Bulletin Column Sept. 15

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.

HARVEST TRUCK FOUND

A farm truck which was taken from the Jones Truck & Implement lot on the Walla Walla Highway in Colfax three weeks ago has been found in Lincoln County. Chief Rick McNannay said deputies there called Monday and reported they had located the truck.

The truck was found in a wheat field near Gilliland Road which intersects with Highway 23 in the Harrington area.

The truck was reported missing Aug. 20 from the JTI lot in Colfax. It had been brought in for repairs by its owner, Cronk Farms. The truck is a 1975 International Loadstar.

According to Lincoln County deputies, the truck, which was parked along a row of trees in a field, had been spotted by the property owner who waited a couple of days before reporting its location because he thought it might have been temporarily left in the field by one of the neighbors.

McNannay noted most vehicles which are recovered from thefts normally turn up abandoned and out of fuel. The field location of the truck suggests it might have actually been pressed into use during harvest.

The chief said Officer Grant Silver, who has been assigned to the case, will be checking with elevators and other grain operators in the area to see if the truck made an appearance in the harvest operation in that area.

The truck has been recovered by the owner.

MORRISON RULED

COMPETENT

Kerry Morrison, 29, Pullman resident who was arrested May 30 after a police chase on Johnson Road south of Pullman, was scheduled for an Oct. 17 trial Friday after he was found competent to stand trial.

The competency ruling followed a court order five days earlier that Morrison could be involuntarily injected with a medication which would allow him to be treated for a psychotic disorder. The order was issued after a hearing on the proposed injection was conducted July 27. In moving for the injection order, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Daniel LeBeau said Eastern Washington State Hospital doctors said the simple injection process would allow Morrison to take medication which would restore competency.

Morrison was arrested after Pullman Police responded to a report of a car driving at a high rate of speed in the median lane of Bishop Boulevard in Pullman.

The suspect car was later spotted on Johnson Road, and during the pursuit it was said to have reached speeds of 70 mph inside the city limits where the speed is posted at 30 mph.

Distance of the chase was later determined to be 1.8 miles.

Morrison had previously been allowed release on a pending charge of third-degree assault.

He had been charged with a May 11 assault of Pullman officer Shane Emerson, who had responded with others that day to the NW Fisk Street area where Morrison resided.

The arrest report in the assault charge said officers had to use a Taser gun to subdue Morrison as he wrestled with officer Emerson.

He was subsequently released into the custody of his father, but that release was revoked after the May 30 police chase on Johnson Road.

The Oct. 17 trial date relates to the assault charge. Morrison was never charged for the alleged chase on Johnson Road.

PEGRAM TRIAL DATE SET

An Oct. 17 trial date has been set for Scott Pegram, Colfax, after he pleaded not guilty to a charge of second degree assault with sexual motivation Friday in superior court. Pegram was charged last week after he allegedly grabbed the buttocks of a female staff member at Paul’s Place in Colfax where he formerly resided. Pegram had been allowed release after his arrest last week, but he was returned to jail Sunday because he violated a court order to stay away from Paul’s Place while he was allowed pre-trial release on the first charge.

BOAT, MOTOR STOLEN

A 12-foot aluminum fishing boat has been reported missing from a residence on the Walla Walla Highway. Also missing was a 15-horse Evinrude motor which was mounted on the back.

The boat was parked at the former Paul Bilderback residence which has been destroyed by fire. Bilderback, who now resides in Steptoe, told police the boat was at the residence Sunday when he was there.

Chief Rick McNannay said other items which were in the boat were tossed out before it was removed from the scene.

SHERIFF’S CAR HITS DEER

A 2015 Ford Explorer sheriff’s car driven by Deputy James Pelissier, Jr., collided with a deer on Highway 195 early last Thursday 12 miles north of Colfax on Highway 195. Jennifer Snead of Malden, who was being transported by the deputy to Whitman Hospital where her mother was a patient, sustained a minor leg fracture injury in the accident.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, Pelissier was driving southbound at 2:15 a.m. when the deer ran onto the highway. He had been dispatched at 1:35 a.m. to assist Snead after the car she was driving was disabled on the Old Thornton Highway.

SIX MONTHS ON ROBBERY PLEA

Andrea Mount, one of two people charged with robbery in connection with a purse snatching episode May 23 outside of Safeway in Pullman, was sentenced to six months in jail Friday in superior court after pleading guilty to a charge of robbery in the second degree.

Mount, 25, Cheney, was the driver of a car which sped out of the lot after the male suspect in the case allegedly grabbed purses from two elderly women who had rolled shopping carts out of the store and were preparing to load their purchases into cars. One of the victims was 90 years old.

The car was later stopped in Moscow, and Mount was brought to jail here after she was arrested in Idaho on a warrant.

In addition to the six months in jail, she was placed on 12 months of probation and ordered to pay $800 in fines and fees. Mount’s alleged accomplice remains in Moscow where he was wanted on a warrant before the Pullman case.

Judge David Frazier Friday advised Mount she should be more careful about the company she keeps.

“What kind of a person snatches a purse from a 90-year-old lady?” the judge asked Mount.

