Bulletin: Nov. 2, 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.

AUDITOR

MAILS 587

NEW BALLOTS

A total of 587 replacement ballots were slated to be mailed out Monday to two precincts in Pullman where incorrect ballots were mailed for the Nov. 7 general election. The new ballots were mailed to two precincts in which some voters reported getting incorrect ballots for the Pullman ward races.

Auditor Eunice Coker Monday said 397 ballots were sent to Pullman Precinct 121 and 190 ballots to Precinct 124.

Coker said the original ballots sent to voters in those precincts have been set aside, and the new ballots will be counted.

The new packets carry instructions to the voters on the reasons for the second issue. Coker said the new ballots sent to the two precincts have different colors on the return envelope sleeves to indicate they are the ballots from this week’s issue.

Some Pullman voters last week complained about getting the wrong ballots for the Pullman City Hall races. Coker said some voters in Ward One received ballots for the Ward Two city council races. Pullman incumbent Al Sorenson is being challenged by Eric Fejeran in Ward One, and Garren Shannon and Dan Records are candidates for Ward Two.

The same type of mixup happened in the primary election, and Coker said after that episode the elections department worked with a representative from the Secretary of State's office to make corrections on the mailout list.

She believes the mailout problems date back to redistricting five years ago. Pullman's growth and annexations have also been part of the reason for the mistakes.

In response to Pullman complaints, Coker Friday issued a report which said her office sent out a PDF document via computer to all cities and towns in the county. They included a report which showed how each precinct is recorded on the election system and proofs of the ballots waiting to be printed. The office received verification of the ballot title language for the Pullman bond measures, but no verification of the ballot proofs.

Coker said the voters in the two precincts who received the wrong ballots were either incorrectly left in the wrong precinct after the post-primary review, or were possibly moved to an incorrect precinct.

The auditor noted voters who received the new ballots still face the same Nov. 7 deadline for the general election. Mailed ballots are required to have the Nov. 7 postmark or be dropped in a ballot box before the 8 p.m official closing time Tuesday.

PASSING

LANES READY TO OPEN

The new Highway 195 passing lanes south and north of Steptoe were temporarily opened in both directions Friday after crews from Selland Construction moved back traffic control barrels which had been separating traffic from the construction zones.

The barrels were reported to be back in place at the start of the week, and Selland crews reportedly were hydro seeding the area and planned to finish up Tuesday. Al Gilson, spokesman for the Department of Transportation district office in Spokane, said Selland crews were able to take advantage of last week's warm weather to paint lane lines and other markings on the new segment of highway.

Selland, based in Wenatchee, started on the project on the last day of July after being awarded the contract on a bid of $3,194,999. Gilson credited the contractor with getting the job wrapped up before the winter shutdown of the construction season.

The work on the Steptoe lanes has been booked as phase one of the passing lanes project for 195. The next scheduled phase has been scheduled to be north of Rosalia with a northbound passing lane north of the Babb Road overpass and the southbound lane on the segment of highway south of where the entry road from Plaza connects with the highway.

POT IN JAIL CHARGE

Abdou K. Jabbi, 22, Pullman, was charged Oct. 25 with being in possession of marijuana as a prisoner in the county jail. Jabbi has been summoned to appear in court on the charge Nov. 17.

An investigation of Jabbi, who was serving time in jail on a theft conviction, was started Oct. 14 after the smell of burnt marijuana was detected in the jail. Another inmate reported Jabbi had been smoking the marijuana.

A search of Jabbi's cell turned up marijuana and a Bic lighter. Also marijuana and burned papers were found in a shower. The report also alleged blue pills had been found in areas where Jabbi had been in the jail.

The report said inmate Dempsey White was the other inmate suspected of using the marijuana. White initially denied the allegation. A urine test indicated marijuana residue in his system, and he later admitted to smoking marijuana in a jail shower, according to the violation report.

Reports of violation of jail rules by Jabbi and White were written Oct. 16 and submitted to the court.

Jabbi had been serving weekends in jail after a conviction on two theft charges involving taking headphones from WalMart in Pullman last February. He was sentenced to serve 15 days in jail on each count, but allowed to serve the time on weekends.

JETTA LEFT

IN HIGHWAY 26 DITCH

A 2012 Volkswagen Jetta was left abandoned in the ditch along the west side of Highway 26 after an accident early Sunday morning. According to the Washington State Patrol report, the Jetta had apparently been traveling eastbound and crossed the centerline and the oncoming lane of traffic before going into the ditch on the west side of the highway.

The Jetta was registered to a resident at University Place, and he reported his daughter had been driving the Jetta. She had been traveling to Pullman and accepted a ride to Pullman from another motorist. A report of the accident was called in from Pullman. Time of the accident has been estimated at 1:33 a.m., and the driver reportedly didn't want to be left alone at the scene at that time.

--An unoccupied 2006 GMC truck was struck along Highway 195 five miles south of Pullman at 5:27 a.m. Friday. According to the WSP report, Dallin L. Siddoway, Vernal, Utah, was driving a 2016 Freightliner tractor-trailer southbound and drifted onto the shoulder of the highway and side-swiped the GMC. Siddoway was not hurt.

