Bulletin Column: Oct. 12, 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.

BALLOT LOADED FOR GENERAL

A sample printout of the Nov. 7 general election ballot fills both sides of two 11x17 pages with a listing of local candidate races for schools, parks, fire districts and city hall positions. The ballots are scheduled to be mailed out next Friday, Oct 20.

Ballots will actually be mailed out from Seattle by a vendor contractor. The vendor was also used to mail out the ballots for the primary election. Voters will receive ballots which will include candidates for offices in their local districts.

The lone county candidate which will appear on all ballots will be Kristine Meyer, who was appointed to the Port commission seat following the death of Dan Boone.

All county voters will also be able to vote on the advisory measures to repeal or maintain money measures approved by the legislature. They include the $565 million business and occupation tax changes and the $12.94 billion added property tax levy for state schools.

Colfax voters will face one-candidate ballot listings with Jennifer Hauser running unopposed for another term on the school board.

The city council ballot will include Sarah McKnight, who was appointed to the council last year to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of Steve Holberg.

Three newcomers who filed unopposed for other seats being vacated are also on the ballot. They include Blaine Golden in position one, Crystn Guenthner in position two and Crystal Christopherson in position three.

Council members now in those seats are Whitney Aguilar in one, Steve Bretveld in two and Jeannette Solimine in three. All opted not to seek another term.

FREEDOM NW PLANS GRAND OPENING

Freedom Northwest Credit Union of Kamiah, Idaho, plans a grand opening of their new cash and deposit spot in Colfax on Friday from 4:30 to 7 p.m. The spot with its loop access is located on the east side of Main Street just north of Kroll Machinery.

Staff members of the credit union will be on hand and refreshments will be served. The credit union was founded in 1963.

VALHALLA

BURGLARY CHARGES

Formal charges of burglary and theft, both in the second degree, were filed Friday in superior court against Stuart H. Schmidtke, 23, Pullman. He was identified as the suspect in the July 30 break-in at the Valhalla Bar & Grill on NE Colorado Street in Pullman.

According to the arrest report, surveillance cameras show a man approaching Valhalla at 2:50 a.m. July 30 with a golf club in one hand. The suspect is seen throwing a landscaping brick through a glass window to gain entry to the building.

Schmidtke was identified as a suspect after he was observed at Mr. Z's Casino in Pullman the next day. He was alleged to have been gambling with bills which were bound in bundles with the same fasteners used at Valhalla. Schmidtke reportedly had been employed as a cook at Valhalla.

He has been summoned to appear in court Oct. 27. Owners of Valhalla after the burglary estimated the amount of cash missing ranged between $1,500 and $2,000, according to the investigation report.

GALLER SEEKS JAIL WORK CREDIT

A motion by Diane Galler, former Tekoa resident who was convicted of arson in August, to credit jail work hours against her sentence time was placed on hold Friday in superior court. Presiding Judge David Frazier said Galler was sentenced by Judge Gary Libey, and he should be the one to rule on changing the sentence.

Galler, who began a six-month sentence Aug. 9 after pleading guilty to arson in connection with the burning of her former residence in Tekoa, submitted a hand written motion to convert the work time to reduce the sentence. Galler said in her motion she had completed 92 hours of work time in jail.

Judge Frazier, in reviewing the sentencing document, noted Judge Libey did not mark a box on the sentencing form which related to conversion time, and said it would be up to Judge Libey to rule on the motion.

Galler's release date from jail, with good time credit, has been set for Dec. 7.

MORGANS

PLAN 26TH PLOWING BEE

The 26th annual plowing bee has been scheduled at the Morgan Ranch in the Green Hollow area. The bee offers vintage tractor operators a chance to put their machines to work on actual plowing. Featured for this year's bee will be the Cat 60 crawler trailer.

Date of the bee will be Oct. 21, with plowing expected to start at 10 a.m. A Parade of the Giants is slated for 1 p.m., and "Old Beast Plowing" is scheduled for 2 p.m.

The Morgan ranch is located three miles out on Manning Road from the intersection with Green Hollow Road northeast of Colfax.

A no-host lunch will be provided on the site.

