Bulletin Column Nov. 17

Exclusively Yours was hit by a truck Friday when the driver of a 1998 Dodge pickup lost his brakes. He chose to hit the building rather than another vehicle stopped at the intersection of Canyon and Main streets. See story below.

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.

HILLARY LEAD NOW AT 59 VOTES

A count of 4,153 more ballots Tuesday morning of Whitman County returns has brought more gains for the GOP. Hillary Clinton now leads Donald Trump by just 59 votes. Percent figures for the 12,790 votes counted is now 43.88 for Clinton with 5,521 votes and 43.41 for Trump with 5,462.

The count still leaves Whitman as the lone county east of the Cascades to favor the Democratic candidate in the presidential race.

The latest count did swing the county to the GOP side in the governor’s race, with Bill Bryant at 51.45 percent with 6,361 votes and Jay Inslee at 48.35 percent with 5,978.

Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ win over Joe Pakootas advanced to 54.5 percent with 6,713. Pakootas now has 45.26 percent with 5,575.

Clinton and Inslee posted strong leads in the county on election night to put the county into the “blue” Democratic column on election night.

Clinton’s lead was close to five percent over Trump, and Gov. Inslee had a 52 to 48 percent lead over GOP challenger Bryant.

Pakootas had one of his best returns here in another unsuccessful attempt to oust Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers with 49 percent of the vote on election night.

‘OKLAHOMA!’ OPENS TODAY

Oklahoma!, this year’s Colfax High School musical production, will open a six- performance run tonight, Thursday, on the CHS stage. Director Cary Cammack said a cast of 50 students has been preparing for the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II classic which debuted on Broadway in 1943.

The cast includes high school, junior high and elementary students.

This year’s performances will include a special observance of 50 years of musicals on the Colfax stage. Cast members from past performances have been invited to attend.

Cammack said he has no idea how many past cast members will respond to the special invitation. Past CHS cast members will be recognized at receptions following the performances on Friday and Saturday nights in the cafeteria.

Performance time for the musical runs approximately two hours and 15 minutes, Cammack said.

This year will mark the third time Oklahoma! has hit the CHS stage under Cammack’s direction.

Lead performers in the production will be Lauren Claassen as Laurey, Kyle Appel as Curly, Collin Pittmann of Rosalia as Will Parker, Sara Whelchel as Ado Annie and Dylan Nails as Ali Hakim. Cammack said performers for the secondary roles in the cast will alternate during the production run.

Evening performances will be Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday at 7:30 p.m.

Matinee performances will be Tuesday, Nov. 22, at 9 a.m. and Wednesday, Nov. 23, at 9:30 a.m. Those performances will be for student audiences and have limited pubic seating.

To reserve tickets for Friday and Saturday nights, or for advanced ticket purchases, call 509-599-5090.

ALLEGE

STORAGE LOCKER

BREAK INS

A bench warrant for the arrest of Jerry Glass, 40, Pullman, was issued Nov. 8 in superior court. The warrant was issued after Glass failed to appear for a court hearing Nov. 4 on eight felony charges which were filed against him Oct. 7.

According to the sheriff’s investigation report, the case against Glass began Aug. 29 when a deputy responded to a burglary-in-progress report at a storage unit on Steptoe Street in Oakesdale. According to the report, Glass was discovered taking items out of one of two units used by the victim. The holder of the unit said he came to one of his units and saw Glass loading items from his second unit into a Honda Civic. He confronted Glass who had a ring of keys which appeared to be those used for storage unit padlocks. Glass reportedly explained he had been sent to Oakesdale by another person to remove items from the unit.

The Oakesdale resident took some of his items out of the Civic and told Glass to leave. He noticed Glass had to breath into a breathalyzer monitor to start the car.

Deputies traced Glass to his residence on Country Club Road outside of Pullman, and a subsequent warrant search of the residence turned up items reported missing from storage lockers around the area, the investigation report said.

Among items located were five guns reported missing from two Moscow storage units, items valued at $5,000 reported missing from a Pullman unit and two safes reported missing from a Colfax storage unit.

Glass has formally been charged with second degree burglary, five counts of possession of stolen firearms, two counts of possession of stolen property in the first degree and one count of possession of stolen property in the second degree.

Glass was initially summoned to appear in court Oct. 28, but that was later amended to Nov. 4.

Deputy Prosecutor Merritt Decker said Glass is believed to be in custody on other pending charges in Spokane County.

BLOOD

DRIVE AT CHS

Students at Colfax High School and Junior High plan to conduct a blood drive Monday, Nov. 21, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the high school. The drive will honor Isaiah Buri, a fellow student. Students 16 and older and weighing 120 pounds can donate, but those 16 and 17 need to have written permission from their parents to donate blood. The permission slips need to be turned in to the school office by Monday morning.

