Bulletin Column Dec. 24

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.

FATAL DOG ATTACK ON

W. HILL

Colfax Police are investigating a report of a fatal dog attack on the west hill of Colfax. Turbie, a 14-year-old Blue Heeler/Border Collie cross, was found dead by his owner, Georgie Leinweber, near the end of her driveway at about 10 a.m. Saturday morning. The dog had sustained extensive wounds to both ends of his body. Leinweber took the dog to Dr. Randy McGraw at Bunchgrass Veterinary Hospital, and he determined the dog was probably attacked by two dogs with one at each end.

Leinweber said she let Turbie out of the house at about 5 a.m. Saturday. She said she did not hear any kind of a noise, and neighbors who live closer to where Turbie was discovered also said they did not hear any noise. She said she believes Turbie put up a battle before he went down.

Leinweber said she wanted people to be aware of the killing so they might take precautions for their pets in the coming weeks. Police Chief Rick McNannay said they are investigating the report of the dog killing, but do not have a lead on suspect dogs at this time.

At Monday night’s city council session, Councilwoman Jeannette Solimine, who lives in the west hill area, said she wanted residents to be aware of the situation which could pose a threat to other pets in the neighborhood.

CITY

ANNEXES

BIG BLUE

Colfax City Council Monday night approved two property annexations which involve city-owned property. The first parcel was the property under the Big Blue water reservoir on the east hill. The property was purchased by the city for construction of the tank, but the actual property parcel was never annexed into the city.

City Administrator Michael Rizzitiello said having city facilities located inside the city limits is one of the factors which has appeared on applications for grant funding. He said one check made on the status of the Big Blue site was a check of the Hauser Addition property which adjoins the reservoir’s location. The reservoir area was excluded from the plat for the addition.

Zoning for the new parcel of city property will be R-1 to conform with the zoning assigned to Hauser addition.

The second annexation involved a parcel of land which was purchased for expansion of the waste water sewer treatment plant along the north side of the Walla Walla Highway. Part of the property at one time was an unofficial shooting range for the police department. The property has been zoned commercial to conform with neighboring parcels at that location.

CITY

OFFICIALS

TAKE OATH

The oath of office was administered Monday to four city officials who were re-elected to start new terms at the start of the year. Mayor Todd Vanek and Councilmen Al Vorderbrueggen, Steve Holberg and Jim Kackman were administered the oath by City Clerk Connie Ellis. Councilman Tom Huntwork, who was also elected to another term, was not present at Monday night’s meeting. State law requires officials take the oath 10 days before the the start of their new term. Mayor Vanek was the lone office holder to face opposition in this year’s election.

SIGNS RETURN

The Colfax wayfaring signs, which debuted two months ago with a low contrast paint scheme, have been returned with white letters on a distinct blue background to provide excellent contrast. The city had ordered the signs with the goal of having them in place for the Oct. 30 PAC-12 cross country race. The event was expected to bring a large number of first-time visitors to Colfax to see runners from the PAC-12 conference compete on a cross country circuit which was staked out at the Colfax Golf Course. Washington State University was the official host of the conference race.

The signs, which have the distinctive new Colfax logo on top, were first delivered with lettering done on a light background that made them difficult to read, especially while driving. City Administrator Mike Rizzitiello Monday said Zumar of Tacoma revised the signs in a distinctive blue color at no additional cost. The cost of the signs, which was grant funded, was approximately $6,000.

TOYBOX SERVES 241

The Firemen’s Toybox, which was open for business three days last week at the fire station, provided toys for 241 youngsters from 89 families from Colfax and around the county.

The Toybox store was open last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Toybox volunteers purchased toys for a total cost of $9,300 which came from donations from individuals, companies and clubs in Colfax and around the area.

Bill Knox, a member of the volunteers’ Toybox committee, said donations to the project exceeded $11,000 this year so the project will have a reserve fund at the start of next year.

All donations to the fund go to purchase toys for the the youngsters.

Also, many people elected to purchase toys and donate them at the fire station or city hall to be added to the inventory when the store opened.

KITCHEN FIRE

DAMAGES ISLAMIC

CENTER

The Islamic Center on NE Stadium Way sustained an estimated $35,000 damage from a fire which was determined to have been started by a cooking pot left on a stove Sunday. Pullman and Rural District 12 fire fighters responded to the kitchen fire at 1155 NE Stadium Way at 3:50 p.m. The caretaker at the center reported smelling smoke and seeing flames coming from the kitchen. He told fire crews he had been cooking in the kitchen earlier, according to the report of Deputy Pullman Chief Gabriel Benmoussa. Fire crews quickly extinguished the fire, which was contained to the kitchen area, and checked other areas of the building to make sure the fire had not spread to those areas.

Pullman Fire Marshall Rick Dragoo said cooking oil in the pot overheated to ignition temperature and that caused the fire to ignite.

