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.

CHICKEN

PROPOSAL IN LIMBO

A follow-up meeting on a proposal to raise chickens in Colfax was called off Monday night when only one member of the Colfax Planning Commission showed up for the session. Former Mayor Norma Becker, who was appointed to the commission after she left office, was the lone member of the panel to appear.

Monday night’s meeting had been scheduled to review a draft format for allowing chickens to be raised inside the city limits. The format was developed by Chief Rick McNannay after members of the planning commission asked him to undertake the task at their prior meeting June 24.

Monday’s meeting had been scheduled to allow the commission to review the proposal and finalize its recommendation for consideration at next Monday’s city council session.

The permit to keep chickens draft proposal asks applicants to respond to nine questions. Size of the owner’s lot, the zone in which the chickens would be located and the size of the proposed chicken coop are among information sought on the form.

The form also asks applicants to list the number of chickens they intend to keep. A footnote suggests the size of a coop would be limited to 200 square feet based on an industry standard of 40 square feet per hen. That would put the limit at five hens.

The report’s final request for information asks applicants to provide any additional information on the request.

Also prepared for consideration at last night’s session were copies of a five-page permit form used by the Swan Hill Rural City Council in Victoria, Australia.

Commission members are now attempting to schedule a meeting some time prior to the Monday city council session.

The chicken topic did not surface at the city council session last Monday.

PAYMENT ORDERED BEFORE RELEASE

Autumn White, 33, Moscow, was arrested July 3 on a warrant by Pullman police and booked into the county jail. The warrant for her arrest was issued after she failed to appear for a compliance review on funds owed following a theft conviction last December. White had been ordered to pay $1,850 in fines, fees and restitution to Walmart on a third-degree theft conviction involving shop lifting in May of 2012. She was one of three suspects listed in the Pullman police investigation.

Friday, she was ordered to pay $100 of the amount due in order to be released and to pay $25 by the middle of each month starting in August. She has since paid the first $100 and was allowed release.

‘HELLO DOLLY’ SET FOR CHS STAGE

“Hello Dolly,” will be the fall musical production for Colfax High School. Director Cary Cammack said information on audition dates will be available during registrations at Colfax High School and Jennings Elementary. The cast will include high school, junior high and elementary students in the third through sixth grades.

Performance dates will be Nov. 21 through Nov. 27 before the Thanksgiving break.

BAKER PLEADS NOT GUILTY

An Aug. 19 trial for Vance William Baker, LaCrosse, was scheduled after he pleaded not guilty in superior court July 3 to charges of theft and possession of methamphetamine. According to the investigation report filed with the charges, family members called the sheriff’s office June 30 and said they suspected Baker was taking family items to support a drug habit. Among items reported missing were an air conditioner, wedding rings and a digital camera.

The report alleges test results on white residue they found on a glass pipe obtained by deputies came out positive for methamphetamine.

NO-SHOW

WARRANTS ISSUED

Warrants for the arrest of Cody Richardson, 21, former Colfax resident, were ordered for failure to appear in court on three different cases on the July 3 docket. Charges against Richardson include thefts, residential burglary and trafficking in stolen property.

SUV THEFT NETS 14 DAYS

Shane Groff, 25, Troy, Idaho, was sentenced to 14 days in jail July 3 in superior court on a charge of taking a motor vehicle. He was also ordered to pay fines and fees of $1,550. He was charged with taking a 2001 Ford Expedition from a residence in Pullman where he had been visiting. The investigation report said Groff made an effort to return the Expedition by leaving it in the neighborhood of the residence he had been visiting.

KRAGT TO OPEN LAW OFFICE

John Kragt, a member of the Carpenter, McGuire & DeWolf law firm in Ritzville, plans to open a weekly practice here in the office which was occupied for many years by his late grandfather, Dr. Harvey Kragt. The office until recently was occupied by the law firm of Aitken, Schauble, Patrick, Neill, & Schauble of Pullman. Kragt, son of Warren and Jolene Kragt of Ritzville, received his law degree from Gonzaga University in May of 2011 after completing undergraduate studies at the University of Alabama where he attended on a track scholarship. He plans to practice here on Thursdays beginning July 25.

WARRANTS ISSUED FOR

LANDER

Warrant for the arrest of Walter J. Lander, 43, Colfax, were issued Wednesday, July 3, after he failed to appear in court June 28 for pre-trial hearings on two different cases.

Lander faces charges of possession of methamphetamine and driving with a suspended license in one of the cases and two counts of forgery in the other case. Bail amounts on the warrant arrest have been set at $5,000.

The two charges of forgery follow Pullman and Colfax police investigations into alleged alteration of checks which had been placed in the mail. The check washing investigation involves other suspects who are alleged to have attempted to cash out the altered checks at banks in Colfax and other area locations.

Investigation into one of the forgery cases began when a Pullman resident reported to police there that a $219 check he mailed out to pay a medical bill came back in a bank statement as a $545 check written to a different recipient.