Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 49 of 49
OLYMPIA - Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency relating to the growing risk of wildfires, including a statewide prohibition on most outdoor and agricultural burning through Sept. 30. The ban includes camp, agricultural, and other fires, but not gas grills or contained fire pits on private property. "Washington is facing a historic drought and we have already experienced record-breaking heat. We must be vigilant in our efforts to prevent wildfires, and the loss of life and destruction...
COLFAX — A Pullman woman is accused of punching a Whitman County Jail guard to escape. Brianna McCabe, 26, of Pullman, was charged in Whitman County Superior Court on June 21 with the felony of custodial assault of a corrections officer. McCabe is accused of punching a corrections officer while he was delivering medications to the female inmates in the work release room. He entered the room and blocked the door by standing in front of it with a cart, according to court records. McCabe reportedly stood up after the officer provided an inmate w...
SEATTLE - Her first job was harvest cook and truck driver at the family wheat and barley land near Hay at age 14. Last week she was honored as Puget Sound Business Journal Middle Market Fast 50 Executive of the Year. Tana (Roberts) Gall was back in LaCrosse visiting family. Her father Wallace Roberts, 90, still goes to the ranch every day. Gall is the president of Merrill Gardens, a Seattle-based company that owns and operates retirement communities in 20 states. She joined the company in 2013,...
COLFAX — Whitman County had the largest population drop in Washington in 2020. The 5% decrease includes Washington State University (WSU) students who stayed home and people displaced by the Malden fire. Pullman saw a population drop of 7% in the year of online learning. Pullman’s population dropped 2.400 people from last year, as of April 1 it was 32,450, according to the Washington Office of Financial Management. Population drops occurred in other university towns such as Bellingham, Cheney, and Ellensburg. For Whitman County, the pop...
COLFAX — The Pullman-Colfax Quaranteam shifted its goal from helping restaurants to now students and soldiers. Since its beginning last December, the local group, run by Heather Kortness and her mother Debbie Finkbonner, raised $12,000 and donated to aid 85 area restaurants. The group was buying as many as 50 free meals at a time to give away to people. Now with restaurant restrictions lifted around the state, the group shifted to sending care packages overseas to military units and canceling high school student fines. Kortness reports the Q...
COLFAX - A section of pavement buckled on State Route 195, north of Colfax, on June 29 because of the heat. The Washington State Department of Transportation reported the incident as temperatures peaked during an extreme heatwave. Repairs were scheduled for the next morning. The road remained open but reduced to one lane of traffic. Roads are known to expand during high temperatures. Extreme heat may cause expansion to the point of buckling....
PULLMAN — A Pullman man nearly lost his life as a firework launch tube braced on his thigh exploded on the Fourth of July. The tube was for an aerial display. Neighbors of the man in his 20s came to his rescue. The people in the 300 block of NW Thomas Street called 9-1-1 while applying a belt tourniquet and direct pressure to his groin area. The explosion nicked his artery, according to Pullman police Assistant Chief Ryan Scharnhorst. “Pullman Police officer Brock Westerman applying a tourniquet … may have saved the man from possibly bleed...
COLFAX - A short power outage on July 1 was caused by a pole fire burning between Colfax and Pullman. The transmission structure ignited due to weather, according to David Vowels, communications manager for Avista. The specific cause is still under investigation. The issue was spotted during a fly-over of the line with a helicopter. The fire took place on a pole in a remote area. Crews were able to address the problem, re-routing power using Avista redundancies to restore service. Pole fires...
PULLMAN — A $1.55 million fundraising goal was reached with an anonymous $500,000 donation this week for the Washington State University (WSU) Family Medicine Residency Program at Whitman Hospital. The program earned full accreditation in May. The Pullman-based three-year program uses 5,000 square-feet of new educational and clinical space at the hospital....
PALOUSE — The Palouse Community Center holds a 2021 ice cream social fundraiser on July 11 at Palouse City Park from noon to 3 p.m. The event includes music by Zookwood and hamburgers from the Lions Club. Pie and ice cream are for sale with free coffee. The Xenodican Club and Round Table are set to donate pies and services for the event....
COLFAX – A Quincy man was injured when he crashed his 2005 Suzuki GSX-R600 motorcycle on the evening of July 3. Nathan J. Ortiz, 19, of Quincy, was riding west on State Route 26, about 9 miles west of Colfax, when he failed to make a curve and rode off the highway and into a dirt embankment, according to the Washington State patrol. He was seriously injured and flown to Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. He was wearing a helmet. The state patrol expects to cite him for driving with his wheels off the road and for riding without a m...
