Briefs: Aug. 24, 2017

DRUG ARREST ON 23

Nashira Ellis, 40, Spokane, was arrested on a charge of possession of methamphetamine in a search which evolved from a speeding arrest Saturday evening on Highway 23. According to the arrest report, a deputy stopped a vehicle which was logged on radar at 68 miles per hour near mile seven on the highway.

After the vehicle was stopped, the deputy noticed Ellis was sitting in the back seat of the vehicle. The deputy reported he observed a butane lighter on the back seat next to Ellis.

The driver and Ellis eventually allowed a search of the vehicle, and a pipe used for smoking drugs was allegedly found in a red handkerchief which had been rolled up and stuffed in a granola box. Residue on the pipe tested positive for methamphetamine, according to the arrest report.

The driver was cited for speeding.

OSBORNE TRUSTEE VISITS

New York attorney Robert M. Freedman, trustee of the Robert Osborne estate, visited here Monday to learn more about the Colfax connection with Mr. Osborne, the long-time host of television's Turner Classic Movies who died March 6 in New York at the age of 84. Freedman's informal visit included viewing some of the high school annuals of Osborne's years in Colfax and also visiting one of the homes where the Osborne family resided, according to Kristie Kirkpatrick, library director.

Colfax has been considered as a possible site for locating some of the Osborne collection. Kirkpatrick said one thing they learned from Freedman Monday was that Colfax was not specifically designated as a location for the collection.

Osborne's three nieces, who reside in this area, have been named as heirs of the estate and are reportedly trying to get an idea of the scope of the collection and ways to accommodate it.

Freedman, who was a long-time acquaintance of Osborne, also planned to meet with the nieces on his trip out from New York.

Osborne resided in Colfax in the late 1940s when his father, Robert, Sr., served as superintendent of the Colfax School District. The family moved to Everett when Robert, Jr., was in his senior year. However, he did stay in contact with members of his class and attended a 50-year reunion here in 2000.

Members of the class noted Osborne used to also visit his mother and sister in Spokane when he came to Colfax to attend class reunions. His sister, Joan, was a member of the Colfax High School class of 1946.

Also meeting with Freedman Monday were Patty Cammack, coordinator of the library's Rural Heritage Collection, Kim DeHart of the Downtown Association, Mayor Todd Vanek and City Administrator Dodd Snodgrass.

Freedman is a partner of the New York firm of Schiff Hardin and is a founder of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys.

OPEN HOUSE FOR DOWNTOWN STUDY

A two-hour presentation of an inventory of Colfax downtown buildings had been scheduled for Aug. 30 at The Center next to the library. The study was sponsored by the Colfax Historic Preservation Commission and conducted by Architectural History and Archaeology of Spokane Valley. The study was done by Ann Sharley of AHA.

The City of Colfax in conjunction with the Colfax Historic Preservation Commission received a grant from the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation to conduct the inventory.

Several dedicated volunteers from the local commission worked on the study. The report itself totals more than 500 pages. Historic photographs, maps and other information has been included in the report.

The session at The Center will be done on an open house format beginning at 6 p.m., and Sharley will give a power point presentation.

One of the benefits of having an inventory is potential tax credits for rehabilitation projects on the buildings, according to Debbie Snell, a member of the commission.

Historic building inventories such as the one completed for Colfax are one of the primary duties of any community working as a certified local government through the state Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation, Snell pointed out in her report.

Coffee and cookies will be offered at the report session.

VALHALLA

BURGLARY

SUSPECT

A former employee of Valhalla Bar and Grill in Pullman was arrested Aug. 17 by Pullman Police as a suspect in a July 30 burglary of the bar on 1000 NE Colorado in Pullman's College Hill neighborhood. Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins said Stuart H. Schmidtke, 22, was arrested on probable cause for burglary in the second degree, theft in the second degree and malicious mischief.

Police arrested Schmidtke after receiving a tip that he had been gambling at Mr. Z's Casino in Pullman with money which had been bundled in a unique way. The money bundles were identical to the ones which had been stolen from the bar almost three weeks ago.

Police reported a glass door had been broken at Valhalla to enter the bar in the July 30 break-in, and money was stolen from a cash box.

Schmidtke was finger printed and photographed and then released by the police department. The case has been forwarded to the prosecutor's office. The alleged burglary and theft would be felony cases, according to Chief Jenkins' report.

The chief credited the employees at Mr. Z's for noting the unique cash bundles and reporting the information to the police.

FIRE IN BAR ROAD AREA

Colfax and Albion Fire volunteers responded Aug. 17 to a report of a field fire in the area of Bar Road off Hamilton Hill Road. The fire in stubble was quickly stopped by a tractor with discs, but it had spread to brush on a field eyebrow which was extinguished by the fire crews. Colfax crews here received the alarm at 12:04. Two trucks from Albion and one from Colfax responded to the scene.

Bar Road runs east from Hamilton Hill Road and connects with Highway 195 about a half mile north of the Old Albion Road intersection.

FAIR OFFICE NOW AT MOCKONEMA

The Palouse Empire Fair staff has moved out to their office in the community building in preparation for the upcoming fair. The fair this year will be run Sept. 7 to 10. Entry day at the fair will be Tuesday, Sept. 5.

