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.

VOTE RETURN AT 39.2 PERCENT

Tally of returned ballots for the general election was at 7,849 as of Monday night for a tally of 39.28 percent return. An estimated 900 to 1,000 more ballots arrived at the elections office Tuesday morning. As of the Monday count, 12,139 ballots were still out, according to Election Supervisor Debbie Hooper.

Colfax DRIVER HURT

Mark J. Calhoun, Colfax, sustained facial injuries when he lost control of a 2000 Nissan Altima on Highway 272 four miles east of Colfax. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Calhoun was driving eastbound at 7:25 a.m. and lost control of the Altima while rounding a curve to the right in the rain. The car crossed the centerline and came to a halt in a field on the north side of the highway.

Colfax OKAYS POT ZONING

Colfax city council Monday night approved zoning revisions which can be applied to applicants for marijuana production and sales under the state’s new recreational marijuana law.

The same zoning proposal had been introduced at the Oct. 20 city council session, but it was tabled until a formal ordinance hearing could be conducted. Monday night’s approval of the ordinance followed a report from City Manager Michael Rizzitiello that a formal hearing had been conducted by the town’s planning commission prior to the city council session.

The zoning provision designates one location in Colfax, the area between the S. Fork of the Palouse River and Lower A Street, where marijuana could be raised and processed. Another site, along the Walla Walla Highway, was identified as the potential site for retail sales of marijuana, although that site cannot be used at present because of residential units in the zone.

Monday night’s city vote on the zoning revision was delayed for several minutes before Councilwoman Whitney Aguilar went ahead and made the motion. It was seconded by Councilman Jim Kackman and approved with a 6-0 vote.

City Attorney Bruce Ensley advised the council the move by cities and towns to apply the state’s new marijuana law under zoning codes could one day be tested in court.

The city manager noted the Colfax zoning ordinance was modeled after versions from Kalama and Castle Rock.

FIVE-YEAR-OLD BUMPED

Colfax police and an ambulance responded to a report of a youngster being hit by a car in the 600 block of Southview at 7:35 p.m. Halloween night.

The five-year-old girl had darted in front of a 2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer which was being driven by Justin Taylor, 24, Pullman.

The ambulance crew checked out the youngster and determined she was not injured.

Chief Rick McNannay said the girl, who had been trick-or-treating with her mother, possibly became confused after a westbound vehicle passed in front of her and she darted into the street in front of the eastbound Trailblazer. McNannay noted Taylor was driving at a very slow rate of speed.

The chief said the Halloween night accident has led him to consider a one-way traffic pattern for the Valleyview/Southview area atop the Thorn Street hill. The neighborhood traditionally attracts a large crowd of trick or treaters. A one-way posting would send traffic in a loop pattern around the neighborhood.

LANDER

SENTENCE:

84 MONTHS

Walter Lander, 44, Colfax, was sentenced to 84 months in prison Friday afternoon on a conviction for residential burglary. The 84 months was the maximum Lander could have received under the state’s standard sentencing range.

A pre-sentence report listed 12 prior convictions for Lander with nine of them in King County between 1989 and 2001 and three in Whitman County. He was convicted last year of a forgery charge here involving a check washing scheme in which checks were taken from the mail in Pullman and the names of the payees altered.

In the plea bargain agreement, Prosecutor Denis Tracy also listed two federal court convictions which did not apply under the state’s standard range but could be considered by the judge at sentencing.

Lander pleaded guilty Oct. 24 to a charge of burglarizing a residence on Glenwood Road June 22. He was apprehended when the owner of the stolen property discovered some of the items offered for sale on Craig’s list.

After being convicted on the forgery charge last year, Lander was allowed a Drug Offender Sentencing Alternative option and sent to Spokane for in-patient treatment.

A notice of violation of the DOSA program was filed with the court May 23. It included four violations with two alleged uses of drugs listed. His entry into DOSA treatment was ordered revoked in five different case files as part of the sentencing Friday.

The court Friday waived charging Lander for fees and costs after crediting him with work done at the jail since he has been in custody. He still was ordered to pay $510 restitution to the victims of the burglary.

COURTHOUSE PROJECT ADVANCES

Interior remodeling of the Whitman County Courthouse advanced Friday when crews from Jim Elmer Construction completed work on the first floor restrooms. The crew has advanced to the second floor restrooms which have now been closed.

The project also includes office remodeling to provide lower counter space required under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Also included will be construction of alternative exit doors for offices in the courthouse which presently lack them.

DROP

BREITENBERG CHARGE

The harassment charge against Michael Breitenberg, former resident of Paul’s Place, was officially dismissed Friday in superior court.

Breitenberg had been charged with harassing a staff member at Paul’s Place July 11 when he became upset about restriction on purchasing cigarettes.

He was allowed release from jail last week for transfer to an in-patient treatment facility. Prosecutor Denis Tracy asked the court Friday to drop the criminal charge in the interest of justice.

SCOUTING FOR FOOD STARTS

Colfax Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts Saturday distributed Scouting for Food bags to Colfax houses. Residents are asked to put the bags on their door and porches for collection Saturday morning, Nov. 8. The collection will begin at 9 a.m. Donations will be taken to the Food Pantry in the former Elks Lodge Building.

