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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FAIR INCOME SETS RECORD

Palouse Empire Fair manager Bob Reynolds at Monday night’s fair board meeting reported pre-fair revenue generated to date has set a record with $84,570 on the books as of Monday.

The fair’s revenue to date is ahead of expenses which now total $78,873.

Reynolds noted the record relates to the present stage of the revenue and spending cycle. The totals through the annual cycle are normally in the range of $170,000.

Largest revenue factor to date is the $38,018 from the state fair allocation. The fair has also booked $21,011 in rental fees and $11,599 in camping fees which have been paid in advance of this year’s fair. Much of the rental income derives from groups using the community building for weddings and other events.

Net income is currently $4,697.

CHARGE REDUCED IN

iPHONE CASE

Devan J. E. Henderson, 22, was sentenced to three months in jail last Friday after he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. Henderson was originally charged with robbery, a class-A felony, in a case where he was alleged to have grabbed an iPhone out of the hands of its owner on College Hill in Pullman June 21.

The court credited Henderson with time already served in jail and suspended the remaining 56 days of the sentence to allow Henderson’s release.

Defense Attorney Steve Martonick said Henderson admitted being in a scuffle with the alleged victim but denied he ever grabbed the iPhone.

The court also ruled Henderson could not be held here on outstanding warrants from Thurston County. Henderson said he plans to return to WSU to finish his studies this fall.

WSU SEEKS END

TO GRID

PUNCH SUIT

A motion for a summary judgment to dismiss a civil suit for damages allegedly sustained by a football player during a weight training session was filed Friday in superior court. A hearing on the motion has been scheduled for Aug. 25.

The suit was filed on behalf of Domenic Rockey, a former quarterback from Mountain View High in Auburn. Rockey’s suit seeks unspecified general and special damages he allegedly sustained when he was punched in the face by Emmit Su’a Kalio after a weight training session Oct. 1, 2013.

According the suit, Su’a Kalio punched Rockey in the locker room after he became upset about Rockey leaving the training room during an enforced penalty of 75 up-downs. The coach in charge of the early morning session had ordered all the players to do the up-downs because one of the participants, not Rockey, was late for the training session. Rockey left the training room because an earlier injury had left him unable to do the up-downs.

Rockey’s suit contends Su’a Kalio threw the punch, which broke his jaw in two places and damaged his teeth, because he was following a “keep each other accountable” doctrine for the WSU football team.

Filed by Paul Triesch, assistant state attorney general representing the university, the motion to dismiss contends WSU had no special duty of care of Rockey and the suit failed to show any duty was breached. It noted university code prohibits interpersonal conduct and pointed out Su’a Kalio subsequently entered a plea of guilty to fourth degree assault.

Rockey’s suit notes he lost weight when his jaw was wired shut during treatment and was unable to keep up with the football training schedule. It contends as a result of the punch he was unable to compete in the sport that brought him to WSU.

Rockey at the time was a first-year student at WSU with preferred walk-on status with the football team. Players in that category are guaranteed a place on the team roster but have no guarantee of an athletic scholarship, according to the suit.

Included with Triesch’s motion were statements by university officials and football coaches, including one by Joe Salave’a who recruited Su’a Kalio in American Samoa.

RUNAWAY CRASH ON MEADOW

A 1998 Ford Explorer driven by Daniel Gardiner of Colfax went out of control while he was on the Meadow Street hill in Colfax at 2:52 a.m. Monday. The Explorer went over the curb and struck a 2008 Ford Explorer that was parked in a driveway.

Gardiner was delivering newspapers and said the Explorer apparently slipped out of the park gear.

—Colfax Police also received a report June 22 at 7 p.m. that a 1989 Chevrolet pickup truck was damaged on the driver’s side when it was hit by another unknown vehicle. The truck was parked in the 300 block of E. Thorn Street

JEEP-TRUCK CRASH ON 26

Drivers in a car-truck accident on Highway 26 west of Colfax Saturday at 1:30 p.m. were unhurt. The Washington State Patrol report said Angie Zeller, Colfax, was driving a Jeep Cherokee westbound on 26 when she attempted a U-turn just before the crest of a hill.

