Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
Sorted by date Results 26 - 46 of 46
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. CITY SEEKS NFL FIELD GRANT Colfax has applied to the NFL Foundation for a grant to redo the Colfax High School football field. City Administrator Michael Rizzitiello reported to the city council Monday night the grant application has been submitted among a series of requests which were sent out last week before application deadlines.... Full story
Residents living in the LaCrosse area may be able to benefit from the Goodwill truck that will be arriving at LaCrosse Community Outreach next month. The truck will be present at LaCrosse for three days, Sept. 9 through 11. It will be open from 1 to 7 p.m. each day. Donations to the truck during those days will benefit LaCrosse Outreach and Food Bank. LaCrosse Community Outreach will be paid by Goodwill Industries by the pound for donations collected, and all money earned from the drive will benefit the food bank. The truck will accept...
Palouse Falls Chapter of the Ice Age Floods Institute has booked presentations for Sept. 7 in Ritzville and Sept. 14 in Colfax and LaCrosse. The presentation in Ritzville will be at the Ritzville Public Library from 7 to 8 p.m. The Colfax lecture will be from 3 to 4 p.m. at the Colfax library, and the LaCrosse presentation will follow from 7 to 8 p.m. at The Gathering Place. The lecture, titled “Changing the Course of the Palouse River,” will tell how stream capture during the Ice Age Floods diverted the Palouse River from the Washtucna Cou...
A public hearing on amending county zoning ordinances drew questions Monday before county commissioners approved the changes. At issue were modifications to basic lists of what may be allowed in seven specific zones such as light industrial and heavy commercial. “It seems like it gives sole authority to the public works director and county planner,” Allen Shallbetter of Pullman said. Alan Thomson, county planner, noted that the planning commission had already approved the changes. “The reaso...
Bridge ratings and a separation of right-of-way on the Almota Road project were two new elements of the six-year Transportation Improvement Program heard by county commissioners Monday. Public Works Director Mark Storey reported the estimated $300,000 in bridge rating work is intended to be done this fall, with a contractor to be hired. The ratings will evaluate the county's nearly 300 bridges – assessing how much weight they can safely bare. Whitman County's bridges were last rated in the early 2000s. Annual inspections check for structural d...
The Office of the Secretary of State has released a 2016 General Election fact sheet, now that the state primaries are finished and certified. The one page fact sheet is available on the Office of the Secretary of State website and includes turnout prediction, offices on the ballot, measures on the ballot and key dates. The turnout prediction, based on 2008 and 2012 turnout, is 82 percent. Offices which will be on the ballot include U.S. President and Vice President, U.S. Senator, 10 U.S. representative races, Washington state Governor and Lieu...
-Art Swannack photos The road leading to the top of Steptoe Butte is filled with potholes, as seen here. The county wants to see the road put on the state’s priority list for improvement. Two potholes take up a large portion of the Steptoe Butte road. Potholes occur every few feet on the road. Whitman County Commissioner Art Swannack paid a visit to Steptoe Butte State Park earlier this week, and he was surprised by what he saw there. “That road is in really bad shape,” he said. “A lot worse t...
TRUCK ROLLOVER BLOCKS HIGHWAY 27 Both lanes of Highway 27 were blocked late Aug. 9 when a dump truck and pup trailer went over on their sides and blocked the highway at its intersection with Tidwell Road north of Palouse. The truck roll spilled gravel across both lanes of the highway. Traffic detoured around the accident via Highway 272 and Altergott Road which links up with the highway about three miles north of Palouse and west of Grinnell. According to the Washington State Patrol report, Kevin Krasselt, Troy, Idaho, was driving a 2009... Full story
8 years ago The Commoner Aug. 7, 1891 On Friday last official announcement was made of an agreement by the Northern and Union Pacific companies on a reduction of freight rates on grain from points in the Inland Empire to Portland and the Sound. The great companies were tardy in coming to an agreement, but have done so at last. The reduction is not so great as was demanded by the terms of the Wasson bill, and some expressions of dissatisfaction are heard. However, the granted reduction of 75 cents a ton from the previously existing exorbitant...
Keenan Keller, 22, Colfax, was booked into jail Aug. 8 in a probable charge of second degree malicious mischief. Keller was arrested for allegedly breaking the windshield of a car which was parked in the Rosauers area. Police were called to the scene at 1:14 p.m. Police Chief Rick McNannay said Keller is believed to have smashed the windshield as the result of an argument with his girlfriend. He was later allowed release from jail on his own recognizance after an appearance in court....
