Bulletin Column April 7

Oh, hail!

Any and all spring weather possible was showcased on Monday, as evident by this downpour of hail stones following rain, sun, wind and thunderstorms. Colfax attorney John Kragt took a break from briefs to snap a shot of the popcorn-sized ice balls.

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.

METRO PARKS IN LIMBO

City Administrator Michael Rizzitiello reported to the city council Monday night that he has met with county commissioners on the proposal to form a metropolitan park district to replace the Colfax parks department. The proposal, approved at the March 21 city session, calls for a district which would include Colfax and the Colfax School District.

The aim would be to form a metro taxing district which would take over the Colfax parks department as a separate taxing district. The proposal would require approval by the county commissioners to put the measure on the ballot for voters in the school district who reside outside of the city limits.

The city administrator said during his meeting with the commissioners they asked for additional information on the proposal. He added there seems to be some apprehension on the part of the commissioners about putting the metro proposal in the ballot. Rizzitiello added if the county decides not to advance the proposal the city could go to “plan B” which would be to form the metro parks district just inside the city limits.

The revenue from the larger school district tax base has been estimated to generate $75,000 more in annual tax revenue.

POWER KNOCKED OUT

Electric power service to Colfax was knocked out Monday at about 11:12 a.m. The power outage was believed to have been caused by a broken line along the Green Hollow Road. Power was restored after about 15 minutes.

CAR THEFT ON POPLAR

Colfax Police received a report at 6:08 Tuesday morning of a theft of a car from a residence on East Poplar Street. The 2013 Ford Escort was discovered missing from the driveway of a residence where it had been parked the night before. Police Chief Rick McNannay said the grey car has been entered in the national attempt-to-locate file.

SPRING CLEANUP WEEK

Whitman County has declared spring cleanup week next week, April 8 to 16, with a discount disposal rate of $35 per ton with $15 minimum for non-commercial and non-business loads at the landfill. The posting notes the landfill takes scrap metal, used oil and automotive fluids, yard trimmings and recyclables without charge. A proclamation urging Colfax residents and groups to participate was read Monday night by Mayor Todd Vanek at the Colfax City Council meeting.

FRAUD CASE IN COLFAX

Colfax Police Chief Rick McNannay, in a report to the city council Monday night on the increase in crime calls last month, said the department investigated eight fraud cases including one in which a Colfax resident lost $5,000.

The chief, who issued a fraud alert in the middle of the month, said the case here involved an elderly resident who was falsely advised that a grandchild had been arrested and would need $5,000 to be released from custody.

He said payment here followed a pattern recently used in such scams in which the victim purchases cash cards at a supermarket service counter and then provides the card numbers to the scammers who then collect on sums deposited to purchase the cards.

Colfax police responded to 298 calls in March, 86 more than in March of last year. For the year to date, the department has responded to 745 calls.

SPOKANE MAN AIR-LIFTED FROM WRECK

A passenger in a 2002 Chevrolet Trailblazer which went out of control and rolled off Highway 195 in the Cashup Flat area was taken by MedStar Helicopter to Providence Sacred Heart Hospital Friday. The passenger was identified as Brandon Abraham, 27, Spokane.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, Abraham was a passenger in the Trailblazer which was being driven northbound on Highway 195 at 11:55 a.m. Friday by John D. McConnell, 22, also of Spokane.

The report said McConnell attempted to pass two northbound vehicles and swerved back into the northbound lane. The Trailblazer went out of control and rolled off the southbound side of the highway.

McConnell was not injured in the accident, and another passenger, Chance Haskins, 26, Spokane, sustained injuries but was not transported from the scene.

The report said Abraham was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.

TWO U of I CANAL

SESSIONS

The first of two discussion sessions on “Canals and the Colfax Community” was conducted during the noon hour Wednesday at the Colfax library. The project is a program of University of Idaho Landscape Architecture students. The meetings are intended to be a community discussion on rural landscapes and what makes them unique. Residents will be asked to give their perceptions of the flood control channels which were installed in Colfax more than 50 years ago by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The second session will be Saturday, April 9, from 2 to 3 p.m. Light refreshments available. Participation by residents will be appreciated. Shannon Elliott, one of the students presenting the project, said they hope to get between 10 and 15 people at each session.

They hope the sessions will help with an upcoming survey and what the responses would be if the channel was altered in some fashion in the future.

Other students on the project, a class on resilient landscapes, are Kailie Leggett and Erik Luvaas.