Justin VanDyke, Garfield, crested the hill in the eastbound lane while driving a 1992 Kenworth tractor-trailer. He swerved to the shoulder and locked the brakes on the truck in an attempt to avoid a collision. The Jeep continued forward and hit the side of the truck.

ELECTION RETURNS SLOW

Just less than 11 percent of the primary election ballots have been returned to the county elections office as of Friday with more ballots arriving daily. The ballot return total was 2,223 as of Friday from the 20,249 mailed out July 17.

Returns for Colfax, where voters will decide a three-way race for mayor, have been more than 17 percent with 295 now in the hopper from 1,720 mailed. Palouse, which also has a three-way race for mayor, has a 13.6 return with 92 ballots returned from 672 mailed.

PARK GRANT APPLICATION

Colfax City Council July 20 approved a resolution for funding for a grant application to the state Recreation and Conservation Office. The grant would be used to make improvements to Schmuck Park and the athletic field.

The overall project seeks a $250,000 grant from the RCO office, but the project can be scaled down depending on how much grant funding is approved.

State RCO grants are awarded on a rating system with the top rated projects getting priority for funds available in the program.

Councilman Al Vorderbrueggen, who heads the city park board, told the council Monday each segment of the project will be presented for council approval in the event the RCO money becomes available.

The grant project has also been approved by the city’s park board.

One of the top ticket items listed in the grant project would be a new public restroom which could be located at the south end of Schmuck Park in the Sixth Street area. A combination restroom, concession stand and storage facility has been envisioned.

The city’s proposed match for the grant would be $142,700 including in-kind work for the restroom project. Other local match sources include the C-Town Project fund which includes school district and county .09 grant funds.

City administrator Mike Rizzitiello said the C-Town fund for the resurfacing and improving the track would remain tied to that project, but putting it up for a potential match could result in gaining additional funds for that particular project.

RCO ratings of the state grant applications are expected to be issued the middle of August. Monday night’s vote was required because all applications to the state RCO office have to include an approved resolution from their respective city councils.

Rizzitiello said the resolution was submitted via e-mail Tuesday to meet the application deadline.

CHASE BANK DEPARTS

A crew from A-1 Illuminated Signs Friday morning was removing signs from Chase Bank which officially closed down its Colfax Branch July 23. The Colfax branch has been consolidated with Pullman.

The Spokane crew loaded out the vertical Chase sign just before 10 a.m. Other signs were also removed and loaded up.

The bank here, including the ATM, closed at 4 p.m. Chase has been in Colfax since 2008. The bank was formerly operated by Washington Mutual which was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The bank for years operated as Lincoln Mutual Savings which was based in Spokane.

REPORT RAIL CAR VANDALISM

Deputy Paul Reavis responded July 22 to a malicious mischief report involving freight cars parked at Fallon between Palouse and Pullman. The report said brakes had been released on parked freight cars which are designed to haul containers. The brake release caused one group of cars to roll down grade and collide with other cars at the site.

The collision knocked some of the cars off the track and caused damage. Washington & Idaho Railway, based in Rosalia, used an excavator to put the cars back on the track.

The cars are being stored at Fallon and are not involved with grain shipment.

DRUG STOP NETS 20 MONTHS

Derek C, Hiatt, 33, Snohomish, was sentenced to 20 months in the state prison system on a conviction of possession of heroin Friday morning in superior court.

Hiatt pleaded guilty to the charge June 2 and sentencing had been pending.

The 20-month sentence was assigned because Hiatt’s long record of convictions places his offender score at nine.

The court was also advised Friday that a state warrant had been issued for his arrest. His defense attorney, Steven Crowley, told the court the warrant was from the Department of Corrections for a violation of the terms of release on an earlier charge.

