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Articles from the October 13, 2011 edition


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  • Train grant request tuned to improve funding chances

    Joe Smillie, Gazette Reporter|Oct 13, 2011

    Officials with the Port of Whitman County are almost ready to send off a more localized federal grant application to repair local railroad tracks. The port is applying for more than $1 million in federal funding to rehabilitate state-owned railroads in Whitman County. The port’s grant request goes to the federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program, an offshoot of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Joe Poire, executive director for the port, said the repairs would be aimed at stabilizing bridges and u... Full story

  • Direct seeders plan breakfast meetings

    Oct 13, 2011

    Palouse Direct Seeders will again conduct a series of meetings for farmers and others with questions about direct seeding. The sessions began in 2009, and attendance and interest in the organization has increased in the two years since, according to coordinator Dennis Roe. A breakfast served by the Top Notch Cafe will be in the Colfax Methodist Church at 7 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 27. Todd Strader, who farms near Almota, will talk about his direct seeding experiences in using the latest technology on his winter wheat and spring wheat. Also. Rick... Full story

  • Letters 10/13/11

    Oct 13, 2011

    Long experience County residents and the Port of Whitman will benefit from the long experience Tom Kammerzell has had in the public arena, both in city government and working for the school district. He has already passed one of the most difficult learning curves for a public official, he knows what good government can do and, just as importantly, what it can’t do. This is an important distinction in setting priorities and focusing efforts where they matter. When I was employed by the City of Colfax, I had the pleasure of working with Tom d...

  • Don Brunell 10/13/11

    Oct 13, 2011

    Will America still aspire to space greatness? In today’s era of $14 trillion budget deficits, $18 billion seems like chump change. But with every penny of federal spending on the chopping block, that amount is eye-catching. NASA needs that money over the next five years to build its new space launch system - a behemoth rocket that would eventually carry our astronauts to Mars. The rocket will be topped with a space capsule similar to Apollo, which carried Americans to the moon and back 40 years ago. The new rocket will be tested in an unmanned...

  • Rich Lowry 10/13/11

    Oct 13, 2011

    There are few things more inescapable in American life than the TV screen. Sitting at the lounge at the airport, there is CNN Headline News overhead, invariably blaring. In the back of New York City cabs, there is a little screen playing stale TV news clips. In waiting rooms, in elevators, in the back of people’s cars and in practically every room in the American home, there it is — insistent, noisy, the background track to our lives. Television is the most ubiquitous and insidious force in everyday American life. If it were a drug, it’d be ill...

  • Unfocused protests could hold great power

    Oct 13, 2011

    The “Occupy Wall Street” protest is sweeping the nation. Most major cities have had their own version of it. About 27 percent of Americans agree with the protests. Another 19 percent disagree with them. Not surprisingly, 54 percent are unsure about them. That may be because no focus has surfaced in the protests. These are not single purpose protests such as those for civil rights or those against the Vietnam War. In part, the protests are about the big banks and the rich running Capitol Hill. In part they are about the disparity of wealth and...

  • Moments in Time 10/13/11

    Oct 13, 2011

    MOMENTS IN TIME The History Channel • On Oct. 29, 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh, English adventurer and favorite courtier of Queen Elizabeth I, is beheaded in London, under a sentence brought against him 15 years earlier. He had been released to establish a gold mine in South America. • On Oct. 27, 1873, an Illinois farmer named Joseph Glidden submits an application to the U.S. Patent Office for his design for a fencing wire with sharp barbs. Glidden’s two-strand barb wire design changed the face of the American West. • On Oct. 28, 1886, President G... Full story

  • Second half charge sinks TOR

    Oct 13, 2011

    After besting SE 2B contender DeSales through 16 minutes of play, Tekoa/Oakesdale and Rosalia’s football squad fell victim to a third quarter blitz which turned a 21-19 halftime lead into a 58-21 win for DeSales. “You’re 21-19 on DeSales at the half, you’re feeling pretty good,” said TOR Coach Kaleb Madison. That good feeling quickly subsided as the Irish came out of the halftime locker room powered to put down the Nighthawks. Irish QB Jeremiah Cox came out guns ablazing, hitting Ryan Baumgart on touchdown passes of 30, 18 and 20 yards as... Full story

