sidewalks and filled basement and crawl spaces. Also erosion ditches, some as deep as five to six feet, were left between houses and along roadways.

The statement contends much of the flooding can be attributed to farming practices which result in increased soil erodibility and run-off on the fields above the east hill.

Mayor Todd Vanek said the city plans a three level approach to the flooding problem. The first step will be to complete cleanup, which has been hampered by plugged street drains, and the next step will be to work on an improvement plan prepared by the Public Works Department. The mayor noted the third step will be pursuit of a long-range solution to the problem which would require outside funding.

Mayor Vanek said he has also been in contact with Paul Cocking, the owner of the farmland located above the east hill area.

Public Works Director Andy Rogers at the last council session presented a series of measures which could be taken. One of them called for linking the Clay Street drainage system with the Sumner Street system which provides an outlet to the North Palouse flood control channel. That project would involve getting permission for excavating under the railroad tracks which run between Clay and Sumner streets.

Later in the meeting, Councilman Jim Kackman suggested the council’s public works committee work with the residents and businesses in the neighborhood to resolve the problem.

Kackman pointed out the city also has incurred costs in manpower and equipment hours in cleaning up after the floods. At present, the city plans to install a new manhole along Clay Street in order to reach the plugged drains with its vactor. The neighborhood at present is without a street drain system which leaves it vulnerable in the event of another heavy rain episode.

ZONE CHANGE APPROVED

Colfax council members Monday night approved the zone change for two segments of Mill Street. The neighborhoods will be changed from Commercial to R-2 zones.

Few comments from the public were put on the record. Anna Schluneger, real estate agent, said proponents at the July 25 session of the planning commission presented their case at that time, and the measure was advanced to the council for city approval.

The zone change allows single family and multi-unit residential properties. Previously, houses and apartments were located in the zone under special use permits. Realtors said conditions tied to those special use permits hampered attempts to get financing on real estate sales.

The one commercial building, the office building on the southeast corner of Canyon and Mill, has been excluded from the zone change and remains in the adjoining commercial zone.

VOLUNTEERS

BATTLE HOOPER AREA FIRE

A hot fire Saturday burned approximately 350 acres on the Evans ranch between the Hooper Canyon and Hammer Grade roads about seven miles south of Hooper. The fire is believed to have started off an electrical transformer shortly before noon.

Crews from Hooper, Hay and LaCrosse responded to the scene along with tractors with discs. Harvest has been finished in that part of the county so mustering volunteer crews to man the equipment was difficult. A disc crew from McGregor’s provided a lot of support to the effort, according to Della Evans.

The fire burned about 80 acres of stubble and the remainder of the acres was in range land. At one point the fire went through an empty hay pole barn with a metal roof without causing extensive damage. The fire, which was located on some rough terrain, proved stubborn as it advanced in dry conditions. Absence of wind worked in favor of the volunteers.

The fire started shortly before noon and volunteers battled the stubborn fire until after 8 p.m.

SHOTGUN CITED

IN ARREST

James Lyle Simpson, 26, Pullman, was booked into jail here at 7:34 Sunday after Pullman police responded to a report of a man threatening others with a shotgun in the 600 block of NE Illinois.

Officers received the report just after midnight and cleared occupants out of the residence. The report said Simpson had lived at the residence over the summer and returned late Sunday to get some of his belonging. It said he became upset at some of the occupants and grabbed a 12 gauge shotgun.

Two witnesses said they fled the residence after Simpson had racked the shotgun. Simpson later told officers he racked the gun three times to make sure it was safe. He denied pointing the gun at the two others.

LACROSSE MAN ARRESTED

Joshua A. Chastain, 25, LaCrosse, was jailed in Colfax as the suspect responsible for alleged theft of items from the LaCrosse swimming pool Aug. 12 and a residential burglary involving alleged theft of several thousand dollars from a safe, according to a report from Sheriff’s Sgt. Chris Chapman. Items reported missing from the pool include two cell phones, an Ipod and cash. Sgt. Chapman said some of the missing items were recovered at Chastain’s residence. Potential charges against Chastain are theft, criminal trespass and residential burglary.

During the investigation, three persons of interest were identified in the case. Over the next two days graffiti tags were left on the residences of the three persons who were later determined to not be involved. Sgt. Chapman said Darin Barry, 41, the victim in the alleged burglary, later admitted leaving the graffiti tags. The case illustrates the risk residents take when they undertake what they believe to be retribution, Sgt. Chapman said in a news report. Barry faces potential malicious mischief charges.

Colfax DRIVERS COLLIDE

Two youngsters, ages 7 and 3, were taken by ambulance to Whitman Hospital for a checkover after a collision at 5:25 p.m. at Thorn and Main Street in Colfax Wednesday, Aug. 15. According to the police report, the youngsters were in a 1999 Oldsmobile Cutlass driven by Krystal Fisher of Colfax.

The report said Bonnie Smith, Colfax, attempted to pull onto Main Street from east Thorn in a 2007 Chrysler Seabring while Fisher was driving northbound on Main in the Cutlass.

The collision was in the construction zone where traffic is restricted to one lane in each direction. Chief Rick McNannay said the highway was blocked for 23 minutes.