Bulletin Column

These reports are from the previous three 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.

Colfax GIRL HIT BY TRUCK

A nine-year-old Colfax girl sustained extensive injuries to her left foot Friday evening when the bicycle she was riding went off the S. Main Street Bridge and a semi truck went over her foot. Colfax Police, EMTs, state troopers and deputies responded to the scene Friday at 6:42 p.m.

The girl was taken by Colfax ambulance to Whitman Hospital and then flown by helicopter to Providence Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane.

According to the Colfax Police report, the driver of the truck, Pavel Dunder, 31, Chicago, had stopped the 2007 Volvo trailer truck he was driving at the crosswalk to allow the girl and a friend to cross Main Street from the west side to the east side. The girl then proceeded to ride her small bike over the bridge, and Dunder continued northbound in the adjoining lane at a slow rate of speed. Chief McNannay said Dunder was passing the girl and saw the bike go off the high bridge curb in his rear view mirror. The girls foot was hit by one of the rear drive wheels of the truck. McNannay credited the truck driver with a quick response to the situation.

The accident investigation determined the truck traveled just 18 inches from the point of impact.

Colfax officers Perry Tate and Matt Malakowsky conducted the investigation. The name of the juvenile girl was not released by the police department.

CHIP SEAL PROJECT ON 27

Crack sealing in preparation for upcoming chip seal application began Tuesday on Highway 27 between the Albion Road intersection at Pullman and Palouse. Flaggers and pilot cars will direct single-lane, alternating traffic with expected delays of up to 20 minutes.

NINETY-SEVEN WRITE-INS

Election officials Friday reported 97 write-in ballots were returned by voters who opted to cast ballots on the Republican side of the state's presidential primary. The vote return also included 13 write-in ballots on the Democratic side.

The wide variation in write-ins was recorded despite almost even returns for the two parties. The Republican ballots accounted for 50.8 percent of the returns with 3,755, and the Democrats accounted for 48.7 percent with 3,601, according to the latest count from the elections office.

Election officials believe one reason for the large write-in factor on the GOP side was the lack of an active race with Donald Trump, now the lone candidate for the GOP nomination. The Democrats had a ballot choice with Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders still in contention for the nomination.

Sanders had more than 54 percent of the vote with 1,953, and Clinton had 45.4 percent with 1,635.

Count on the Republican side was 2,565 (68.3 percent) for Trump, 489 (13 percent) for Ted Cruz, 357 (9.5 percent) for John Kasich and 247 (6.6 percent) for Ben Carson.

The primary win here matches the win posted by Sanders in the Democratic caucus round which will be tallied by the party at its convention.

HEARING SET

IN VAN CASE

A fact finding hearing has been scheduled for June 9 in juvenile court for four juveniles who were apprehended in Colfax May 10 with a van which had allegedly been stolen earlier from a residence on the West Hill in Colfax. The four were allegedly spotted in the van at 3:34 a.m. by Colfax officer Perry Tate. The Dodge van had been reported missing about three hours earlier.

One of the 17-year-old juveniles facing charges is a Colfax resident who has compiled an extensive juvenile record, which included an episode in May of 2014 when he was apprehended with a BB pistol at Colfax High School.

He and another juvenile in the van have been charged with theft of a motor vehicle, being a minor in possession of alcoholic beverages and third-degree theft.

The theft charge alleges the duo took two 30-can cases of Keystone beer from Wal-Mart in Pullman. Officer Tate's report said the beer had been hidden outside in tall grass near St. Patrick's Catholic Church on the south end of town.

The other two juveniles were charged with taking the van and being minors in possession of alcohol.

Colfax Chief Rick McNannay said police believe the van was taken in Colfax and then driven to Pullman to meet up with the others. Three of the juveniles were 17. The fourth juvenile in the van was a 14-year-old female.

The Colfax juvenile and one of the other males in the van were suspected in a case which involved pushing over porta potties in a Pullman park in September of 2015.

DAY STRICKEN AT Rosalia MEET

Mike Day of Rosalia was flown by helicopter to Providence Sacred Heart Hospital in Spokane after he was stricken at the end of a Rosalia City Council meeting Tuesday. Day began to have difficulty walking as people were departing from the city council meeting. He was placed in a chair.

