Bulletin Column Aug. 11

-Joe Kupferling photo

Fletcher fire fight

One of the large tankers drops red fire retardant on the Fletcher Road fire which burned more than 9,000 acres in the Lyons Ferry area after lightning struck at three different locations Sunday.

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.

VOTE TALLY ADDS 2,943 BALLOTS

County Elections officials tallied 2,943 more ballots from the primary election Friday morning. Friday’s tally bumped the total count of ballots to 6,952 from the 4,009 which were tabulated Tuesday night, Aug. 2, after the polls closed.

One of the ballot items at the top of the checklist was one of two Farmington special levy requests which failed to get the required 60 percent approval on the first count. The request for a $12,000 street levy still lags under 60 percent, with a count of 26 in favor and 18 opposed for a 59 percent approval.

Farmington’s other measure for an $8,000 levy to boost the current expense fund now has a 29-19 vote count for 65.9 percent approval.

In the three-way race for Ninth District Representative, Mary Dye now has 50.15 percent of the vote at 3,318, and Jennifer Goulet of Pasco has 39.13 percent at 2,589. Hailey Roemer has just more than 10 percent with 682 votes.

Bill Bryant, the GOP challenger for governor, continues to hold a slim lead here over incumbent Democrat Jay Inslee with 3,078 votes for 45.46 percent. Gov. Inslee has 2,846 votes for 42 percent. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers and Joe Pakootas are now 416 votes apart in the county tally with 2,923 for the incumbent and 2,507 for Pakootas.

DRIVER UNHURT IN Colfax CRASH

Wendy Poponi, 63, Farmington, was unhurt Sunday afternoon in a one-car rollover accident at the bottom of the Highway 195 grade coming into Colfax. According to Colfax officer Jaelene Bryan, Poponi was driving a 1996 Jeep Cherokee down the grade into Colfax when she went onto the shoulder of the highway and then into a ditch. The Cherokee hit a rock in the ditch and rolled onto its top west of the turnoff to Cedar Street. Time of the accident was approximately 3:20 p.m.

POLICE SEEK INFO ON

WINDOW HIT

Colfax Police are seeking any information related to vandalism to a front window at Steve’s Glass in the 300 block of N. Main. Two holes were knocked into the window. Police believe a rock was used. The outer layer of the double pane window was fractured by the hits which were discovered by the Steve’s crew on Friday morning.

INJURY

ACCIDENT ON HILTY ROAD

Andra R. Warner, 49, St. John, was taken to Whitman Hospital Monday night for treatment of minor injuries sustained in an accident on Hilty Road east of Colfax. She was transported to the hospital by a Colfax ambulance crew.

Time of the accident was listed at 7:17 p.m. in the sheriff’s log. The vehicle involved was a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. A full accident report was not available at the sheriff’s office Tuesday morning.

JAIL FURLOUGH FAILURE

A request by Casey James Guier, 34, Pullman, to serve out the balance of his jail sentence on weekends was denied in superior court Friday morning. Guier admitted to the court he was an alcoholic, but said he has vowed to never touch another drop of alcohol after undergoing a religious experience in jail.

In his petition to the court, he said he wanted to get out of jail during the work week to search for a job while the employment opportunities are available at the start of the college term.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Dan LeBeau said Guier’s account sounded to him like a previous appeal which Guier made to the court June 24 when he was allowed a three-day furlough from jail to help his father with upkeep problems on the family’s rural residence in the Deary, Idaho, area.

LeBeau said Guier wound up in Pullman where he violated a court no-contact order. He said Guier had a blood alcohol reading of .23 and traces of opiates and THC in his blood. He said Guier was a danger to the public.

Guier had explained to the court he started drinking while on the jail furlough after he spotted his ex-girlfriend and became depressed.

He was sentenced to six months in jail May 27 after pleading guilty to a charge of attempted first-degree burglary and fourth-degree assault. The conviction stems from a Pullman Police response to a call from his ex-girlfriend who told police he tried to enter her apartment.