  • Tigercat homecoming court crowned at Washtucna

    Oct 13, 2011

    Homecoming royalty for both LaCrosse and Washtucna schools were crowned at halftime of the Tigercats’ loss to Pomeroy Friday night on the Washtucna High football field. Top left: Washtucna homecoming royalty included, from the left, Senior Queen Jena Goude and King Jason Hulett with juniors Amber Dainty and Sawyer Hostetler, sophomores Amanda Woodard and Levi Allen, and freshmen Brooklyn Hostetler and Douglas McKeen. Top right: LaCrosse homecoming court, from the left, includes senior Queen Anne Fleming and King Jay Aune with juniors Shayla S... Full story

  • Eagle girls win LR trophy

    Oct 13, 2011

    Eagle girls won the Lake Roosevelt Invitational run trophy at Coulee Dam Saturday with a one-point team win over Omak. The Eagles booked 37 team points over the 2.8 mile course which runs through parts of the town downstream from the big dam. Heather Siegel led the Eagles with 19.31 to place second behind the 19.04 win posted by Lake Roosevelt’s Km Barry. Other finishers for the Eagle girls were Megan Gfeller, 5th at 21.31; Jade Porubeck, 8th at 22.09; Annie Bailey 10th at 23.11, and Tallon Smith, 14th at 24.27. For the boys race, Damon H... Full story

  • Nighthawks, Wildcats collide at Colton tonight

    Oct 13, 2011

    Two teams which have been mowing down foes in the SE net league will collide tonight when the Tekoa/Oakesdale Nighthawks take their 10-0 league record to Colton. The Wildcats lone loss for their league campaign came at the hand of the Nighthawks when the two teams collided at Tekoa in round four of the campaign. Colton is now 8-1 in league actin and 21-3 overall. Both contenders take the court tonight after keeping pace with three-game wins in Tuesday matches. TEKOA/OAKESDALE Tuesday night swept Rosalia 25-9 25-9 and 25-14. Cassy Mendoza had 12...

  • Sports Extra! 10/13/11

    Oct 13, 2011

    Colfax to host Youth football Colfax Saturday will host the weekly roataiton of the Clearwater Football League with approximately 400 players competing on 16 teams. Eight games will be played on the high school football field starting at 8 a.m The Colfax 3-4 grade team will play the Pullman Panthers at 10:20 and the 5-6 team will play the Pullman 5-6 Panthers at 3 p.m. The 5-6 game will determine the league’s number-one seed going into next week’s championship games at the Kibbie Dome. Pullman 5-6 is undefeated at 5-0 and Colfax goes into the...

  • High school wranglers end fall run at Mockonema

    Oct 13, 2011

    High school and junior high wranglers from all corners of the state, and neighboring states, competed for three days at the Palouse Empire Fair rodeo arena over the weekend. The competition was the last of five fall rodeos for the junior wranglers. They will return to action with five more spring rodeos before the state finals at Ellensburg over the Memorial Day weekend. Top four from the state will qualify for the nationals in July. The entry from Colfax included 110 in the high school events and 40 junior high entrants who competed Friday...

  • South side teams prevail in key week for SE Eights

    Oct 13, 2011

    Touchet and Pomeroy, the two SE Eights teams from the south side of the Snake River, booked big wins in last Friday’s round to set the tone for the balance of the league run. Touchet’s Indians booked a strong start on their home field Friday afternoon and survived a Wildcat rally in the second half for a 48-38 win at home. The win advanced the chiefs to the top of the league standings. Pomeroy finished with three straight TDs at Washtucna for a 40-20 win to remain in contention. The Pirates are now 4-1 in league play with their next round set... Full story

  • Bulldog grid team rolls to 5-0

    Oct 13, 2011

    “Guys, this is going to have a happy ending.” That was the assurance Coach Mike Morgan made to his Colfax football troops this week after they reviewed the first part of the video of Friday’s non-league game against Lakeside at Nine Mile. The first part of the tape showed a big and hungry Lakeside team pounding on the Bulldogs. “Also, we made about 1,000 mistakes,” Morgan commented. Lakeside posted a lead just before the half, scored two more TDs in the third quarter and had a 29-22 lead over the Bulldogs going into the final 12 minutes o... Full story

  • The World 10/13/11

    Oct 13, 2011

    THURSDAY The Centers for Disease Control released data that showed traumatic brain injuries in youth athletes climbed by 60 percent in the last decade, with young men injured playing football or biking accounting for most of the emergency room visits. The number of youngsters with a traumatic brain injury soared from 153,375 in 2001 to 248,418 eight years later. Government officials revealed a secret panel which lists U.S. citizen militants like the recently-killed Anwar al-Awlaki that are targeted for death or capture. There is no public...