Two pending changes on properties which adjoin Port of Whitman holdings were discussed Monday afternoon in a joint meeting of the Whitman County commissioners and the Port of Whitman commissioners. The two boards meet from time-to-time to talk over topics of joint concern. One of the properties is a strip of land which stretches across the north side of Pullman. The property was acquired by the state for a once-proposed bypass route around the north side of Pullman. Mark Storey, county public works director, started the report by describing Sta...
In preparation for this year’s Lentil Festival parade, street access around Neill Public Library will be closed on Olsen Street, Main Street, Grand Avenue and Kamiaken Street from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 20. Olsen Street will be closed from Grand Avenue to Kamiaken. Main Street will be closed from Grand Avenue to Spring Street, Grand Avenue will be closed from Paradise to Whitman and Kamiaken Street will be closed from Paradise to Palouse....
The Board of County Commissioners look over paperwork regarding the county’s $343,594 budget amendment presented by County Auditor Eunice Coker Monday, Aug. 15. The board unanimously passed the budget amendment to cover some increased expenses in three departments and a previously missed expense line item. After nearly a month of discussion, the Board of County Commissioners passed 2016’s first budget amendment, totaling $343,594. “There’s a little less money than what was estimated earlier to b... Full story
Unattended lots and abandoned cars have drawn the attention of Tekoa Mayor John Jaeger, in an ongoing effort to reduce both. The city two years ago began an effort to track down owners of lots not being maintained. Once they make contact, the city offers to clean up the lot with workers at a fee rate of $30 an hour. “We don’t want to do it,” said Jaeger. “We’ve got guys with better things to spend their time on.” Earlier this year, a property owner who the city called came down from Spokane to...
Pullman’s 28th annual National Lentil Festival is booked for Friday and Saturday, with fun and entertainment slated for all ages. Also, the festival happens just before the start of the fall semester at Washington State University and serves as a welcome to students who are new to Pullman or returning after the summer break. The fun will start early Friday for those signed up to participate in the Tase T. Lentil miniature golf tournament at the Airway Hills Golf Center. Tee times begin at 9 a.m., with times varying throughout the day. The g...
Harvesters continue to roll across the county, gathering in a bumper crop. Combines on the Palouse are cutting what appears to be the second-best winter wheat crop in Washington state history. Drawing an average 74 bushels per acre so far – for a crop about 70 percent harvested – the number is second only to 2011, which drew 75 bushels per acre. “We’re having really high yields,” said Glenn Squires, Chief Executive Officer of Washington Grain Commission. “This is on the heels of two years of dr...
Webb's Slough will be open for a muddy adventure Sept. 24 when the Marines of the Palouse host its third annual mud run, “The Few, The Proud, The Muddy!” The mud run is slated for a 10 a.m. start time Saturday, Sept. 24, with runners taking off in intervals at the starting line. The mud run will offer two courses, with a 5K fun run version or a 10K ridge run version. Both versions feature more than 25 military-style obstacles, with the 10K split off being indicated on the course. During the course of the ridge run portion, there will not be...
The setting sun adding an extra glow on winners in one of the final relay events at Schmuck Park Aug. 6. The Cluckey Cup meet included 220 swimmers from six teams. Results from the Tri-County all-league swim meet at Colfax last week included a compilation of total individual points earned by swimmers in the six-team meet. Awards at the end of the meet are presented to the top point winners for boys and girls in the senior race events and in the junior events. The two junior age classes, 8 &...
Oakesdale school officials have approved a request from Colfax to use the football field at Oakesdale for Colfax football games in September in the event the Schmuck Park athletic field construction project does not advance to a point where Colfax can host home games at the start of the season. Colfax has home games scheduled with Asotin Sept. 9 and with Lind/Ritzville/Sprague Sept. 24. The Bulldog season will start with the league jamboree Aug. 26 at Ritzville and the first league round Sept. 2 at Reardan. Colfax Supt. Jerry Pugh said the...
Saturday's Tour de Lentil, the bike riding event for Pullman's Lentil Festival, will send riders on three different routes around the east side of the county. The tour's format is officially posted as a fun ride, but entrants can get a little competitive, according to Margaux McBirney, a third-year WSU student from Sandpoint, Idaho, who is president of the WSU Cycling Club, sponsor of the event. As of Tuesday, the club had 47 riders signed up for the tour. More riders are expected to enter during the week and on the day of the event. The tour o...
Colfax cheerleaders Saturday prepared for the upcoming sports year with a car wash at the Ackerman lot on Main Street. In back, from the left, are Norah Burrill, Hailey Aase, Miya Ensley, Sara Whelchel and McKenna Roberts. The four cheeleaders in front, from the left, are Casey Fulfs, Sadie Thompson, Hayden Fulfs and Brooklyn Smith....
