Bulletin Column Jan. 5

A Colfax crew loads ice and compacted snow from the parking lanes on Main Street in a dump truck to be hauled away.

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.

DRIFTS CLOSE HIGHWAYS

Two area highways were closed Monday morning by the Department of Transportation because of blowing snow. Highway 261 between Ritzville and Washtucna was closed both directions Sunday night, according to a Department of Transportation advisory which reported the road blocked.

Early Monday morning the DOT put out a notice advising motorists to avoid the area. Also on the closure list was Highway 27 from Fairfield to Tekoa and Highway 21 from Odessa to Lind.

The early report Monday said crews were attempting to clear the highways, and motorists were asked to avoid the areas. Time for reopening was unknown at that time.

Tekoa schools, which had been scheduled to resume after the Christmas break, remained closed Tuesday because of road conditions.

PAVED COUNTY ROADS OPEN

County road crews worked Sunday and Monday to unplug the system after the winter storm hit Saturday night. Phil Meyer, maintenance supervisor, said the 35-member crew has worked steadily to open the system after snow and wind plugged roads around the county. All paved roads in the county were open as of Tuesday. All gravel roads were expected to be open by the end of that work day.

CAR FIRE RESPONSE

Colfax fire and police crews responded at 1:08 p.m. Monday to a report of a car fire at a residence on the east 200 block of Canyon Street. The fire in the car, a Buick Regal, had been extinguished with a bucket of water by the owner before crews arrived on the scene.

CHIEF ISSUES SIDEWALK NOTICE

Police Chief Rick McNannay Monday issued a reminder that property owners are required to clear sidewalks in front of their businesses and residences. Also, state law prohibits residents from pushing snow into public streets, McNannay said.

Also, residents and business owners are asked to make sure fire hydrants are not buried in the snow removal process. The city has a total of 170 hydrants, and some have needed to be exhumed from snow piles.

THREE DEER COLLISIONS

Three deer collisions were investigated by troopers over the long weekend.

Lisa M. Taylor, St. John, and a juvenile girl who was a passenger, were injured Friday when a 2014 Ford Escape being driven northbound by Taylor on Highway 195 just south of Colfax collided with a deer at 5:55 p.m.

Benjamin Doucette, Bellingham, was driving a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder eastbound on Highway 26 near Dusty at 7:30 p.m. Monday when several deer ran into the roadway and one was struck by the Nissan.

Dave Damron, Pomeroy, was driving a 2004 Chevrolet pickup truck on Highway 271 near Central Ferry at 11:30 p.m. Friday when a deer ran into the roadway and was hit.

Neither Doucette nor Damron were injured.

CITY ROUSTS ‘ICE CURB’

City crew members worked overnight last Thursday to roll back the “ice curb” which developed under the parking lanes along Main Street. The curb built up as plow crews scraped snow off the travel lanes. Snow compacted in the parking lanes where the plows could not reach and left as much as a five-inch thick ice curb between the travel lanes and the parking lanes.

The night work resulted in large ice chunks being rolled up along the outer part of sidewalks. The city used four wheelers with blades Thursday morning to push the ice chunks back into the gutter so they could be loaded for removal from Main Street.

Overnight freezing on sidewalks and street surfaces which had been cleared but remained wet after two days of thawing made for hazardous conditions for pedestrians and drivers that morning.

WELFARE FRAUD CASE

Karl-Keith Anderson, 64, Tekoa, was ordered Friday morning to serve out the balance of a 30-day jail sentence in superior court after he admitted he had failed to complete the 240 hours of public service work. The 240 hours was assigned to him Oct. 23, 2015, when he was sentenced on a conviction of welfare fraud theft.

Anderson also admitted he had failed to make payments on the $30,000 in restitution he was ordered to pay the State of Washington for welfare funds he received from Dec. 1, 2008, to May 5, 2011.

Anderson had been allowed the option to work off the 30-day sentence with 240 hours of community service. He had been slated to appear in court June 17 to show he had done the work. A $35,000 bail was set after he was arrested Dec. 18 on a court bench warrant.

Anderson told the court Friday he had done work for the Tekoa Food Bank, but he would need to document it.

With good time credit since his arrest, Anderson will have six more days of jail time yet to serve to finish the original 30-day sentence.

Anderson also told the court Friday he was still attempting to sell a building he owns on Crosby Street in Tekoa with the intent of paying off the debt to the state.

Anderson was convicted of false verification for the purpose of receiving public assistance. The charges alleged when he applied for state assistance, he failed to report assets including ownership of the building in Tekoa, rental income from vehicle storage in the building and for restoration work he did on vehicles.

Before he was convicted of the charge, Anderson had entered an agreement with the prosecutor’s office to begin paying back $35,189 to the state in monthly payments of $125 beginning in August of 2013. In addition to the payments, he had agreed to pay a $14,000 lump sum payment. Failure to meet terms of that agreement led to his eventual conviction and sentence on the fraud charge in October of 2015.

Judge David Frazier Friday also ordered Anderson to begin making $100 monthly restitution payments on the sum due beginning in April.

