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.

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THREE FIELD FIRE RESPONSES

Fire crews from Colfax responded to three field fires over a span of just more than 90 minutes Monday afternoon. All fires reportedly started while harvest crews were operating in the fields, and wind was a factor.

Largest loss was believed to be sustained in a fire reported at 4:34 p.m. in a field west of Union Center near the Evans Road intersection. The fire was near the Wally and Jill Hattan residence in a field farmed by Cris Kincaid. Harvesting was underway in the field and the fire was believed to have started off the header of a combine.

The fire covered 40 to 50 acres with only four to five acres of standing wheat lost, according to Aaron Johnson, Onecho volunteer.

Albion and Pullman District 12 crews also responded to the scene along with the Colfax crew.

The first Colfax fire response Monday was at 3 p.m. to a field fire on the Mark Richter place near Thera. According to Colfax Chief Clark Capwell, several fire units and farmers with tractors responded to the scene. The volunteers received a break when wind pushed the fire into a summer fallow field.

Crews also responded at 4:07 p.m. to a report of a fire in the Steptoe area. Steptoe volunteers made a quick response to that blaze from the Steptoe Station and had the fire under control before other fire crews arrived on the scene.

MAIN STREET PARKING BAN

Notices posted on sidewalk barricades Tuesday morning notify drivers of a ban on parking along Main Street between 5 p.m. and 6 a.m. The parking ban has been posted in advance of a grind down of the Main Street surface as part of the paving project.

Colfax Chief Rick McNannay said officers will check the license plates for the registered owners of vehicles left after 5 p.m. and then make one call in an attempt to contact the owner before vehicles are towed off the street.

Work shifts on the project start at 6 p.m.

Poe crews early on Monday night’s shift cleared eight gutter drains along the sidewalks on the S. Main bridge in preparation for the pavement grind.

City council members Monday night reported they have received complaints from residents about the project. One general complaint was the change to a 24 hour operation on the north end of the project.

Public Works Director Matt Hammer said it was his understanding the contract did provide for a 10-day span when the project work could go around the clock.

Mayor Todd Vanek noted the crews are working to get the job finished before the heavy traffic hits with the return of WSU students as classes start in August.

SHOTS DOWN PARK LIGHT

One of the lights along the parking lot at McDonald Park was damaged with bullet shots some time Sunday night or early Monday morning. City Police received a report early Monday, and the light was subsequently checked out by the public works department.

Public Works Director Matt Hammer reported Monday that the last light on the north end of the lot was hit. The light was actually down on the ground when they arrived at the scene.

Hammer said the light appears to have been hit twice with shots believed to have been from a .22.

CYCLE SPILL

ON 271

Kirk Arrasmith, Clarkston, sustained scrapes and bruises when the motorcycle he was riding encountered a deer on Highway 271 Sunday five miles north of Oakesdale. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Arrasmith was riding a 1997 Triumph Thunderbird motorcycle northbound at 2:50 p.m. when a deer ran in front of the cycle. He put the motorcycle down on its side to avoid hitting the deer.

FOUR HURT

AT 194-195

Four people were hurt in a two-car collision Sunday night at the intersection of Highways 194 and 195 west of Pullman. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Monica Gallucci of Edgewood stopped the 2006 Toyota Rav she was driving eastbound on Highway 194 at the intersection. She then proceeded into the intersection into the path of a 2001 GMC Yukon which was being driven southbound by Connor W. Staggs, Wasilla, Alaska.

Gallucci sustained head and neck injuries and two passengers in the Toyota sustained neck injuries. Staggs sustained a nose injury.

CITY WIDE

YARD SALE

A city-wide yard sale has been planned for Saturday in Colfax. Kathy Clark, retired Chamber of Commerce secretary, is organizing the sale.

As of Tuesday she had enrolled five sale sites and expected more during the week. Clark said she hopes to get out a sale map by Friday at the latest to show the sale locations. Sale maps will be available at Rosauers, Top Notch, Ace Hardware and Hen House Chicks.

Past city sales have normally enrolled 20 to 25 sites.

ANOTHER BAT RESPONSE

Officer Perry Tate responded to a report of a bat at Whitman Hospital at 4:22 a.m. Tuesday. Tate located the bat in a first floor hallway at the hospital and removed it.

BALLOTS HIT

THE MAIL

The auditor’s elections office Friday mailed out 20,249 ballots to voters in Whitman County. Ballots went to all registered voters in the county because of the three-way race for the ninth district state representative seat.

Ballots in many places around the county also had local three-way races and local measures listed.

The mailing included 1,720 to residents in Colfax which has a three-way race for mayor, and 672 to Palouse which also has a three-way race for mayor.

Also, 371 ballots went to Garfield where voters will decide on a three-way race for a city council seat.

Funding requests are also on the ballots for St. John, Fire District seven at Rosalia, rural Fire District 12 at Pullman and the Oakesdale and Colfax cemetery districts.

Postmark deadline for returning the ballots is Aug. 4.

HIGHWAY 26 BRIDGE OPEN

Construction crews opened the Highway 26 spur bridge at the north end of Main Street late last week. The bridge was closed for most of the week, and Highway 26 traffic was detoured to the Highway 195 bridge.