The Whitcom dispatcher who received the call and was advised of Day's symptoms advised people at the scene to administer CPR. Day was placed in a prone position, and Clerk Jenna McDonald administered CPR until the Rosalia ambulance crew arrived. Day was transported to the Catholic Church lot in north Rosalia for transfer to a helicopter and was then flown to the hospital.

He was released from the hospital May 26 to return home. He reported he has an appointment with a cardiologist in Spokane Friday.

Day is the Rosalia correspondent for the Gazette and an active supporter of Tekoa/Rosalia school sports teams. He also serves as Mr. Texaco at the restored station on Whitman Avenue in Rosalia and is in the process of conducting his annual Battle Days raffle to fund operation of the station.

WIND STORM REPLACEMENT

Tony and Linda Line were issued a city building permit May 25 to construct a new shop at their residence on Perkins Street. Their shop was destroyed when it was hit by a pine tree which was downed by the Nov. 17 wind storm which sent 70 mph blasts through Colfax.

Linda Line was actually in the shop when the tree hit, but she escaped uninjured. Tony Line was outside of the shop.

The tree, which fell from the hillside behind their residence, also damaged the house which was repaired in the weeks after the storm hit.

Estimated cost for constructing the new shop was listed at $27,000 in the building permit.

JURY CONVICTS ON COCAINE CHARGE

A superior court jury May 26 found Sean Healy, 20, Mukilteo, guilty of a charge of possession of cocaine. Healy was arrested by Pullman Police Officer Alexander Gordon April 30, 2015, after a short chase on foot. Gordon's arrest report said he decided to detain Healy after he saw what he believed was the suspect urinating in public. After a short chase, Healy was detained and a bag of white substance was found in a food bag the suspect was carrying.

The jury returned to court May 26 to deliberate after hearing evidence in the trial the prior day.

Healy was sentenced to 30 days in jail with the option of converting the sentence to 240 hours of community service after the jury returned the guilty verdict.

The Healy charges went to trial after the court ruled against a defense motion which contended Officer Gordon lacked sufficient cause to detain Healy after he spotted the suspect next to a canister in a stance which led him to believe Healy was urinating in public. The court ruled Gordon did have sufficient cause to believe Healy had committed a civil infraction. The pre-trial ruling did order the defense to exclude one part of the video of the arrest dealing the Healy's response during the arrest.

Colfax FLY-IN SET JUNE 25

Plans are underway for another Colfax Fly-In and breakfast at the Colfax Airport. The event last year brought in approximately 30 airplanes for a visit to Colfax. Breakfast is served to the pilots and the public at Barney Buckley's hangar and shop at the end of the airport.

The morning fly-in, slated for June 25, which is sponsored by the Lewiston chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association and the Port of Whitman, has become popular among area pilots with vintage airplanes.

MUD HOG

AT WORK

A crew from NPL Construction, Spokane Valley, worked at several locations around Colfax to install new T connections to natural gas service lines. NPL is a contractor for Avista and has done other T replacement jobs in Moscow, Pullman and Uniontown.

The crew listed plans to install 86 of the T connections in Colfax and had six holes scheduled for May 26, according to Irving Trejo, city building and community development associate.

The process involves cutting a hole in the pavement and using their "Mud Hog" excavation truck to remove dirt from the hole to reach the T connection and replace it. They then fill the hole and replace the surface.

Work started on the project Friday, May 27, and the crew anticipated a week of work on the project around town.

IDAHO DRIVER HURT

Laura A. Blakebill, Santa, Idaho, was taken by ambulance to Whitman Hospital May 23 for treatment of injuries sustained in a one-car accident 11.7 miles west of Colfax on Highway 26. According to the Washington State Patrol report, she was driving a 2000 Honda CRV eastbound at 7 a.m. She lost control of the car which crossed the center line and rolled in a field on the north side of the roadway. The car came to a halt on its wheels.

Also May 23, Mary Alderman, Garfield, sustained minor injuries at 8:15 a.m. when the 2003 Toyota Camry she was driving northbound on Highway 27 drifted onto the shoulder of the highway. The car crossed the highway and hit a dirt ditch on the southbound side 2.7 miles south of Garfield.