Buri, a sophomore, is now being treated for cancer. He is the son of Angela Buri and the late Blake Buri of Colfax.

Residents of the public are encouraged to participate in the Monday drawing. It will be conducted by the Inland Northwest Blood Center mobile unit which will be parked in front of the high school building.

DISNEY

SENTENCE

SET FRIDAY

Kristie Disney, 38, Tekoa, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday on a conviction for possession of marijuana which stemmed from an investigation last February after Tekoa residents reported marijuana was being offered to juveniles by Blaine Tee at a residence on Howard Street near the Tekoa schools.

According to the investigation report, Disney, who resided elsewhere in Tekoa, was determined to be the source of the marijuana which was confiscated at the Tee residence last Feb. 9. Disney was originally charged with delivery of marijuana, but the charge was reduced to possession of marijuana over 40 grams. She pleaded guilty to that charge Nov. 4.

Her sentencing date was delayed until Nov. 18 to allow her time to arrange for child care. Under the standard sentencing range, Disney could be sentenced to up to six months in jail on the conviction.

Tee, 27, was ordered to undergo six months of drug treatment May 6 after he pleaded guilty to charges of delivery of marijuana and theft of a firearm. The treatment order was issued after Tee was allowed a drug offender sentencing alternative. The treatment was a condition of a two-year probation term assigned to Tee.

HIMES BOOKED ON WARRANT

Kenneth Himes, 37, Oakesdale, was booked into the county jail Nov. 9 after he was arrested on a warrant for failing to appear for a court hearing. The warrant was issued after Himes failed to show up in court Oct. 14 to review his compliance for court ordered payment of fines and restitution. Himes has been ordered to make payment on convictions for possession of stolen property and burglary in the second degree. In July he was sentenced to eight months in jail on a conviction for attempting to elude a deputy while riding a small motorcycle May 19 in the Stateline Road area east of Tekoa.

PICKUP HITS COLFAX

BUILDING

A runaway pickup truck plowed into the front of the office building on Canyon Street at about 6 a.m. Nov. 10. The driver of the 1998 Dodge pickup truck was uninjured in the accident, but the truck caused extensive damage to the building.

Officer Jaelene Bryan said the driver stated he lost the brakes on the pickup as it was descending the Highway 272 grade into Colfax. She said the driver stated he opted to turn left and collide with the building to avoid striking the back of a vehicle which was stopped on Canyon at the Main Street intersection.

The truck hit at the entrance on the northwest corner of the building next to the east side alley. The vehicle struck a column of concrete blocks on the front corner of the Exclusively Yours shop operated by Kristi Geier. The building’s entry also serves Leslie Cloaninger’s law office.

The whole front wall of the building for Exclusively Yours was thrown out of alignment, but two large windows were not damaged. Name of the driver was not available at press time.

COLFAX

BUDGET

BALANCING

Proposals for balancing the 2017 Colfax city budget will be presented at the Nov. 21 council session. Mayor Todd Vanek Nov. 7 urged members of the city council to review the budget and come up with suggestions to trim the plan.

Vanek said the target date for approval of the budget will be the Dec. 5 meeting of the city council.

The budget plan, as proposed, is now $251,289 out of balance, with revenue projected at $3,594,889 and spending at $3,846,179. The general operations section of the budget is charted on the plus side, but other departments have deficits. The parks department shows a deficit of $73,366, and the street budget is now close to $153,000 out of balance.

Councilman Jim Kackman Monday brought up several suggestions for bringing the proposed budget into balance. One of his suggestions was to drop a plan to tag $40,000 in the budget each year for 10 years to build up a fund for the purchase of a new fire engine. The department’s 1980 pumper truck has failed to pass the test for a 1,500 gallon per minute rating.

Kackman suggested the city check out the pump and repair it. Also suggested was scratching a $67,000 listing for remodeling of city hall.

Kackman also suggested dropping a parks budget listing for appraising the status of the city’s ailing swim pool and instead use funds to make repairs that are now known to be needed.

Earlier in the meeting, Vanek noted the State Association of Washington Cities agenda for the upcoming session of the legislature includes a proposal to remove the one percent annual limit on property tax revenue. Vanek noted the limit has placed towns in a bind around the state because the one percent revenue increase each year does not keep up with inflation involved with annual operations. The limit also places a bind on cities and towns because of the lag in property valuations.

The one percent revenue limit was passed by the voters as Initiative 747. It was later put aside by the state supreme court as unconstitutional but re-enacted by the legislature.