Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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After years of consideration, Whitman County is moving to implement a geographic information system (GIS) to better manage and present a wide variety of public data. GIS is a digital data management system used extensively by local governments across the country for a wide variety of purposes, such as municipal planning, determining property taxes or mapping geographical features. GIS benefits local jurisdictions and their residents through its capability to aggregate and visualize huge amounts of data. Governments can scale the extent and...
The Whitcom Executive Board named its new executive director during a special closed meeting last week. Tara Murker, a Puyallup resident with almost 25 years of experience in the field, was selected to head the county's 911 dispatch center in Pullman. Most recently a communications manager at the University of Washington Police Department for the past two years, Murker began her career taking calls at the King County Sheriff's in 1994. The executive director position has been vacant since January when Patti Kelly retired after 20 years, citing...
Local pastor Phil Misner said his goodbyes this month after announcing his upcoming departure to serve as assistant to the bishop in Spokane. Phil has led Sunday services at both Peace Lutheran in Colfax and Trinity Lutheran in Endicott since 2012. In addition, he and his wife, Jamie, have been deeply involved in the local community outside of church since making the move from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Phil has coached soccer and baseball, served as president of the board of the Colfax Community...
The Whitman County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a “complete re-write” of the Outdoor Amusements or Assemblies Ordinance at their Monday meeting. The ordinance aims to regulate large events and gatherings in the unincorporated areas of Whitman County by requiring prior approval from the county and other local agencies, as well as a sliding permit fee based on the size of the event. In doing so, the county seeks to protect the safety and well-being of county land and residents during large gatherings, while not over-regulating sma...
Pullman teachers struck a tentative deal last week to raise their pay 17 percent over the next two years. If approved, Pullman instructors will see a 15 percent pay increase in the upcoming school year, along with a two percent increase for the 2019-2020 year. The agreement states a first-year teacher in the district could make a maximum salary of approximately $47,000, while teachers on the highest end of the pay grade would max out just under $88,000 per year. Pullman teachers must still act to ratify the agreement before it is finalized,...
As the 2018 harvest rolls on, growers are reporting encouraging crop numbers. Pacific Northwest Farmers Co-op Grain Division Manager David Weitz at Colfax said the area's harvest this year is 20-30 percent better than average with 75 percent of grain harvested so far. "It's been a fantastic harvest," Weitz said. "We have good quality wheat and huge yields." Weitz attributed the local harvest's success to a combination of high rainfall in the fall and winter, followed by largely cool...
The 30th National Lentil Festival will be Friday and Saturday, Aug. 17-18, throughout Pullman. The Tase T. Lentil mini golf tournament will begin at 9 a.m. Friday at the Airway Hills Golf Center, with tee times running throughout the day. Teams of two to six players will compete in a “best-ball” competition, in which each team member gets one attempt at each hole and only the best score for each hole is scored. The weekend’s festivities really get underway at 5 p.m. when visitors can enjoy free samples from the world’s largest bowl of lentil...
Buri's Medical Equipment in Colfax has sold its assets to Washington-based Bellevue Healthcare. Buri's has served the area for more than 21 years, but owner Angela Buri says it's time to spend more time with her family. "I want to focus on taking care of my three busy teenagers," she said. "Family comes first." According to Buri, customers with active rentals through Buri's Medical Equipment will retain access to their equipment through Bellevue Healthcare, as long as they still meet the...
Following the retirement of the Rosalia School District principal, secretary and part-time superintendent in June, three administrators have joined the district. Matthew McLain is stepping in to replace Darrel Kuhn as Rosalia principal, bringing with him 20 years of education experience. Most recently the preschool-12th grade principal at Columbia School District in Hunters, for four years, McLain also served as an English teacher and an alternative program principal in Chewelah for the better part of a decade. McLain said he feels at home in...
Bunyard Automotive in Colfax this week donated a car to a local family. As part of their new autoclub program, owner Jacob Bunyard purchased a Ford Focus from an online seller in Spokane, fixed up a number of the vehicle's problems and donated it to Rich and Dyann Nelson. The Nelsons of Colfax have one of 10 children at home and more than a dozen grandchildren. They stay active in the local community by cleaning their church every week. Rich's car had been experiencing issues since the Fourth...
Colfax Chamber of Commerce will add two events to the August edition of its First Thursday event today from 3 to 9 p.m. in Colfax. Beginning at 6:30 a kids race inaugural popsicle fun run will debut. Participants will run, walk or jog a short distance along the race route, then traverse an obstacle course in Eells Park. They will race back to the start and chow down on a popsicle. Once the popsicle is gone, the next teammate will go. Entry in the popsicle fun run will cost $15 per solo racer or $45 for a team of four. Each entry includes a pops...
The Palouse Advocacy League (PAL) last week sat down with residents at local eateries for conversations about mental health and suicide prevention as part of its "Three Days in July" campaign. The campaign's aim is to break down the stigma of discussing mental health issues. To this end, PAL Director Shelley Germain Calissendorff spent three days traveling to an array of restaurants, coffee houses and pubs from Moscow to Palouse. At each stop, Calissendorff talked with visitors about mental...
