Bulletin Column: May 2, 2019

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.

FOOD PANTRY IN STATE BUDGET

The state's capital budget which was approved Sunday before the end of the legislative session included $247,000 for Whitman County Council on Aging to purchase the food pantry building and make improvements, including a new roof. Council Executive Director Paige Collins said the sum will allow the council to purchase the building from Scott Ackerman.

The food pantry building for years was the location of the former Colfax Elks Club.

Collins said the roof on the building is in bad shape, although some repairs were made to protect the newly remodeled kitchen which was brought up to commercial standards.

Collins noted the state funding is granted on a reimbursement format, so the council will have to borrow funds to make the purchase and repairs and then apply for reimbursement. The project has to be done during the time the two-year capital budget is in place.

Collins credited Ninth District legislators, Reps. Joe Schmick, Mary Dye and Sen. Mark Schoesler, with moving the request through the capital budget process.

ROBBERY CHARGE CHANGED

Kody M. Schneider, 21, Moscow, pleaded not guilty Friday to a charge of first-degree theft from the Bud Hut marijuana store on the Moscow-Pullman Highway. The charge against Schneider was amended from an original charge of first-degree robbery after the sheriff's investigation led to the arrest of an alleged cohort in the Bud Hut case.

Jeremy West, 42, the sales clerk who was at the Bud Hut on the morning of April 8, was listed as the robbery victim in the initial charge against Schneider, but deputies later arrested West and he was charged with first-degree theft of cash from the shop under an alleged arrangement with Schneider.

West was arrested at his home at Troy, Idaho, by Whitman and Latah county deputies three days after Schneider was arrested at his mother's residence on W. Palouse River Drive on the night of the alleged April 8 robbery of the Bud Hut on the Moscow Pullman Highway west of the Sunshine Road intersection.

Schneider had originally been scheduled for arraignment April 19 on the robbery charge, but that was delayed until last Friday, and the charge was amended to first-degree theft.

The arrest report on West alleged he arranged for Schneider to appear at the Bud Hut on the morning of April 8 while he was opening the store for business. West reported a man wearing a mask and carrying a pistol left the business with a stack of $20 bills.

Subsequent investigation led deputies to allege West arranged with Schneider to rob the store to cover up alleged thefts of cash West had made from the business over several months.

West April 19 pleaded not guilty to first-degree theft.

Both suspects now are scheduled for a June 17 trial.

West has posted bond for pre-trial release, and Schneider remains in jail with bond for release set at $150,000 surety.

ALLEGED JAIL FAREWELL DRUG GIFT

Ashley Green-Noel, 25, Pullman, was allowed release from jail after she pleaded not guilty to drug charges in superior court last Friday and promised to reside with her mother while awaiting trial. She didn't make it out of the jail after she was apprehended for allegedly attempting to leave a container of heroin with another female inmate before departing.

According to the jail report, Green-Noel went to the cell of another woman inmate and left a baggie containing a green container which contained heroin and a plastic pipe.

The inmate who received the container notified jailers by holding up a written note in front of the surveillance camera in her cell. The note indicated the inmate feared she would attempt to use the heroin.

Green-Noel was charged April 23 with possession of heroin and buprenorphine in Pullman. She was among a group of suspects arrested at an apartment.

At Friday morning's arraignment, Senior Deputy Prosecutor Wendy Lierman pointed out Green-Noel has a record of five arrest warrants which have been issued in previous cases.

The defendant's mother, Donna Green of Pullman, appeared in court Friday to support the request for pre-trial release.

EXCAVATOR SINKS AT FAIRGROUND

A large track-mounted excavator which was part of the crew working on excavation to start the Palouse Empire Fair's grandstand project partially sank on site last Thursday. The fairground surface failed to support the big Caterpillar 336 E machine which has an operating weight of more than 40 tons.

The high water table at the fairground led to flooding of lower segments of the grounds during runoff from late snow, but the flooded area did not extend to where the excavator sank.

A crew from Motley & Motley Construction of Pullman was working on the site where the former north ramp to the old grandstand was located. The machine sank down to where its tracks were mostly submerged and the back engine sank below the surface at an angle.

The machine had to be towed out of the mud in a process which progressed inch by inch over several hours.

The mishap left a large crater on the north end of the site where the new grandstand will be located.

Motley & Motley volunteered to remove the ramps and the remaining front row of box seats from the old grandstand and prepare the site for installation of footings for the new grandstand which is scheduled to be installed this summer.

Bleachers which served as seating for the fair's rodeo arena were purchased by the Prosser rodeo, which disassembled and removed them from the grounds.

TWO HURT IN WEEKEND ACCIDENTS

Mickaela Marple, Kennewick, was injured in a one-car accident on Highway 26 three miles west of Colfax. According to the Washington State Patrol report, she was driving a 2006 Toyota Corolla eastbound at 9:55 p.m. Sunday when she drifted onto the shoulder of the highway and struck a reflector post. She overcorrected and the Corolla crossed the highway and went into the ditch on the westbound side and struck an embankment. A Colfax ambulance crew responded to the scene.