Late last week crews excavated and filled the approach to the Highway 195 bridge in preparation for paving. Both bridges were open to traffic over the weekend.

Concrete decking panels for the east side of the railroad crossing between Harrison and Tyler were installed and most of the highway asphalt surface north of the railroad to the bridge has been removed.

THEFT NETS

14 DAYS

Casey J. Wade, 34, Spokane, was sentenced to 14 days in jail after he entered a plea of guilty to third degree theft. Wade was arrested last Jan. 19 and charged with taking knives and a Polaroid Tablet from Shopko.

According to the arrest report, Wade was arrested outside of Shopko after he was observed using a high powered magnet device to remove security spider tags on the Polaroid tablet. Security officers said they saw him place the spider device on a shelf and stick the tablet in his jacket.

Wade was apprehended by Pullman police in the store’s parking lot and the stolen items were found in his possession.

He was sentenced Friday to 365 days in jail with all but 14 suspended with credit for time spent. Wade, who failed to appear after being summoned to court, was jailed July 8 after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

He was ordered to reimburse Shopko $115 and ordered to pay $700 in fines and fees.

TUESDAY HYDRANT CHECKS

Colfax volunteers Tuesday planned to begin the annual check of Colfax Fire hydrants during the evening. They also expect to check hydrants next Tuesday evening.

Colfax has approximately 170 hydrants which are checked annually.

TRAIL SPRAYING CONTINUES

Because of wind delays last week spraying for weeds along the Bill Chipman Trail will continue this week, July 20-24. Weather conditions will determine locations and times of spraying. Areas will be clearly posted to alert trail users, according to Todd Heitstuman, trail operations manager for Whitman County Parks.

ANIMAL ENTRIES DUE AUG. 1

Animal entry forms for the Palouse Empire Fair are due Aug. 1. The fair this year will run from Sept. 10-13 with animal entry day slated Wednesday, Sept. 9, from 1 to 8 p.m.

Exhibitor guide books are available at the fair office or on line at http://www.palouseempirefair.org.

After Aug. 17 the fair office will be located at the fairgrounds.

AG SHOP

ALARM SOUNDS

A Colfax fire crew responded to an alarm which sounded in the school district ag shop at 3:30 a.m. Sunday. The shop is fitted with sprinkler system pipes, and the alarm activates when water enters the pipes. The sprinklers themselves did not activate in the building.

PULLMAN DRIVER HURT

Yuteson Fuaau, Pullman, sustained cuts in a rollover accident early Friday on Highway 195 south of Pullman. According to the Washington State Patrol report, he was driving a 1999 Toyota Camry northbound just after midnight when a deer came onto the highway 1.2 miles south of Pullman.

Yuteson swerved to the right to avoid the deer and lost control of the Camry which went off the east side of the highway and came to a halt on its top in a field.

He was transported to Pullman Memorial Hospital by a passing motorist.

BOOK SALE AT THE CENTER

The Center next to the library, which was the scene of a historical photo display last week during the Concrete River Festival, is now the site of a used book sale being conducted by Friends of the Library.

The sale was launched after the library received a donation of approximately 200 books. Proceeds from the sale will go toward library projects.

Entrance to the sale, which is located in the front part of The Center, is through the library door which links the two buildings.

DROUGHT LEADS TO CRP WAIVER

Conditions caused by the lack of rainfall have led to a ruling which will allow farmers here to cut hay or graze animals on fields they have placed in the Conservation Reserve Program. Use of the fields will not result in a reduction in payments which the farmers normally receive for placing acreage in the program.

The move follows what is called a D2 determination for drought conditions in the county. Doreen Reidner, program technician, said the D2 rating has been applied to neighboring counties, and they were expecting the designation to be applied here.

A D2 designation for any part of a county allows the change of rules for all CRP fields in the county. The D2 designation is a severe drought rating.

The monitor maps in previous weeks have shown the D2 designation applied to areas around the county. Some of the county was included in the D2 area on a June 9 chart.

The rating grid also carries a D3 rating for extreme drought, and a D4 for exceptional drought.

Most of the counties in the south central part of the state extending east into Columbia County now have the D3 extreme drought designation.

Haying can be done on the CRP fields until Aug. 31, and livestock grazing can continue to Sept. 30. Producers cannot graze and hay the same fields. Haying will be limited to 50 percent of a field and grazing limited to 75 percent at the recommended stock rate.

Land enrolled in the continuous CRP and State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement Program are not eligible for emergency haying and grazing.

CEMETERY LEVY ON BALLOT

A special levy proposal for the Colfax Cemetery District is among propositions which are included on the Aug. 4 primary ballot. The levy measure requests approval of $180,000 which will cover two years of operation. Estimated amount of the levy would be 54 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

The levy proposal replaces the special levy which was approved by voters in the cemetery district in 2012.

DRUG ARREST IN SHERIFF’S LOBBY

A charge of possession of methamphetamine filed against a Colfax resident July 10 alleges the suspect was arrested in the lobby of the sheriff’s office. The arrest report alleges Richard Lander, 23, had gone to the sheriff’s office Aug. 10, 2014, to visit his father who was then a prisoner in the jail.

During a security check before the visit, deputies allege they found a zip lock baggie on Lander which contained methamphetamine.

Lander has been summoned to appear in court July 24.