  • Colfax Schools review test scores, standards

    Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter|Oct 13, 2011

    It’s talked about in the halls of Congress and the halls of Jennings Elementary. Its results come in the form of color-coded spreadsheets handed out in school board meetings, committee meetings and from parent-to-parent. It is student test scores. Over the past decade, and especially with the passage of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, testing of students has gotten more complicated, leading to a national movement of states banding together for common standards. Washington will join in next y...

  • Diabled youth to go on first hunt

    Joe Smillie, Gazette Reporter|Oct 13, 2011

    Lake Stevens, 11-year-old Justin Rhistine will take a rifle out to hunt for a buck at a stand in fields along the S curves south of Colfax Saturday for the first time. What sets Rhustine apart from other first-time hunters his age is that he was born without a right arm. “What we want is to make sure every child has the ability to go out and hunt and have a good time,” said Cindy Carpenter, founder and president of Youth Outdoors Unlimited. Youth Outdoors formed to give youth with life threatening illnesses or physical disabilities the opp...

  • Uniontown Oktoberfest on Sunday

    Oct 13, 2011

    Oktoberfest returns to Uniontown Sunday. The annual event sponsored by St. Boniface Catholic church will feature games, prizes, gift booths, a beer garden and a genuine German sausage dinner - with sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, applesauce, rolls and a German dessert. The event will be held at Uniontown’s Community Building. Food will be served from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. with take-out available. Prices are $10 for ages 12+ and $5 for younger ones....

  • Deer count looks good for season

    Joe Smillie, Gazette Reporter|Oct 13, 2011

    Hunters should have pretty good pickings when they hit the fields for opening day Saturday. Information from a survey by the State Department of Fish and Wildlife shows the mild winter left enough forage to keep deer populations high. Warm weather into September, however, has officials concerned about the potential for outbreaks of disease. Bird hunters appear to be hauling in a pretty good count this year, reported Howard Ferguson, WDFW biologist for the region. While the wet, cool spring took a hard toll on pheasants, quail and partridge popu...

  • New grant to help local firms bid on defense

    Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter|Oct 13, 2011

    When it comes to contracts with the Department of Defense, many are served by companies such as Bechtel, Boeing and Northrop Grumman. But there are smaller projects among $680 billion a year the department puts out for bid. On Sept. 16, the Clearwater Economic Development Association (CEDA) of Lewiston won a $2.5 million “Small Business Teaming Pilot Program” grant, as one of 11 chosen from 300 applicants nationwide. CEDA applied for the grant to support the American Manufacturer Network, a pri...

  • County begins search for $1.5 million

    Joe Smillie, Gazette Reporter|Oct 13, 2011

    Negotiations over Whitman County’s 2012 budget have begun, with county leaders looking to close a $1.5 million chasm between expected spending and revenue in the coming year. “It’s gonna be interesting,” predicted Commissioner Pat O’Neill. Heads of departments in the county’s current expense operating fund face bottom line revenue projection of $12,109,117, which is $1,549,495 short of the $13,658,612 they expect to spend next year. Sheriff Brett Myers, who runs the largest department in the county’s operating budget, went over his list of n... Full story

  • Fire ban lifted at county parks

    Oct 13, 2011

    The fire restriction at Kamiak Butte, Klemgard and Wawawai parks was lifted at 7 a.m. Monday, Oct. 10. Tim Myers, Director of the Whitman County Parks and Recreation Department, said recent rains and cooler temperatures allow for lifting of the fire restrictions. Visitors are still asked to be attentive to their campfires and cautious on the trail systems....

  • Judge denies Assenberg return of weed medicine

    Joe Smillie, Gazette Reporter|Oct 13, 2011

    Superior Court Judge David Frazier Friday denied a motion from Michael A. Assenberg for a court order to return his medication, which in his case is marijuana seized by Quad Cities Drug Task Force agents in a raid on Assenberg’s Colfax home May 4. Assenberg has been scheduled for a Dec. 19 trial after pleading not guilty to four felony charges. He has told the court he plans to present a defense based on state medical marijuana laws. “Everything I was doing was in accordance to the letter of the law,” he told Judge Frazier from the witne...

  • Crew works to rehab turbines at the bottom of lower Granite

    Garth Meyer, Gazette Reporter|Oct 13, 2011

    When they finish their work 160 feet below the surface if the Snake River, a new surface will be on the 31-year-old turbines at Lower Granite Dam. Encased in a cylinder of wicket gates; the six giant propellers churn out electricity for the eastern Washington power grid. Now, it is time for something major. The 8–foot adjustable blades have turned since 1975 with only minor maintenance every six years. It is called cavitation repair, and a seven-man crew from Tennessee began the months-long proj... Full story