Bulletin column

These reports are from the previous three 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.

FOX

TRANSMITTER FAILS

Colfax was among many towns in eastern Washington who saw television screens lock up during Sunday afternoon’s NFL playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. The outage, which locked up screens for more than 10 minutes in the second half was believed to have been caused by failure of a Fox 28 transmitter in Spokane.

The transmitter serves a majority of the cable companies in eastern Washington and all sustained the same outage. Colfax Cable manager Eric Trump said they received several calls when the broadcast of the big game locked up.

Colfax Cable receives the broadcast from the Fox transmitter via antenna.

BREMERTON

DRIVER HURT

Jonathan W. Lucas, Bremerton, sustained possible neck and leg injuries Saturday afternoon when he lost control of a 1997 Plymouth Voyager in the S curves area of Highway 195 south of Colfax. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Lucas was driving southbound at 2:20 p.m. in the far right lane when he lost control of the Voyager and over-corrected. The van went off the roadway on the right side and came to a halt on the passenger’s side.

A Colfax ambulance crew and rescue truck were called to the scene. They checked over the driver and administered first aid.

SUMMONED ON TWO CHARGES

Steven James Wilson, 22, Pullman, has been summoned to appear in court Jan. 31 on charges of residential burglary and malicious mischief. According to the Pullman Police report, Wilson was found passed out inside a residence on NE B Street in Pullman Dec. 7. None of the five women who resided at the residence knew him. The report said he passed out on the living room floor.

IDAHO ARREST ON WARRANT

Amberdawn Turnbull Graham, 30, Boise, was booked into the county jail here Jan. 15 after she had been arrested in Pocatello, Idaho, on a Whitman County warrant. The warrant was issued after Graham failed to appear for a compliance hearing. She allegedly failed to pay $798 fines and fees dating back to a 2012 conviction following a traffic stop in Colfax in November of 2011.

She was allowed release Friday and allowed to pay the sum due with public service work at the rate of $10 per hour. A June 27 court date was set to determine whether she had completed the payment.

Graham was initially stopped on Highway 195 near the Cedar Street intersection in north Colfax where she was reported to be driving 58 mph in the 35 mph zone at the bottom of Buck Canyon grade. She was later charged with identification theft after the WSP determined she had given troopers the name of a friend during the speeding arrest. She was convicted in 2012 of identification theft and ordered to pay fines and fees as part of her sentence.

91-TON CRANE MAKES DETOUR

The big load which made a detour through the south end of Colfax at about 12:45 p.m. Jan. 16 was a 91-ton truck crane.

The crane load was routed through Colfax because a load weight limit has been posted on county roads at this time. West Coast Heavy Hauling obtained a special permit to haul the crane through Colfax via Fairview and S. Main. The truck crane was being hauled to Lower Granite Dam.

Load limits on county roads require haulers of loads more than 19,600 pounds to obtain a permit. The 91-ton crane load could not be permitted on Sommers and Almota roads to reach the Almota Grade road.

The county Department of Public Works allowed the load on the recently completed Airport Road which received a new rock base in the construction project last summer.

The load crew continued south from Colfax on Highway 195 to Highway 194 for an east side approach to the top of Almota grade.

BLOW DART POSTING

Pullman Police have posted “Can You ID Me?” photos on their web site of a car believed to be linked with reported blow dart incidents Sunday Jan. 12 in Pullman. Sunday, between 9 and 10 p.m. two people reported they had been hit while walking. One of the incidents on NE Colorado was recorded on a video camera mounted in the Adams Mall area.

Both victims were hit by metal blow gun darts, a violation which could be charged as assault or reckless endangerment.

The Pullman Police web site: http://www.pullman-wa.gov/police.

CRIBBING UNDER BRIDGE WALK

Support cribbing has now been installed for temporary support of the sidewalk on the Highway 26 bridge at the north end of Main Street. The cribbing has been placed under the sidewalk segment of the bridge crossing which had been sagging.

State crews late last year placed barriers along the sidewalk curb which has been blocked off from pedestrian traffic.

The cribbing, which was installed by the DOT district bridge crew, provides support from the river bed to the sidewalk support structure.

ADAMS COUNTY JUDGE SWORN

Judge Steve Dixon was sworn in as superior court judge for Adams County Jan. 10. Judge Dixon had formerly served as superior court judge in Kitsap County and has been serving as interim duty for the court in Ritzville following the death of Judge Brian Miller after a long battle with cancer, according to a report in the Ritzville Adams County Journal.

Judge Dixon was sworn in by Adams County Court Commissioner Richard Miller, who retired from the bench in Ritzville in 2012.

Dixon was appointed to the court seat by Gov. Jay Inslee.

The Adams County judge sometimes serves on the bench here when circumstances of a case require a different judge.

LAMONT MAN ARRESTED

Daniel T. Thomas, 29, Lamont, was arrested Jan. 15 on a charge of felony harassment and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. A report by Sheriff Brett Myers said Thomas was arrested after a warrant search of the residence where Thomas was residing in the 1220 block of Wiltzius Ave. in Lamont.

According to the arrest report, the sheriff’s office Jan. 6 received a report from a Lamont resident that Thomas had threatened him with a pistol. The man told deputies the threat was made during an argument about real estate.

The report said deputies located two firearms at the residence. One of them was a .357 handgun which matched the description of the weapon allegedly brandished by Thomas in the Jan. 6 confrontation.

The report said deputies found the .357 Colt pistol in a pickup truck parked in the yard at the residence. They also reported finding a .22 Marlin rifle in a dog house at the residence.

Bond for pre-trial release of Thomas was set at $20,000 in a first appearance in court Jan. 15. The report noted Thomas had been convicted of second degree burglary in 2004.

HINOJOS LICENSE REVOKED

Alex Hinojos, 24, Colfax, was sentenced to 364 days in jail with 247 suspended after he pleaded guilty on Jan. 10 in superior court to a charge of driving under the influence.

The conviction stems from an Aug. 9 report of a hit-and-run incident in a driveway in Albion. Hinojos was arrested and charged with assault and giving false information to an officer in addition to driving under the influence. The arrest report alleged he was sitting in a parked pickup truck along Highway 195 on the night of the report.

The report alleged Hinojos told officers at the scene that the truck ran out of gas and a friend, who had been driving the truck, had left to get gasoline. When officers contacted the friend, he told them Hinojos had called him and asked him to bring fuel out to the truck on Highway 195. The friend said he had not been with Hinojos in Albion.

Witness accounts of the Albion incident alleged Hinojos was having trouble with the clutch in the Ford pickup and struck the back of another truck in a driveway.

The court found the DUI conviction was the third for Hinojos over a seven-year period. His driver’s license was revoked for three years, and he was ordered to obtain an evaluation and undergo any recommended treatment. He was also ordered to refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages. He was fined $5,000 with $2,954 suspended.

DEFENSE

ATTORNEY

PAYMENT

An order for payment of attorney fees to Roger Sandberg of Pullman, who was appointed by the court as defense attorney for Travis Carlon was filed Jan. 15 in superior court. Sandberg was paid for 30.5 hours of work on the case including court dates, conferences and preparation.

Carlon was sentenced to six months in jail Jan. 10 for rendering criminal assistance to Daniel and Frank Lazcano who were convicted on murder charges involving the death of Marcus Schur. Sandberg was appointed as an alternate attorney because of the number of other potential defendants involved in the case which emerged after Schur’s body was found in March of 2012.