Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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The LaCrosse Farmer’s Festival returns this weekend with food, events and contests for both kids and adults. Things rev up Friday, June 21, with barbecue 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Bank of Eastern Washington. Festivities will commence Saturday with a breakfast served at the LaCrosse Café from 8 to 10 a.m. From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. attendees can buy T-shirts, Italian sodas, snow cones and beverages on Main Street and at the city park. LaCrosse Community Pride will host a silent auction from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Store Building. All ages are we...
Reports from the past few years show Whitman County with high rates of food insecurity and poverty. To help combat those issues there are several food programs that help serve those struggling in the county. However, program managers have expressed the need for more volunteers from the community. Paige Collins, Whitman County Council on Aging (COA) executive director, said the two biggest problems with attracting residents to use their services is finding transportation to pantries and the stigma about people who use a food bank. She said...
A report released from the National Agricultural Statistics Services on June 11, dropped winter wheat crop predictions in Idaho and Washington down one percent from last month. Washington winter wheat is forecasted to produce 114 million bushels, which marks a 13 percent decrease from last year. There is a harvested area of 1.65 million acres in Washington. The yield is expected to average 57 bushels per acre, which is down seven bushels from last year, but up one bushel from the beginning of May. Idaho wheat production forecast also saw a...
Whitman County commissioners approved interlocal agreements on a new five-year county Solid Waste Management Plan with seven towns Monday. The list includes Colton, Lamont, Oakesdale, Palouse, Rosalia, Endicott and Colfax. The plan, required by the state, will cover 2019-24 to replace a previous plan from 2012 to present. The county began work two years ago on the plan, which is meant to be every five years. “They give us a little leeway on getting it done,” said David Nails, Whitman County soli...
A new film debuts at this weekend’s Farmers Festival in LaCrosse . “Remarkable People and a Remarkable Land: A World of Fire and Ice” is the feature film for the new Ice Age Flood Museum, which opens Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Besides showing on a loop in the museum, the film is scheduled for special community screenings at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the LaCrosse Market Gathering Place. The 33-minute film begins with the geologic history of massive lava flows and Ice Age floods that are unmatched in scale anywhere on the globe. These drama...
Colfax City council Monday night voted 7-0 to begin mediation talks in an attempt to resolve the appeal of former Police Chief Rick McNannay. The motion was approved after the council concluded a 15-minute executive session at the end of Monday night's regular city council session. The meeting was the first council session since a June 4 meeting of the Colfax Civil Service board, which rejected a move by the city to hire McNannay back on the police force but demote him to patrolman. The civil service board ruled McNannay's appeal could not be...
Pullman Chamber of Commerce seeks volunteers to help with this year’s Fourth of July celebration. Volunteers will help with the merchandise booth and popcorn, beverage shelter, cotton candy stand, and the food line. Volunteers also are needed to run the bouncy castles, assist with parking and set up or clean up after the celebration. “We are hoping to get around 100 volunteers this year,” said Regan Donaldson, events coordinator. For more information, or to volunteer, call the Pullman Chamber of Commerce at 509-334-3565. The chamber also seeks...
Whitman County farmers this summer can use a selective weed spraying unit, WEEDit, to more effectively spray for weeds and drastically reduce the cost of chemicals. Brian Bell, Whitman conservation district manager, said WEEDit, a product which evolved from Netherlands-based research, uses infrared sensors and lasers to detect weeds in crop fields. The laser sensors detect chlorophyll found in plants, and direct nozzle sprays only at where plants are growing. Bell noted the machine can be used...
County commissioners and employees discussed recycling costs and improvement projects for Whitman County at a workshop session Monday morning. Commissioner Dean Kinzer reported an update from the recent Solid Waste Advisory Committee meeting. He said it is now $100 a ton to move recycling items out of the county waste transfer station, and $15 a ton for cardboard. “Costs for recycling are basically upside down,” Kinzer said. Those using the transfer station to recycle will be the ones who will feel the rising costs, he said. “They're sayin...
