News Briefs: Nov. 29, 2018

SNOW SLIDEOFFS ON SHERIFF’S LOG

Vehicle slide-offs were logged by the sheriff’s office Friday when the first snow storm hit the area. One slide-off was reported on Highway 26 just west of Colfax at 9:28 p.m., and another at 10:03 p.m. on Highway 27 near the Grinnell Road intersection north of Palouse.

Deputy Michael Jordan responded to a report of a motorist driving under the speed limit at 5 p.m. Friday on Highway 195 at mile 28 south of Colfax.

Deputy James Pelissier responded at 9:45 a.m. Nov. 22 on a report of a wounded deer on Almota Road. The wounded animal had to be dispatched.

FIRE DESTROYS STORAGE SHED

A storage building on Highway 26 just west of Colfax was destroyed by fire Thanksgiving night. Firefighters from the rural district responded after receiving the alarm at about 7:50 p.m.

The shed was serving as a chicken coop for neighbors at the time of the fire. An old heat lamp is believed to be the cause of the fire. Four chickens escaped the blaze while two did not.

The shed was on Highway 26 on the grade going out of Colfax at the site of the former Paul Bilderback residence which was destroyed by fire a few years ago on Christmas Day.

The shed had remained on the Bilderback property. It still contained possessions of Bilberback’s in addition to housing the chickens.

Fire crews logged back in the station here at 11 p.m. Rural district crews from Diamond, Albion and Steptoe all responded to the scene along with Colfax Fire crews.

COUNTY PROJECTS ON STATE LIST

Four county road projects are included in the state Department of Transportation’s four-year list of projects. The draft is known as the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program.

Overall, the list includes more than 1,500 projects around the state using $3.9 million in federal funds.

Public comment on the list began Nov. 21 and will continue until Dec. 20.

Included on the list are two more segments of the Almota Road improvement which has been upgraded in stages for several years. The road work listed is between mile 5.82 and mile 11.

An overlay of Hume Road for the first three miles, and Farmington Road are also included. The Hume Road segment would be the last three miles before the intersection with Highway 27 at Oakesdale. Prior work has been conducted on Hume Road up to that final segment.

The Farmington Road segment listed runs from mile .33 to mile 5.41 south of Tekoa.

DRUG ARREST ON CAMPUS

Irie V. McCaughran, 19, was arrested Nov. 14 in Bryan Hall on the WSU campus on a drug charge which allegedly derived from a report of a pill exchange during a psychology mentorship program. According to the report from WSU officer Kelly Stewart, the suspect was observed giving a pill to a mentor during a session in Johnson Tower.

The report alleges a subsequent search of the suspect’s backpack led to discovery of prescription drug pills which were contained in a prescription bottle. The bottle was marked for a prescription drug other than what was actually in the bottle.

He was booked in jail here after the arrest and later released on his own recognizance after a first court appearance.