Hiatt had been released here after posting a $50,000 bond Jan. 5 following his arrest outside of Colfax.

According to the arrest report, Hiatt was arrested after he picked up a prisoner who had been released from the jail. Deputies suspected Hiatt planned to drop off the prisoner, who had a suspended driver’s license, to a second car. When that took place in Colfax, deputies stopped both cars.

Hiatt was initially arrested on a charge of aiding and abetting driving with a suspended license. When Hiatt was stopped outside of Colfax on Highway 26, he immediately got out of his car and seemed intent on distancing himself from the vehicle. The deputies’ report said a butane torch was observed inside the car and that led to a search warrant and subsequent discovery of methamphetamine and heroin in the vehicle along with other drug paraphernalia.

Hiatt was actually convicted on a single drug possession charge. He was ordered to pay a $2,000 drug possession charge plus $800 in fines and fees. The judge allowed Hiatt to serve the 20 months in jail concurrent with any sentence resulting from his arrest under the DOC warrant.

GRIND CALL STOPS FORUM

A call to move vehicles parked in front of the library interrupted the July 22 candidate forum at the library. Moderator Bev Olson relayed a report about 45 minutes into the session that four vehicles parked in front of the library were blocking the pavement grinding operation along Main Street.

A brief intermission was called while people moved their cars out of the way, and the forum resumed.

Prior to the start of the forum, Mayor Todd Vanek had advised the crowd about the parking restrictions to keep Main Street clear.

Crews the night of July 22 finished taking the surface off all four lanes. Work advanced to the south side of the South Main Street Bridge. July 21 all four lanes were removed from Main between Railroad Ave. south to the courthouse bridge.

LLOYD NELSON DIES AT 93

A funeral mass for Lloyd M. Nelson, 93, former Colfax resident and city councilman who has resided in Spokane since 2005, will be Friday at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Spokane. Mr. Nelson died Saturday, July 18, 2015. For the past year he resided at the Spokane Veterans’ Home.

Born Sept. 13, 1921 in Williston, N.D., to Roy and Anna Nelson, he moved with his family to Everett and graduated from Everett High School in 1940. He joined the Army in 1942 and after school sessions at Syracuse University and the University of Illinois he served in France as a radar technician with the 435th Airborne Troop Carrier Group. After returning from the war he married Dolores Branshaw July 13, 1946.

Mr. Nelson retired from a career in retailing and they moved to Colfax in 1986 to reside near family members. He was active in St. Patrick’s Church, Knights of Columbus, and as a FISH food bank volunteer.

Surviving in addition to his wife, Dolores; are four children, Michael (Lydia) Nelson, Thomas (Sharon) Nelson, Susan (Terry) Pittman and Craig Nelson; five grandchildren and many great-grandchildren.

Memorial donations can be made to the charity of the donor’s choice.

Malden ARREST LEADS TO PRISON

Eric Lee Thompson, the Spokane man who was arrested at Malden after deputies received a report of an argument along a street in Malden, was sentenced twice after pleading guilty to separate charges. Thompson, 42, was arrested May 17 in Malden on a probable charge of attempted kidnapping after he reportedly attempted to get Amy Baird of Malden into his pickup and go to Spokane. Witnesses report he used the truck to “cut off” Baird as she attempted to walk along the street.

He was later charged with tampering with a witness and violating a domestic violence order when he called Baird from the jail May 24.

Thompson, who has a record of four Spokane County convictions dating back to 1994, was assigned an offender score of four. He was sentenced to between 12 and 76 months in the state prison July 13 on the witness tampering and domestic violence charges. A warrant of commitment to state corrections July 15 credited him with 59 days served in jail here since his arrest.

He was sentenced July 17 to 364 days in jail for driving with a suspended license, a charge related to the May 17 arrest in Malden. All but 184 days of that sentence were suspended, and the remaining time will be served concurrently with the term he is now serving in the state corrections.