Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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An estimated 60 people gathered in the Steptoe School gym Monday night for a special meeting with Whitman County commissioners to hear input on a petition signed by 150 people, which calls for a county ordinance to curtail junk cars and debris in unincorporated areas. Various county residents spoke against the petition, spurred by Steptoe resident Kirk Suess last fall, and then others spoke for it. After Commissioner Art Swannack asked for a show of hands of who signed Suess' petition, about 20...
The Whitman County Commissioners and the Port of Whitman County Commissioners had a combined workshop Monday. At the workshop, the port gave presentations on a couple of projects for which they would like to partner with the county. The port listed five goals: one- to support legacy businesses and identify opportunities around regional infrastructure, two- to create a craft industrial campus at industrial park west, three- to expand partnerships with Washington State University, four- to lead fi...
With a private shuttle dropping them off on campus, future residents of the Hills on Grand, an off-campus student housing complex with an estimated $62 million value, will benefit from something no other Pullman rental agency has done yet. Pete Dickinson, planning director for the City of Pullman, said the shuttle service will be the first of its kind and will operate independently of Pullman’s transit system. The Hills are in former fields west of Highway 27 and south of the Albion Road. With two phases of building and a total of 396 o...
A new study by Washington State University's medical school in Spokane found higher mortality rates on the eastern side of the state, but health officials say the subject is a lot more complicated than what was captured in the study. Troy Henderson, director of the Whitman County Department of Public Health, said eating well, exercising and putting on a seat belt when driving have more significant effects on individual health. "Humans are almost infinitely different from one another," Henderson...
Rosalia Mayor Lee Root posted on both his personal and public Facebook pages Tuesday a request for support from the town’s residents in securing state funding to repair or replace its failing water and sewer infrastructure. Root and the town council plan to meet with state legislators Feb. 14 in Olympia to discuss funding for the project to keep rate increases as low as possible. Root and the council requested Rosalia residents submit personal letters and photos detailing how increases would affect themselves and their families. Letters will b...
After being damaged by an August 2017 lightning strike, the commercial scale has been repaired and tested for a return to service at the county landfill. The scales were added in 2015 with the new recycling building. County staff conferred with the original contractor to fix the system that automatically weighs commercial loads and makes a bill. “We’re almost there, after a year and a half of the lightning strike putting ghosts in our machines,” said Mark Storey, Public Works director. The s...
Kyle Hooper from Santa Clarita, Calif., has joined Curtis Scholz, his father-in-law, as a financial advisor at the Edward Jones office in Colfax. He received a welcome party at the office last Thursday. Hooper met his wife, Erin, while they were both in Phoenix, Ariz. Erin, née Scholz, was in graduate school studying physical therapy while Hooper was training as a member of the Dodger minor league baseball team. He made it as far as Double A. Unsure of what to do after he finished his last...
Greta White from Endicott is one of four new Washington State School District Association (WSSDA) board members. She replaced Harmon Smith from LaCrosse. WSSDA board members are nominated and elected by their colleagues and serve the three-year terms. They can serve up to two terms. New board members replace board members who are either termed out or have taken on another position on the board or with the state legislature. Smith finished serving both of his terms on the WSSDA board and had...
In the first edition of the Pullman Chamber of Commerce’s Government Affairs Committee newsletter, the committee outlined its goals for the 2019 legislative agenda — the first time it has been shared outside of the chamber’s board and the committee. The committee’s 2019 agenda includes limiting carbon policies, supporting mental health services and reliable internet, eliminating K-12 levy inequalities and funding for Highway 195 south bypass, Marie Dymkoski, executive director of the chamber, said. “The agenda gives us a platform to say, ‘The...
It takes no advertising. If you have to ask how to get in on it, you are likely too late. It is the seventh annual Palouse Cabin Fever Brewfest Feb. 9 at the Palouse Community Center. Each year, tickets go on sale the day after Thanksgiving at four breweries from Moscow to Spokane. For 2019, the 650 tickets sold out Jan. 8 for the event Saturday from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. “Six hundred-fifty seems to be about right for the space,” said Janet Barstow, one of an eight-member Palouse “Brew Crew” which o...
Colfax girls bounced back Tuesday with a 50-26 win over Wilbur/Creston in the first-round action for NE district action at West Valley. The Bulldogs posted a 26-10 lead at the half with a balanced scoring attack. Sophomore guard Anni Cox led the balanced Colfax scoring with 11 points, including three 3-point shots in the mix. The first-round win advanced the Colfax girls to today's quarter finals, where they will face Northwest Christian. Northwest Christian is the number-two finisher on the...
It will be a case of one more time Saturday at Liberty when the Colfax wrestlers hit the mats for the regional tournament in a quest for tickets to the mat classic in Tacoma the following week. All but one member to the team bagged a top-four finish at Pomeroy to advance to the regional round this week at Liberty. The top four finishers from the Pomeroy meet will go up against the top four from the north side version of the sub-region. The state B grid assigns four places in the starting grid to wresters from WIAA districts 7 and 9 on the east...
