McCoy Museum to re-open for summertime crowds
By Garth Meyer
Gazette Reporter
With an old sledgehammer head for a doorstop, the McCoy Valley Museum in Oakesdale will be open more this summer after an infusion of new board members in its 24th year.
Postal Service’s reduced hours plan saves Malden P.O.
Plan will reduce hours of operation in all but three Whitman County post offices.
By Garth Meyer
Gazette Reporter
Suess drops out as filing week opens
By Joe Smillie
Gazette Reporter
Citing personal reasons, Kirk Suess of Steptoe announced Tuesday he had decided not to run for Whitman County Commissioner in District 1.
Sports
Colfax sends six golfers to state
Colfax golfers dominated the second round of the District 7 finals Monday on the Meadow Wood course at Liberty Lake and all five team members will depart Sunday for the two-day state tournament at the Oak Brook Course in Tacoma.
“It’s really something to see your team finish on top of field like that,” Coach Chris Gorton said.
Bulldogs finished in the first four slots of the district’s second round which started 28 players who had survived the cut from the previous week.
Freshman Hunter Weitze took medalist honors with a one-over 73 Monday. His combined scored for the two days was a 159. Weitze was awarded the medal because of his low 73 in the second round, Gorton said. Kyle Johnson also carded a 159 total with an 81-78. Other team scores for Colfax were booked by Tyler Stevenson 165 (79-86) for third, Kasey Johnson 176 (84-92) for fourth and Ryan Christopherson 193 (97-96) for 11th.
Paige Mackleit also made the state card with an eighth-place finish at 232 (133-99). Eight place was the cut line allowed for the District 7 girls entry to state.
District dominator Kira Powell of Odessa/Harrington topped the district girls with a 159 for two days at the Liberty Lake course.
Opinion
Gorden Forgey: Last days to file
The upcoming county commissioner elections have generated a lot of interest. Challenges to the two sitting commissioners whose terms are ending this year have been expected for some time.
This week is the official filing period for candidates seeking office, and so far two candidates have filed to run against Commissioner Greg Partch.
Commissioner Pat O’Neill is expected to have at least one challenger. Commissioner Michael Largent does not come up for reelection for two years.
For several months, three candidates seemed likely challengers to Partch. They were Art Swannack, Bill Tensfeld and Kirk Suess.
As of this writing, Swannack and Tensfeld have officially filed.
On Monday, Suess made a surprise announcement, saying that he would not seek the office.
He was the first commissioner challenger to declare a run, throwing his hat in the ring late last year. In the meantime, he has spent several thousands of dollars positioning himself for the race.
As of presstime, no word has come from Partch on his filing, although he did announce his intentions to seek a fourth term earlier this year. O’Neill has yet to file as well as does his announced challenger, Dean Kinzer.
By filing for office, which includes paying a filing fee, the candidate is officially registered and earns a spot on the primary ballot.
In the case of more than two candidates for a single office, the primary in August will reduce the field to two candidates. These two will appear on the November general election ballot.
Information on filings as of press time (Wednesday morning) is in the news columns. This will surely change by Friday when the filing period ends. The county elections office has a full listing of positions with expiring terms. They range from governor to local school boards.
Citizens still have the opportunity to seek election to public office. There is still time to participate. Deadline for filing in person is 5 p.m. Friday.
Gordon Forgey
Publisher
