Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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8 years ago The Commoner May 17, 1895 The Colfax Dramatic Company has concluded to give the “Hick'ry Farm” at Pioneer Hall this evening. It was postponed from last Monday night on account of sickness in the family of one of the participants. The company has been holding rehearsals during the week, and the various actors are practically perfect. The performance promises to be as artistically forcible as any performance given Colfax, even by first class professional actors. Much will be made of the comedy part of the play, Mrs. Bellinger and...
WHITMAN COUNTY – Kristal Krom Kirpes, then a freshman at Eastern Washington University, took a trip home to Dusty on the Walla Walla Highway for the weekend to celebrate her 20th birthday. What she didn't know then was that she was going to share her birthday with the eruption of Mount St. Helens. On Sunday, May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens erupted, being dubbed the most destructive volcanic eruption in U.S. history. "While dad, mom, my sister and I were outside on our patio celebrating my b...
Forty-two banners were placed on Main Street light posts Saturday, May 9, to honor the Colfax 2020 graduating class. The two-sided color banners were installed by volunteers, including reach trucks from Harrison Electric and Greg's Electric. The 42 banners honor the 41 students graduating this year and Konnor Stirling, a class mate who passed away in 2016 from leukemia....
COLFAX – “Rain makes corn, corn makes whiskey,” the song goes. But local researchers are finding it is the sun that is the Pacific Northwest’s most reliable and untapped asset in increasing wheat yields. It has long been assumed it is the amount of water that dictates the yield on wheat, but the amount of water in a given year is one of the most unreliable factors. Not so with sunshine, and utilizing that sunshine is showing to improve yields by 10 percent according to research by The McGrego...
WHITMAN COUNTY – Stripe rust has been discovered in varieties of winter wheat on the Palouse and actively producing spores. The rust was first spotted in Washington State University's experiment fields around Pullman. Dr. Xianming Chen, WSU research plant pathologist said the appearance of the rust is normal for the Palouse and is about a week earlier than last year. "Stripe rust occurs in the Pacific Northwest, especially the Palouse region, every year," Chen said. "Significant damage occurs t...
COLFAX – May 7 marked 30 years for Mayor Jim Retzer as a trooper with the Washington State Patrol. This came just two days after Retzer was announced as the recipient of the Chief Will Bachofner Award which is the Trooper of the Year award. "I'm pretty honored to be put in and selected for that," Retzer said. The announcement was by the WSP Chief John R. Batiste via a virtual live stream from his office May 5. Each year the eight WSP districts choose a Trooper of the District. Those winners a...
COLFAX – What does the arts council fish fence, restaurants and state parks have in common? When lodgers don’t stay at local hotels, they all take a hit. Projects like arts council murals, the regional swim meet, Chamber of Commerce photography contest and the MacDougall track invitational all receive funds from the local lodging tax through the economic development, tourism and events commission and city council. This fund is fueled by a two percent tax in addition to sales tax when sta...
COLFAX – The first half of property taxes collected by the April 30 deadline in Whitman County taxing districts came out to more than $23 million. “We had a very successful tax season, even with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Whitman County Treasurer Chris Nelson. Nelson said the majority of payments received were in the form of checks and for mortgages. She said the treasurer’s department had everything entered into the system by the end of the day, April 30. “We have been working hard and have been very busy,” Nelson said. Under the treasur...
PULLMAN – Former Colfax Mayor Todd Vanek was named as director of the Engineering Technology Management (ETM) and Online Learning Programs in Washington State University's Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture. Vanek served as the Mayor of Colfax for two terms from January 2012 to December 2019. He said that being mayor allowed him to gain more leadership experience in working with state government. "The experience working with state government is proving beneficial in budgeting, p...
WHITMAN COUNTY – High winds were recorded across the county May 6 during storms. The highest speed was 49 miles per hour in Uniontown. A speed surpassing 80 mph was reported in Pullman, but the National Weather Service believes that to be an error. Pullman-Moscow Airport recorded wind gusts topping at 47 mph. Other readings in the county were 41 mph at Hooper, 42 mph at Escure, 24 mph at Colton, 31 mph at Garfield and 42 mph at Dusty. Most of the top speeds were recorded during the 6 a.m. hour except for Hooper and Escure which were rec...
COLFAX – While not everyone wants or has the space for beehives, anyone can help support native pollinators and bees by providing feed, water and/or shelter. "What you do for the honeybees helps our native pollinators," said Charlene Purtee. Purtee is a backyard beekeeper and pollinator enthusiast who has made several stops at Whitman County libraries to share programs on beekeeping and native pollinators. Purtee noted that while honeybees are fantastic pollinators, the native pollinators do b...
PULLMAN – The Pullman Farmers Market is returning for its 12th season to offer the community a mid-week farmers market. Farmers markets are considered essential businesses in the appendix of the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” Proclamation 20-25 under the Food and Agriculture sector; this listing allows for the Pullman Farmers Market and its vendors to operate. After using guidance from the Safe Start Washington plan, and receiving approval from Washington State University, the Pullman Farmers Market will offer a modified market that provides acces...
