Bulletin: July 27, 2017

­­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 - SO FAR, SO GOOD

Colfax elevators received the first delivery of the new harvest Tuesday. Harvest has stretched from the southwestern portions of the county and reached Almota, Mockonema and Ewartsville. Pine City was expected to open Wednesday. Endicott expects to hit peak harvest next week.

Elevators report “so far, so good” on harvest numbers. Samples have just started coming in to the state grain inspection office. The first samples show falling numbers well above 300, which is an improvement from last year.

FIRST

THURSDAY

BENEFIT FOR LOCAL FAMILY

The First Thursday event on Aug. 3 will include a benefit dinner and auction for a Colfax family. Pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw and chips will be sold, along with multiple auction items, to help the family of Amy Kraut.

Kraut lost her husband several years ago to Alport Syndrome, leaving her to raise their four children. Within the last year, three of those children have been diagnosed with the same disease, including the youngest who graduated from Colfax High School in June and is now undergoing dialysis at home.

Alport Syndrome is a disease that affects the kidneys and, ultimately, leads to kidney failure with transplants as the only option for recovery.

PULLMAN WORK NEARING END

Road work on Main Street, Grand Avenue and Paradise Street in Pullman continued early this week, but the contractor expected to be done with the bulk of the work Wednesday. Tuesday, parking along Main Street and parts of Grand Avenue and Paradise Street was restricted due to the ongoing work. Parking is restricted in downtown Pullman all day when the work was going on, even if the work is not in the immediate area due to the mobile nature of the construction. Parking on side streets remained open for access to downtown businesses. Striping, signage and concrete curb ramp repair were the primary tasks completed Tuesday and Wednesday.

PULLMAN CHAMBER

HIGHLIGHTS NON-PROFITS

The August meeting for the Pullman Chamber of Commerce will include information about many non-profit agencies that serve the area and services they provide to the community. Nancy Bacon, director of learning and engagement for Washington non-profits, will be the keynote speaker.

The general membership luncheon is open to chamber members and non-members from 12 to 1 p.m. on Aug. 8 at the SEL Event Center in Pullman. Following the luncheon will be a showcase open to the public with representatives from non-profit organizations on hand until 2 p.m. for questions. Washington Idaho Symphony will also speak at the luncheon.

The luncheon cost is $15 per person or $12 per person for Pullman Chamber of Commerce members.

Reservations for the luncheon are required. RSVP for the luncheon to the Pullman Chamber by noon on Aug. 4.

DRUG ARREST CONVICTION

Kelsey Darst, 36, Clarkston, was sentenced to 30 days in jail Friday after pleading guilty in Superior Court to a charge of possession of methamphetamine. Darst was one of two suspects arrested in the early morning hours of July 2 at the south end of Colfax.

She told the court Friday she planned to get help for her drug addiction after her release from jail. Darst has been held at the jail in lieu of posting a $10,000 bond required for pre-trial release. With 10 days of credit for good time in jail, she was allowed release after the sentence.

Darst was also fined $2,000 for the drug conviction and ordered to pay $800 in fines and fees.

FIRE BAN REMINDERS

Following last week's fire in the Snake River Canyon that burned 3,100 acres, Whitman County Fire District 14 reminds the public that fires along the Snake River on Wawawai Road are still illegal as they have been for several weeks.

Also Monday, a burn ban took effect for the Colton-Uniontown area and across the state line on Potlatch Corp. timberland.

For the Colton-Uniontown area, exceptions include approved fire pits and outdoor fireplaces, which are restricted to no larger than three feet by three feet by two feet.

Fires are required to be monitored at all times with a water source available. Ag burning may still be approved by District 14 on a case-by-case basis.

Colfax CITY ADMIN STARTS WORK

New Colfax City Administrator Dodd Snodgrass began work Monday morning, taking over the position that had been vacant since last November with the resignation of Mike Rizzitiello.