Colfax boys will travel to West Valley today to play the LRS Broncos in the second round of the 12-team district tournament, which offers three slots to the state regional round and a possible ticket to the state 2B tournament in Spokane. The Bulldog boys enter the district fray today after rolling past the Liberty Lancers 56-44 Friday in the new gym at Liberty. The win put the Bulldogs on top of the NE-south campaign with a 9-1 record. Their lone league loss came to Tekoa/Rosalia in a...
Tekoa/Rosalia boys, who landed in the south side number-five slot after a loss to Asotin Friday, defeated Wilbur/Creston 69-51 in first round action at the NE district show at West Valley on Tuesday. The Timberwolves will face St. George's, the 18-2 champions on the north side of the NE, today in the quarter-final round at 3:30. The Wolves staked a 34-18 lead over WC at the half Tuesday and kept on rolling for the win. Craig Mueller hit 22 and Riley McLain hit 16 in the big win. Other scorers for TR were Garrett Naught eight, Noah Beach 11,...
It came down to two deep shots from Austin Jones, the last of which left his hands with 4.8 seconds remaining. In the crowded Oakesdale gym Saturday night, Feb. 2, with double-doors behind the stage curtains propped wide open to cool it down, Garfield/Palouse and Oakesdale met for the second time this season, the two teams tied for first-place in the Southeast 1B league all year. The Vikings broke the tie, winning 41-39 after Jones, a Gar/Pal sophomore guard, hit a last three-pointer from near...
The Southeast 1B league tournament starts Friday in a new four-team format, reduced from six last year. For the boys, no. 1 seed Garfield/Palouse will host no. 4 Pomeroy at home Saturday, Feb. 9. Tip-off is 6 p.m. No. 2 seed Oakesdale will host no. 3 Prescott, also starting at 6 p.m. For Gar/Pal-Pomeroy, it will be the third meeting between the two teams after the Vikings beat them twice before, the second time 60-45 just a week ago at Palouse. Pomeroy is led by senior Jace Gwinn and freshman brother Trent Gwinn. Jace Gwinn, a varsity...
These reports are from the previous four issues of the Daily Bulletin in Colfax. They are reprinted here for the benefit of Gazette readers who reside outside of Colfax. Some accounts have been updated. SNOW STORM CLOSES SCHOOLS St. John and Endicott schools closed down sessions Tuesday because of Monday night's snow storm, with wind causing drifts in the west part of the county. Depth of snow at St. John from the storm was reported to be approximately four inches, and extensive drifting was reported in the area. LaCrosse Schools also opted to...
After threats and counter threats, invitations and disinvitations, the State of the Union Address finally occurred. President Trump gave his speech from the House of Representatives Tuesday night. Behind him, Nancy Pelosi sat listening, sometimes engaged and sometimes reading from what appeared to be pages of future spontaneous remarks. Beside her was Vice President Pence, as always emulating the FIGI water girl. Not many State of the Union speeches are love fests. This could have been more tense than normal, but it wasn’t. In fact, the w...
There's an expression we hear or see all too frequently, one that is particularly odious: "collateral damage." Some military types, or civilian leaders who are pursuing their own ambitions, use that phrase to sterilize the death and maiming of innocents as battle operations rage nearby. In a less violent way, that same kind of offensive mentality permeates the rationalizations of too many political leaders. That is, if they even bother to think about the human consequences of their rhetoric or schemes to manipulate voters or to generate...
The fundamental offense of the Covington Catholic High School kids wasn't so much allegedly mobbing, mocking or getting in the face of an American Indian drummer at the Lincoln Memorial. It was wearing red Make America Great Again hats. That was the actual, incontestable conduct that created the predicate for the presumption of guilt and all the rest of the grief they've been subjected to since. For much of progressive America, if you are wearing the hat, you are suiting up for Team Racist. You are marking yourself out as a bigot and a goon. Yo...
It’s not likely they colluded. Yet on Jan. 31, publisher Gordon Forgey of the Whitman County Gazette and managing editor Devin Rokyta of the Daily News published editorials on the dangers of ignoring vaccinations. The reason? Washington State’s Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency because of a growing measles outbreak. In 1736 Ben Franklin lost a four-year-old son to smallpox. Recounting that event, the Washington Post quoted from Franklin’s autobiography: “I long regretted bitterly, and still regret,” Franklin wrote, “that I h...
Dear Editor, Frank Watson wrote a powerful column (1-31-19) regarding the prohibition of marijuana and other drugs. He said, "The argument that made the most sense to me was, 'What we are doing now isn't working.' " That's what I tried to say. --Wiley Hollingsworth, Pullman...
A lot is written about students exiting college saddled with hefty student loans; however, the impact on retired parents went largely unnoticed. Recently, Wall Street Journal writer AnnaMaria Andriotis reported Americans over 60 years old are coming out of retirement and going back to work just to pay for their children’s educations. On average, student borrowers in their 60s owed $33,800 in 2017, up 44 percent from 2010. Student loan debt for seniors rose 161 percent between 2010 and 2017. I...
Four Washington state counties announced they will not enforce Initiative 1639, and more may follow. I don’t understand. I was taught in high school civics class we are a federal, constitutional democracy. I remembered the words but didn’t quite remember what they mean, so I looked them up in the dictionary. The “democracy” part means we have the right to vote. In a pure democracy, citizens vote on everything. Any time there is a question, the people gather at the meeting place and vote on the issue. We have both too many people and too man...