Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 62
Pamela Rae Rogers again faces commitment to prison after another alleged violation and ejection from a Spokane Valley drug treatment center. A report from American Behavioral Health Systems recommends that Rogers alternative drug treatment sentence be revoked followed by sentencing to prison. Rogers allegedly violated treatment rules by attempting to send a letter, via a third party, to Michael Schaub at another branch of ABHS in Chehalis. Rogers and Schaub were convicted March 12 for possession of items stolen from residences in Pullman while...
Most parents of teenage daughters, hearing that Los Angeles parents Laurence and Marianne Sunderland stuck their 16-year-old daughter on a boat to sail around the world on a year-long voyage, thought to themselves: “A whole year without having my teenager screaming at me? Where can I get a boat?!” Typical parents are unable to afford the kind of yacht the Sunderlands used — you can’t just stick your kid on a rowboat and shove her out into the bay, as tempting as it may sound at times. For those parents, there is summer camp. And if you can’t af...
Hunter’s Furniture of Colfax is closing. Owners Mary and Lee Higginson have cut prices on new wood furniture, dining tables, leather couches and other furniture. Mary Higginson, 65, told the Gazette Monday she is closing up shop because she’d like to retire and the economy has been rough on their sales. “It’s a little bit of everything,” she said, noting the furniture store has been open for about 15 years. The couple also owns Hunter’s Appliance Center and the Sleep Shop in Colfax, which will remain open and staffed by Lee. Mary said she di...
Our Korean host was an older man, well dressed and slightly balding. He had the gentle, scholarly appearance of the college professor he was. Professor Hyuk Rae Kim struck me as what the perfect grandfather should look like. There was a genuine humility about him as he welcomed the 38 teachers who were part of the Korean Studies Workshop. However, it quickly became apparent that this was a man of great strength, who was accustomed to being obeyed. His authority rang clear in his directives to those working for him and as he cautioned us on how...
Really fed up I am really fed up with our political system. Starting with federal through state, county and city. It is hard to believe what our elected officials tell us. That what they do is best for their constituents. What these officials are doing is bohunk. My feeling is that our federal and state officials get elected only to fatten their own pockets. Maybe they want to change things when first elected, but are quickly bought off by the lobbyists. There is also too much “good old boy” politics. I’m not sure what our county problem is. M...
Facing a $3 billion budget gap next year, Gov. Chris Gregoire recently announced a renewed initiative to streamline state government. The governor created a 32-person panel to scour state agencies for efficiencies vowing, “There are no sacred cows.” Surprisingly, she suggested that our scandal-laden ferry system could be sold back to the private sector. In the wake of a high-profile investigation by KING 5 News that revealed widespread abuses by unionized state ferry workers, Gregoire raised the prospect of privatizing the state ferry sys...
MICHAEL HASTINGS seems to be making all the talk shows these days although on some he’s a hero and others he’s a rat. Hastings is the Rolling Stone reporter who wrote the story that got Gen. Stanley McChrystal fired. There is some disagreement over whether he went too far in taking advantage of being embedded with McChrystal’s staff and reporting how they trashed the White House, or McChrystal et al should have known better than to lip off in the presence of a reporter. There appears to be a consensus that somebody forgot to say, “That...
#!*! Dog walkers who use new Main Street bark for canine rest stops. Send your Pet Peeves and Okeydokes to the Gazette P.O. Box 770 211 N. Main St Colfax, Wa 99111...
Both the Federal government and British Petroleum claim that they are doing everything possible to stop and ameliorate the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP is drilling two new wells to cutoff the faulty one. The government has enlisted its resources, including the Coast Guard and National Guard. Hundreds of commercial ships and private boats are involved in the cleanup operation. Still the oil gushes, and still the oil spreads. The quantity of oil captured at the well head is far short of projections. The amount being skimmed and...
A team of Colfax all-stars has been formed to play in three post-season tournaments this month. The Colfax club will start at the wooden bat tournament this weekend in Potlatch. They will be among 10 teams entered in the 12-under division of the Potlatch show. Coach Wayne Gregory said they also plan to play in the Pullman Tournament next weekend and the Trevor Haag Memorial tournament in Orofino the following weekend. The Colfax team is made up mostly of players off the White Sox, Mariners and Phillies. They have also picked up Carter Dahmen of...
Pullman Patriots were booked to play the Spokane Bandits Wednesday night at AK Jackson Field in Spokane, and then return to Bailey-Brayton Field next week for three home games to finish out the season. The Pats will play the Spokane Cannons in a single game next Thursday at 5:30 and then host the Spokane Northstars for two games Friday beginning at 5:30....
Fifteen players have been named to a Pullman/Whitman County all-star team which will play in the state Babe Ruth tournament for 14-year-olds July 21-25 at Marty Quann Baseball field in Pullman. The locals will be among eight teams in the tournament, officially called the south state tournament. Pullman/Whitman gets the opportunity to launch a team in the playoff because they are hosting the state event. The seven other teams will have qualified for the event through district playoffs, according to James Bledsoe, tournament director. The...
Will Dedic crosses the plate while Lance Lindgren takes off down the first base line after putting down a squeeze bunt against the Arlington club last Thursday night at McDonald Park. Whitman Cougars have a four-game home stand set this week at McDonald Park. Overall the Cougars have a six-game run, all on the home field, to finish out division play in the Spokane Junior Legion organization. To advance to the playoffs, they have to place in the top half of the division. Coach Matt Johnson said they now stand in the middle of the race, and will...
