Briefs: Mar. 8, 2018

CITY SWEEPER ROLLS AGAIN

Colfax crews rolled out a city sweeper early Friday morning as a possible harbinger of the approach of spring. Public Works Director Matt Hammer said the crew made four passes down Main Street to remove gravel which was deposited on the street by the meltdown for the last two days.

Almost all of the berms of snow at the center of the street vanished March 1 in the warm weather. The downtown reading on the PNW temperature sign reached 50 degrees at one point Thursday afternoon.

Gravel swept up after the snow battle filled the sweeper's collector bin.

Hammer said the main reason for sweeping was to pick up the gravel while the streets were still wet. Dry weather predicted for next week could have meant a lot of dust from the gravel removal.

Hammer noted city crews in January used the sweeper during mild winter days before the snowstorms hit and shut the operation down.

SENT TO JAIL TO FINISH SENTENCE

Ricky Lee Kay, 28, was ordered to serve 11 days in jail Friday morning in Whitman County Superior court for failing to complete public service which was part of his sentencing a year ago on a conviction for vehicular assault. Kay was sentenced to 30 days in jail last March on the conviction, but allowed to work off the sentence with 240 hours of public service.

The conviction stems from a Sept. 25, 2016, accident on N. Grand in Pullman when a Honda Civic driven by Kay collided with a light pole near the intersection of N. Grand and Terre View.

A male passenger in the car was injured in the accident and had to be taken to the hospital.

Judge David Frazier pointed out Kay had a whole year to work off the 240 hours of service, but he has only completed 145 hours. He pointed out Kay's actions led to someone being injured, and Kay has failed in the ensuing year to complete the sentence.

Kay attempted to explain why he hadn't completed the sentence, but the judge did not accept the excuses.

GRANT SEARCH FOR GRANDSTAND

Members of the Palouse Empire Fair Foundation plan to undertake a search for grants for a project to rebuild the grandstand at the fair, according to a report made by Chad Startin at the Feb. 26 fair board meeting. The foundation has eyed the grandstand as its next major improvement project at the fair.

Its last major project was a remodeling of the community building with the addition of the new kitchen and patio space on the north side.

The foundation's dinner and auction last fall had earnings of $47,000 which was the third highest since it has been conducting the event.

The grandstand bleachers at the fairground now were purchased from the former Spokane Grand Prix after that organization folded. The front section box seats were part of the previous grandstand.

In other business, fair manager Janel Goebel reported the annual report of the 2017 edition of the fair has been submitted to the state. The fair last year had 23,563 in total attendance, 3,804 exhibits and distributed $28,799 in premiums and prizes. The attendance total for the fair was down from 2016 when attendance topped 24,000. The exhibit and prizes totals were up from the previous year.

DUPONT DRIVER HURT

Sean D. Latourette, Dupont, was injured late Feb. 28 when the car he was driving went out of control on Highway 26 13.2 miles west of Colfax.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, he was driving a 2003 Mitsubishi Montero eastbound at 5:23 p.m. when he swerved left to avoid a dog in the roadway. He overcorrected back to the right and the car rolled and came to a halt on its side in a pasture.

A Colfax ambulance responded to the scene and transported Latourette to Whitman Hospital.

St. John, Endicott set childfind dates

St. John and Endicott school districts will conduct their annual childfind screening for children up to five years of age. The goal is to provide parents with information on their child’s development and help the district prepare the youngsters’ start in school.

The screening includes motor, cognitive, vision, hearing, speech and language tests. All are provided free.

Screening dates will be March 15 in St. John and March 23 in

Endicott. Please call to set an appointment.

St. John 648 3336

Endicott 657 3523

Oaks on A&N roll

Gilbert Oaks of Pullman has been named to the honor roll for the second grading period at Army and Navy Academy at Carlsbad, Calif.

Students with a grade point average of 3.50 or higher are named to the roll.

Serenity fête set

A reception for the new Serenity House is set for April 22 at 2 p.m. at The Center in Colfax. Serenity House is a three-bedroom house for those on hospice care not able to live at home any more. The facility is located in Pullman and operated by Friends of Hospice. This is the first project of its kind on the Palouse; the nearest hospice homes are in Spokane and Coeur d’Alene. According to Friends of Hospice Director Annie Pillers, although the facility is not yet open, they have already received referrals. Once fully licensed and operational, Serenity House will be able to care for three hospice patients at the end of life with 24/7 CNA and home aides care in a homey setting.

Refreshments will be served at the reception.

Entries now open for 30th lentil fest

Applications are now open for vendor opportunities, the legendary lentil cook-off and other activities at the 2018 National Lentil Festival, the 30th edition of the Pullman event.

Spaces are available for food vendors, marketplace vendors and non-profit night vendors. Non-profit night will be Friday night only, and spaces are $70. Marketplace and food vendor spaces are sold as two-day spaces with varying prices. All spaces are 10’x10’ and sold on a first come, first served basis.

For the lentil cook-off, entrants are encouraged to submit their original lentil recipe for a chance to win up to $2,000. Recipes should not exceed 15 ingredients and must include at least one cup of cooked lentils, a half cup of uncooked lentils, or a half cup of lentil flour.

Registration is also open for the Tase T. Lentil 5K Fun Run, Grand Parade and Lil’ Lentil Royalty.

To access the applications, review participation rules and regulations, and to learn more visit: http://www.lentilfest.com.