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.

CAMERAS LINE COURTROOM

Most of the people present for Monday afternoon’s first appearance in court by Moscow murder suspect John Lee were reporters and photographers. Four mounted television cameras were in place along one side of the courtroom with news photographers also standing and seated in front with reporters.

Lee made a quick entrance into the court room and sat without comment next to his court-appointed defense attorney.

The center aisle was eliminated when spectator benches in the courtroom were pushed together to make room for the cameras. At least one TV crew, from Spokane Channel 4, was on location in front of the courthouse before 8 a.m.

SPIKE STRIPS NOT USED IN COLFAX

Some of the initial reports of Saturday afternoon’s chase said Colfax Police put out spike strips to stop the 2009 Honda which was being pursued northbound from Pullman to Colfax at speeds of up to 100 mph. Accounts said the suspect, John Lee, avoided the strips as he continued northbound through Colfax on Highway 195.

Colfax Chief Rick McNannay said police here did not have time to get the strips in place. The officer on duty was able to get to the south city limits on 195, but they opted to not put out the strips because vehicles usually travel some distance after hitting the spikes. That could have brought the Honda to a stop in the middle of Colfax. McNannay also noted police were concerned that the suspect was armed with guns.

McNannay was off duty and driving his own truck at the time.

Whitman County deputies and WSP Troopers attempted to clear traffic from Main Street while the chase went through town. It ended south of Steptoe where Lee lost control of the Honda and slid off the highway.

SURVEY RETURNS SOUGHT

Colfax residents are urged to return the survey forms which were mailed out by the city to get pubic participation for the next 20-year Colfax Comprehensive plan. A total of 2006 survey forms were sent out Dec. 29 at a cost of approximately $500.

The mailing list included residents on rural routes outside the city limits so the total mailing exceeds the number of households in the city. However, the survey is intended to include “stakeholders” which includes visitors, business owners and others.

The survey includes five questions about how residents can be contacted with the progress of the plan. It also asks residents to compare a 2006 mission statement with a proposed amended statement.

Residents are asked to be included on the 2035 email list.

WINDOW CUT

AT EVENTS

ON MAIN

Colfax Police Tuesday morning responded to a report of a window which was damaged in the front of Events on Main. A round hole with a diameter of approximately six inches was left at the bottom of the window. The circular cut of glass was tilted inside. The hole was believed to be done with a glass cutter.

Last Friday, police responded to a report that a rock had been thrown at the front of the business. The rock apparently missed the window and struck the stucco-covered wall below.

Friday’s report noted the police department had received an earlier report of the windows being targeted at Events on Main.

PULLMAN DRIVER HURT

Quentin Zumhofe was injured early Sunday morning in a one-car accident on Highway 195 near mile marker 50 north of Steptoe. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Zumhofe was driving a 2008 Ford Edge northbound at 2:30 a.m. when it went off the roadway on the northbound side, down a hill and rolled onto its top in a field.

REYNOLDS PLEADS GUILTY

Dennis Reynolds, 59, Steptoe, pleaded guilty in superior court Friday morning to an amended charge of viewing pictures of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Reynolds was originally charged Aug. 27 with possession and dealing of pornographic material in a case which evolved from a Kootenai County investigation. Participants were traced through computer identification, Spokane County Deputy Prosecutor Patrick Johnson told the court .

Sentencing on the conviction was scheduled for Feb. 20 with a pre-sentencing report ordered. Judge David Frazier revoked Reynolds’ pre-trial release and ordered him to report to jail to begin serving time.

NUISANCE

ORDINANCE PENDING

A draft of a proposed nuisance ordinance which deals with weeds, inoperative cars, rubbish and unfit buildings was presented to the city council Dec. 7 for consideration.

City Administrator Mike Rizzitiello said the proposed bill has been designed to be used when the city receives a complaint on a probable nuisance.

The city administrator said much of the language in the nuisance ordinance chapter came from the City of Ritzville. He worked on the ordinance proposal with John Kragt, the new city attorney who also serves as attorney for Ritzville.

The purpose of the proposed ordinance is to maintain a safe and healthy environment for residents in Colfax.

The ordinance calls for a code enforcement officer to be designated to administer the law. The code officer would be designated by the police chief, city administrator or the mayor.

The draft includes provisions for voluntary compliance and corrections agreements which can be negotiated by the code enforcement officer with the property owner or occupant.

Also included are sections which allow the city to order abatement of a nuisance or proceed with city action to abate the nuisance with the property owner to pay for costs. It carries a provision for placing a lien on property as a means of recovering abatement costs.

