Bulletin Column

Escaping the noise?

A peacock crosses Upper Union Flat Road on the Fourth of July.

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.

CITY ALREADY HAS UTV LAW

After considering enacting a law which would allow Ultra Terrain Vehicles to operate on city streets, Colfax city council members were officially informed Monday night that the city already has a version of the ordinance on the books. Police Chief Rick McNannay earlier had submitted a report that the state ordinance for UTVs was actually on the books because the city several years ago adopted the state’s Model Traffic Ordinance. Any subsequent changes, including state approval for the UTV use inside boundaries of incorporated towns, automatically gets included in the city books.

Mayor Todd Vanek relayed McNannay’s research to the city council Monday night. The mayor explained the state’s lengthy provision for UTV use includes a lot of conditions and limits, and the city council can change or exclude some of those if they decide to do so.

One remaining task will be to formalize a zone for golf cart operators. The state does allow golf cart zones, but towns are required to designate the boundaries of the zones. To comply with the state law, the city will need to post signs designating its zone. The council at previous sessions discussed establishing a zone in the North Flat section of town which adjoins the Colfax Golf course.

City council members last night requested a briefing on the state provisions at the next meeting.

Councilman Jim Kackman noted from the outset his intent was to allow the side-by-side UTVs to be used on city streets if they are licensed, insured and operated by a licensed driver.

Council members were still uncertain about the status of smaller ATV vehicles including those which are used for snow removal in the downtown area in winter time.

FRANZ CHARGES DROPPED

Two charges against Lee Roy Franz of Colfax were ordered dismissed last Thursday in superior court after a review of a competency report from Eastern State Hospital. Franz was assigned to the care of the state DSHS for evaluation to permit filing of a petition for a civil commitment.

Franz, 58, was arrested in the early morning hours May 24 on the sidewalk in front of the courthouse after a short search by Colfax police. He was sought after officers investigated a report that he had assaulted a staff member at Paul’s Place in Colfax. The investigation report said the alleged victim of the assault had locked herself in the nurse’s station.

Franz had also been charged with another assault in Colfax April 8. That charge involved an alleged assault of a staff member at the emergency room at Whitman Hospital.

The June 20 examination report said Franz has been admitted to Eastern State Hospital 13 times. The report said his competency can’t be restored within a time allowable by law. He is unable to understand the charges against him or assist his defense attorney in the event one or both of the assault charges went to trial.

CHANNEL CLEANUP DELAY

Removal of rocks from the S. Fork of the Palouse River Channel in Colfax is not expected until late August. City crews started to clean up the channel June 18, but the job was shut down when the city was advised it needed to obtain a hydraulic project permit from the State Dept. of Fish and Wildlife.

The city has since been advised that it cannot obtain the permit until probably late August after the hot weather increases the channel water temperature to a point where fish vacate the channel section of the river in search of cooler water, according to crew member Matt Hammer

The rock debris in the channel has become a concern for Concrete River Festival planners. One of the signature events of the festival last year was a run down the channel from beneath the bridge on S. Main downstream to the entry road near Railroad Ave.

The rocks are in the channel downstream from the outlet of the storm drains from Canyon Street. Before the cleanup job was shut down, city crew members were able to grade the rock from one side of the channel, and one race possibility could be to mark off the channel course to avoid the debris deposits.

CYCLE RIDER INJURED

A Spokane woman last Thursday sustained serious injuries, including multiple fractures, when the motorcycle she was riding collided with a pickup truck on the Endicott Road just west of the fairgrounds. The injured rider, Betty Jo Bieker, 50, was transported by ambulance to Whitman Hospital and later transported by MedStar to Providence Sacred Heart in Spokane.

According to the accident report, Bieker attempted to enter the Endicott Road while riding a 2002 Harley Davidson motorcycle. She pulled out from the McGregor Co. and Mockonema and failed to yield to a 1994 GMC truck which was being driven westbound on the Endicott Road at 11:30 a.m. by Jay Stanard of Colfax.

FIREWORKS HIT DIKE

Fire crews responded to a fire which ignited in juniper trees along the flood control dike at the north end of Schmuck Park. The fire burned trees along a short section of the dike north of the restrooms. Fireworks were believed to have ignited the trees. A pumper truck and two tenders responded to the scene. The fire response lasted over an hour.

LOG HOUSE COST: $500,000

A building permit was issued July 2 for construction of the log house on Red Tail Ridge for Carl and Marne Brenne of Kent. Plans for the house had been submitted earlier to the building inspector’s office. The price tag is believed to have set a record for a single residence in Colfax.

Building permit fee for the house is $5,340 for the city. The house will be located at 411 Red Tail Ridge Road.

ARRESTS FOLLOW DRUG SEARCHES

Theodore McGuire, 28, LaCrosse, was booked into the Whitman County jail July 3 after a warrant search of his residence in the 200 block of S. Star in LaCrosse. According to the report by Sheriff Brett Myers, the warrant was served at McGuire’s residence in LaCrosse after a warrant was served at a residence in Clarkston earlier in the day by members of the Quad Cities Drug Task Force.

The report said the two warrant searches were related. Two Clarkston residents, Jessica Young, 26, and Donald Hume, 35, were booked into the Asotin County jail on probable charges of possession of methamphetamine and cocaine with intent to deliver and felony possession of firearms. The report said four ounces of packaged methamphetamine, two ounces of packaged cocaine and two handguns were located in the Clarkston residence in the 1700 block of 18th Ave.

The report said a half ounce of cocaine, scales and packaging materials were located in the subsequent search of the McGuire residence in LaCrosse. McGuire was allowed pre-trial release on his own recognizance after a first appearance in court.

92 GUNS

CONFISCATED

Colfax Police seized 92 guns from the R. Mike Bohlmann residence on Sumner after Bohlmann was arrested and jailed Tuesday, July 1. The guns have been logged as evidence in the case.

At his first appearance in court when bond for pre-trial release was set at $500,000, Bohlmann was ordered to not possess guns in the event he posts bond and is allowed to return to his residence.

Bohlmann, 50, has been charged with three counts of assault for allegedly pointing a pistol at three residents in the Morton Street neighborhood at the Sumner Street intersection.

SMOKE BOMB RECOVERY

The Bulletin has learned that police Wednesday night, July 2, conducted a recovery operation for what was described as a smoke bomb. Police had obtained empty produce boxes from Rosauer’s to confiscate the weapons from the Bohlmann residence. They returned unused boxes to Rosauer’s but later returned to check out the boxes. Informed some of the excess boxes had been loaned to another customer who had put them in the back of her car, officers proceeded there to recover the smoke bomb.

DEER CRASH

ON 195

Michela Ciccarelli, Pullman, sustained possible minor injuries July 1 when she lost control of a 2003 Subaru Forester after attempting to avoid a deer on Highway 195 north of Pullman. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Ciccarelli was driving southbound at 9:20 p.m., and swerved to avoid the deer which was in the roadway two miles north of Pullman. The Forester over-corrected, crossed the centerline and rolled on its left side in the ditch on the northbound side of the road.