Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 60
They say that you never get a second chance to make a first impression, but in my book, the city of Colfax has been an exception to that rule. My first impression of the city was formed over a decade ago on a snowy Saturday spent at the Colfax High School Gymnasium. On that fateful morning, my elementary basketball team tipped off against the Bulldogs, expecting an easy win to add to our undefeated record. In the months leading up to that weekend, the dominating performance of the 2011-12...
TEKOA – From 1960 to 1974, Tekoa couple Milo and June Yale owned and operated Yale’s Food Store with the help of their six children. Long after the store’s closure, friends, neighbors, and classmates of the Yale family say they continue to speak highly of the family’s impact on the community, and second child Tim Yale has been no exception. After graduating from Tekoa High School in 1964, Yale’s studies first took him to Washington State University, and later to graduate education in Northern Ca...
EWAN - Volunteer firefighters from across the county were pitted against two wildfires this past week, successfully extinguishing both with the help of state fire services. On Thursday, Aug. 11, volunteers from Rosalia's Whitman County Fire District 7 were tasked with investigating the source of smoke coming from the Hole in the Ground area north of Rock Lake. At around 2:15 in the afternoon, responders located a growing fire burning in timbered rocky terrain, which Rosalia Fire Chief Laura Laut...
PORT OF WILMA – Rapid responses from Whitman and Asotin County fire departments prevented a burning vehicle on Wawawai Road from spreading to nearby brush on Sunday, Aug. 14. At 4:52 in the afternoon, deputies of the Whitman County Sheriff's Office responded to reports of a car fire at Milepost 35 near the Port of Wilma on the north shore of the Snake River. Around the same time, volunteer firefighters from Whitman County Fire District 14 out of Colton-Uniontown and Asotin County Fire D...
PULLMAN – In a ceremony Wednesday, local dignitaries officially broke ground on the Moscow-Pullman Regional Airport’s new terminal. The airport’s recent construction comes after years of planning and fundraising, which brought in $82 million to fund the project. The planned terminal, which is expected to be finished by the end of 2023, will be 42,000-square-feet, almost five times larger than the airport’s current 8,700-square-foot terminal. The airport’s recent expansion is intended to accommodate an anticipated increase in flight and passe...
COLFAX – Less than a mile northwest of Colfax's downtown, hikers looking for an easy excursion will find the Colfax Trail. The trail hugs the southern bank of the Palouse River for 2.5 miles, winding beneath the shade of basalt cliffs and towering pines laden with wildlife. The trail's mostly graveled surface runs along a former Spokane & Inland Empire railroad grade abandoned in the 1960's, giving the path a very level surface with almost no changes in elevation. Hikers, travelers and v...
TEKOA — From 1960 to 1974, Tekoa couple Milo and June Yale owned and operated Yale’s Food Store with the help of their six children. Long after the store’s closure, friends, neighbors, and classmates of the Yale family say they continue to speak highly of the family’s impact on the community, and second child Tim Yale has been no exception. After graduating from Tekoa High School in 1964, Yale’s studies first took him to Washington State University, and later to graduate education in Northern California where he would work as a hospital pharmac...
COLFAX - The city's own Olivia Ng is set to represent the Evergreen State next June at the Distinguished Young Women National Finals in Mobile, Ala. The Colfax High School senior topped a field of nine other contestants from across the state for the title of 2023 Distinguished Young Woman of Washington last Saturday, August 6 at Washington State University’s R.R. Jones Theatre in Pullman. The daughter of Molly and Eddy Ng of Colfax, Ng qualified for the statewide contest after being crowned t...
COLFAX – Late Colfax Fire Chief Jim Krouse will be honored in two upcoming events this month. Krouse, who fell in the line of duty August 28, 2021, was Colfax’s longtime fire chief. At 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 10, the Colfax Fire Department will bestow a ceremonial ribbon in honor of Krouse to the International Association of Firefighters Motorcycle Group. The ceremony is expected to take 15 minutes, and will occur in front of the Colfax Fire Station, 400 N. Mill St. The motorcycle group will then transport the ribbon to North Bend to tak...
ELBERTON - Some of the best juvenile fishing in the county can be found at Garfield Pond, located along Elberton Road between Colfax and Garfield. Tucked away among the pines of Silver Creek, Garfield Pond is reachable via an access road 2 miles northeast of the Elberton ghost town. The pond's 0.5 acre pool is stocked regularly with rainbow trout open to aspiring anglers ages 14 and younger. Because of this, the pond's grassy banks are where many local youngsters cut their teeth in the fishing...
COLFAX - The Quilts of Valor Foundation presented Vietnam veterans with commemorative lapel pins and quilts in a ceremony at the Colfax Methodist Church last Friday, July 29. The Foundation's mission is to honor veterans with handmade quilts, offering a gift of gratitude and recognition that organizers say many Vietnam veterans were not afforded. Friday's celebration was organized by Colfax's Quilts of Valor chapter, which is headed by Diana King. "It's just such rewarding work," said King...
PULLMAN – A horse helped emergency responders find its injured rider near Pullman last Thursday, June 28. Whitman County Sheriff’s Deputies and Fire District 12 Volunteers responded to a missing person report around noon on Thursday. The emergency crews were called a farm off the Moscow-Pullman Highway, where a horse had returned to the barn missing its rider. Searchers were able to locate the missing woman after the horse led deputies and volunteers to the spot where the woman lay unconscious in a tall canola field. The woman, who had rep...
