Bulletin Column: November 7, 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.

VINTAGE STREETLIGHTS OFFER

Martin Marler of Colfax, a member of the Whitman Hospital board, Monday night extended an offer from the hospital to donate two vintage streetlights to the city. Marler suggested the two lights could be installed at the downtown Codger Pole Park.

The two light standards are located in the back yard of the former McCraw house which is located south of the clinic building on the hospital campus. The hospital owns the residence which they plan to sell and have moved from the site.

Marler said the two lights were among those removed from the Main Street scene years ago. He noted the late Henry Savage, a former Colfax attorney, purchased the two lights from the city and had them installed at the house when he resided there.

Marler told the council Monday night the lights at the house are mounted on concrete slabs and the slabs themselves could possibly be moved to a new site to support the lights.

Matt Hammer, city public works director, said he would check out the lights and also figure out what the cost would be to locate them at Codger Park or possibly elsewhere.

Marler also noted a similar pair of lights are located at the one-time residence of Dr. F.A. Bryant on the south hill behind the St. Ignatius building.

Asked how he knew the vintage of the former streetlights, Marler said he remembers them lining the city streets when he was growing up.

ROOF RESCUE REPORT

Fire Chief Craig Corbeill reported to the city council Monday night that a roof rescue was also accomplished as part of a busy day for the department Saturday. A resident on N. West Street was reported to be stuck on the roof at 3:36 p.m. Corbeill said the city's ladder truck was used to get the man off the roof. He noted the narrow confines of West Street make use of the ladder truck difficult.

The department logged five ambulance runs during the day and also responded to the car crashing into the flood channel late Saturday morning.

TREE FESTIVAL WILL RETURN

The festival of trees will return to Whitman County Library this holiday season. Individuals, businesses and community groups are encouraged to attend the event which features decorated Christmas trees on display at The Center.

Librarian Kristie Kirkpatrick said trees will be judged in four categories this year. Viewers can cast ballots for the most creative tree, peoples' choice and kids' choice. There will also be an award for the judges' choice.

Winners in each category will receive a $75 prize which is being funded by the Colfax Chamber of Commerce.

Special display nights for the trees will be during the Colfax Winterfest celebration which has been scheduled for Dec. 5, and the "Jingle and Mingle" holiday party Dec. 18 when the awards will be presented.

Entrants are urged to contact the library early to reserve a spot. Trees will be installed in The Center during the last week of this month.

RAPTORS WILL VISIT LIBRARY

The WSU Raptors club will bring birds to the Colfax Library Nov. 21 between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. The date will be an early release date at Jennings Elementary, and youngsters can ride bus eight to the library with a written permission note from their parents.

CITY CLOSES MOLLER STREET

City crews have closed the gate for Moller Road on the west hill. Moller has a sharp grade and lacks surfacing which can make it hazardous in winter driving conditions.

The Moller route connects the Hillcrest area with Cromwell and Deanway along the top of the west hill.

Depending on conditions, the street will be opened up again April 1, according to Matt Hammer, city public works director.

SENTENCE CHANGE FOR STATE INMATE

Julian C. Lester, 37, Pullman area resident, received a revised prison sentence of 29 months Friday in Whitman County Superior Court. Lester was transported here from the state penitentiary for re-sentencing following a ruling by the state's Division Three Appeals court in Spokane.

Lester was sentenced on a basis of an offender score of five and faced a sentencing range of 23 to 29 months.

Judge John Strohmaier of Lincoln County pronounced the sentence. He presided at the sentencing after Judge Gary Libey recused himself.

Judge Strohmaier said Lester's record of prior convictions led him to assign the top end of the range.

Lester has a record of nine prior convictions with seven in Whitman County. The list goes back to a juvenile conviction for burglary in 1993.

Lester was arrested Feb. 8, 2018, when he was found to be at the controls of a vehicle along Albion Road. According to the arrest report he was in one of two vehicles parked off the roadway and was attempting to start one of them.

The arrest report noted when a deputy arrived at the scene Lester walked toward them and appeared to be unsteady. He admitted he had been drinking, but denied actually driving.

Due to his long record, Lester was charged with a felony and the jury convicted him. He was assigned the offender score of eight after the trial and sentenced to five years in prison.

The district court ruling July 24 dismissed Lester's appeal arguments, but noted one of the prior convictions used to compile his five-year sentence included a deferred charge under conditions which Lester fulfilled, and he was never convicted on that charge.

That led to an order for a re-sentencing and trip here to receive the shorter sentence.

BALLOTS GAP CURED

A gap of approximately 1,300 ballots which did not get sent to registered voters was resolved when they were mailed out from the auditor's election office here last Thursday. County Auditor Sandy Jamison said the elections staff suspected a mistake when they began to receive an abnormal number of complaints from voters who said they had not received a ballot after the ballots were mailed out on the Oct. 18 issue date.

A check from the state auditor's office and comparison of the county's voter list led to discovery that 1,300 of the ballots were not mailed because of a fault in the new state system.

Election staff members here worked after hours to stuff the outstanding ballots and get them in the mail to voters. Jamison said some ballots were provided to voters who earlier reported they did not receive one at the normal time, and they were subsequently checked off of the state's list of the 1,300 who had been missed.

Complicating the problem was the telephone shutdown for courthouse calls, although many voters were able to work with the elections office via email.

LOCOMOTIVE FIRE AT CHENEY

Last Thursday's edition of the Cheney Free Press was topped with an account of a Saturday fire in one of three locomotives which were pulling and pushing a 100-car westbound freight train hauling soybeans to Centralia. The report by Cheney editor John McCallum said the fire started in the second of two locomotives on the front of the train at around 11:30 a.m.

The BNSF train was stopped at Cheney and it blocked off both the Cheney-Plaza and the Cheney Spangle roads.

The report noted firefighters from Cheney and Spokane County were relieved to learn the train was hauling soybeans and not some of the more dangerous cargos common on the line.

Train control circuits for the three engines had to be disconnected, and the lead engine was separated from smoking number-two engine. Class B foam was used to extinguish the fire which was believed to have been caused by a fuel line leak.

The fire response was over by 2:30 p.m. and the two blocked roads on the east side of Cheney were opened.

The report noted a BNSF official reported the three-hour fire episode at Cheney delayed three other trains on the busy line which rolls through Spokane.

OCTOBER RAINFALL GAIN

Bolstered by the deluge Oct. 20, precipitation total for October finished out at 1.86 inches Oct. 31. The total exceeds the average for the month by .34 inches and marks the second month when precipitation finished on the plus side. September marked a gain of .79 for a two-month tally on the plus side of 1.13.

A minus for the two months was the delay toll taken on late harvested crops.

The reading for Oct. 21 after the wet weekend totaled 1.19 inches. The reading for the next day was .40. Other precipitation readings for the month were .01 Oct. 4, .14 Oct. 10, .02 Oct. 17, .07 Oct. 18, .01 Oct. 23 and .02 Oct. 30.

October normally marks the start of the new crop year. The last four months of 2018 finished 2.45 inches below normal, and rainfall lagged until April when most of the deficit for the crop year was erased.