SIX MONTHS FOR MOTEL ARSON

William J. Young, the Spokane construction worker who was charged with lighting a fire at the Pullman American Travel Inn July 19, was sentenced to six months in jail after he pleaded guilty to an amended arson charge Friday morning in superior court.

Young reportedly ignited the second story motel room with the use of a propane torch and toilet paper. Prosecutor Denis Tracy said Young was reported to have been using methamphetamine for several days and was found wandering along the highway in the Rosalia area after he became a suspect in the case.

Young was credited with time served since his arrest and ordered to pay $1,000 restitution to the motel owner and $800 in fines and fees.

CITY APPLIES FOR ARTS GRANT

Colfax has applied for a $102,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for possible art exhibits in support of the Lake Street Greenway. The council approved a resolution Sept. 6 for submitting the grant.

City Administrator Michael Rizzitiello said the grant revenue could be used to add statues or other art objects along the greenway. The $102,000 tally for the grant includes 15 percent contingency factor because of the unpredictability of the art markets, he reported.

He noted the Colfax Arts Council has been participating in the application process.

Endowment grants require a 50-50 match, but the city’s expenditures on the overall walkway project can be used to credit its matching fund. That could include approximately $70,000 the city has already invested in the project.

Funding for the walkway project has derived from the extra tax on motel lodging. Under conditions for the lodge tax, funds are intended to be used on projects which can enhance visitors’ stays in Colfax.

Rizzitiello said he does not expect to hear from the National Endowment for the Arts on the grant application until the end of the year.

CUT IN DEER COLLISION

A 16-year-old Colfax girl sustained facial cuts Sept. 7 when the 2004 Toyota Camry she was driving collided with a deer on Highway 195 in the S curves area approximately a half mile south of Colfax. According to the Washington State Patrol report, she was driving southbound at 8 a.m. when she slowed to avoid a deer on the roadway. Another deer then ran into the side of the Camry from the left side of the highway.

CITY VIEWS REVENUE LAG

Colfax council members Sept. 6 discussed seeking a review of assessments on houses and other property inside the city limits. The topic surfaced as the city approaches budgeting for next year and wrapping up the current budget year.

Finance Director Chris Mathis reported she has urged city department heads during the year to keep spending down, but she believes at the end of the year the city will have to face an amendment to get this year’s general fund budget to cover the standing totals. Funds to cover a budget amendment would have to come out of the city’s reserve fund.

The city’s general fund covers most of the city’s police, fire, park and general operations. Property and sales taxes supply most of the revenue for the general fund.

One of the problems seen on the revenue side for the city is a lag in assessed property values and inequity in property assessments. Councilman Al Vorderbrueggen, who is on the staff of the Spokane parks department, noted the lag in assessments is a problem there and with other cities around the state.

Mayor Todd Vanek suggested the council’s finance committee could send a letter to the county assessor to urge a review of assessed property values in the city.

Councilwoman Jeannette Solimine noted another tax revenue problem is the number of senior citizens in Colfax who can apply for exemptions on part of their property tax bills.

SANDBAGGER BUILDING SOLD

The former Sandbagger Tavern building in the 100 block of north Main Street has been sold to a Buhl, Idaho, couple who plan to open an antique, vintage and collectibles store in the building. Kevin and Mary Davidson purchased the building from Felipe and Luz Guitron of Colfax for $80,000, according to a transfer tax affidavit filed in the treasurer’s office July 19.

The Davidsons plan to move here and reside in apartment space on the second floor of the building. The move will locate them closer to their daughter and son-in-law, Jana and Chris Mathia of Endicott, and their four grandsons.

Mary Davidson operates an antique and craft store, Buhl Winkles, in Buhl and plans to sell that business. They plan some remodeling of the tavern building here.

Prior to its days as the Sandbagger, the building was the long-time location of Joe’s Tavern which was operated by the late Joe and Mable Mensinger.

Colfax SEEKS $500,000 FOR TRAIL

A request for grant funding for development of a trail on the now-dormant railroad segment which runs from S. Main at Cooper Street north to Last Street is now before the state Recreation and Conservation Office board. City Administrator Michael Rizzitiello went to Olympia Wednesday, Aug. 31, to make a presentation for the grant to the RCO board.

The rail segment is part of the former Union Pacific line which was later acquired by the state. Rizzitiello said the state railroad office is going ahead with plans to remove the railroad section which extends for .67 miles.

The intent of the project would be to prepare and pave the former railroad once the state removes the rails.

Rizzitiello said the railroad segment in Colfax is located on what was formerly Lake Street, so the property is expected to revert to city ownership once the railroad line is removed.

Grant applications for RCO grants are competitive, and as many as 30 presentations were made to the RCO board. The board awards grants by rating the applications with funds going to the top-rated projects and extending down the ranking until the fund is exhausted.

Heavier traffic which increases the hazard for pedestrians and bicycle riders along Main Street and the upcoming availability of the property were among points stressed in the application.

The trail would extend from the west side of S. Main Street next to Ace Hardware and continue north to Last Street at Pearson Farm & Fence.

The city administrator said he could know as early as next week on the fate of the grant application.