Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Photos of the Palouse past are now being preserved for the future. With approximately $30,000 in public money, Whitman County Library put together 30 poster images and 1,300 digitized photos for the state’s Rural Heritage project. Patti Cammack and Janet Nastasi (right) hold a tintype, a historic photo preserved on metal. A group of officials gathered in the courthouse hallway early Monday morning for the official dedication of the photos. Citizens wandered past image after image, taking in the rich, historic scenes. Aim of the project is to pr...
It is now illegal to talk on your cell phone while driving in Washington as of June 10. Are you going to obey the new law? Ryan Hamilton, Colfax “No. It has no impact on me. Nor will it.” So you’re just running around on the loose out there, talking on your cell phone? “Absolutely.” Brad Blank, Colfax “I’m not driving so it won’t affect me any. My license is suspended.” Darnell Hernandez, Colfax “I have not been. My husband called me three times before I came to work. I pulled over all three times.” Were you talking on your phone before Jun... Full story
My parents are the kind of people who believe that dogs understand full sentences, like this: “OK, we’re going to the store, we’ll be gone a couple of hours, please stay out of the trash and don’t lie on my bed, that’s off limits and you know it!” What the dog thinks: Bed! So my father is perplexed that his two canines continue to bark at everyone who comes to the door, even though he’s sternly delivered his sermon “Thou Shalt Not Bark at the Person at the Door Unless He Is a Criminal.” When it’s my dad at the door, the dogs bark even at h...
County residents can now click up five-year records of tax payments and assessments on any of the 40,000 properties on the tax rolls. Treasurer Robert Lothspeich said the “taxsifter” program has now been placed on the county’s web site after a tryout last week. Residents can access the program by going to the county’s web site, www.whitmancounty.org, go to quick link on the front page and look for the taxsifter program. Lothspeich said residents can find the information by using the property parcel number or the street address of a particu...
The state-wide ban on using cell phones while driving has been in effect a week now and local law enforcement officers are on the lookout. Starting June 10, talking on a cell phone while driving became a primary offense for which an officer can pull over a driver. Texting was already illegal. Washington State Patrol Sergeant Brad Hudson said troopers have already noticed a drop in the number of people they see on their phones while driving. “Since the law became a primary law, myself and my troopers have noticed that there’s been a sub...
Scholarships and awards received by the Colfax High School class of 2010 totaled $463,705, according to a tally of the listing in the graduation program from the June 5 commencement service. Of the total award sum, over $367,000 went to graduates who received four-year college scholarships. The valedictorian medal was presented to Heather Harder, who compiled a 4.0 grade average, and the salutatorian medal was presented to Allison Vorderbrueggen, who compiled a 3.982 grade average. Washington State Honors award winners for students in the top...
Support Chief We, the undersigned, write this letter to show our support for a highly qualified and experienced city employee, Fire Chief Ralph Walter. If you know Chief Walter, you know him to be very friendly, hard working and extremely competent at his job as the fire chief for the City of Colfax. There is nothing he would not do for this city and its residents. He is well respected within our community, Whitman County and even throughout the state for his extensive knowledge and abilities. His skills as an incident commander and leader are...
China is in the midst of a global strategy to move its products to market and obtain the natural resources it needs to fuel its red-hot economy. The Chinese have deals with Cuba, Iran and other oil-producing countries to supply its industries and people with fuel for its growing fleet of cars, trucks, trains and planes. In addition, they have invested billions in places like Angola and Peru to bring needed minerals to their factories. And, if you’ve got coal and uranium, they’ll buy it for their power plants. Now China is bailing out Gre... Full story
SO HELEN Thomas finally got the ax. It’s about time. Hearst should have done it years ago. You never heard of Helen Thomas? Sure you have. Now 89, she was for years the senior reporter at White House press conferences, which entitled her to ask the first question and close it off with a “thank you, Mr. President.” She resigned from UPI when the news service changed hands in 2000 and went to work for Hearst as a columnist, but she never gave up her seat in the front row at the White House from which she asked questions intended to embar...
The greatest single environmental crisis in its history has struck the United States. Millions of gallons of crude oil have flowed into the Gulf of Mexico from an uncapped British Petroleum wellhead a mile under the ocean’s surface. Millions more gallons are likely to continue to flow before the well is capped and the free flowing oil is contained. The damage to the region is already immense. The pristine gulf waters are polluted, both on the surface and under it, to an extent that few are able to even predict what the long term impact will b...
The History Channel * On June 15, 1877, Henry Ossian Flipper, born a slave in Thomasville, Ga., in 1856, is the first black cadet to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point. Flipper was appointed a second lieutenant in the all-black 10th Cavalry at Fort Sill in the Indian Territory. * On June 19, 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor as a symbol of Franco-American friendship. Nine years late in arriving, the 300-foot statue was a gift from the people of France as a celebration of the Declaration of...
Colfax city council members have scheduled a special council meeting tonight, Thursday, at 7 p.m. in the wake of a reported city hall move to dismiss Fire Chief Ralph Walter. City staff and council would not yet say why Walter’s employment was in question or who was in favor of his dismissal. Councilman J.W. Roberts Tuesday confirmed council members have scheduled the special meeting. Roberts called in an official notice to the Gazette Tuesday morning, but declined to say the meeting was related to Walter’s employment status. Councilman Dav...
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. Colfax school buses vandalized Windows on nine Colfax School buses were broken out sometime Saturday night or early Sunday morning. The buses were parked inside the bus compound east of the Schmuck Park playfields. Officer Perry Tate said the buses that were hit were along the east side fence of the bus compound along the railroad track. Several...