PULLMAN – Pullman police received animal complaint calls about some non-domestic species May 6. One call came from an RP that had seen a red fox chasing a coyote at 9 a.m. and wanted it noted. Another was an RP reporting a big black bird in the backyard that would not leave. Officer responded to the trespassing bird....
PULLMAN – Innovia Foundation announced a second round of grant funding available to community-based organizations engaged in COVID-19 response and recovery efforts in Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Funding will be prioritized for organizations addressing the health and economic needs of those most likely to be disproportionately impacted by COVID-19, as well as for recovery efforts to ensure community resilience. Eligible organizations include nonprofit and grassroots organizations, tribal entities, schools and other government a...
COLFAX – On Monday, May 11, at 9 a.m. candidate filing for Washington state opened. For those interested in filing for candidacy, the deadline is Friday, May 15, at 4 p.m. In Whitman County, offices open for election are County Commissioner District One and District Two, Superior Court Judge and Precinct Officers. The Primary Election will be held on Aug. 4 for these positions. All three incumbents will be running for reelection Monday. They are Judge Gary Libey and Commissioners Art Swannack a...
WHITMAN COUNTY – Ninth District legislators have sent a letter to Gov. Jay Inslee to request he add Whitman County to the list of counties that may see a variance and reopen sooner than the rest of the state. "We would bet that if Whitman County is granted the same opportunity as the 10 counties you designated already, its leaders, merchants and residents will deliver," stated the letter signed by Senator Mark Schoesler, Rep. Joe Schmick and Rep. Mary Dye May 5. Included in the letter were comparisons between Whitman County and other cou...
STEPTOE – A man was booked into Whitman County Jail Saturday night after hitting speeds of 150 miles per hour and allegedly admitting to drug use. Saturday night at approximately 7:30 p.m., Deputy Tim Cox of the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office observed a motorcycle traveling southbound on SR 195 near mile post 52 at speeds approaching 100 mph. Deputy Cox turned on the motorcyclist and activated his emergency lights in an attempt to stop the speeding biker. Deputy Cox continued to pursue the motorcyclist southbound at speeds in excess of 100...
The Whitman County Sheriff's office performed its annual marine patrol training May 7 on the Snake River. Deputies will patrol the river through the summer months starting in a few weeks. The Sheriff's Office responded to a report of an overturned kayak May 7 in the Palouse River about one mile north of Palouse. The kayak was unoccupied at the time. Deputies were later advised of a possible owner who lost their kayak a few weeks earlier and finally connected with the owner....
Donald Rohwer, 37, was booked into Whitman County Jail May 11 after a traffic stop lead to the discovery of methamphetamine in the vehicle he was driving. According to the arrest report, Whitman County Deputy Tyler Langerveld pulled Rohwer over on SR 271 near the McCoy Grain Terminal at about 1:30 a.m. when he observed a vehicle had a brake light that did not work. Rohwer allegedly told Deputy Langerveld during the stop that he had never had a driver's license. Whitcom advised that Rohwer had a suspended license in the third degree. Rohwer was...
James Olson, 28, Spokane, was arrested on a bench warrant and booked into the Whitman County Jail May 10. Olson was arrested and charged with possession of methamphetamine in May of 2019. He was allowed to attend Drug Treatment Court but failed to appear. A bench warrant was issued in October of 2019 then quashed when Olson turned himself in. Bail was posted and he was allowed pre-trial release, but again failed to appear for the next hearing. A bench warrant was issued again in December of 2019. He is being held on bail of $10,000 surety or...
Voluntary must have a different meaning inside state government offices. On Tuesday, Gov. Jay Inslee and other participants in his coronavirus press conference said participation in a statewide contact tracing program would be voluntary. Under the program, anyone who tests positive for coronavirus would be contacted by the Washington National Guard, state Department of Licensing employees or other so-called “health professionals” to determine an infected person’s whereabouts and ascertain their...
Next week the fair board will make its recommendation and then the county commissioners will decide whether or not there will be a Palouse Empire Fair. The outcome will basically be one of three options: business as normal, cancel or continued in an altered form. Regardless of the outcome, the community needs to support the people making this decision. Absolutely no one on either board wants to cancel anything. Not a single person agreed to sit on the fair board thinking they would ever be...
Suddenly, we have hope. Doctors are now able to treat severe cases of Covid, with no ventilators, in most cases, and no deaths so far, with the new method. (Report by NBC4 of Los Angeles area, May 6, 2020.) "I am 100 percent convinced that if we follow these protocols, we can prevent patients from needing mechanical ventilation and going on respirators," said Dr. Tom Yadegar, MD, a pulmonologist and medical director of the intensive care unit at Providence Cedars-Sinai Tarzana Medical Center, and the protocol report's principal author. They...
It is with great sadness that we learn of the passing of our longtime friend Ken Hames. For many years Ken and his lovely wife Veva Jean hosted the John Wayne Wagons and Riders on our stop in Rosalia celebrating Battle Days. They allowed us to camp at their grounds across the street from the Rodeo Grounds. We were able to camp, with all of our horses on their beautifully manicured lawn field. The parking was tight, but Ken and Veva Jean furnished such hospitality. Ken was so proud of the Veterans Park and his community. One of our long time...