Bulletin Column: July 25, 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.

SIX WILL SEEK FAIR TITLE

Six royalty candidates will compete in the fair scholarship program this year. This will be the second year that the fair has reverted to the community representative format for the competition.

Participants include Kyla Hansen, Oakesdale; Ashley Taylor Farr, Pullman; Lauren Stubbs, LaCrosse; Miya Ensley, Colfax; Lexi Brantner, Garfield/Palouse, and Paiton Kirpes, Colton.

Contest coordinator Bailey Wiedmer noted the competition will be Thursday evening at the fair instead of Friday. The change was made to avoid conflict with Friday school sports nights and allows the royalty more days to reign at the fair.

HUNTLEY BARN TO LEAVE SCENE

The Hugh Huntley barn, one of the last remnants of the horse racing meets at Mockonema, will be out of the lineup for this year's edition of the fair. The barn is considered to be a hazard and could be gone before the fair starts this year.

Mr. Huntley was a race horse enthusiast who resided in the Diamond area and was a strong supporter of the race meets.

The barn, which once housed race horses during the spring racing dates, has remained standing in the southeast corner of the fairground.

Mr. Huntley's son, Ray Huntley of Endicott, has requested the signs from the barn be saved for the family.

Other barns from the horse racing days carried the names of supporters of the horse racing operation at the fair.

CROSSWALKS GET PAINT

State crews Tuesday morning began applying badly needed fresh paint to the Main Street crosswalks in Colfax. Some of the crosswalks have almost been erased since the last coat of paint was applied.

Colfax has 22 crosswalks across Main Street between the south Mill crossing north to the N. Palouse River bridge.

A nominee for the most worn crosswalk could be the one at Main and Thorn Street where the crossing is impacted by traffic driving up and down the Thorn Street hill.

Also almost gone is the solid traffic lane line which extends north from the Thorn Street crossing to provide drivers who turn north onto Main from Thorn a protected entry lane. The lane is set up by the pylon markers posted along the curve entry from Pullman onto Main Street.

DUO ARRESTED NEAR GARFIELD

Two Spokane men were arrested and jailed on drug possession charges Monday after deputies received a tip that one of the suspects was believed to be on drugs while shopping in a store at Garfield. The report said a store clerk called at 11:30 a.m. and reported a man, who was wearing a straw hat, appeared to be very animated and had enlarged eye pupils, the store clerk stated.

The suspect departed Garfield in a white van which was followed by a man driving a Dodge Dakota.

The two vehicles were stopped at mile marker 32. They told Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Jordan they had just purchased the van in Garfield. The van reportedly was in very rough shape and had no license. The report alleged deputies discovered a small amount of methamphetamine in a lockbox in the pickup.

Driver of the van was Zachary Wilder, 24, and driver of the pickup was Hunter Dozier, 21. Dozier was also alleged to have been driving with a suspended license.

CORONER REPORTS ON FATALITY

Whitman County Coroner Annie Pillars on Monday released a cause of death report on Robb W. Freer, the Dayton resident who died in one-car accident last Wednesday, July 17, on Highway 27 south of Tekoa. She reported Mr. Freer, 61, died of massive head, chest and extremity injuries near mile marker 46 south of Tekoa. Manner of death was determined to be accidental.

According to the Washington State Patrol report the 1992 Toyota pickup Freer was driving went off the highway and struck a tree approximately three miles south of Tekoa. The report by Trooper Jeff Issac said Freer had been driving northbound at 9:47 a.m. when he failed to negotiate a curve and the pickup crossed the highway and hit the tree in the ditch on the opposite side of the highway.

The report said Freer had been wearing a seatbelt.

LONG FIRE BATTLE AT ALMOTA

Volunteer firefighters from four fire districts responded early Sunday morning to a grass and brush fire at the bottom of the Almota grade. The fire alarm was logged at 45 minutes after midnight and volunteers were on the scene for approximately five hours.

Albion Chief Jeremy Peterson, who headed the fire response, said approximately 24 firefighters were on the scene.

The fire was inside the switchback turn at the bottom of the grade. Brush and grass are in the switchback which includes the drainage for Little Almota Creek.

Crews prevented the fire from jumping the road and heading uphill above the road.

The area is used for livestock grazing, but the animals were moved out to the mountains for the summer months, Peterson said.

Fire crews from Districts 11, 12, 13 and 14 responded to the stubborn fire.

