Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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PULLMAN – A traveling nurse in Whitman County who illegally diverted and used prescription medications has had her registered nursing license suspension lifted by the state Department of Health. Stephanie R. Koski, also known as “Stephanie R. Loomis,” had her nursing license reinstated May10, agency records show. She first obtained a nursing license on Aug. 14, 2002. In June 2022, the California Board of Registered Nursing revoked her nursing license for unprofessional conduct after finding she diverted and used prescription drugs not inten...
AIRWAY HEIGHTS – An Airway Heights man was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison on drug charges. The announcement was made in a June 5 press release by Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington. Joseph William Baker, age 28, of Airway Heights, Washington was convicted of possession with intent to distribute five grams of pure methamphetamine. The conviction stems from a traffic stop on November 22, 2021, in Colfax, Wash. “I’m grateful for the professionalism and dedication of the federal and s...
OLYMPIA – Wolves may be downgraded from an endangered species to “sensitive” under a proposed reclassification by state Department of Fish and Wildlife staff. The gray wolf was already removed by the federal endangered species list, but the state has maintained the status despite the rapid population growth over the last decade. The reclassification comes with the required five-year review of endangered, threatened and sensitive species in the state. "This draft recommended reclassification to sensitive reflects that progress and most accur...
The state Legislature is headed back to Olympia this week for a special session specifically to deal with the prospect of all drugs becoming legal July 1. Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, says he hopes lawmakers will pass a new drug-possession law to fix last year’s so-called “Blake fix.” At issue is a temporary law that expires at the end of next month relating to possession of drugs in Washington. The temporary law was implemented during the 2022 legislative session after the state Supre...
RITZVILLE – The St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse boys and girls track teams competed in the Class 1B Districts 7 and 9 meet, Wednesday, May 10, with individuals hoping to qualify for regionals. The Eagle girls finished sixth overall with 52.5 points; Garfield-Palouse was first with 144, Oakesdale second with 126 and Odessa third with 102. In boys team scoring, the Eagles were eighth overall with 36.5 points. Valley Christian won the meet with 90 points, followed by Pomeroy with 82.5 and Mary Walker t...
RITZVILLE – The Garfield-Palouse and Oakesdale girls track teams finished in the Top 10 on Saturday, April 29, at the Undeberg Invitational. The Vikings were second as a team with 94 points and Oakesdale was fourth with 63. The girls division was won by Okanogan with 136.5 points. The St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse and Colfax girls teams finished eighth and ninth, respectively, with 27.83 and 27.25 points. The Tekoa-Rosalia girls competed, but didn't score any team points. The Colfax boys placed t...
ALMOTA – In its first use of a new policy designed to curtail overcrowding of its Snake River amenities, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shuttered access Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30, to some riverside areas. With more than 600 students flocking to the 40-acre Boyer Park and many parking illegally near Illia Dunes and affecting Lower Granite Dam crossing, Corps rangers shut down parking and other vehicle access. The KOA campground in Boyer Park and Marina, 1753 Granite Road, was also s...
OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee won't be seeking a fourth term. Inslee, a Democrat from Bainbridge Island, announced Monday, May 1, that he's ready to move on. "Today I announced I will not seek a fourth term," he said. "We've made Washington a beacon for progress for the nation, and now it's time to pass the torch. Born and raised in Seattle, he was first elected to the state House of Representatives in 1989, then elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1993. The 72-year-old Inslee was electe...
OLYMPLIA – The sale, import, distribution and manufacture of so-called “assault weapons” and related parts was immediately banned Tuesday morning, April 25, across the state. With a large crowd of Democrats standing behind him at the Capitol, Gov. Jay Inslee signed House Bill 1240 into law. It was the most sweeping of three gun-control measures he signed into law just before 11 a.m. with a large crowd of West Side Democrats standing behind him. House Bill 1240 included an emergency clause allowing it to take effect immediately. The bill essen...
WASHTUCNA – Near 50 people turned out Thursday, April 20, for a ground-breaking ceremony for a new landfill more than 30 years in the making. Waste Management managers and employees joined local dignitaries and residents at the 550-acre site off Mullan Road. Company Senior Manager of Business Development Ken Gimpel said the project has been on the drawing board since the late-1980s. "This has been a long-time coming," he said at the beginning of the event that included a lunch catered by c...
WASHTUCNA – The access road to the new Waste Management landfill is being named in honor of a former longtime mayor who staunchly supported the development. The access road is being named Syd Sullivan Lane, Waste Management officials said. His daughters, Eleanor Brodahl of Othello and Karen Kinch of Washtucna were on hand for the Thursday dedication, April 20. "He was such a visionary," Brodahl said of her late father. "What an honor this is." According to Brodahl, her father believed d...
CHENEY – Several local and nearby lakes have an abundance of trout available to catch, just in time for opening day Saturday, April 22. The state Department of Fish and Wildlife has planted thousands of trout in area lakes, including West Medical Lake, Clear Lake, Badger Lake and Williams Lake. Williams Lake received the most fish, with the first plant taking place March 20. The state added 10,701 rainbow trout weighing less than a half-pound each that day. Then on March 29, the state added another 500 trout weighing about 3 pounds each. W...
BOSTON, Mass. – A Tekoa native won the Boston Marathon's Women's Wheelchair Division on Monday, April 17. Having placed in the Top 5 in the division on previous Boston Marathons, Susannah Scaroni, 31, cruised to victory with more than 5 minutes to spare. Scaroni won the race in 1:41.45, finishing ahead of Madison DeRozario and Wakako Tsuchida, who were second and third respectively. Scaroni's best finishes previously were second in 2018 and third in 2014, 2015 and 2017, and fourth in 2016. T...