Whitman County commissioners approved June 3 an increase in per diem rates for county employees when traveling. The original schedule of $12 for breakfast, $15 lunch and $25 dinner is now $15 for breakfast, $20 for lunch and $25 for dinner. “We just noticed people couldn't get breakfast or lunch for that when they had to travel outside of the county,” said Art Swannack, county commissioner....
The City of Palouse awaits a Shoreline Substantial Development permit from the Washington State Department of Ecology before going out to bid on a revamped plan for trail work along the river to be paid for by a county .09 fund grant. Palouse received the $26,530 grant last year. Last September, Palouse city administrator Kyle Dixon sought out five area contractors in an informal bid process to gauge what it would cost to build an estimated 500-foot long trail along the river – across from downt...
A detour was set to go in place Wednesday for the wood bridge on Sunset Road in Thornton with a temporary bridge in place. The detour will be used for an estimated four weeks. Workers began at the site June 13 by placing signs for road work and the detour which they built just off to the side through private land. Some trees were trimmed for the detour. The Thornton depot bridge will be taken out and replaced with a concrete span, to gain a foot in clearance over Thorn Creek which has become inundated with silt and prone to flooding. No...
A Palouse flag may soon fly over Old Glory and possibly others. Moses Boone, a Palouse resident and farmer, briefed the city council June 11 on flag designs and symbolism, culminating in his proposal for a flag for Palouse. The design is now in the hands of the city council's policy and administration committee, which will decide whether to recommend it to the full council and mayor for approval. It all started in 2014, when Boone mowed his lawn one day listening to an episode of the Podcast...
Ideal racing conditions with a strong entry field and a giant crowd made for a great day Saturday at St. John's Webb's Slough. Amanda Webb reported one measure of the size of the crowd was a total of 750 trailers and campers on the grounds. Another factor was the parking space. The school sports parking crew actually used space for parking on hills adjoining the grounds. The race signed a total of 37 teams with 36 going to the line. Three of the boats were used by two teams. Sharing boats is...
Pullman Patriots returned to league play Tuesday with a split against Mt. Spokane at McDonald Park in Colfax. The guests nipped the Pats 5-4 in the opener, but the locals took a 3-0 shutout in the second game. The two games at Colfax followed a 4-1 run by the Patriots at the Tri-Cities Slugfest over the weekend. Reece Chadwick of Colton struck out seven Tuesday on the way to the complete game 3-0 shutout of Mt. Spokane. He allowed just two hits. The Pats scored one run in the first frame and two more in the seventh. In the first game, Mt....
St. John Elementary hosted the annual elementary track meet for about 230 students from Endicott, LaCrosse, Washtucna, Tekoa, Rosalia and Oakesdale May 31. Third through sixth graders competed in the throwing, high jump, long jump, relays and other running events. Students here await the final awards ceremony....
Colfax Babe Ruth team now stands at 7-6 after sustaining a rough 1-3 run this week in league competition. They are now shooting for a top four finish in the league with one league game early Saturday at Colfax before the playoffs. Friday at McDonald, Colfax took an early lead, but Pullman bagged a big rally for a 14-5 win. Saturday, Colfax sustained a 11-12 loss at Moscow. Lone win for the week was a 19-4 booked against Potlatch with J.P. Wigen throwing a complete game. The week's run ended...
Tekoa/Rosalia track coaches Jennifer Roetcisoender, Rosie McLain and Cory Schulz present an award to Isaac Leighton at the Timberwolves spring sports awards banquet May 28 in Tekoa. Twelve TR athletes made it to district track competition this year. The softball and baseball teams were also recognized for this year’s season....
Installation of concrete footings for the new Palouse Empire Fair grandstand is completed. The project included pouring square footings with concrete columns which will support the steel grandstand structure. Column heights vary in the different rows to conform with the steel structure which will support the grandstand decks and seats. The last row of the pillars on the fairground side were made higher to prevent structure damage from vehicle mishaps. Twelve rows of four pillars were installed...