PINK DECOR FOR CHS GAME

The Colfax Main Street pink decorum for October's breast cancer awareness month was extended to the football field for Friday night's homecoming game. Pink wrist sweat bands for ball players on the Colfax and Liberty teams were donated for them to wear during the game. Cheerleaders for both teams were also provided with wrist bands.

The bands were purchased with donations from Fonk's and Jones Truck and Implement. Colfax Police Chief Rick McNannay arranged for the pink theme to extend to the football field during the game.

Stores and businesses have picked up on the pink theme which will be posted for the month, and city street crews have repainted the Main Street intersection logos with blue and pink. Street lights have also been strung with strings of pink lights.

Chief McNannay noted all the decorations for the city have been purchased with donated funds.

COX JAILED AFTER GUILTY PLEAS

Dennis E. Cox, 59, Pullman, was booked into the county jail early Friday afternoon after he entered guilty pleas connected with a child rape case in Pullman. Cox was remanded to custody of the jail here until a pre-sentence investigation of the case is conducted by the state's Department of Corrections.

Cox Friday pleaded guilty to rape of a child in the third degree and two other charges filed against him among seven listed by the state.

Cox could face a sentence of between 48 and 61 months on the convictions, according to Chief Deputy Prosecutor Dan LeBeau.

The former proprietor of Baskin-Robbins in Pullman, Cox was initially booked into jail here July 28 by Pullman police after investigation of the allegations made against him. Bail for his release was first set at $150,000, but that was later reduced to $50,000 under release conditions set by the court.

The charges involving the same juvenile girl in the 14-16 year age bracket were alleged to have taken place between the dates of Dec. 1 last year and July 24 of this year.

TRIAL DATE SET FOR THOMAS

A Dec. 18 trial date was scheduled Friday in Superior Court for Rebbeca Thomas of Colfax after she pleaded not guilty to an amended charge of second-degree assault. Thomas was initially charged with vehicular assault after allegedly driving a car across the centerline of Highway 195 June 10 and colliding with a pickup truck driven in the opposite direction at mile 46 north of Colfax.

The investigation report said the state had a witness who saw Thomas drive across the highway. The report said Thomas' parents, boyfriend and his father were later located at the scene of the accident and reported Thomas had texted massages to them earlier in which she threatened to take her own life.

PULLMAN FIRE BURNS DECK

An apartment fire on College Hill early Saturday morning displaced a family of six. Pullman firefighters responded to the fire report from Outlook Apartments at 620 NE Kamiaken St. at approximately 2 a.m. The fire was on a second floor deck, and residents of the apartment used three fire extinguishers to stop the fire which had also spread to part of an exterior wall.

Firefighters applied minimal water to the deck and wall and checked the walls with a thermal imaging camera to make sure the fire had not spread to the inside of the walls.

The apartment has been approved for occupancy by a building inspector, so the occupants could be back in the unit by last Monday. Cause of the fire was reported to still be under investigation.

BOYER

SENTENCED TO FIVE MONTHS

Tony Lee Boyer, 47, was sentenced to five months in jail Friday on convictions of harassment with a threat to kill and two charges of violating a no-contact order. Boyer was arrested Aug. 29 after deputies responded to a report of domestic violence at a residence on the Parvin Road.

Boyer Friday entered an Alford plea to the charges. Under that plea a defendant does not admit the charges but agrees the state has the evidence for a probable conviction.

According the case report, Boyer and his former spouse were residing together. He allegedly called her while she was away from the home Aug. 29 and threatened to kill her when she returned. When she returned he grabbed her cell phone, broke it and began to drag her in the gravel driveway. The sheriff's report said a son stopped the assault when he came out and threatened Boyer with a .22.

The no-contact charges derived from calls when Boyer made calls to the victim from the jail. In the Sept. 4 call to the victim he reportedly recognized that he would probably get into trouble for making the call from jail.

Calls by inmates from the jail are monitored.

Presiding Judge David Frazier said he found it difficult to believe Boyer will follow the court's no-contact order after he completes his jail term.

The judge also sentenced Boyer to a year in jail for violating the no-contact order by calling from the jail. The one-year sentence was suspended, but Judge Frazier pointed out if Boyer did violate the no-contact order in the sentence he will be returned to serve the additional year.