TWO CRASH IN SLUSH

Washington State Patrol Trooper Will Stellmacher investigated two accidents which took place in the snowy and slushy driving conditions Sunday on Highway 195 between Colfax and Pullman. Carly J. Chamberlain, Lacey, complained of back pain after the 1994 Volvo she was driving went out of control and rolled onto its top four miles south of Colfax. Chamberlain was driving southbound when she lost control of the Volvo which slid into the ditch along the southbound side of the highway.

Alexander K. Nguaiko, Pullman, was unhurt when he lost control of a 2002 Toyota pickup truck 10 miles south of Colfax. He was driving northbound at 2:50 p.m. when the truck went into the northbound ditch and rolled onto its passenger side at mile marker 27.

STORAGE BUILDING ENTRY

Colfax Police are investigating a possible burglary of a storage building located near the high school. An officer on patrol around the high school at 5:23 a.m. Sunday discovered the entry door of the building had been pulled off its hinges. The door was found at the scene. Chief Rick McNannay said graffiti writing was found in dust covered surfaces inside of the building.

NEW BLADE PLOW BITS

Two of the three plow trucks in the City of Colfax fleet have been fitted with a new type of rubber bit. The rubber strips are designed to provide better contact between the road surface and the plow blade, according to Public Works Director Matt Hammer. The rubber bits have been fitted to one truck with a 10-foot blade and one truck with an 11-foot blade. They are one and one-half of an inch thick and six to eight inches wide. The bits are supplied with pre-drilled holes so they can be bolted to the plow blades. Hammer also reported all three of the city plow drivers are booking their rookie winter campaign this year. They are David Batterton, Klint Kendall and Jim Gill.

FILES SUIT

Another civil suit related to construction of the Northwest Residence Hall 2 construction project on the WSU campus in 2014 was filed last week in superior court. Insulation Specialists NW, Spokane Valley, alleges in its suit $229,702 is due for work it did as a subcontractor on the project. The suit alleges it was contracted to do insulation work on pipes and ducts in the new building. The suit lists BNBuilders (BNB) as the lead defendant in the suit with McKinstry Co., LLC, a subcontractor, WSU and performance bond companies as other defendants.

BNB Dec. 9 filed a breach of contract suit against WSU alleging $11.8 million due for two projects. Their suit alleges $8,859,454 due on the contract for the Northwest Residence Hall 2 project cited in the suit filed by the insulation company.

TRIAL SET

FOR MOLLY SUSPECTS

A March 14 trial date has been scheduled for the four WSU students who have each been charged with possession of a controlled substance after the car in which they were riding was stopped on Highway 195 near Cashup Oct. 3. Each entered a not guilty plea to the charge.

According to the arrest report, the case started with a traffic stop on Highway 195 when the car was clocked heading northbound on Highway 195 at 73 miles per hour. The traffic stop evolved into a drug case after the deputy who made the stop allegedly smelled what he believed to be marijuana inside the car. The four were later charged with possession of a drug which is commonly known as molly. The arrest report alleges the four suspects contributed to the purchase of the drug.

They had been summoned to appear in court Friday, and all four entered their not-guilty pleas at the same time. Facing the drug charge are Lindsey Vest, 18, the alleged driver of the car, Alexander Castillo, 18; Kenza Umar, 18, and Joseph D. Taylor, 19.

STORM BRINGS

ACCIDENTS

The first big winter storm in the early morning hours Dec. 16 led to a rash of accidents on roads and highways. Washington State Patrol troopers reported they responded to a total of 26 accidents with 20 involving non-reportable damage, five with reportable damage and one reportable with an injury involved. Heaviest snowfall was reported on the east side of the county. Snowy, slushy and icy conditions were listed for Highway 195, which was the scene of a rash of accidents south of Pullman.

—-Lacey A. Rice, Endicott, was taken by ambulance to Whitman Hospital and Medical Center Dec. 16 afternoon from the scene of an accident on the Walla Walla Highway north of Central Ferry.

According to the accident report, she was driving a 1998 Ford Ranger pickup truck northbound, slid across the centerline and rolled down an embankment next to the southbound lane. The pickup came to a stop on its wheels at highway mile marker 15.

—A rear-end collision involved a car and truck-trailer four miles south of Pullman on Highway 195 at 11:25 a.m. According to the WSP report, Donald R. Winters, Reno, Nev., was driving a 2007 Peterbilt tractor-trailer northbound and slowed for traffic on the highway. Candis L. Pomeroy, Lewiston, was driving a 2009 Honda Civic behind the truck, was unable to stop in time, and hit the back of the truck trailer.

—Tammy Jo Brown, Lewiston, was unhurt at 2:16 p.m. on Highway 195, 16 miles south of Pullman, when she lost control of the 1996 Nissan Passport she was driving southbound. The Passport went into the southbound ditch and rolled onto its side.

—Timothy W. Manwaring, Clarkston, was unhurt in an accident five miles south of Pullman Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. According to the WSP report, he was driving a 2005 Toyota Tundra pickup northbound. The pickup went onto the shoulder of the highway and rolled onto its top.