OAKESDALE – The Oakesdale Food Pantry is in search of a new home after receiving an eviction notice Friday, July 15. The community pantry was given one month to move out after almost seven years at 103 Steptoe Ave. The pantry, which is supported by The Council on Aging & Human Services, has distributed food and supplies to Oakesdale residents for the past 22 years. According to pantry Director Dee Stadden, the pantry provides necessities to more than 40 area residents on a monthly basis. The b...
ROSALIA - The Harvest of Quilts outdoor show brought colored fabrics and new faces to town on July 23. After enduring two years of pandemic cancellations and cutbacks, organizers say this year's "Bounce Back" themed show brought in steady attendance and no shortage of crafts. "It was a great opportunity for people to see Rosalia, visit friends and enjoy artwork," said Harvest of Quilts committee vice chair Rachel Blakeley. Local quilters displayed their work in downtown Rosalia from 10 a.m. to...
COLFAX — Local auctioneer and junior at Oklahoma State University, Cotton Booker, will be competing in the National Auctioneers Association International Auctioneer Championship in San Diego this Friday, July 29. Booker, who won the NAA Junior Auctioneer Championship in 2018 at age 16, will be competing against 52 professional auctioneers from the United States and abroad. Competitors will perform in front of a live audience, and will be judged on qualities such as chant, voice timbre, and body language. This is not the first time the Booker f...
COLFAX - COLFAX - The inaugural Eddie Olson Wrestling Clinic kicked off Monday, July 18, at Jennings Elementary School on Monday, July 18. According to wrestling coach Jack McBride, 55 wrestlers ages 5-19 are in attendance at the clinic, which is meant to honor former Colfax wrestling coach and teacher Eddie Olson. "Long retired, he was a very beloved coach and teacher at our school district," McBride said. "We just wanted to pay homage." The clinic is designed to teach basic wrestling skills...
COLFAX —Whitman County Rural Library District’s new director Cody Allen is no newcomer to the Palouse. Born and raised in Lewiston, Allen began his career at Clarkston’s Asotin County Library before attending Whitworth College in Spokane, where he worked in the school’s library. After college, Allen spent seven years working for the Billings Public Library in Montana, where Allen says he gained an appreciation for the profession. “It was really just the work itself that I really love,” said Allen, “I really liked being part of the community...
OAKESDALE - Leading up to Old Mill Days, Mayor Dennis Palmer could be seen sweeping the streets in preparation for the return of the community festival two years in the making. After cancellations in 2020 and 2021 due to pandemic mandates, this year's Old Mill Days was met with clear skies, live entertainment and enough parade candy to go around. "It gave a chance for people to get out and visit when after COVID a lot people were anxious to," Palmer said. Kicking off the weekend's events was an...
ROSALIA — Whitman County Sheriff’s Office deputies apprehended a man with $10,000 worth of stolen property at the Horn School Rest Area in the early morning hours of Thursday, July 14. Brian G. Funk, 53, of Spokane, was caught pulling a trailer loaded with plywood valued at $3,500 after the owner of the trailer spotted his stolen property on the highway, Sheriff’s Office records show. The owner of the trailer and plywood followed Funk while informing deputies of his whereabouts, leading to Funk’s eventual arrest at the rest area on Highway...
By Gazette Reporter COLFAX – Whitman County commissioners discussed concerns over the new BA.5 COVID-19 variant during their meeting Monday, July 18. Whitman County Public Health Director Chris Skidmore brought commissioners up to speed just as the next school year is on the horizon. “I am pretty sure it is already here and moving throughout the county,” Skidmore told commissioners. “I think it’s important that we are on the back end of the spike before students come back.” BA.5 has similar symptoms as previous variants including fever, runn...
Oakesdale’s Old Mill Days returned this past weekend after a two-year pandemic hiatus, bringing in crowds for parades, local history and classic cars, such as this 1958 Oldsmobile Super 88....
OAKESDALE — The Oakesdale Historical Society and McCoy Valley Museum are preparing to celebrate this year’s Old Mill Days from July 15-16. After two years of cancellations, the community celebration is expected to bring in several hundred people for food, drink, and entertainment. “The goal is to bring awareness to our community,” Historical Society Secretary-Treasurer Gail Parsons said, “And also to recognize our history.” Named after the local landmark, J.C Barron’s Mill, Old Mill Days was once a forgotten rural tradition before it was...
COLFAX – Registered Whitman County voters should begin receiving their Aug. 2 primary ballots later this week. Ballots are scheduled to be in the mail by Friday, July 15, according to county elections officials. Voters who have not received their ballots by July 25 should contact the county Elections Office. Contested races on the ballot include Whitman County Commissioner District No. 3, Secretary of State, U.S. House District No. 5 and U.S. Senate. The Top 2 candidates advance to the Nov. 8 general election. The only ballot measure for voters...
COLFAX — Pullman area rancher Marcus Jacobson, 71, is facing two years in jail after failing to sell his cattle herd as punishment for two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. Jacobson was found guilty last month after two cows were noticed to be in poor health on his property near LaCrosse. Following his conviction, the rancher was prohibited from owning animals of any kind and was given two weeks to sell his herd or face jail time. A court hearing on Friday, July 1 revealed that Jacobson still had cattle in his possession, and he was s...
HAMILTON, Mont. — A Colfax man may have broken a shooting world record June 4. Paul Gylling, 67, of Colfax, placed first in several events at the National Bench Rest Shooting Association Varmint for Score competition. While Gylling’s final score is still being verified by organization officials, his shooting record speaks for itself. The Varmint for Score competition has shooters firing at 25 paper targets evenly distributed across five timed matches. Scores are determined by how close the competitors can aim for the center dot of the tar...
