Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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A graduate of Chimicum High School in Western Washington, Penny Gonzales has traveled far since her 2005 retirement from a 30-year teaching career. Gonzales studied English and theater at Whitworth University in Spokane, and went back to Chimicum to teach English and writing and direct plays at the school there. "It's challenging being a public school teacher in modern times," Gonzales said. "Teaching always has been, but I feel like it's harder now." After retiring, she later moved to Albion...
After KXLY News in Spokane reported Friday an employee claimed Cougar Country, Pullman's beloved drive-in diner, was closing, the rumor hit social media with people who described themselves as employees taking to Twitter and Facebook to detail the business's troubles, namely bounced paychecks. Rhonda Witt-Miller, whose parents opened Cougar Country in 1973, said she will be coming out of retirement to take control of the business. "I truly believe that we will survive, and we'll come back...
In a landmark election, Whitman County voters approved levies violating the state’s legal limit, continuing a precedent set by other school districts. School districts in Oakesdale and Colton each asked for programs and operations levies that are higher than what is allowed under Washington’s McCleary decision, at $3.67 and $2.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value, respectively. Both passed with more than 60 percent of the vote. Colton voters approved the levy for $2.50 with a 131-54 vote for an 70.81 approval. Oakesdale voters gave a 95-...
Two hundred years after Lewis and Clark camped along the Snake River, a grain-handling company that originated at the Port of Almota received Washington state's Century Corporation Certificate. In a Dec. 31 letter from Secretary of State Kim Wyman, Almota Elevator Co. was honored for 100 years of business, General Manager Dan Hart said. "There were 2,500 incorporations in Washington in 1919, and today there are only 23 still operating," Hart said. "It shows you that we're still an important...
Colten Todd, a Spokane native and Whitman County transplant, spends his time cooking, hiking, reading, playing video games and cuddling with his pets. Todd attended Joel E. Ferris High School in Spokane, graduating in 2014. After some life changes left him without a place to live, he found his way to Pullman. "A high school friend was living in Moscow and invited me to stay with them, and I eventually got a job in Pullman," Todd said. He works as a cashier at Sunset Mart and is studying to be a...
With a private shuttle dropping them off on campus, future residents of the Hills on Grand, an off-campus student housing complex with an estimated $62 million value, will benefit from something no other Pullman rental agency has done yet. Pete Dickinson, planning director for the City of Pullman, said the shuttle service will be the first of its kind and will operate independently of Pullman’s transit system. The Hills are in former fields west of Highway 27 and south of the Albion Road. With two phases of building and a total of 396 o...
A new study by Washington State University's medical school in Spokane found higher mortality rates on the eastern side of the state, but health officials say the subject is a lot more complicated than what was captured in the study. Troy Henderson, director of the Whitman County Department of Public Health, said eating well, exercising and putting on a seat belt when driving have more significant effects on individual health. "Humans are almost infinitely different from one another," Henderson...
In the first edition of the Pullman Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs Committee newsletter, the committee outlined its goals for the 2019 legislative agenda — the first time it has been shared outside of the chamber’s board and the committee. The committee’s 2019 agenda includes limiting carbon policies, supporting mental health services and reliable internet, eliminating K-12 levy inequalities and funding for Highway 195 south bypass, Marie Dymkoski, executive director of the chamber, said. “The agenda gives us a platform to say, ‘The...
Ask any of my friends, and they will tell you I am crazy about tomato-based dishes, specifically spaghetti and chili. I love to eat raw tomatoes like they're apples – mushrooms and onions, too. That's probably the first thing you need to know about me. The second is that I'm the newest reporter at the Whitman County Gazette. I can't say quite why I've come to love spaghetti so much. My family is American with German, Irish and English roots, and I grew up in Baltimore, Md. We ate s...