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.

Bike rodeo at Colfax

Colfax youngsters Saturday turned out for the Colfax Bike Rodeo. The obstacle course was provided by the Whitman County Sheriff’s Department and the Colfax Police Department, Free bike helmets were provided by the Colfax Thrifty Grandmothers. Car seat checks were provided by Whitman Hospital’s Child Passenger Safety Technicians.

SUSPECT

ARRESTED, AGAIN

A second bond of $25,000 for pre-trial release was set in court Monday for Lynette Prewitt, a resident of Kooskia, Idaho, who was originally arrested Feb. 27 on charges of assaulting Washington State Patrol Trooper Bruce Blood at the Horn School Rest Stop along Highway 195 south of Rosalia.

Prewitt was arrested Friday after a warrant had been issued March 17 following her failure to appear in court. She faces charges of third degree assault and obstructing an officer. After her arrest at the rest stop, Prewitt was allowed pre-trial release on a $1,000 bond.

A court order Monday exonerated the first bond after the court determined the bonding company had a role in Prewitt’s arrest Friday.

According to the arrest report, Prewitt became upset when Trooper Blood attempted to arrest the driver of a car in which Prewitt was a passenger.

The report said other motorists at the rest stop helped subdue Prewitt when they saw her assaulting the trooper.

GALLINA

APPOINTED

Scott Gallina, who has served as judge pro-tem for Asotin County district and superior courts, was appointed Friday to the superior court seat for Asotin, Garfield and Columbia counties. The seat was vacated last month by the resignation of Judge William Acey.

Judge Acey, who served in Asotin County for 31 years, also served on the bench here in cases when Judge David Frazier could not preside because of schedule conflicts, recusals or other reasons. Acey resigned last month and announced plans to make his retirement home in Yuma.

Gallina’s appointment was made May 9 by Gov. Jay Inslee who also visited schools and offices in Clarkston the same day, according to a report in the Lewiston Tribune.

Gallina was a former member of the Clark & Feeney Law firm in Lewiston. He is a graduate of Pullman High School, Washington State University and the University of Idaho School of Law. The appointment extends to the end of the year and he plans to file for the seat this week.

BROWN SENTENCE

SUSPENDED

Daquawn Brown, 18, a member of the WSU football team, was sentenced to 180 days in jail, all suspended, after he pleaded guilty to one charge of fourth degree assault May 9 in superior court. A second charge of fourth degree assault was also dismissed under a plea bargain agreement.

Brown was ordered to pay $700 in fines and fees. He was arrested March 7 after he turned himself into the WSU police station. An officer had conducted an investigation the previous week after reports that Brown had hit two people at a “stroll dance” in the WSU Compton Union Building.

The alleged assaults evolved after Brown had been cautioned by another attendee at the dance who alleged Brown had been making sexual gestures behind one of the female dance teams on the floor, according to the arrest report. The report said a “melee” broke out at the dance.

Brown is listed on the WSU football roster as a freshman cornerback from Dorsey High School in Los Angeles.

CORONER REPORTS

SUICIDE

County Coroner Pete Martin Tuesday morning issued a report on the unattended death of William J. Cotterill, 71, Colfax. He determined Mr. Cotterill, who had a history of depression, took his own life by hanging. Police and ambulance crews were called to the residence on Cedar Street May 7 after Mr. Cotterill was discovered in the back yard of the residence.

C of C BOOKS

SEWEDA TALK

Robin Fahle Ohlgren, managing director of the Southeast Washington Economic Development Association, will be guest speaker at the next noon meeting of the Colfax Chamber of Commerce May 20 in the Best Western meeting room. Box lunches from Subway will be served. The session will be open to the public with a reservation deadline set at 2 p.m. Monday, May 19. Call or email the chamber office.

DRUGS SEIZED

AT COLFAX

Two Spokane men were arrested at Colfax by detectives of the Quad Cities Drug Task Force and the Lewiston Police Department May 8 in Colfax. The drugs were allegedly being transported for distribution to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley, according to a report from Sheriff Brett Myers.

Arrested on a probable charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver were Elston L. McPherson, 32, and Jonathan R. Love, 21, both of Spokane.

The arrest report noted officers had received a tip from an informant that the drugs were going to be delivered in the valley in a 2001 Jaguar. The report said officers were tipped off when the Jaguar was leaving Spokane. The car was stopped near the Cedar Street entry on the north flat of Colfax.

Officers seized two pounds of marijuana and 105 grams of hash oil, according to the report.

The arrest report noted McPherson did have a valid medical marijuana certification, but the alleged amount of marijuana discovered exceeded state limits of what he could have in his possession. The report said the two pounds of marijuana was in individual baggies with a quarter of a pound in each bag.

