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.

TWO HURT IN COLLISION

Drivers of two pickup trucks were taken to Whitman Hospital Tuesday morning after a collision on Highway 195 four miles south of Colfax. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Troy Torgeson, 45, was driving a 1993 Toyota pickup truck southbound at 6:27 a.m. when it sustained a mechanical failure. The driver over-corrected and the Toyota rolled into the northbound lane.

Gary W. Moore, 72, Colfax, was driving northbound in a 2000 Ford F-250 pickup and was unable to avoid the rolling Toyota. He stopped the Ford on the southbound shoulder after the collision. Injuries to the drivers were described as non life-threatening.

INFO SOUGHT ON CAR

DAMAGE

Colfax police are seeking information on a collision in which a 1983 Oldsmobile Delta, parked at the corner of Thorn and S. Main, was struck at 1:11 p.m.

Friday.

The front corner of the parked sedan was damaged and the rear view mirror was knocked off.

Chief Rick McNannay said a surveillance tape mounted on the Siesta Motel shows the car was hit by the back of a large camper trailer which was being towed by a large-size red pickup truck.

The driver of the truck swung the trailer to the right to make a left turn onto S. Main.

McNannay said the accident would not be considered a hit and run because the driver of the truck probably was not aware that the back of the trailer hit the parked sedan.

FAIR BOARD DROPS BEER GARDEN

The Palouse Empire Fair board Monday night voted to drop the Saturday night beer garden from the fair’s lineup of events. The beer garden, which has been the topic of discussion at the two previous meetings, was on the agenda for a decision for Monday night’s meeting, and fair board members opted to end the attraction on a 6-2 vote.

The beer garden topic surfaced after fair directors reported they received several complaints about noise and conduct of people who remained at the beer garden into the early Sunday morning hours of the fair. Closing time for the attraction was 1 a.m. Many complaints came from people who were in campers on the grounds.

The board at previous sessions discussed closing down the beer garden earlier, or possibly changing the format to some type of adult dance in the newly remodeled Events Center building. Board President Sid Mays of LaCrosse called for a show of hands after a call for a verbal “aye” vote indicated some board members present were in favor and some opposed to closing down the event.

The beer garden reportedly ranked second among the fair’s year-to-year food and drink vendors with $1,200 in revenue to the fair.

In other business Monday night, the fair board voted to move the third-grade visitation day to Thursday instead of Friday and advance the official Sunday shut down time of the fair to 4 p.m. Schools around the county were notified of the possible change to third grade day, but only two districts responded and those two did not register an opinion. The change was made because Friday events at the fair have increased.

The board opted for the 4 p.m. shutdown Sunday to allow participants more time to return home after the four-day run.

WEED

SPRAYING ALERT

Colfax crews plan to begin the annual pesticide application program in parks and along curbs. Application flags will be posted after spraying and remain in place until the application has dried. Residents are asked to stay out of the parks while the flags are posted. After they are removed the parks can be re-occupied. Public Works Director Matt Hammer said residents who do not want curb spaces sprayed in front of their property are required to post signs that can be seen from the street by next Monday, May 2.

Tekoa DRUG CASE TRIAL SET

A July 18 trial was scheduled for Kristie Disney of Tekoa Friday after she pleaded not guilty in superior court to a charge of delivering a controlled substance to a residence within 1,000 feet of a school. Disney is charged with delivering marijuana to a house on N. Howard in Tekoa Feb. 9.

Deputies went to Tekoa that day after receiving a report residents of Tekoa were complaining that Blaine Tee was providing marijuana to minors who visited him at that residence.

According to the arrest report, a minor who was at the residence identified “Crystal” as the person who had supplied the marijuana by allegedly leaving a package of marijuana on the kitchen counter at the residence.

The report alleges deputies who went to Tekoa that day received information that led them to believe Tee had traded a snowmobile to Disney in exchange for marijuana.

Tee April 15 pleaded guilty to a charge of delivery of marijuana and theft of a firearm and has been scheduled for an April 29 sentencing in superior court. The marijuana charge was originally filed as delivery of marijuana to a juvenile, but was later revised. The gun theft took place in Tekoa after Tee had been released on bail while the marijuana charge was pending.

FOUR WIN FBLA MEDALS

Four members of the Colfax High School Future Business leaders returned home with medals from the state competition last week at the convention center in Spokane.

They include Jullene Sager, fourth in creed; Jayden Burt, fourth in “pitch it;” Dylan Nails, third in job interview, and Airelle Grimaud, second in job interview and fifth in extemporaneous speaking.

ARRESTED AT JOHNSON

Lanette M. Frei, 44, Albion, was booked into the county jail on probable charges of drug possession and trespassing after a deputy responded to a report of a vehicle parked in the dump pit area of the Johnson Elevator last Wednesday morning, April 20. According to the deputy’s report, Frei was stopped after she drove the vehicle out of the dump pit.

Frei told the deputy she had driven to Johnson from Pullman to visit her father, but opted to park the vehicle in the elevator dump pit area because she did not want to wake him up in the early morning hours. She told the deputy she had finished a shift working as a janitor at WSU at 1 a.m. and went rollerblading around Pullman until 4 a.m. when she decided to make the trip to Johnson where she arrived at about 5:30 a.m.

The deputy’s report said he became suspicious of her behavior and, after receiving permission to search the vehicle, he recovered a methamphetamine pipe which was inside a bag of cereal between the front seats.

She was transported to the jail and small bags of what was believed to be methamphetamine were found on her person when she was being booked, the report alleged.

She was released April 21 on her own recognizance. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Le Beau said they do not anticipate filing a formal charge within 72 hours because a lab report on the suspected drugs was not expected to be finished by that time.