The Northern Pacific train depot in Pullman is getting a makeover – one that will tell the story of the town and its co-evolution with the railroads that spanned more than a century. With hopes to turn the depot into a heritage center, the Whitman County Historical Society purchased the site in March from Meghan Antoni with help from a $300,000 anonymous donation. Antoni acquired the site from her father, the late Dan Antoni, who ran two businesses out of the property as owner for 27 years. O...
In a split vote last Thursday, Port of Whitman County Commissioners signed a letter of intent to collaborate with ports from across Washington on a telecommunications conduit along the I-5 corridor and tentatively pledged to contribute $800,000 to the project. Port Commissioner Tom Kammerzell objected to signing the letter of intent and investing $800,000. “This may be the most important vote I’ve been a part of in the six years I’ve been commissioner and it may be the most important action the Port takes in the next 20 to 40 years,” Kammerzell...
Candidates running for District 9 State Representative and Whitman County District Court Judge set forth their views and fielded audience questions at the League of Women Voters of Pullman forum at Neill Public Library July 18. Education was an important topic among all candidates. Each offered their own approaches for improving the well-being of Washington's teachers and schools. Incumbent state representative Joe Schmick of Colfax stressed the importance of improving special education...
After learning an inspection found severe structural damage localized in two sections of the Public Service Building in Colfax, Whitman County Commissioners approved a resolution Monday for funds for emergency repairs. In response to concerns raised by county staff, Evan Laubach of Reliant Engineering was hired to evaluate the building's structural integrity July 17. Laubach discovered a pair of hazardous, structurally inadequate areas in the building and reported his findings to county official...
Efforts by LaCrosse Community Pride and the Whitman County Library to restore LaCrosse's historic rock houses have transformed the structures in recent years, and there's much more to come. Built from basalt rocks deposited by the Missoula Ice Age floods, the stone structures were built in the 1930s. Clint Dobson, a LaCrosse businessman, built two homes, three bunkhouses and a service station between 1934 and 1936. The houses were used as rental units for farm workers and sleeping quarters for...
Candidates running in Washington's primary election laid out their views during the Pullman League of Women Voters forum Tuesday night at the Colfax library. In the congressional race, Democrat Lisa Brown and Dave Saulibio of the Trump Populist Party debated, while incumbent Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers was unable to attend and sent a proxy to deliver a prepared statement. Brown explained her opposition to cutting medicare/medicaid, as well as to privatizing of the Veteran's Affairs...
Organizers of the first annual "Try"athlon in St. John Monday, June 23, said the event had a strong initial showing and will be returning in 2019. According to event organizer Amy Swannack, the "Try"athlon featured the unlikely combination of trap shooting, golf and horseshoes. Those in attendance could also win prizes, enter raffles, grab a philly cheesesteak or relax at the beer garden. The event was put on by the Eagles/Wildcats Booster Club, which raised more than $5,000 that afternoon for...
Garfield/Palouse High School student Jordan Paddock has qualified for Washington's National High School rodeo team and will soon compete in bull riding at the national high school finals July 15-21 in Rock Springs Wyo. Paddock will be among nearly 1,700 contestants from 43 states and four different countries to compete for more than $350,000 in college scholarships. He finished fourth for bull riders in Washington this year in Paddock's draw to bull riding began at a young age when he went with...
The Johnson parade, the traditional kickoff event for the county will start again at 10 a.m. at the north end of Johnson. Kathy Wolf of Uniontown, one of the Johnson organizers, noted the Johnson parade normally draws a larger crowd when the holiday falls in the middle of the week celebrants opt to stay local. The parade will again head north from the community center and then make a return trip. Rural Fire District 12 volunteers will serve breakfast in Johnson before the parade. The breakfast...
Fire blight, a disease that affects apple, pear and other fruit trees, has taken a harsh toll this year due to an unusually wet spring. The disease thrives during growing seasons with particularly high precipitation and humidity, according to a WSU Tree Fruit Research and Extension report. "It's been the perfect storm for fire blight development," said Stephen Bishop, owner of Bishops' Orchard in Garfield. Bishop said the best way he has found to ward off the disease is by planting tree...
The Palouse Advocacy League has released a comprehensive list of mental health providers in Whitman and Latah County. The organization was previously called The #3 Memorial Fund which was created after the death last January of WSU quarterback Tyler Hilinski. The League’s list is intended to make it easier for residents to find mental health care providers near them. The list is organized into four sections: The first includes psychiatrists and other professionals who can prescribe anti-anxiety and anti-depressant medications, plus other psycho...
Visitors to St. John can catch a glimpse of our region's scenery not just in the rolling hills that surround them, but in the colorful mural being painted by Kat Wiley. A June graduate of St. John/Endicott High School, Wiley undertook the mural project as part of her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest honor a girl scout can earn. In doing so, she will draw upon a lifelong passion for art to cap a 13-year career as a girl scout. "I settled on the idea of a mural because I'm a very artistic...
The annual LaCrosse Farmers Festival Saturday, June 23, will offer an array of entertainment and food options for all ages. Festivities will begin at 8 a.m. with a flea market put on by Route 26 on West 2nd Street. At 9 a.m., there will be a quilt show by Pins & Needles on Main Street, a photo contest display on Main Street, a silent auction at the Gathering Place in the store and an antique sale by Our Cache on Main Street. The silent auction, featuring a wide variety of donated items and tickets, is the annual fund raising event for LaCrosse...