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.

CENTER PROJECT ADVANCES

In a report to Colfax City Council Dec. 15 on the progress of the Center project, Whitman County Library Director Kristie Kirkpatrick said the project to date had received $161,719 in revenue. The Center has also received $13,300 in in-kind donations.

Kirkpatrick said the budget goal of the project had been set at $504,450.

The official name for the Center is the Bettie Steiger Enrichment Center. Initial revenue to purchase the building came from an $80,000 donation in memory of Mrs. Steiger. Another $15,000 has been donated this year by her spouse, Donald Steiger, who was raised in this area.

Kirkpatrick said Whitman County Library Friends Foundation funds of more than $13,000 are included in the revenue with $3,307 already spent for interior work on the building.

An Avista Foundation grant for $10,000 will be used for the building’s facade next year. A $1,100 donation from the Athenaeum Club and $29,087 in Whitman County economic development funds have also been used for the project.

In-kind donations in the tabulation include $2,200 from Tom Maul Architecture & Design, $1,000 in brickwork from Chris Sapp, $1,000 in labor by the Downtown Association, and $10,000 in Port of Whitman services for marketing and assistance on a plan for businesses.

Funds were requested from the Department of Commerce to fund space modifications and other items in support of business startups which could be located in the center.

BRICK REMOVAL SOUGHT

Kirkpatrick Friday issued a call for someone to haul the brick from the wall excavation for the door being constructed between the library and the Center. She estimates four pickup loads of brick, with approximately half of them unbroken, are now in a pile in a back room at the center. The library hopes to have one hauler remove the whole pile. The bricks will be exchanged for the loading and hauling service.

ALLEGE

FRATERNITY ASSAULT

Chance Faye Cooney, 20, Moscow, was released on her own recognizance Dec. 15 after being booked into jail here late Saturday on probable charges of burglary, theft and assault. A Pullman Police report said Cooney was arrested after she entered the room of her ex-boyfriend at the Kappa Sigma fraternity house in Pullman. The police report alleges Cooney used a key to enter the room and confronted the ex-boyfriend and a female who was in the room.

The report alleges Cooney took clothing items and a dog from the fraternity room. The report said Cooney later returned the dog to the fraternity, but she later returned to the room for another confrontation and took the dog again along with other items. She later told officers she took the dog because she didn’t believe it was getting the proper care, the report said.

When the investigating officer contacted the suspect in Moscow, she told them she didn’t want to return to Washington to face potential charges. She later relented and was interviewed by a Pullman officer and booked into the jail here at 10:17 p.m. Saturday, according to the report.

FIREMEN’S TOY

BOX REPORT

Between 230 and 250 children were served over three days of operation of the Firemen’s Toy Box at the Colfax Fire station. Approximately $9,000 worth of toys were purchased with donations and placed on tables at the fire station for families to make their selections.

Remaining toys have been left out in the event families need last-minute help before Christmas.

TRIAL SET

IN RAPE CASE

A Feb. 17 trial date was set for Rudy S. Aladina, 24, Pullman, after he pleaded guilty in superior court Friday to a charge of second degree rape.

Aladina was booked into the jail here Sunday evening after an investigation by Pullman Police. His bail was set at $25,000 for pre-trial release, and the court Friday morning denied a motion to reduce the bail after Prosecutor Denis Tracy told the court the suspect, who is a foreign student at WSU, threatened to return to his home in the Congo while he was being taken into custody.

According to the arrest report, Aladina is charged with raping a woman at his apartment where they went after meeting while dancing at a College Hill bar.

The police report said initial contact on the case came from Pullman Regional Hospital where a rape examination had been conducted on the victim. The victim later identified a photograph of the suspect. Also, the report said part of the investigation involved checking out the source of a message sent to the victim from the suspect after the alleged rape.

LIBRARY DOOR EXCAVATION

Excavation for a door to connect the Center with the Whitman County Library was finished Dec. 17. The project encountered unexpected difficulty in the plan to provide a link between the former Hamilton Drug building and the library building.

Five rows of bricks were removed from the wall between the two buildings. The crew installed a steel framework to contain the bricks. Steel plates were inserted through the walls and welded on each side to secure the frame before the five rows of bricks were excavated. A temporary cover has been clamped to the top of the frame.

A large pile of bricks, which were removed from the wall, has been temporarily deposited in a back room at the Center.

A door entry has been constructed on the library side of the wall excavation. Bricks have been left in part of the wall space now under the excavation frame, and they will be used to support a window installation between the two buildings. A standard sized door will be installed in the other half of the opening.

The crew has determined the floor of the library is actually higher than the floor of the Hamilton building, and a slight grade ramp will be required between the two buildings.

Tim Sullivan of Sullivan Construction has the contract on the project which was estimated to cost $10,500. Work on the project began just about the time the Chamber of Commerce launched the Christmas Festival of Trees in the Center building. Viewing of the trees was conducted during evening hours, and the work on the wall was separated from the Center by a temporary partition.

Library Director Kristie Kirkpatrick told the city council Monday night the door will provide better access to the Center which at present is not staffed at most times during business hours. Among plans for the Center is relocation of the Chamber of Commerce office into the building to provide more hours of staffing during the day.

FIRE CREW RESPONSE

A Colfax fire truck responded at 8:31 p.m. Dec. 17 to a report of a fire at a house on Vista Point Drive. The alarm was caused by a roll of paper towels which accidentally caught on fire. Minor damage was sustained, and blowers were used to clear smoke from the residence.

Chief Clark Capwell said they were unable to determine what caused the paper roll to ignite. He said he extinguished the fire by moving the roll to the kitchen sink and dousing it.

FIREWORKS

ON LIST

After extending credits for volunteer work on last Saturday’s Christmas Festival at the Dec. 15 city council session, council members noted the absence of fireworks after the parade. They said some people who had turned out to see the parade were disappointed when the event closed without a fireworks display as it had in previous years.

A fireworks display was dropped from the list of Christmas events because of a lack of funds. Mayor Vanek said they are now working on a plan to generate funds for a display in the future.

ALLEGE CURFEW VIOLATION

The Colfax youth who was convicted in last spring’s school gun case has been summoned to appear in juvenile court on two allegations of probation violation. He has been charged with violating curfew by leaving his house late at night and associating with another juvenile offender during the time he was out of his residence.

The youth was convicted in juvenile court after he brought a gun to Colfax High School. The gun turned out to be a pellet gun.

TRIAL SET IN PORN CASE

A Feb. 17 trial date has been scheduled for Andre Samuel DeJesus after he pleaded not guilty Dec. 11 on a charge of possession of child pornography. DeJesus, 26, Pullman, is one of two suspects summoned to appear in court after charges were filed Nov. 20.

The other suspect, William Feeney, 32, Endicott, failed to appear. A bench warrant for his arrest had been ordered, but the court has since issued a modified summons for Feeney, who is now in Caldwell, Idaho, to report to court.

Investigation reports filed with the charges alleged the charges stem from an investigation by Homeland Security agents in Spokane who were able to participate in peer-to-peer file sharing of alleged child pornography videos. Search warrants were served on residences of the two suspects.