Snodgrass, who came to Colfax from his position as a development specialist with the Port of Bellingham, was confirmed by the Colfax City Council July 17.

A graduate of Lewiston High School and the University of Idaho, Snodgrass also worked for the Clearwater Development Association at Lewiston.

DEER HITS SIDE OF CAR

A deer ran into a car in Colfax Sunday afternoon. Derwin Peacock, 38, Centralia, was driving a 2005 Lincoln LS at 4:20 p.m. in the 600 block of Perkins Street when a deer ran out into the street, colliding with the driver's side rear passenger door, causing damage. The deer ran off. Peacock was not injured.

DISTRACTED DRIVING LAW TAKES EFFECT

A new law on distracted driving took hold Sunday across the state.

Effective July 23, the “Electronic Devices – Dangerously Distracted Driving Law” bans the following: holding a cell phone or electronic device in your hand while driving; using your finger to scroll through or operate an electronic device; viewing videos of any kind; operating a personal electronic device while temporarily stopped at a traffic light or stop sign.

First violation tickets are $136 with subsequent violations $272.

The minimal use of a finger to activate, deactivate or initiate a function of a device is still allowed.

The new law applies to all personal electronic devices including, but not limited to, cell phones, tablets, laptops, two-way messaging devices, electronic games and GPS systems.

In 2015, 171 distracted drivers in Washington died on state roadways, 30 percent more distracted driving deaths than the previous year.

The Whitman County Sheriff’s Office is committed to enforcing distracted driving laws and will be enforcing these changes.

NO STANDOFF HERE

A major Spokane news agency was detoured July 21 when a source informed it the Whitman County Sheriff's Office was in a standoff with the homicide suspects from the Troy, Idaho, shooting that took the life of a Pullman teen.

A news van was on the way to Delong Road while the news agency contacted the Sheriff's Office for details. The source had told the news agency there was a standoff, and residents had been told to shelter in place.

“We were completely, absolutely not involved in a standoff that day,” said Sheriff Brett Myers.

The Sheriff's Office was contacted by several people and news outlets about the incident, which never happened.

BALLOT RETURN AT 400

A state report on ballots returned as of Friday for the Aug. 1 primary listed 400 ballots back for the Whitman County primary. The return is charted at 2.3 percent of the 17,421 ballots issued by the elections office here. Deadline for return of the ballots is the Aug. 1 primary date.

CITY HALL

WINDOW SECURTIY

City Clerk Lynda Kramlich on Monday, July 17, thanked city council members for installation of protective windows around the counters of the office at city hall. Kramlich said employees working in the front office at city hall appreciate the extra security provided by the windows.

The window installation was the subject of a "pet peeve" entry several weeks ago in the Gazette. Kramlich said some residents who have encountered the windows for the first time have criticized the installation while in the office.

The protective glass windows came from WSU surplus after their police department remodeled its office. They were installed at city hall by public works employees Jim Gill and Klint Kendall, who changed their shift hours to do the work at city hall after normal business hours. The windows project was budgeted at $2,000.

Kramlich said she can understand how residents who come into the office to conduct normal city business, such as paying water bills, could view the security windows as excessive, but she pointed out city office employees also have to deal with people from the courts and the county jail which is located across Mill Street from the city hall office.

One episode prior to the installation involved a man who had been released from the jail after being arrested in Endicott. Kramlich said in that instance she actually had to move away from the counter and stand behind a desk until the man settled down.

Since the windows have been installed, another man who had been arrested and released from jail entered the city office and pounded on the windows because he was upset about the procedure involved in getting back his car which had been impounded.

INMATE

VIOLATION

Keenan Keller, 23, Tekoa, an inmate who had been housed in the work release section of the Whitman County jail, has been moved to a cell after investigation of a report of a case involving probable charges of theft and unlawful imprisonment in the jail, according to an arrest report filed in superior court.

