Coroner’s case load: December death toll already surpassing average

Whitman County Coroner Pete Martin went before the Board of Whitman County Commissioners about one month ago to request additional funding for the year, because the department was seeing a higher-than-normal case load.

Martin told the commissioners that he had seen a 40 percent increase in cases in 2015, necessitating a $24,730 budget amendment to bring his total 2015 budget to $162,568. He said his office usually sees an average of 70 cases per year.

As of Nov. 20, Martin reported to the Gazette that he had 102 cases. That number changed from the time he reported it to the time the Gazette we...