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.

Property recovered after raid

On Jan. 18 at about 8 p.m., officers from Colfax Police Department, Pullman Police Department and the Whitman County Regional SWAT team executed a search warrant at 603 S. Main Street in Colfax.

Officers recovered property from two recent Colfax burglaries which included power tools, collectible coins and currency.

Cody A. Richardson, 21, was taken into custody following a short stand-off. Richardson was booked into the Whitman County Jail on charges of residential burglary, burglary, possession of stolen property and felon in possession of a firearm. Richardson was also held on a Spokane warrant.

Chief Rick McNannay said the SWAT team was called out in serving the warrant because of the suspect’s prior record involving guns. Richardson was arrested in 2010 for his involvement in a 2009 burglary of a residence in the Winona area. The sheriff’s office at that time reported as many as 15 guns were involved in the case. McNannay said Richardson is also a suspect in a shoplifting case at Pullman.

McNannay said when officers arrived at the scene Friday night, Richardson climbed out on the fire escape of the apartment building, but he later surrendered to the officers.

The Colfax Police Department is actively investigating Richardson’s involvement in other area thefts as well.

Colfax Police Log

On Jan. 18 at 2:23 a.m., police responded to a noise complaint. The person reported that neighbors were being loud and partying. Officers warned them. Officers also responded to an assault the same day a little after 10 a.m.

On Jan. 19, officers assisted another agency in a report of a sex offense involving children. The investigation showed incidents occurred in another county. Information was forwarded to the appropriate agency.

On Jan. 20, a little after 9 a.m., officers responded to the 200 block of E. Harrison Street in response to a report of a hit and run that had occurred there. The investigation indicated that a maroon-colored vehicle failed to make the corner from Clay Street onto Harrison. The vehicle left the roadway and struck the fence of a nearby residence. The investigation is continuing.

On Jan. 20 a little after 1 p.m., a resident on the 1000 block of North Park Street reported his garage was broken into over the course of the past few days. A broken 50-inch plasma television was taken.

On Jan. 21 at a little after 1 a.m., a disturbance was reported in the 200 block of West Cooper Street. When officers arrived, they learned that the incident was verbal only.

On Jan. 21 at about 10:20 a.m., a resident reported a theft in the 100 block of West Thorn Street.

On Jan. 21, about 2:30 p.m., officers received a report of a broken water pipe in the 1000 block of North Park Street.

FLAGS POSTED FOR MLK DAY

Volunteers Sunday morning made the flags round in Colfax to post flags for the Martin Luther King holiday. The crew posted the U.S. flags after pulling out the blue and gold Bulldog banners.

WSU students display designs

The Colfax branch of the Whitman County Library is currently displaying interior design plans for the proposed Community Enrichment Center from students in Washington State University’s Interior Design program.

Led by WSU Professor Bob Krikac of Colfax, the students collaborated with the library as part of the Rural Communities Design Initiative.

During the collaboration, student designers Marissa Rosati Cool, Amanda Billberg, Lauren Bruan and Shaleesa Mielke led community focus groups to explore the needs of the community and how the center might respond. From these meetings, each student took prospective building uses and developed designs which will be extremely useful to library officials as they move forward with the center.

The RCDI is a collaborative effort between WSU’s School of Design and Construction and WSU Extension which partner with small, rural communities to offer an innovative, cross-disciplinary approach to rebuilding and promoting a sustainable local economy. Students in these programs get to work on real projects while residents of rural communities reap the benefits.

Local female athletes earn recognition

Taylor Larsen was named WIAA “Athlete of the Week” for the week of Dec. 30 - Jan. 5. She was nominated by Coach Baerlocher and earned her award for her performance in the Jan. 4 game at Springdale where she scored 26 points, had 13 rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots.

Rachel Robinson was featured as the week’s KLEW-TV’s “Academic All-Star” for her academic excellence as well as her successful involvement in extra-curricular activities. Rachel is a senior with a 4.0 GPA and also is a three-sport athlete who participates in volleyball, basketball and softball. She was interviewed at Colfax High School and was featured on the “Academic All-Stars” 5 p.m. news segment on KLEW-TV in Lewiston Jan. 17. Shawna Kneale, Colfax School District Athlete Director, nominated her.

Pullman fire chief retires

Pullman Fire Chief Scott LaVielle notified city officials that he plans to retire from the fire service Jan. 31 after serving the city for the past year.

In his letter to the city, LaVielle said he has enjoyed working with the department and regretted his short stay but said he had some pressing concerns that could only be dealt with in the Seattle area.

Mayor Glenn Johnson accepted his notice of retirement with regret but said he understood the circumstances that the chief is facing.

LaVielle started his duties as Pullman Fire Chief Jan. 30, 2012. Before coming to Pullman, LaVielle was chief of the North Highline Fire District in the Seattle area.

The retiring chief said he wanted to make sure that all firefighters knew the reason they were in public service: to treat each other with dignity and respect and to treat members of the public like they are members of a family. LaVielle said that although his stay was shorter than what he would have preferred, such objectives were accomplished or are well on the way to completion.

Johnson appointed Operations Chief Mike Heston as the new Pullman Fire Chief effective Feb. 1, subject to city council confirmation. The council was scheduled to vote on the confirmation at its Jan. 22 meeting.

Heston joined the Pullman department as operations chief in October 1996 after serving with the Washington State University Fire Services from January 1985 to September 1996.

Johnson said that Heston has served as interim chief on several occasions and was one of the city’s top candidates during the chief selection process last year.

Heston earned a bachelors degree in 1991 and a master’s degree in 1994 from WSU.

Heston is a certified instructor in the Incident Command System and has taught ICS classes throughout the region. He is a member of the Spokane Type 3 Incident Management All Hazards state response team. Heston currently is serving as a board officer of the Pullman Lions Club and Whitman County Fire Chiefs Association.