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.

N. GRAND HAVOC

IN PULLMAN

Cheryl A. Bynum, 53, Clarkston, was arrested on multiple charges after Pullman Police reported she drove at speeds up to 90 mph northbound on Grand at about 7 p.m. Monday night, side swiped several vehicles and caused a rollover accident which knocked out power to the north part of Pullman.

Whitman County deputies located the 1999 Chevrolet van Bynum was driving off the Highway 27 roadway about four miles north of Pullman and she was taken to Pullman Regional Hospital where she was treated for back and neck pain.

She was arrested at the hospital by officer Ryan McNannay and booked into jail here at 2:30 a.m. on probable charges of driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license, hit and run and reckless driving. McNannay’s arrest report said a blood alcohol test was conducted and Bynum admitted she “chased” prescription pain medications with Smirnoff. The report alleged half a bottle of Smirnoff was found in the van she was driving.

One of the southbound drivers on Grand applied the brake on the vehicle she was driving to avoid the oncoming van, and the driver behind her veered right and went up Turner Drive and over an embankment. The vehicle rolled down 30 feet into a power pole. Downed power lines caused sparks around the wreck and the driver remained inside until he could be taken out of the back of the vehicle, according to the Pullman Police report. The driver was not injured.

The roll-over accident at Turner snapped a 115,000 volt line and a 13,000 volt line and knocked out power to the Military Hill section of Pullman.

A passenger in another vehicle which was sideswiped by the van driven by Bynum sustained injury and was taken by private vehicle to the hospital.

Pullman officer Aaron Breshears said it was a miracle no one was killed.

Colfax LISTS STREET

CONCERNS

Colfax concerns about pedestrian safety, bridges and traffic flow will be presented next week to the State Transportation Commission when they conduct a planning session in Pullman. Mayor Todd Vanek told city council members Monday night the city is preparing a presentation to be included on the commission’s agenda.

The commission session is slated for Wednesday, and area towns have been asked to have their reports ready for the agenda by Monday, April 14.

Vanek said the aim will be to advise the state panel about the need for improvements in small towns which he believes have to take a back seat when the overall state funding package is determined.

The Walla Walla Highway side of the twin bridges on the north end of Main Street is one of three bridges on the city’s list. Vanek noted Sixth Street Bridge on the North Flat and the bridge over the Spring Flat Creek channel on S. Main are other concerns. He said the condition of the Spring Flat channel bridge, which crosses under Main Street just south of the Thorn Street intersection, has been rated poor.

One of the key concerns for pedestrian safety has been the intersection of Main and Thorn streets. He noted the intersection has been considered for a possible traffic light in the past.

A key concern for traffic flow is the increased load of traffic on Fairview and S. Main which serve as part of the unofficial Colfax bypass off Highway 26.

RAIL TRAIL

IN LIMBO

Proposals about development of a trail on portions of the former Union Pacific railroad will not be part of the Colfax program for the state commission. One of the possible problems with the project could be the actual legal status of the railroad property in light of the recent supreme court decision.

City Attorney Bruce Ensley said the project would require research on the legal decisions and determination of the facts behind the original ownership of the railroad right-of-way property.

The Colfax-Pullman link was cut when the trestle across the S. Palouse River burned in the 2006 fire. It was also severed when the S. Main crossing was pulled up last year as part of the Highway 195 reconstruction project.

UNIFINE AT

C of C

LUNCHEON

Guest speaker Steve Fulton will talk about the Unifine Flour mill project at the April Chamber of Commerce noon luncheon at the Colfax Library Tuesday, April 15. Lunch will be served by Events on Main for $10 and those who plan to attend are asked to make reservations by Friday by calling the chamber office.

COLFAX

CONCERT DATE CHANGE

Date of the Colfax spring band concert has been moved back a week to Monday, April 21, at 7 p.m. in the CHS auditorium. The concert had been scheduled for Monday, but was moved back because of a schedule conflict.

AUBURN DRIVER HITS DEER

Victor R. Ometu, Auburn, was unhurt Sunday when the 2012 Nissan Altima he was driving collided with a deer on Highway 26. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Ometu was driving westbound at 7:55 p.m. when the deer came out of the ditch on the westbound side of the highway and collided with the car about 1.2 miles west of LaCrosse.

DOUGHERTY AGAIN BALKS

William P. Dougherty, 30, again refused to enter a plea Friday when he appeared in court for his arraignment after being allowed a one week extension. Friday’s hearing was scheduled after Dougherty on March 28 balked when his name was called on the docket.

Dougherty faces charges of manufacturing marijuana and possession of marijuana with intent to deliver. The charges follow a warrant search last September when agents from the federal Drug Enforcement Agency and the local Quad Cities Drug Task Force allege they found 44 marijuana plants in a grow operation on property Dougherty had rented on Carothers Road west of Pullman.

Arrest reports said 32 of the plants were located in a temporary greenhouse Dougerty had located on the property.

Last week Judge David Frazier allowed Dougherty one more week to enter a plea to the charges. The judge rejected a motion Dougherty had filed which contended the superior court lacked any jurisdiction to try the charges against him. Dougherty Friday continued to challenge the jurisdiction of the court. He said he didn’t want to have a court appointed attorney because he didn’t want to take the county’s money.

Judge Frazier opted to enter a not guilty plea on Dougherty’s behalf and scheduled him for a June 16 trial date. County Defense Attorney Steve Martonick was appointed to represent Dougherty.