Deputy Prosecutor Merritt Decker had asked the court to sentence Anderson to an additional 30 days as a penalty for failing to comply with terms of the original judgment.

CITY HALL HEATING REPAIRS

Repairs on the Colfax City Hall heating system were underway late last week. A breakdown in the system led to a shutdown of city hall on Dec. 23. Ackerman crews replaced two gas furnaces for the city. Cost of the project was listed at $11,884 in the building permit filed Dec. 27.

CITY CLERK RESIGNS

Connie Ellis, long-time Colfax city clerk, has resigned the city hall job and plans to depart at the end of January. Mayor Todd Vanek said Ellis submitted her resignation Dec. 20 and was on vacation last week. Effective date of the resignation will be Jan. 31.

Ellis has been a city employee since October of 2000. In addition to serving as city clerk, she also served as clerk for the city court, Vanek said. Also, she was in charge of administration of the city pool operation for eight summers.

Ellis said her career with the city has been a great experience, but this year marks a time of change for her, husband Dean and their family. Son Levi Ellis plans to depart soon to begin training after joining the U.S. Marine Corps. Son Lonny has finished a year of corrections training for Marion County, Ore., at Salem, and youngest son Brady will graduate from Corban University at Salem this spring. Daughter Taylor Garcia will graduate from Colfax High School this spring.

In addition to her city hall post, Ellis has served the school district as advisor for the cheerleaders. Ellis said she expects to pursue other employment opportunities in the near future.

The resignation leaves the city with two vacancies to fill in the city office staff. City Administrator Michael Rizzitiello resigned last fall and departed Nov. 9. The hiring process for a new administrator was tabled over the holidays after a hiring committee opted not to pursue negotiations with the original applicants, Vanek reported earlier this month to the city council.

VET STUDENT DIES IN

ACCIDENT

Jessica Brooks, 26, a WSU veterinary student from Sequim, was identified as the victim in the Dec. 27 fatality accident eight miles west of Colfax. She was driving a 2011 Kia Sportage which collided with a 1988 Peterbilt semi truck driven by Timothy Dean, 52, Lewiston.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, Brooks was driving westbound at 9:11 a.m. and slid into the oncoming lane where she collided with the eastbound semi truck.

Brooks was confirmed dead at the scene, and Coroner Peter Martin reported she had sustained massive head injuries.

The accident, which was near the Filan Road intersection with Highway 26, happened after a snowstorm had hit the area the previous night.

Dean was not hurt in the accident.

Brooks was a student in the veterinary medicine program at Washington State University and scheduled to graduate with a doctorate degree in May, according to Charlie Powell, vet school spokesman. Faculty members and fellow students were saddened by the loss, he added.

IDAHO DRIVER HURT IN

COLLISION

Jonathon N. Thomas, 37, Emmett, Idaho, was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph Hospital in Lewiston after he was injured in a collision three miles south of Uniontown on Highway 195 Dec. 27 afternoon.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, the 2007 Dodge pickup Thomas was driving collided with a 2016 Freightliner tractor-trailer truck driven by Zenon Milrad, 61, Medford, Ore. Milrad was not hurt.

The report said Milrad lost control of the semi truck as he was driving southbound and slid into the oncoming lane where it collided with the pickup driven by Thomas.

Cause of the accident was listed as driving too fast for conditions.

SLIDE DELAYS MAIL TRUCK

Early morning ice on Canyon Street in Colfax led to the delay of a mail truck for approximately 90 minutes Dec. 28. The truck was attempting to approach the post office via the east alley by turning off Canyon into the alley behind Columbia Bank. As it began to enter the alley, the trailer began to slide and the driver stopped the truck to keep from sliding into the corner of the bank.

A wrecker crew was called from Lewiston to help get the trucker out of the predicament. The uphill lane of traffic on Canyon was blocked off until the truck cleared.

Trucks normally back into the post office dock from Main Street, but the snow berm in the middle of Main caused the driver to attempt to use the alley off Canyon Street.

SCHMIDT JAILED AGAIN

Wyatt J. Schmidt, 18, Colfax resident who was sentenced to 60 days in jail Dec. 9 after pleading guilty to forgery charges, was arrested and booked in jail late Christmas day on a probable charge of taking a motor vehicle. The Colfax police report said Schmidt allegedly took his father’s Isuzu pickup truck from a residence on Morton Street after the father had specifically told him he could not drive the truck. The report said Schmidt’s father, after arguing with the suspect, went into his residence to get the keys to the Isuzu and lock it so his son could not drive it. He said when he went outside the Isuzu was gone.

Schmidt later drove back to the residence while a Colfax officer was on the scene, and his father again confirmed that he did not want Schmidt to drive the Isuzu.

Schmidt was allowed release on his own recognizance Dec. 27.

When he was sentenced Dec. 9 on the forgery charge, which involved adding unauthorized tips on bills to customers of Westside Pizza where he was employed, Schmidt was allowed to delay serving his 60-day sentence until February because he was employed at a Pullman tire shop and was needed for the busy winter tire season.