Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 492
Whitman County commissioners Monday morning appointed two new Albion City Council members. The action was required at the county level because Albion was unable to fill the two seats, which have been vacant since Sept. 23 of last year, within 90 days. Karsten Erickson and Crystle Morgan were appointed. In a Feb. 24 letter, Albion Mayor Randell L. Crowner asked the commissioners to appoint two people to fill the vacant council positions. The council has been meeting with just three members. “It’s a small town and everybody’s busy,” Crowner...
David Benscoter shows a photo of Colfax orchardist George Ruedy during a presentation at the Colfax Library on Saturday afternoon. Although Ruedy didn’t own any land, he developed at least two varieties of apples, the Palouse and Whitman. He became one of the most important orchardists in Whitman County. David Benscoter told a small Colfax audience about finding some apples that were believed to be lost. Benscoter presented his apple information at the Colfax Library Saturday. So far in his W...
Oakesdale High School student Jacey Johnson took this photo near Rosalia last Thursday, March 5. The bird is believed to be a great horned owl. Port of Whitman County Chairman Tom Kammerzell and Executive Director Joe Poire Monday reported on topics of discussion during the Washington, D.C., trip. Port staffer Kara Riebold also attended and assisted with the report. The Pacific Northwest Waterways Association hosted several speakers during the annual session. “We had good meetings,” Kam...
The Colfax Downtown Association is seeking farmers, artisans, food vendors and nursery growers to participate in the 2015 Colfax Farmers’ Market. The market will be every Friday from 3 to 7 p.m. starting May 29 and ending Sept. 4. Booths will be on the corner of Main and Spring streets next to the Colfax Library. Colfax City Admini-strator Mike Rizzitiello said this year’s farmers’ market is expected to be different from previous markets. The objective will be to give the Colfax community access to a wide variety of fresh, local, in-se...
Timothy Hill Timothy Hill, a retired museum curator from Florida, is now attempting to start a museum in Colfax. He has started the Palouse Museum of Science and History with a temporary location at 114 S. Main Street, next door to Colfax Security in Colfax. Hill and his family moved to Rosalia after members of his wife’s family moved to Whitman County. His wife, Cara Morton, works at Washington State University. Although the project lacks museum artifacts at the moment, Hill believes one day an...
Whitman County commissioners will assist the Albion City Council to fill two positions. In a letter dated Feb. 24, Albion Mayor Randell L. Crowner requested the commissioners appoint two council members to fill vacant positions for the town. The council has had a quorum with three councilors, but two more are required. The positions were vacated by resignations accepted at the Sept. 23 regular council meeting, according to the letter. The positions remain unfilled. The eligibility requirements for council members are that they be residents and...
Monthly dinner crew at the United Methodist Church Feb. 26 included, from the left, Kathy Lemon, Mikki Tague, Bev Yates, Connie McBride and Anna Hernandez. For almost four years, a group of women at the United Methodist Church in Colfax has been cooking dinners once a month and serving them to the general public. They do not charge for the dinners, but guests have the option of making a donation. “It’s just fun,” said Mikki Tague, one of the cooks. Last Thursday night between nine and 10 serve...
Whitman County commissioners approved a request for a new position within the health department. Troy Henderson, health department director, said the position would be the Director of Clinical Services who will oversee nursing and medical functions within the department. Henderson said since he was hired as director in the summer of 2013, he has consolidated several positions and now has management staffing down to three. “This will provide a better layer of supervisor of nurses specifically,” he told commissioners. “We’re saving money by bein... Full story
Washington Department Fish and Wildlife Officer Doug King carries a dead bald eagle off an island in the South Fork of the Palouse River on Friday. He believes the eagle was shot about Feb. 20. A dead bald eagle was found with a gunshot wound on an island on the South Fork of the Palouse River. Game officials now are attempting to determine who shot it and why. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Officer Doug King said he received the first call about the dead eagle Feb. 20. Hikers could... Full story
GFOA representatives Elizabeth Fu, center, and Eva Olsaker, right, give their final financial report to county personnel on Tuesday afternoon. Elinor Huber, assistant clerk, is in the back. Lack of training and poor utilization of the county’s financial system are the major issues listed in the final special financial report that county employees heard Tuesday afternoon. Eva Olsaker and Elizabeth Fu of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) submitted the final organizational a... Full story
Richard Wesson, representing the Pullman Civic Trust organization, last Thursday asked Port of Whitman Commissioners to revisit their decision to support abandonment of the Colfax-Pullman railroad property in the event the state decides to pull up the tracks on the now-idle line. “Look at your mission statement and at least back off. Don’t have any decision at all,” Wesson urged. “This is good for farmers down the road,” he added. The board Feb. 5 approved a move to support the abandonment option if the state’s PCC rail authority moves to pu... Full story
Whitman County commissioners on Monday morning approved advertising for radio system consulting services for the county’s Emergency Management department. The consultant will evaluate the current radio systems in use within the county. There are five systems that need to be addressed: Whitman County Sheriff, Firenet which covers the north and west side of the county, Fire 3 which covers Palouse and Fire Districts 12 and 14, Colfax Fire and Sierra which is the Washington State University Fire Department. According to Emergency Management D...
Whitman Conserva-tion District’s annual dinner meeting was at the LaCrosse Community Center Feb. 12 after the district’s board conducted its monthly meeting. Approxi-mately 30 people attended. Kary Peterson from the Department of Ecology Burn Team presented information about outside burning and burn permits for farmers. Burning in a burn barrel is now illegal everywhere in Washington. Only natural vegetation can be burned, and if smoke from a fire affects a neighbor, the fire must be extinguished. Peterson said composting and chipping are alt...
