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.

CITY RESTORES FIRE CHIEF POSITION

Colfax City Council members Monday night approved a new staffing plan for the city fire department which will restore the position of “fire chief” to the roster. Mayor Todd Vanek, who introduced the proposal, said it was worked out by the council’s public safety committee in conjunction with fire department volunteers.

The plan calls for the city to hire a fire chief who will head the city’s fire department and work with fire volunteers who will continue to be headed by their own fire chief.

Staffing of the city fire department has been in limbo since the dismissal of Carl Thompson who served as city fire administrator. After his dismissal, the city removed the fire administrator position from the lineup of employee positions in the department.

The new fire chief position, which is expected to have a pay grade comparable to the police chief’s position, will not be a civil service position.

Councilwoman Jeannette Solomine, chair of the public safety committee, said they expect the person hired as fire chief to take an active role in developing efficiency, maintenance and training in the department.

Councilman Jim Kackman said his aim was to have a clear chain of command and an understanding of how the city fire department will operate with the volunteers.

Clark Capwell, chief of the volunteers, said there has always been a protocol for the chain of command when the city and volunteers respond to fire calls.

The city will now begin a hiring search for a fire chief. A decision on budgeting for the new position will be made after the city determines the status of the fire budget after the new chief is hired.

The fire department has been operating with the two captains standing 24-hour shifts and members of the volunteers and others rotating in for the third shift.

SENTENCED

TO 51 MONTHS

Clifford N. Lacy, 65, was sentenced to 51 months in state prison Friday on a conviction for child molestation in the first degree. Lacy, who was arrested Jan. 27, pleaded guilty to the charge March 25. His pre-trial release was revoked at that time and he was taken into custody.

After his arrest, Lacy was released from jail on his own recognizance Jan. 28 and he was formally charged with child molestation Jan. 29. He was charged with molesting a girl under the age of 12 some time between August 2012 and June 2013. His arrest Jan. 27 came after the victim gave an account of the molestation.

A warrant of commitment to the state Department of Corrections, filed Monday in superior court, credited Lacy with 53 days already served in the jail here.

Under the state’s sexual offender provisions, Lacy actually faces an indeterminate sentence with 51 months as the minimum. After he serves the minimum he will undergo a hearing by a review board which will decide whether he qualifies for release. If the board rules he can be released, he will continue to be on state supervision as a sexual offender for the remainder of his life and be subject to a list of conditions.

FOUR HURT IN COLLISION

Four people were hurt in a two-car collision Sunday afternoon on the Pullman-Albion Road three miles east of Albion. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Chelsea Emerson, 25, Palouse, drove a 1993 Ford Thunderbird onto the roadway from a private residence into the path of a 1997 Ford Expedition which was being driven westbound on the Pullman-Albion Road at 3:45 p.m. by Victoria Waltz, 19, Pullman.

Emerson and two passengers in the Thunderbird were transported by ambulance to Pullman Memorial Hospital. The passengers were Wesley Parkison, 25, Pullman, and Ryan Richardez, 6, Palouse.

Waltz was transported by ambulance to Whitman Hospital in Pullman.

Cause of the accident was listed as Emerson’s failure to yield.

RAINFALL TALLY AT .75

The rainfall reading at the NRCS gauge in Colfax Monday morning was .75 of an inch for the weekend with most of it received in Sunday’s downpour. Rainfall total for May is now .85. Average precipitation for May is 1.61 inches.

COLLISION ON HIGHWAY 194

Reese P. Sturm, Hoquiam, sustained a shoulder injury in a two-car accident on Highway 194 eight miles west of Pullman Sunday at 12:30 p.m. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Sturm was driving a 2002 Acura westbound and lost control in a corner. The Acura slid into the westbound ditch, went back up onto the roadway, crossed the centerline and collided with a 2014 Toyota Sienna which was being driven eastbound by Dianne Schlott, Pullman. A 16-year-old boy in the Sienna sustained a head injury in the collision.

DENIES THREATS TO CPS AGENTS

Patrick Kelley, 33, former Garfield resident who has been in jail since he was arrested May 2, was allowed release on his own recognizance Friday after he pleaded not guilty to two charges of intimidation of a public servant. Kelley allegedly threatened two state Child Protective Services agents who had made a call at his residence May 2.