Ashley M. McSpadden, St. John, was injured Saturday night in a one-car accident on Highway 23 2.4 miles north of St. John.

According to the report by Trooper Rob Aucutt, she was a passenger in a 1990 Ford F350 pickup truck driven by Juan McSpadden, St. John. He said he was driving northbound at 11:25 p.m. when he swerved to miss a deer. The truck went into a spin and rolled onto the driver's side in the northbound ditch.

CORONER REPORTS ON S.J. DEATH

County Coroner Annie Pillers Friday issued a cause finding on the death of Justin P. Robertson, 41, at St. John last Tuesday.

Robertson was found dead at a private residence in St. John after a standoff with officers from several different agencies. Pillers said he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and the manner of death was determined to be suicide.

The coroner reported Robertson had a history of depression and anxiety.

Robertson was the suspect identified in an amber alert issued early April 23 after he was suspected of entering the Spokane Valley residence of his estranged wife, stabbing her multiple times and leaving with their five-year-old son, Ethan.

He was later located at a residence in St. John where he eventually turned the boy over to deputies and was later found dead in the residence.

TRUCK CRASH REPORT

Joseph T. Cain III, Portland, was identified as the driver of the truck and trailer unit which crashed through a guardrail on Highway 26 and rolled on its side in the ditch April 24. The accident led to a temporary closure of the highway with a detour around the accident which was west of the Filan Road intersection.

According to the Washington State Patrol report, Cain was driving a 2017 Volvo tractor-trailer eastbound at 1:50 a.m. when the truck went into the oncoming lane, hit the guardrail and rolled onto the driver's side in the westbound ditch.

The crash damaged a section of the guardrail which was marked off with caution cones late last week to alert drivers.

FILING TO OPEN ON LOCAL SEATS

The four Colfax School Board seats that will be up for election this year are those now held by Terry Huber, district one; David Nails, district two; Robert Smith, district three, and Brian Becker, district four.

School board members actually represent specific zones in the school district.

All school board seats are four-year terms.

One rural Fire District 11 seat up for election for a six-year term is now held by Michael Bednar of Albion.

Filing by mail for election will start Monday at the elections office. Filing in person or by e-mail will be the week of May 13-17.

SEED LIBRARY TO OPEN

Colfax Library invites residents to visit their seed library open house any time during May. The seed library offers vegetable, legume and fruit seeds for free on a "borrow, harvest, share" format. Residents can borrow seeds, plant a garden and, once the crops are harvested, bring back saved seed to replenish the collection.

The goal of the seed library is to offer healthful produce and plants for pollination to everyone in our community.

For more information about the seed library, contact Shirley Cornelius at 397-4366.

STATE FAIR SUM DIPS

This year's state allocation for the Palouse Empire Fair totals $34,347, which is $640 less than the previous year, Janel Goebel, fair operations manager, reported to the Palouse Empire Fair Board April 22. Apportionment of the state fund is based on the report submitted by the state fair judge who visits the grounds and the annual report of the fair's operation.

Goebel said she anticipated the drop because her report of overall attendance for last year's fair dropped slightly. The fair used a different system for determining the total number of people who attended the fair. She said she used a different system to estimate the number of youngsters five and under who attend free with family members.

Goebel also noted the fair loses scoring points because it lacks some type of dairy display which is included on the state fair judge's scoring sheet. She pointed out that adding a dairy class for livestock entries probably wouldn't attract many entrants in this area and would entail hiring a dairy judge. She said the fair staff is considering some way of getting dairy recognition into the program here in order to gain a few points on the scoring sheet.

CHAMBER TO SEEK GHOST CONTRACT

Colfax Chamber of Commerce will attempt to negotiate a new agreement to resume ghost tours at the former St. Ignatius Hospital, according to Val Gregory, executive director. Gregory said she learned that ownership of St. Ignatius has reverted to Anthony Girges of Bellflower, Calif., who had sold the hospital in June of 2017.

St. Ignatius was listed for a trustee's sale April 12 on the courthouse steps. Sierra Minder, representing the Spokane law firm of Winston & Cashatt, conducted the auction which failed to attract a bidder to pay off the $128,218 in payments due, interest and trustee costs on the sale.

Failing to get a bid for the amount due under the sale contract held by the trustee, the former hospital building reverted to the holder of the sale contract. At the time of the sale, Minder was unable to identify the creditor, but later confirmed the title reverted to Girges, Gregory said.

Derrick Fincher, 48, a Spokane Valley resident who was convicted in federal court in Spokane last Sept. 13 of swindling more than $2 million from three investors, contracted with Girges to purchase the building and property two years ago.