John Solimine and his daughter Chrissie of Colfax visit with Winnie the Pooh in the Wish Lounge at Disneyland. Chrissie was granted a wish by the Make A Wish Foundation chapter for, Alaska, Montana, Northern Idaho, and Washington. Chrissie has mitochondrial disease, a rare non-terminal disorder. The whole family of John and wife Jeanette went with Chrissie and Sophie. Out of the possible options, they decided to go on a family vacation to Disneyland June 1-5. Make-A-Wish provided airfare, hotel, rental car, and expense money, including extra... Full story
It’s planting time again on the Palouse. Not just wheat fields and flower beds, but specifically gardens, are springing up all over, and since harvest always follows planting, the Whitman County Extension Volunteers would like to offer a few things to think about when it comes time to preserving your garden. Many things have changed and improved since our grandparents did the preserving. We now have the benefits of kitchen gadgets for making the cutting and chopping easier, along with tried and true recipes and guidelines to make our preserving...
More than 360 high school basketball players will arrive in Colfax Monday for a four day girls basketball camp. Thirty-five teams drawing from 24 different high schools will compete in games throughout the week. The students come from 1B to 4A schools. The camp concludes Thursday. Colfax coach Corey Baerlocher, director of the event, said each team will competes in 10 to 12 games throughout the tournament. “There’s games going on in all four gyms for 12 hours straight during the day,” Baerlocher said. The Steptoe gym is also used in the event...
Second installment of the LaCrosse Mudfest will begin 11 a.m. Satruday off Scott Road on the south side of LaCrosse.The Mudfest consists of playing in the mud, rock climbing, a chance to launch Washington’s largest water balloon launcher for cash prizes, a Junior ATV Race for kids 12 and under, and a Junior Mud Dive. There is a $3 admission fee. A lunch of “Hamboggers,” drinks, chips, and desserts will be served during the events. Ken Kelso reported at last Thursday’s city council session the first session of the fest over Memorial Day raised...
Sprints boat racing teams are expected to roll into St. John Friday and Saturday to open the fourth year of competition at Webb’s Slough. Between 20 and 25 racing teams are expected. The US Sprint Boat Association now rates Webbs’ Slough, with its tight corners and spectator facilities as the “Mecca” for the circuit, according to Jim DeFord’s preview on the USSBA web site. The boat teams started their series June 5 in Marsing, Idaho. Amanda Webb said the big change this year is in the superboat class which has been lagging for the last couple o... Full story
Whitman Cougars Junior Legion team Tuesday hammered 23 hits for a 21-4 win over the Coeur d’Alene Lakers. The Cougars booked the big win by the lake before going to Whitefish for their annual Legion sojourn into the Big Sky state. Nighthawk recruit Will Dedic pitched the win with Jamie Bledsoe going to the mound in the sixth. The Lakers were held to four hits. The Cougars pegged a 10-3 lead by the middle of the sixth inning and then hammered out 11 runs in the top of the seventh. Catcher Jared Hereford and Mason Van Lith each had four of the C...
Pullman Patriots Senior Legion team dropped a mixed pair of league games Monday on AK Jackson Field in Shadle Park. The losses left the Pats at 3-3 in league play before the double round slated with the Cannons Wednesday night at WSU’s Bailey-Brayton Field. Monday at Jackson the Pats lost to the Spokane Bandits 4-15 and then to the Northstars 0-2. The close game with the stars included a matchup between Colfax grad Brandon Hoadley and Cody Lunt of the ‘stars. Lunt threw a three-hit shutout at the Patriots. Hoadley allowed just five hits and... Full story
Cody McCleary holds on while he and his beast hit one of the arena mud holes Sunday in the senior chute dogging. The 35th annual Colfax Junior Rodeo hosted 130 contestants over the weekend at the Palouse Empire Fairground. A full rodeo was held both days, with contestants competing for the best times and scores of the weekend. The All-Around Champion Cowgirl went to Taylor Turner of Burbank. Turner competed in the Junior Girls Division (ages 9-11), winning the poles, steer daubing and steer riding events and placing second in the goat tying...
Thursday A 134-year-old oyster house in New Orleans shucked the last of its local oysters today after the millions of gallons of oil in the ocean from the BP spill have contaminated local beds. The restaurant said they would buy their next oysters from a supplier in Alabama, but didn’t know if they would continue their services. Other Gulf Coast oyster companies have also said they don’t know how much longer their dwindling supplies will last. Friday Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, in a television plug for a new computer to school chi...
Whitman County’s planning commissioners have been asked to decide whether they want to weigh in on a proposal to have special hearing examiners decide on granting permits for industrial wind turbines or other large scale proposals. Under the direction of county commissioners, Planner Alan Thomson wrote members of the planning commission last week to ask if they want to discuss the matter. The proposal would substitute the county’s Board of Adjustment with an outside hearing examiner on large scale applications. Such a change would require an...
Jennings School Library is participating in a new online fundraising program called Funds4Books, and sponsored by Mackin Educational Resources, a school vendor located in Burnsville, Minn. District Librarian Jan Varnes said the company created the fundraising program in response to nationwide school budget cuts and the struggling economy. The library has set a goal of $1,000 in the fund drive and to date has raised $160. To make a donation via a credit card, go to the funds website, www.funds4books.com, and log into the Jennings Library... Full story
Library director Kristie Kirkpatrick gazes up at the library’s new skylight. The skylight is one of several renovations to the library. Pieces of blue tape spot the walls, carpets, and doors inside the remodeled Whitman library, each marking a small ding in need of a final touch-up. A small sign in the women’s bathroom reads, “This door hits floor when fully opened.” This is the state of the $1 million remodeling project on the Whitman County Library building in Colfax, one week from completion. A new elevator, a skylight, handicap accessi...
