Whitman County Gazette - Serving Whitman County since 1877

The city of Palouse may take on the redevelopment of its Brownfields environmental cleanup site. Mayor Michael Echanove made a pitch at the May 14 city council meeting. The city advertised for requests for proposals in 2018 and expanded the scope in...

John Jaeger, who resigned last October after 11 years in office as Tekoa's mayor, filed to run for city council. He will vie for position no. 3, held by Bethany Fletcher, who also filed for election to the nonpartisan office. Fletcher was appointed...

Whitman County commissioners took in an update Monday from Mark Storey, Public Works director, on a stalled resolution involving a fence damaged during the snows of February and early March. On both sides of Belsby Road, at the northwest edge of the...

He takes the eighth-graders every year, whether they will play or not. “So they know how to act when it’s their turn,” said Brad Nilson, Colton softball coach, whose 2019 team opens at state in Yakima Friday at 1 p.m. against Wishkah Valley. Th...

The Colton High School baseball team beat Quilcene 9-0 May 18 to advance to play Odessa in a state 1B semifinal, a team they beat 15-10 May 7 in the district playoffs. This time, with a berth in the championship game on the line in Chehalis, Colton l...

Garfield’s annual May Day celebration returns Saturday, beginning with breakfast from the Boy Scouts and Awana youth group at the Garfield/Palouse Middle School cafeteria, followed by a “Color Explosion” fun run put on by Garfield Parks &...

The verdict is in from the land-use examiner on the conditional use permit request for the Dusty grain storage pads project. Land-use hearing examiner Andy Kottkamp delivered his decision May 8 in a 12-page document approving the application by the...

Colfax Junior-Senior High School principal Carrie Lipe has resigned. The school board approved the resignation Monday night, to take affect after this school year is completed. Lipe’s contract ends in mid-June. The job opening will be posted this...

The Colfax school board took in its second-to-last meeting of the shortened 2018-19 school year Monday night, beginning with a work session on new curriculum for elementary science and high school culinary arts. Jennings Elementary Principal Travis...

Playing at Spokane Friday, May 11, Colton beat Selkirk 15-0 and Inchelium 12-4 to advance to a state seeding game. They will meet Almira/Coulee/Hartline at 6 p.m. Friday at Franklin Park in Spokane to decide the no. 1 and no. 2 seed for the state...

After four years of planning, design and approval, Whitman County’s Almota Four road reconstruction project may be in jeopardy. Set for this summer for 3.5 miles between Union Flat Creek and the State Route 194 intersection east of Onecho Bible...

The new two-year Washington state budget passed by the legislature April 29 features two likely projects for Steptoe Butte. The first is a $5.2 million complete rebuilding of the road to the top of the butte, which is a Washington State park. “It...

Whitman County commissioners took in comment Monday for a required hearing on the six-month moratorium they placed on new marijuana operations in the county March 4. A hearing was required within 60 days. A total of 30 went up to speak, all of those...

The Colton High School softball team is now 10-2 on the season, 3-2 in league after a week’s worth of games. On Tuesday night, they beat Garfield/Palouse 12-0 in four innings, followed by a 13-3 win in five innings over 2B Asotin. Abby Kelly and Em...

A preliminary review shows Whitman County spent $850,000 for snow removal in three months, from January through March. Mark Storey, Public Works director, totaled costs for materials, labor and equipment. “We spent almost nothing in January,...

With the news of projected layoffs coming from the Spokane School District, is there a chance that could happen in Colfax? The Spokane district approved teacher pay raises in the 13 percent range last August, soon after Colfax teachers signed a new...

The annual Colton-Uniontown Fair returns Friday to Colton School for a day of fitting and showing animals, home arts and still-life crafts by kindergarteners to seniors in high school. The event, held in the ag building and parking lot of the school,...

The Garfield/Palouse baseball team played their home opener Tuesday, April 23, for a doubleheader win over St. John/Endicott/ LaCrosse. After weeks of home games cancelled or moved to playable fields elsewhere, Gar/Pal (6-3) took the field in...