Whitman County Gazette - Serving Whitman County since 1877

DIAMOND—New vehicle, coveralls and members, oh my! The Diamond Fire Department has seen a lot of improvement since the Labor Day fires, mostly due to support of other fire departments in Rural Fire District #11 and a Rural Community Grant....

COLFAX—Scammers have a new angle from which to extract vital information from victims. A Colfax resident called Whitman and Latah county sheriff’s after receiving a call from someone posing as a Medicare representative. He was told Medicare was...

COLFAX - With winter coming on, Whitman County Public Works looks to withhold plow drivers from quarantine by keeping crews separated from each other. If they lose a group at one shop, another crew from another has to fill in. “If we get hit hard...

COLFAX —With the Pullman school board holding off on a return to in-person education until Jan. 4, some families are looking to send their kids elsewhere in Whitman County. Colfax Superintendent Jerry Pugh reports 12 students have transferred...

ROSALIA — A local man was booked into the Whitman County Jail on Monday, Nov. 16, after allegedly attempting to burn down a church. Samuel Owens, 45, will make his first appearance in Whitman County Superior Court on Tuesday afternoon. He was...

COLFAX — The Whitman County Planning Commission is recommending new rules regarding commercial marijuana production, processing and sales. “We’ve never debated something like this,” County Planner Alan Thomson said after the commission...

COLFAX — A heightened awareness of the election process has some poll watchers questioning why their abilities were hampered in Whitman County. Poll watchers for both Democrats and Republicans noted they were put in an exterior room removed from...

COLFAX — The Whitman County Elections Office is expected to continue processing ballots into next week as staff work through duplicates. “It’s very time consuming,” Auditor Sandy Jamison said The Washington Administrative Code defines...

COLFAX — Whitman County commissioners continued discussing when to advertise the health director position when they met Monday, Nov. 16. Troy Henderson resigned; his last day was Nov. 15. Chris Skidmore was named interim director. Skidmore...

COLFAX — Whitman County commissioners approved a road name change Monday, correcting a spelling mistake going back to the early 1980s. When the county put names on its previously only-numbered roads, it named a gravel road east of Oakesdale...

COLFAX — The Whitman County Rural Library District has been selected to receive a Washington Youth Development Nonprofit Relief Fund grant. Details of the grant have yet to be released. However, it is among 421 organizations to divvy up $9.4...

ST. JOHN — Rock Lake Sporting Clays has canceled its fund-raising shoot for this Saturday, Nov. 21. Gary Newton, owner of the Rock Lake Sporting Clays on Stevens Road, confirmed the cancelation Monday. “Due to the governor’s order to shut...

Over the last few months, all eyes have been on Washington’s 16-year-old vote-by-mail system. National media has been holding it up as an example of what should become the norm nationwide. But should it? Yes, we have fastidious local election...

It’s no secret that airlines and airplane manufacturers have been clobbered by the coronavirus pandemic. Particularly hard hit are international flights traditionally flown by jumbo jets. Borders are closed and people aren’t flying. There is a...

It’s no secret that the Coronavirus pandemic has made a huge impact on how Washington retailers and restaurants operate. With additional restrictions implemented at the start of the holiday season as cases surge, it’s another challenge for...

PULLMAN — The Pullman Depot Heritage Center recently received a $100,000 donation from a local resident. Mary Schweitzer donated the funds toward the Fix the Bricks campaign to finance the beginning phase of Northern Pacific depot restoration....

STEPTOE — Donations are being sought to sponsor wreaths for veterans at Bethel Cemetery. Bethel is one of more than 1,640 cemeteries nationwide participating in Wreaths Across America on Dec. 19. Veterans buried at Bethel Cemetery served in the...

Barb and Bruce Wollstein, Lacey, spent some time with her parents Dick and Helen Appel. They came to help butcher lambs. Barb also assisted with the greenhouse clean-up and making tomato sauce. Canning is completed for this season. Gena Jones,...

At Pullman Regional Hospital PULLMAN — The following births were reported by Pullman Regional Hospital: Mason Gergory LaRoy, a boy, born Nov. 11, 2020, to parents Gustave and Jenifer LaRoy of Pullman. He weighed 7 pounds 9 ounces. He is welcomed...

125 years ago The Commoner November 15, 1895 Whitman County had a wholesale jail delivery on Sunday night, Jailer Newcomer being disarmed, bound and gagged and six prisoners walked out of the jail. The men thus attempting to escape were Frank...