Among top needs listed by the food pantry are chili, macaroni and cheese, ramen noodles, soups, jello, toothbrushes and toothpaste.

ARREST ON GLASS SMASH REPORT

Grant Burke, 24, was booked into the county jail Friday morning on probable charges of malicious mischief. Colfax police and a sheriff’s deputy responded to the Riverview Apartments after receiving a report that a window had been broken. The glass on a front door at the apartment was allegedly broken and a hole had been punched in a wall.

The alleged property damage reportedly evolved from a domestic violence dispute at the apartment where Burke had been residing.

OCTOBER RAIN TOPS NORM

Rain for the past two weeks pushed the October precipitation over the monthly norm at the NRCS station on the south hill. The above normal reading was the first in six months.

As of Friday morning’s reading, October finished out at 1.24 inches. That topped the 1.20 normal for the station.

The Colfax station booked .35 of an inch on Oct. 29, a total short of some of the heavier rain recorded in the Spokane area. The other big day for the month was .36 for Oct. 23.

The last above-normal month for the Colfax station was in March when 2.19 was received for a .17 gain over the 2.02 normal for March.

October’s gain comes after Colfax received less than half of the norm, .36 compared to .73, for September. The August rainfall total of .11 of an inch compared to a .72 norm.

The normal for November is 2.55 inches.

STUBBLEFIELD’S ARREST

SENTENCE

Brian Navarro-Hunt, 21, a WSU student from Bellevue, was sentenced to a day in jail Friday morning in superior court after pleading guilty to a trespassing charge dating back to a February arrest at Stubblefield’s at Adams Mall on the WSU campus. A second charge of possession of cocaine was dismissed as part of a plea bargain agreement.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Le Beau said the state agreed to drop the cocaine charge because the search procedure used following the suspect’s arrest could have been ruled unconstitutional in a court challenge.

According to the arrest report, campus police were called to Stubblefield’s when Navarro-Hunt was being escorted out of Stubblefield’s. He was ordered to stay out of the campus bar with a trespass warning, but police were called later that night when the bar’s security officers were again escorting him out.

He was arrested, and a police search during the arrest allegedly led to discovery of a container of cocaine on his person.

Navarro-Hunt read a letter of apology to the court and said he had quit drinking which he believed was the cause of his erratic behavior. After hearing the statement, Judge David Fraizer said he believed he had just heard half the story because Navarro-Hunt failed to mention the cocaine.

The one-day in jail was part of a 90-day sentence with the balance suspended during a year of probation. Navarro-Hunt was ordered to pay $700 in fines and fees.

FAIR GETS

PROJECT REPORT

Palouse Empire Fair manager Bob Reynolds Oct. 27 reported to the fair board on installation of a new septic tank and drain field at the fairground. The project was undertaken after the fair sustained a failure of the septic system for the Community Building during the fair.

Reynolds said the fair has had problems with the system for the past two years, but this year the system totally failed. During the run of the fair, officials brought in additional portable rest rooms on the grounds to offset the shutdown.

The cause of the failure was determined to be contraction of the Orangeburg pipe which had been installed in the drainage field years ago.

The fair crew worked with Palouse Rock of Colfax and the county health department to design and install the new field. An additional 2,500 gallon tank was added to the system which already has a 1,000 gallon tank. Five 100-foot drain lines were installed as part of the new system. The drain lines have hood protection over the top and gopher screens installed beneath them.

Installation of the new drain field was done in an emergency mode because the fair had several events, including weddings, booked at the community building in the weeks immediately after the fair.

Cost of the project, approximately $20,000, was paid out of the county’s capital improvement-fund.

The fair manager later in the meeting reported the next big capital project for the grounds will be replacement of the roof surfacing on the community building. That project rates high on the county’s capital expending list, but it might not make the cut this year after commissioners bring the 2015 budget into balance.

Contractors have noted the present epoxy coating on the roof could have a few more years of use with some patching as needed. Preliminary estimate for the project is in the $100,000 range.

FILE MOTION

TO SUPPRESS

A motion to suppress evidence in the child pornography case against Dennis Reynolds, 59, Steptoe, was filed last Wednesday, Oct. 29, in superior court by Defense Attorney Steve Martonick.

Reynolds pleaded not guilty to charges of dealing in depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and possession of the same type of material. He has been scheduled for trial Dec. 15.

A warrant search was conducted on the Reynolds residence June 24 and alleged evidence for the charges was seized.

The defense motion contends the warrant used to conduct the search was invalid because it failed to cite probable cause and search of material at the house was not authorized in the initial warrant. The motion said the warrant did not cite the specific laws of the two charges filed. It also said deputies were authorized to seize computers, videos and other material, but the warrant did not specifically authorize a search of the computers.

According the arrest report, the case evolved from a Kootenai County investigation. Detectives there reportedly told deputies here that investigation of a file sharing network for child pornography included participation from a computer which was traced to Steptoe.

A hearing on the motion has been set for Nov. 14.