According to the arrest report by Garfield Officer Joe Merry, Kelley at the time threatened to “sit at the mouth of the canyon (in Colfax) with a rifle and fill some body bags.”

Kelley told the judge Friday he would reside with his mother in Elk River, Idaho, and intended to make a change in his life. Kelley was scheduled for trial on July 18.

LACROSSE MAN ARRESTED

Alfred P. Libby, 46, LaCrosse, was allowed release on his own recognizance Friday after a first appearance in superior court on a probable charge of burglary and theft. Libby was arrested early Friday for allegedly taking two fuel cans from a shed at an unoccupied residence in the LaCrosse area.

According to the arrest report, Libby became a suspect when he was recognized on photos taken from a trail camera which had been set up in the shop. Deputies recognized Libby as a newspaper distribution employee who picks up paper bundles in the early morning hours in Colfax.

The two cans, one metal and one plastic, were filled with gasoline.

Libby was ordered to return to court Friday for arraignment in the event formal charges are filed in the case.

SCHARFF

SENTENCED

TO 14 MONTHS

Dakota D. Scharff, the Spokane resident who was arrested in Rosalia April 28 after a high speed chase on highways and roads in the northern part of the county, was sentenced to 14 months in prison Friday morning after pleading guilty to charges of attempting to elude and obstructing an officer. The eluding charge included an enhancement factor for endangerment.

Prosecutor Denis Tracy requested the 14-month sentence after describing the police chase and Scharff’s arrest in Rosalia. The prosecutor noted Scharff at the end of the chase came close to hitting Glenn Edgemon of Rosalia who was standing in the parking lot behind the Methodist Church. Tracy said Edgemon, who was dumping lawn clippings in the lot, looked up and saw the Honda Scharff was driving coming right at him. Scharff avoided hitting Edgemon by veering the car which then went over a three-foot retaining wall.

Scharff and a passenger in the car, Chantelle Dragos, 29, also of Spokane, were arrested at the north end of Rosalia after surrendering to Trooper Bruce Blood.

In his account, Tracy also noted Scharff made a dangerous pass of a school bus during the chase.

Scharff had also faced a drug possession charge which was related to evidence found near the car, but that charge was dropped as part of Friday’s plea agreement.

Tracy said Scharff hit a utility trailer and a Ford Bronco near the end of the chase, but damage to those two vehicles was not enough to ask for restitution.

The prosecutor reported Scharff was wanted on a warrant out of Florida, but officials there were not willing to take custody of him. Judge David Frazier noted Scharff, now 21, had compiled an extensive record up to this point. He asked Scharff if he didn’t think it was about time for him to grow up.

The judge also suspended a sentence on the obstruction plea but placed Scharff on two years probation. He noted if Scharff got into trouble after his release from prison he could be returned to court here and the sentence on the obstruction plea would be imposed. Dragos pleaded not guilty to the charges against her last week in court and has been scheduled for a June 13 trial. Bond for her pre-trial release was kept at $50,000 at her arraignment last week.

ROSALIA

BALLOTS

DISQUALIFIED

Five votes from voters in Rosalia Fire District Seven were disqualified at the May 6 election canvassing board session because they were the first-issue ballots which had the district’s merger proposition worded in reverse. The county elections office discovered the incorrect wording soon after the ballots were mailed out and sent a second mailing with the proper wording.

The first-issue ballots that were mailed back from fire district residents were set aside by elections officials to see if the corrected second-issue ballots were eventually cast and returned. When the second-issue ballots, which were specially marked, were returned they were tallied.

The five votes which were not counted were from voters who did not send the second issue ballots which had the correct wording in the merger proposition.

All five of the ballots also contained the special levy proposition for the Rosalia Park and Recreation District. Those five votes were included in the count for the parks levy. The park votes were transferred to duplicate ballots and added to the park levy count.

The Rosalia First District measure proposed merging the Town of Rosalia fire department into Rural Fire District Seven. The first mail-out to voters in the rural district worded the merger proposal in reverse.

Ballots sent to residents in the Town of Rosalia carried the correct wording for the proposal, so a second mailing of ballots did not go to town residents.

The fire district merger was approved 113-yes 34-no by town voters and 47-13 by rural fire district voters.

The Rosalia Park and Recreation District voters approved a $60,000 maintenance and operations levy 153-68. Rosalia voters also approved a $69,000 street levy 95-52.

