Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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I have sold the Gazette and Daily Bulletin. The new owners will take over on March 1. The papers will officially become part of the Free Press Publishing group in Cheney. It has been a big decision, but I am confident that the change will give the Gazette many more years of service to Whitman County. In the back room we have a variety of historic print items. One is a type drawer simply addressed to the Gazette, Colfax, WT. The WT stands for Washington Territory. The paper has had a long history, longer than Washington has been a state. The...
Over 300 people attended a workshop in Lewiston on the Snake River dams. The meeting was designed to give various views on the future of the dams, fish runs and alternatives. The third and last of the workshop meetings was in Pasco. A panel representing different positions gave information on the subject. According to the report in the Lewiston Tribune, a number of comments revolved around developing a more cooperative stance between those advocating different solutions. A theme which developed was to try to work together and balance the...
The assassination of Iranian general Oassem Soleimani has caused fear in America. The threat of a war with Iran has been openly discussed. As a result, the internet is abuzz with concerns that the military draft will be reinstated should the situation become worse. It has been a long time since the draft was relied upon. For decades the country has maintained a volunteer army. It is unlikely that the draft would be reenacted in this situation, but so many are concerned that the Selective Service website was overwhelmed and crashed. Obviously, t...
Precious few days remain for getting ready for Christmas. Gifts, food, decorations and everyday chores are just a few of the tasks ahead. Some people are done and ready for the celebration. For the rest of us, a lot remains to be finished. It is not too late, however, to gift your local town. Last minute shopping is something that is easy and important. Most local merchants take pride in providing for their local customers. The local businesses may not have marble floors and fountains, but they do have much of what is wanted and needed for the...
An aerial view of Whitman County shows a vast agricultural area. Spotted in this expanse are some small enclaves of people. These are the towns of Whitman County. From the air, the small towns look isolated from each other. Connecting them and giving access to bigger population centers are black ribbons of roads. These roads stretch for miles. There is little along them but acres and acres of farmland. It is a perspective that is important. Each of these towns have businesses to provide for residents and neighbors the amenities so important to...
The Amazon rainforest is getting international attention, more than it has in the past. Long recognized as the heart of the world’s climate control, it is being devastated even more than in the past. Reportedly, more of the untouched jungles have been lost in the last year than in each of the past ten years. Industrial developments such as dams and proposed gold mines, logging and farming have taken a chunk out of the forest. More devastating is land speculation. Supposedly, cleared land is up to 50 or so percent more valuable than preserved n...
The country is entering a historic period. The House of Representatives is conducting hearings for its impeachment inquiry against the president. The hearings started Wednesday. Ostensively, the hearings are to determine if there is enough evidence to bring formal impeachment charges against President Trump. If so, then the Articles of Impeachment would be sent to the senate for a trial. Simple arithmetic suggests there are votes enough in the House to arrive at Articles of Impeachment, but not enough to convict him in the Senate. That is based...
Changing clocks every so often may be a thing of the past. The regular shift from Daylight Saving Time and Standard Time and back again is under scrutiny. Originally, Daylight Saving Time was initiated to save energy, improve worker productivity and make better use of natural daylight. It was first used in the United States and other parts of the world during World War I. Soon thereafter it was eliminated. Again in World War II it was ordered that clocks be reset for daylight saving. Then, for a while, regular or standard time was used. The...
The President of the United States was booed at a World Series baseball game. Reportedly, the majority of the crowd participated. They also yelled in unison, “Lock him up.” This chant comes from Trump’s own words when he repeatedly said Hillary Clinton should be locked up. Fans in the stadium apparently also made extemporaneous signs calling for his impeachment. Remember this was at a World Series game. Such things get us nowhere, except to make matters worse. Sadly, even a World Series game is not immune from the widening disparity of opinions...
On April 9, North Grand Avenue in Pullman was flooded by rushing waters from the Missouri Flat Creek drainage. Several businesses were badly damaged. People were trapped by the rising waters. Some were forced to take refuge on tables and such. One infant and one diabetic were known to be involved. The Pullman fire department and maintenance crews responded. As should be the case, those in danger and trapped by the torrent of water rushing down the street were the first priority. Nobody stopped to read a water rescue manual. They just did what...
The Sean Spicer show continues. Remember Sean? He was the press secretary for President Donald Trump. He was contentious and madly loyal to Trump. Spicer was the one who claimed that the crowd for Trump’s inauguration was the largest ever. This despite evidence to the contrary. He never backed down from this and other falsehoods. Spicer left the post and has made a few appearances on television, but his reputation has never been redeemed, especially since being savaged on Saturday Night Live skits. For the last several weeks he has been on a n...
With all the things going on on Earth, attention to the stars has been subdued. Elon Musk is trying to change that. At his launch site in Texas, he held a press conference to introduce his new SpaceX Starship, a prototype of a soon-to-be full scale version. This design is intended to fly passengers to the moon and beyond, then return them safely to earth. Musk, of course, is hyping his machines and their possible contribution to the future. Musk reportedly called it “the most inspiring thing that I’ve ever seen.” The real key to extended and e...
Thousands of painted plastic fish now adorn the concrete river fences in downtown Colfax. Many were attached to the fencing over the weekend by volunteers. The fish are in undulating lines giving color and a sense of motion to the decorations. A cadre of volunteers came from WSU in a community outreach project scheduled for two hours. The display is colorful and whimsical. The small individual fish shapes are painted in a variety of colors. Each is an individual work. Some are signed by the artist. The idea came from the Colfax Arts Council, an...
