Bulletin Column: Sept. 28, 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.

GOP SLATES NOMINEE DATE

John Brabb, county Republican Central Committee chairman, has scheduled a meeting Oct.14 to select nominees for appointment to serve as county assessor at 1 p.m. in the Public Service Building in Colfax. The appointee will finish out the term of Assessor Joe Reynolds who submitted his retirement resignation for Oct. 1.

The Republicans have been asked to submit three nominees to the county commissioners who will make the appointment. Under state law the commissioners have 60 days to fill the vacancy.

The Republican Central Committee has been asked to select the nominees because Reynolds is a Republican.

Brabb said county residents interested in the position can send a letter of intent along with a resume to the central committee, Box 203, Pullman, 99163, or by email. GOP meeting rules are also available via email. [email protected].

JONES NAMED TEMPORARY ASSESSOR

Robin Jones of Colfax was named temporary Whitman County Assessor Monday by the county commissioners. Jones has been a member of the assessor’s staff for 22 years and is now administrative supervisor in the office.

She started working at the courthouse in February of 1994 with the superior court clerk’s office and joined the assessor’s office in July of 1995. She will serve in the position until a successor to Joe Reynolds is named by the commissioners.

Jones said she plans to submit an application to the county GOP central committee to be one of the three nominees that will be submitted by the party to the commissioners.

Colfax DUO CHARGED

Two Colfax residents, who were booked into jail Thursday on probable charges of theft, possession of stolen property and stolen identification, were formally charged Monday in superior court.

Edwina Grote, 29, and Christopher Dowers, 36, were each charged with vehicle prowling, second-degree theft and three counts of identity theft. According to the arrest reports, the investigation began when an employee of Spokane Seed reported her purse had been stolen July 25 from her car while she was working a shift.

Grote and Dowers became suspects when another employee of the seed company told police he had seen them in the area of the parking lot that day.

Grote was a former employee of Spokane Seed.

Officer Cory Alcantar encountered the duo at an Aug. 1 municipal court session. They were interviewed on the theft and each admitted taking the purse out of the car, removing credit cards and cash and throwing the purse in the weeds.

A credit card from the purse was allegedly used the next day to purchase items at Spangle Foods.

The victim of the alleged crimes was the owner of the car who was working at Spokane Seed at the time her purse was allegedly stolen from the car.

The report recommended a high bail because Grote was alleged to be undergoing eviction from her residence, but the court allowed both suspects release on their own recognizance.

BIG BANG AT DIAMOND?

A report of a 2.6 magnitude explosion 11 kilometers northwest of Colfax Monday turned out to be incorrect. The explosion was reported to have hit about 1:46 a.m. Monday. Coordinates released by the USGS National Earthquake Center put the location of the blast in the Huntley Road area west of Diamond.

The event was listed as an explosion because its depth, calibrated at .4 of a kilometer was reportedly too shallow to be an earthquake.

A posting later Monday from the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at the University of Washington noted the explosion event was a mistake which was caused by incorrect seismic readings which started from a mild earthquake in Montana.

Residents in the Diamond area responded to calls by saying they had not heard any type of a blast in the early morning hours.

HINOJOS TRIAL DATE SET

Alex Hinojos, 28, was scheduled for a Nov. 13 trial after he pleaded not guilty in superior court Friday to charges of second degree malicious mischief and burglary.

Hinojos was booked into jail early Sept. 20 after he allegedly broke out windows of a house and car in the 700 block of S. East Street with an aluminum bat.

The baseball bat he allegedly used was found in shrubs near the residence. Pieces of glass were embedded in the bat, according to the arrest report.

The suspect and another man were alleged to have gone to the residence because they believed occupants there were in possession of a missing Playstation.

Bail for pre-trial release was set at $10,000.

195 COLLISION TAKES TWO LIVES

A collision on Highway 195 near mile marker 63 south of Rosalia took the lives of two people, Joshua J. Kenyon, 36, Medical Lake, died at the scene of the accident, and Michael L. Deturbiville, 36, Garfield, died after he was taken to the Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, the accident remains under investigation. The report by Trooper Bruce Blood said the collision was on the centerline of the highway.