Mark Boni of Tacoma, winner of the all-around award in the Pro Moto motorcycle rodeo at Palouse Empire Fairground Sunday, loses control of his mount after gunning for a fast finish run in the pole bending competition. The second annual Pro Moto Motorcycle Rodeo at the Palouse Empire fairground brought 14 area competitors to compete in the rodeo arena Sunday afternoon. The rodeo was the wrap up of a three-day session under the auspices of the Northwest Classic Motorcycle Club based in Spokane. Curtis Krouse and Ramona Herner on the way to a...
Colfax Police on the morning of June 27 were called to the lot of the Grange auto shop to investigate a reported car prowl. The back window of a work van had been broken out and two drills and bits were discovered missing from the back of the van....
A $25,000 bond was set for pre-trial release of Joshua D. Fox, 24, Tekoa resident who was booked into jail June 29 on charges of assault and violations of a protection order. Fox was arrested in Tekoa after the alleged victim flagged down a county deputy and reported she had been assaulted. She alleged Fox picked her up and threw her while she was attempting to pack personal items and move out of town. She also said Fox took her two daughters and put them in a pickup. Deputy Mike Bogenreif said he encountered two small pit bulls when he went...
Andrew Mattingly, 22, former Cougar football player, has been charged with taking a Budweiser neon guitar sign from the Stubblefield’s bar on college hill in Pullman. A charge of second degree theft was filed in superior court Friday. He has been summoned to appear in court July 30. According to the Pullman Police report, an officer was called to the bar May 4 to investigate the alleged theft. A manager told officers he identified Mattingly because the former gridder often visited the bar. He said several people in the bar saw Mattingly r...
Whitman County commissioners will decide on a pair of zoning code changes Monday, July 19. One change will remove all restrictions from building homes at elevations over 2,000 feet or atop the 15 named buttes in Whitman County. Such building was forbidden under the revised rural residential code passed in 2007. Commissioners decided to reopen the clause after the county received an application from Walter Lunsford to build a new home on Parker Butte south of Palouse. “I always had concerns about that clause,” said Commissioner Greg Partch. “I...
While computer hacking at the courthouse may be illegal, it does not violate county policies because no such policies exist. Investigations into allegations of computer misuse by County Commissioner Michael Largent and Financial Specialist Esther Wilson found neither had committed wrongdoings as policies currently stand. Kelli Campbell, human resources director, concluded her investigation and issued a report last week. “County policy needs to be updated,” Campbell wrote in her report. “Specifically: the use of anonymous email; defin...
County Public Works Director Mark Storey holds up the president’s gavel. Washington State Association of County Engineers last month named Mark Storey, Whitman County’s public works director and lead engineer, as its president for the coming year. Storey is the first Whitman County engineer on record to ever be named to the helm of the 104-year-old organization. The association issues policy advice to legislators and county commissioners on county road and bridge issues. It also works with state and federal agencies to streamline permit pro...
A conveyor carries crushed rock over the Endicott Road at Thera in this unique rock crushing setup. Shawnee Rock crews set up the conveyor system to carry crushed rock to a stockpile on the south side of the road. Shawnee crews are crushing 20,000 tons of gravel to clear the quarry so it can be decommissioned. Whitman County Public Works Director Mark Storey said the system saves the road from potential damage caused by the weight of giant Caterpillar wagons hauling rock from the quarry to the stockpile. Speed limits were reduced at the site...
THURSDAY A massive ship converted into a “super skimmer” arrived in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico to assist with cleanup of the BP oil spill. The 1,100-foot-long ore and oil carrier, dubbed the “A Whale,” is being provided by TMT Shipping of Taiwan and can collect 500,000 barrels per day of contaminated water. The body of Senator Robert Byrd laid in a flag-draped casket on the Senate floor, the first time such an honor had been granted since 1959. Byrd served 64 years as the Senator from West Virginia. He died Monday at age 92. A national poll sh...
The county Tuesday signed the purchase of a single acre of land outside Lamont for a site that houses a radio tower in the county’s emergency communication network. Price of the acre was $10,000. “It’s a done deal. The papers are signed,” said Steve Krigbaum, communications system manager for the county. The site now holds a single, aging radio tower which the county is looking to beef up to make it usable in a new, county-wide emergency radio system. Patricia Nelson, a woman from the west side of the state, owns the land which is about a...
Whitman County school districts had, on average, a higher percentage of students pass the state WASL last year than other districts in the state. In a survey of 2008- 2009 WASL scores for the 10th graders in the eight county school districts, the district scores averaged 93 percent of students passing the reading test, versus 81.2 percent average for all the districts in the state. The average county district had 57 percent of students pass the math test, versus 45.4 percent average totaled from all the districts in the state. The state this...
A fire engulfed a row of juniper shrubs on Colfax’s Thorn Street July 4. The blaze was one of three over the weekend. Area fire crews waged two long battles over the holiday weekend and responded to an explosive shrub fire in Colfax in the last hour of the Fourth of July. Two fire trucks responded to the 202 block of East Thorn in Colfax when juniper shrubs in front of the house ignited just before 11 p.m. on July 4. The shrub fire sent flames shooting several feet in the air over Thorn Street. The blaze was caused by fireworks. The front nozzl...
