Bulletin Column Nov. 19

These reports are from the previous five 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.

TRUCKER LEAVES CRASH SCENE

The driver of a semi truck which caused a rear-end accident at the intersection of Highways 27 and 195 south of Pullman Monday afternoon left the scene of the accident, according to the Washington State Patrol report. The driver of the semi failed to stop at the intersection after he approached on the southbound lane of Highway 195 and turned left to go northbound on Highway 27 toward Pullman at 2:45 p.m.

Joseph E. Semler was driving northbound on 195 in a 1979 Ford Bronco and applied his brakes to avoid hitting the semi. Daniel Litzentberg, Lewiston, was driving a 2009 Fruehauf delivery van behind Semler and was unable to stop in time to avoid hitting the back of the Bronco. Semler complained of some back pain at the scene but was not transported by EMTs.

ROLLOVER NORTH OF ENDICOTT

A 16-year-old girl was transported by ambulance to Whitman Hospital Monday from the scene of a rollover accident on the Endicott-St. John Road about five miles north of Endicott. Sheriff Brett Myers said she was driving a 2010 Chevrolet Cobalt northbound when the car went off the roadway, rolled at least once and came to a halt on the roadway. The driver did not appear to be seriously hurt, but she was taken to the hospital for a check of her condition.

CITY

ENDORSES J.W. TRAIL

Colfax City Council Monday night approved a resolution in support of keeping the John Wayne Trail with a vote of 5-2. The resolution was proposed to Colfax by the Tekoa Trestle & Trail group, which has headed the move to keep the trail in operation. Mayor Todd Vanek said the resolution has been approved by city councils at Tekoa and Rosalia and urged Colfax council members to also approve the resolution to show support for the neighboring towns.

The trail dispute emerged in September when members of the Tekoa group learned that a move in the legislature to shut down the middle portion of the trail, from the Columbia River at Beverly to Malden, had been been advanced in the form of a budget bill provision which was derailed because of a flaw in the wording.

Councilman Jim Kackman questioned whether Colfax “really had a dog in this fight.” Kackman said he believed legislators made “a huge blunder” with the approach they made to shutting down a section of the trail without pubic input, but he said he didn’t see how the fate of the trail would have any consequence in Colfax.

Councilman Al Vorderbrueggen pointed out the trail offers a unique cross-state route and urged the council to approve the resolution in support of Tekoa and Rosalia. He added if enough other towns speak up it will increase chances legislators will listen.

Councilman Steve Holberg said he believed a move by the state to upgrade the trail will result in more state spending which could have an impact on residents here. Kackman and Holberg voted against the resolution. Vorderbrueggen, Whitney Aguilar, Jeannette Solimine, Steve Bretveld and Tom Huntwork voted in favor.

MOTION TO SUPPRESS

A motion to suppress evidence seized at the residence of Rosalia burglary suspect Devin Petersen was filed Nov. 11 in superior court. Defense Attorney Steve Martonick in his motion argued an outstanding arrest warrant from Oregon, cited as a reason for officers to enter the residence on Eighth Street in Rosalia, was invalid and therefore evidence seized after deputies entered the residence should be suppressed. The motion said the Oregon warrant, which was issued for a probation violation, failed to state a probable cause for arrest and went beyond territorial limitation for an out-of-state warrant. A hearing on the motion is set for Dec. 2.

Peterson, 37, and Dustin A. Litchfield, 33, Molalla, Ore., were arrested Oct. 22 in Rosalia after they were allegedly identified as suspects in a burglary in the back of the Budding Rose Gallery in Rosalia. Deputies reported they made the identification of suspects after viewing surveillance videos from a neighboring business. A second report later in the day of theft of food items from a storage unit behind the Brass Rail Tavern led deputies to return to Petersen’s residence with the suspect, where they allegedly found the missing food items.

Petersen and Litchfield each pleaded not guilty to charges Nov. 6 and have been scheduled for trial Dec. 14. Petersen was charged with burglarizing the Budding Rose Gallery and being in possession of food items which were allegedly taken from the Brass Rail. Litchfield was charged with one count of burglary.