--Jayden Berglund, Clarkston, was unhurt Saturday when the 2008 Subaru Forester he was driving collided with a deer on Highway 270 2.7 miles east of Pullman. According to the WSP report, he was driving westbound at midnight when the deer ran into the roadway.

ANOTHER DOG PACK REPORT

Colfax Police Monday received another report of a dog pack cruising around in the Lower A Street neighborhood in Colfax. The dogs were believed to be the same group which drew complaints from residents in that area last summer, according to Chief Rick McNannay.

TWO SHOT

IN PULLMAN

Two males, one 19 and one 17, were wounded early Sunday morning in a shooting on Duncan Lane which is located in the college hill area of Pullman. The two victims, both from King County, were transported to Pullman Regional Hospital.

The 19-year-old, who was wounded in the torso, was later released from the hospital. The 17-year-old was wounded in the arm.

According to a report by Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins, the two victims were among a group of people who were attempting to forcibly remove an individual from a vehicle outside of a party in the neighborhood. Shots were fired from inside the car. The shots were believed to have been from a pistol.

The report said officers heard the two shots as they were responding to what was initially a noise complaint at 1:45 a.m, and when they arrived on Duncan Lane they found numerous persons running in all directions.

The vehicle fled the area.

WSU officials issued an emergency alert notification to students. Duncan is off Stadium Way and adjacent to the WSU campus on the west side.

CAR-SEMI

COLLISION

ON 195

Samantha Siemsen, 18, Newport, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in Lewiston after the car she was driving collided with a semi truck on Highway 195 Sunday at 6:05 p.m. one mile south of Uniontown.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, Siemsen was driving a Toyota RAV4 northbound, crossed into the southbound lane and collided with a 2015 Volvo truck tractor and trailer driven by Charles A. Bennett, 58, Chattaroy.

Bennett was not injured in the accident, which blocked Highway 195 for several hours.

SPEED CHASE IN ROSALIA

Michael L. Canedy, 26, Malden, was booked into jail early Sunday morning on a probable charge of attempting to elude an officer in an alleged chase in Rosalia late Saturday night. The arrest report alleged that at one point the suspect and two occupants of the car he was driving got out of the car after it stopped and were ordered to get down on the ground.

The report said the sheriff's office had previously received reports of erratic driving in the area of storage units on the west side of Rosalia.

The office received a report at 10:24 p.m. Saturday of a car racing around near the storage units. It said when the deputy located the suspected car, the driver turned off the car’s headlights.

The car at the start of the chase went across parking lots and over a grain elevator weigh scale at a speed of approximately 50 miles an hour. The deputy's report said the car went airborne when the driver crossed the railroad tracks on 4th Street and it bottomed out when it hit the other side.

The car turned south on Whitman Street and then turned onto 5th Street where the driver pulled over.

The report said the two passengers, one of them a 15-year-old juvenile girl, said they had pleaded with the driver to stop the car when they saw lights from the deputy's squad car.

COLLISION ON HIGHWAY 26

Drivers of two cars involved in a collision west of Colfax Friday were unhurt. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Chloe S. Tolentino, Montlake, was driving a 2010 Dodge Charger eastbound at 7:10 p.m. and pulled onto the shoulder of the highway a half mile past mile marker 129. She attempted to make a U turn onto the highway and was struck by an eastbound 2002 Subaru Legacy driven by Wilson D. Tramel, Sunnyside. The Subaru hit the back of the Charger.

CAR HITS THOMPSON

IN PULLMAN

Jim Thompson, 54, Colfax, was taken by ambulance to Pullman Regional Hospital Thursday, Oct. 26, after he was hit by a car while working for Pullman Disposal. The driver of the car left the scene.

Thompson was able to get on his feet and called police on his cell phone.

He said he had parked the disposal truck just before noon on B Street which intersects with Stadium Way. Thompson crossed the street to get a can on the opposite side and was hit by a car as he turned to step into the street. He said he actually rolled up on the hood of the car which was descending the B Street grade.

The driver of the light-colored car is believed to be a female. Pullman Police are investigating, and anyone with information is asked to call the Pullman Police Department at 509-334-0802.

Thompson was released from the hospital and is now at home. He is believed to have sustained a leg fracture but won't know for sure until the swelling recedes.

DRUG ARREST ON MAIN

A $25,000 bail amount for pre-trial release was scheduled in superior court Friday morning for Leticia Martinez, 35, Moses Lake, after she was arrested on probable charges of possession of heroin and methamphetamine in Colfax. According to the arrest report, Martinez was a passenger in the back of a car which was stopped by Colfax Officer Cory Alcantar at 1:59 a.m. at the intersection of S. Main and Golgotha streets.

Alcantar saw the suspect place a piece of foil in her coat pocket and suspected use of drugs. The report alleged Martinez appeared to be "on the nod" which indicated she might have taken drugs.

Sheriff's Sgt. Keith Cooper and a K9 drug dog responded to the scene.

The report said Martinez eventually agreed to get out of the car and surrendered a wad of tinfoil with heroin which had been in her mouth. She later turned over a packet with one gram of methamphetamine which had been on her person.

Judge Gary Libey set the $25,000 bail figure after he was informed by the state that Martinez had a record of 20 prior warrants. Formal charges are pending.