Animal entries have already been submitted to the fair office.

First attraction at the fair will be the harvest bee sponsored by the Palouse Empire Fair Threshing Bee Association on Labor Day, Sept. 4.

GRAIN TRUCK FIRE

Police and fire units responded at about 2:48 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16, to a report of a grain truck catching fire on Highway 26 just west of Colfax. The truck's engine failed as it was going up the grade in the westbound lane south of Morley Road.

The 1998 Freightliner tractor trailer was being driven by Robert Germain of Pullman. He stopped the truck on the highway across from the Kevin Doty residence.

Mrs. Doty saw him pull over and noted the truck engine compartment appeared to be on fire. Germain said he grabbed a fire extinguisher out of the truck and asked Mrs. Doty to call the fire department.

Germain said the truck’s engine apparently came apart. A trail of oil was spilled on the highway in the lane where the truck had been climbing the grade.

Traffic on Highway 26 was restricted to one lane, with eastbound traffic detoured at Airport Road and routed to S. Main Street. Colfax Police directed the heavy traffic at the South Main intersection to keep vehicles moving through town. Absorbent was applied to the oil on the highway.

Germain had been hauling a load of grain to Mockonema.

FIRE THREATENS SHOPS, HOUSES

Fire crews from Pullman, Colton and Albion Aug. 16 kept a grass and timber fire on Story Road south of Ewartsville from spreading to three houses and two shop buildings which were threatened. Pullman District 12 Fire Capt. Mike Walker said the fire had advanced to the side on one of the shop buildings and was within 10 feet of one of the houses when they arrived.

A pump building and one parked vehicle were destroyed by the fire. The pump building was ablaze when the first fire crew arrived on the scene.

Walker said the fire was started by sparks from a grinder which was being used to grind nails in railroad ties. The sparks ignited nearby tall grass.

Approximately 10 trucks responded to the scene from District 12, Colton District 14, Pullman City and Albion.

Crews received the alarm at 3:50 p.m. Some volunteers remained on the scene until after 9 p.m. Walker said they had to wait for some of the trees burning in a timber grove to fall. The volunteers stayed clear of the grove because of the hazard of trees falling.

GALLEGOS CHARGES DROPPED

Two felony charges against Eli Gallegos, 59, Colfax, have been dismissed in superior court. Gallegos had been scheduled for two trials Monday on unrelated charges, residential burglary and trafficking in stolen property.

Court records show the charges were dismissed July 24 on a motion from the state. Deputy Prosecutor Merritt Decker asked the court to drop the charges because the state has been unable to locate a material witness.

The court approved payment of legal fees for 6.7 hours of legal work which Defense Attorney Roger Sandberg of Pullman logged to assist Gallegos on both cases.

Gallegos had wound up being scheduled for the same trial date on both cases because some of the court dates in the normal trial process had to be set back after Gallegos failed to appear on the original dates.

Gallegos had faced a charge of residential burglary which allegedly took place Feb. 4 when he was observed in a garage on Lake Street in Colfax. He was charged April 25 with trafficking in stolen property when deputies located a motorcycle at a shop along Highway 195 south of Colfax during a warrant search for drugs.

Residents at the shop alleged the motorcycle belonged to Gallegos, who said he was attempting to sell it. Gallegos contended two motorcycles had been found in the back of a pickup truck which he had sold and then had to repossess. The motorcycle had allegedly been stolen in Idaho.

Nikolas Erickson, 26, one of the people residing at the shop, was charged June 15 with two drug charges, possession of a stolen vehicle and criminal mistreatment of two small children who were allegedly living in the shop.

An warrant with bail set at $10,000 was issued for Erickson's arrest after he failed to show up July 14 in court for a first appearance on the charges.

The two children were taken into state custody when deputies went to the shop.

LaCROSSE MAN

FACES DRUG CHARGE

An Oct. 16 trial date has been set for Jeffrey E. Marshall, 51, LaCrosse, after he pleaded not guilty to a charge of possession of methamphetamine Friday in superior court. Marshall was booked into jail Aug. 6 after a deputy stopped the 1989 Ford F-150 pickup truck he was driving on the Walla Walla highway in Colfax.

The arrest report said Marshall, who was initially stopped for making an improper turn, showed signs that he had used drugs. He consented to a search of the pickup truck, and deputies allegedly found a glass drug pipe with methamphetamine residue in an orange bag in the glovebox of the truck.

Marshall was allowed release on his own recognizance the next day and slated for the Aug. 11 arraignment.

'DONUTS' AT HIGH SCHOOL

Colfax Police received a call Aug. 14 night from a resident in the Morton Street neighborhood who said a driver has been making nightly stops in the area of the high school to spin donuts in the parking lot and on the street.

--Police early Aug. 16 received a report of what was described as a body in the ditch in the area the Airport Road and Highway 26. A deputy responded to the scene and determined a transient was sleeping at the site.

--Chief Rick McNannay Aug. 16 responded to a request from a patient at Whitman Hospital who reported her dog had been locked in a bedroom at her residence on Lake Street before she had earlier been transported by ambulance to the hospital. She requested the dog be let out of the bedroom so it could have access to food and water.