Kenyon was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Blazer northbound at 10:29 p.m., and Deturbiville was a passenger in a 2011 Chevrolet Tahoe which was being driven southbound by Angela C. Pressnall, 37, Garfield.

Pressnall was also taken to Sacred Heart for treatment of her injuries.

Rosalia, Steptoe and Colfax ambulance crews responded to the scene. Two Life Flight helicopters were used to transport Pressnall and Deturbiville to the Spokane hospital.

The accident scene was on the section of Highway 195 between the bridge which crosses the John Wayne Trail and the bridge which crosses Pine Creek.

LARGENT HITS DEER ON 26

County Commissioner Michael D. Largent was unhurt Friday at 7:50 p.m. when the car he was driving collided with a deer on Highway 26 west of LaCrosse. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Largent was driving a 2006 Chevrolet Equinox eastbound at 7:50 p.m. when several deer ran onto the roadway. The car collided with at least one of the deer.

–David J. Miller, Milton-Freewater, was unhurt when the 2015 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck he was driving struck a deer on Highway 26 at 7 p.m. Friday. Miller was driving eastbound when the deer came onto the highway 12 miles west of Colfax.

REYNOLDS RETIREMENT FÉTE

A retirement féte to honor Assessor Joe Reynolds, who will leave office at the end of this week after close to 45 years of service, will be today Thursday, Sept. 28, at 1 p.m. in the Public Service Building. Reynolds has served as assessor since he was elected in 1994 and has been re-elected six times with his closest race in the last election. His present term would have ended in 2018.

SCHOOL SHOOT-UP THREAT ARREST

A 14-year-old Colfax High School student was taken into custody late Thursday afternoon, Sept 21, for allegedly posting “I’m Going to Shoot Up the School” on social media. Police Chief Rick McNannay reported the school counselor came to the police department at about 5 p.m. Thursday to report three students at the high school had shown her the threat posting in social media.

The arrest report said the students told the counselor that the boy had posted the warning on his snap chat story page. The message was photographed by the counselor, according to the arrest report.

The report said one of the students was pretty “shaken up” about the posting, and another student said the youth showed him a rifle at his residence.

Colfax officers interviewed the three students in the school office, and the juvenile suspect who was subsequently arrested on a probable charge of threatening to bomb or injure property.

His bond for pre-trial release was set at $50,000 in a first appearance in superior court. Formal charges have not been filed.

Chief McNannay said Friday morning they found no indication that the student had actually decided to carry through with his message, but he added they have no way of knowing if the boy intended to do so or just made a spontaneous post on social media. The chief added the post did generate concern by students and others at the school.

As a precaution, firearms were removed from the student’s residence.

McNannay said the department is working closely with the school district to insure safety of students, faculty, staff and visitors both on and off school property.

HOSPTIAL PLANS ‘PINK’ BANNER

Whitman Hospital and Medical Center late this week plans to hang a 14 X 22 foot banner on the north side of the hospital to kick off the “Paint the Town Pink” campaign.

Laurie Gronning, hospital spokeswoman, said the banner will feature a pink cancer ribbon on a white background. The hospital’s logo will be in a corner of the banner which will be seen by drivers going up hospital hill.

Gronning said the hospital also plans to hang a flag beneath the U.S. Flag outside the front entrance.

The banner is expected to be in place before the Sept. 30 Paint the Town Pink golf tournament at the Colfax Golf Course.

PARK FIRE BANS LIFTED

Fire restrictions at Kamiak Butte and Klemgard County Parks have been removed following the rainfall last week. Also, the Kamiak campground is now open.

Parks Superintendent Dave Mahan said the rain and cooler temperatures have reduced fire danger in the parks.

Fire restrictions remain at Wawawai County Park through Oct. 10.

Restrictions at Wawawai include no campfires and smoking on trails within park boundaries. Cooking with charcoal briquettes or a gas grill in the day use area is still an option.

All park visitors are asked to be vigilant, and keep a bucket of water and shovel nearby when cooking.