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.

TWO HURT IN

S-CURVES AREA

The driver and a passenger were taken by ambulance to Whitman Hospital Saturday afternoon from the scene of an accident on Highway 195 south of Colfax. Breanna R. Benson, Kent, was the driver of the car, and Amber Randall, Covington, was a passenger.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, Benson was driving southbound at 3:25 p.m. in a 2002 Ford Explorer. The Explorer was gaining on a second vehicle, believed to be a red Toyota pickup model from the 1990s which was also headed southbound in the adjacent lane.

The report said the pickup made an abrupt lane change in front of the Explorer, and Benson slammed on the brakes and made an evasive turn to the right. The Explorer struck an embankment, went airborne and then struck a rock barrier which was in front of Huber Action Freight.

The Toyota driver did not stop at the scene and continued southbound. It was believed to be occupied by two males who were wearing baseball caps.

Colfax MAN CHARGED

Ricky Frye, 39, Colfax, has been summoned to appear in court April 10 after charges of possession of methamphetamine and driving under the influence were filed against him Friday in superior court. The charges against Frye stem from an arrest last Sept. 21 by Deputy Michael Jordan.

In his report Deputy Jordan said he was walking into Subway in Colfax that evening and observed a pickup truck being driven in a lurching manner. The driver of the truck, later identified as Frye, was arrested for driving under the influence and a small bag containing methamphetamine was found in his wallet during the arrest, the report said.

BRIDGE WORK

FINISHED

Repair work on the Highway 26 cutoff bridge on North Main at Colfax has been officially finished. Final work on the job involved attaching a metal cyclone style fence to the concrete railing along the sidewalk side of the bridge. The fencing is intended to strengthen the overall railing which had lost segments of concrete over the years.

State officials had been concerned about the ability of the aging rail to keep a vehicle from going off the bridge in the event it went up onto the sidewalk.

The sidewalk, which was first blocked off and later fenced off, is now open for pedestrian use.

SET SIGN

DEDICATION

A dedication ceremony for two “Please Don’t Text and Drive” signs in memory of Colfax High graduate Samuel Thompson, son of Jim and Lisa Thompson of Colfax, was set to be conducted at the Spokane City Public Works Atrium at 1025 W. Broadway at 1 p.m. Wednesday, April 1, in Spokane.

Two signs have been prepared by the state Department of Transportation for posting at the site where Thompson was fatally injured Sept. 12, 2014, in a collision with a semi truck at mile marker 31 on Highway 195 just north of the Albion Road intersection. Thompson was believed to have been texting at the time.

An “In Memory of Samuel Thompson” line will be included on the sign.

These will be the second set of “no texting” signs posted on the state’s highway system. The first signs were posted near Rochester in memory of a girl who was fatally injured in a 2011 accident caused by texting.

TIMELINE ON

195 JOBS

Estimated starting dates for four area projects on Highway 195 have been announced by the district Department of Transportation office.

The paving project from Colfax to the Dry Creek Road intersection is scheduled to begin in mid-June and last eight weeks. Evening and overnight work could be included in the job to help reduce the number of delays for drivers.

The project includes installation of standard sidewalk work on the north end of Main.

The Department of Transportation plans an open house April 23 at the Public Service Building in Colfax so residents can get a look at plans for the project. Bid opening for the project is scheduled for April 8.

The first 195 project, expected to begin in mid- May, will be from the Highway 27 intersection south of Pullman to the Babbitt Road intersection north of the Landfill Road.

Poe Asphalt of Clarkston was the successful bidder on this project with a bid of $1,842,716.

The project is expected to take seven weeks to complete. Drivers should expect delays with flaggers and pilot cars for single-lane alternating traffic

A five-week paving project from Plaza to Cornwall Road is slated to start in mid-July, and a 16-week paving project on 195 from Excelsior Road north to the Interstate 90 interchange is also scheduled to begin in mid-July. The work will be done on concrete panels in the southbound lane. Excelsior Road is six miles south of I-90.

MIXED RULING

ON POT APPEAL

Tyler Markwart, who was convicted by a jury of five marijuana charges on Dec. 13, 2011, made a first appearance in court Monday after a mandate on a District Three Appeals Court ruling was returned here. The district court affirmed three convictions on charges of delivery of a controlled substance but ruled Markwart was entitled to a new trial on the two other convictions, growing marijuana and possession with intent to sell.

The three delivery convictions related to sales of marijuana to a police informant and a police officer were affirmed. The defense argument of police misconduct was rejected in the appeals ruling. The ruling said police procedures in arranging the drug purchases did not exceed the threshold of outrageous actions which have been set in other cases. Markwart had argued deceptive techniques were used when purchases of the drugs were conducted.

According to the summary in the appeals mandate, Pullman Police became aware of marijuana being raised in an apartment where Markwart resided on the Campus Commons area along Terre View when an electrician reported observing the grow operation.