WARRANT ISSUED FOR HIMES

A bench warrant was issued last week in superior court for the arrest of Kenneth Himes, former Tekoa resident who has failed to comply with court orders to pay restitution on burglary and drug convictions which date back to 2014. Senior Deputy Prosector Daniel LeBeau applied for the warrant after Himes failed to appear in court and show cause why he has not made payments on the sums due. Total amount of his legal financial obligations due was cited at $13,870.

Himes was sentenced in December of 2014 on charges of possession of methamphetamine and theft of a motor vehicle. He was originally ordered to make $200 monthly payments for restitution, fines and fees. The payment order was reduced to $50 per month, but he was ordered to appear in court March 25 and show cause why he had not made the payments.

Shelia Evans, who was arrested with Himes in the late 2014 case, appeared in court March 11 to show cause why she had not been making payments as ordered. Her monthly payment amounts were reduced to $50. Evans owes sums on three convictions in 2014 which include burglary and stolen vehicles. Restitution orders on those listed convictions include $580, $1,622 and $4,340.

WORK ON

CENTER UNDERWAY

Work on The Center project at the library is now being done by Mangum Construction of Clarkston. Amount of the project has been set at $109,000, according to a building permit filed at city hall March 24. The work to date has included framing and insulation. Two walls have been installed to separate back segments of The Center which is made up of two former store units. Also involved in the project will be installation of a new gas furnace for $9,992 for a separate building permit also issued on that date.

Library Director Kristie Kirkpatrick said the current project will complete the front sections on both sides of The Center. Still left to be completed will be addition of restrooms which would allow the library to operate The Center without having to keep the library open.

Colfax YARD OF THE MONTH

A Yard of the Month award program for Colfax will start this month. Residents can nominate a yard, other than their own, by sending an email to the city or bringing in the information to city hall. Owner of the property, location and three photos are requested for the nomination. The city has a new “Yard of the Month” sign which will be posted in the yard of the winner each month. A certificate will be presented to each winner at the first city council session each month.

Deadline for nominations this month will be April 21. The first presentation of the award will be at the May 2 city council session.

EARLY

MORNING FIRE RESPONSE

A Colfax fire crew responded to a report of a neon sign sparking at Cougar Food Mart at 1:52 a.m. Monday morning. Power supply to the sign had been turned off by the time the fire crew arrived at the scene in the N. 800 block of Colfax.

CIVIL SUIT FILED IN

WARNER CASE

A civil suit for personal injuries was filed in superior court March 30 by the Spokane attorney representing Dr. David Warner, the former WSU assistant professor who was injured in an early morning fight three years ago outside of Stubblefield’s, one of the college hill bars in Pullman. The civil suit names four people who were named as suspects in an assault case plus Lawrence McDonald, who was reported to be with Warner at the time of the early morning fight.

The four suspects said to be on one side of the fight were arrested in the weeks after the assault and McDonald, then 31, was arrested May 14, 2013. All were released after the arrests and never subsequently charged. In January of 2014, the prosecutor’s office announced criminal charges would not be filed. The office noted they opted to issue a public statement at that time because of “the significance of the case to Dr. Warner and the community.” It noted Dr. Warner sustained serious head injuries when his head hit the pavement during the fight March 30, 2013.

The civil suit alleges Dr. Warner was comatose for several weeks after the injury and has sustained permanent brain injuries. It said Warner that night attempted to act as peacemaker between McDonald and the others.

Listed as defendants in addition to McDonald are Robert Bean, John Matt Cabanos-Soriano, Madeline Fouts and Josh Nantz. The prosecutor’s statement Jan. 16, 2014, said the problem with prosecuting the case in criminal court was an inability to reconcile video camera recordings of the fight with testimony from witnesses who saw parts of the fight. It also said the surveillance recordings had blind spots.

The personal injury civil suit was filed by Spokane attorney William Gilbert, who earlier filed a suit against Washington State University, as owners of the Adams Mall property which contains the Stubblefield’s bar, Corporate Pointe Developers, the property manager, and Blind Squirrel LLC, the operator of Stubblefield’s.

Gilbert also filed another suit against Blind Squirrel LLC and listed eight defendants and spouses identified as members of Blind Squirrel. In a prior court hearing on his first suit, Gilbert was not allowed to add the members of Blind Squirrel as defendants.

Trial date on the first suit, which was initially filed in Thurston County, had been set for next October but has now been moved back to May 2017. Gilbert’s March 29 signature date on the suits came a day before the state’s three-year limit for filing civil suits from the alleged date of the occurrence.

Specific damages are not listed in any of the three suits which note amount of damages will be determined at trial.