Inmates in the work release portion of the jail are housed in a common area with each inmate assigned a bed and provided with a plastic bin to contain personal belongings. Inmates allowed work release can leave to work outside the jail and then return each night while serving their sentences.

According to the report, investigation in the case began July 17 when an inmate pressed an emergency button. The inmate reported he suspected another inmate of rummaging through his assigned plastic bin. The report said the alleged victim at first was mistaken about the name of the suspect but later identified Keller.

The report included a summary of surveillance videos in the room which at one point showed several inmates in the work release room going to the plastic bin of the victim. Keller is depicted in what was described as chest-to-chest confrontations which allegedly prevented the victim from moving around the work release areas.

NEW CHARGES AGAINST HIMES

Charges of malicious mischief and attempted assault were filed Tuesday in Superior Court against Kenneth Himes, 43, Tekoa. The charges stem from a July 3 investigation when deputies were called to Tekoa to investigate a report of windows being broken out of a pickup truck.

Himes was named as a suspect, but when deputies went to the residence where he was believed to be residing in Tekoa, they were told he was not there.

According to the report, deputies went to Tekoa after a neighbor reported Himes had bashed the windows out of his neighbor’s pickup truck. The neighbor said he had witnessed Himes hitting the windows.

He told deputies the incident started when he walked past the house where Himes had been residing, and Himes began to throw rocks at him. He said he left and took cover under the nearby support structures of the Tekoa trestle and saw Himes go to his residence and hit the windows. The victim told deputies Himes appeared to have hit the windows with a sledge hammer, but a witness who reportedly accompanied Himes to the victim's residence said Himes used a large stick.

The windshield of the truck, a side window and a side window in the truck's canopy were broken.

Himes has been summoned to appear in court Aug. 10 on the new charges. The arrest report noted he is now sought on three outstanding warrants.

CHASE ENDS

AT ALBION

A chase of a 2006 Kawasaki motorcycle ridden by Jason D. Owens, 34, Potlatch, Idaho, ended at the Albion town limits late July 18 when the motorcycle went out of control and into the ditch.

According to the Washington State Patrol accident report, Owens was riding the 2006 Kawasaki eastbound on Albion Road at 11:48 p.m. and lost control when he attempted to negotiate a curve to the left.

Trooper Michael Murphy reported he encountered Owens on the motorcycle on Highway 195 in the area of the Carothers Road intersection. The report said initial radar readings on the motorcycle were in the 70 mph range, but went to 80 mph during pursuit northbound on 195. Owens turned right onto Albion Road and hit speeds of 77 mph on the straight sections of the road. Trooper Murphy noted the suspect crossed the roadway to straighten out the curves on the road.

Owens was taken to Whitman Hospital for treatment of injuries and then booked into jail on a probable charge of attempting to elude. Bail for pre-trial release from jail was set at $10,000. He was also held on a Latah County warrant which was issued after he failed to appear in court there on a burglary charge.

EVAN LORD HURT IN

ACCIDENT

Evan C. Lord, Colfax, was taken by ambulance to Whitman Hospital early July 19 for treatment of injuries sustained in a one-car accident on Klaus Road south of Colfax.

According to the report by Sheriff's Sgt. Dan Brown, Lord, 21, lost control of the 1994 Mazda pickup truck he was driving westbound approximately one mile west of Almota Road. The pickup rolled at least once and came to a halt in a pea field on the south side of the road. Deputies responded to the accident report at 1:16 a.m.

CITY OKAYS ROSAUERS TREE REMOVAL

Colfax City Council July 17 approved removal of trees which have been planted along Main Street in the front of Rosauers. The dwarf style trees have filled out at a short height and now block vision for motorists who attempt to drive out of the Rosauers lot onto Main Street.

The smaller trees were planted in front of Rosauers after normal size trees in front of the store were removed because they blocked out the store's sign.

Council members suggested a line of small shrubs could be planted in front of the store.