Markwart was identified as growing the marijuana under provisions of the state’s medical marijuana act and had obtained the proper licensing. The appeals court ruled the trial court erred in not allowing evidence on the state’s medical marijuana provisions to be presented before the jury.

Markwart was sentenced to six months in jail after the 2011 jury decision and that sentence has been suspended pending outcome of the appeal.

SPILL AT FUEL SITE

A Colfax fire crew Sunday responded to a report of fuel being spilled at the Four Star fueling station at N. Main and Tyler Streets. A fuel hose had been stretched when a customer attempted to pull away with the hose still inserted in the vehicle.

An absorbent was placed over the spilled fuel, and Four Star staffers replaced the hose.

SMOKE REPORT RESPONSE

A Colfax fire crew Monday morning responded to a report of smoke in the S. Fairview area at about 7 a.m. The smoke was coming from a bonfire. The property owner had obtained a burning permit the previous day.

CITY POLICE

MOTORCYCLE SOLD

Colfax Police Chief Rick McNannay reported Friday that the department has received a $12,500 payment from a local resident for the 1948 Harley Davidson three-wheeler which has been the object of a debate over the past month. The payment will allow the city to purchase a second 2013 Ford Interceptor patrol car which has been placed on the market.

McNannay said he understands the buyer, who did not want to be identified at this time, is working with a group of local residents who are attempting to put together a fund to buy the motorcycle. The local group had a deadline of 5 p.m. Monday, March 30, to conclude the purchase and keep the vintage cycle, known as a Servi-Car, in town.

Colfax City Council members on a 6-1 vote approved putting the motorcycle up for sale as a means of raising funds to buy another patrol car. McNannay at that time reported he had received a solid bid of $12,500 from a resident at Hauser Lake, but agreed to sell the Harley Davidson locally.

Several residents objected to the sale of the motorcycle, which has been part of the city police force and public works department, since it was purchased new in 1952. Barney Buckley, former city police chief, restored the three-wheeler more than 30 years ago.

The city council March 16 also declared two other Ford Crown Victoria squad cars, a 2003 and a 2004, as surplus. McNannay said he expected proceeds from the sale of those cars will cover most of the remainder of funds required for the purchase of a second Interceptor model.

The first Interceptor was purchased from capital funds in the police department budget.

MURAL ART IN COURT

Hearings in superior court Friday morning took an unusual turn with an impromptu art show when a jail inmate presented pictures of his mural paintings which have been done on walls in the jail and elsewhere around town. Ryan Coleman presented the copies of his mural paintings in a request for a reduction of a one-year sentence which he is now serving.

Coleman was sentenced last November to one year in jail and has been scheduled for release, with good time credits, at the end of June. He was sentenced for a felony conviction on two counts of money laundering.

Coleman told the court he has compiled hundreds of hours of public work credit while painting murals for the jail and elsewhere in Colfax. One of his mural paintings is at the library and another one is being prepared for the health department. Others are located in the jail.

Coleman said he was allowed public work credit to pay off fines and fees, but he still had the remainder of work time and wanted to apply it to early release.

Copies of the work were presented to Judge David Frazier who told Coleman he “had a lot on the ball.” However, the judge noted “a sentence is a sentence” and told Coleman he would have to stay in jail until the end of the sentence. He did issue an order that the Coleman art work had paid off the standard fines and fees of $800.

Judge Frazier returned the copies of the murals to Coleman, and before he was taken back to the jail, he shared them with deputies guarding the court session who appeared to give favorable reviews.

Rosalia YOUTH SENTENCED

A 16-year-old Rosalia juvenile was sentenced to a total of 30 days of detention March 26 after a hearing in juvenile court. He pleaded guilty to an amended charge of theft in the third degree, malicious mischief and criminal trespass.

He was sentenced to 10 days on each count and placed under 12 months of community supervision.

The youth was charged after deputies were called to Rosalia in the early hours of Nov. 5 last year. A cinder block had been thrown through the front window of the Rosalia Empire Market.

The proprietor of the store determined tobacco and liquor products had been taken from the store.

The youth was also ordered to pay $934 in restitution to the proprietor of the store. He is jointly responsible for the debt with another juvenile in the case.

AVISTA AIDS BRIDGE REPAIR

A summary report on the Highway 26 bridge report March 26 noted design work on the project began after Avista offered to pay for half of the repair costs on the bridge. Cost estimate for the project has been in the $120,000 range.

The report notes Avista became concerned because of their natural gas line which runs under the failing sidewalk structure of the bridge. Avista has been concerned about the sidewalk failing and rupturing the high pressure gas line.

The Avista line is attached to the outside of the last bridge support beam on the downstream side of the bridge. The state crew working on the bridge attached eight support brackets to the same support beam beneath the gas line. The support brackets went under the gas line, and a beam has been mounted on the brackets. The slumping sidewalk was jacked back up to its normal level and supported by the beam.

Last Thursday’s report said a chain link fence will be installed along the crumbling concrete railing of the bridge. The temporary fencing to keep pedestrians off the failing sidewalk has been removed.