Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
On the Hot Seat
Progress. Sustainability. Resiliency. Growth. Recovery.
Those were among the buzz words tossed about Tuesday morning during the Live Local Palouse Program at The Center in downtown Colfax.
The program brought together a handful of business leaders, non-profit organization volunteers and employees and representatives of the state Department of Commerce and other organizations to discuss what the future of Colfax looks like. It was a good program that too many local business and community leaders missed.
Should the city have a downtown core with apartments atop businesses? Should there be more apartments? What about new hiking and biking trails? How can local businesses survive when most motorists on U.S. Highway 195 are just passing through? Do we want a tourism-based economy? How would that work with the agribusiness that put Whitman County on the map?
There was discussion of the town-and-gown syndrome seen in places like Pullman and Cheney. There was talk of the rural-urban divide. There was the typical back-and-forth on the divide between those moving here from Western Washington and our Eastern Washington culture, history and heritage.
But the focus of the session was on what businesses — and ultimately the community — need to survive. Community attitude, employees. technical savvy, and startup and expansion capital were among the items that brought up almost immediately.
The discussion was just a start. Now, to get beyond start, more people need to get involved.
With only about a dozen people attending, community apathy was on display. That has to change.
Colfax — indeed all of Whitman County — has a lot more to offer than just a route to Washington State University. History abounds. Our rural culture and farming heritage is among the best in the country. Yet, you wouldn’t know that from the participation at the business roundtable Tuesday.
As we’ve seen over the last two years of gubernatorial shutdowns and explosive inflation, change isn’t just coming, it’s already here. Managing that change should be among the most important things on the minds of those who live and work here.
Having grown up in Eastern Washington, I don’t like what I’m seeing in places like Leavenworth, Wenatchee, Moses Lake or the Tri-Cities, where Eastern Washington culture, history and heritage is being systematically erased. The same will happen in Colfax and Whitman County if more people don’t step up to the plate.
If you want your children to have the same experiences you did as a kid, it’s time to get involved.
— Roger Harnack is the co-owner and publisher of Free Press Publishing and the Whitman County Gazette. Email him at [email protected].
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
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