RELEASE AFTER WARRANT ARREST

Richard Lee-Waddell, 23, Dusty, was allowed release from jail Friday morning in superior court after being arrested on a warrant when he failed to appear for a hearing on compliance with making payments on restitution.

Lee-Waddell was reported to be $400 overdue on making $100 monthly payments on restitution. Total amount in restitution he has been ordered to pay is $62,977.

Lee-Waddell was convicted last Feb. 5 of reckless driving after reaching a plea agreement in the case involving a collision of the car he was driving with a sheriff’s patrol car driven by Deputy Jody Hamilton in September of 2012. A trial on original charges from the collision in October of 2013 ended with a hung jury.

Lee-Waddell’s attorney told the court Friday he was unaware of the Jan. 7 hearing date. Judge pro-tem Gary Libey allowed Lee-Waddell release from jail and re-scheduled the restitution hearing for Jan. 27.

CITY UTILITY

BILL HIKE

Colfax residents will see a hike in their water/sewer bills which will come out at the middle of this month. Basic charge for household meters will be increased by $1.30 to $24.50. The rate for volume will increase by three cents per 100 cubic feet.

Base rate for sewer will increase by 80 cents to $26.20.

The rate increases this year are the last step in a five-year plan which was adopted after the conclusion of a rate study. The $24.50 base water fee for 2015 compares with a $21.70 base rate when the five-year plan was installed in 2011.

Water bills are slated to be mailed out Jan. 17.

HIGHWAY ICE TAKES TOLL

Robert R. Glaspie, Pomeroy, was unhurt last Thursday morning, Jan. 8, when he lost control of the 2002 Chevrolet Impala he was driving on Highway 194 which had ice on the road surface.

Glaspie was driving northbound at 9:10 a.m. when the Impala went out of control on a curve and slid into the guardrail on the right hand side of the road near mile marker three.

HOSPITAL GOES ON LOCKDOWN

Whitman Hospital was placed on lockdown status for approximately an hour last Tuesday, Jan. 6, after receiving what was believed to have been a call which was possibly threatening. Exterior doors of the hospital were locked and Colfax police were called to check the perimeter of the building.

The person who made the call was located by police who determined he was not threatening the security of the hospital, according to Police Chief Rick McNannay.

FOUR CAR PROWL CHARGES

Four charges of vehicle prowling were filed Jan. 7 in superior court against Daniel Can, 20, Pullman. Can had been summoned to appear in superior court Jan. 23.

According to the Pullman Police report, officers early Nov. 7 received a report from a resident on NE Merman Drive who said he saw a man entering several vehicles in a parking lot in that area.

The suspect was located in an apartment where the police report alleged he had deposited items taken from the vehicles. The resident of the apartment reportedly told an officer Can had taken the items from the cars and brought them to the apartment. The suspect does not reside at the apartment, according to the report.

The report said at one point in the arrest, officers learned that Can had attempted to exit the apartment by hanging off a balcony and dropping to the balcony of the apartment below.

Among items alleged stolen was a large amount of equipment for playing lacrosse which was believed to have been stolen from a 2005 Subaru. Value of the equipment was approximately $1,600.

Can also faces one charge of second degree theft.

SOLIMINE

ELECTED

PRO-TEM

Colfax Councilwoman Jeannette Solimine was elected mayor pro-tem Monday at the city council’s first meeting of the year. She takes over the pro-tem position from Councilman Al Vorderbrueggen.

Solimine was elected to the council in 2005 and began service that year because she was elected to a vacant seat. The mayor pro-tem presides at council sessions when the mayor is absent.

Members of the council also kept their same committee assignments for the coming year. They are as follows:

Finance: Vorderbrueggen, Tom Huntwork and Steve Bretveld.

Personnel: Huntwork, Steve Holberg and Whitney Aguilar.

Public works: Al Kackman, Bretveld and Solimine.

Public safety: Solimine, Holberg and Aguilar.

COLFAX

VEHICLE PROWLS

Colfax police were called to investigate a report of vehicle prowls Monday, Jan. 5, at Harrison Electric on Sumner Street in north Colfax. Windows on two of the Harrison vehicles had been broken out to gain entry and tools were reported missing.

Colfax police Jan. 7 also received a report of theft of a trailer for transporting cars from a residence on Upper A Street in Colfax.

GLADISH

PROGRAMS AHEAD

Friends of Gladish in Pullman have been awarded a $7,000 grant from the Inland Northwest Community Foundation to offer more cultural events to the area.

Upcoming events now scheduled at the center in Pullman will be a From the Heart dinner show Feb. 13 beginning at 6 p.m. in the View Room and a jazz night concert March 28 in Domey Auditorium.