CHECKS ON WATER BILLING CONCEPT

Tom Kammerzell of Colfax inquired at the April 18 city council session about a possible move by the city to bill landlords for utility services which go to tenants. Kammerzell said he believed it would be pretty hard for landlords to determine the usage for individual tenants and then get reimbursement after paying the single utility bill sent by the city.

The possible change in policy was reported in the Bulletin two weeks ago in a story related to a survey form which was sent out to all utility customers last month and asked for information to update the city’s records on its water customers. City Finance Director Chris Mathis said the survey form was sent as part of a conversion by the city to a new software program and signing on of a new bill collection agency.

City Administrator Michael Rizzitiello Monday said the possible change in billing policy has not been presented to the council.

Mathis Monday told the council that type of billing policy had been adopted by Rosalia. She said the town there determined an average of excess water use and added a uniform sum to the water bills.

Also Monday, council members reported they were questioned by residents about the survey form which was sent with last month’s water bills. The form requests social security and drivers license numbers. Mathis again explained those numbers were sought to help locate former tenants who departed without paying the city for water and sewer use.

She noted the city also received complaints about the survey form, and residents were told they did not have to list the social security and drivers license numbers when they returned the survey forms.

ALLEGED WORK SITE ASSAULT

A June 13 trial date was set in superior court Friday morning for Samuel Cox, Pullman, after he pleaded not guilty to charges of second degree and fourth degree assault. Cox has been held in jail here without bail since he was arrested in Pullman for allegedly assaulting a co-worker at a construction site. According to the Pullman Police report, officers responded April 19 to the work site on NW Larry Street. The arrest report said the alleged victim was pushed over a fence. It said the victim became caught in the fence and was punched multiple times by Cox.

The Pullman arrest report urged the court to set a high bail for pre-trial release because of concern for the safety of the alleged victim’s family. The report said Cox is believed to have a grudge against the victim, who recently received a promotion that Cox believed should have gone to him as a long-time employee of the construction company.

SPRING

CHINOOK

OPENING

Spring Chinook salmon fishing is scheduled to open this weekend on the Snake River. The daily limit will be six hatchery salmon with no more than one adult Chinook. Local areas open for fishing will be below Little Goose Dam from the Texas Rapids boat launch on the south side upstream from the Tucannon to the restriction boundary below the dam.

The other area will be at Clarkston downstream from the state line to the power lines across the river at the West Evans Road on the south side.

Both the Little Goose and Clarkston will open May 1 and will continue to be open Sunday and Monday of each week, according to the report by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.

KROUSE NOTES FIRE DEPT. CHANGES

Former long-time Colfax Fire Chief Jim Krouse at the April 18 city council session pointed out changes in the Colfax fire service over the last 30 years. Krouse noted the changes in context with pending decisions about changing the way the city staffs the fire department.

The city is expected to look at several options for changing the staffing which now has three fire employees who man the station on 24-hour shifts.

Krouse said he realizes several towns the size of Colfax do not have paid fire staff employees on duty, but he noted some reasons for maintaining the practice in some form.

He pointed out fire officers on duty now act as first responders when they get an emergency medical call. The on-duty officer at the station responds to the call in the department’s pickup truck after issuing a call for an ambulance crew. Krouse noted the department now can have a first response to a Colfax medical emergency in three to five minutes after receiving the call, and in some instances that quick response time has saved lives. Volunteers are called to duty when the station gets the alarm, and they follow the first responder in an ambulance.

The retired chief, who still serves as a volunteer, also pointed out Colfax has fewer in-town volunteers who can respond to calls during the day. He said as many as half of the 25 to 30 volunteers on the roster have out-of-town jobs during the day.

Krouse also said when he started with the service, the ambulance calls totaled perhaps 300 a year, and in 2015 the ambulance service had approximately 900 calls. He said he believes one reason for the increase is the aging of the population.

Councilwoman Jeannette Solimine, head of the city council’s public safety committee, again said Monday they would be looking at several options for changing fire department staffing, but the topic was not discussed at the meeting. The topic surfaced at the previous council session when the council was advised possibly two of the three people now on staff could be out of the lineup.

‘FIRE

ADMINISTRATOR’ SCRATCHED

A revision of the official description of city staffing in the fire department, approved by the Colfax city council April 18, has dropped the term “fire administrator.” The revision now just lists staffing as three people for the fire department.

City Administrator Michael Rizzitiello said the change was made to designate the staffing number for the fire department which could be in the budget. The need for the designation evolved from an argument in city court when the employment status of an arresting officer was challenged by a defense attorney who argued the police department staff exceeded the budget.

Part of the discussion April 4 of possible changes for fire department staffing evolved from the dismissal last month of Carl Thompson, who served as fire administrator.

The fire administrator headed the city fire employees, but the volunteer firefighters, who respond to fire and ambulance alarms, are headed by Chief Clark Capwell.

Councilman Jim Kackman Monday night said one thing he would like to see come out of the discussion is a unified chain of command for the city’s fire and ambulance services.

PERKINS DAY NOW SET FOR BANNERS

Colfax Arts Council has decided to recognize this year’s banner artists in conjunction with the Perkins House Ice Cream Social, Sunday, June 26. The Peoples’ Choice award and Artist’s Choice award will be presented as part of the Perkins festivities, according to Emily Adams, contest coordinator.

The change led to a one week setback in the banner schedule. Artists now are painting 11 banners which were submitted to the council and approved. The finish deadline is now set for May 13. The banners will go up on street lights May 21-22, and voting for the people’s choice will start when ballot paint cans will be located around downtown June 6 until June 24, Adams said.

Adams said, after an inventory check, the council now has 81 of the banners in its collection from the first seven years of the event.