PULLMAN – A Pullman driver left state Route 194 and drove about 300 feet in a ditch before rolling his Chevrolet. Kyle R. Doering, 34, of Pullman, was driving his grey 2003 Chevrolet east and was about 12 miles west of Pullman when he lost control at about 5:37 p.m. on the Fourth of July, according to the Washington State Patrol. He was flown to a hospital for treatment of his injuries. It’s unknown if he was wearing a seatbelt. The cause of the wreck is Doering driving with his wheels off the road. No charges are anticipated, according to the...
COLFAX - Colfax Junior guard Asher Cai is the Northeast 2B League Girls Basketball Player of the Year. The decision was announced on June 29. During her 10 game basketball season she posted an average of 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 steals. Cai shot 59% from the field. "I was really happy for her," said Coach Mike Dorman. "She played very well. I thought she would be first team for sure, and could get the top honor but maybe I was a little biased." Sophomore guard Jaisha Gibb was named to the...
COLFAX - John Lustig is the Northeast 2B League Most Valuable Player for boys basketball for the 2021 season. Lustig, a junior guard, averaged 22 points per game. He took the MVP honor for the league's South division last year when it was split into north and south. Honored on the second team was Colfax freshman guard Seth Lustig. Named to the third team was Colfax junior guard Damian Demler. The league added a third tier of honors due to the abbreviated season. Colfax won the 2020-21 league...
PULLMAN — Washington State University (WSU) classes this fall are all in-person. The university made an announcement Wednesday following the lifting of pandemic restrictions by Gov. Jay Inslee. The university planned for a hybrid format with classes of less than 100 people to be held in-person....
COLFAX — Local photographer Tom Mohr’s work is on display at The Center through the month with an open house on July 15. The reception is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. with his current exhibit “Mike’s Gazebo” featured, according to Kylie Fullmer, director of the Whitman County Rural Library District. The Friends of Whitman County Library are serving light refreshments selling prints of “Gazebo Rhythms” with a portion of the proceeds going to benefit the library. The Center and Colfax Library are open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sa...
ROSALIA — A Spokane man meeting a prostitute at a rest area had two women steal his wallet, flee, and fire a gun at him. On July 5 at roughly 3:30 a.m. the Lewiston man called 9-1-1 to report a woman he met in Spokane stole his wallet while they were at the Horn School Rest Area near Rosalia and later fired a pistol at him, according to the Whitman County Sheriff’s Office report. Three deputies and a Washington State University police officer responded to investigate. The woman allegedly told the victim she was a prostitute. They traveled in di...
COLFAX — Whitman County commissioners met for their regular meeting in-person on Tuesday for the first time since Tom Handy took office in January. The occasion was brought about by lessened meeting restrictions from the governor’s office regarding COVID-19. Mark Storey, public works director, asked about county planning commission meetings and those for the board of adjustment. Commissioner Art Swannack said the groups may meet in person, as long as a virtual component is offered. “I wanted to be sure because I work for you guys, not the g...
COLFAX - Commissioners approved a two-year contract for $235,000 with the state to administer the Voluntary Stewardship Program (VSP) for Whitman County. The county sub-contracts with the Palouse Conservation District to run the entity, which allows agriculturally critical areas to be voluntarily maintained. Palouse Conservation District is comprised of the Whitman Conservation District, Palouse-Rock Lake Conservation District, and Pine Creek Conservation District. The districts work from a...
RITZVILLE -Gov. Jay Inslee is refusing requests to declare a drought emergency in the state. Washington Association of Wheat Growers President Ryan Poe and Washington Grain Commission Chairman Mike Carstensen requested the emergency drought declaration June 15 in a letter to the governor. A drought emergency declaration would give affected farmers access to additional governmental resources. "As the extremely hot temperatures have reminded us, much of Eastern Washington - including our wheat-gro...
PALOUSE FALLS - The Frank County Sheriff's Office responded to Palouse Falls about 4:45 p.m. Thursday, July 8, after a report of an Oregon woman sliding off a trail. The woman, whose name was not released, suffered minor injuries and was able to walk out of the falls basin, a report said. She was treated for bruises and scrapes, a report said....
MALDEN – The League of Women Voters is hosting a candidate forum on Saturday, July 17. The event is open to everyone and is in Malden City Park from 10 a.m. to noon. "This will be your opportunity to meet and greet all of the candidates that are running for council and mayor. They will be sharing why they are running and what future plans they may have for the town," stated an organizer. Refreshments are being served....
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