Several Whitman County residents were appointed to committees by the county commissioners Monday morning. Commissioners re-appointed five members of the property management team who are Robert Davis, Pullman; Nick Davis, Pullman; Brian Crow, Oakesdale; Justin Heaton, LaCrosse, and Steve Nelson, Thornton. Each was re-appointed for a one-year term. Commissioners also re-appointed Dennis Hatley of Pullman to the Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials. His term is for four years, expiring Dec. 31, 2018. Other members of the c...
Whitman County Prosecutor Denis Tracy told the Gazette Tuesday morning that the case report of a wolf shooting last October in the Pullman area is still under review. The case file on the shooting has been submitted to the prosecutor’s office by Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Tracy Tuesday said he could not comment on the case while it is still under the review process. Wolves are still listed on the state endangered species list in eastern Washington, but de-listed at the f... Full story
The Port of Whitman County is exploring an economic development project, also known as maker spaces, as a means of transferring knowledge. Port Executive Director Joe Poire said the project is in a very preliminary stage, and the goal is to leverage the presence of the two universities for economic development. Poire explained that the maker space would be a building with several rooms set up for rent to entrepreneurs to develop projects. It could be as simple as a space for a seamstress or include 3-D printers or milling machines, he said....
Alex Alben will be the first speaker in a series of technology programs at Whitman County Library branches. Alben’s program, “Privacy and Personality in the Digital Age,” will be held Wednesday, Feb. 18, at 3 p.m. in the Norma McGregor Room at the Colfax library. He also will be at the Albion library the same day at 6 p.m. St. John library will host Alben on Thursday, Feb. 19, at noon, and then he will be at the Tekoa library at 6 p.m. on Feb. 19. Alben will talk about the concepts of perso...
The Corps of Engineers Friday closed vehicle and pedestrian crossing over Lower Granite Dam because soil adjacent to the bottom of one of the bridge pier foundations for the Almota-Ferry Road was moved on Feb. 5. The road leads to the south shore vehicle entrance to go across the dam from Garfield County. Corps spokesman Bruce Henrickson said construction digging on the dam’s Juvenile Fish Facility’s primary dewatering structure led to the soil movement. Henrickson said corps geotechnical and structural engineers did preliminary eva...
A fourth license to grow and process marijuana in Whitman County was granted by the state Liquor Control Board on Feb. 4. Garry H. Griffiths of Pasco, under the name of Three G Farms at 7205 Endicott Road, now has a license to produce and process marijuana. The license allows Griffiths to have a maximum of 21,000 square feet of marijuana for production at wholesale to marijuana processor licensees and to other marijuana producer licensees. According to a real estate transfer tax affidavit filed in the treasurer’s office Nov. 18, 2014, the p... Full story
After meeting with four landowners at their regular session last Thurs-day, Port of Whitman commissioners decided to support an abandonment policy in the event the railroad tracks from the now idle Colfax-Pullman line are removed. The port authorized Chairman Tom Kammerzell to urge the state’s PCC rail authority to abandon the line instead of following a policy of banking the rail property for possible use at some point in the future. The state is now awaiting a report on strategic development of the rail system before deciding on the fate of t...
Whitman County Revenue Officer Lori Nails reported the property tax refunds given for 2014 to the county commissioners on Monday. Tax refunds for 2014 totaled $26,552. The months of January, February, April, July, August and October had no refunds recorded. In March a chemical company received $2,812 because of overpayment of prepaid taxes. In May, several refunds were recorded. One company received five refunds that were court ordered, with a total of $1,385. Five senior tax exemptions were recorded with a total of $4,164. Other refunds were... Full story
Whitman County’s unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the state according to the latest report released by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The jobless rate for the county averaged 5.1 percent for 2014 which is the third lowest in the state. The overall state rate was 6.2 percent. King County at 4.1 percent and Snohomish at 4.5 percent are the only other counties with rates lower than Whitman County. Counties with the highest unemployed averages in 2014 were Ferry, Stevens and Pend Oreille, all at 10.9 percent. According to the r...
Church members Stacey Aune, left, and Peggy Bryan read letters of support and congratulations during the service. Pastor John Cross is seated next to them. The small congregation of Selbu Lutheran Church, nestled in a grove of evergreen trees south of LaCrosse, celebrated a milestone Sunday. The church raised nearly $150,000 to repair and maintain the church building. Donations came from the 40 members and from former members located all over the United States. The roof was rebuilt last summer...
Whitman County Auditor Eunice Coker reported to county commissioners Monday that the 2014 tax billings as of Dec. 31 were 96.49 collected. Last year at this time, the percent of 2013 taxes collected was 97.46. Total collected by the end of December was $46,381,948. This compares to $39,712,951 at the end of 2013. As of last May, more than 54 percent, $26,034,954, was collected after the first half payment deadline, according to the report. Under state law the county treasurer will submit a report of the status of the tax roll to the county...
Two staff members from Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers' office listened to a variety of concerns from county representatives Monday afternoon. Cathy Schaeffer and Chud Wendle met with county commissioners and Port of Whitman County commissioners to discuss issues with the elected officials. One of the first topics that generated discussion was access to Army Corps of Engineers ground along the Snake River that some cattlemen use as pasture during winter months. Although the corps is mandated to...
