Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
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Class size research Currently in the State of Washington, Initiative 1351 will appear on the November ballot. The initiative calls for the following class sizes: grades K-3, 17 students; grades 4-6, 23 to 25, and high school 24 to 29. I will not address the costs at this point, but will summarize the Tennessee “Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio” or the STAR study conducted during 1985-1989. This study was funded by the state of Tennessee. In brief, over 7,000 students were randomly assigned to one of three interventions: 13-17 students per tea...
Editor’s Note: The following column was originally published in 2009. The following is from the actual court transcripts in the trial of the Dog, accused by his owner (me) of knocking over the garbage can, chewing shoes and an assortment of other misdemeanors. Judge (me): For these terrible crimes, how do you plead? Dog: I deny what I did was “terrible,” I deny what I did were crimes, and I deny that I did them. Can we go for a walk? Judge: No. Sit. You’ve been a bad dog. Dog: Are you going to finish your sandwich? I think that’s the real ques...
The City of Palouse is updating its list of residents who do not want to be contacted by solicitors who obtain a soliciting permit from city hall. The permits allow people to sell door-to-door in Palouse, pending a background check by the Palouse Police Department. Those who wish to be added to the “do not contact” list are asked to send an e-mail with name and street address to deputyclerk@palouse.com. For solicitors who knock on a door in Palouse, residents may ask to see their valid permit....
Forget about the World Cup or World Series or even the Super Bowl. The No. 1 competitive sport is the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating contest at Coney Island, New York. The legendary Joey Chestnut won for the eighth straight time, downing 61 in the allotted 10 minutes. While that’s not his personal best of 69, it’s still pretty impressive, if one would call speed gorging impressive. By the way, feed racing has its own Title IX. Miki Sudo inhaled 34, finishing ahead of three-time chomp champ Sonya “The Black Widow” Thomas. Call that an upset. Call the...
It’s hard to imagine a more apt summation of the lunatic state of the nation’s immigration debate than the split screen over the past weeks. In Washington, most respectable opinion lined up, yet again, to condemn Republicans for not passing an amnesty under the guise of defunct-for-now “comprehensive immigration reform.” Meanwhile, the crisis on the Southern border continued. A massive influx of people — largely driven by Central Americans, many of them children — drawn here in the expectation of lax immigration enforcement is overwhelmin... Full story
The middle East is in turmoil. Hatred of all things different seems to be the norm. Tribes fight one another. Ethnicity divides people living as neighbors. Differences in political ideologies are cause for violence. Religious differences are justification for murder and brutality. It is virtually impossible to get a grasp on all the various sects, parties, organizations and groups that are violently warring with one another. Conflict has become a way of life. Many in America look upon the Middle East with dismay. How could such old and proud...
8 years ago The Commoner July 19, 1889 Mr. J.H. Bellinger of this city has on exhibition at his offices three samples of wheat raised by Paul Brockmeier of Cedar Creek, which the world cannot beat. The heads shown are fully five inches in length. In view of the fact that the burning Ellensburg and the attempted burning of Walla Walla was the work of fire bugs who might attempt the same thing in Colfax, our ever vigilant police are doing extra patrols. 100 years ago The Colfax Commoner July 17, 1914 The Rt. Rev. R.H. Schinner, the newly create...
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. 911 SERVICE KNOCKED OUT The Whitcom 911 emergency call service was knocked out for Oakesdale, Rosalia and Malden for about three hours Monday. Frontier Telephone notified the county emergency service office at about 2:40 p.m. that the service was down for the three towns. The outage was believed to be caused by a line cut between Oakesdale and...
Swim teams from Dayton, and St. John/Endicott/LaCrosse rolled to Colfax Tuesday for a Novice League swim. In the top photo, entrants in the third heat of the girls 8-under back stroke launch off the wall to start their one-length race. Dominic Treis of SEL, below, strokes to a second place in the boys 14-under breastsroke. D.J. Ward of Colfax won the race at 52:44. SEL took the team win with 513 points. Dayton scored407, and host Colfax finished with 307. See race results next...
A fund drive for the Colfax High School track has been launched this summer. The aim of the drive is to build up a fund to expand the scope of the project which was originally scheduled to start this summer after local use of the track ceased. “We think we can get it done with the help from a lot people,” Mark Mackleit of Colfax, who heads up the committee, commented. A lot of the planning for the drive is still underway. A committee of volunteers has been assembled, and they plan to meet approximately once per month to check their pro... Full story
As the Tekoa-Rosalia High School sports combination nears its launch in late August, coaches are being hired for the new fall teams. In June, Bob Bucsko was hired from Olympia to be the football coach while Alisa Druffel will take over as head volleyball coach after assisting last year. Her assistant will be Jodi Heitstuman. The boys basketball coach position is open after the Tekoa-Rosalia combination did not renew the contract of Pat Brown, who coached Rosalia last year. For the girls, Rob... Full story
Posse Junior Legion at the start of this week was still uncertain about where they will start in the Spokane League playoff which had an opening game booked for Wednesday. The first five games of the playoffs have been slated at Shadle Park’s A.K. Jackson Field Wednesday and today. Final slots on the playoff remained in limbo until teams completed makeup games to finish out their league records at the start of this week. Posse members learned late last week that the playoff assignments have b...