BOOK FAIR

AT HIGH SCHOOL

A book fair has been scheduled this week at the high school library for Thursday, Friday and next Monday during school hours and before performances of the the fall musical, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The book fair is sponsored by the Parent Teacher Organization in conjunction with Bookpeople of Moscow.

NEW

PARK PLAY

STRUCTURE

Colfax is expecting delivery of a new park play structure. Purchase of the play equipment was approved at the last park board meeting. Councilman Al Vorderbrueggen, chair of the park board, told the city council Monday night the purchase was approved because it was offered at a reduced price. The structure has been purchased from American Parks Company for $23,098.

The parks board has not yet decided where the structure will be located, although Eells Park and McDonald Park are now under consideration.

In other parks business, Vorderbrueggen urged other council members to attend the Dec. 2 meeting during which the board and school officials will seek public comment on the Schmuck Park playfield project which has evolved from the C-town fund drive to provide an upgrade of the track and playing field. The meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. in the public service building.

Public Works Director Matt Hammer reported city crew members plan to start work this week on replacing the roof at the Eells Park restroom. Hammer said a bid call was issued for the project, but bids came in over the anticipated costs, and the crew has decided to undertake the job on their own.

FACES

THREE RAPE CHARGES

A Jan. 19 trial date has was scheduled for James W. A. Pringle, 30, after he pleaded not guilty Friday in superior court to three charges of second-degree rape, malicious mischief and indecent liberties.

The three rape charges list the the same victim and alleged rapes that took place over a three-day span, July 10-11-12, at a residence in the Oakesdale area. Two of the charges allege rape by forcible compulsion and one when the victim was incapable of consenting to intercourse.

The report said the victim made a recording of the last alleged rape which was reviewed by an investigating officer in making his report.

Pringle uses the name Alex as his first name, according to the arrest report. He told the court Friday he is currently living in Cheney.

He was ordered to have no contact with the victim or other family members.

COLLISION

AT OTHELLO

Jerry Jones, 73, Colfax, was taken to the hospital in Othello Saturday morning for a checkup following a two-car collision on Highway 24 just south of Othello. Jones, editor of the Gazette, was driving southbound in a 2007 Toyota Highlander at about 8:40 a.m., when a small sedan driven by Casmiro Pineda, 51, Othello, drove onto the highway from an access road of a mobile home court on the west side of the highway, according to the Washington State Patrol report.

A state trooper and Adams County deputies responded to the scene. Pineda was arrested at the scene for drunken driving after failing to pass an on-the-scene breathalyzer test, according to the report.

Jones, who was en route to Yakima to cover the last two rounds the State 2B and 1B volleyball tournaments, was taken to the hospital by an Adams County Deputy and treated for a minor air bag abrasion on his right hand. He was transported home by Gazette Publisher Gordon Forgey, and reporter Garth Meyer traveled to Yakima in time to cover the championship rounds of the tournament.

GIFT

TREES FOR

DISABLED

Trees with gift tags for Christmas presents for the developmentally disabled have been located in the Public Service Building and entrance to the courthouse. The ornament tags on the trees, which were decorated last Saturday, list gifts requested for 62 developmentally disabled residents living around the county. The list includes residents of Paul’s Place in Colfax.

Working with care givers and others, a list of three gift needs for each recipient was compiled. The gift requests are listed on individual tags on the trees with approximately 150 in place, according to Janel Goebel who heads the project for the Whitman County Developmental Services.

Residents are encouraged to remove a tag from one of the trees, purchase the specified gift, wrap it and return it with the tag. Estimated cost of each individual gift is in the $15 range. Collection boxes have been located at the parks office in the Public Service Building, the commissioners’ office in the courthouse and at Boost Collaborative, formally Palouse Industries, in Pullman. Deadline for returning gifts for distribution is Dec. 11.

GLASSPHEMY RESTITUTION ORDERED

Gary Sebastian Walter, 49, pleaded guilty in superior court Friday morning to an amended charge of criminal trespass. Walter was originally charged with burglarizing the Glassphemy Smoke Shop in Pullman in January of 2014. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Bill Druffel told the court Friday that Walter had recently been released after serving a long prison term, and the state at present saw no need to have him sent back to jail. He requested the court order Walter to pay $2,300 in restitution to the shop owner.