IRBY – Several area racers were among the competitors April 2 at the annual Desert 100. LaCrosse's Jake Stanley and Garfield racers Kelly Soncarty and Jayden Soncarty all completed the grueling 100-mile race. Of the 921 competitors on the start line, only 472 finished the race through sagebrush, rocky basalt palisades, open rangeland and across a creek and road. Racing in the 250cc class, Kelly Soncarty finished 271st overall and 47th in his class, completing the course in 5:34:12.162 on his N...
OLYMPIA – Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to sign multiple new firearms restrictions into law in the coming two weeks. House Bill 1143 passed the Senate 28-18 on Saturday, April 7. That bill is now before the governor. On the same day, House Bill 1240 passed the Senate, 27-21, and is now back before the House to reconcile changes between the newest version and one passed by the House earlier this year. A reconciliation vote is expected to come quickly, as the only difference between the bills House Bill 1143, when signed into law, requires a p...
SPOKANE VALLEY – Avista ratepayers will face higher bills beginning July 1 if a proposed rate hike is approved by the state Utilities and Transportation Commission. Avista has requested price adjustments, including electricity rate hikes that will increase its revenues by 6%. The request to increase the rate to comply with state regulations that require Avista to either obtain an authorized increase or return or rebate money to ratepayers if the utility has a deferral balance of $30 million or more. The rate increase would life the u...
DEER PARK - Oakesdale's boys and girls set the pace for Whitman County track and field teams competing Friday, March 31, at the Glenn Wolf Invite at Deer Park High School. The Oakesdale and Garfield-Palouse girls finished fourth and fifth, respectively, at the Glenn Wolf Invite track and field event Friday, March 31, at Deer Park High School. The Oakesdale girls scored 64 team points to edge the Vikings with 59. The St. John-Endicott/LaCrosse Eagle girls finished 16th, with 11.5 points. Meanwhil...
COLFAX — If you haven’t yet removed your studded tires, it’s time to do so. The deadline to remove studded tires is today, Friday, March 31, according to the state Department of Transportation. The Washington State Patrol will begin issuing tickets on Saturday, April 1. The fine for having studded tires on a vehicle after the removal deadline is $137. Studded tires are legal in the state from Nov. 1 to March 31. Even out-of-state motorists must have them removed outside of that window. “Studded tires cause between $20-$29 million in damage...
OLYMPIA — A bill making its way through the Legislature would make possession of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine a gross misdemeanor. Senate Bill 5536 passed the Senate by a 28-21 vote Friday night. The bill is designed in response to the state Supreme Court’s 2021 ruling that the state’s drug-possession law was unconstitutional. While the bill passed the Senate, it does not go far enough to address the drug problems, Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane said Saturday. “This bill does not go far enough to provide the leverage needed...
LEWISTON, Idaho - A Tekoa-Rosalia wrestler won a Bi-State championship title Saturday competing at Lewiston High School. Dominick Kager, a seventh-grader at Tekoa Middle School, pinned his way through the tournament, without going a single minute in any match. Kager opened by pinning Gustavo Perez of Pullman in 19 seconds to advance to the semifinals. In his second bout, he pinned Amadayus Bauer of Clarkston in 45 seconds to qualify for the championship match. In the title bout, Kager used a...
WASHTUCNA-A regional landfill in the works for more than three decades is about to break ground. Waste Management announced last Friday, March 3, that it hopes to break ground on a 550-acre landfill later this month; a time and day have yet to be announced. Company Senior Manager of Business Development Ken Gimpel said the project has been on the drawing board since the late-1980s. "It has been sitting dormant until about the last year-and-a-half or so, until we decided it's time to develop,"...
OLYMPIA — Farmers and ranchers will likely continue to be taxed on agricultural diesel fuel after House and Senate committees last week failed to advance exemption bills. Senate Bill 5728, introduced by Sen. Perry Dozier, R-Kennewick, and co-sponsored by Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, didn’t make it out of the Senate Environment, Energy and Technology Committee. House Bill 1780, introduced by Republican Reps. Joe Schmick of Colfax and Mary Dye of Pomeroy met a similar fate in the House. The bills were designed to implement tax exe...
Washington state has high tax rates — gas, property, you name it. Government agencies collect billions of tax dollars annually from residents and businesses here. So why then are government agencies taking Washington taxpayer dollars and buying goods and services out-of-state, goods and services that are readily abundant in Washington? Those agencies are penalizing state taxpayers (residents and businesses) for paying the high taxes the agencies collected under burdensome regulations. One l...
WARNS. Interesting acronym for a survey being pushed by the state Department of Education, Washington State University and public schools statewide. The Washington Assessment of the Risks and Needs of Students has been around a few years, but largely disappeared during the coronavirus shutdowns — when students were at home and parents would have an opportunity to see it, read the questions and determine appropriateness. But now that classes are back in-person statewide, the social-emotional l...
CENTRAL FERRY — The U.S. government has reached an agreement with a rancher accused of allowing his cattle to trespass on federally managed lands along the Snake River. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington approved the settlement of case no, 2:18-cv-00024-SAB (E.D. Wash.), involving conflict between federal managers of the Central Ferry Habitat Management Unit adjacent and Riley’s River Ranch. U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington Vanessa R. Waldreff said the settlement agreement between Riley’s River...