Above, driver Nick McDonald and shovel man Brad Shamion spread asphalt in a parking lot on Lake Street in Colfax Monday afternoon as the temperature reached 103. Above, an unidentified worker shovels asphalt off a truck. Temperatures are forecast to cool off by the weekend.... Full story
NOTICE OF DETERMINATION OF NONSIGNIFICANCE (DNS) AND INTENT TO ISSUE AN ADMINISTRATIVE USE PERMIT The Whitman County Planning Office issued a Determination of Nonsignificance (DNS) under the State Environmental Policy Act Rules (Chapter 197-11 WAC) for the following project: Prol-and LLC has requested an administrative use permit for a proposed 140-foot communications tower and related ground equipment. The tower will allow co-location of other carriers. The site is located in the SW 1/4 of Section 1, Township 18 N., Range 41 E., W.M., Whitman...
The Palouse Chamber of Commerce annual city-wide yard sale will be Saturday, Aug. 24. The fee to advertise on the sale map is $2. Sign up at city hall. Maps for the yard sales will be made available at Palouse businesses beginning Friday, Aug. 1....
A little more than a month after LaCrosse’s only cafe closed, a new operator is in the process of signing a lease to reopen it. Barb Curtiss will be the new operator of the cafe and will sign a lease with LaCrosse Community Pride, the organization which owns the building. Curtiss said she hopes to be open by the first of September and will call the new business Route 26. Pride board member Lois Startin said Curtiss was one of the cooks in the former Grillbilly Cafe. “We’re so excited to have it open again,” Startin said. “She’s awesome and very...
A barn was destroyed and a horse died Monday evening in a fire near Hay. No one was injured but the fire also burned crops and pasture land. Cause of the fire was believed to be sparks from power lines which slapped together when wind gusts hit. The barn was on the David McIntosh place. The horse was in a pen next to the barn. The ranch house and two other horses were saved by the volunteer firefighters. District 8 volunteer Eric Startin said the fire truck from Hay began fighting the fire about 6:30 p.m. and the call was officially out at...
Mark Hart, who was here to attend the Colfax High School Class of 1974 reunion, read from his book of poetry, “Boy Singing to Cattle,” Saturday afternoon at the Colfax Library. Hart’s book won the 23rd annual Pearl Poetry Prize, was a finalist for the 2014 Massachusetts Book Award in poetry and is on a 2014 “Must Read” list for Massachusetts libraries. After his readings, he signed a number of his books. About 30 people attended. Hart, left, signs a book for fellow Colfax classmate Janet Ray...
An old house is due to be torn down in Tekoa as part of an agreement in which the city will first buy it for $1. The house, at 519 North Sheridan has been deemed an “attractive nuisance,” by Mayor John Jaeger and the city council, which will sign a deed to purchase the building at their next meeting, July 21. The partially-burned house, which hasn’t been lived in for the past decade, is owned by Otto Tanner. Tanner lived in it during the 1960s before selling it and buying it again in several instances. In April of this year, he took repos...
Cutting the list of candidates for the congressional seat now held by Republican Cathy McMorris Rodgers, two levy proposals from the Town of Farmington, one for Garfield and one from the Garfield Cemetery District will await voters’ decisions in the Aug. 5 primary election. Ballots for the election will be mailed out Friday. The total count of ballots now stands at 20,162, including ballots already sent to members of the military. The four-way race for representatives will be narrowed down to two candidates under the state’s top two law for...
The cause of the April 7 fire that destroyed a 1889 building on Main Street in Palouse is yet to be determined by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigators. Also, work done by at least one insurance investigator was deemed inconclusive. “The origin and cause report has not been completed,” said Brian Bennett, ATF Seattle Field Division public information officer. “The case agent is still waiting on documents. I don’t know how long it will take. The origin and cause reports are ve...
The cause of death for a Colfax man who was stricken while swimming at the Colfax pool last Wednesday was a cardiac event, County Coroner Peter Martin reported Tuesday. David Futchko, 32, was pronounced dead at Whitman Hospital last Wednesday after he was pulled from the swimming pool. Colfax Police Chief Rick McNannay said pool lifeguards saw Futchko fall backwards into the pool after he appeared to have difficulty while attempting to exit on a pool ladder. He sank to the bottom and veteran lifeguard Matt Scholz pulled him out of the pool and... Full story
The town of Garfield Board of Adjustment voted unanimously 5-0, Monday night to approve a conditional use permit to process marijuana. Growing it at the site had already been deemed allowable under the city’s ag zone provisions. The vote comes with conditional use restrictions to be determined for the edge-of-town property on South 10th Street owned by Charles Lantzy. Debra Lantzy, Lantzy’s niece, applied for the permit. She plans a marijuana growing and processing operation there under the stat... Full story
A hangar at the Rosalia Airport was destroyed by fire July 9. Rosalia Fire Chief Bill Tensfeld said the report was received at about 1:30 p.m. and volunteers responded to the scene. Fire crews also responded from St. John, Steptoe, Colfax and Spangle. Approximately 13 trucks were at the scene. Fire crews and a hazmat team from Spokane also started toward Rosalia, but their response was called off. The Hazmat concerns involved containers of pesticide for use by aerial applicators. The fire...
Emelie Jones photographed this moose who has been making evening visits to the Eureka Farm near Dusty last week. Emelie, the daughter of Brian Jones of Dusty, was house sitting at the ranch for Jon and Li Ochs....