Also, the arrest report said Love had an infant child with him in the vehicle. He was allowed to remain out of custody until the infant’s grandmother could arrive and take possession of the baby.

In a first appearance in court the two were allowed release on their own recognizance. Formal charges have not been filed.

SECOND FLIRT

THEFT SENTENCE

Kelli Lynn Smith, 20, the other defendant in the theft case involving garments and other items taken from the Flirt clothing store in Pullman, pleaded guilty Friday morning in superior court to a charge of second degree theft. Smith, who has just completed her junior year at Washington State University, received the same sentence as her co-defendant, but second-degree theft is a felony conviction.

She was ordered to serve 14 days in jail, pay $800 in fines and fees and pay $6,155 in restitution to the store operation. The restitution was ordered paid jointly with co-defendant Alayna Wagers who pleaded guilty to an amended charge of misdemeanor theft last week.

Senior Deputy Prosecutor Dan Le Beau told the court Smith was in charge of inventory control at the store and took items that she intentionally kept off the inventory list.

Le Beau read a letter from the store’s owner who also stated surveillance cameras at the store showed Smith in some instances closed the store or ignored customers while taking the items.

Smith in her statement to the court admitted she took advantage of the situation when she was working alone at the store. She told Judge Pro-tem Gary Libey she was “beyond sorry” for her actions.

Libey said he considered Smith’s theft from her employer as a “rotten” thing to do.

After Smith and Wagers were apprehended by Pullman Police last August they returned 10 bags of clothing to the store and each paid $5,000 to cover the damages.

MARIJUANA BUST

NEAR DUSTY

Agents with the Quad Cities Drug Task Force located 410 marijuana plants at a residence on Highway 127 south of Dusty May 7, according to Sheriff Brett Myers who also serves as the task force commander. Warrants were served at the residence near Dusty and at a residence in the 200 Block on Timothy in Pullman. Myers’ report said the two warrants were related to the same investigation.

Arrested were Peter Manning, 49, Dusty, and Mark Brown, 46, Pullman. Both were arrested on probable charges of manufacture and distribution of marijuana.

Myers said a small amount of packaged methamphetamine was discovered during the warrant search of the Pullman residence, and Brown was also arrested on a probable charge of possession of a controlled substance.

In addition to the marijuana plants, officers located packaging materials, scales and other equipment associated with the manufacture and distribution of marijuana during the search at the Highway 127 residence, the sheriff said.

CUBS PLANT SHRUBS

Cub Scouts from Colfax Packs 595 and 550 planted shrubs May 7 on the east hill above Park Street. A total of 20 volunteers, including cubs and adults, planted the snowberry bushes as part of a project to reduce runoff from the fields. The group planted approximately 150 of the shrubs which have been provided to the Whitman Conservation District through a grant.

McDONALD PARK FUNDS

Colfax City Council May 5 received a report on the funding needs for McDonald Park. The McDonald operations are conducted by a joint city-school steering committee with each entity budgeting $15,000 per year for maintenance and operation.

Councilman Jim Kackman said the funding format had been in place for 13 years and the costs of operation have increased to the point where the park budget had been stretched.

Kackman noted the park gets heavy use during the year and generates some income but the costs of maintenance have increased. A motion was made to add $5,000 to the city’s share of the funding on condition that the school district also add a like amount. After more discussion, the council decided to table the motion to allow time to check out whether the city could help provide more in-kind maintenance services for the park.

Councilman Al Vorderbrueggen said the McDonald steering committee over the years was able to set aside some funds out of the $30,000 budgeted revenue for equipment purchases and improvement, but increases in operating costs over the years have curtailed the ability to set aside some of the funds.

Kackman said the $5,000 bump in the city’s contribution was proposed at this time because school district officials are beginning work on their annual budget. The school district would like to know what the city decided when they set their share.

COLLECTOR COINS MISSING

Deputies responded to a report of a suspected burglary of coins from a residence on Highway 23 just east of St. John. The coin collection included state quarters and the new presidential dollar coins. Value of the coins was estimated at $1,000. The owner of the property believed the burglary happened between 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. May 7 according to the report by Sheriff Brett Myers.

Deputies May 6 responded to a report of another burglary at the Malden-Pine City Gun Club. Approximately 20 boxes of shotgun shells were reported missing along with food items from the freezer.

TRUCK ROLLS

ON HIGHWAY 27

Nicholas VanArsdel, Pullman, was unhurt early May 7 when he lost control of a 2004 Ford pickup truck which went off Highway 27 and rolled onto its top four miles north of Pullman. According to the Washington State Patrol report, VanArsdel was driving northbound at 2:29 a.m. and failed to negotiate a curve to the left. The truck went across the highway and rolled into the westbound ditch.