TRIAL DATE SET IN ARSON CASE

A Sept. 19 trial was set Friday in superior court for William J. Young II, 39, Spokane, after he pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree arson and harassment. Young has been charged with starting the fire which destroyed a second level room at the American Travel Inn on S. Grand in Pullman in the early morning hours of July 19. He remains in jail after his bond for pre-trial release was set at $100,000.

According to the Pullman investigation report, Young, a member of a construction crew which had been residing at the motel, allegedly made threats against another crew member and was observed attempting to light toilet paper with a propane torch.

AMERICAN PICKERS HERE?

The American Pickers television show featuring Mike Wolfe and Frank Fritz plans for the duo to make a tour of Washington state in September, and they are looking for places to visit. The duo makes stops only at private collections which are not open to the public, according to Natasha Moore, casting associate.

American Pickers is broadcast on the History Channel. To suggest a September stop for the duo, call 1-855-653-7878 or email [email protected].

MOTORCYLE RIDER HURT

Guy Mousseau, 64, Vernon, B.C., was flown by helicopter to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane Saturday after sustaining injuries in a motorcycle accident on Highway 23 approximately five miles west of Steptoe. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Mousseau was riding a 2007 Honda Gold Wing southbound at 2:56 p.m. The motorcycle went into gravel on the shoulder of the road and then slid across both lanes and into the ditch on the north side.

Mousseau was taken by ambulance to the school playfield in Steptoe where he was loaded onto the helicopter. He was reported to be in satisfactory condition at the hospital with no fractured bones, no internal injuries and no concussion.

He had been riding with two friends at the time of the accident.

TROOPER

COLLIDES

WITH MOOSE

Washington State Trooper Robert Taylor was unhurt Friday night when he collided with a juvenile moose on Highway 195 in the Cashup Flat area north of Steptoe. According to the accident report by Trooper Rob Aucutt, Taylor was driving southbound at 9:28 p.m. and encountered the moose which was in the southbound lane. He attempted to evade the animal but hit it with the left front of the 2016 Ford Explorer he was driving.

SENTENCE IN PROSTITUTION CASE

Josiah Harris, 23, Spokane, the third suspect in the July 1 arrest in Pullman after investigation of an escort case, was sentenced to 37 days in jail with credit for the same amount of time served awaiting trial. He pleaded guilty in superior court Friday morning to charges of attempting to promote prostitution and permitting prostitution.

Harris was also ordered to pay $700 in fines and fees and placed on one year of unsupervised probation.

Harris was described as a supporter of two women who were alleged to be linked to a Spokane escort service which had advertised on the internet that they would be in Pullman the weekend of July 1. Pretending to be a potential client, a Pullman police officer called the advertised number and ascertained the service involved prostitution. The number on the escort advertisement turned out to be for a telephone that belonged to Harris.

The two women arrested with Harris pleaded guilty two weeks ago to drug charges.

MISSING

3-YEAR-OLD FOUND

The sheriff’s office received a report of a missing three-year-old boy in Rosalia Wednesday, Aug. 3, at 8:46 a.m. The report led to a search by many Rosalia residents. The youngster reportedly wandered away from home with his dog. He was located by Trenton Gregory, one of the volunteer searchers, after another neighbor spotted the boy.

The youngster had traveled approximately two blocks from his residence, according to the deputy’s report.

GLENWOOD LINE

QUESTIONS

Undertaking a replacement of the city’s water supply line from Glenwood to Colfax was questioned at the Aug. 1 city council session by Councilman Jim Kackman. He noted he was a little hesitant about the city embarking on a project to replace the line which is estimated to cost in the $3.5 million range.

The city has obtained grant funds for an engineering study of the line and is seeking grant funds for actually replacing the line.

Kackman said he has determined the Glenwood line is made up of cast iron sections which are bolted together. The 20-foot segments are joined with lead joints, but the lead has not been showing up in the water supply.

“Just because its an old water line doesn’t mean we have to replace it,” Kackman commented.

He also noted the city has access to the line when repairs are needed. Segments of the line are located under North Palouse River Road, and that means it has to sustain impact from truck traffic along the road. One unknown is the depth of the line beneath the road surface at different locations.

The Glenwood line was actually damaged when grading was done to link it with the access road to Red Tail Ridge.