Peterson said a cause of the fire has not been determined.

TRIAL DATE SET FOR ASHLOCK

Dustin Ashlock, 32, who was booked in jail July 16 after investigation of an alleged July 10 shop burglary on the Little Goose Dam Road, pleaded not guilty to a formal charge of second-degree burglary Friday in superior court. He was scheduled for a Sept. 16 trial.

Ashlock remains in jail with bond set for pre-trial release at $100,000 surety or $10,000 cash. The high bail was set because of Ashlock's prior criminal record.

He and Daniel Ornelas, 19, LaCrosse, were jailed after deputies investigated the July 10 burglary report.

Ashlock, reported to be from the Yakima area, and Ornelas were reportedly residing at a house on the Hay-LaCrosse Road.

Ornelas was formally charged last Thursday with second-degree burglary and possession of stolen property. He was allowed pre-trial release on his own recognizance and ordered to appear in court this Friday.

The arrest report on Ornelas alleges deputies located a bank deposit bag inside of a backpack belonging to Ornelas during a search of the residence. The bank bag was reportedly taken from a break-in at the LaCrosse swimming pool July 14.

MAKEUP DATE FOR FREE SWIM

An Aug. 9 date for a free swim at the Colfax pool has been scheduled to makeup for a June 14 date which was cancelled for safety because the pool wall lights were not operating.

Bank of Eastern Oregon and Nielsen Insurance are sponsors of the free swim which will run from 9 p.m. to midnight.

PNW sponsored Friday's free swim.

The next free swim will be Saturday, Aug. 3. That swim will start at 8 p.m. It will follow the big all-league swim meet which will conclude competition season.

MAIN STREET HYDRANT CHECKS

Colfax volunteers conducted a check of Main Street hydrants Tuesday night starting at about 6:30 p.m. Twelve Main Street fire hydrants were opened and tested for flow.

DOWNTOWN MURAL WORKSHOP

Colfax Arts Council is offering free mural painting workshops with artist Melissa Cole Saturday and Sunday 9 a.m. to noon and 2 to 5 p.m. in downtown Colfax. Cole is painting the mural on the south wall of the Dusty Attic.

All ages are welcome. Children 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult.

Interested participants can sign up at the Whitman County Library front desk or email Arts Council President Debbie Stinson.

debby_stinson@wsu.edu.

Participants are asked to include name, phone number, workshop date time and time and number of participants. The Dusty Attic wall mural will be unveiled at the Oct. 3 first Thursday event in Colfax.

BIG DRUG ARREST ON IDAHO 95

Sheriff Brett Myers, Commander of the Quad Cities Drug Task Force, Friday reported 35.6 grams of marijuana were seized in a vehicle which was stopped on Idaho Highway 95 at mile marker 370.

Myers said agents July 15 were working a narcotics case involving large amounts of methamphetamine being delivered to Latah County and the Lewiston areas from Spokane.

Crystal L. Schrecengost, 39, was booked into the Latah County jail on a felony charge of trafficking methamphetamine, possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. She was reported as homeless.

A search warrant was issued for the 2015 Dodge Charger she was driving and the methamphetamine, 35 grams of marijuana, a plastic bag with a capsule filled with a brown substance and a glass pipe were seized.

Also seized were a scale and plastic bags the suspect was carrying.

A passenger in the Charger, John Bordley, was arrested and booked into the jail at Moscow on an unrelated warrant.

Deputies from Latah and Benewah counties also assisted in the stop.

‘VACANT LAND GUYS’ OFFERS

County Assessor Robin Jones July 17 issued a report involving mailings to residents with prepared purchase agreements on designated real estate. The letters were from a company named Vacant Land Guys LLC which was described as a "property investment company that prides itself on quick, professional, easy transactions and seller satisfaction."

The assessors office July 16 began to receive calls from taxpayers who wanted to check out the purchase offers.

Jones said in most of the offers which have been made known to her office the prices listed in the offers are well below actual market value of the properties.

Residents can research property parcel information and market value at the assessor's office or simply searching "Whitman County taxsifter" on a browser.

The office Tuesday also received two calls from people who were checking out a rental listing on Craigslist. The ad offered the property at what was described as an unbelievably low rental rate.

In checking the property listing, the office learned the property had been purchased last month and the buyers intended to reside there. Jones said she contacted the home owner and advised him of the listing and suggested they advise Craigslist of the bogus rental listing on their property.