The climate change debate continues. Democrat contenders for the party’s nomination for the presidency presented their views on the problem in a long town hall on CNN last week. The proposals and the suggestions varied. The presentation was one of the most extensive reviews of options and ideas about combating climate change. The issue is taking a lead position in the upcoming campaigns. Few are discounting it as a “hoax” or “fake news.” Of interest are the efforts to get broad policies in place to help combat the perceived threat to the world...
One of the predictions of climate change is extreme, unpredictable weather patterns. Hotter hots, colder colds, dryer drys and wetter wets. If pattern is the right word, the pattern of climate change is becoming more obvious. Hurricane Dorian, which at this writing has hammered the Bahamas and working its way towards the east coast is a case in point. It has already been described as the worst hurricane to hit the area ever. The reported devastation on the islands is only a partial glimpse at the true devastation. That will come as access to...
Some very nice changes have been accumulating along Main Street in Colfax. The city still has some vacant storefronts, but the feel and atmosphere has been improved. It is, in fact, more welcoming. A few years ago a woman from Texas purchased several buildings in Colfax with the promise of revitalizing the town. It did not happen. This round of new activity is basically because of local effort and investment. They are the result of both private individuals and community organizations. The changes are widespread. The partnerships are inspiring,...
In Southern California during a traffic stop, the driver of the stopped car pulled out a rifle and started shooting. The policeman on the scene was killed, later two others were wounded. The shooter fired indiscriminately at other motorists. The car of a young mother with two kids was hit in the windshield, the bullet barely missing them. Another motorist safely guided them to hide behind the engine block of the car. The situation, as law enforcement converged on the scene, was described as a “long and horrific” gunfight. The shooter was kil...
Last week in a 24 hour period, 31 innocent people were shot and killed in two mass shootings. Nearly 40 additional people were injured. The massacres occurred in Dayton, Ohio, and El Paso, Texas. Sadly, the shootings were predictable, not as to time and place, but as an increasingly regular event in America. These two shootings followed the attack in Gilroy, California. Although the definition of a mass shooting differs, one count puts the number of mass shootings at 248 through July 31 of this year. Reportedly, 979 people were shot and 246...
A privately funded report on the Snake River Dams has just been released. The report recommends that the dams be taken out and the river be restored to natural flow. The study is called the Snake River Dams: Economic Tradeoffs of Removal. It will be discussed at a press conference today in Seattle. The study reports on all aspects of the consequences of the loss of the dams, including transportation, irrigation, recreation, power generation and fish. Although the study discusses the negatives of breaching the four lower Snake River dams and poi...
Last week, the 50th anniversary of man landing on the moon was celebrated. Since that famous flight, much of the public interest rapidly ebbed, even though America completed six missions to the moon in quick succession. Despite 50 years having passed, only 12 men set foot on the moon, and none since 1972. In the meantime, several countries have sent probes there. Russia, China, the European Space Agency and India have sent unmanned missions. Some were successful, some not. In fact, a probe from India is on its way to land a rover on the...
In 1961, President John F Kennedy proclaimed that America would land a man on the moon by the end of the decade. That promise came to pass. The Eagle, NASA’s lunar lander, touched down on the moon’s surface on July 20, 1969, fifty years ago, in a place called the Sea of Tranquility. This was the Apollo 11 mission, crewed by Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. The entire mission from earth to moon and back lasted eight days, three hours and 19 minutes. It was a remarkable feat. The mission faced computer overload and the nec...
Ross Perot died this week. He was 89. Perot is best known for his independent run for president in 1992. He garnered 19 percent of the popular vote. He, it has been claimed, cost incumbent George H.W. Bush his reelection and put Bill Clinton in office. Perot ran again in 1996 after forming the Reform Party, but his second campaign was not as successful as his first. Perot, a billionaire, was quirky and sharp-tongued. He railed against the nation’s growing budget deficits and the country’s trade imbalance. His first run was a phenomenal shi...
“Failure to complete survey by July 31st may result in termination of water services.” This short message was printed on a bright orange slip of paper which was included with a letter and survey mailed by the City of Colfax to residents. The warning prompted a strong and almost immediate response. Some residents were incensed that the city could cut off their water service even though their water bill was current. A few thought this was an example of overreach by government. Some claimed the threat of stopping city water service was ill...
The D-Day landings took place in Normandy France, June 6, 1944. That was 75 years ago during World War II. The landings were a great gamble. They were a do or die situation intended to gain a foothold in Europe for the United States and its allies and to open a second front against Nazi Germany. Thousands of troops landed on the Normandy coast of France. Thousands parachuted behind German lines. Those on the beaches faced the daunting Atlantic Wall, a series of defenses that the Germans had been preparing for years. It was a massive effort....
Memorial Day has passed. It is the nation’s time to reflect on those we have lost. The focus of the holiday is on the many who serve this country in time of conflict, particularly those who died in combat. It also honors those who stood ready to protect the the country in times of peace. Memorial Day is not only for those missing, but for those in conflict now and those who make up the rest of the military and are ready to step up when the call comes. America has a long history of combat. The country was born in war and has been engaged in c...