Walter was sentenced to 364 days in jail with all suspended providing he make the monthly restitution payments and pay $700 in costs and fees. Walter, who told the court he was a tattoo artist, said he is currently trying to find employment in Spokane.

BACK TAXES JUDGMENT

A judgment for delinquent taxes filed Friday in superior court listed three properties with a total sum of $12,888 due in back taxes, fees and interest. The judgment placed a lien on three properties for the sums due and ordered the properties to be put up for public sale.

The tax delinquency suit is filed each year by the treasurer’s office against owners of properties who have tax debts unpaid for three or more years. The three properties listed taxes due since 2012.

Sale of tax lien property is scheduled for Dec. 11, the second Monday in December which is the annual date set under state law.

Proceeds on any bids on the property are used to pay the overdue tax liens plus 12 percent interest up to the date of sale. Balance of the revenue from the sales, if any, is returned to the registered owners. The three properties include two mobile homes in Pullman and a rural residence with land in the Malden area.

The original filing by the treasurer’s office also listed a residence in Rosalia which has since been redeemed. Owners of the properties can move to redeem them up until the sale date and the treasurer’s office has been contacted by an attorney who is working on possible redemption of the Malden area property. The parcels listed on the delinquency filing are generally the few remaining after treasurer’s office staffers work with property owners that need to clear tax debts which have reached the three-year threshold.

CAMPAIGN SPENDING REPORT

Spending for the Ninth District representative campaign topped $63,000, according to postings with the state’s Public Disclosure Commission as of Nov. 11. Spending reported by the Mary Dye campaign more than doubled over the last month of the campaign to total $30,437, according to the report. The Dye campaign had recorded $14,594 in spending as of its Oct. 1 report. Last Wednesday’s report noted the Dye campaign raised a total of $62,405, an increase of more than $29,000 from the Oct. 1 report date.

The Richard Lathim campaign report as of Nov. 11 showed the same figures for revenue and spending: $13,371. The Lathim campaign total was $17,056 less than the Dye campaign. Between Oct. 1 and Nov. 11, the Lathim campaign added just $1,325 to its revenue figure.

Returns for the Dye-Lathim race as of Monday listed 15,434 votes for Dye and 8,927 for Lathim. The total vote count and the total spending listed for the two campaigns works out to $1.79 per vote.

VAN BURNS

IN CRASH

ON 270

William A. Adams, Spokane Valley, was unhurt Nov. 9 when the 1992 Dodge Caravan he was driving near the Idaho border went out of control on the Pullman-Moscow Highway went into the ditch and caught fire. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Adams was driving eastbound at 9:20 a.m. when the van crossed the center turn lane and both westbound lanes of the highway that run along the Pullman Airport Road 3.2 miles east of Pullman. The van came to a stop in the ditch. He was taken to Gritman Hospital.

HENDERSON IN VIETMAN EDITION

Former long-time Colfax Councilman Don Henderson is among veterans featured in the supplement published by the Lewiston Tribune on Veteran’s Day. Henderson served as an electrician’s mate on three different warships from 1965 until 1972 when he retired from the Navy. He enlisted after graduating from Colfax High School with the class of 1946 and after his first tour of duty served in the reserve from 1949 until 1957 when he re-enlisted to serve 15 more years. He returned to Colfax in 1983.

The article includes mention of military service of Henderson’s brothers in World War II and his father, Roscoe, in World War I. The supplement was inserted in Veteran’s Day editions of the Lewiston Tribute and the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

COAST VANS BACK AT ARBY’S

Coast Transportation is now parking its vans in the lot at the former Arby’s restaurant. Paige Collins, executive director of the Council on Aging, said Wayne Bergey, owner of the former Arby’s building property, has allowed Coast to park there free of charge until plans for installing a new business on the site materialize. Coast recently used the lot to park vehicles while their normal parking site next to the DSHS office was sealed. The lineup of vans on the Arby’s lot netted a lot of attention for the agency, and Bergey decided to allow them to continue to make use of the lot, Collins said.