After the agents raided the Carothers Road property last September, prosecution of the charges was turned over to U.S. District Court in Spokane. Federal prosecutors decided not to file charges against Dougherty. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Dan LeBeau filed the two charges in superior court, and a subpoena was served on Dougherty to appear in court March 28 for a first appearance on the charges. Judge Frazier at that time, after ordering Dougherty to come to the attorneys’ table or face arrest, allowed him another week to respond with a plea.

END HOME

MONITORING

Josh Garrett, 24, Yakima, was ordered to report back to jail Friday after the court ordered an end to an electronic home monitoring sentence he had been assigned. Court records show Garrett was arrested in Yakima March 23 after he failed to comply with home monitoring regulations.

According to a narrative from the Yakima County office, Garrett failed to return home after being allowed to go to Wenatchee to work at a dance club. The narrative relates repeated calls made by monitoring staffers in Yakima to locate Garrett when he failed to log in at Yakima at the appointed time after working at the Wenatchee club. At one point, according to the narrative, Garrett faced potential escape charges.

Garrett pleaded guilty Jan. 17 to a charge of possession of cocaine which dated back to 2011. He was sentenced to 90 days, but allowed to undergo the home monitoring at Yakima. Friday he was ordered to serve the 35 days remaining on the sentence after credit for time served. He will also be allowed to convert 30 days of the remaining sentence with community service work.

‘GHOST HUNTERS’ ARRESTED

Colfax police and deputies responding to a report of possible trespassing at the St. Ignatius Manor Tuesday morning, April 1, located three men who explained they were ghost hunters and later arrested two of them who allegedly were wanted on felony warrants out of Spokane.

Chief Rick McNannay said they received a report at about 11:55 a.m. that residents of the area spotted three men walking toward St. Ignatius. The caller said the trio appeared to be carrying bolt cutters and that they may attempt to enter the building.

Officers found the trio sitting on the grass on the north side of the building. They explained they were visiting from Spokane and were ghost hunters.

Two of the men who were determined to be wanted on outstanding felony warrants were Joseph A. Bolon, 46, and Alexander Mangarella, 21.

BLOW DART

SENTENCE

Joseph B. Gillies, 18, Tacoma, was sentenced to 30 days in jail Friday morning, April 4, after he pleaded guilty to two counts of fourth degree assault involving use of a blow dart. Gillies entered his pleas following a plea bargain agreement which reduced the assault charges to fourth degree.

Gillies was first arrested in Ellensburg where he was a suspect in another blow dart assault case.

According to the report on the Pullman arrest, Gillies hit two pedestrians in Pullman with blow darts after shooting out the window of a car the weekend of Jan. 11-12.

The report said Gillies came to Pullman to visit friends who were WSU students who reside at Duncan Dunn Dormitory.

Prosecutor Denis Tracy told the court neither of the two people hit by darts in Pullman required medical treatment and restitution payments were not required.

Pullman police before the arrest posted surveillance photos in an attempt to identify Gillies. In Ellensburg police also had surveillance photos which were used to identify the suspect.

Gillies told the court Friday that he realized he had made a huge mistake by shooting the blow darts at people. He said he realizes now “it was a stupid thing to do.”

Gillies was sentenced to 364 days in jail with all but 30 days suspended. He was ordered to spend the next two days in jail and work off the remaining 28 days of the jail time with public service work.

LAZCANO DEFENSE FEES

An order for payment of public funds for services incurred for the defense of Daniel Lazcano was approved end of March by Spokane Superior Court Judge Maryann Moreno who presided at Lazcano’s trial last December in Spokane.

Defense Attorney Eric Christianson filed a motion to exceed the $3,000 limit allowed earlier for hiring of expert services in presenting the defense.

Daniel Lazcano was convicted by a Spokane County jury of first degree murder Dec. 18, 2013. Judge Moreno sentenced him to 27 years in prison Jan. 31, 2014.

Fees approved for defense service included Columbia International Forensic Laboratory, Newport, $3,392; Terry Cochran of Spokane, court reporter, $633; Dr. Carl Wigren, $4,917, and Spokane Legal Copy, $709.

Christianson after the sentencing said he planned to appeal the conviction, but Judge Moreno rejected a motion to release Lazcano pending a decision on the appeal.

C OF C

TASTING TICKETS

Tickets are now on sale for the 14th annual Chamber of Commerce wine and micro beer tasting auction Friday, April 25, at Hill Ray Plaza beginning at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at Rosauer’s, Lube Plus and the chamber office. Tickets are $20, but they can be purchased at the door for $25. The event is one of the major fund raisers for the chamber.

DINNER,

AUCTION AT GOLF COURSE

Colfax Golf Club will have a steak dinner and auction Saturday, April 12, with a social hour and silent auction beginning at 5 p.m. The live auction and dinner will follow. This is one of the major fund raising events for the Colfax Golf Foundation which will use the proceeds for purchase of new equipment at the course. Everyone is invited to participate.

POT LOTTERY DATE SET

A report April 2 by the Washington State Liquor Control Board said the lottery process for selecting applicants for retail marijuana license sale will be April 21-25. The state limits licenses by county with a total of 334 for the state.

The limit for Whitman County has been placed at four retail outlets with three of them in Pullman. The liquor board report said they plan to post a list of applicants according to the outcome of the lottery by May 2.

Applicants have been required to document eligibility by verification that they are 21 or older and have Washington state residency. Applicants are required to pass an investigation on criminal history and financial status. They have also been required to show that they have a location for their business if granted a license.