Seventeen ballots were disqualified by the canvassing board May 6. The board determined three ballots had been returned after the April 26 deadline, 11 ballots could not be delivered, two ballots were returned unsigned and one ballot had a signature which failed to match the one in the voter’s registration file.

PICKUP HITS GUARDRAIL

Alisa J. Ly, Seattle, was unhurt May 11 when the pickup truck she was driving struck the guardrail along Highway 26 near Dusty. She was driving a 2005 Ford Ranger pickup eastbound at 11:30 a.m. when she went onto the eastbound shoulder and corrected to the left. The Ranger crossed the highway and struck the guardrail on the opposite side of the highway.

BOAT LOCK REC SCHEDULE

The lock schedule for recreational boats on the Snake River started Monday and will continue through Sept. 15, according to a report by the Army Corps of Engineers. The lock times are the same for all dams on the Snake and Columbia rivers.

Upstream lock times are 9 a.m., 12:01 p.m., 3 p.m., 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Downstream times are 30 minutes later at 9:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Recreational vessels have precedence over commercial vessels during the designated times. At other times, recreational vessels may be allowed to lock through with commercial craft at the discretion of the lock master.

BRIDGE WORK CLOSES 195

A shutdown of the Highway 195 bridge across the N. Fork of the Palouse River at the north end of Main St. in Colfax began Monday. Traffic could be impacted between the hours of 6 a.m. and 4 p.m., according to the report from Al Gilson, spokesman for the Department of Transportation eastern region. Work could continue as late as Thursday.

Traffic on Highway 195 was detoured around the Highway 26 spur bridge while work gets underway on the 195 bridge. Gilson’s report said repairs will be made to the piers of the 195 bridge.

The condition of the 195 bridge was listed as a key factor in upgrading the priority of a project to completely revamp the intersection of highways 26 and 195 at the Y in north Colfax.

TASER

FOLLOWS SPEED CHASE

Robert A. Myrick, 48, LaCrosse, was held on $100,000 bail May 11 after a high speed chase which ended with Myrick being downed with a taser gun after he allegedly failed to comply with a deputy’s order to surrender. Myrick was apprehended at his residence on Little Alkali Road south of Dusty where he stopped his car to end the chase.

In his arrest report, Deputy Michael Melcher said Myrick was yelling and failed to comply with orders to surrender. He said at one point Myrick opened the door on the passenger side of his car. The report said Myrick began to walk toward a shed and residence on the property. Melcher’s report said he yelled “taser” before discharging the stun device and Myrick fell face first. The report said Myrick began to comply after the deputy warned him he would use the taser gun again. Myrick was checked by LaCrosse EMTs before he was taken to the jail here.

Melcher’s report said he spotted the Geo Tracker Myrick had been driving parked in LaCrosse late afternoon on May 10 and made a records check which confirmed Myrick had a suspended driver’s license. He said he later noted the Geo was not in the parking lot, but he later saw it at the intersection of Highway 26 and Young Road west of LaCrosse. He recognized Myrick driving the car. The chase went down Highway 26, onto Brink Road and then onto Little Alkali Road where Myrick pulled into his residence.

Melcher’s report said at one point during the chase Myrick threw what appeared to be a can of beer out of the Geo. He said cans of beer, opened and unopened, were later found in the Geo. Myrick was booked into the county jail on probable charges of felony eluding, driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license and failing to have an ignition interlock device installed on his car.

Myrick allegedly declined to undergo a breathalyzer test at the jail and a warrant was obtained to draw a blood sample from him.

FLOWER POTS ON MAIN STREET

Thirty-two flower pots were distributed along Main Street curb-outs May 9 by Steve Larkin, Colfax parks director. Flowers for the pots were again donated by the Colfax FFA chapter after its annual sale. The FFA also donated other plants which will go into the rehab of the planting beds at Codger Pole Park and hanging baskets which will be placed at city hall.

The work on the Codger flower beds is being done by the Late Bloomers, the newly-formed Colfax garden club. Larkin noted the Late Bloomers were also responsible for planting the curb-out pots. Businesses are again encouraged to keep the curb-out pots located in front of their respective businesses watered and weeded.

The FFA chapter also donated tomato, pumpkin and squash plants for the community garden boxes located north of Peace Lutheran Church.